Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Separation of lead(II) paraffin-embedded tissues from liver loggerhead turtles specimens by organic-solution- processable functionalized-nano graphene prior to determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS)

A novel and selective method for the fast determination of trace amounts of Pb(II) ions in liver loggerhead turtles specimens has been developed. A reliable and rapid method for preconcentration and modification of organic-solution-processable functionalized-nano graphene with Isopropyl 2[(isopropoxy carbothioyl) disulfanyl] ethanethioate (IIDE) in order to prepare an effective sorbent for the preconcentration and determination of lead. The sorption capacity of modified organic-solution
Impact of IT Intellectual Capital on IT Explorative-Exploitative Innovation Strategy and Performance

In turbulent business environments, firms are increasingly relying on information technology (IT) to enhance their agility to meet multiple market demands. IT departments then play an important role in maintaining an appropriate balance between explorative and exploitative IT innovation strategies to enable the agility. This study contributes to the information systems (IS) literatures by gaining a broader understanding of how the intellectual capital of IT departments can influence the IT explorative-exploitative innovation strategies, and the impact of these strategies on organizational performance. The empirical data collected from 122 IT managers in Taiwan's manufacturing firms show that human capital positively affects the two innovation strategies, structural capital has significant positive effect only on explorative innovation strategy, relational capital has positive moderating effect on the relationship between human capital and explorative innovation strategy, and both the two innovation strategies positively influence the IT department performance, which in turn facilitates the organization performance.
Marie Sk lodowska-Curie Actions ( MSCA ) Innovative Training Networks ( ITN ) H 2020-MSCA-ITN-2014

Dissemination level Public Type of document Report Contractual date of delivery M9 Actual date of delivery 2015-10-31 Deliverable number D6.1 Deliverable name Web & Data Science Techniques for Question Answering: A State of the Art Deliverable leader UJMS Work package WP6 Tasks T6.1 Coordinator (name, affiliation, contact) Pierre Maret (UJMS; pierre.maret@univ-st-etienne.fr) Other contributors See page 2 EC project officer Thierry Colin
A dosimetric phantom study of thoracic radiotherapy based on three-dimensional modeling of mediastinal lymph nodes

The aim of the present study was to investigate the optimal strategy and dosimetric measurement of thoracic radiotherapy based on three-dimensional (3D) modeling of mediastinal lymph nodes (MLNs). A 3D model of MLNs was constructed from a Chinese Visible Human female dataset. Image registration and fusion between reconstructed MLNs and original chest computed tomography (CT) images was conducted in the Eclipse™ treatment planning system (TPS). There were three plans, including 3D conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT), intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT), which were designed based on 10 cases of simulated lung lesions (SLLs) and MLNs. The quality of these plans was evaluated via examining indexes, including conformity index (CI), homogeneity index and clinical target volume (CTV) coverage. Dose-volume histogram analysis was performed on SLL, MLNs and organs at risk (OARs). A Chengdu Dosimetric Phantom (CDP) was then drilled at specific MLNs according to 20 patients with thoracic tumors and of a medium-build. These plans were repeated on fused MLNs and CDP CT images in the Eclipse™ TPS. Radiation doses at the SLLs and MLNs of the CDP were measured and compared with calculated doses. The established 3D MLN model demonstrated the spatial location of MLNs and adjacent structures. Precise image registration and fusion were conducted between reconstructed MLNs and the original chest CT or CDP CT images. IMRT demonstrated greater values in CI, CTV coverage and OAR (lungs and spinal cord) protection, compared with 3D-CRT and VMAT (P<0.05). The deviation between the measured and calculated doses was within ± 10% at SLL, and at the 2R and 7th MLN stations. In conclusion, the 3D MLN model can benefit plan optimization and dosimetric measurement of thoracic radiotherapy, and when combined with CDP, it may provide a tool for clinical dosimetric monitoring.
Exposure to Narratives and Social Reasoning

