Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The modifier effect in within-category induction: Default inheritance in complex noun phrases

Within-category induction is the projection of a generic property from a class (Apples are sweet) to a subtype of that class (Chinese apples are sweet). The modifier effect refers to the discovery reported by Connolly et al., that the subtype statement tends to be judged less likely to be true than the original unmodified sentence. The effect was replicated and shown to be moderated by the typicality of the modifier (Experiment 1). Likelihood judgements were also found to correlate between modified and unmodified versions of sentences. Experiment 2 elicited justifications, which suggested three types of reason for the effect—pragmatics, knowledge-based reasoning, and uncertainty about attribute inheritance. It is argued that the results provide clear evidence for the default inheritance of prototypical attributes in modified concepts, although a full account of the effect remains to be given.
Airborne Particles during a Firework Festival in Belvedere M.mo, South-Western Italian Coast

The effects of a Summer Firework Festival on the air quality were studied for the first time in a rural area of Southern Italy. The case study analyzes the physical-chemical properties of airborne particles collected during the Note di Fuoco (NDF) Festival, which took place in Belvedere M.mo in 2016. The sampling period was peculiar since in one week three different kinds of events have succeeded: three days during the NDF Festival with the concurrence of the festival and the firework displays, one day with the typical street Market involving food stalls and specialty shops, and three days with no specific events, considered as background conditions. Particulate Matter in different two size fractions (PM2.5 and PM10) was simultaneously collected on a daily basis and then chemically analyzed for major and rare metal content as well as for organic and elemental carbon determination. Levels of particles were even below the European air quality limit values. However, the day with the country market and during the three days of the NDF festival, the finer and respirable particulate fraction, PM2.5, showed an increase of 46% and 84%, respectively, over the mean concentration values observed during the background days. Both elemental and organic carbon, even in the finer fraction showed an increment up to 30%. All major, trace and rare elements were found in higher concentrations during the festival with respect to those recorded in days with no events. In our case study, K was recognized as the best fireworks tracer because its level doubled during the festival. Typical firework tracers like Fe, Ti, Mn, Pb and Sr resulted in greater concentrations, up to 50%.
A Non-Homogeneous Markov Chain Model to Study Ozone Exceedances in Mexico City

In many cities around the world, air pollution is among the many environmental problems that affect their population. Among the many known facts about the impact of pollution on human health, we have that for ozone concentration levels above 0.11 parts per million (0.11ppm), the susceptible part of the population (e.g., the elderly, ill, and newborn) staying in that environment for a long period of time, may experience serious health deterioration (see, for example, [1–10]). Therefore, to understand the behaviour of ozone and/or pollutants in general, is a very important issue.
On Exploiting Connectomics for Thalamic Nuclei Localization : A Supervised Learning Approach

 We hypothesize that thalamocortical connections after mapping by diffusion tensor imaging can serve as surrogate markers of individual anatomy, which can then be used for localizing specific neurosurgical targets in the thalamus. A variety of learning schemes, together with preand postprocessing steps are studied for our goal of thalamic nuclei localization. The training procedure is performed after non-linear registration and probabilistic tractography on diffusion magnetic resonance imaging data. Our results indicate that thalamocortical connectivity data do contain sufficient discriminant internucleus information for thalamic nuclei localization.
Characterization of polymer inclusion membrane containing Aliquat 336 as a carrier

The present research reports on the investigation of separation of Co (II) from mixtures of cobalt and nickel solutions using CTA based PIMs which incorporated the commercial extractant Aliquat 336. Tributylphosphate (TBP) was used a modifier. 2Nitro phenyl pentyl ether (NPPE) was applied as plasticizer for the preparation of the membranes. Chemical and physical characteristics of the synthesized membranes were investigated. Several important transport parameters such as thickness of membrane and the effect of the different sides of the membrane were discussed. Membrane extraction experiment showed that the glass-facing surface has higher extraction efficiency than the air-facing surface. The membrane was characterized by means of AFM, FT-IR and SEM.
Blind sparse deconvolution for inferring spike trains from fluorescence recordings

