Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Three Hydration Strategies in Detection Dogs Working in a Hot Environment

Physical activity in hot environments can increase the risk of heat stress or heat stroke in dogs. Heat tolerance is influenced by acclimatization to the environment, physical fitness, and hydration state. Three common strategies to promote hydration in working dogs are free access to water (W), oral electrolyte solutions (OESs), and administration of subcutaneous fluids (SQs). None of these methods have been compared for safety or efficacy in a working environment. In a cross-over design, seven vehicle-screening canines were randomly assigned to each of the three hydration strategies during working shifts at the Sarita, TX checkpoint. Physical, behavioral, and biochemical parameters were collected before, during, and after a work shift (mean 5.7 ± 0.8 h). Dogs were given 10 mL/kg oral W, 10 mL/kg chicken flavored OES, or 15 mL/kg of SQs initially followed by controlled access to W or OES. The dogs drank 15.61 ± 4.47 mL/kg/h of W and OES when in the OES group, compared to 7.04 ± 3.42 and 5.56 ± 4.40 mL of W, for the W and SQ groups, respectively. The median environmental temperature was 84.8°F (29.3°C). The median humidity was 70%. Based on mixed effects linear modeling, dogs in the OES and SQ groups had significantly higher total CO2, and lower packed cell volume and total plasma protein at the end of the day. Creatinine increased a small but significant amount in the SQ group and decreased in the OES group. Searching behaviors were independent of hydration strategy but highly related to the dog specific factors of sex, breed, and activity level. Under conditions of controlled activity in moderate heat and humidity, dogs accustomed to the work and the environment were more likely to increase fluid consumption and hydration when provided a flavored OES. Potential benefits of OES and SQ were indirect and no adverse effects were documented for any of the hydration strategies tested.
Synergizing independent and cooperative R&D activities: the effects of organisational slack and absorptive capacity

ABSTRACT Firms undertaking independent and cooperative research and development (R&D) activities simultaneously often have difficulties to realise their synergistic effects. This study contends that such difficulties are caused by tensions between two types of R&D activities in terms of resource competition and knowledge leakage. Moreover, organisational slack and absorptive capacity may affect these tensions and thereby play important role in synergizing independent and cooperative R&D activities. Based on a survey data of 286 firms, this study finds that such two types of R&D activities jointly have a negative impact on firm performance. Furthermore, organisational slack aids in synergizing them, while absorptive capacity has an adverse impact. These findings enrich our knowledge on the interrelation of independent and cooperative R&D activities and shed light on how firms can synergize them.
Application of Hybrid FETD-FDTD Method in the Modeling and Analysis of Antennas

The stable hybrid finite-element time-domain-finite-difference time-domain (FETD-FDTD) method is applied for the numerical modeling and simulation of radiation from antennas. Use of unstructured tetrahedral elements in the modeling of antenna structure enables the application of the hybrid method to accurately model geometrically complex radiators. Traditional FDTD method with anisotropic perfectly matched layer (PML) is used to simulate unbounded media. Pyramidal elements are used in the transition from unstructured tetrahedral elements to structured hexahedral elements of the FDTD grid. The hybrid method is extended by using hierarchical mixed order basis functions in the unstructured region. The finite element formulation incorporates the excitation of antennas using coaxial line or stripline feed with transverse electromagnetic mode (TEM). Application of this method in the modeling of typical wideband antennas along with the results of input reflection coefficient and radiation pattern is presented.
Signal to Noise Ratio of APD-Based Monolithic Scintillator Detectors for High Resolution PET

Monolithic scintillator detectors, consisting of several cm3 of scintillating material coupled to one or more Hamamatsu S8550 avalanche photodiode (APD) arrays, are proposed as detectors for high resolution positron emission tomography (PET). In this work, the factors contributing to the variance on the signals are investigated, and their effects on the energy, time and spatial resolutions are analyzed. Good agreement was found between a model of the energy resolution and experiments with a 20 x 10 x 10 mm3 LYSO:Ce crystal coupled to a single channel large-area APD (LAAPD). With the same crystal coupled to an APD array, differences between model and experiment were observed at high APD gain. The measured energy resolution of ~11% FWHM was dominated by scintillation photon statistics, with less important roles for the APD excess noise factor and electronic noise. On the other hand, electronic noise was an important factor both for the time and the spatial resolutions. The time resolution was found to depend strongly on the APD bias voltage, and was best at the highest bias. A time resolution of 1.6 ns full width at half maximum (FWHM) was measured against a BaF2 -PMT detector. The best spatial resolution measured was 1.64 mm FWHM, without correction for the ~0.9 mm FWHM measurement beam. It is estimated that an intrinsic spatial resolution of 1.26 mm FWHM can be achieved at the center of the detector with an infinitely narrow test beam.
Predicting Trust Dynamics and Transfer of Learning in Games of Strategic Interaction as a Function of a Player’s Strategy and Level of Trustworthiness

