Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Legacy of road salt: Apparent positive larval effects counteracted by negative postmetamorphic effects in wood frogs

Road salt runoff has potentially large effects on wetland communities, but is typically investigated in short‐term laboratory trials. The authors investigated effects of road salt contamination on wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) by combining a field survey with 2 separate experiments. The field survey tested whether wood frog larval traits were associated with road salt contamination in natural wetlands. As conductivity increased, wood frog larvae were less abundant, but those found were larger. In the first experiment of the present study, the authors raised larvae in outdoor artificial ponds under 4 salt concentrations and measured larval vital rates, algal biomass, and zooplankton abundance. Salt significantly increased larval growth, algal biomass, and decreased zooplankton abundance. In the second experiment, the authors raised larvae to metamorphosis in the presence and absence of salt contamination and followed resulting juvenile frogs in terrestrial pens at high and low densities. Exposure to road salt as larvae caused juvenile frogs to have greater mortality in low‐density terrestrial environments, possibly because of altered energy allocation, changes in behavior, or reduced immune defenses. The present study suggests that low concentrations of road salt can have positive effects on larval growth yet negative effects on juvenile survival. These results emphasize the importance of testing for effects of contaminants acting through food webs and across multiple life stages as well as the potential for population‐level consequences in natural environments. Environ Toxicol Chem 2015;34:2417–2424. © 2015 SETAC
Analfabetismo en México: una deuda social

En este ensayo se muestra la dimension del problema del analfabetismo en Mexico, el cual —sostienen los autores— esta enraizado en los mecanismos de reproduccion de las estructuras de nuestra sociedad. Mas alla de los indices de analfabetismo, se muestra la gravedad de las cifras sobre este tema que afecta, sobre todo, a las personas de mayor edad y entre ellas a las mujeres y los indigenas. Se sostiene que las estrategias gubernamentales para abatirlo no han logrado el exito que seria esperable dados los recursos invertidos y los adelantos tecnologicos de la epoca. Se analiza su evolucion desde diversas aristas para concluir que el analfabetismo constituye una de las grandes deudas de la sociedad que dificilmente tendra solucion si no se cambia el contexto social de las personas analfabetas, si no se modifican sus condiciones socioeconomicas y si no se acompanan de esfuerzos alfabetizadores con acciones para combatir la pobreza y la desigualdad en que estas viven
Signal processing techniques for damage detection with piezoelectric wafer active sensors and embedded ultrasonic structural radar

Embedded ultrasonic structural radar (EUSR) algorithm is developed for using piezoelectric wafer active sensor (PWAS) array to detect defects within a large area of a thin-plate specimen. Signal processing techniques are used to extract the time of flight of the wave packages, and thereby to determine the location of the defects with the EUSR algorithm. In our research, the transient tone-burst wave propagation signals are generated and collected by the embedded PWAS. Then, with signal processing, the frequency contents of the signals and the time of flight of individual frequencies are determined. This paper starts with an introduction of embedded ultrasonic structural radar algorithm. Then we will describe the signal processing methods used to extract the time of flight of the wave packages. The signal processing methods being used include the wavelet denoising, the cross correlation, and Hilbert transform. Though hardware device can provide averaging function to eliminate the noise coming from the signal collection process, wavelet denoising is included to ensure better signal quality for the application in real severe environment. For better recognition of time of flight, cross correlation method is used. Hilbert transform is applied to the signals after cross correlation in order to extract the envelope of the signals. Signal processing and EUSR are both implemented by developing a graphical user-friendly interface program in LabView. We conclude with a description of our vision for applying EUSR signal analysis to structural health monitoring and embedded nondestructive evaluation. To this end, we envisage an automatic damage detection application utilizing embedded PWAS, EUSR, and advanced signal processing.
Customer Loyalty in Telecom Sector of Pakistan

