Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Absence of Bronchodilation during Desflurane Anesthesia: A Comparison to Sevoflurane and Thiopental

Background Bronchospasm is a potential complication in anyone undergoing general anesthesia. Because volatile anesthetics relax bronchial smooth muscle, the effects of two newer volatile anesthetics, desflurane and sevoflurane, on respiratory resistance were evaluated. The authors hypothesized that desflurane would have greater bronchodilating effects because of its ability to increase sympathetic nervous system activity. Methods Informed consent was obtained from patients undergoing elective surgery with general anesthesia. We recorded airway flow and pressure after thiopental induction and tracheal intubation (baseline) and for 10 min after beginning volatile anesthesia (∼ 1 minimum alveolar concentration inspired). Respiratory system resistance was determined using the isovolume technique. Results Fifty subjects were randomized to receive sevoflurane (n = 20), desflurane (n = 20), or thiopental infusion (n = 10, 0.25 mg · kg−1 · h−1). There were no differences between groups for age, height, weight, smoking history, and American Society of Anesthesiologists physical class. On average, sevoflurane reduced respiratory resistance 15% below baseline, whereas both desflurane (+5%) and thiopental (+10%) did not decrease respiratory resistance. The respiratory resistance changes did not differ in patients with and without a history of smoking during sevoflurane or thiopental. In contrast, administration of desflurane to smokers resulted in the greatest increase in respiratory resistance. Conclusions Sevoflurane causes moderate bronchodilation that is not observed with desflurane or sodium thiopental. The bronchoconstriction produced by desflurane was primarily noted in patients who currently smoked.
Gap or Overlap? Parent-Child Acculturation Differences in Mexican Immigrant Families

This study explored acculturation differences between Mexican immigrant parents and children and effects on parent-child relationships, using modified analytic inductive analysis of semi-structured interviews with one immigrant parent and one adolescent child from 30 Mexican families from Phoenix, Arizona. Three categories of parent-child acculturation were identified: no differences (n = 4), minor differences (n = 21), and major differences (n = 5). Children affiliated with American culture more than their parents did, but parents and children affiliated similarly with Mexican culture. Cultural differences were typically viewed as inevitable and normal rather than as unfortunate and abnormal. Parents and children described their relationships as close and reported efforts to decrease differences by developing a shared family culture. Parent-child conflict, where it existed, was viewed as generational or developmental rather than cultural. The findings support the new concept of “cultural overlap” to more accurately depict parent-child acculturation in immigrant families.
Towards a Plan-based Learning Environment

The use of the Plan Recognition/Plan Generation paradigm in the context of corporate training is discussed. The learning environment is grounded on three-level conceptual schemas of information systems, and offers a tool for simulating the behavior of agents with an adequate degree of realism. After arguing for the relevance of Plan-Based Learning, we stress the need of taking into account both cognitive and affective characteristics of the various agents operating in the specified multi-goal/multi-agent information system, as conveyed by their individual profiles and current internal states.
Young people's use of friends and family for sex and relationships information and advice

With the recognition that improving access to advice and support on sex and relationships is vital in helping young people make positive healthy choices, the present paper explores how young people gain such information and advice. Drawing on the analysis of questionnaire and interview data collected for a local study of 401 young people from Cardiff, aged between 12 and 19 years, the paper discusses the complex and heavily structured picture of young people's sex and relationships information‐seeking behaviour. In particular, it explores the varied role(s) that family members, friends and other peers play within this. The paper concludes with a discussion of how these ‘informal’ sources of sex and relationships information and advice in young people's lives may be considered in relation to the development of youth support, sexual health and education policy and practice.
Reproducibility of 6-minute walking test in patients with COPD

The reproducibility of the 6-min walking test (6MWT) needs to be more solidly studied. This study aimed to investigate the reproducibility of two 6MWTs performed on subsequent days in a large and representative sample of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and to quantify the learning effect between the two tests, as well as its determinants. In a retrospective observational study, 1,514 patients with COPD performed two 6MWTs on subsequent days. Other measurements included body composition (dual X-ray absorptiometry), dyspnoea (Medical Research Council scale) and comorbidity (Charlson index). Although the 6MWT was reproducible (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.93), patients walked farther in the second test (391 m, 95% CI 155–585 m versus 418 m, 95% CI 185–605 m; p<0.0001). On average, the second 6MWT increased by 27 m (or 7%), and 82% of patients improved in the second test. Determinants of improvement ≥42 m in the second test (upper limit of the clinically important change) were as follows: first 6MWT <350 m, Charlson index <2 and body mass index <30 kg·m−2 (OR 2.49, 0.76 and 0.60, respectively). The 6MWT was statistically reproducible in a representative sample of patients with COPD. However, the vast majority of patients improved significantly in the second test by an average learning effect of 27 m.
Research on the Control Strategy of Modular Multi-Level Inverter Based on a Fusion Intelligent Algorithm