Individuals playing a sequence of different games have shown to learn about the other player’s behavior during their initial interaction and apply this knowledge when playing another game with the same individual in the future. Here we use a published computational cognitive model to generate predictions for an upcoming human study. The model plays both Prisoner’s Dilemma and Chicken Game with a confederate agent who uses one of two predetermined strategies and whose level of trustworthiness is manipulated. We go beyond the standard postdictive practice and adopt the increasingly popular practice of using the model to make a priori predictions before the human data will be collected in an upcoming study.
Changes of the infrarenal aortic segment after conventional abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

OBJECTIVES to delineate the natural history of the residual infrarenal aortic segment after conventional abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair. DESIGN open prospective study. PATIENTS AND METHODS between 1990 and 1997, 100 patients, who underwent conventional infrarenal AAA repair at our department, were followed annually by means of colour duplex ultrasonography. Data from 76 patients who had at least 3 scans were analysed. RESULTS mean duration of follow-up was 4.7 years (range: 3-8 years). The residual infrarenal aorta dilated a mean of 0.57 mm annually. No patient required reoperation. There was no significant correlation between dilatation and any of the recorded risk factors except for the initial neck diameter (p=0.03). CONCLUSIONS conventional AAA surgery is durable so that surveillance, during the first 5 postoperative years, is not justified in terms of cost-effectiveness. The impact of such a dilatation on endovascular AAA repair requires further investigation.
Performance Evaluation of Aodv&DSR with Varying Pause Time & Node Density Over TCP&CBR Connections in Vanet

Vehicular ad hoc network is formed by cars which are called nodes; allow them to communicate with one another without using any fixed road side unit. It has some unique characteristics which make it different from other ad hoc network as well as difficult to define any exact mobility model and routing protocols because of their high mobility and changing mobility pattern. Hence performance of routing protocols can vary with the various parameters such as speed, pause time, node density and traffic scenarios. In this research paper, the performance of two on-demand routing protocols AODV&DSR has been analyzed by means of packet delivery ratio, loss packet ratio&average end-to-end delay with varying pause time and node density under TCP&CBR connection.
Change in high-sensitive C-reactive protein during abdominal aortic aneurysm formation

Objectives We try to clear the relationship between high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) release and abdominal aortic aneurysm formation. Methods and results A rabbit abdominal aortic aneurysm model was created by elastase perfusion. At days 10, 20, and 30 after elastase perfusion, mean serum hsCRP levels detected by ELISA increased over 200% over their basal level (n = 11, P < 0.05). Serum hsCRP levels were significantly higher in the aneurysm groups than in the sham controls by day 5 (n = 11, P < 0.05) and were positively correlated with percentage vessel diameter changes in the aneurysm group by day 10 (r = 0.8012, n = 33, P < 0.05). In the aneurysm group, increased serum CRP was derived from the liver in early stages, yet from dilated vessels in the later stages, as shown by immunostaining, western blot, and reverse transcriptase-PCR. Similar increased hsCRP levels were also observed in dissected rabbit aortic ring explants from the aneurysm model. Pretreatment with the stretch-activated channel blockers gadolinium or streptomycin, as well as nuclear factor-κB inhibitor SN50, blocked hsCRP production in the dilated aortic rings. Stretch-activated channel blockers also inhibited the activation of nuclear factor-κB. Conclusion During abdominal aortic aneurysm formation, increased serum hsCRP levels derive from aneurysmal arteries with degenerating elastic lamina. This process is mediated by mechanical stretch-activated channel-dependent nuclear factor-κB translocation to the nucleus.
Major Mycobacterium tuberculosis Lineages Associate with Patient Country of Origin

ABSTRACT Over recent years, there has been an increasing acknowledgment of the diversity that exists among Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates. To facilitate comparative studies aimed at deciphering the relevance of this diversity to human disease, an unambiguous and easily interpretable method of strain classification is required. Presently, the most effective means of assigning isolates into a series of unambiguous lineages is the method of Gagneux et al. (S. Gagneux et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 103:2869-2873, 2006) that involves the PCR-based detection of large sequence polymorphisms (LSPs). In this manner, isolates are classified into six major lineages, the majority of which display a high degree of geographic restriction. Here we describe an independent replicate of the Gagneux study carried out on 798 isolates collected over a 6-year period from mostly foreign-born patients resident on the island of Montreal, Canada. The original trends in terms of bacterial genotype and patient ethnicity are remarkably conserved within this Montreal cohort, even though the patient distributions between the two populations are quite distinct. In parallel with the LSP analysis, we also demonstrate that “clustered” tuberculosis (TB) cases defined through restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis (for isolates with ≥6 IS6110 copies) or RFLP in combination with spoligotyping (for isolates with <6 IS6110 copies) do not stray across the LSP-defined lineage boundaries. However, our data also demonstrate the poor discriminatory power of either RFLP or spoligotyping alone for these low-IS6110-copy-number isolates. We believe that this independent validation of the LSP method should encourage researchers to adopt this system in investigations aimed at elucidating the role of strain variation in TB.
Canadian Physical Education and Kinesiology Unit Mission Statements: Who is Playing by the Rules of the Game?

