Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
How many species of mammals are there in Brazil? New records of rare rodents (Rodentia: Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae) from Amazonia raise the current known diversity

Background Since 1996, when Vivo questioned how many species of mammals occur in Brazil, there has been a huge effort to assess this biodiversity. In this contribution, we present new records for rare species of the sigmodontine rodent genera Rhagomys and Neusticomys previously unknown to Brazilian Amazon. We provided detailed information on the morphologic variation to allow the proper identification of these species. We also furnished updated information on their collection, aiming to establish hypothesis of their geographic distribution, based on SDM’s, aiming to hypothesize potential occurrence areas for these species. Methods Rodent specimens were sampled in separate inventories in two sites of Rondônia State (Hydroelectric Dam Jirau and Parque Nacional de Pacaás Novos) and one site in Pará State (Pacajá), Brazil, and were compared to specimens from museum collections to apply appropriate names. The SDM were conducted using two algorithms for rare species, MaxEnt and randomForest (RF), and were based on seven localities for Rhagomys, and 10 for Neusticomys. Results All specimens were collected with pitfall traps. One specimen of genus Rhagomys was trapped in the Hydroelectric Dam Jirau. We identified this specimen as R. longilingua, and the SDM species indicates suitable areas for its occurrence at high elevations near on the Andes and lowlands of Amazon Basin to the South of the Rio Amazonas. Two specimens of Neusticomys were recorded, and we identified the specimen from Pacaás Novos as N. peruviensis, with SDM suggesting main areas of occurrence on Western Amazon. We applied the name N. ferreirai to the specimen from Pacajá, with SDM recovering suitable areas in Eastern Amazon. Discussion We reinforced the importance of pitfall traps on the study of Neotropical rodents. We described morphologic variation within and among all species that do not invalidate their specific status, but in the near future a re-evaluation will be mandatory. The new records extended the species distribution considerably. SDM was successful to predict their distributions, as the two algorithms presented important differences in range size recovered by the models that can be explained by differences in the thresholds used for the construction of the models. Most suitable areas coincide with the areas facing most of the deforestation in Amazon. We added two rare species of sigmodontine rodents to the list of Brazilian Mammals, which now comprises 722 species (or 775 valid nominal taxa). Although more information is available than in 1996, it is essential that mammal experts maintain inventory and revisionary programs to update and revise this information. This is even more important, as changes in Brazilian environmental legislation are being discussed, suggesting reduced need for environmental impact reports prior to beginning commercial enterprises, resulting in the loss of information about native biodiversity in the affected areas.
Degradation phenomena of electric property on polymeric materials films irradiated by proton

Spacecraft have a serious damage due to the electrostatic discharge accident. Although the polymeric materials are used for surface materials of spacecraft as a multi layer insulator (MLI) and optical solar reflector (OSR), those materials are charged up due to radioactive rays, especially electrons and protons. The charge accumulation is the origin of aging and discharging phenomena, furthermore those become a trigger for spacecraft operation anomaly. Therefore, we need to obtain the dielectric property of those materials. As the dielectric property, for example conductivity, have a great relationship between charge accumulation in the bulks, we especially focused polyimide films (PI) for MLI and fluorinated ethylene propylene copolymer (FEP) for OSR irradiated by high energy proton. We measured the space charge distribution in the bulks during and after proton beam irradiation by the pulsed electroacoustic (PEA) method. From the results, it is found that positive charge accumulations are observed in the bulk at the position of proton penetration depth. Furthermore, we measured the current through the bulk and space charge behavior in irradiated and non-irradiated PI under HV-DC by ASTM and PEA methods. From the above results, we discuss and estimate the aging of electrical insulating characteristics on the polyimide films and the fluorinated ethylene propylene copolymer films irradiated by proton.
PATIENT CARE SIMULATIONS: Role Playing to Enhance Clinical Understanding

