Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Measurement of Gastric Acid

Since the end of the last century the standard method of assessing gastric acid secretion has been by the test meal, which was developed largely by von Leube (1876), Ewald and Boas (1885) and Rehfuss (1927). Its history and development have been reviewed by Hollander and Penner (1939) and Rovelstad (1963). The vast amounts of data collected in these original studies contributed only little to our knowledge of the secretions of the stomach in health and in disease. With the recent development of precise quantitative methods of assessing gastric function, such investigations are now largely of historical interest. The 'fractional test meal', still performed today, differs little from that described by Rehfuss in 1914. Following a fast, a gastric tube is passed and the stomach emptied. A 'test meal' of carbohydrate-bread, cereal, gruel or biscuits, is ingested and 10 ml. of gastric juice aspirated each 15 minutes for 2-3 hours. The acidity in each sample is estimated by titration with 0.1 N NaOH using two indicators Topfer's dimethylaminoazobenzene for 'free', and phenolphthalein for 'total' acid. The acidity curve is drawn on a chart which shows a 'normal range' based on the curves of 80 of the 100 normal students studied by Bennett and Ryle in 1921. It is of interest that the other 20 students showed curves from extreme hypoto hypersecretion. The fractional test meal has little to commend it as a test of gastric function. It is neither precise, quantitative nor reproducible. The coefficient of variation of the concentration of free acid in a series of 20 consecutive meals performed on a healthy adult ranged from 25.8 to 199.6%-quite outside acceptable limits (Bell and McAdam, 1924). It is therefore not surprising that Enticknap and Merivale (1954), in an analysis of 1000 gruel meals, concluded that they were of little diagnostic value. In a comparison with the augmented histamine test in 114 patients, Marks and Shay (1960) found that, although the peak acidity in a fractional test meal was statistically related to the acid output in the augmented histamine test, the results of a test meal could not be used to predict the true acid output in an individual patient. As the 'test meal' was a poor stimulus of gastric secretion, differing little from plain water (Bergeim, Rehfuss and Hawk, 1914), the incidence of achlorhydria was fairly high. More potent stimuli were used-alcohol (Kast, 1906; Ehrmann, 1912) caffeine (Katsch and Kalk, 1924) and histamine, either in single (Bockus and Bank, 1927; Vanzant, Alvarez, Eustermen, Runn and Berkson, 1932), double (Rivers, Osterby and Vanzant, 1936), or triple (Hitchock, Sullivan and Wangensteen, 1955) doses. However, even with a standard dose of histamine (usually 0.01 mg. histamine acid phosphate per kg. body weight) the response had a wide variation in normal subjects and proved of little routine diagnostic value (Polland and Bloomfield, 1931; Polland, 1933).
A Technique based on Image Processing for Measuring Cracks in the Surface of Concrete Structures

This paper proposes a technique for detecting and analyzing cracks in the surface of concrete. Based on digital image processing, the technique automates the measurement of features such as the width, length, and direction of cracks. The proposed algorithm has a new way of determining the unit pixel length, it applies a morphological technique for shading corrections, it uses enhanced binarization and shape analysis for better detection, and it suggest algorithms for calculating the width, length, and direction of cracks. A MATLAB code was developed for the proposed algorithm and, to determine the effectiveness of the algorithm, testing was performed on crack images taken with a digital camera. Within limited testing, the accuracy of the detection and analysis of cracks is better with the proposed method than with conventional methods. This paper presents a preliminary study for commercial development.
The EU Comitology System: Intergovernmental Bargaining and Deliberative Supranationalism?

