Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
First Experimental Evaluation of Cardiac Apex Rotation with an Epicardial Coriolis Force Sensor

Cardiac apex rotation, quantified by sophisticated techniques (radiopaque markers and tagged magnetic resonance), has been shown to provide a sensitive index of left ventricle (LV) dynamics. The authors describe the first experimental assessment of cardiac apex rotation using a gyroscopic sensor based on Coriolis force, epicardially glued on the apex. Dynamics of apex rotation were evaluated in a sheep at baseline, after a positive inotropic drug infusion, and after impairment of cardiac function induced by coronary ligation. To evaluate the efficacy of the sensor to monitor cardiac function, results were compared to contractility variations expressed by the maximum value of the first derivative of LV pressure (LVdP/dtMAX). After inotropic drug infusion, a parallel increasing trend resulted for LVdP/dtMAX, for the maximum value of angular velocity measured by the sensor, and for apex rotation angle derived from velocity signal (+146%, +155%, and +11% from baseline, respectively), whereas a decreasing trend of all three parameters resulted after coronary ligation (–35%, –31%, and –65%). The twist pattern also was altered from baseline. These initial results suggest that the use of an implantable rotation sensor based on Coriolis force can be an efficient and effective tool to assess LV torsional deformation both in normal and failing hearts.
Transformation of Streptococcus mutans with chromosomal and shuttle plasmid (pYA629) DNAs

Transformation (i.e., DNase-sensitive genetic transfer) of strains of Streptococcus mutans representing serotypes c and e was accomplished by using chromosomal DNA from a Rifr Strr Spcr isolate of strain GS5 (UAB525) and a chimeric plasmid, pYA629. Shuttle plasmid pYA629 comprises the S. mutans plasmid pVA318, an inducible erythromycin resistance determinant originally isolated from a group A streptococcal strain, the tetracycline resistance gene and replication region of the Escherichia coli plasmid pBR322, and the promoter region of the S. mutans gene for aspartate beta-semialdehyde dehydrogenase. The strains examined for recipient ability included those known to lack a cryptic plasmid (GS5, UA130, UA159, and MT8148) and those known to contain a widely disseminated 5.8-kilobase cryptic plasmid (LM7, V318, UA101, UA174, and 3098791). The transformation frequencies in GS5 for GS5 chromosomal antibiotic resistance markers were comparable to those reported by others, but UA101, UA130, UA159 and UA174 were transformed with both chromosomal and plasmid markers at much higher efficiencies. In a larger strain survey, strains containing the 5.8-kilobase cryptic plasmid were more frequently transformable with both chromosomal and pYA629 DNAs than were strains lacking this cryptic plasmid. All plasmid-containing strains except LM7 lost their resident cryptic plasmids when transformed with pYA629. LM7 transformed with pYA629 retained pLM7. There are therefore at least two incompatibility groups among S. mutans cryptic plasmids. yPA629 DNA isolated from either E. coli or S. mutans transformed S. mutans with equal efficiency. pYA629 DNA isolated from S. mutans transformed both restriction-deficient and restriction-proficient E. coli recipients. Therefore, the strains of S. mutans used lack a restriction-modification system for pYA629 DNA sequences. S. mutans strains that are readily transformable, display maximal cariogenicity in gnotobiotic rats, and give high scores for in vitro measures of important virulence attributes have been identified to facilitate studies on the genetic basis and control of virulence.
Design QoS-Aware Multi-Path Provisioning Strategies for Efficient Cloud-Assisted SVC Video Streaming to Heterogeneous Clients