The parallel developments of genetically-encoded calcium indicators and fast fluorescence imaging techniques makes it possible to simultaneously record neural activity of extended neuronal populations in vivo, opening a new arena for systems neuroscience. To fully harness the potential of functional imaging, one needs to infer the sequence of action potentials from fluorescence time traces. Here we build on recently proposed computational approaches to develop a blind sparse deconvolution algorithm (BSD), which we motivate by a theoretical analysis. We demonstrate that this method outperforms existing sparse deconvolution algorithms in terms of robustness, speed and/or accuracy on both synthetic and real fluorescence data. Furthermore, we provide solutions for the practical problems of thresholding and determination of the rise and decay time constants. We provide theoretical bounds on the performance of the algorithm in terms of precision-recall and temporal accuracy. Finally, we extend the computational framework to support temporal superresolution whose performance is established on real data.
Ecological role and services of tropical mangrove ecosystems: a reassessment

Aim To reassess the capacity of mangroves for ecosystem services in the light of recent data. Location Global mangrove ecosystems. Methods We review four long-standing roles of mangroves: (1) carbon dynamics – export or sink; (2) nursery role; (3) shoreline protection; (4) land-building capacity. The origins of pertinent hypotheses, current understanding and gaps in our knowledge are highlighted with reference to biogeographic, geographic and socio-economic influences. Results The role of mangroves as C sinks needs to be evaluated for a wide range of biogeographic regions and forest conditions. Mangrove C assimilation may be under-estimated because of flawed methodology and scanty data on key components of C dynamics. Peri-urban mangroves may be manipulated to provide local offsets for C emission. The nursery function of mangroves is not ubiquitous but varies with spatio-temporal accessibility. Connectivity and complementarity of mangroves and adjacent habitats enhance their nursery function through trophic relay and ontogenetic migrations. The effectiveness of mangroves for coastal protection depends on factors at landscape/geomorphic to community scales and local/species scales. Shifts in species due to climate change, forest degradation and loss of habitat connectivity may reduce the protective capacity of mangroves. Early views of mangroves as land builders (especially lateral expansion) were questionable. Evidence now indicates that mangroves, once established, directly influence vertical land development by enhancing sedimentation and/or by direct organic contributions to soil volume (peat formation) in some settings. Main conclusions Knowledge of thresholds, spatio-temporal scaling and variability due to geographic, biogeographic and socio-economic settings will improve the management of mangrove ecosystem services. Many drivers respond to global trends in climate change and local changes such as urbanization. While mangroves have traditionally been managed for subsistence, future governance models must involve partnerships between local custodians of mangroves and offsite beneficiaries of the services.
Systemic Insulin Sensitivity and Skeletal Muscle Akt Signaling in Rats Artificially Selected for Low and High Aerobic Capacity

The mechanism(s) linking physical inactivity, obesity, and type-II diabetes are unclear. I hypothesized low intrinsic aerobic capacity is associated with reduced systemic insulin sensitivity via skeletal muscle insulin signaling. After 34 generations of selective breeding, high aerobic capacity (HCR) rats exhibited an 8-fold increase in running distance vs low aerobic capacity (LCR) rats (n=14 per group). LCR rats had higher rates of weight gain vs HCR (p<0.05) though food consumption was constant (p=0.86) over a 12-week study. Rats were divided into 4 groups: 1) LCR-Sham Surgery, 2) LCRCatheterization, 3) HCR-Sham Surgery or 4) HCR-Catheterization (n=7 per group). Euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamps on catheterized rats tested insulin sensitivity while sham LCR and HCR were used for basal tissue analysis. Plasma insulin levels did not differ during the clamps, but LCR required lower glucose infusion rates than HCR (p<0.05). Upon insulin stimulation, both absolute and normalized phospho-Akt(Ser 473 ) of soleus muscle were significantly increased in HCR above basal group (p<0.05), but not in LCR. No difference was observed between insulin-stimulated phospho-Akt(Ser 473 ) of HCR and LCR groups . These data support that LCR is linked to a reduction in insulin sensitivity in vivo without impairments of insulin-stimulated skeletal muscle phosphoAkt(Ser 473 ) vs HCR rats.
Formulation, development and evaluation of novel oral soluble films of ziprasidone hydrochloride in the treatment of schizophrenia.