Two images exist of the day-to-day practice of the EU comitology system. The first claims that comitology is deliberation by policy experts in which informal norms, deliberation and good arguments matter more than economic interests and formal voting rules. The second image portrays comitology as an arena for intergovernmental bargaining designed by the Member States to control the Commission. The article systematically investigates these images based on survey evidence from a questionnaire to the Danish and Dutch national representatives on nearly all comitology committees in 2006. The evidence suggests that both images hold and that their relative importance is determined by the nature of the issues dealt with by the individual comitology committees.
Poly(ADP-Ribose) Polymerase 1 (PARP1) Overexpression in Human Breast Cancer Stem Cells and Resistance to Olaparib

Background Breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) have been recognized as playing a major role in various aspects of breast cancer biology. To identify specific biomarkers of BCSCs, we have performed comparative proteomics of BCSC-enriched and mature cancer cell populations from the human breast cancer cell line (BCL), BrCA-MZ-01. Methods ALDEFLUOR assay was used to sort BCSC-enriched (ALDH+) and mature cancer (ALDH−) cell populations. Total proteins were extracted from both fractions and subjected to 2-Dimensional Difference In-Gel Electrophoresis (2-D DIGE). Differentially-expressed spots were excised and proteins were gel-extracted, digested and identified using MALDI-TOF MS. Results 2-D DIGE identified poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1) as overexpressed in ALDH+ cells from BrCA-MZ-01. This observation was confirmed by western blot and extended to four additional human BCLs. ALDH+ cells from BRCA1-mutated HCC1937, which had the highest level of PARP1 overexpression, displayed resistance to olaparib, a specific PARP1 inhibitor. Conclusion An unbiased proteomic approach identified PARP1 as upregulated in ALDH+, BCSC-enriched cells from various human BCLs, which may contribute to clinical resistance to PARP inhibitors.
The traditional Chinese philosophies in inter-cultural leadership: The case of Chinese expatriate managers in the Dutch context

Purpose As the global presence of Chinese firms grows, increasing numbers of Chinese managers are working abroad as expatriates. However, little attention has been paid to such Chinese expatriate managers and their leadership challenges in an inter-cultural context, especially across a large cultural distance. To fill the gap in the literature concerning the leadership challenges for expatriate managers in an inter-cultural context, the purpose of this paper is to elucidate the leadership styles of Chinese expatriate managers from the perspectives of three traditional Chinese philosophies (i.e. Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism) in the inter-cultural context of the Netherlands. Design/methodology/approach The data for this qualitative study were collected via semi-structured, open-ended, narrative interviews with 30 Chinese expatriate managers in the Netherlands. Findings The results clearly show that the leadership style of Chinese expatriate managers is deeply rooted in the three traditional Chinese philosophies of Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism, even in an inter-cultural context. Specifically, the study reveals two salient aspects of how Chinese expatriate managers frame and interact with a foreign cultural context from the perspectives of traditional Chinese philosophies. First, the Chinese expatriate managers reported an initial cultural shock related to frictions between the foreign cultural context and Confucianism or Taoism, but less so in the case of Legalism. Second, the Chinese expatriate managers also reported that their interactions with the Dutch culture are best described as a balance between partial conflict and partial complementarity (thus, a duality). In this sense, the leadership style of Chinese expatriate managers is influenced jointly by the three traditional Chinese philosophies and certain elements of the foreign cultural context. This is consistent with the Chinese perspective of yin-yang balancing. Originality/value This study is among the first to offer a more nuanced and highly contextualized understanding of leadership in the unique case of expatriate managers from an emerging market (e.g. China) in an advanced economy (e.g. the Netherlands). The authors call for more research to apply the unique perspective of yin-yang balancing in an inter-cultural context. The authors posit that this approach represents the most salient implication of this study. For practical implications, the authors argue that expatriate leaders should carefully manage the interplay between their deep-rooted home-country philosophies and their salient host-country culture. Reflecting on traditional philosophies in another culture can facilitate inter-cultural leadership training for Chinese expatriates.
Title : Evaluation of Current Dairy Heifer Growth Models