ABSTRACT A mission statement can be understood as a declaration about the basic purpose of an organization. Given the low-consensus discipline of physical education/kinesiology (PEKN), and the limited research on its academic units’ mission statements, the purpose of this research was to investigate the content of these statements and what discourses they assert. To do so, the mission statements of units granting PEKN degrees in Canada were collected by accessing each university’s institutional webpage. Data were analyzed via the hermeneutic circle to inductively identify themes, and through Tinning’s (1997) theory of performance and participation discourses in human movement to deductively analyze discourses. Results revealed that only half of Canadian PEKN units had mission statements. Of those units with mission statements, the content of those statements (i.e., the unit’s stated products, services, and goals; community(ies) served; approach(es) taken; and standards of success) were more similar in their market strategies than in their disciplinary agenda or discourse. Perhaps it is time to shift from battling over participation and performance discourses to a new set of “p” discourses, specifically figuring out how to adopt a pragmatic and principled discourse in PEKN. Units should have pragmatic mission statements that communicate effectively to those inside and outside the university for survival, but should also be principled in that those mission statements must not simply offer what the university or potential students want at a specific moment, but also what will make an important contribution to society in the long-term.
A Multicriteria Method for Cervical Tumor Segmentation in Positron Emission Tomography

Accurate delineation of tumors is a fundamental requirement for proper planning and subsequent cancer treatment. In this paper, we propose to model the process of tumor segmentation as a multicriteria decision making problem, considering the information embedded in both Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Computed tomography (CT) images. A set of images of cervical tumors were semi-automated segmented and the results compared with a manual delineation. The results show that using a multiple criteria approach in the segmentation process can improve sensitivity, and the utilization of both PET and CT images may be a factor for improving precision.
Network Advantage: Mediating Effect on Business Performance

Abstract The aims of this research is to contribute to the literature and the conceptual model of the effect of relational capital on network advantage and business performance, the effect of network competence on network advantage and business performance, the effect of knowledge sharing on network advantage and business performance and the effect of network advantage and business performance. The number of samples in this study examined was 289 sample SMEs Furniture on Central Java Indonesia. The purposive sampling technique was used to the data collection methods. The results of this study showed that relational capital is a significant negative effect on business performance and positive significance on network advantage. Network competence is a significant effect on business performance and negative impact on network advantage. Network competency is a significant effect on business performance and network advantage. Relational capabilities is a significant effect on business performance and network advantage. Network advantage is a significant effect on business performance.
Design, Synthesis and Structure–Activity Relationship of New Arginine Vasopressin Analogues Containing Proline Derivatives in Position 2

In this study, we present the synthesis and pharmacological properties of new analogues of arginine vasopressin modified in the N‐terminal part of the molecule with proline derivatives: indoline‐2‐carboxylic acid (Ica) and (2S,4R)‐4‐(naphthalene‐2‐ylmethyl)pyrrolidine‐2‐carboxylic acid. All the peptides were tested for pressor, antidiuretic and in vitro uterotonic activities. We also determined their binding affinity to the human oxytocin receptor. The Ica2 substitution resulted in two moderately potent and selective antioxytocic agents: [Mpa1, Ica2, D‐Arg8]VP and [Mpa1,Ica2,Val4,D‐Arg8]VP (pA2 = 7.09 and 7.50, respectively). On the other hand, peptides modified with (2S,4R)‐4‐(naphthalene‐2‐ylmethyl)pyrrolidine‐2‐carboxylic acid, apart from their moderate antioxytocic activity, turned out to be weak antagonists of the pressor response to arginine vasopressin. The results of this study provide useful information about the structure–activity relationship of arginine vasopressin analogues and can help to design compounds with desired biological properties.
A common polymorphism in the 5'-untranslated region of the aromatase gene influences bone mass and fracture risk.