We layout a network infrastructure that leverages the storage and computing power of a cloud residing in the core for collecting network status and computing multi-path scalable video coding (SVC) streaming provisioning strategies. Therefore, in addition to its conventional tasks in the application layer, the cloud also gets involved in the network layer for the optimization of routing and forwarding. We call this scheme as cloud-assisted SVC streaming, and use it to further improve the performance of SVC streaming by using close cooperation between cloud and network. Compared to source-routing based provisioning, the cloud-assisted scheme can provide more cost-effective provisioning strategies by utilizing better knowledge of network environment together with more powerful computation power. We then propose several multi-path provisioning algorithms for cloud-assisted SVC streaming in heterogeneous networks. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first proposals to work on the problem of adaptive multi-path SVC streaming under the bandwidth, delay and differential delay constraints. Our design of the provisioning algorithms starts from an approach that is based on Max Flow and an Auxiliary Graph. Several extensions are then made based on this approach to address the situations such as provisioning from multiple sources and provisioning in dynamic network environments with rapid background traffic fluctuations. Simulations in both static and dynamic network environments show that the proposed algorithms can achieve effective performance improvements in terms of request blocking probability, bandwidth utilization, packet delay, packet loss rate, and video playback quality.
An Assessment for our Future: An Investigation of the Presence of External Ecological Assets within Three Counties and One City in Southwest Virginia 6th Grade Youth

Problem: Prevention Planning Teams are challenged with developing intervention programs designed to decrease youth risk behaviors. Literature indicates that by increasing the number of assets/protective factors within a child’s external ecology it decreases the likelihood of the youth participating in risk behaviors. Information which explicitly focuses on the etiology (external ecology) of youth risk behaviors for Southwest Virginia Region (SWVAR) 6 th grade youth had not been performed; therefore, this study investigated the reported external ecology present in the SWVAR 6 th grade youth, whether there are differences in the reported external ecology by gender, and whether there are differences in the reported external ecology by race/ethnicity. Methods: The SWVAR 2009-2010 6 th grade Youth Risk Behavior Surveys were analyzed and items extracted which pertained to the Search Institute Developmental Assets Framework. Twelve survey items were identified which fit into the External Asset Building Block areas of Support, Empowerment, and Boundaries and Expectations. Responses to these items by SWVAR 6 th grade youth who participated in the 2009-2010 YRBS (n=2051) were analyzed via descriptive statistics for overall responses and Chi-Square in relation to gender and race/ethnicity. Results: Descriptive statistics and Chi-Square analysis indicated an overall positive external ecology. There were however statistically significant differences by gender and race/ethnicity in each of the represented External Asset Building Blocks. Conclusions: SWVAR 6 th grade youth who participated in the 2009-2010 YRBS indicated an overall positive external ecology by overall responses, gender and race/ethnicity. There are however segments by gender and race/ethnicity which indicate a need for intervention and/or further investigation. EXTERNAL ASSETS OF SWVAR 6 TH GRADE YOUTH iii
Multi-sensor data assimilation of aerosol optical depth

As a result of increasing attention paid to aerosols in climate studies, numerous global satellite aerosol products have been generated. There exists, however, an outstanding problem that these satellite products have substantial discrepancies, that must be lowered substantially for narrowing the range of the estimates of aerosol's climate effects. In this paper, three different data assimilation methods were used to produce consistent aerosol optical depth (AOD) with four different derived AOD products. The results illustrate that the data assimilation method can produce comprehensive AOD fields with reasonably good data values and acceptable errors. Through comparing, the Kalman filter method is more preferable to the optimal interpolation and three-dimensional variation method.
The Transformative Capabilities of Mediation on Strenuous Labor-Management Relation: An Exploratory Case Study within the Telecommunications Sector in an Emerging Economy