Objective: The Present investigation deals with the formulation development and evaluation of rapid dissolving oral films of ziprasidone HCl, an atypical antipsychotic agent, belongs to class-II of BCS classification. Methods: Ziprasidone is a poorly soluble bitter drug and hence inclusion complexes of drug with beta cyclodextrin in different compositions were prepared using kneading technique. Among the prepared compositions, the composition PM8 was chosen to incorporate the ziprasidone HCl into the films. Various film forming water soluble polymers were explored for the casting of oral soluble films. Based on their physical and mechanical properties HPMC E5 and HPMC E15 were selected for the casting of the ziprasidone HCl loaded films. The films were evaluated for various physicochemical, mechanical and thermal properties such as drug loading efficiency, disintegration time, in vitro drug release characters, folding endurance, tensile strength etc. X-Ray diffraction studies, Differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and stability studies were performed for the optimized formulation in order to determine the stability of the formulation and the presence of drug excipient interactions Scanning electron microscopic studies were carried out to find the morphology and the texture of the film. Results: All the physical and mechanical properties of the films were in acceptable limits. The film F4 formulated with 20% w/v HPMC E5 showed good drug loading efficiency and 100% drug release in less than 6 min. X-Ray diffraction studies, Differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and stability studies of formulation F4 revealed the stability of the formulation. Scanning electron microscopic studies showed the morphology of the films suggesting that the films have uniform surface. Conclusion: Overall findings suggested that ziprasidone HCl oral soluble films of HPMC E5 exhibited a desired disintegration time ≤ 50 seconds, good drug loading efficiency and stability.
Perceptions on the Ground: Principals’ Perception of Government Interventions in High-Speed Educational Networking

The Alberta SuperNet was built to bring broadband connectivity to every school, hospital, library and provincial government office in Alberta (a large province in Canada with an area of 255,285 square miles). The supposed benefits of high-speed access have led to calls for strategic public investment on both the supply and demand sides. The provincial government, through Alberta Education, initiated a number of interventions to help make broadband technology more useful and accessible to Alberta schools and to promote use of the new technology. To investigate the perceived efficacy and awareness of these initiatives, a survey of school officials was conducted in the spring of 2005. The survey was designed to assess the interest, awareness and planned use of high-speed networking initiatives by school officials. The results of the survey show that principals place relatively high levels of importance upon these initiatives but their level of awareness of, and especially their utilization of the initiatives was much lower. There were small but significant differences among principals from large versus small schools and between principals from rural versus urban school. The paper concludes with recommendations for policy makers and administrators challenged with creating effective interventions using broadband
TAPER SHAPES DESIGN CHARTS FOR KLOPFENSTEIN AND HECKEN TYPE MICROSTRIP LINE TAPERS BY MODE-MATCHING and FDTD TECHNIQUES