This study drew predominantly from previous work on the relationships of narrative and non-narrative texts with empathy and social reasoning. It has been posited that fiction -- due to the parallels between narrative texts and the social world -- may help readers maintain if not cultivate their social skills, whereas readers of non-narrative material may not have this benefit. This project attempted to both replicate and extend this pattern in a Seventh-day Adventist Christian sample by using instruments employed in previous research as well as a set of Bible-based instruments. Correlational analysis and nested linear regression were used to examine the relationship between how subjects preformed on measures of narrative and non-narrative exposure (the Author Recognition Test and Bible Verse Recognition Test) and their social acumen (the Interpersonal Reactivity Index and the "Reading the Mind in the Eyes" Test-revised.) Despite mixed results, there was strong evidence for a relationship between recognition of Biblical characters and identification of emotional states in other people. An implication of this study is that, for an Adventist population, exposure to religious narratives may play a role in how social reasoning develops.
ADMM-based audio reconstruction for low-cost-sound-monitoring

For low-cost sound monitoring of machineries, we propose a novel audio reconstruction method superior in terms of accuracy and processing time. A conventional method based on the Orthogonal Matching Pursuit (OMP) has been proposed for audio recovery. However, the conventional method has a low performance for sounds of machineries because, sounds of machineries tend to be not highly sparse, and the reconstruction performance of OMP decreases extremely if the signal is not sufficiently sparse. To solve the problem of the conventional method, the proposed method is based on the Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM) for Group Lasso combined with the Gabor dictionary. While OMP's performance decreases with the number of nonzero elements, the proposed method shows a better robustness to variations in sparsity and outputs a reasonable result in a few tens of iterations. Those features among others make the algorithm a reliable solution which offers a better trade-off between accuracy and processing time compared to the conventional method.
Optimization of the construction scheme of the cable-strut tensile structure based on error sensitivity analysis

Optimization of the construction scheme of the cable-strut tensile structure based on error sensitivity analysis is studied in this paper. First, the element length was extracted as a fundamental variable, and the relationship between element length change and element internal force was established. By setting all pre-stresses in active cables to zero, the equation between the pre-stress deviation in the passive cables and the element length error was obtained to analyze and evaluate the error effects under different construction schemes. Afterwards, based on the probability statistics theory, the mathematical model of element length error is set up. The statistical features of the pre-stress deviation were achieved. Finally, a cable-strut tensile structure model with a diameter of 5.0 m was fabricated. The element length errors are simulated by adjusting the element length, and each member in one symmetrical unit was elongated by 3 mm to explore the error sensitivity of each type of element. The numerical analysis of error sensitivity was also carried out by the FEA model in ANSYS software, where the element length change was simulated by implementing appropriate temperature changes. The theoretical analysis and experimental results both indicated that different elements had different error sensitivities. Likewise, different construction schemes had different construction precisions, and the optimal construction scheme should be chosen for the real construction projects to achieve lower error effects, lower cost and greater convenience.
A quadruple-sampling second-order delta-sigma modulator

In this paper, a 1.8-V 3-bit quadruple-sampling delta-sigma modulator for audio application is presented. To performance high-resolution and low-cost modulator, a single opamp is used to complete the integration with four phases. Since the phase difference between any two succeeding clocks is 90 degrees, the sampling rate will be four times of clock frequency. The effective integration time can also be increased, and thus relaxing the requirements of opamp. From the simulation results, the proposed modulator achieves a peak SNDR of 104.5 dB for 20-kHz signal bandwidth under 1.8-V supply voltage and 2.56 MHz clock rate.
Mutations in Mll2, an H3K4 Methyltransferase, Result in Insulin Resistance and Impaired Glucose Tolerance in Mice