Role-play techniques can serve as an effective substitute for, and supplement to, simulation technology when teaching clinical nursing skills. They provide risk-free opportunities to practice clinical skills and develop clinical judgment. A two-phase patient care simulation, performed in real time, is described. Students are presented with a scenario and work cooperatively in role-playing appropriate care, with one student using a prepared script to assume the role of patient. The class functions as a resource for four students who assume the nursing role. Students reported increased understanding of course material as a result of participation in the clinical simulation scenario. Faculty observed a decreased failure rate on the corresponding course examination.
The tropism of embryoid body cells for glioma cells

It has been demonstrated that several types of adult stem cells have a common attribute of tropism for gliomas. In our study, we provided evidence that embryonic stem cell-derived embryoid body (EB) cells also exhibited a tropism for gliomas. Chemotaxis assays and organotypic hippocampal slice culture experiments showed that EB cells were attracted by the conditioned medium from C6 glioma cells and by C6 glioma cells deposited on the slice. Aggregate culture assays showed that EB cells could coaggregate with C6 glioma cells. Embryoid body cells injected intratumorally were found to distribute throughout the tumor mass. All data indicated that EB cells displayed a tropism for gliomas.
Early Detection of Cerebral Infarction and Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy in Neonates Using Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Twelve newborn infants with clinical evidence of hypoxic ischemic brain injury had conventional and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performed one to six (median two) days and 7-42 days after birth. The extent and conspicuity of the early abnormalities was greater with diffusion-weighted than with conventional imaging in each of the four infants with neonatal infarction and in four of the infants with Grades II or III hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). No abnormality was seen with either technique in the other four infants who had Grades I or II HIE. Diffusion weighted MRI may be important for the early diagnosis and grading of infants with hypoxic ischemic brain injury.
Chinese students' behavior intention to use mobile library apps and effects of education level and discipline

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine behavior intention of Chinese university students toward mobile library (m-library) applications (apps) and to explore the determinants of their perceptions of m-library apps. Design/methodology/approach Based on previous research, this study first proposed an integrated model and hypothesized the relationships between constructs while exploring the significance of the effects of education level and discipline. In all, 466 undergraduate and graduate students from various disciplines participated in a survey for this study. A structural equation modeling approach was applied for analysis. Findings Attitude is the main predictor of behavior intention toward m-library apps, and it is significantly affected by perceived usefulness, self-efficacy, and subjective norm. The quality of m-library apps determines students’ perception of usefulness. In addition, education level and discipline have significant effects on behavior intention toward m-library apps, which may reflect students’ different focuses and purposes of use. Originality/value This study deepens understanding of the continuance usage of m-library apps and has practical implications on related developments and services.
House Price Risk Models for Banking and Insurance Applications

The recent international credit crisis has highlighted the significant exposure that banks and insurers, especially mono-line credit insurers, have to residential house price risk. This paper provides an assessment of risk models for residential property for applications in banking and insurance including pricing, risk management, and portfolio management. Risk factors and heterogeneity of house price returns are assessed at a postcode-level for house prices in the major capital city of Sydney, Australia, over the period 1979 to 2011.
A CMOS high-speed multistage preamplifier for comparator design

A new multistage preamplifier with offset reduction for use in high-speed comparator is presented. The proposed circuit is based on the cascade of the modified input offset storage amplifiers and the output offset storage amplifier in pipeline arrangement. Not only does the topology maintain a good input common-mode range, it exhibits faster speed due to the reduced capacitive loads. Using AMS 0.35 /spl mu/m CMOS process model, the simulation result has shown that the new preamplifier has achieved a settling time of 3.5 ns at 1% accuracy for a transient step of 400 mV, which is faster than the conventional works at identical power consumption.
cRGD-functionalized polymer micelles for targeted doxorubicin delivery.