The optimum shapes in which the reflected wave decreases at a specific frequency for a satellite broadcast reception were considered with the Klopfenstein and Hecken tapers. The scattering coefficients were obtained by using both the mode-matching and generalizing scattering methods. The λ/4 transformer changes to the Klopfenstein tapers, and the exponential taper changes to the Hecken tapers, when a longer length is used in the wide passband frequency. Then, the practical design charts for optimum taper shapes were obtained. Finally, the scattering coefficients for the optimum taper shapes are analyzed by FDTD methods to analyze the effect of radiation. INTRODUCTION The optimum shapes in which the reflected wave decreases at a specific frequency for a satellite broadcast reception were then considered with the Klopfenstein and Hecken tapers in Refs. [1]. The tapered parts were divided like a flight of stairs. The scattering coefficients of each step were combined by using both the mode-matching and generalizing scattering methods [2]. The λ/4 transformer changes to the Klopfenstein taper shapes, and the exponential taper changes to the Hecken taper shapes, when a longer length is used in the wide passband frequency. By choosing the parameters adequately, it becomes possible to choose the appropriate proportioned necessary bandwidths. In this paper, practical designs for optimum shapes are obtained using the Klopfenstein and Hecken tapers when the reflected wave decreases at a specific frequency for the satellite broadcast reception. When the taper length is shorter than a half lambda, the effect of radiation has to be analyzed. Then, the taper shapes are analyzed by the FDTD method. The Hecken taper reflection coefficients which are longer than a half lambda by the FDTD method are similar to those of the mode-matching method. The Klopfenstein taper reflection coefficients which are less than a half lambda by the FDTD method are slightly different from those of the mode-matching method. MODE-MATCHING ANALYSIS Waveguide Model The characteristic impedances of the input part and the output part of the microstrip line are assumed to be Za and Zb . The envelope of the characteristic impedance of each step in the tapered part, changes gradually which is assumed for N-1 to be divided at equal intervals, change as follows [3][4]; Klopfenstein taper: )] ( cosh ) , 1 / 2 ( 2 ) ln( exp[ 2 0 A A N m A Z Z Z b a m − Γ + = φ (1) Hecken taper: ( ) ( ) [ ] ) sinh( / , 1 / 2 2 / ln exp 0 B B N m B Z Z Z a b m − + = φ γ (2) where, ) ( ) ( 0 a b a b Z Z Z Z + − = Γ , ( ) 2 / / ln 0 a b Z Z = γ (3) ( ) ( ) ∫ − − = x dy y A y A I A x 0 2 2 1 1 1 ) , ( φ , ( ) ( ) ∫ − = x dy y B I B x 0 2 0 1 , φ (4) N is the number of steps. The width of an actual strip line is obtained from this characteristic impedance. The next equation was used as characteristic impedance Zn according to Ref. [5]; , 2 1 ) ( ln ) , ( 60 ) , ( 2               + + = n n n n re n n u u u f f u f u Z ε (5) u h W u n n ∆ + = S An A n W /2 (W -W )/2
The influence of short-term variability in surface water pCO 2 on modelled air – sea CO 2 exchange By

Coastal seas and estuarine systems are highly variable in both time and space and with their heterogeneity difficult to capture with measurements. Models are useful tools in obtaining a better spatiotemporal coverage or, at least, a better understanding of the impacts such heterogeneity has in driving variability in coastal oceans and estuaries. A modelbased sensitivity study is constructed in this study in order to examine the effects of short-term variability in surface water pCO2 on the annual air–sea CO2 exchange in coastal regions. An atmospheric transport model formed the basis of the modelling framework for the study of the Baltic Sea and the Danish inner waters. Several maps of surface water pCO2 were employed in the modelling framework. While a monthly Baltic Sea climatology (BSC) had already been developed, the current study further extended this with the addition of an improved near-coastal climatology for the Danish inner waters. Furthermore, daily surface fields of pCO2 were obtained from a mixed layer scheme constrained by surface measurements of pCO2 (JENA). Short-term variability in surface water pCO2 was assessed by calculating monthly mean diurnal cycles from continuous measurements of surface water pCO2, observed at stationary sites within the Baltic Sea. No apparent diurnal cycle was evident in winter, but diurnal cycles (with amplitudes up to 27 μatm) were found from April to October. The present study showed that the temporal resolution of surface water pCO2 played an influential role on the annual air–sea CO2 exchange for the coastal study region. Hence, annual estimates of CO2 exchanges are sensitive to variation on much shorter time scales, and this variability should be included for any model study investigating the exchange of CO2 across the air–sea interface. Furthermore, the choice of surface pCO2 maps also had a crucial influence on the simulated air–sea CO2 exchange.
Nanovectors for Neurotherapeutic Delivery Part II: Polymeric Nanoparticles