This study examines major influences on customer loyalty in a research framework where customer loyalty is the dependent variable and customer satisfaction, perceived price, service quality and trust are all independent variables. The research also tests the hypothesis that there exists a moderating relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction. The study employs various statistical techniques, including reliability, factor and regression analysis. The epistemology of research was primarily qualitative and involved 170 citizens ofPakistanthrough a questionnaire led survey and factor analysis was further applied to confirm the results. This study acknowledges service quality positively affecting customer satisfaction with perceived price acting as a moderating variable. In addition to that service quality also has a significant positive influence on trust. Customer satisfaction is a strong variable effecting customer loyalty and trust positively. Therefore it could be postulated that customers with high rated perception of service quality and satisfaction also generally exhibit repurchase intent and strong loyalty towards the products. Furthermore, the study also adds up that the moderating variables positively influence the relationship. Increase in the customer’s perception on the reasonableness of price also tends to increase the impact of service quality on customer satisfaction.
Functional Analysis of a Rickettsial OmpA Homology Domain of Shigella flexneri IcsA

ABSTRACT Shigella flexneri is a gram-negative bacterium that causes diarrhea and dysentery by invasion and spread through the colonic epithelium. Bacteria spread by assembling actin and other cytoskeletal proteins of the host into “actin tails” at the bacterial pole; actin tail assembly provides the force required to move bacteria through the cell cytoplasm and into adjacent cells. The 120-kDa S. flexneri outer membrane protein IcsA is essential for actin assembly. IcsA is anchored in the outer membrane by a carboxy-terminal domain (the β domain), such that the amino-terminal 706 amino acid residues (the α domain) are exposed on the exterior of the bacillus. The α domain is therefore likely to contain the domains that are important to interactions with host factors. We identify and characterize a domain of IcsA within the α domain that bears significant sequence similarity to two repeated domains of rickettsial OmpA, which has been implicated in rickettsial actin tail formation. Strains of S. flexneri andEscherichia coli that carry derivatives of IcsA containing deletions within this domain display loss of actin recruitment and increased accessibility to IcsA-specific antibody on the surface of intracytoplasmic bacteria. However, site-directed mutagenesis of charged residues within this domain results in actin assembly that is indistinguishable from that of the wild type, and in vitro competition of a polypeptide of this domain fused to glutathioneS-transferase did not alter the motility of the wild-type construct. Taken together, our data suggest that the rickettsial homology domain of IcsA is required for the proper conformation of IcsA and that its disruption leads to loss of interactions of other IcsA domains within the amino terminus with host cytoskeletal proteins.
Intercerebellar Coupling Contributes to Bimanual Coordination

Compared to unimanual task execution, simultaneous bimanual tapping tasks are associated with a significantly reduced intertap variability. It has been suggested that this bimanual advantage is based on the integration of timing signals which otherwise control each hand independently. Although its functional and anatomic foundations are poorly understood, functional coupling between cerebellar hemispheres might be behind this process. Because the execution of fast alternating fingertaps increases intertap variability, it is hypothesized that intercerebellar coupling is reduced in such tasks. To shed light on the functional significance of intercerebellar coupling, 14 right-handed subjects performed unimanual right, bimanual simultaneous, and bimanual alternating synchronization tasks with respect to a regular auditory pacing signal. In all conditions, within-hand intertap interval was 500 msec. Continuous neuromagnetic activity, using a 122-channel wholehead neuromagnetometer and surface electromyograms of the first dorsal interosseus muscle of both hands, were recorded. For data analysis, we used the analysis tool Dynamic Imaging of Coherent Sources, which provides a tomographic map of cerebromuscular and cerebrocerebral coherence. Analysis revealed a bilateral cerebello-thalamo-cortical network oscillating at alpha (812 Hz) and beta (1324 Hz) frequencies associated with bimanual synchronization. In line with our hypothesis, coupling between cerebellar hemispheres was restricted to simultaneous task execution. This result implies that intercerebellar coupling is key for the execution of simultaneous bimanual movements. Although the criticality of a specific magneto-encephalography pattern for behavioral changes should be interpreted with caution, data suggest that intercerebellar coupling possibly represents the functional foundation of the bimanual advantage.
The Differential Impact of Parental Warmth on Externalizing Problems Among Triangulated Adolescents

