Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Validation of a Brief Pornography Screen across multiple samples

Abstract Background and Aims To address current gaps around screening for problematic pornography use (PPU), we initially developed and tested a six-item Brief Pornography Screen (BPS) that asked about PPU in the past six months. Methods and Participants We recruited five independent samples from the U.S. and Poland to evaluate the psychometric properties of the BPS. In Study 1, we evaluated the factor structure, reliability, and elements of validity using a sample of 224 U.S. veterans. One item from the BPS was dropped in Study 1 due to low item endorsement. In Studies 2 and 3, we further investigated the five-item the factor structure of the BPS and evaluated its reliability and validity in two national U.S. representative samples ( N = 1,466, N = 1,063, respectively). In Study 4, we confirmed the factor structure and evaluated its validity and reliability using a sample of 703 Polish adults. In Study 5, we calculated the suggested cut-off score for the screen using a sample of 105 male patients seeking treatment for compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD). Results Findings from a principal components analysis and confirmatory factor analysis supported a one-factor solution which yielded high internal consistency ( α = 0.89–0.90), and analyses further supported elements of construct, convergent, criterion, and discriminant validity of the newly developed screen. Results from a Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve suggested a cut-off score of four or higher for detecting possible PPU. Conclusions The BPS appears to be psychometrically sound, short, and easy to use in various settings with high potential for use in populations across international jurisdictions.
Naïve migrants and the use of magnetic cues: temporal fluctuations in the geomagnetic field differentially affect male and female Ruff Philomachus pugnax during their first migration

In many species, naive first-time migrants undertake migration without adults, supposedly on the basis of a simple' vector programme that combines an innate directional preference with a temporal programme that specifies distance. In strongly dimorphic species in which the sexes show distinct ecological requirements, the innate mechanisms of navigation may be expected to diverge between males and females with respect to their specific destinations. Based on captures of juvenile Ruff Philomachus pugnax at a migratory stopover over 21years, a correlation was found between the year-specific sex ratio and the global magnetic field disturbance during the 2weeks prior to the peak of captures in that year. This suggests that males and females respond differently to geomagnetic disturbance with changes in either the direction of migration or the level of migratory activity, and implies sex-specificity in the use of their geomagnetic navigational toolbox'.
Metal accumulation by Arabidopsis halleri subsp. gemmifera at a limestone mining site

Arabidopsis halleri subsp. gemmifera, a close wild relative of A. thaliana in eastern Asia, is an important model species of Brassicaceae used to study cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) tolerance and hyperaccumulation in plants. To investigate the effects of soil factors on metal accumulation in this plant, we collected plants and rhizosphere soil samples from a limestone mining site on Mount Ibuki, and compared them with those collected from non-calcareous soil in Japan. Irrespective of the sampling site, all the plants efficiently accumulated Cd in shoot tissues. The plants growing on non-calcareous soil also accumulated Zn in shoot tissues, but shoot Zn concentration in plants growing on calcareous soils was below the level required for hyperaccumulators. The pH of calcareous soil samples was between 7.68 and 8.21. Total Zn contents were similar in calcareous and non-calcareous soils, but the amounts of Zn extractable by 0.1 M HCl were lower in calcareous than in non-calcareous soil. These results indicate that the properties of calcareous soil affect metal accumulation in plants.
Dynamic Undervolting to Improve Energy Efficiency on Multicore X86 CPUs

Chip manufacturers introduce redundancy at various levels of CPU design to guarantee correct operation, even for worst-case combinations of non-idealities in process variation and system operating conditions. This redundancy is implemented partly in the form of voltage margins. However, for a wide range of real-world execution scenarios these margins are excessive and merely translate to increased power consumption, hindering the effort towards higher energy efficiency in both HPC and general purpose computing. Our study on the x86-64 Haswell and Skylake multicore microarchitectures reveals wide voltage margins, which vary across different microarchitectures, different chip parts of the same microarchitecture, and across different workloads. We find that it is necessary to quantify voltage margins using multi-threaded and multi-instance workloads, as characterization with single-threaded and single-instance workloads that do not stress the CPU to its full capacity typically identifies overly optimistic margins that lead to errors when applied in realistic program execution scenarios. In addition, we introduce, deploy and evaluate a run-time governor that dynamically reduces the supply voltage of modern multicore x86-64 CPUs. Our governor employs a model that takes as input a set of performance metrics which are directly measurable via performance monitoring counters and have high predictive value for the minimum tolerable supply voltage (<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$V_{min}$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:msub><mml:mi>V</mml:mi><mml:mrow><mml:mi>m</mml:mi><mml:mi>i</mml:mi><mml:mi>n</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:msub></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="koutsovasilis-ieq1-3004383.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>), to predict and apply the appropriate reduction for the workload at hand. Compared with the conventional DVFS governor, our approach achieves up to 42 percent energy savings for the Skylake family and 34 percent for the Haswell family for complex, real-world applications.
CALCIUM CHANNEL DIVERSITY AND NEUROTRANSMITTER RELEASE : THE OMEGA -CONOTOXINS AND OMEGA -AGATOXINS