We employed a random mutagenesis approach to identify novel monogenic determinants of type 2 diabetes. Here we show that haplo-insufficiency of the histone methyltransferase myeloid-lineage leukemia (Mll2/Wbp7) gene causes type 2 diabetes in the mouse. We have shown that mice heterozygous for two separate mutations in the SET domain of Mll2 or heterozygous Mll2 knockout mice were hyperglycaemic, hyperinsulinaemic and developed non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Consistent with previous Mll2 knockout studies, mice homozygous for either ENU mutation (or compound heterozygotes) died during embryonic development at 9.5–14.5 days post coitum. Heterozygous deletion of Mll2 induced in the adult mouse results in a normal phenotype suggesting that changes in chromatin methylation during development result in the adult phenotype. Mll2 has been shown to regulate a small subset of genes, a number of which Neurod1, Enpp1, Slc27a2, and Plcxd1 are downregulated in adult mutant mice. Our results demonstrate that histone H3K4 methyltransferase Mll2 is a component of the genetic regulation necessary for glucose homeostasis, resulting in a specific disease pattern linking chromatin modification with causes and progression of type 2 diabetes, providing a basis for its further understanding at the molecular level.
Architecture of a high-performance surgical guidance system based on C-arm cone-beam CT: software platform for technical integration and clinical translation

Intraoperative imaging modalities are becoming more prevalent in recent years, and the need for integration of these modalities with surgical guidance is rising, creating new possibilities as well as challenges. In the context of such emerging technologies and new clinical applications, a software architecture for cone-beam CT (CBCT) guided surgery has been developed with emphasis on binding open-source surgical navigation libraries and integrating intraoperative CBCT with novel, application-specific registration and guidance technologies. The architecture design is focused on accelerating translation of task-specific technical development in a wide range of applications, including orthopaedic, head-and-neck, and thoracic surgeries. The surgical guidance system is interfaced with a prototype mobile C-arm for high-quality CBCT and through a modular software architecture, integration of different tools and devices consistent with surgical workflow in each of these applications is realized. Specific modules are developed according to the surgical task, such as: 3D-3D rigid or deformable registration of preoperative images, surgical planning data, and up-to-date CBCT images; 3D-2D registration of planning and image data in real-time fluoroscopy and/or digitally reconstructed radiographs (DRRs); compatibility with infrared, electromagnetic, and video-based trackers used individually or in hybrid arrangements; augmented overlay of image and planning data in endoscopic or in-room video; real-time "virtual fluoroscopy" computed from GPU-accelerated DRRs; and multi-modality image display. The platform aims to minimize offline data processing by exposing quantitative tools that analyze and communicate factors of geometric precision. The system was translated to preclinical phantom and cadaver studies for assessment of fiducial (FRE) and target registration error (TRE) showing sub-mm accuracy in targeting and video overlay within intraoperative CBCT. The work culminates in the development of a CBCT guidance system (reported here for the first time) that leverages the technical developments in Carm CBCT and associated technologies for realizing a high-performance system for translation to clinical studies.
Transposon Domestication versus Mutualism in Ciliate Genome Rearrangements

Ciliated protists rearrange their genomes dramatically during nuclear development via chromosome fragmentation and DNA deletion to produce a trimmer and highly reorganized somatic genome. The deleted portion of the genome includes potentially active transposons or transposon-like sequences that reside in the germline. Three independent studies recently showed that transposase proteins of the DDE/DDD superfamily are indispensible for DNA processing in three distantly related ciliates. In the spirotrich Oxytricha trifallax, high copy-number germline-limited transposons mediate their own excision from the somatic genome but also contribute to programmed genome rearrangement through a remarkable transposon mutualism with the host. By contrast, the genomes of two oligohymenophorean ciliates, Tetrahymena thermophila and Paramecium tetraurelia, encode homologous PiggyBac-like transposases as single-copy genes in both their germline and somatic genomes. These domesticated transposases are essential for deletion of thousands of different internal sequences in these species. This review contrasts the events underlying somatic genome reduction in three different ciliates and considers their evolutionary origins and the relationships among their distinct mechanisms for genome remodeling.
The protective effects of social bonding on behavioral and pituitary-adrenal axis reactivity to chronic mild stress in prairie voles