ABSTRACT Triangulation is a family-wide process in which children are inappropriately involved in interparental conflict, placing them at heightened risk for adjustment problems. A common form of triangulation occurs by parents pressuring their children to take sides, which may result in feelings of being torn between parents. Externalizing behaviors in particular may develop as adolescents feel caught in the middle of conflict and forced to choose a side. However, the nature of the triadic process of triangulation may be impacted by dyadic-level relationships within the family. The authors thus explored how positive parenting processes may alter the relations between triangulation and adolescent externalizing problems. Mothers, fathers, and adolescents (n = 301 families) provided assessments of adolescent externalizing problems, triangulation, and maternal and paternal warmth. Analyses revealed a 3-way interaction among triangulation and maternal and paternal warmth predicting adolescent externalizing problems; child gender also moderated these relations. Among highly triangulated youth, boys displayed increased externalizing problems when both parents exhibited low or high warmth, whereas girls showed increased behavior problems in the context of low maternal but high paternal warmth. These findings indicate the importance of examining the broader family context and gender when considering the impact of triangulation during adolescence.
On suicide prediction and prevention.

Suicide is a major preventable cause of death. Prevention is facilitated by identification of populations at increased risk. It further requires the ability to estimate accurately the degree of risk in a given person at a given time and to intervene effectively. Considerable progress has been made in identifying high-risk groups. However, though demographic data identify large groups with greater than average risk (eg, the single, widowed, and divorced), they are far too general to be of practical use. They identify large numbers of persons who are never at risk. 1 That suicide rarely occurs in the absence of psychiatric illness 2-4 further defines the field of special concern. Still, only a minority of those so afflicted will commit suicide. The lifetime risk of suicide in affective disorder is about 15%, not 50% or 90%. 5 Thus, knowledge of the association between psychiatric illness and suicide falls far short of
Developmental onset of long‐term potentiation in area CA1 of the rat hippocampus.

Long‐term potentiation (l.t.p.) was studied in area CA1 of rat hippocampal slices during development at post‐natal days 1‐8, 15 and 60. Tetanic stimulation at 100 Hz for 1 s was delivered to the fibres in stratum radiatum and the time course of potentiation was recorded in stratum pyramidale for 20 min after tetanus. L.t. p. was measured at 20 min post‐tetanus as an increase in the amplitude of the population spike. The time course and magnitude of post‐tetanic potentiation (p.t.p.) differed with age. For 60‐day‐old animals p.t. p. was seen as a maximally potentiated response immediately post‐tetanus that declined to a smaller potentiated response by 5 min post‐tetanus. For animals younger than 15 days the response was also maximally potentiated immediately post‐tetanus with subsequent decline. However, the duration of maximal potentiation was shorter and the magnitude was less. A different time course of p.t. p. was observed at 15 days. The maximal potentiation was approximately equal to that seen at 60 days, but instead of declining, the response remained maximally potentiated throughout the entire post‐tetanus monitoring period. L.t. p. was first observed at post‐natal day 5, and by post‐natal days 7 and 8 substantial levels of l.t. p. were seen consistently. The greatest magnitude of l.t. p. was found at 15 days, and was considerably more than that produced at 60 days. When the duration of l.t. p. was monitored for longer than 20 min the response declined back to pretetanus levels by 1‐1 1/2 h for animals younger than 15 days. In 15‐day‐old rats the response remained maximally potentiated for the full 72 min that it was monitored, with no decline. In control experiments of low‐frequency stimulation (l.f.s.) at 1/15 s for 100 stimuli, hippocampal slices from 60‐day‐old animals showed response elevation. In contrast, l.f. s. resulted in response decrement over time for slices from 5‐15‐day‐old animals. Three measures of pretetanus excitability in area CA1 suggested an increase with age. The stimulus intensity required for field excitatory post‐synaptic potential (e.p.s.p.) threshold declined, the magnitude of the maximal population spike amplitude increased, and the population spike latency decreased. These results suggest that the magnitude of l.t. p. is not strictly related to the pretetanus excitability of CA1 cells. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
New Zealand sub-Antarctic phytoliths and their potential for past vegetation reconstruction

