Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Are consumer preferences for sustainability in the textile industry in alignment with best practice approaches to sustainable supply chain management ?

Nowadays, many companies develop adopted strategies to comply with increasing globalization and complex global supply networks. We are gradually moving toward a more integrated world. This process brings about clashes both in and between cultures and values which often lead to misunderstandings and do harm to business. This paper compares how the notion of ethical consumerism is understood in Germany. The goal of the paper is to reveal consumer awareness of, and attitudes toward, sustainability and their influence on purchasing decisions. The focus of the present research is sustainability of clothes. The research is grounded in an application of Hofstede’s Dimensions to sustainability theory, more specifically ethical consumerism. The novelty of the paper is that it applies the cultural dimensions by analysing values to explain the differences in customer perception of ethical consumption. To gather data, a survey based on a self-developed questionnaire was conducted in Germany and clusters of consumer types were revealed. The results of the paper prove that cultural dimensions do have an effect on customers’ perceptions on sustainable consumption of clothes. We find compelling evidence that the priority of sustainability in buying decisions for clothes are based on cultural believes and norms. More specifically we found that due to the cultural norms in Germany, the majority of consumers are willing to pay more for a more sustainable product. At the end of the paper an agenda for further research is presented, through which the framework could be further developed and systematically applied to a broader set of cases.
Significance of Protected Areas for the Pallas’s cat (Otocolobus Manul: Felidae) conservation in Russia

The Pallas’s cat, or Manul, Otocolobus manul, belongs to the small felines. In Russia this species is located at the northern periphery of its range. Potential habitats of this species within its Russian range’s part have been highlighted on the base of remote sensing data, topographic maps and digital cartographic models. Maps of the Pallas’s cat’s records in Russia have been compiled using literature data, authors’ own data and information provided by contributors of the online database «Small Wild Сats of Eurasia». We have shown the representation of potential habitats of the Pallas’s cat and its actual registrations within Protected Areas of Russia. The total area of potential habitats for this species in Russia is assessed as 145,150 km2. The presence of Manul is confirmed for five regions of Russia: Republic of Altai, Republic of Tyva, Republic of Buryatia, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Trans-Baikal Krai. The registration of the species’ records mainly corresponds to the location of its potential habitats. The main categories of both federal and regional Russian Protected Areas cover 10.8% (13.5% taken with the buffer zones) of the total area of potential habitats for the Pallas’s cat. The significance of each Protected Area for Manul conservation has been considered in detail. We have discussed whether the representativeness of the existing Protected Areas is sufficient for conservation of this species. We have identified the main territorial gaps that reduce the Pallas’s cat protection in some parts of the Russian range.
Powers of discerning: challenges to understanding dispersal processes in natural populations

In this issue of Molecular Ecology, authors Robledo‐Arnuncio & Garcia present a compelling approach for quantifying seed dispersal in plant populations. Building upon methods previously used for quantification of pollen dispersal, the authors not only examine the behaviour of the model with respect to sample sizes, dispersal distance, and the kurtosis of the dispersal function but also provide an empirical example using Prunus mahaleb.
MULTISCALE SIMULATION FOR HIGH ENERGY CLUSTER IMPACTS AND INDUCED DAMAGE

We propose a new multi-scale simulation scheme which seamlessly combines the conventional molecular dynamics (MD) with the continuum mechanics formulated under the material point method (MPM). In MPM, modified interpolation shape functions are adopted to reduce artificial forces on the background hierarchical grids. The multi-scale method is validated using the example of wave propagation within a bar. The method is applicable to several kinds of potentials including the Lennard-Jones, EAM and a bonding-angle related potential for silicon. Examples of high energy Cu-Cu and Si-Si cluster impact are presented. The kinetic energy of the cluster is the critical process parameters. The evolution of displaced atoms is found to depend on the underlying lattice structures. For the case of Cu-Cu cluster impacts, stacking faults play an important role. The displaced atoms, visualized in the method of “local crystalline order”, propagate in an anisotropic manner. This implies the anisotropy in energy transformation process through impacts with multi interactions among cluster and surface atoms. With the help of the present multi-scale scheme, the computation capacity implemented in a personal computer could reach a system composed of 900 millions atoms. The case of Si-Si cluster impacts is also examined where the damage spreads in a more is otropic manner. For the case of cluster impact on a beam with pre-existing cracks, the high energy impact may seal the crack with amorphous matters and induces an efflux of atoms ahead of the crack mouth.
Information Extraction from Medical Reports