Abstract Positive social interactions may protect against stress. This study investigated the beneficial effects of pairing with a social partner on behaviors and neuroendocrine function in response to chronic mild stress (CMS) in 13 prairie vole pairs. Following 5 days of social bonding, male and female prairie voles were exposed to 10 days of CMS (mild, unpredictable stressors of varying durations, for instance, strobe light, white noise, and damp bedding), housed with either the social partner (paired group) or individually (isolated group). Active and passive behavioral responses to the forced swim test (FST) and tail-suspension test (TST), and plasma concentrations of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and corticosterone, were measured in all prairie voles following the CMS period. Both female and male prairie voles housed with a social partner displayed lower durations of passive behavioral responses (immobility, a maladaptive behavioral response) in the FST (mean ± SEM; females: 17.3 ± 5.4 s; males: 9.3 ± 4.6 s) and TST (females: 56.8 ± 16.4 s; males: 40.2 ± 11.3 s), versus both sexes housed individually (females, FST: 98.6 ± 12.9 s; females, TST: 155.1 ± 19.3 s; males, FST: 92.4 ± 14.1 s; males, TST: 158.9 ± 22.0 s). Female (but not male) prairie voles displayed attenuated plasma stress hormones when housed with a male partner (ACTH: 945 ± 24.7 pg/ml; corticosterone: 624 ± 139.5 ng/ml), versus females housed individually (ACTH: 1100 ± 23.2 pg/ml; corticosterone: 1064 ± 121.7 ng/ml). These results may inform understanding of the benefits of social interactions on stress resilience. Lay Summary: Social stress can lead to depression. The study of social bonding and stress using an animal model will inform understanding of the protective effects of social bonds. This study showed that social bonding in a rodent model can protect against behavioral responses to stress, and may also be protective against the elevation of stress hormones. This study provides evidence that bonding and social support are valuable for protecting against stress in humans.
SOUND AND THE CITY: MULTI-LAYER REPRESENTATION AND NAVIGATION OF AUDIO SCENARIOS

IEEE 1599-2008 is an XML-based standard originally intended for the multi-layer representation of music information. Nevertheless, it is versatile enough to describe also information different from traditional scores written according to the Common Western Notation (CWN) rules. This paper will discuss the application of IEEE 1599-2008 to the audio description of paths and scenarios from the urban life or other landscapes. The standard we adopt allows the multilayer integration of textual, symbolical, structural, graphical, audio and video contents within a unique synchronized environment. Besides, for each kind of media, a number of digital objects is supported. As a consequence, thanks to the features of the format the produced description will be more than a mere audio track, a slideshow made of sonified static images or a movie. Finally, anad hocevolution of a standard viewer for IEEE 1599 documents will be presented, in order to enjoy the results of our efforts.
A Radiative transfer Model for Soil Media with Considering the volume Effects of Soil Particles: field observation and Numerical Simulation

This paper presents the development of an improved soil radiative transfer model (RTM) which considering the volume scattering effect of soil particles, an unexplored part of traditional RTMs, through field experiments and numerical simulations. The field observations were conducted by using the ground based passive microwave radiometer (GBMR) to measure the brightness temperature of dry sand layer over background materials, metal plates or absorbers. The existence of volume scattering effects in the dry sand was demonstrated through field experiments. Then, the observed data were simulated by the dense media radiative transfer (DMRT) model. The simulation results show that the DMRT model which includes the volume scattering effects performers better than the generally used surface emission model which does not include volume scattering effects.
An fMRI study on the comparison of different types of false belief reasoning: False belief-based emotion and behavior attribution

