Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Increased Pain Sensitivity in Low Blood Pressure

There is broad evidence for a functional interaction between the cardiovascular and pain regulatory systems. One result of this interaction is the reduced sensitivity to acute pain in individuals with elevated blood pressure, which has been established in numerous studies. In contrast to this, possible alterations in pain perception related to the lower range of blood pressure have not yet been investi- gated. In the present study pain sensitivity was assessed in 30 hypotensive women (mean blood pressure 95/56 mmHg) and 30 normo- tensive control persons (mean blood pressure 119/77 mmHg) based on a cold pressor test. Possible effects on pain perception of hypo- tension-related impairment of subjective state were controlled for by including a mood-scale. The hypotensive as compared to the normotensive group displayed lower pain threshold and pain tolerance levels, as well as increased sensory and affective experiences of pain. Moreover, a slight negative correlation was found, both in hypotensive and control persons, between pain sensitivity and the degree of blood pressure increase during the execution of the cold pressor test. In accordance with the previous findings on hypertension-related hypoalgesia, the present results suggest an inverse relationship between blood pressure and pain sensitivity across the total blood pressure spectrum. Different degrees of pain attenuation through afferent input from the arterial baroreceptor system are discussed as a physio- logical mechanism mediating this relationship.
Economic fluctuations in Central and Eastern Europe: the facts

This article provides a detailed empirical analysis of quarterly frequency dynamics in macroeconomic aggregates in 12 countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). It shows that business fluctuations in CEE countries are, in general, more pronounced than in developed ones, and are of similar size as in other emerging market economies. Private consumption is particularly volatile. Relative to major developed economies government spending is dominantly procyclical, and net exports are strongly countercyclical. The most frequent country outliers are the high inflation countries of Bulgaria, Romania and Russia, especially in labour market, price and exchange rate variables. Excluding these countries from the sample makes many of the observed patterns in cyclical dynamics more homogenous, and broadly similar to ones established in developed economies.
Large scale stoat control to protect mohua (Mohoua ochrocephala) and kaka (Nestor meridionalis) in the Eglinton Valley, Fiordland, New Zealand.

To enhance the breeding success and survival of kaka (Nestor meridionalis) and mohua (Mohoua ochrocephala), we initiated stoat (Mustela erminea) control in the Eglinton Valley (13 000 ha), Fiordland, New Zealand using a single 40 km line of traps spaced 200 m apart with traps set continuously. This low intensity stoat control regime permitted successful kaka breeding and fledgling survival was high. A large irruption of rats, probably due to two consecutive years of heavy seeding by beech and mild winters, complicated assessment of the benefits of the technique for protecting breeding mohua. However, no stoat predation on breeding was
Molecular and Functional Characterization of a Unique Sucrose Hydrolase from Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. glycines

ABSTRACT A novel sucrose hydrolase (SUH) from Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. glycines, a causative agent of bacterial pustule disease on soybeans, was studied at the functional and molecular levels. SUH was shown to act rather specifically on sucrose (Km = 2.5 mM) but not on sucrose-6-phosphate. Protein analysis of purified SUH revealed that, in this monomeric enzyme with an estimated molecular mass of 70,223 ± 12 Da, amino acid sequences determined for several segments have corresponding nucleotide sequences in XAC3490, a protein-coding gene found in the genome of X. axonopodis pv. citri. Based on this information, the SUH gene, consisting of an open reading frame of 1,935 bp, was cloned by screening a genomic library of X. axonopodis pv. glycines 8ra. Database searches and sequence comparison revealed that SUH has significant homology to some family 13 enzymes, with all of the crucial invariant residues involved in the catalytic mechanism conserved, but it shows no similarity to known invertases belonging to family 32. suh expression in X. axonopodis pv. glycines requires sucrose induction, and insertional mutagenesis resulted in an absence of sucrose-inducible sucrose hydrolase activity in crude protein extracts and a sucrose-negative phenotype. Recombinant SUH, overproduced in Escherichia coli and purified, was shown to have the same enzymatic characteristics in terms of kinetic parameters.
Learning to answer questions