Information extraction technology, as defined and developed through the U.S. DARPA Message Understanding Conferences (MUCs), has proved successful at extracting information primarily from newswire texts and in domains concerned with human activity. This paper presents an Information Extraction (IE) system, intended to extract structured information from medical reports written in Portuguese. A first evaluation is performed and the results are discussed.
Java and Sunda dialect recognition from Indonesian speech using GMM and I-Vector

Recognition of dialect is a field of research in the field of language recognition. The purpose of this study is to compare the best modelling features and techniques for recognizing Javanese and Sundanese dialects in Indonesian speech using MFCC and combination of MFCC and pitch feature candidates and comparing GMM and I-Vector modelling techniques. This research uses machine learning approach for training process and model testing. As a result, the use of the combination of MFCC and pitch feature and the I-Vector modelling technique has the advantage to recognize Java and Sunda dialect.
Russian-Chinese Sentence-level Aligned News Corpus

ment of Sino-Russian cooperation in the politica n-Chinese and Chinese-Russian translations are sian-Chinese Sentence-level Aligned News (RC rs and is checked by linguists and domain expe pairs of Russian-Chinese sentences, which are ext ws documents on the Internet websites in vari , social, cultural, diplomatic, security, and spor e plain text, which can be used in computer-a essing, Statistical Machine Translation, and N RCSAN corpus, we try to investigate sentenc lation methods, and machine translation evalua SAN corpus will be used as a translation memor d translation system.
Evaluation of the antiradical potential of fruit and vegetable snacks.

BACKGROUND The use of plant origin polyphenols as food ingredients, supplements or antioxidants is very promising as a future trend for human health and food stability. Free radical activity, responsible for human ageing and food deterioration could be delayed by the use of antioxidants present in fruit and vegetables. The aim of the present research was to evaluate and compare the antiradical activity of selected fruits and vegetable snacks as a new promising kind of functional foods. MATERIAL AND METHODS In the present study, seven commercial plant food snacks were analysed for the total polyphenol content and antioxidant activity evaluated according to the DPPH(•) and ABTS(•+) radical scavenging methods. RESULTS The highest total polyphenol content was evaluated in chokeberry and blackcurrant chips extracts, apple chips contained significantly lower amount among all snacks. Chokeberry extract exhibited the highest antiradical activity when determined by the DPPH(•) and ABTS(•+) radical scavenging methods, while the apple and carrot chips extracts showed the lowest antiradical activity. DPPH(•) and ABTS(•+) gave comparable results and were highly correlated (r = 0.83, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Results obtained indicate that selection of plant matrices for snack production would be very important for consumer's health, as they are potential sources of dietary antioxidants.
Pentosan Reduces Osteonecrosis of Femoral Head in SHRSP

Increased oxidative stress is considered one of the main causes of steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a steroid hormone and pentosan polysulfate sodium (pentosan), a heparin analog, in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP) as a model of ONFH. One hundred twenty-three 13-week-old male SHRSP//Izm rats were divided into four groups: a control group (group C), pentosan-administered group (group P), steroid-administered group (group S), and group administered pentosan plus steroid (group PS). Methylprednisolone acetate, as the steroid hormone, at a dose of 4 mg (15 mg//kg) was administered at 15 weeks of age. Pentosan at a dose of 3 mg//day//kg was continuously administered intraperitoneally from 13 weeks of age for 4 weeks. Rats were sacrificed at 17 weeks of age, and heart blood and both femora were collected. Triglyceride levels were significantly lower in group PS than in group S, indicating that pentosan improves lipid metabolism. The incidence of histologic ONFH was significantly lower in group P, at 14.8%% (10//71 femoral heads), than in group C, at 30.4%% (17//56 femoral heads), and significantly lower in group PS, at 40.8%% (29//71 femoral heads), than in group S, at 91.3%% (42//46 femoral heads), indicating that pentosan markedly inhibits ONFH. Immunohistochemical staining for oxidative stress showed that the stainability was significantly lower in group PS than in group S. Pentosan seems to reduce the incidence of ONFH in SHRSP by improving lipid metabolism and decreasing oxidative stress.
Costs of colorectal cancer in different states of the disease