ABSTRACT False belief (FB) reasoning is a key Theory of Mind (ToM) competence. By 4 years of age, children understand that a person’s behavior can be based on a FB about reality. Children cannot understand that a person’s emotion can also be based on a FB before the age of six. In order to generate hypothesis on basic processes distinguishing these two types of belief reasoning, the present functional magnetic resonance imaging study in adults directly compares functional activity associated with these two FB tasks. Both tasks were associated with activity in the ToM network including the medial prefrontal cortex and the left temporo-parietal junction. Differential activity was observed in the anterior dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for FB-based emotion relative to behavior attribution. Contrary to FB behavior attribution, FB-based emotion attribution requires the processing of two different mental states: a belief and an emotion and their relation to each other. The activity pattern may reflect the differential demands on cognitive processes associated with the two different belief-based attribution processes. These results shed new light on the still ongoing debate about the nature of the developmental lag between the two FB tasks.
Effects of Positive Airway Pressure and Mechanical Ventilation of the Lungs During Cardiopulmonary Bypass on Pulmonary Adverse Events After Cardiac Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether different ventilation strategies during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) can improve outcomes in adult cardiac surgery patients. DESIGN Systematic review of randomized controlled trials with meta-analyses. SETTING Clinical trials for human studies up to July 2016 were obtained from electronic databases (Medline, Embase, PubMed, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) and reference lists of relevant randomized trials and review articles. PARTICIPANTS Adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery. INTERVENTIONS Patients who underwent cardiac surgery with CPB and ventilation or continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Fifteen randomized controlled trials with 748 patients were analyzed. In cardiac surgery, CPAP use during CPB was associated with an improved alveolar-arterial oxygen gradient difference compared with no CPAP (weighted mean difference [WMD] = 4.11 kPa; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.85-7.37; I2 = 28.8%). Ventilation during CPB did not improve the postoperative hypoxemia score (WMD = 30.94; 95% CI = -20.76 to 82.63; I2 = 61%) or diffusion capacity compared with the apnea group (WMD = 2.59 kPa; 95% CI = -2.49 to 7.67; I2 = 81.3%). Neither CPAP nor ventilation during CPB was associated with a shorter mechanical ventilation time or hospital stay. CONCLUSIONS CPAP during CPB improved the alveolar-arterial oxygen gradient difference compared with apnea, but ventilation during CPB did not. Neither CPAP nor ventilation during CPB demonstrated evidence of improving clinical outcomes in low- or intermediate-risk patients for elective cardiac surgery. The findings are inconclusive because of heterogeneity and small sample sizes.
Functional Outcomes of the Low Vision Depression Prevention Trial in Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Purpose To compare the efficacy of behavioral activation (BA) plus low vision rehabilitation with an occupational therapist (OT-LVR) with supportive therapy (ST) on visual function in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods Single-masked, attention-controlled, randomized clinical trial with AMD patients with subsyndromal depressive symptoms (n = 188). All subjects had two outpatient low vision rehabilitation optometry visits, then were randomized to in-home BA + OT-LVR or ST. Behavioral activation is a structured behavioral treatment aiming to increase adaptive behaviors and achieve valued goals. Supportive therapy is a nondirective, psychological treatment that provides emotional support and controls for attention. Functional vision was assessed with the activity inventory (AI) in which participants rate the difficulty level of goals and corresponding tasks. Participants were assessed at baseline and 4 months. Results Improvements in functional vision measures were seen in both the BA + OT-LVR and ST groups at the goal level (d = 0.71; d = 0.56 respectively). At the task level, BA + OT-LVR patients showed more improvement in reading, inside-the-home tasks and outside-the-home tasks, when compared to ST patients. The greatest effects were seen in the BA + OT-LVR group in subjects with a visual acuity ≥20/70 (d = 0.360 reading; d = 0.500 inside the home; d = 0.468 outside the home). Conclusions Based on the trends of the AI data, we suggest that BA + OT-LVR services, provided by an OT in the patient's home following conventional low vision optometry services, are more effective than conventional optometric low vision services alone for those with mild visual impairment. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00769015.)