We present an open-domain Question-Answering system that learns to answer questions based on successful past interactions. We follow a pattern-based approach to Answer-Extraction, where (lexico-syntactic) patterns that relate a question to its answer are automatically learned and used to answer future questions. Results show that our approach contributes to the system's best performance when it is conjugated with typical Answer-Extraction strategies. Moreover, it allows the system to learn with the answered questions and to rectify wrong or unsolved past questions.
Evaluation of Ovarian Reserve with Anti-Müllerian Hormone in Familial Mediterranean Fever

Objective. To investigate ovarian reserves in attack-free familial Mediterranean fever (AF-FMF) patients at the reproductive age by anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), antral follicle count (AFC), ovarian volume, and hormonal parameters. Methods. Thirty-three AF-FMF patients aging 18–45 years and 34 healthy women were enrolled and FSH, LH, E2, PRL, and AMH levels were measured in the morning blood samples at 2nd–4th days of menstruation by ELISA. Concomitant pelvic ultrasonography was performed to calculate AFC and ovarian volumes. Results. In FMF patient group, median AMH levels were statistically significantly lower in the M69V mutation positive group than in the negative ones (P = 0.018). There was no statistically significant difference in median AMH levels between E148Q mutation positive patients and the negative ones (P = 0.920). There was also no statistically significant difference in median AMH levels between M680I mutation positive patients and the negative ones (P = 0.868). No statistically significant difference was observed in median AMH levels between patients who had at least one mutation and those with no mutations (P = 0.868). We realized that there was no difference in comparisons between ovarian volumes, number of follicles, and AMH levels ovarian reserves when compared with FMF patients and healthy individuals. Conclusions. Ovarian reserves of FMF pateints were similar to those of healthy subjects according to AMH. However, AMH levels were lower in FMF patients with M694V mutation.
Dynamical Numerical Investigation into Influence of Vibrating Load on Intersecting Tunnel Structure

Taking as examples of South Gate tunnel project and Metro Line 2 crossing project in Xi’an, this paper analyses the dynamic response of motor vehicle and train loads acting on a tunnel structure . based on finite element model of three-dimensional dynamics. By comprehensive use of load numerical fixation method and analytic formula method, the vibrating load curves of motor vehicle and subway train are calculated. A finite element model of dynamics is established as excitation source. While features of dynamic response and vibration propagation regularity of subway tunnel structure are analysed respectively through three aspects of displacement, velocity and acceleration. The results indicate that: The moving vehicles and trains at South Gate both exert striking impact on subway tunnel structure. The vibration response of vehicles load mainly acts on the arch of subway structure and influences little on side walls. Under either independent effect of vehicle dynamic load or joint action of vehicles and train loads, the acceleration and velocity response of each vibration detecting points are basically consistent. After putting in use, the South Gate Tunnel has exerted certain impact on the safety of existing subway structure, but improbably results in any damages. Therefore, the research results provide certain theoretical support for the safety assessment of dynamic response of Metro Line 2 structure.
An Implementation of the Klatt Speech Synthesiser

In this work it is described a software tool implementing the Klatt synthesiser to be used on a teaching laboratory. The user interface allows an easy edition of the synthesis parameters, thus the student may quick and easily change the phonetic characteristics of a vowel and listen to the result or seeing its time or frequency properties.
Diurnal Variation and Spatial Distribution Effects on Sulfur Speciation in Aerosol Samples as Assessed by X-Ray Absorption Near-Edge Structure (XANES)