MMC (Modular Multi-level Converter) is another kind of voltage source inverter proposed for high voltage and high power applications in recent years. Its characteristic is to realize multi-level through a serial connection of sub-modules, so it has obvious advantages. Because the sub-modules are not charged at the same time, when the internal sub-module of the high-voltage and large-capacity MMC fails, the reactive compensation capacity is maintained by increasing the modulation ratio, resulting in a large difference in the capacitance voltage of each sub-module after the charging, which is not conducive to the stability of the MMC when unlocking. In this regard, a fusion intelligent algorithm the voltage of the MMC module. The output side voltage has been kept stable and constant, and the output side current can enter a new stable operation after a transient process with a short duration after a sudden change, it can be seen that the harmonic content of voltage and current is also very low. By optimizing the operating mode of its supporting capacitor in one cycle, the output voltage jump is reduced and the efficiency of the inverter is improved.
URINARY CORTISOL AND UREA NITROGEN RESPONSES IN IRREVERSIBLY UNDERNOURISHED MULE DEER FAWNS

We examined the concentration of urinary cortisol and urea nitrogen of five hand-reared mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) fawns that failed to recover from winter starvation, and compared them to levels found in fawns that recovered. The fawns wintered in fenced pastures stocked with wild deer, and were put back on supplemental feed after losing 15% of their body mass. The five fawns that died began receiving supplemental feed up to 3 wk before death. All continued to lose weight, and were consequently removed from the pasture and fed ad libitum 4 to 10 days before death. In the animals that died, cortisol levels continued to increase regardless of food availability, and were correlated with those of urea nitrogen. Postmortem cortisol and urea nitrogen measurements were significantly greater than concentrations found in the weeks preceding death. We hypothesize that uncontrolled protein catabolism is promoted by high levels of cortisol. These cortisol levels may reach a point at which irreversible multiple-system organ failure occurs, leading to the animal's death.
Is creatine kinase responsible for fatigue? Studies of isolated skeletal muscle deficient in creatine kinase

Creatine kinase (CK) is a key enzyme for maintaining a constant ATP/ADP ratio during rapid energy turnover. To investigate the role of CK in skeletal muscle fatigue, we used isolated whole muscles and intact single fibers from CK‐deficient mice (CK_/_). With high‐intensity electrical stimulation, single fibers from CK_/_ mice displayed a transient decrease in both tetanic free myoplasmic [Ca2+] ([Ca2+]i, measured with the fluorescent dye indo‐1) and force that was not observed in wild‐type fibers. With less intense, repeated tetanic stimulation single fibers and EDL muscles, both of which are fast‐twitch, fatigued more slowly in CK_/_ than in wild‐type mice; on the other hand, the slow‐twitch soleus muscle fatigued more rapidly in CK_/_ mice. In single wild‐type fibers, tetanic force decreased and [Ca2+]i increased during the first 10 fatiguing tetani, but this was not observed in CK_/_ fibers. Fatigue was not accompanied by phosphocreatine breakdown and accumulation of inorganic phosphate in CK_/_ muscles. In conclusion, CK is important for avoiding fatigue at the onset of high‐intensity stimulation. However, during more prolonged stimulation, CK may contribute to the fatigue process by increasing the myoplasmic concentration of inorganic phosphate. —Dahlstedt, A. J., Katz, A. , Wier‐inga, B. , Westerblad, H. Is creatine kinase responsible for fatigue? Studies of isolated skeletal muscle deficient in creatine kinase. FASEB J. 14, 982–990 (2000)
CANONICAL REPRESENTATION AND THREE VIEW GEOMETRY OF CYLINDERS

This paper ﬁrst introduces a canonical representation for cylinders. The canonical representation introduced here is closely related to the Pl¨ucker line respresentation. It then drives the general equation of a cylinder using this representation. In this paper, we also show that this representation is an appropriate one for computer vision applications. In particular, it allows us to easily develop a series of mathematical methods for pose estimation, 3D reconstruction and motion estimation. Finally, one of the main objectives of this paper is to introduce the main equations dominating the three view geometry of cylinders. We show the relationship between cylinders’ three-view geometry and that of lines (Spetsakis and Aloimonos, 1990, Weng et al., 1993) and points (Shashua, 1995) deﬁned by the trilinear tensor (Hartley, 1997), and propose a linear method, which uses the correspondences between six cylinders over three views in order to recover the motion and structure.
A discrete model reference sliding mode controller with a disturbance compensator and its application to flight simulator