Abstract Objectives. This cross-sectional study estimates the resource use and costs among prevalent colorectal cancer (CRC) patients in different states of the disease. Methods. Altogether 508 Finnish CRC patients (aged 26–96; colon cancer 56%; female 47%) answered a questionnaire enquiring about informal care, work capacity, and demographic factors. Furthermore, data on direct medical resource use and productivity costs were obtained from registries. Patients were divided into five mutually exclusive groups based on the disease state and the time from diagnosis: primary treatments (the first six months after the diagnosis), rehabilitation, remission, metastatic disease, and palliative care. The costs were calculated for a six-month period. Multivariate modeling was performed to find the cost drivers. Results. The costs were highest during the primary treatment state and the advanced disease states. The total costs for the cross-sectional six-month period were €22 200 in the primary treatment state, €2106 in the rehabilitation state, €2812 in the remission state, €20 540 in the metastatic state, and €21 146 in the palliative state. Most of the costs were direct medical costs. The informal care cost was highest per patient in the palliative care state, amounting to 33% of the total costs. The productivity costs varied between disease states, constituting 19–40% of the total costs, and were highest in the primary treatment state. Conclusions. The first six months after the diagnosis of CRC are resource intensive, but compared with the metastatic disease state, which lasts on average for 2–3 years, the costs are rather modest. Informal care constitutes a remarkable share of the total costs, especially in the palliative state. These results form a basis for the evaluation of the cost effectiveness of new treatments when allocating resources in CRC treatment.
In Vivo Interactions between Ionizing Radiation, Inflammation and Chemical Carcinogens Identified by Increased DNA Damage Responses

Exposure to ionizing radiation or a variety of chemical agents is known to increase the risk of developing malignancy and many tumors have been linked to inflammatory processes. In most studies, the potentially harmful effects of ionizing radiation or other agents are considered in isolation, mainly due to the large number of experiments required to assess the effects of mixed exposures with different doses and different schedules, and the length of time and expense of studies using disease as the measure of outcome. Here, we have used short-term DNA damage responses to identify interactive effects of mixed exposures. The data demonstrate that exposure to ionizing radiation on two separate occasions ten days apart leads to an increase in the percentage of cells with a sub-G0 DNA content compared to cells exposed only once, and this is a greater than additive effect. Short-term measurements of p53 stabilization, induction of p21/Cdkn1a and of apoptosis also identify these interactive effects. We also demonstrate similar interactive effects of radiation with the mutagenic chemical methyl-nitrosourea and with a nonspecific pro-inflammatory agent, lipopolysaccharide. The magnitude of the interactive effects is greater in cells taken from mice first exposed as juveniles compared to adults. These data indicate that short-term measurements of DNA damage and response to damage are useful for the identification of interactions between ionizing radiation and other agents.
Influence of Action Production on Perception in Human Infants : A Computational Approach

In early infancy, humans are not yet able to detect the goal of others’ actions. Later on, infants undergo a developmental process that allows them to perceive others’ actions as goal-directed. Several studies have been carried out to reveal when and how infants start understanding goal-directed actions. Woodward [1] and Sommerville et al. [2] reported that young infants with goal-directed action experience showed a stronger novelty response to test events that varied the goal of the actions than test events that varied the motion path of the actions (e.g., the motion path). In contrast, infants did not show differentiated responses between both test events when the action was not recognized as goal-directed. This constitutes evidence that goal-directed action execution alters the perception of similar actions performed by other individuals. In this study we build a computational model to clarify the underlying mechanism that accounts for the influence of the action production on the perceptual system. We argue that experience of action production enables infants to detect the goal in others’ actions. Further, we want to explain the connection of this mechanism to the visual attention, in accordance to [2] where infants’ experience of action production produced changes in their visual attention.
Clinical Intestinal Transplantation: A Decade of Experience at a Single Center

ObjectiveTo assess the long-term efficacy of intestinal transplantation under tacrolimus-based immunosuppression and the therapeutic benefit of newly developed adjunct immunosuppressants and management strategies. Summary Background DataWith the advent of tacrolimus in 1990, transplantation of the intestine began to emerge as therapy for intestinal failure. However, a high risk of rejection, with the consequent need for acute and chronic high-dose immunosuppression, has inhibited its widespread application. MethodsDuring an 11-year period, divided into two segments by a 1-year moratorium in 1994, 155 patients received 165 intestinal allografts under immunosuppression based on tacrolimus and prednisone: 65 intestine alone, 75 liver and intestine, and 25 multivisceral. For the transplantations since the moratorium (n = 99), an adjunct immunosuppressant (cyclophos-phamide or daclizumab) was used for 74 transplantations, adjunct donor bone marrow was given in 39, and the intestine of 11 allografts was irradiated with a single dose of 750 cGy. ResultsThe actuarial survival rate for the total population was 75% at 1 year, 54% at 5 years, and 42% at 10 years. Recipients of liver plus intestine had the best long-term prognosis and the lowest risk of graft loss from rejection (P = .001). Since 1994, survival rates have improved. Techniques for early detection of Epstein-Barr and cytomegaloviral infections, bone marrow augmentation, the adjunct use of the interleukin-2 antagonist daclizumab, and most recently allograft irradiation may have contributed to the better results. ConclusionThe survival rates after intestinal transplantation have cumulatively improved during the past decade. With the management strategies currently under evaluation, intestinal transplant procedures have the potential to become the standard of care for patients with end-stage intestinal failure.
Clinical Pathway for the Management of Resectable Gastric Cancer with Peritoneal Seeding: Best Palliation with a Ray of Hope for Cure

