Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of training strategy on PUL-SVM classification for cropland mapping by Landsat imagery

Positive and unlabeled learning (PUL) algorithm, an one-class classifier which is trained by positive samples and unlabeled samples, has been used in remote sensing classification. However, the effect of training strategy of PUL has not been investigated. This study tested the performances of PUL-SVM on cropland mapping by Landsat TM data using the training samples with different sizes and different purity levels. It is found that the highest accuracy is achieved when the sizes of positive sample and unlabeled sample are comparable if using the random strategy. In contrast, if using the purer positive samples, it is more difficult to find the optimal unlabeled sample size. Therefore, it is recommended the random strategy for the positive samples, and the balanced sizes for positive and unlabeled samples when using PUL-SVM.
On the Relationship between ENSO, Stratospheric Sudden Warmings, and Blocking

This paper examines the influence of El Ni~ Oscillation (ENSO) on different aspects of major stratospheric sudden warmings (SSWs), focusing on the precursor role of blocking events. The results reveal an ENSO modulation of the blocking precursors of SSWs. European and Atlantic blocks tend to precede SSWs during El Ni~ no (EN), whereas eastern Pacific and Siberian blocks are the preferred precursors of SSWs duringLaNi~isENSOpreference fordifferentblockingprecursorsseemstooccur through an ENSO effect on regional blocking persistence, which in turn favors the occurrence of SSWs. The regional blockingprecursors of SSWsduringeach ENSOphase alsohavedifferentimpactson theupward propagation of planetary-scale wavenumbers 1 and 2; hence, they determine ENSO differences in the wavenumber signatures of SSWs. SSWs occurring during EN are preceded by amplification of wavenumber 1, whereas LN SSWs are predominantly associated to wavenumber-2 amplification. However, there is not a strong preference for splitting or displacement SSWs during any ENSO phase. This is mainly because during EN, splitting SSWs do not show a wavenumber-2 pattern.
Effect of rapid maxillary expansion on monosymptomatic primary nocturnal enuresis.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of rapid maxillary expansion (RME) on nocturnal enuresis (NE) related to the nasal airway, nasal breathing, and plasma osmolality (as an indicator for antidiuretic hormone). MATERIALS AND METHODS Nineteen patients with monosymptomatic primary NE, aged 6-15 years, were treated with RME for 10-15 days. To exclude a placebo effect of the RME appliance, seven patients were first treated with a passive appliance. Computed tomography of nasal cavity, rhinomanometric, and plasma osmolality measurements were made 2-3 days before and 2-3 months after the RME period. RME effects on NE were followed for three more years. RESULTS Two to three months after the expansion there were significant improvements in the breathing function and a decrease in the plasma osmolality. NE decreased significantly in all patients after the RME period, and all patients showed full dryness after 3 years. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates that RME causes complete dryness in all patients, with significant effects on pathophysiological mechanisms related to NE.
A fast and accurate Fourier algorithm for iterative parallel-beam tomography

We use a series-expansion approach and an operator framework to derive a new, fast, and accurate Fourier algorithm for iterative tomographic reconstruction. This algorithm is applicable for parallel-ray projections collected at a finite number of arbitrary view angles and radially sampled at a rate high enough that aliasing errors are small. The conjugate gradient (CG) algorithm is used to minimize a regularized, spectrally weighted least-squares criterion, and we prove that the main step in each iteration is equivalent to a 2-D discrete convolution, which can be cheaply and exactly implemented via the fast Fourier transform (FFT). The proposed algorithm requires O(N(2)logN) floating-point operations per iteration to reconstruct an NxN image from P view angles, as compared to O(N (2)P) floating-point operations per iteration for iterative convolution-backprojection algorithms or general algebraic algorithms that are based on a matrix formulation of the tomography problem. Numerical examples using simulated data demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm for sparse- and limited-angle tomography under realistic sampling scenarios. Although the proposed algorithm cannot explicitly account for noise with nonstationary statistics, additional simulations demonstrate that for low to moderate levels of nonstationary noise, the quality of reconstruction is almost unaffected by assuming that the noise is stationary.
The Ecological Significance of Sexual Dimorphism in Size in the Lizard Anolis conspersus

Adult males of Anolis conspersus capture prey of significantly larger size and occupy perches of significantly greater diameter and height than do adult females; similarly, these three dimensions of the niche are significantly larger for adult females than for juveniles. Adult males on the average eat a smaller number of prey, and the range in size of prey is larger. The relationship between the average length of the prey and that of the predator is linear when the predator size is above 36 millimeters, but becomes asymptotic when it is below that value. Subadult males as long as adult females eat significantly larger food than do the latter, but only in the larger lizards is this correlated with a relatively larger head. Anolis conspersus selects prey from a wide range of taxa and shows no obvious intraspecific specialization not connected to differences in microhabitat and prey size. The efficiency of this system for solitary species is pointed out.
Meeting or Beating Analysts Forecasts with Positive Special Items