Low water solubility, rapid phagocytic and renal clearance, and systemic toxicity represent three major barriers that limit the therapeutic use of many hydrophobic antitumor agents such as doxorubicin (DOXO) and paclitaxel. Various drugdelivery systems, among which polymeric micelles have emerged as a very important system, have been developed to overcome these limitations and deliver various drugs with remarkable in vitro and in vivo success. 3] Polymeric micelles are nanoscopic (10 to 100 nm) colloidal particles self-assembled from amphiphilic block or graft copolymers in aqueous media. The hydrophobic core of the micelles is a carrier compartment that accommodates antitumor drugs, and the shell consists of a brushlike protective corona that stabilizes the nanoparticles in aqueous solution. The basic requirements for polymeric micelles in drug-delivery applications include high drug-loading capacity, biodegradability, long blood circulation times, and controllable drug-release profiles. Research on micelles has been greatly advanced in the
p-HYDROQUINONE AND p-BENZOQUINONE AS HISTOCHEMICAL REAGENTS I. A NEW TETRAZOLIUM METHOD FOR AMINO GROUPS, AND THE MECHANISM OF FORMAZAN STAINING OF PARAFFIN AND FRESH FROZEN SECTIONS

The staining of amino groups by formazan when dehydrated paraffin sections are incubated in a mixture of hydroquinone and 3-(4,5-dimethyl thiazolyl-2)-2 ,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide at an acid pH is reported. The mechanism of this reaction and of the cytoplasmic deposition of formazan in fresh frozen sections incubated under similar conditions is investigated. It is shown that the oxidation of hydroquinone to semiquinone is responsible for the reaction, the tetrazole acting as electron acceptor. The tissue amino groups, exposed by dehydration and thermal shrinkage, and the nitrogen groupings of phosphobipid behave as "catalysts. " The relevant properties of the hydroquinone-benzoquinone oxidation-reduction system are described, and the reactions between benzoquinone and tissue constituents are reviewed.
Did the earth move for you too? Understanding post-earthquake changes in retail shopping behaviour

Christchurch, the second largest city in New Zealand, was rattled by three major earthquakes in a span of six months from September 2010. The first was a 7.1 magnitude earthquake which occurred at 4:35am on 4 September 2010, the second was a 4.9 magnitude earthquake which occurred at 10:30am on 26 December 2010, with the third event being a 6.3 magnitude earthquake which occurred at 12:51pm on 22 February 2011. In the two years following the original event, more than 11,000 aftershocks were recorded. Even though no loss of life was reported for the September earthquake, structural damage was recorded in the central and south-western suburbs of the city. The December earthquake created havoc on one of the key retail trading days of the year (Boxing Day), caused damage to a further twenty buildings in the central city, and led to the entire Central Business District (CBD) being closed down for the day. The February earthquake was the most devastating. It caused widespread damage to the city and resulted in 185 fatalities. The epicentre of the February earthquake was in close proximity to the CBD, which led to two large multi-storey buildings collapsing, and much of the CBD subsequently needing to be demolished.
Rolling DICE: Lightweight Remote Attestation for COTS IoT Hardware

The specification Device Identity Composition Engine (DICE) provides a novel basis for remote attestations specifically suitable in the IoT context. Its purpose is to provide means for remote attestations to devices that are too size-, cost-, energy- or otherwise constrained to have Trusted Platform Module attached. This paper gives a short explanation of DICE and compares different approaches for building up a remote attestation protocol based on it, using symmetric and asymmetric cryptography. Based on this comparison a symmetric attestation protocol is proposed for most resource constrained devices and its implications for attestation servers are discussed. Furthermore a feasibility study is conducted mapping the DICE and the proposed DICE-based attestation approach to commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware -- namely Arduino Uno in this case -- and measurement of the code size, binary size and added computational requirements is provided. The security of the mapping approach is evaluated and its advantages and pitfalls are demonstrated. The goal is to show how DICE-based approaches can be mapped to existing hardware and how a more secure IoT environment can be established on already deployed devices without changes to the hardware.
Monitoring serum insulin‐like growth factor‐I (IGF‐I), IGF binding protein‐3 (IGFBP‐3), IGF‐I/IGFBP‐3 molar ratio and leptin during growth hormone treatment for disordered growth