Peritoneal seeding from primary gastric cancer occurs in 10–20% of patients. The diagnosis of this advanced disease is usually not provided by clinical studies prior to abdominal exploration. From the data available in the literature, the surgeon is forced to make an intraoperative judgement concerning the risks and benefits of an aggressive management plan versus supportive care. A strategy has evolved that utilizes peritonectomy and extended gastrectomy to maximally cytoreduce tumor combined with perioperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy. In the current state of the art, the perioperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy is heated and manually distributed to provide uniform treatment to all peritoneal surfaces and the resection site. The pharmacologic parameters have been established and the results of phase II studies are reported. Five-year survival of patients in whom a complete cytoreduction was possible is approximately 10% with a median survival of 12 months. Gastrectomy with peritonectomy to eliminate all visible implants combined with perioperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy should be used in selected patients with primary gastric cancer and carcinomatosis.
Free-viewpoint Image Generation-based Human Motion Reenactment from a Single RGB-D Video Stream ∗

Videos are invaluable for trainers demonstrating complex actions. They enable learners to study the motion of these actions at any time. However, conventional video is only 2-dimensional. Generally, viewers are able to compensate for the loss of the third dimension by making good inferences about the motion of the action. However, if some ambiguity is present in the action, the motion may become harder to comprehend. Free-viewpoint image generation techniques attempt to solve this problem by allowing viewers to watch the action from any viewpoint they choose. However, most existing free-viewpoint image generation systems also require the action to be simultaneously captured from multiple viewpoints. Such systems require large camera arrays and are difficult to set up. This thesis proposes a system to generate free-viewpoint images of human motion using a single RGB-D sensor by synthesizing viewpoints other than the one that was originally captured. Our system is composed of two stages: capturing the motion of a human subject’s action, and displaying a reenactment of the action, which is a free-viewpoint rendering of the action using augmented reality. To generate an image from a novel viewpoint, we find the most appropriate texture among our captured frames based on the subject’s pose and viewpoint similarity and apply this texture to a rough three-dimensional model. ∗ Master’s Thesis, Department of Information Science, Graduate School of Information Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, NAIST-IS-MT1251124, March 13, 2014.
The Effect of Metacognitive Listening Strategy Instruction on the Listening Self-Efficacy of EFL Learners in Iran

This study aimed to investigate the effect of metacognitive listening strategy instruction on the listening self-efficacy perceptions of a group of pre-intermediate English learners. This study had an intact group regarding the sampling and a quasi-experimental design. The subjects were already assigned to groups by their institutes. Thus, six classes were selected for the study and were randomly assigned into one control group (N=39; 21 females & 18 males) and one experimental group (N=44; 23 females & 21 males), which were further divided into two groups based on their gender. To be assured about the homogeneity of their listening proficiency and self-efficacy perceptions of the groups a pre-test of listening and a pre-test of listening self-efficacy were administered and the results were analyzed using Independent Samples T-test and One-way ANOVA which revealed no significant difference between the two groups and between male and female students of each group. Then, the participants were screened and those whose scores were two standard deviations below and above the mean score were sampled for the study (the control group N=28; 15 females & 13 males) (the experimental group N=29; 14 females &15 males). Next, the experimental group received seven weeks (i.e. 20 sessions) of metacognitive listening strategy instruction embedded into a speaking & listening course, while the control group received no metacognitive listening strategy instruction. At the end of the treatment, the same listening self-efficacy questionnaire was administered to the groups. The results were analyzed using Independent Samples T-test and One-way ANOVA which showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group significantly and that there was no significant difference between male and female learners of each group. This suggested that metacognitive listening strategy instruction can result in raising leaners’ self-efficacy perceptions.
Inferring human subject motor control intent using inverse MPC

The control intent is a strategy which a human subject follows to accomplish a certain motor control task such as controlling the trunk movement. The problem we address is how control theoretic approaches can capture such a strategy taking into account the physiological constraints and which approach is better.We present such an analysis, so-called intent-inferring. The control intent can be inferred by estimating the cost function that is minimized by a control system. We propose an inverse model predictive control (iMPC) algorithm to infer the control intent. We solve the iMPC problem for an illustrative example to evaluate the algorithm and to compare against inverse linear quadratic regulator (iLQR) approach. The simulated results show that our algorithm can recover the true cost function weights, and outperform the iLQR approach for the illustrative example.