Abstract Phytoliths in the modern vegetation of sub-Antarctic Campbell Island are compared with those in the soil beneath to assess the accuracy of vegetation reconstructions made from dispersed phytolith assemblages. The soil phytoliths alone suggest the source vegetation is a grassland association for all study sites, which reflects none of the herb, fern or shrub component of the overlying vegetation. It is concluded that at this locality dispersed phytoliths on their own are not reliable indicators of source vegetation and should be used with caution in this context for palaeoecological studies. However, they can provide useful botanical information where all other organic material is absent. With further research, based on the abundance and diversity of Poaceae phytoliths observed in this and other studies, dispersed phytoliths from the fossil record have the potential to contribute significantly to the understanding of grassland ecosystem development in the geological past.
[μ-Bis(diphenylarsino)methane-1:2κ2 As:As′][bis(4-methoxyphenyl)phenylphosphine-3κP]-nonacarbonyl-1κ3 C,2κ3 C,3κ3 C-triangulo-triruthenium(0) dichloromethane 0.15-solvate

The asymmetric unit of the title triangulo-triruthenium compound, [Ru3(C25H22As2)(C20H19O2P)(CO)9]·0.15CH2Cl2, contains one molecule of the triangulo-triruthenium complex and one partially occupied dichloromethane solvent molecule. The dichloromethane solvent lies across a crystallographic inversion center leading to the molecule being disordered over two positions of equal occupancy. The bis(diphenylarsino)methane ligand bridges an Ru—Ru bond and the monodentate arsine ligand bonds to the third Ru atom. Both the arsine ligands are equatorial with respect to the Ru3 triangle. In addition, each Ru atom carries one equatorial and two axial terminal carbonyl ligands. The three phosphorus-bound benzene rings make dihedral angles of 72.7 (3), 80.9 (3) and 70.8 (2)° with each other. The dihedral angles between the two benzene rings are 79.9 (3) and 81.5 (2)° for the two diphenylarsino groups.
Comparative analysis between SROL - Romanian database and Emo - German database

In this paper, we compared the recognition rate obtained with our instruments for the emotional states (happiness, fury, sadness and neutral tone) from the SROL and from the Emo databases. The main goal of this research is to validate the instruments used for the extracting of the features vectors applied for the automatic recognition of the emotions and the results presented in our previously papers, for the Romanian language. The global recognition percents of the emotions is around 90% using Weighted K-Nearest Neighbors - WKNN classifier for the SROL Romanian database, respectively 86% for Emo German database. The recognition rates are close to the other studies from the literatures, for German database.
Human Cognitive Abilities: A Survey of Factor-Analytic Studies, by J. B. Carroll, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1993), pp. iv + 819, ISBN 0-521-38712-4.

(1995). Human Cognitive Abilities: A Survey of Factor-Analytic Studies, by J. B. Carroll, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1993), pp. iv + 819, ISBN 0-521-38712-4. Ergonomics: Vol. 38, No. 5, pp. 1074-1074.
Actual Diversity Performance of a Multiband Diversity Antenna With Hand and Head Effects

Using the metric actual diversity gain (ADG), diversity performance is investigated for a compact mobile terminal prototype with two internal, triple frequency band antennas in four different cases of user interaction. ADG is presented as a preferred alternative to apparent diversity gain and effective diversity gain. Absorption due to user proximity causes degradation and imbalance in mean effective gain of the antennas over the frequency bands, contributing to a degradation in diversity performance. However, user-induced changes in the antenna patterns cause a decrease in correlation in the low frequency band, which facilitates increased diversity gain. The study reveals that a significant net diversity gain, i.e., ADG of 5-8 dB compared to a single antenna prototype, can be achieved using multiband antennas in the proximity of a user, even at low frequencies for antennas with high mutual coupling.
Double Cross-Validation and Improved Sensitivity of the Rapid Screen of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

