Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rich Pictures: Sustainable Development and Stakeholders – The Benefits of Content Analysis

This paper concerns the interpretation of pictures that stakeholders draw in order to help them structure and understand complex situations. The pictures in question are called Rich Pictures (RPs) and the matter at the heart of interpretation is insight drawn from eduction (drawing forth). Insights relate to stakeholders of all kinds, be they the individual, the group, the context in which the individual and the group find themselves, or the means whereby the context can be made more sustainable or improved. RP drawing, often as a collaborative, stakeholder exercise, is a powerful activity that has the capacity to break down barriers of language, education and culture. Drawing upon research with RPs from around the world and spanning 50 years of our combined practice, this paper demonstrates RPs' utility, universality and resilience. We maintain that RP drawing enriches problem solving and, in the long term, saves time and resources being expended on erroneous and/or superficial tasks. However, the interpretation of RPs is still in its infancy. By use of processes derived from various forms of content analysis (CA) we argue that RPs can be applied as a powerful tool in a variety of policy fields. Conclusions for application are drawn and suggestions are made for further research relating to the clearer interpretation of RPs. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment
In vitro study of the diagnostic performance of the Spectra Caries Detection Aid.

OBJECTIVE The Spectra Caries Detection Aid is a fluorescent camera (FC) caries detector device that has been demonstrated to detect occlusal caries extending into dentin with good sensitivity and specificity. This in vitro study examined the diagnostic performance of this device with the goal of defining the numerical reading that best indicates that a tooth has dentin caries. METHODS Ninety extracted human third molars, that either appeared clinically intact or had early occlusal caries, were used. Teeth were photographed then analyzed using the Spectra Caries detector. Following Spectra readings, the teeth were sectioned perpendicular to the long axis of the tooth. Cuts were made in such a way as to expose the dentino-enamel junction below the pits and fissures. The sectioned teeth were scored as being caries-free, having enamel caries, or dentin caries. Using each tooth's Spectra reading and histological diagnosis, the sensitivity and specificity for various potential dentin caries cut-off values were calculated. Also, the receiver operator curve (ROC) was plotted and the area under the curve calculated. RESULTS At the manufacture's recommended cut-off for dentin caries diagnosis of 2, the sensitivity is 0.68 and the specificity is 0.78. At a lower cut-off value in the study reported here of 1.8, it was observed that the sensitivity is higher at 0.87, but that the specificity is lower at 0.7. The overall diagnostic performance of the Spectra is good with an ROC area under the curve of 0.82. CONCLUSION Although lower cut-off values may have higher sensitivity, the use of the manufacture's established cut-off of 2 will result in fewer instances where dentin caries will be diagnosed incorrectly. The use of higher thresholds will discourage restorative treatment of early lesions that are best managed by sealants or other preventive approaches.
Optimal Debt Management with a Stability and Growth Pact

The Stability and Growth Pact introduces deficit stabilization as a new interesting objective of debt management. The interest payments on public debt may serve as an important buffer against the budget consequences of cyclical downturns and unexpected deflation. The optimal debt composition depends on the correlations between interest rates, output and inflation. Estimated correlations for the period 1960-1988 and the implied debt compositions provide benchmarks for implications regarding the EMU. The paper explores how relevant correlations between output, inflation and interest rates may have changed with the shift in the monetary policy regime and thus how the debt composition, which stabilizes the dificit, has changed. A longer maturity structure of conventional debt is optimal if the ECB places a lower weight on output stabilization then the national monetary authorities and if EMU member states are hit by asymmetric shocks. Short term conventional debt should instead be issued by countries which experience a relatively higher output and inflation uncertainty and a lower sensitivity of aggregate demand to interest-rate changes. The optimal share of inflation indexed debt is largest in a strict inflation targeting regime; the lower the weight that the ECB assigns to output stabilization, the more attractive is inflation indexation for deficit stabilization.
Injury patterns of seniors in traffic accidents: A technical and medical analysis.

AIM To investigate the actual injury situation of seniors in traffic accidents and to evaluate the different injury patterns. METHODS Injury data, environmental circumstances and crash circumstances of accidents were collected shortly after the accident event at the scene. With these data, a technical and medical analysis was performed, including Injury Severity Score, Abbreviated Injury Scale and Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale. The method of data collection is named the German In-Depth Accident Study and can be seen as representative. RESULTS A total of 4430 injured seniors in traffic accidents were evaluated. The incidence of sustaining severe injuries to extremities, head and maxillofacial region was significantly higher in the group of elderly people compared to a younger age (P < 0.05). The number of accident-related injuries was higher in the group of seniors compared to other groups. CONCLUSION Seniors are more likely to be involved in traffic injuries and to sustain serious to severe injuries compared to other groups.
Intramodal Dispersion Properties of Step-Index Few-Mode Spun Fibers