approved: ______________________________________________ Dr. Jill Davidson Growth models developed by Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) extension services for Holstein and Jersey heifer height and weight were evaluated using OSU dairy herd heifer data. The purpose of this study was to determine the ability of the models to predict heights and weights of heifers in the OSU herd based on age. Regression lines of the models for one standard deviation above the mean and the data were compared. Residual values and biases of the models’ predictions were evaluated. Mean biases were -14.96, -33.9, -5.4, and -. 9.34 for Holstein weight, Jersey weight, Holstein height, and Jersey height, respectively. Linear biases were -0.1, -0.12, -0.08, and -0.07 for Holstein weight, Jersey weight, Holstein height, and Jersey height, respectively. The Penn State models did not accurately predict observed values from the OSU herd, indicating a need for further study of the models using a larger population.
Environmental stress alters genetic regulation of novelty seeking in vervet monkeys

Considerable attention has been paid to identifying genetic influences and gene–environment interactions that increase vulnerability to environmental stressors, with promising but inconsistent results. A nonhuman primate model is presented here that allows assessment of genetic influences in response to a stressful life event for a behavioural trait with relevance for psychopathology. Genetic and environmental influences on free‐choice novelty seeking behaviour were assessed in a pedigreed colony of vervet monkeys before and after relocation from a low stress to a higher stress environment. Heritability of novelty seeking scores, and genetic correlations within and between environments were conducted using variance components analysis. The results showed that novelty seeking was markedly inhibited in the higher stress environment, with effects persisting across a 2‐year period for adults but not for juveniles. There were significant genetic contributions to novelty seeking scores in each year (h2 = 0.35–0.43), with high genetic correlations within each environment (rhoG > 0.80) and a lower genetic correlation (rhoG = 0.35, non‐significant) between environments. There were also significant genetic contributions to individual change scores from before to after the move (h2 = 0.48). These results indicate that genetic regulation of novelty seeking was modified by the level of environmental stress, and they support a role for gene–environment interactions in a behavioural trait with relevance for mental health.
Content replication and placement in mobile networks

Performance and reliability of content access in mobile networks is conditioned by the number and location of content replicas deployed at the network nodes. Location theory has been the traditional, centralized approach to study content replication: computing the number and placement of replicas in a static network can be cast as a facility location problem. The endeavor of this work is to design a practical solution to the above joint optimization problem that is suitable for mobile wireless environments. We thus seek a replication algorithm that is lightweight, distributed, and reactive to network dynamics. We devise a solution that lets nodes (i) share the burden of storing and providing content, so as to achieve load balancing, and (ii) autonomously decide whether to replicate or drop the information, so as to adapt the content availability to dynamic demands and time-varying network topologies. We evaluate our mechanism through simulation, by exploring a wide range of settings, including different node mobility models, content characteristics and system scales. Furthermore, we compare our mechanism to state-of-the-art approaches to content delivery in static and mobile networks. Results show that our mechanism, which uses local measurements only, is: (i) extremely precise in approximating an optimal solution to content placement and replication; (ii) robust against network mobility; (iii) flexible in accommodating various content access patterns. Moreover, our scheme outperforms alternative approaches to content dissemination both in terms of content access delay and access congestion.
A Novel Method for Interpolating Station Rainfall Data using a Stochastic 2 Lattice Model

Rain gauge data are routinely recorded and used around the world. However, their sparsity and inhomogeneity make them inadequate for climate model calibration and many other climate change studies. Various algorithms and interpolation techniques have been developed over the years to obtain an adequately distributed dataset. Objective interpolation methods such as the inverse-distance weighting (IDW) are the most widely used and have been employed to produce some of the most used gridded rainfall datasets (e.g. the India Meteorological Department gridded rainfall). Unfortunately, the skill of these techniques becomes very limited to non existent in areas located far away from existing recording stations. This is problematic as many areas of the world are lacking an adequate rain gauge coverage throughout the recording history. Here, we introduce a new probabilistic interpolation method in an attempt to address this issue. The new algorithm employs a multitype particle interacting stochastic lattice model which assigns a binned rainfall value, from an arbitrary number of bins, to each lattice site or grid cell, with a certain probability according to the rainfall amounts assigned to neighbouring sites and a background climatological rainfall distribution, drawn from the available data. Grid points containing recording stations are not affected and are being used as “boundary” input conditions by the stochastic model. The new stochastic model is successfully tested and validated against two standard gridded rainfall datasets, over the Indian land mass. 19
Disturbed Beta Band Functional Connectivity in Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment: An MEG Study