In this paper, we focus on managers’ motivations for and consequences of decisions to include positive special items in street earnings. Our tests reveal that (1) managers are much more likely to include positive than negative special items in street earnings, (2) included (in street earnings) positive special items are associated with declines in future earnings and the association is greater than that of negative special items or excluded positive special items, (3) including positive special items in street earnings significantly increases the probability of meeting or beating analysts' forecasts, (4) investors place similar or greater pricing weight on included positive special items as they do on excluded positive special items, and (5) investors attach a valuation premium to meeting or beating via including a positive special item (relative to missing the forecast), but the premium is smaller than meeting or beating via recurring items. Overall, our results suggest investors reward managers for meeting or beating (relative to missing forecasts) through inclusion of positive special items in street earnings and that managers include positive special items in street earnings primarily to influence perceptions of their firms' performance rather than to convey permanent earnings. Our results also suggest that managers, and not just analysts define street earnings.
Investigation of the factors influencing the acceptance of electronic cash stored-value cards

Electronic cash stored-value cards have been issued in Asia for a while. Few academic studies investigate the factors that influence consumers’ acceptance of electronic cash stored-value cards. This study proposes an extended technology acceptance model and applies structural equation model to confirm the factors influencing consumers’ acceptance of electronic cash stored-value cards. A set of 716 sample questionnaires are used to analyze and confirm the proposed conceptual framework. The empirical results find that perceived usefulness and perceived ease-of-use have a significant positive effect on the usage attitude towards electronic cash stored-value cards. Consumers may not feel that the relevant costs of electronic cash stored-value cards are an important factor influencing their usage attitude. While the social influence positively affects the behavioral intention, the perceived risk reveals significant negative effect on consumers’ usage attitude. Furthermore, the usage attitude exhibits significant positive effect on the behavioral intention of electronic cash stored-value cards. Finally, issuing institutions are advised to promote electronic cash stored-value cards to younger and experienced consumers. Key words: Electronic cash stored-value cards, technology acceptance model, moderating effects, structural equation model.
The complexity of relationship marketing for service customers

Purpose – There are a number of assumptions inherent in relationship marketing, including claims that a relationship should be developed with all customers in all situations. This paper seeks to show that marketers should not automatically use relationship marketing techniques for all products and for all customers.Design/methodology/approach – This paper reports the results of an empirical survey of 287 consumers for five service products in which consumers were asked to assess the strength of the relationship between themselves and their supplier.Findings – Relationship strength was found to vary significantly between service products and individual customers, and the impact of duration of the relationship and the frequency of purchase on relationship strength depends greatly on the nature of the service product. It was also demonstrated that some customers want a closer relationship with service providers than other customers, and this aspect significantly affects the strength of relationship perceived.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection in Free-Roaming Wild Asian Elephant

Postmortem examination of a wild Asian elephant at Rajiv Gandhi National Park, India, revealed nodular lesions, granulomas with central caseation, and acid-fast bacilli in the lungs. PCR and nucleotide sequencing confirmed the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This study indicates that wild elephants can harbor M. tuberculosis that can become fatal.
Instructions for use Title On the mechanisms for the conversion of ventricular fibrillation to tachycardia by perfusion withruthenium red Author ( s )

We have recently demonstrated that during pacing-induced sustained ventricular fibrillation (VF), perfusion of the heart with either ruthenium red (RR) or Ru 360, blockers of the mitochondrial Ca uniporter, resulted in the reversible conversion of VF to ventricular tachycardia (VT). Here we aimed at elucidating the electrophysiological mechanisms for the RR-induced conversion of VF to VT. The experiments were performed using Langendorff perfused isolated rat hearts in which left ventricular pressure (LVP) and left ventricular intracellular action potential were recorded. Perfusion with either RR or Ru 360 resulted in decreases in the action potential duration (APD90), refractory period (RP), and slope of APD restitution curves. These changes were antagonized by co-treatment with Bay K 8644. In addition, perfusion with verapamil produced the decreases in APD90, RP, and slope of APD restitution curves similar to the RR or Ru 360 perfusion. Such electrophysiological changes may be responsible for the reversible conversion of sustained VF to VT caused by perfusion with RR or Ru 360.
Resolution of the V1 ATPase from Manduca sexta into Subcomplexes and Visualization of an ATPase-active A3B3EG Complex by Electron Microscopy*