This paper examines how and why a mediation process may transform an antagonistic labor-management relation, in two post-privatized telecommunications companies in an emerging economy, and make it evolve from severe confrontation to responsive collaboration. We deem that the analysis of such process allows gaining a better understanding of the positive impact that frank dialogue and trust may have on an organizational conflict, even when the prevalent social and political context, present in a good number of the Latin American countries, encourages labor-management altercations (Reade & Reade McKenna, 2009). After a decade of structural reforms that dismantled the state-owned economic apparatus, social turmoil, economic depression and extreme political weakness led, by the end of 2001, the Argentinean government to collapse. A new government, inaugurated in 2003, proclaimed the instatement of a new policy of wealth distribution guided by equity that eased the access to power within their organizations to the most combative union members and, consequently, made labor-management conflicts proliferate. After a tumultuous episode in 2004, both Telefonica de Argentina’s (TASA) and Telecom de Argentina’s (TECO) management and the Federacion de Obreros y Empleados Telefonicos de la Republica Argentina – Sindicato Buenos Aires’ (FOETRA-BA) leadership agreed to carry out a mediation process seeking to transform their unproductive confrontation into fruitful collaboration without relinquishing their respective interests. The contribution of this exploratory case study is the exposure of the transformative capabilities of a mediation process on a previously strenuous labor-management relation.
Mcm4 C-terminal domain of MCM helicase prevents excessive formation of single-stranded DNA at stalled replication forks

The minichromosome maintenance (MCM) helicase, composed of subunits Mcm2–7, is essential for the initiation and elongation phases of DNA replication. Even when DNA synthesis is blocked, MCM continues DNA unwinding to some extent for activation of the replication checkpoint and then stops. However, the mechanism of regulation of MCM-helicase activity remains unknown. Here, we show that truncation of the Mcm4 C-terminal domain (CTD) in fission yeast results in hypersensitivity to replication block caused by dNTP depletion. The truncation mcm4-c84 does not affect the activation of the replication checkpoint pathway but delays its attenuation during recovery from replication block. Two dimensional gel electrophoresis showed that mcm4-c84 delays the disappearance of replication intermediates, indicating that the Mcm4 CTD is required for efficient recovery of stalled replication forks. Remarkably, chromatin immunoprecipitation revealed that mcm4-c84 brings about an increase rather than a decrease in the association of the single-stranded DNA-binding protein RPA to stalled forks, and MCM and the accessory complex GINS are unaffected. These results suggest that the Mcm4 CTD is required to suspend MCM-helicase activity after the formation of single-stranded DNA sufficient for checkpoint activation.
Executive functions in children with communication impairments, in relation to autistic symptomatology

Although impairment in executive functions has been described in autism, there has been debate as to whether response inhibition is specifically affected. We compared four groups: highfunctioning autism; pragmatic language impairment; specific language impairment; and control. Inhibition was assessed using two subtests from the Test of Everyday Attention for Children, one requiring a verbal response and the other a non-verbal response. Although we found evidence of inhibitory deficits, these were neither specific to autism, nor linked to particular aspects of autistic symptomatology. Rather, they appeared to be associated with poor verbal skills and inattention. It is suggested that future studies need to control for structural language skills and attention deficit when evaluating cognitive deficits in autism. Reliance on control groups matched solely on vocabulary level or nonverbal mental age may obscure the important role played by language skills in executive functions.
Control-Relevant Demand Forecasting for Tactical Decision-Making in Semiconductor Manufacturing Supply Chain Management

Forecasting highly uncertain demand signals is an important component for successfully managing inventory in semiconductor supply chains. We present a control-relevant approach to the problem that tailors a forecasting model to its end-use purpose, which is to provide forecast signals for a tactical inventory management policy based on model predictive control (MPC). The success of the method hinges on a control-relevant prefiltering operation applied to demand estimation data that emphasizes a goodness-of-fit in regions of time and frequency most important for achieving desired levels of closed-loop performance. A multiobjective formulation is presented that allows the supply-chain planner to generate demand forecasts that minimize inventory deviation, starts change variance, or their weighted combination when incorporated in an MPC decision policy. The benefits obtained from this procedure are demonstrated on a case study drawn from the final stage of a semiconductor manufacturing supply chain.
Double salt crystal structure of nonasodium dihydrogen nonavanadoplatinate(IV) trihydrogen nonavanadoplatinate(IV) tetracontahydrate: stepwise-protonated nonavanadoplatinate(IV)