The intramodal dispersion within groups of quasi-degenerate modes in step-index few-mode fibers is studied with a semianalytic approach. By means of theoretical analyses based on accurate modeling of mode coupling, the most general problem of arbitrary high-order modes is simplified to five different cases, which are analyzed numerically. Results show that the spin may reduce intramodal dispersion if its rate is tuned finely, similarly to single-mode fibers. At variance with this case, however, spin may also increase the intramodal dispersion of high-order modes for particular conditions. Being limited to intramodal dispersion, the analysis reported here does not consider the modal dispersion accumulated between different groups of nondegenerate modes. Nonetheless, results find application in the so-called low mode coupling regime.
Modeling and Performance Analysis of Cellular and Device-to-Device Heterogeneous Networks

With the development of large scale integrated circuits and Internet technology, 5G has become the hotspot of current domestic and international mobile communication research. Device-to-device communication (D2D) is one of the key technologies of 5G. It enables direct communication between proximate devices, thereby improving the overall spectrum utilization and offloading traffic of cellular networks. In this paper, we use the stochastic geometry and the Poisson cluster process to analyze the uplink of the cellular networks. Firstly, we treat the location of BSs as distributed points according to a homogeneous Poisson point process (PPP), and use the Thomas cluster process to model cellular users and D2D users. Secondly, we take the fact into consideration that the performance of the cellular networks may be different in diverse path loss exponent, node densities, and transmit power. Then, we consider the cellular and D2D heterogeneous Networks, investigate the coverage probability, average achievable rate for such networks, and we compare the performance of the heterogeneous networks when D2D users are included and otherwise. Finally, we quantify the best and worst case performance of the heterogeneous networks in terms of coverage probability.
Speckle-field digital holographic microscopy

We report a technique which can overcome these drawbacks, but maintains the advantage of phase microscopy - high contrast live cell imaging and 3D imaging (For the detail, please see the Ref. [1]). A speckle beam of a complex spatial pattern is used for illumination to reduce fixed pattern noise and to improve optical sectioning capability. By recording of the electric field of speckle, we demonstrate high contrast 3D live cell imaging without the need for axial scanning - neither objective lens nor sample stage. This technique has great potential in studying biological samples with improved sensitivity, resolution and optical sectioning capability.
Sensorineural hearing loss in acromegalic patients under treatment

Acromegaly is a rare endocrine disease. Few studies have evaluated its association with hearing loss (HL) and the results are conflicting. Aim: To evaluate the prevalence and features of HL in a group of patients being treated for acromegaly. To analyze peripheral and central auditory transmission. Methods: Cross-sectional study. A group of 34 patients with acromegaly were submitted to metabolic evaluation, tonal audiometry and brainstem auditory evoked potentials. HL was considered when pure tone average was > 25 DBHL for low frequencies (250, 500, 1000 and 2000 Hz) or high frequencies (3000, 4000, 6000 and 8000 Hz). The patients were divided in group A (with HL) and B (without HL). Results: Twelve patients (35.3%) had sensorineural HL (Group A), being 8 bilateral and 4 unilateral. No one had mixed or conductive HL. The prevalence of diabetes/impaired glucose tolerance was similar between the groups. The frequencies 3000, 4000, 6000 and 8000 Hz were the most affected and with a similar pattern in both ears. Conclusion: sensorineural HL was found in 38.9% of cases. Neither clinical nor metabolic differences were noted between the groups, as well as in regards to peripheral and central auditory transmission.
Cytokine-dependent engraftment of human myeloid leukemic cell lines in immunosuppressed nude mice.

To develop a model in which growth factor dependent human acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells could be reliably engrafted onto murine recipients, the IL-3 or GM-CSF dependent human leukemic cell lines MO7E and TF-1 were engineered by infection with recombinant retroviruses to produce one of these factors. Retrovirally-infected, factor-producing MO7E or TF-1 cells became factor independent in culture while cells infected with a control (neo(r)) retrovirus did not. When these cells were injected intravenously into immunosuppressed Balb/C-nu/nu mice, human CD45+ cells were detected in the marrow of all 30 mice receiving hIL-3 or hGM-CSF-producing cells, but in 0/36 mice injected with uninfected or neo(r) virus-infected MO7E or TF-1 cells. Leukemic cell dissemination in mice injected with factor-producing MO7E cells progressed to cause hind limb paralysis in all animals by 7-12 weeks, and to involve the spleen and peripheral blood in 10/18 and 9/18 mice respectively. Injection of factor-producing TF-1 cells resulted in posterior thoracic tumor masses in all 12 mice by 5-11 weeks, while the spleen and blood were involved in six of those same animals. Southern analysis of retroviral integration sites demonstrated that the polyclonal nature of cells injected into mice was retained in the cells recovered from the same animals. When mice were injected with neo(r) virus-infected MO7E cells followed by 6 micrograms hIL-3 q/2 days i.p. all six mice showed hind limb paralysis and bone marrow involvement with a polyclonal population of MO7E cells by 8-13 weeks post injection. Thus, factor-dependent human AML cell lines will engraft in immunosuppressed, athymic nu/nu mice and disseminate with a pattern resembling human leukemia when provided with a source of the human factor(s) on which their growth is dependent in vitro.
Elementary Principals' Perceptions of 21st Century Skills in Southeastern Virginia.