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) refers to the clinical state of subjects who suffer from some degree of cognitive deterioration but do not meet clinical criteria for dementia. The aim of this study was to analyze the magnetoencephalogram (MEG) background activity in MCI subjects using two connectivity measures: coherence and synchronization likelihood (SL). Our results showed that coherence and SL mean values were lower in the MCI group than in control group at all frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha-1, alpha-2, beta, and gamma). Significant differences were found in the beta frequency band with both measures (p Lt 0.05, Mann-Whitney U-test). Coherence analysis also revealed significant differences between controls and MCIs in the gamma band. Additionally, coherence and SL mean values at each frequency band were analyzed by means of receiver operating characteristic curves. The highest accuracy (69.8%) was achieved in the beta band with both connectivity measures. Our results suggest that spontaneous MEG rhythms show disconnection problems in MCI, especially in the beta band. In conclusion, both coherence and SL may be useful measures for discriminating MCI patients from control subjects.
Blocking Bcl-2 leads to autophagy activation and cell death of the HEPG2 liver cancer cell line.

BACKGROUND Apoptosis may be induced after Bcl-2 expression is inhibited in proliferative cancer cells. This study focused on the effect of autophagy activation by ABT737 on anti-tumor effects of epirubicin. METHODS Cytotoxic effects of ABT737 on the HepG2 liver cancer cell line were assessed by MTT assay and cell apoptosis through flow cytometry. Mitochondrial membrane potential was measured by fluorescence microscopy. Monodansylcadaverin (MDC) staining was used to detect activation of autophagy. Expression of p53, p62, LC3, and Beclin1, apoptotic or autophagy related proteins, was detected by Western blotting. RESULTS ABT737 and epirubicin induced growth inhibition in HepG2 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Both ABT737 and epirubicin alone could induce cell apoptosis with a reduction in mitochondrial membrane potential as well as increased apoptotic protein expression. Further increase of apoptosis was detected when HepG2 cells were co- treated with ABT373 and epirubicin. Furthermore, our results demonstrated that ABT373 or epirubicin ccould activate cell autophagy with elevated autophagosome formation, increased expression of autophagy related proteins and LC3 fluorescent puncta. CONCLUSIONS ABT737 influences cancer cells through both apoptotic and autophagic mechanisms, and ABT737 may enhance the effects of epirubicin on HepG2 cells by activating autophagy and inducing apoptosis.
Gender in Shakespeare : Automatic Stylistic Analysis of Shakespeare ' s Characters

The problem of automatically determining the gender of the author of a literary document (i.e. fiction/non fiction), an electronic document (i.e. text collected from e-mail), an informal text (i.e. essays) etc. has been studied and have achieved reasonable accuracy in the range of 70-80%. These works have proven that noticeable differences exist, which discriminates author gender using simple lexical and syntactic features. Our aim here is to extend this research on automatically determining gender of literary characters (i.e. from plays) from the playwright’s word use. The earlier mentioned works and this work is different because real men and real women are involved as the authors of various forms of documents where as in plays, literary character’s gender is characterized by playwright’s word usage. Here we have proved Shakespeare used language differently for his male and female characters, and we have studied the top discriminating features from both gender characters. We used Sequential Minimal Optimization (SMO) for classification of gender character by importing their speeches. We used function words (FWs), Bag of Words (BoWs) as feature selectors and achieved 67%, 74% accuracy respectively. We observed style has played the role in discriminating gender of Shakespeare’s literary characters. We also found that, there is similarity with the previous research on classifying gender author of literary books (Argamon et al.2003).
A Differential Fully Integrated UWB Radar