OBJECTIVE The aromatization of androgenic precursors in peripheral tissues, including bone, is the main source of estrogens after the menopause. CYP19, the gene encoding aromatase, has a long 5'-untranslated region with several variants of exon I and specific promoters. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible relationship between a common biallelic (C/G) polymorphism located on exon I.2 and bone mineral density (BMD). DESIGN This was designed to be an association study between CYP19 polymorphism and BMD and the risk of vertebral fractures in women. METHODS DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood of 299 women (116 premenopausal and 183 postmenopausal). CYP19 alleles were identified by a method based on the exonuclease activity of Taq-polymerase. BMD was determined by dual-energy absorptiometry. RESULTS In premenopausal women there were no genotype-related differences in BMD. However, postmenopausal women with the CC genotype had lower spine and hip BMD than those with the GG genotype. The association between CYP19 genotypes and BMD was independent of other variables, such as age, height, body weight, calcium intake or years since menopause. The CC genotype was also associated with an increased risk of osteoporotic vertebral fractures (odds ratio 2.0; P=0.03). Serum levels of estrone and estradiol were similar in women with CC and GG alleles. CONCLUSIONS A common biallelic polymorphism in the 5'-untranslated region of the CYP19-aromatase gene was associated with significant differences in bone mass and the risk of vertebral fractures in postmenopausal women. Given the frequency of allelic variants, genotype-related differences appear to be important from the perspective of the individual as well as the general population. Further studies are needed to elucidate underlying mechanisms that may be dependent on differences in estrogen bioactivity at the bone tissue level.
Automatic Determination of Chord Roots

Even though chord roots constitute a fundamental concept in music theory, existing models do not explain and determine them to full satisfaction. We present a new method which takes sequential context into account to resolve ambiguities and detect nonharmonic tones. We extract features from chord pairs and use a decision tree to determine chord roots. This leads to a quantitative improvement in correctness of the predicted roots in comparison to other models. All this raises the question how much harmonic and nonharmonic tones actually contribute to the perception of chord roots.
The Karen Chemical Dependency Collaboration: Lessons Learned in Using a Collaborative Framework to Promote Refugee Integration

While refugee integration is defined as a bidirectional process of mutual learning and adaptation, in practice, the U.S. resettlement program continues to emphasize refugees’ acculturation processes and places little emphasis on cultural or logistical adaptation of existing services. When adaptation does happen, it is often structured around dominant notions of health and well-being. There is a need to explore bidirectional integration processes and existing systems adaptations to accommodate people with refugee backgrounds at the institutional level. This article details a framework to build a sustainable collaboration between a refugee community and existing health and social service systems to reduce harmful alcohol use. The conceptual framework emphasizes three components: 1) adaptation of refugees’ indigenous expertise, networks, systems, and resources; 2) adaptation of existing systems to serve new groups in culturally relevant and effective ways; and 3) the participatory processes through which refugees and existing systems collaborate to achieve mutual goals. This paper describes the application of this framework and concludes with a discussion of lessons to support replication of the framework in other settings. Lessons learned include: equalizing power, paying attention to relationships and roles, engaging in deep cultural adaption of interventions, and building individual and organizational capacity to support partners.
Psychophysiological effects of synchronous versus asynchronous music during cycling.

PURPOSE Synchronizing movement to a musical beat may reduce the metabolic cost of exercise, but findings to date have been equivocal. Our aim was to examine the degree to which the synchronous application of music moderates the metabolic demands of a cycle ergometer task. METHODS Twenty-three recreationally active men made two laboratory visits. During the first visit, participants completed a maximal incremental ramp test on a cycle ergometer. At the second visit, they completed four randomized 6-min cycling bouts at 90% of ventilatory threshold (control, metronome, synchronous music, and asynchronous music). Main outcome variables were oxygen uptake, HR, ratings of dyspnea and limb discomfort, affective valence, and arousal. RESULTS No significant differences were evident for oxygen uptake. HR was lower under the metronome condition (122 ± 15 bpm) compared to asynchronous music (124 ± 17 bpm) and control (125 ± 16 bpm). Limb discomfort was lower while listening to the metronome (2.5 ± 1.2) and synchronous music (2.3 ± 1.1) compared to control (3.0 ± 1.5). Both music conditions, synchronous (1.9 ± 1.2) and asynchronous (2.1 ± 1.3), elicited more positive affective valence compared to metronome (1.2 ± 1.4) and control (1.2 ± 1.2), while arousal was higher with synchronous music (3.4 ± 0.9) compared to metronome (2.8 ± 1.0) and control (2.8 ± 0.9). CONCLUSIONS Synchronizing movement to a rhythmic stimulus does not reduce metabolic cost but may lower limb discomfort. Moreover, synchronous music has a stronger effect on limb discomfort and arousal when compared to asynchronous music.
How Much Democratic Backsliding?

Democracy is facing challenges across the world, yet suggestions of a global crisis are not warranted. Based on data from the largest democracy database ever compiled, the Varieties of Democracy Project (V-Dem), we find that the number of democracies worldwide declined slightly from 100 in 2011 to 97 today, and 16 countries transitioned to democracy over the last ten years, including Tunisia, Nepal, and Nigeria. However, there is a fair degree of volatility. In 2013 alone, five countries transitioned to democracy but nine went the other way. Worrisome trends include gradual erosion of freedom of expression and association in several countries, among them Turkey, Hungary, Poland, and Brazil.