Nonavanadoplatinate [PtIVV9O28]7−, which is the first heteropolyoxovanadate in the decavanadate framework, [V10O28]6−, has been investigated crystallographically. The title compound, Na9[H2PtIVV9O28][H3PtIVV9O28]·40H2O, was obtained by a hydrothermal reaction at pH = 2 and contains two different protonated heteropolyoxovanadates.
An increasingly scented world

We know that, at least in the short term, a rise in temperature exponentially increases the emission rates of most biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs). It does so by enhancing the enzymatic activities of synthesis, by raising the BVOC vapour pressure, and by decreasing the resistance of the diffusion pathway (Tingey et al., 1991). BVOC emissions are thus expected to increase strongly with globally rising temperatures (IPCC, 2007). By applying the most frequently used algorithms of emission response to temperature (Guenther et al., 1995), it is easy to estimate that climate warming over the past 30 yr (IPCC, 2007) could have already increased BVOC global emissions by 10%. A further 2–3°C rise in the mean global temperature, which is predicted to occur early this century (IPCC, 2007), could increase BVOC global emissions by an additional 30–45%. Furthermore, global warming in boreal and temperate environments not only means warmer average and warmer winter temperatures, but also implies an extended plant activity season (Peñuelas & Filella, 2001), further increasing the total annual emissions. The biological and environmental effects of such increases in emissions can be substantial (Peñuelas & Llusià, 2003). However, many investigations are conducted in the laboratory, and we still do not know very much about the emissions of BVOCs in the field in response to warming. We know even less about mediumto long-term responses of BVOC emissions to warming, and about some regions of our planet, such as the Arctic, that are likely to experience the most pronounced effects of climatic warming. Tiiva et al. have started to fill this gap in our knowledge in this issue of New Phytologist (pp. 853–863). They have measured the emissions of isoprene, the most emitted reactive BVOC from vegetation, at a subarctic heath that they have experimentally subjected to a 3–4°C air temperature enhancement for 8 yr. Tiiva et al. have measured increases in emissions ranging between 56 and 83% depending on the year. Their results confirm the percentage increases in emissions expected using the standard algorithms of Guenther et al. (1995).
Lost in Translation: Which Stock Prices Bear the Burden to Adjust to Exchange Rates?

We examine the role of competing exchanges to restore price parity following currency shocks during 2008, a year characterized by dramatic currency volatility. Burdens on the NYSE and home market to restore price parity for cross-listed stocks are more dynamic than previously thought. Adjustments in NYSE prices are not uniform across stocks, are often less than home market adjustments, and are strongly influenced by differences in order execution quality. We quantify the effect of currency shocks using a three-system error correction model, and show that currency shocks exert independent and profound effects as prices gravitate to restore price parity.
University of Dundee Functionally Redundant RXLR Effectors from Phytophthora infestans Act at Different Steps to Suppress Early flg 22-Triggered Immunity

Genome sequences of several economically important phytopathogenic oomycetes have revealed the presence of large families of so-called RXLR effectors. Functional screens have identified RXLR effector repertoires that either compromise or induce plant defense responses. However, limited information is available about the molecular mechanisms underlying the modes of action of these effectors in planta . The perception of highly conserved pathogen- or microbe-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs/MAMPs), such as flg22, triggers converging signaling pathways recruiting MAP kinase cascades and inducing transcriptional re-programming, yielding a generic anti-microbial response. We used a highly synchronizable, pathogen-free protoplast-based assay to identify a set of RXLR effectors from Phytophthora infestans (PiRXLRs), the causal agent of potato and tomato light blight that manipulate early stages of flg22-triggered signaling. Of thirty-three tested PiRXLR effector candidates, eight, called Suppressor of early Flg22-induced Immune response (SFI), significantly suppressed flg22-dependent activation of a reporter gene under control of a typical MAMP-inducible promoter ( pFRK1-Luc ) in tomato protoplasts. We extended our analysis to Arabidopsis thaliana , a non-host plant species of P. infestans . From the aforementioned eight SFI effectors, three appeared to share similar functions in both Arabidopsis and tomato by suppressing transcriptional activation of flg22-induced marker genes downstream of post-translational MAP kinase activation. A further three effectors interfere with MAMP signaling at, or upstream of, the MAP kinase cascade in tomato, but not in Arabidopsis. Transient expression of the SFI effectors in Nicotiana benthamiana enhances susceptibility to P. infestans and, for the most potent effector, SFI1, nuclear localization is required for both suppression of MAMP signaling and virulence function. The present study provides a framework to decipher the molecular mechanisms underlying the manipulation of host MAMP-triggered immunity (MTI) by P. infestans and to understand the basis of host versus non-host resistance in plants towards P. infestans .
An Efficient and Effective Fuzzy Collaborative Intelligence Approach for Cycle Time Estimation in Wafer Fabrication