The level of intracellular Ca regulates many cellular processes, including neurotransmitter and hormone secretion, the activity of ion channels and enzymes, cytoskeletal function, cell proliferation, and gene expression. Voltage-sensitive Ca channels are among the most heterogeneous of ion channels. In neurons, Ca channels differ in cellular location, biophysical and pharmacological properties, and modulation. A single neuron generally contains multiple types of Ca channels, and such channels are central to the integration and expression of activity in the nervous system. It is clearly important to understand the functional significance of Ca channel diversity; a major research effort that is under way has made clear that different calcium channel types are all part of a family of multisubunit ion channels.
Disease Perception and Coping with Emotional Distress During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey Among Medical Staff

The novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, is a highly contagious infectious disease declared by the World Health Organization to be a pandemic and a global public health emergency. During outbreaks, health care workers are submitted to an enormous emotional burden as they must balance the fundamental “duty to treat” with their parallel duties to family and loved ones. The aims of our study were to evaluate disease perceptions, levels of stress, emotional distress, and coping strategies among medical staff (COVID-19 versus non-COVID-19 departments) in a tertiary pulmonology teaching hospital in the first month after the outbreak of COVID-19. One hundred and fifteen health care workers completed four validated questionnaires (the brief illness perception questionnaire, perceived stress scale, the profile of emotional distress emotional, and the cognitive coping evaluation questionnaire) that were afterwards interpreted by one psychologist. There was a high level of stress and psychological distress among health care workers in the first month after the pandemic outbreak. Interestingly, there were no differences between persons that worked in COVID-19 departments versus those working in non-COVID-19 departments. Disease perceptions and coping mechanisms were similar in the two groups. As coping mechanisms, refocusing on planning and positive reappraisal were used more than in the general population. There is no difference in disease perceptions, levels of stress, emotional distress, and coping strategies in medical staff handling COVID-19 patients versus those staff who were not handling COVID-19 patients in the first month after the pandemic outbreak.
Survival and Development of Fall Armyworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Weeds During the Off-Season

Abstract The persistence and high dispersal of weeds during the off-season can favor the survival of pests and diseases that threaten cultivated crops in Brazil. The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is one of the principal polyphagous pests that takes advantage of the no-tillage system. Despite its pest status, little is known about S. frugiperda survival and development in alternative hosts, including those resistant to glyphosate. The purpose of this study was to investigate, in laboratory and greenhouse conditions, the adaptive capacity of S. frugiperda in volunteer maize and 6 weeds commonly found in Brazilian agroecosystems, including species with biotypes known for glyphosate resistance, such as fleabane, sourgrass, and goosegrass. We found that S. frugiperda survival and biomass were significantly higher in goosegrass, maize, and johnsongrass in both laboratory and greenhouse conditions. In contrast, fleabane, benghal dayflower, sourgrass, and smooth pigweed caused a decrease in S. frugiperda fitness. Along with S. frugiperda adaptive capacity, our results suggest that its persistence in the field can be directly related to weed control inefficiency during the off-season, increasing the demand for integrated pest and weed management.
Exploration of Impactful Countermeasures on IoT Attacks

Risks mitigation in IoT based systems is one of the recent challenges in both academia and industry. In this work, we propose an approach based on the attack-defense tree to assess the relevant countermeasures for protecting IoT infrastructure. To this end, an attack strategy exploration tool built on the top of the statistical model checker and genetic algorithm is used to select high impactful countermeasures. From that result, defense strategies are highlighted while a compromise guarantee between successful attacks, the cost incurred and the time to perform a sequence of attack actions. We report experiments applied over IoT network attacks.
Reflection of Electrostatic Waves on Plane Interface Between Magnetized Plasma and Insulator

The phenomenon of reflection of plane electrostatic (slow electric) waves on plane interface between a magnetized plasma and an insulator is studied. In this way, the applied magnetic field is perpendicular to the surface of the cold and collisionless plasma. In the absence of a lateral displacement and for appropriate wave frequencies an anomalous time delay of the reflected electrostatic wave is found.
Cyber-Physical Systems for Industrial Applications