The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of elementary school principals in Southeastern Virginia regarding implementation of 21st century skills. The Partnership for 21 st Century Learning Skills framework was used as a foundation to identify the skills needed for the 21 st century. In addition, the framework was used to examine elementary principal’s perceptions of the most important and relevant 21 st century skills to implement in elementary schools. A mixed method study of elementary school principals in Southeastern Virginia Public Schools was conducted. Principals from school divisions in Southeastern Virginia were identified and asked to complete a survey. An online research survey was distributed to Virginia principals to determine their perceptions of implementing 21 st century skills in elementary schools in Virginia. This study revealed that elementary principals perceived 21 st century skills as being “very important” and “very relevant” in elementary schools; however the rate of embeddedness into the elementary curriculum was low. This study yielded valuable information regarding the perceptions of school leaders that might influence research, theory, practice, and professional development of elementary school principals as we move further into the 21 st century and its associated challenges and demands.
Pharmacokinetic and Genomic Effects of Arsenite in Drinking Water on Mouse Lung in a 30-Day Exposure

The 2 objectives of this subchronic study were to determine the arsenite drinking water exposure dependent increases in female C3H mouse liver and lung tissue arsenicals and to characterize the dose response (to 0, 0.05, 0.25, 1, 10, and 85 ppm arsenite in drinking water for 30 days and a purified AIN-93M diet) for genomic mouse lung expression patterns. Mouse lungs were analyzed for inorganic arsenic, monomethylated, and dimethylated arsenicals by hydride generation atomic absorption spectroscopy. The total lung mean arsenical levels were 1.4, 22.5, 30.1, 50.9, 105.3, and 316.4 ng/g lung tissue after 0, 0.05, 0.25, 1, 10, and 85 ppm, respectively. At 85 ppm, the total mean lung arsenical levels increased 14-fold and 131-fold when compared to either the lowest noncontrol dose (0.05 ppm) or the control dose, respectively. We found that arsenic exposure elicited minimal numbers of differentially expressed genes (DEGs; 77, 38, 90, 87, and 87 DEGs) after 0.05, 0.25, 1, 10, and 85 ppm, respectively, which were associated with cardiovascular disease, development, differentiation, apoptosis, proliferation, and stress response. After 30 days of arsenite exposure, this study showed monotonic increases in mouse lung arsenical (total arsenic and dimethylarsinic acid) concentrations but no clear dose-related increases in DEG numbers.
Thermomechanical Optimization and Comparison of a Low Thermal Inertia Mold with Rectangular Heating Channels and a Conventional Mold

Molds used to manufacture high-performance composites currently do not meet the demand of manufacturers in terms of production rate due to massive mold designs, using straight-through heating channels, that are not thermally reactive. In this paper, using a thermal finite element model, the thermomechanical responses of an existing massive and conventional mold is observed; then, thermomechanical optimizations are carried out on a circular heating channel mold and on a rectangular heating channel mold. The objective of this paper is two-fold: (i) confirm the need to change design rules for molds considering technological aspects (e.g., pressure drop and fluid nature) and (ii) validate the advantages of an innovative concept of a low thermal inertia mold with rectangular heating channels. Results of this study confirm the need to reduce the mass of structures to increase heating rates and the importance of taking into account technological data (heat transfer fluid, pressure drop) to ensure the optimal convective exchange. After optimization, a decrease greater than 75% in heating time for the circular channel model and up to 88% for the rectangular channel model was observed. Moreover, the antagonistic nature between heating rate and thermal homogeneity of the molding surface and between heating rate and mechanical strength is confirmed.
Internally Displaced Population in Colombia: A Case Study on the Domestic Aspects of Indicators as Technologies of Global Governance