A common characteristic of fuzzy collaborative forecasting methods is the establishment of an interval estimate that is guaranteed to include the actual value. Such a characteristic is crucial to various planning purposes because it reduces the risk of incorrect forecasting. A new fuzzy collaborative forecasting method is proposed in this study to estimate the cycle time of a job in a wafer fabrication factory; this is a critical task for managing the fabrication of wafers. The proposed fuzzy collaborative forecasting method uses a fuzzy back propagation network that effectively improves the precision of estimation. The accuracy is enhanced through expert collaboration. The performance of the proposed methodology was selectively compared with those of two existing fuzzy collaborative forecasting methods by applying them to a real case. The results confirmed that the proposed methodology substantially enhanced the performance in estimating the cycle time of a job.
Sleep Quality Affects Cognitive Functioning in Returning Combat Veterans Beyond Combat Exposure, PTSD, and Mild TBI History

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine how sleep quality affects cognitive functioning in returning combat veterans after accounting for effects of combat exposure, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) history. Method: This was a cross-sectional assessment study evaluating combat exposure, PTSD, mTBI history, sleep quality, and neuropsychological functioning. One hundred and nine eligible male Iraq/Afghanistan combat veterans completed an assessment consisting of a structured clinical interview, neuropsychological battery, and self-report measures. Results: Using partial least squares structural equation modeling, combat experiences and mTBI history were not directly associated with sleep quality. PTSD was directly associated with sleep quality, which contributed to deficits in neuropsychological functioning independently of and in addition to combat experiences, PTSD, and mTBI history. Combat experiences and PTSD were differentially associated with motor speed. Conclusions: Sleep affected cognitive function independently of combat experiences, PTSD, and mTBI history. Sleep quality also contributed to cognitive deficits beyond effects of PTSD. An evaluation of sleep quality may be a useful point of clinical intervention in combat veterans with cognitive complaints. Improving sleep quality could alleviate cognitive complaints, improving veterans’ ability to engage in treatment.
General Attitude of College Students Towards Consequences and Impact of Television Advertising in Pakistan

The purpose of this research study was to examine the consequences that television advertising has upon the general attitude of college students towards television advertising in Pakistan. The data was collected from the randomly selected 538 college students including both genders. The respondents in five major cities like Peshawar, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Quetta and Karachi. were asked to answer a self administered questionnaire. The descriptive, correlation and regression analysis tools were made use of to analysis the data. The results revealed that the television advertising in Pakistan has a significant but negative ethical and social consequence however a positive economic one. The results indicated that there is significant positive general attitude of students towards the television advertising in Pakistan. The respondents also demanded more regulations to control the television advertising in Pakistan. The study also predicted a positive relationship between the consequences and general attitude of the students towards the television advertising. The study recommends that marketers and the regulatory bodies have the responsibility to pay proper attention to the rising ethical, social and regulatory concerns of the students’ about the television advertising. Moreover the study provides a useful bench mark for the future research studies.