The main scope of this article is to introduce embedded UWB radar as a monolithic integrated structure. Results of the entire system integration into the one monolithic structure are presented. Integrated structure is composed of one transmitter and one wide-band receiver operates in full differential mode. Newly improved building blocks of the transmitter were used. For better controlling of this system, a low voltage differential control signals LVDS interface was added to improve the synchronization in the case of the cooperative UWB sensing. This integrated structure in 0,35 μm SiGe BiCMOS technology was manufactured. The power consumption of this system is 0,4 W and the operating frequency range is across the UWB band from 200 MHz to 9 GHz. The power of the generated stimulus signal is up to 1 mW, which is enough for the non-invasive remote sensing purposes. UWB devices like this operate by continuously emitting electromagnetic wave mode.
Large-Scale Ultra-Wide Band Ad Hoc Networks

We show improved throughput scaling laws for an ultra-wide band (UWB) ad hoc network, in which n wireless nodes are randomly located. First, we consider the case where a modified hierarchical cooperation (HC) strategy is used. Then, in a dense network of unit area, out result indicates that the derived throughput scaling depends on the path-loss exponent α for certain operating regimes due to the power-limited characteristics. It also turns out that the HC protocol is dominant for 2 < α < 3 while using the nearest multi-hop (MH) routing leads to a higher throughput for α ≥ 3. Second, the impact and benefits of infrastructure support are analyzed; m base stations (BSs) are regularly placed in UWB networks. In this case, the derived throughput scaling depends onα due to the power-limited characteristics for all operating regimes examined. Furthermore, it is shown that the total throughput scales linearly with parameter m as m is larger than a certain level. Hence, we conclude that the use of either HC or infrastructure is helpful in improving the throughput scaling of UWB networks in some conditions.
The Gamification User Types Hexad Scale

Several studies have indicated the need for personalizing gamified systems to users' personalities. However, mapping user personality onto design elements is difficult. Hexad is a gamification user types model that attempts this mapping but lacks a standard procedure to assess user preferences. Therefore, we created a 24-items survey response scale to score users' preferences towards the six different motivations in the Hexad framework. We used internal and test-retest reliability analysis, as well as factor analysis, to validate this new scale. Further analysis revealed significant associations of the Hexad user types with the Big Five personality traits. In addition, a correlation analysis confirmed the framework's validity as a measure of user preference towards different game design elements. This scale instrument contributes to games user research because it enables accurate measures of user preference in gamification.
Establishment of rapid propagation cultures of Agrobacterium rhizogenes – mediated transgenic hairy roots in sugarbeet AL

The clones (C1, C2, C3 and C4) of sugarbeet leaves express their capability to induce the adventitious roots as a result of their injection with suspension of Agrobacterium rhizogenes R1601. Clear differences were found in the response and transgenesis of these explants. The result indicated that C3 was the best in this case, but hairy roots produced from all clones have similar phenotype. Generally, numerous cultures of agropine – positive and rapid propagation hairy roots were obtained.
A suboptimal discrete-time predictive current controller for a voltage-source inverter

This paper presents a discrete-time predictive control strategy for a voltage-source inverter based on computation of a deadbeat control law and its approximating suboptimal voltage vector at every sampling interval. The controller, in addition to compensating for the inherent delay in the system, employs a simple prediction filter to suppress the disturbance caused by the back-EMF voltages and improve robustness against parameter variations across the load. Discussions on the effect of the back-EMF prediction on the performance and robustness of the system is provided. It is shown that the proposed control strategy yields satisfactory transient and steady-state behavior and that the closed-loop system can tolerate a wide range of parameter variations and model uncertainty.