This study aimed to replicate and cross-validate the Rapid Screen of Concussion (RSC) for diagnosing mild TBI (mTBI). One hundred (81 male, 19 female) cases of mTBI and 35 (23 male and 12 female) cases of orthopaedic injuries were tested within 24 hr of injury. Double cross-validation was used to examine whether total RSC scores obtained in the current sample, generalised to one previously reported. In the new sample, mTBI patients answered fewer orientation questions, recalled fewer words on the learning trial and after a delay, judged fewer sentences in 2 min, and completed fewer symbols in the Digit Symbol Substitution Test than orthopaedic controls. The formulae and cut-offs developed on the original and new samples produced similar sensitivity and overall correct classification rates. Inclusion of the Digit Symbol Substitution Test performance of the new sample improved the sensitivity (80.2%) and specificity (82.6%) in males. It did not improve the correct classification rate in females, which was 89.5% sensitivity and 91.7% specificity before the inclusion of the Digit Symbol Substitution Test. Taken together, these results indicate that a combined score on this 12-min screen yields a measure of level of brain impairment up to 24 hr after mTBI.
Field estimates of planktonic larval duration in a marine invertebrate

Planktonic larval durations (PLDs) affect the ecology and evolution of benthic marine populations through their effects on dispersal distance, the spread of sibling larvae, the level of larval mortality, and population connectivity. Despite the importance of PLDs, field estimates of PLDs in marine invertebrates are rare and restricted to specific taxa. The size of the first postmetamorphic feeding structure (the ancestrula lophophore) in Bugula neritina has been shown previously to decline with increases in larval duration. We hypothesised that if the relationship between larval duration and the size of the ancestrula lophophore can be estimated in the laboratory, then it should be possible to infer the PLD of B. neritina settlers in the field. We manipulated the length of the larval period in the laboratory and quantified the relationship between larval duration and the volume of the ancestrula lophophore. We then measured the size of lophophores in field-settled individuals at 2 sites on multiple days over a 2 yr period, and predicted their planktonic durations based on our laboratory-derived classifications. The average percentage of individuals in the field with short (0 to 1.5 h), intermediate (1.5 to 6.5 h), and long (6.5 to 32 h) PLDs was 54, 27, and 19%, respectively. Despite being competent to settle upon release from the colony, a significant proportion of settlers in the field experienced metamorphic delays that would incur significant post-settlement costs. Furthermore there was a positive relationship between settlement density and the proportion of settlers in any one cohort that had experienced short PLDs. The extended planktonic periods that we predicted are likely to affect the dynamics of adult pop - ulations directly via reductions in settlement density and indirectly via reductions in the postsettlement performance of individuals that experienced a metamorphic delay before settling.
“Worm in the eye”: the rationale for treatment of DUSN in south India

Aim: To discuss the rationale for different techniques of treatment for DUSN (diffuse unilateral subacute neuroretinitis) and their effectiveness in two patients from south India. Methods: Two rare cases of live worms in DUSN from India are reported, where filarial Brugia malayi is endemic. Both cases presented with progressive unilateral loss of vision with no history of animal contact. They were 40 year old, apparently healthy men. In case 1, the worm (1500–2000 μm) was easy to identify with wriggling movements among crisscrossing diffuse subretinal tracks. The worm was destroyed by a single shot of laser to its advancing end, which was followed by oral steroid to control the inflammation caused by the dead worm. In case 2, the worm was small and difficult to identify. Initially diffuse neuroretinitis was diagnosed and treated with intravenous methylprednisolone and oral corticosteroid. A week later, a small live worm (400–600 µm) was found and subsequently destroyed by laser photocoagulation followed by a combination of anthelminthics. Results: The patients’ vision had improved to 6/60–6/36 from counting fingers after a few weeks. Conclusion: The role of a combination of laser treatment, systemic steroid, and anthelminthics is discussed.