As for parameters fluctuating, uncertainties caused by external disturbance and friction, the nonlinearity of the flight simulator turntable servo system, a discrete model reference sliding mode control theme combining with adaptive method and decoupled disturbance compensator is presented, and the globally asymptotically stability of the system is proved. The simulation results verified that the proposed control method can restrain the uncertainties and external disturbance of the flight simulator servo system efficiently assuring the dynamic tracking performance and strong robustness at a long range frequency.
An Evaluation of Maximum Power Point Tracking Methods in Photovoltaic Systems with AHP and Shannon Entropy

This Paper evaluates some algorithms of Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) in solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, these algorithms are very extensive and use different techniques, from basic algorithms to some algorithms based on artificial intelligence. These algorithms aim to find the Maximum Power available from the Solar Panel of a photovoltaic system, which consists of a solar panel connected to a direct current to direct current (DC-DC) power converter. Since there are several MPPT algorithms and therefore the question of which one to use may arise, five of these are compared with their respective characteristics, these algorithms are the most used in the literature. For the comparison, multi-criteria techniques were used, these techniques assign ranking values according to their characteristics, for this case the Entropy by weight method (EW) based on the Shannon Entropy and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) were used; At the end of this paper, a rating table of the five MPPT algorithms for each multicriteria technique is shown and both classification methods are compared.
Count Aggregation in Semantic Queries

In this paper we study the distinct count aggregation function used in queries into expressive ontologies. The main differences in this settings opposed to aggregation in relational database systems are the Open World Assumption and incomplete knowledge. We propose different interpretations useful in different practical use-cases of the distinct count function, i.e. basic count, semantic count, epistemic count and semantic tuple count some of which use knowledge derived from the ontology in order to obtain results in accordance with the Open World Assumption. We use interval semantics to model the uncertainty of the distinct count function's result induced by incomplete knowledge in the ontology. We show that interval semantics are particularly useful in aggregate queries with filtering clause and when we need the retrieval of the boundaries of the uncertainty of the distinct count function's result. We study and present relationships among the different interpretations and decidability of the semantic tuple count. We also propose a theoretical approximation of the semantic tuple count. Our results are applicable to a wide range of description logic formalisms allowing to express equality/inequality between individuals, concepts and relations, e.g. Web Ontology Language.
Study on self-assessment regarding knowledge of temporomandibular disorders in children/adolescents by Swedish and Saudi Arabian dentists

Abstract Objective. To estimate the degree of self-assessed knowledge among dentists in Sweden and Saudi Arabia regarding temporomandibular disorders (TMD) in children and adolescents using a summative form of assessment and further to investigate the possible factors that may influence the self-assessed knowledge. Materials and methods. A questionnaire survey covering four domains (Etiology; Diagnosis and classification; Chronic pain and pain behavior; Treatment and prognosis) regarding TMD knowledge was used. Out of 250 questionnaires (125 in each country) a total of 65 (52%) were returned in Sweden and 104 (83%) in Saudi Arabia. Results. Self-assessed individual knowledge was significantly associated to the level of actual knowledge among the Swedish groups in the domains Etiology; Diagnosis and classification and Treatment and prognosis (p < 0.05). However, in the Saudi Arabian groups a corresponding significant association was only found in the domain Diagnosis and classification (p < 0.05). Conclusions. This study showed that there is a difference in the accuracy of self-assessment of own knowledge between the dentists in Sweden and Saudi Arabia. The Swedish dentists have a better ability to assess their level of knowledge compared to Saudi Arabian dentists regarding TMD in children and adolescents. This difference could be related to several factors such as motivation, positive feedback, reflection, psychomotor, and interpersonal skills, which all are more dominant in the Swedish educational tradition.
Object Recognition and Full Pose Registration in Cluttered Environments

Robust perception is a vital capability for robotic manipulation in unstructured scenes. In this context, full pose estimation of relevant objects in a scene is a critical step towards the introduction of robots into household environments. In this paper, we present an approach for building metric 3D models of objects using local descriptors from several images. Each model is optimized to fit a set of calibrated training images, thus obtaining the best possible alignment between the 3D model and the real object. Given a new test image, we match the local descriptors to our stored models online, using a novel combination of the RANSAC and Mean Shift algorithms to register multiple instances of each object. A robust initialization step allows for arbitrary rotation, translation and scaling of objects in the test images. The resulting system provides markerless 6-DOF pose estimation for complex objects in cluttered scenes. We provide experimental results demonstrating orientation and translation accuracy, as well as a physical implementation of the pose output being used by an autonomous robot to perform grasping in highly cluttered scenes.
Lifetime Improvement With Predictive Maintenance of Power Electronics Based on Remaining Useful Life Prediction