The notion of indicators as technologies of global governance denotes at least two parties: one "producing" the indicator, the other being measured by it. Each of these parties may be, in turn, unpacked so as to include competing actors and agendas on each side of the equation. Thus research of the challenges of this technology requires two complementary paths. First, an exploration of the producing end of the equation: How are indicators created? By whom? Do they enhance or reduce accountability? Can they be regulated? A second area of exploration is the "receiving" end of the indicator; that is, research focusing on those whose performance is being measured and compared. This paper belongs to that second area. It presents a case study on the role of international indicators in the implementation of internally displaced population (IDP) policy in Colombia, and argues that monitoring is only part of the indicators story, as there is a dialectic element to the process of creating and applying them. Focusing on the role of indicators in domestic politics, this paper argues that indicators are also creatively used for local purposes, not necessarily connected with their original, global origin.
Ebola Virus Glycoprotein Induces an Innate Immune Response In vivo via TLR4

Ebola virus (EBOV), a member of the Filoviridae family, causes the most severe form of viral hemorrhagic fever. Although no FDA licensed vaccine or treatment against Ebola virus disease (EVD) is currently available, Ebola virus glycoprotein (GP) is the major antigen used in all candidate Ebola vaccines. Recent reports of protection as quickly as within 6 days of administration of the rVSV-based vaccine expressing EBOV GP before robust humoral responses were generated suggests that the innate immune responses elicited early after vaccination may contribute to the protection. However, the innate immune responses induced by EBOV GP in the absence of viral vectors or adjuvants have not been fully characterized in vivo. Our recent studies demonstrated that immunization with highly purified recombinant GP in the absence of adjuvants induced a robust IgG response and partial protection against EBOV infection suggesting that GP alone can induce protective immunity. In this study we investigated the early immune response to purified EBOV GP alone in vitro and in vivo. We show that GP was efficiently internalized by antigen presenting cells and subsequently induced production of key inflammatory cytokines. In vivo, immunization of mice with EBOV GP triggered the production of key Th1 and Th2 innate immune cytokines and chemokines, which directly governed the recruitment of CD11b+ macrophages and CD11c+ dendritic cells to the draining lymph nodes (DLNs). Pre-treatment of mice with a TLR4 antagonist inhibited GP-induced cytokine production and recruitment of immune cells to the DLN. EBOV GP also upregulated the expression of costimulatory molecules in bone marrow derived macrophages suggesting its ability to enhance APC stimulatory capacity, which is critical for the induction of effective antigen-specific adaptive immunity. Collectively, these results provide the first in vivo evidence that early innate immune responses to EBOV GP are mediated via the TLR4 pathway and are able to modulate the innate-adaptive interface. These mechanistic insights into the adjuvant-like property of EBOV GP may help to develop a better understanding of how optimal prophylactic efficacy of EBOV vaccines can be achieved as well as further explore the potential post-exposure use of vaccines to prevent filoviral disease.
Impacts of Contingency Reserve on Nodal Price and Nodal Reliability Risk in Deregulated Power Systems

The deregulation of power systems allows customers to participate in power market operation. In deregulated power systems, nodal price and nodal reliability are adopted to represent locational operation cost and reliability performance. Since contingency reserve (CR) plays an important role in reliable operation, the CR commitment should be considered in operational reliability analysis. In this paper, a CR model based on customer reliability requirements has been formulated and integrated into power market settlement. A two-step market clearing process has been proposed to determine generation and CR allocation. Customers' nodal unit commitment risk and nodal energy interruption have been evaluated through contingency analysis. Customers' reliability cost including reserve service cost and energy interruption cost have also been evaluated.
MR quantification of hepatic iron concentration.

PURPOSE To evaluate the accuracy of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in the quantification of hepatic iron concentration. MATERIALS AND METHODS Between April 1999 and June 2001, 112 patients were recruited prospectively. All had undergone liver biopsy and hepatic iron concentration quantification with spectrophotometry, followed by MR imaging. MR imaging involved use of four gradient-echo sequences and one spin-echo sequence. Signal intensity (SI) was measured on images obtained with each sequence by means of regions of interest placed in the liver and paraspinal muscle to obtain the liver-to-muscle SI ratio. The relationship between hepatic iron concentration and SI ratio for each sequence was analyzed with multiple linear regression. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was performed to find the diagnostic thresholds. RESULTS Sixty-eight patients had normal hepatic iron levels (<36 micromol/g), 23 had hemosiderosis (36-80 micromol/g), and 21 had hemochromatosis (>80 micromol/g). With all sequences, an inverse linear relationship between iron concentration and SI ratio was apparent. The authors generated a mathematic model to estimate the iron concentrations from MR imaging data (r = 0.937). For estimated concentrations of more than 85 micromol/g, the positive predictive value for hemochromatosis was 100%; for those less than 40 micromol/g, the negative predictive value for hemochromatosis was 100%. For estimated concentrations of more than 58 micromol/g, the positive predictive value for iron overload was 100%; for those less than 20 micromol/g, the negative predictive value for iron overload was 100%. CONCLUSION MR imaging is a useful and noninvasive diagnostic tool for quantification of hepatic iron concentration.