This paper focuses on providing new results relating to the impacts of Diurnal variation, Vertical distribution, and Emission source on sulfur K-edge XANES spectrum of aerosol samples. All aerosol samples used in the diurnal variation experiment were preserved using anoxic preservation stainless cylinders (APSCs) and pressure-controlled glove boxes (PCGBs), which were specially designed to prevent oxidation of the sulfur states in PM10. Further investigation of sulfur K-edge XANES spectra revealed that PM10 samples were dominated by S(VI), even when preserved in anoxic conditions. The “Emission source effect” on the sulfur oxidation state of PM10 was examined by comparing sulfur K-edge XANES spectra collected from various emission sources in southern Thailand, while “Vertical distribution effects” on the sulfur oxidation state of PM10 were made with samples collected from three different altitudes from rooftops of the highest buildings in three major cities in Thailand. The analytical results have demonstrated that neither “Emission source” nor “Vertical distribution” appreciably contribute to the characteristic fingerprint of sulfur K-edge XANES spectrum in PM10.
Dynamic model considering the ΔE effect for giant magnetostrictive actuators

Recently, many dynamic models with hysteretic nonlinearity for giant magnetostrictive actuators have been established. In these models, the Young's modules E of giant magnetostrictive materials is often introduced in the structural dynamic model of actuators. Research indicates that the Young's modules E of this material changes with the stress and the magnetic field nonlinearly, which is called the ΔE effect. But the Young's modulus is commonly treated as a constant in these models. In this paper, a novel dynamic model considering the Δ E effect is proposed by coupling the modified Jiles-Atherton hysteretic model, the nonlinear constitutive model for giant magnetostrictive materials and structural dynamics model of actuators. Experimental results demonstrate that the model can capture the dynamic and hysteretic behaviors of giant magnetostrictive actuators well.
Impairment of the Cellular Distribution and Stability of the Erythropoietin Receptor Through the Direct Targeting of Aristolochic Acid.

Aristolochic acid (AA) nephropathy is complicated with early onset and severe anemia. The molecular pathological mechanism of AA-induced anemia remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the putative pathological roles of the erythropoietin receptor (EPOR) in AA-induced anemia in both AA nephropathy zebrafish and cultured human renal tubular cells (HK2). Immunofluorescence staining experiments revealed that AA colocalizes with the EPOR in zebrafish embryos as well as in the cytoplasm of HK2 cells. After exogenous EPO stimulation, the EPOR was detected in the plasma membrane of HK cells. However, cotreatment with AA and EPO inhibited EPOR signaling and its membrane localization upon EPO stimulation. The results of studies with a protein synthesis inhibitor and a lysosome inhibitor revealed that AA accelerates the lysosomal degradation of EPOR. The molecular docking results suggest that AA may interact with the N-terminus of EPOR. Together with the results of light absorption and in vitro competition assays, we concluded that AA treatment impairs EPOR membrane localization, accelerates its lysosomal degradation, and consequently downregulates EPOR signaling by direct targeting. The results of this study may further detail the pathological mechanism of severe anemia complicated with AA nephropathy.
Protection for Life-log Video

Recent advances in wearable cameras and storage devices allow us to record the holistic human experience for an extended period of time. Such a life-log system can capture audio-visual data anywhere and at any time. It has a wide range of applications from law enforcement, journalism, medicine to personal archival. On the other hand, there is a natural apprehension towards such an intrusive system as the audiovisual information of unsuspecting subjects captured in the life-log video may be misused. Thus, along with the technical challenges, the privacy and legal issues arising in such recordings must be carefully addressed. In this paper, we describe a wearable life-log system that combines real-time audio distortion and visual blocking to protect the privacy of the subjects captured in life-log video. For audio, our system automatically isolates the subject’s speech and distorts it using a pitch-shifting algorithm to conceal the identity. For video, our system uses a real-time face detection, tracking and blocking algorithm to obfuscate the faces of the subjects. Extensive experiments have been conducted on interview videos to demonstrate the ability of our system in protecting the identity of the subject while maintaining the usability of the life-log video.
A Generalized Reduced Linear Program for Markov Decision Processes