Serum IGF‐I levels are monitored during GH replacement treatment in adults with GH deficiency (GHD) to guide GH dose adjustment and to minimize occurrence of GH‐related side‐effects. This is not routine practice in children treated with GH. The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in (1) serum IGF‐I, IGFBP‐3 and IGF‐I/IGFBP‐3 molar ratio, and (2) serum leptin, an indirect marker of GH response, during the first year of GH treatment in children with disordered growth.
Electrodynamic Maglev Coil Design and Analysis

Electrodynamic Maglev systems are distinguished from electromagnetic systems in that the currents yielding lift and guidance forces are induced by the movement of the vehicle. Above a threshold speed, such a system is inherently stable, and has the additional benefit of having greater flexibility to system construction tolerances in that the magnet vertical position can change by as much as 5 cm. A stacked magnet design is considered which couples into a set of interleave coils which are interconnected in such a way as to yield both lift and guidance forces. A mutual coupling analysis is embraced wherein the mutual inductance between the permanent magnets on board the vehicle and the coils are computed using closed form analytical expressions for filaments. The derivatives of these expressions are then averaged to compute both the induced current and the forces on the coils as a function of the system geometry and speed. A full transient analysis must be performed to accurately account for entry and exit effects. The results are compared to those experimentally measured on a test track and extrapolations are offered to suggest future design considerations.
Parameterized Multisurface Fitting for Multi-Frame Superresolution

We propose a parameterized multisurface fitting method for multi-frame super-resolution (SR) processing. A parameter assumed for the unknown high-resolution (HR) pixel is used for multisurface fitting. Each surface fitted at each low-resolution (LR) pixel is an expression of the parameter. Final SR result is obtained by fusing the sampling values from these surfaces in the maximum a posteriori fashion. Experimental results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method. key words: super-resolution, Taylor series, intensity estimation, parameter multi-surface fitting
AIS Electronic Library (AISeL)

Existing studies on information technology outsourcing relationships have typically examined partnership factors that influence IT outsourcing effectiveness. This research extends such studies and draws upon relational exchange theory to investigate how relational elements in service level agreements (SLAs) may impact outsourcing relationships. The results show that the effects of a well-structured SLA in managing IT outsourcing relationship are significant. This paper also provides insight into the development of relational governance through a contractual mechanism over the entire course of an outsourcing engagement. Suggestions for appropriate SLA elements are also developed
Mura Region Detection by Using 2D FFT with Exponential Kernel for Black Resin-Coated Steel

This paper proposes mura region detection algorithm by using two-dimensional fast Fourier transform (2D FFT) with exponential kernel for black resin-coated steel. If the mura exists in the black resin-coated steel image, the image has large low-frequency component. To improve accuracy, multiply exponential kernel to low frequency region. The simulation results show improved performance.
A novel approach for 3D model recognition based on SSCD

In this paper, a 3D model recognition method based on modification of Spatial Structure Circular Descriptor (SSCD) is proposed. Firstly, the model optimization process removes all valueless points. Secondly, the SSCD descriptor to get a spatial value is used. This method uses a Spherical Grade Projection (SGP) to project points on a plane. However, in our case the SGP is not used. Our proposed method is based on extraction of spatial information, which is projected to image. To store the full spatial information of 3D model to an image spherical transformation is used. Mostly, low-polygon models have small amount of points, which are projected to sphere hence, is created empty spaces. To avoid this problem is used a convolution with gradient function. Finally, we calculate the similarities between dataset of 3D models. The algorithm has been tested on 100 different 3D models (10 models for each class). The experimental result shows that the proposed method has a positive effect on overall recognition performance and outperforms other examined methods.
It’s Time to Celebrate: How Can Restaurateurs Make Special Occasions Even Better?