The effect of the ATPase activity ofManduca sexta V1 ATPase by the amphipathic detergent lauryldimethylamine oxide (LDAO) and the relationship of these activities to the subunit composition of V1 were studied. The V1 was highly activated in the presence of 0.04–0.06% LDAO combined with release of the subunits H, C, and F from the enzyme. Increase of LDAO concentration to 0.1–0.2% caused the characterized subcomplexes A3B3HEGF and A3B3EG with a remaining ATPase activity of 52 and 65%, respectively. The hydrolytic-active A3B3EG subcomplex has been visualized by electron microscopy showing six major masses of density in a pseudo-hexagonal arrangement surrounding a seventh mass. The compositions of the various subcomplexes and fragments of V1 provide an organization of the subunits in the enzyme in the framework of the known three-dimensional reconstruction of the V1 ATPase from M. sexta (Radermacher, M., Ruiz, T., Wieczorek, H., and Grüber, G. (2001) J. Struct. Biol. 135, 26–37).
Apigenin inhibits UVA-induced cytotoxicity in vitro and prevents signs of skin aging in vivo.

Apigenin (4',5,7-trihydroxyflavone) is a flavone that has been reported to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-carcinogenic properties. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of apigenin on skin and found that, in experiments using cells, apigenin restored the viability of normal human dermal fibroblasts (nHDFs), which had been decreased by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the UVA range. Using a senescence-associated (SA)-β-gal assay, we also demonstrate that apigenin protects against the UVA-induced senescence of nHDFs. Furthermore, we found that apigenin decreased the expression of the collagenase, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1, in UVA-irradiated nHDFs. UVA, which has been previously identified as a photoaging-inducing factor, has been shown to induce MMP-1 expression. The elevated expression of MMP-1 impairs the collagen matrix, leading to the loss of elasticity and skin dryness. Therefore, we examined the clinical efficacy of apigenin on aged skin, using an apigenin‑containing cream for clinical application. Specifically, we measured dermal density, skin elasticity and the length of fine wrinkles in subjects treated with apigenin cream or the control cream without apigenin. Additionally, we investigated the effects of the apigenin-containing cream on skin texture, moisture and transepidermal water loss (TEWL). From these experiments, we found that the apigenin‑containing cream increased dermal density and elasticity, and reduced fine wrinkle length. It also improved skin evenness, moisture content and TEWL. These results clearly demonstrate the biological effects of apigenin, demonstrating both its cellular and clinical efficacy, and suggest that this compound holds promise as an anti-aging cosmetic ingredient.
Tardive dyskinesia in psychosis: are women really more at risk?

It is commonly held that women are more at risk of developing tardive dyskinesia (TD). However, recent evidence suggests that this may only be the case in samples of older patients, men being more at risk in the younger age groups. Abnormal movements were measured with the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) in a sample of 706 chronic psychotic patients aged not older than 65 years (median age 36 years). Female gender was associated with a lower risk of TD (OR, 0.5; 95% CI, 0.3–0.7). The effect of gender was independent of other risk factors such as older age, severity of negative symptoms and exposure to antipsychotic medication in the previous 2 years. There was no evidence that the effect of these risk factors differed between the sexes. In samples of relatively young patients with chronic psychotic illness, who typically represent the majority of patients in community programmes for the severely mentally ill, men are more at risk of TD than women.
Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome and Associated Factors among Hemodialysis Patients Monitored at the National Teaching Hospital, Hubert Koutoucou Maga in 2015

Introduction: Metabolic syndrome is one of the main risk factors of cardiovascular disease among hemodialysis patients. Objective: The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with metabolic syndrome among hemodialysis patients in Cotonou in 2015. Patients and methods: It was a cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study conducted from 05th October to 02nd November 2015 at the National Teaching Hospital, Hubert Koutoucou Maga of Cotonou. All patients aged 18 years and above, regularly under hemodialysis for the past 3 months and who gave their informed consent were included in the study. Those excluded were: currently hospitalized hemodialysis patients, hemodialysis patients hospitalized in the last three months, hemodialysis patients whose general condition deteriorated or unable to answer the questionnaire. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the International Diabetes Federation’s criteria. Factors associated with metabolic syndrome were sought using logistic regression in univariate analysis. Confidence intervals were calculated at 95% and alpha significance threshold at 5%. Outcomes: In total 165 patients were included in the study. Male predominance was observed, with 1.27 sex-ratios. Average age was 49.3 ± 12.9 years with extremes ranging from 18 to 78 years. Metabolic syndrome is observed among 46 patients undergoing hemodialysis or 27.9% prevalence rate. Factors associated with the metabolic syndrome in univariate analysis were: gender (p < 0.001), age (p = 0.007), body mass index (p = 0.029) and prior diabetes history (p = 0.011). Conclusion: Metabolic syndrome is common among hemodialysis patients. Early screening and fighting against associated risk factors are very important.
Identification of a gene encoding an immuno‐reactive membrane protein from Campylobacter jejuni