Markov decision processes (MDPs) with large number of states are of high practical interest. However, conventional algorithms to solve MDP are computationally infeasible in this scenario. Approximate dynamic programming (ADP) methods tackle this issue by computing approximate solutions. A widely applied ADP method is approximate linear program (ALP) which makes use of linear function approximation and offers theoretical performance guarantees. Nevertheless, the ALP is difficult to solve due to the presence of a large number of constraints and in practice, a reduced linear program (RLP) is solved instead. The RLP has a tractable number of constraints sampled from the original constraints of the ALP. Though the RLP is known to perform well in experiments, theoretical guarantees are available only for a specific RLP obtained under idealized assumptions. In this paper, we generalize the RLP to define a generalized reduced linear program (GRLP) which has a tractable number of constraints that are obtained as positive linear combinations of the original constraints of the ALP. The main contribution of this paper is the novel theoretical framework developed to obtain error bounds for any given GRLP. Central to our framework are two max-norm contraction operators. Our result theoretically justifies linear approximation of constraints. We discuss the implication of our results in the contexts of ADP and reinforcement learning. We also demonstrate via an example in the domain of controlled queues that the experiments conform to the theory.
Generalized Extreme Value Regression for Binary Rare Events Data: an Application to Credit Defaults

The most used regression model with binary dependent variable is the logistic regression model. When the dependent variable represents a rare event, the logistic regression model shows relevant drawbacks. In order to overcome these drawbacks we propose the Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) regression model. In particular, in a Generalized Linear Model (GLM) with binary dependent variable we suggest the quantile function of the GEV distribution as link function, so our attention is focused on the tail of the response curve for values close to one. The estimation procedure is the maximum likelihood method. This model accommodates skewness and it presents a generalization of GLMs with log-log link function. In credit risk analysis a pivotal topic is the default probability estimation. Since defaults are rare events, we apply the GEV regression to empirical data on Italian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to model their default probabilities.
Visually guided robot for radiator sealing

A robotic vision-guided system that permits to manipulate different mixed parts is described in this paper. In order to work on a wide range of sizes and without stopping the products the industrial robot is equipped with two vision systems. A fixed vision system acquires a global image of the approaching radiators and computes a first pose estimation. This estimation is used for the robot to approach to the part and a second system, mounted on the robot arm, acquires a closer image to determine precisely the position and orientation just before the manipulation is performed. The developed system is working nowadays in an industrial line making it possible to robotize a complex task without using costly and inflexible fixtures.
AdS and dS braneworld Kaluza–Klein reduction

We obtain new results for consistent braneworld Kaluza–Klein reductions, showing how we can derive four-dimensional N = 2 gauged supergravity as an exact embedding in five-dimensional N = 4 gauged supergravity. Similarly, we obtain five-dimensional N = 2 gauged supergravity as a consistent Kaluza–Klein reduction from six-dimensional N = 4 gauged supergravity. These embeddings can be lifted to type IIB and massive type IIA supergravity respectively. The new AdS braneworld Kaluza–Klein reductions are generalisations of earlier results on braneworld reductions to ungauged supergravities. The lower-dimensional cosmological constant in our AdS braneworld reductions is an adjustable parameter, and so it can be chosen to be small enough to be phenomenologically realistic, even if the higher-dimensional one is of Planck scale. We also discuss analytic continuations to give a de Sitter gauged supergravity in four dimensions as a braneworld Kaluza–Klein reduction. We find that there are two distinct routes that lead to the same four-dimensional theory. In one, we start from a five-dimensional de Sitter supergravity, which itself arises from a Kaluza–Klein reduction of type IIB* supergravity on the hyperbolic 5-sphere. In the other, we start from AdS gauged supergravity in five dimensions, with an analytic continuation of the two 2-form potentials, and embed the four-dimensional de Sitter supergravity in that. The five-dimensional theory itself comes from an O(4, 3)/O(3, 2) reduction of Hull's type IIB7+3 supergravity in ten dimensions.
A survey of hand-washing facilities in the outpatient department of a tertiary care teaching hospital in India.