In the highly competitive food service industry, restaurateurs are continuously exploring ways to deliver customer value and increase consumers’ dining intentions during special occasions. Prior research has examined rational qualities, such as price, food quality, and service quality, but as more restaurateurs strategically capitalize on the significance of these factors, previously held competitive advantages are beginning to fade, calling for further investigation to uncover new factors and contemporary restaurant marketing strategies. This study attempts to fill the gap by examining constructs from a psychological perspective. In particular, this study investigates the influences of culture, value, self-enhancement, gratification, and subjective norms on consumers’ attitudes and restaurant dining intentions during special occasions. The results show that culture, value, self-enhancement, and gratification are positively related to attitude whereas attitude and subjective norms have positive effects on intention. The implications for theory and practice are discussed, limitations are acknowledged, and research directions are presented.
Multi-agents based protection for distributed generation systems

As a result of deregulation, distributed generation (DG) systems with distributed generators installed in the middle or low voltage networks become popular in distribution systems. Traditional protections developed in radial systems are difficult in coordination and in protecting against high impedance fault (HIF), sometimes it may cause nuisance tripping in the DG systems. A decentralized multi-agent based protection with capability of HIF detection, fault location and load shedding for the DG systems is proposed in the paper. Digital relay is designed as a relay agent which is capable of searching for information from other relay agents, interacting with other relay agents and performing tasks of protection with autonomy and cooperating. The agent based protection scheme is also presented. EMTP simulation results show that the proposed agent based protection scheme can remove the influence of load switching operations, protect against HIF, electric shock. The prototype of relay agent is developed, the research is now in progress on testing the prototype in dynamic power system.
Study of Turbulence-Radiation Interaction in Hypersonic Turbulent Boundary Layers

Studies of the turbulence-chemistry interaction (TCI) are performed in hypersonic turbulent boundary layers using direct numerical simulation (DNS) flow fields under typical hypersonic conditions representative of blunt-body and slender-body hypersonic vehicles, with supercatalytic and noncatalytic wall conditions in pure air. Nondimensional govern∂ � �
Morphological Effects of Radiochemotherapy on Cervical Carcinoma: A Morphological Study of 50 Cases of Hysterectomy Specimens After Neoadjuvant Treatment

Summary: The introduction of radiochemotherapy for treatment of advanced cervical cancers represents a new chapter in surgical pathology. The study group included 50 women with a histological diagnosis of advanced cervical carcinoma (43 squamous, 3 adenosquamous, 2 adenocarcinoma, 1 glassy cell, and 1 undifferentiated; International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage Ib-III) receiving a platinum-based chemotherapy concomitant with external beam radiotherapy before radical surgery. We evaluated the amount of residual neoplastic tissue, depth of invasion, presence of neoplastic embolism, number of metastatic lymph nodes, and alterations of the nonneoplastic stroma and epithelium. We observed neoplastic masses larger than 0.3 cm (no pathological response, pR2) in 14 cases (28%), single or multiple microscopic neoplastic residual (partial pathological response, pR1) in 24 cases (48%), and no invasive neoplastic cells (complete pathological response, pR0) in 12 cases (24%). Residual neoplastic cells showed a wide pattern of alterations such as cytoplasmic eosinophilia, vacuolation, and foamy appearance; the nuclei were enlarged and irregular with clumped chromatin. The mitotic activity was scanty. In some cases, multinucleated neoplastic giant cell coexisted with reactive foreign body-like giant cells. The stroma was fibrous containing inflammatory cells, fibrinous debris, cholesterol clefts, hemosiderin pigments, and microcalcifications. In just 2 cases, we found lymph node metastases. The pathologist has to distinguish neoplastic residuals from reactive changes. In most cases, morphological criteria are sufficient to make a diagnosis, but sometimes, the use of immunohistochemistry (keratins and CD68) is a mandatory method to reveal the nature of the lesion.