This paper presents a novel predictive maintenance approach designed to enhance the longevity of power electronics components. Leveraging time series data from the NASA dataset, encompassing RDS (on-resistance) for MOSFETs and EIS (Electrochemical Impedance Spectrum) for capacitors, the proposed method utilizes Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural networks for MOSFET degradation prediction and Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) for capacitor degradation. The developed LSTM-based predictive model effectively explains a significant portion of the variance in Remaining Useful Life (RUL) predictions across the dataset. Moreover, employing incremental learning on the LSTM model demonstrates remarkable adaptability and superior predictive accuracy for specific case scenarios. Additionally, the GPR model showcases its efficacy in predicting capacitor degradation. These results underscore the significance of the predictive maintenance approach in curbing unplanned downtime, extending component lifespans, and enhancing safety within power electronics systems.
The Psychology of Doing Nothing: Forms of Decision Avoidance Result from Reason and Emotion

Several independent lines of research bear on the question of why individuals avoid decisions by postponing them, failing to act, or accepting the status quo. This review relates findings across several different disciplines and uncovers 4 decision avoidance effects that offer insight into this common but troubling behavior: choice deferral, status quo bias, omission bias, and inaction inertia. These findings are related by common antecedents and consequences in a rational-emotional model of the factors that predispose humans to do nothing. Prominent components of the model include cost-benefit calculations, anticipated regret, and selection difficulty. Other factors affecting decision avoidance through these key components, such as anticipatory negative emotions, decision strategies, counterfactual thinking, and preference uncertainty, are also discussed.
Health policy for sickle cell disease in Africa: experience from Tanzania on interventions to reduce under-five mortality

Tanzania has made considerable progress towards reducing childhood mortality, achieving a 57% decrease between 1980 and 2011. This epidemiological transition will cause a reduction in the contribution of infectious diseases to childhood mortality and increase in contribution from non‐communicable diseases (NCDs). Haemoglobinopathies are amongst the most common childhood NCDs, with sickle cell disease (SCD) being the commonest haemoglobinopathy in Africa. In Tanzania, 10 313 children with SCD under 5 years of age (U5) are estimated to die every year, contributing an estimated 7% of overall deaths in U5 children. Key policies that governments in Africa are able to implement would reduce mortality in SCD, focusing on newborn screening and comprehensive SCD care programmes. Such programmes would ensure that interventions such as prevention of infections using penicillin plus prompt diagnosis and treatment of complications are provided to all individuals with SCD.
Structure-Activity Relations of Successful Pharmacologic Chaperones for Rescue of Naturally Occurring and Manufactured Mutants of the Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Receptor

We expressed a test system of wild-type (WT) rat (r) and human (h) gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) receptors (GnRHRs), including naturally occurring (13) and manufactured (five) “loss-of-function” mutants of the GnRHR. These were used to assess the ability of different GnRH peptidomimetics to rescue defective GnRHR mutants and determine their effect on the level of membrane expression of the WT receptors. Among the manufactured mutants were the shortest rGnRHR C-terminal truncation mutant that resulted in receptor loss-of-function (des325–327-rGnRHR), two nonfunctional deletion mutants (des237–241-rGnRHR and des260–265-rGnRHR), two nonfunctional Cys mutants (C229A-rGnRHR and C278A-rGnRHR); the naturally occurring mutants included all 13 full-length GnRHR point mutations reported to date that result in full or partial human hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. The 10 peptidomimetics assessed as potential rescue molecules (“pharmacoperones”) are from three differing chemical pedigrees (indoles, quinolones, and erythromycin-derived macrolides) and were originally developed as GnRH peptidomimetic antagonists. These structures were selected for this study because of their predicted ability to permeate the cell membrane and interact with a defined affinity with the GnRH receptor. All peptidomimetics studied with an IC50 value (for hGnRHR) ≤2.3 nM had measurable efficacy in rescuing GnRHR mutants, and within a single chemical class, this ability correlated to these IC50 values. Erythromycin-derived macrolides with IC50 values as high as 669.5 nM showed efficacy as rescue compounds. The ability to rescue a particular receptor was a reasonable predictor of the ability to rescue others, even across species lines, although particular mutants could not be rescued by any of the drugs tested.
The Meanings and Functions of Occupations Related to Spirituality for African Nova Scotian Women

This article explores the meanings and functions of spiritually-related occupations for 50 African Canadian women in Nova Scotia, Canada. All but two women were affiliated with a Christian church. Using qualitative in-depth interviews, several spiritual occupations were identified by participants: prayer, Bible study, reading other sacred texts, private devotion, singing spiritual songs, and church-related activities such as committees, community ministry, choir, and leading Sunday school. These occupations were part of a holistic conception of health, and helped to protect against the psychological effects of racism. They connected women with church and spiritual communities, including ancestors. These communities and personal relationships with God gave women moral guidance for living according to their values and principles. Spiritual occupations were central to meaning-making, helping women reinterpret suffering as challenges accompanied by God's blessing, and providing hope through transcendence. For these women, spiritual occupations were part of surviving in the context of racism.