Despite major advances in intracranial surgery and delivery of drugs to the brain, treatment of neurological diseases remains one of the great medical challenges of our days. The complexity of the organ makes surgical procedures complicated, and conventional systemic delivery of drugs to the brain is hampered by low drug selectivity and low drug partitioning over the blood-brain barrier. Due to the high social and economic impacts related to diseases of the central nervous system, development of new improved treatments of brain related disorders is of significant value, both for the patient and for the society. Nanomedicine is a rapidly growing field in the development of novel therapies for treatments of brain pathologies. The scientific progress in nanotechnology has resulted in several new innovative nano-assemblies, with promising medical potentials. Therapeutic benefits related to the use of nanovectors includes, reduced chemical and enzymatic degradation of drugs, increased uptake over biological barriers, improved selectivity by surface modification using targeting ligands, and reduced toxic side effects in non-target tissue. This review discusses various applications of polymeric nanoparticles as nanovectors in treatment of neuronal diseases, specifically illustrated for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases and Glioblastoma.
Expectations and Uncertainty: A Common-Source Infection Model for Selected European Countries

We present a common-source infection model for explaining the formation of expectations by households. Starting from the framework of "Macroeconomic expectations of household and professional forecasters" (C.D. Carroll, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2003), we augment the original model assuming that also uninformed individuals are able to update expectations according to a naive econometric process. In this novel framework, a key role is played by the parameter measuring the probability of being informed: the dynamics of this factor over time capture the level of uncertainty perceived by households. This new framework is applied to study unemployment expectations for a selected group of European countries (France, Germany, Italy and the UK). Our results show that: (i) the novel framework is supported by data on unemployment expectations; and (ii) the probability of being informed is (negatively) correlated with the level of uncertainty spread by newspapers and conveyed by Internet.
High-intensity cannabis use associated with lower plasma HIV-1 RNA viral load among recently-infected people who use injection drugs

Introduction and Aims—Cannabis use is common among people who are living with HIV/ AIDS. While there is growing pre-clinical evidence of the immunomodulatory and anti-viral effects of cannabinoids, their possible effects on HIV disease parameters in humans is largely unknown. Thus, we sought to investigate the possible effects of cannabis use on plasma HIV-1 RNA viral loads among recently-seroconverted illicit drug users. Design and Methods—We used data from two linked longitudinal observational cohorts of people who use injection drugs. Using multivariable linear mixed-effects modeling, we analysed the relationship between pVL and high-intensity cannabis use among participants who seroconverted following recruitment. Results—Between May, 1996 and March, 2012, 88 individuals seroconverted after recruitment and were included in these analyses. Median pVL in the first 365 days among all seroconverters was 4.66 log10 c/mL. In a multivariable model, at least daily cannabis use was associated with 0.51 log10 c/mL lower pVL (β = −0.51, Standard Error = 0.170, p-value = 0.003). Discussion—Consistent with the findings from recent in vitro and in vivo studies, including one conducted among lentiviral-infected primates, we observed a strong association between cannabis use and lower pVL following seroconversion among illicit drug-using participants. Send correspondence to: M-J Milloy, PhD, Research Scientist, Urban Health Research Initiative, British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul’s Hospital 608–1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, B.C., V6Z 1Y6 CANADA, Tel: (604) 682-2344 X 68473, Fax: (604) 806-8464, uhri-mjsm@cfenet.ubc. ca. HHS Public Access Author manuscript Drug Alcohol Rev. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 March 01. Published in final edited form as: Drug Alcohol Rev. 2015 March ; 34(2): 135–140. doi:10.1111/dar.12223. A uhor M anscript
Applying TSSL in database schema modeling: Visualizing the syntax of gradual transitions

Since database conceptual modeling is a complex cognitive activity, finding an appropriate pedagogy to deliver the topic to novice database designers is a challenge for Information Systems (IS) educators. The four-level TSSL model that is known in the area of human-computer interactions (HCI) is used to explain and demonstrate how instructional design can minimize extraneous cognitive load in the conceptual modeling task of designing a database schema. The instructional design approach puts focus on the syntactic level of TSSL, to explain how visualizing gradual transitions between hierarchic levels of the schema is effective in database modeling. The current work demonstrates the approach, and at the next phase we plan to experimentally test the effectiveness of the approach by comparing performance and attitudes of students who are exposed to emphasizing the syntax of the gradual transitions in schema structure to those who are not exposed to it.