A gene encoding a putative membrane protein has been identified from Campylobacter jejuni NCTC 11168 following an immuno‐screen of a lambda ZAP II genomic DNA library with antiserum raised against glycine‐extractable proteins. The nucleotide sequence of the entire genomic insert revealed six open reading frames, all but one of which have sequence homologues in the complete genome sequence of Helicobacter pylori. The gene encoding the immuno‐reactive protein was further identified by independent expression of these reading frames in Escherichia coli. The gene encodes an integral membrane protein, expression of which in E. coli results in a profound filamentous phenotype.
Cholera toxin B-subunit gene fusion: structural and functional analysis of the chimeric protein

A synthetic peptide, encoding amino acid residues 345 to 359 of the glucosyltransferase B enzyme of Streptococcus mutans GS-5, was genetically fused to the N-terminal end of the B-subunit gene of cholera toxin. The protein was overexpressed in Escherichia coli and retained the antigenicity associated with cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) as well as that associated with glucosyltransferase B. The addition of 15 amino acids to the N-terminal end of CTB did not appear to affect the gross structure of the protein significantly. The chimeric protein monomers assembled into a functional oligomer which exhibited only minor conformational differences from native CTB as measured by circular dichroism. The chimera bound to GM1 ganglioside and thus retained the biological activity of CTB. These results demonstrate that genetic fusion of small peptides to the N terminus of CTB has only a minimal effect on the structure and function of the protein. Furthermore, the chimera was shown to be immunogenic when fed to mice. This work has important implications in the construction of CTB chimeras for use as oral vaccines.
Publishing success of marketing academics: Antecedents and outcomes

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between positive incentives (perceived organisational support) and negative incentives (publish or perish), on both academic publication productivity and marketing academics’ quality of life. While publish-or-perish pressure is a common technique to improve academics’ performance, its punishment orientation may be poorly suited to the uncertain, creative work that research entails and be harmful to academics’ life satisfaction and other well-being variables. In particular, it may interfere with family commitments, and harm the careers of academic women. While perceived organisational support may be effective in encouraging research outputs and be positive for well-being, it may be insufficient as a motivator in the increasingly competitive and pressured world of academia. These issues are important for individual academics, for schools wishing to attract good staff, and the wider marketing discipline wanting to ensure high productivity and.
A Novel Method for Reducing the Number of Agents to Be Studied in an Occupational Epidemiologic Study

A novel screening tool method to select chemicals for exposure reconstruction was developed and validated using data generated for a hypothetical work force consisting of 10 job classes (ranging from 10,000 to 55,000 person-years). To achieve the required efficiency in the reconstruction of exposures, this method treats each product (defined as a part or process) as an “exposure. ” Exposure to 10 products was assigned to each job class at random using a computer program. The expected rate of a given disease was assumed to be constant throughout the job classes (tested at five levels), and the observed numbers of cases in the job classes were generated based on neutral deviations from background with error rates of ± 1% to 16%. One job class was assigned to be the “excess-class” and the number of cases in that class was increased by a factor of Q, which was set at levels that ranged from 1.25 to 5. All of the experimental conditions were replicated 10,000 times in a Monte Carlo scheme for scenarios in which each job class had been designated as the excess-class. Following each run, significant excesses (if any) were determined using a modified version of Daniel's method, and the percentages of false positive and false negative identifications were tabulated. We found that the sensitivity of the method is largely dependent on the relative risk (Q) associated with the exposure. Specifically, the results indicate that as the relative risk increases, the percentage of false negative identifications of the excesses is reduced to nearly 0% and the percentage of false positive identifications is approximately 13%. When applied to real data, should an association be detected between any product and a health outcome, this preliminary analysis will yield a reduced “product” set that can then be investigated in detail and the agents involved considered further for quantitative reconstruction. The proposed method is highly efficient and has the potential to benefit future complex exposure reconstruction studies, particularly when there is no predetermined exposure associated with an observed increase in a cause-specific health end point. [Supplementary materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene for the following free supplemental resource: a Word file containing a table giving the percentages of false positive and false negative identifications. ]
How corporate social responsibility is defined: an analysis of 37 definitions

Despite numerous efforts to bring about a clear and unbiased definition of CSR, there is still some confusion as to how CSR should be defined. In this paper five dimensions of CSR are developed through a content analysis of existing CSR definitions. Frequency counts are used to analyse how often these dimensions are invoked. The analysis shows that the existing definitions are to a large degree congruent. Thus it is concluded that the confusion is not so much about how CSR is defined, as about how CSR is socially constructed in a specific context. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.