INTRODUCTION Inadequate hand-washing facilities have been reported as a barrier to hand washing. This study aimed to evaluate the availability and accessibility of hand-washing facilities and supplies of hand-washing agents in the outpatient department (OPD) complex of a tertiary care teaching hospital. METHODOLOGY A checklist containing 13 variables was prepared and all rooms of direct patient care in the OPD were assessed on one occasion. RESULTS Out of 211 rooms surveyed, a hand-washing facility was available in 209 (99.05%) rooms. Among these, 206 (98.56%) sinks were easily accessible and were placed close to users. Almost all sinks (99.5%) had hand-operated taps. Thirty-five (16.75%) sinks had no soap stand, and at 21 (10.5%) sinks, soap stands were found to be broken. At 14 (6.70%) sinks, soap bars were not available, while an antiseptic agent was available at 6 (2.87%) sinks. Four (1.91%) sinks had no towel stand, and at 8 (3.83%) sinks the towel stands were broken. At 43 (20.57%) sinks no towel was available, and at 23 (11%) sinks the towels provided were dirty. No sink drain was found to be blocked. No sink had hand-washing instructions displayed demonstrating the correct technique of hand washing. CONCLUSION Physical facilities required for hand washing were adequate though not perfect. There is a need to shift from hand-operated taps to non-manual taps and from cloth towels to paper towels. Hospital managers in developing countries should continuously strive to provide the best possible hand-washing facilities within their financial resources.
Selective Attention Impairment in Schizophrenia: Can it Explain Source Monitoring Failure?

Impairments in selective attention have been proposed as an explanation for the source monitoring deficits in schizophrenia. We tested this hypothesis by examining correlations between source monitoring variables and a measure of selective attention (from the Stroop Test) in 54 individuals with schizophrenia subjects and 42 normal controls. We did not find significant correlations between source monitoring measures and selective attention. Selective attention impairments do not explain source monitoring deficits observed in schizophrenia. Source monitoring deficits deserve continued efforts to elucidate their causes and consequences.
Terminal pathologies affect rates of decline to different extents and age accelerates the effects of terminal pathology on cognitive decline.

OBJECTIVES To test whether different terminal pathologies are associated with different rates of age-related decline in fluid and crystallized mental abilities and whether pathology-associated declines are accelerated by age. METHODS During a 20-year longitudinal study, 6203 participants were quadrennially assessed on the Heim's (Heim, A 1970) The AH4 series of intelligence tests Slough, U.K.: NEP) AH4-1 and AH4-2 tests of fluid intelligence and on the Raven's (Raven, J. C. 1965) The Mill Hill Vocabulary Scale London: H.K. Lewis) Mill Hill A and B tests of recognition and production vocabulary. Dates and proximate causes of death were logged for 2499 participants. Multilevel modelling compared rates of decline after effects of sex, demographics, and practice were taken into consideration. RESULTS Rates of cognitive decline markedly differed across pathologies, being most rapid for dementias and infections, slower for malignancies, and most prolonged for cardiovascular conditions. Pathologies were associated with faster declines in older individuals. DISCUSSION After sex, age, and demographics have also been considered, different terminal pathologies are associated with markedly different rates of decline. Age accelerates pathology-related decline. This raises the further question as to whether any, or how much of, age-related cognitive decline is brought about by other causes than an increasing burden of pathologies.
Experimental Evidence for Phonemic Contrasts in a Nonhuman Vocal System

The ability to generate new meaning by rearranging combinations of meaningless sounds is a fundamental component of language. Although animal vocalizations often comprise combinations of meaningless acoustic elements, evidence that rearranging such combinations generates functionally distinct meaning is lacking. Here, we provide evidence for this basic ability in calls of the chestnut-crowned babbler (Pomatostomus ruficeps), a highly cooperative bird of the Australian arid zone. Using acoustic analyses, natural observations, and a series of controlled playback experiments, we demonstrate that this species uses the same acoustic elements (A and B) in different arrangements (AB or BAB) to create two functionally distinct vocalizations. Specifically, the addition or omission of a contextually meaningless acoustic element at a single position generates a phoneme-like contrast that is sufficient to distinguish the meaning between the two calls. Our results indicate that the capacity to rearrange meaningless sounds in order to create new signals occurs outside of humans. We suggest that phonemic contrasts represent a rudimentary form of phoneme structure and a potential early step towards the generative phonemic system of human language.