Following the advent of cyber-attacks, but also the expansion of the worldwide digitalization, cyber security has become a national priority in many states of the world. Both the knowledge development, through the new industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) and recent cyber-attacks, lead to the adoption of rapid cyber security measures. The cyber-physical systems are based on the safety, reliability, and availability. The cyber-physical systems are the foundation of the critical infrastructures. The critical infrastructures are related to the nation prosperity, industry, and to the state security assurance. From cause and effect point of view, a chronological development of the cyber security legislative framework is presented. The main protection tools in cyber security of the critical infrastructures are emphasized by highlighting their main features.
Critical Success Factors for Big Data: A Systematic Literature Review

During the last few decades, many organizations have started recognizing the benefits of Big Data (BD) to drive their digital transformation and to gain faster insights from faster data. Making smart data-driven decisions will help the organizations to ride the waves toward invaluable investments. The successful implementation of Big Data projects depends on their alignment with the current organizational, technological, and analytical aspects. Identifying the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for Big Data is fundamental to overcome the challenges surrounding Big Data Analytics (BDA) and implementation. In recent years, the investigations related to identifying the CSFs of Big Data and Big Data Analytics expanded on a large scale trying to address the limitations in existing publications and contribute to the body of knowledge. This paper aims to provide more understanding about the existing CSFs for Big Data Analytics and implementation and contributes to the body of knowledge by answering three research questions: 1) How many studies have investigated on Big Data CSFs for analytics and implementation? , 2) What are the existing CSFs for Big Data Analytics, and 3) What are the categories of Big Data Analytics CSFs? By conducting a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) for the available studies related to Big Data CSFs in the last twelve years (2007-2019), a final list of sixteen (16) related articles was extracted and analyzed to identify the Big Data Analytics CSFs and their categories. Based on the descriptive qualitative content analysis method for the selected literature, this SLR paper identifies 74 CSFs for Big Data and proposes a classification schema and framework in terms of 5 categories, namely Organization, Technology, People, Data Management, and Governance. The findings of this paper could be used as a referential framework for a successful strategy and implementation of Big Data by formulating more effective data-driven decisions. Future work will investigate the priority of the Big Data CSFs and their categories toward developing a conceptual framework for assessing the success of Big Data projects.
Relation between dairy food intake and plasma lipid levels: The CARDIA study

Our research group previously reported that higher intake of dairy food is associated with lower incidence of obesity and insulin resistance syndrome, but did not study dairy foods in relation to plasma lipid levels. CARDIA is a longitudinal cohort study of 2,778 black and white men and women initially 18-30 years old. Diet was assessed at years 0 and 7 by an extensive diet history and plasma lipids were also measured. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine concurrent change in plasma lipid levels and change in dairy food intake. LDL-C increased by 3 mg/dL across quintiles of seven-year change in total high fat dairy intake (p=0.04). After correction for within-person error in dietary assessment, the true mean increase in LDL-C from lowest to highest quintile of change in dairy food intake was estimated to be 3-6 times larger, about 10-18 mg/dL. Neither change in HDL-C nor TG was associated with change in dairy food intake among consumers, but consumers of low-fat milk had lower HDL-C (change was about 1 mg/dL less than the HDL-C change in non-consumers, p=0.04), while the HDL-C was higher among consumers of butter and cream (p=0.02). Among consumers of total low-fat dairy food and of yogurt, TG was lower among consumers (change in TG was 6-7 mg/dL lower than that of non-consumers, p=0.05 and 0.002, respectively). Young adults who increased high fat dairy food consumption had higher LDL-cholesterol, in part balanced by higher HDL-cholesterol. The implications for health of consumption of dairy food require additional research.
Effect of Host Plant on Biology and Life Table Parameters of Brevicoryne brassicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

ABSTRACT The cabbage aphid, Brevicoryne brassicae L. (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is a key pest of oilseed rape, Brassica napus L. , and produces economic damage. Commonly, life table parameters have been used to compare insect fitness on different varieties. Effects of four different varieties of oilseed rape (‘Zarfam’, ‘Licord’, ‘Hyola 401’, and ‘SLM046’) on biological aspects and fecundity life table parameters of B. brassicae were studied under laboratory conditions. There was no significant difference between the length of prereproductive, reproductive, postreproductive periods, and fecundity of aphid developing on different varieties. The maximum length of prereproductive, reproductive, and longevity periods of B. brassicae were observed in the Licord variety. The maximum fecundity of aphid was recorded on Hyola 401. The intrinsic rate of increase was estimated by using Euler-Lotka equation and was compared with those estimated using Wyatt and White's equation. Intrinsic rate of increase of B. brassicae (based on jackknife method) was 0.298, 0.294, 0.311, and 0.289 on Zarfam, Licord, Hyola 401, and SLM046, respectively. Feeding on SLM046 and Licord reduced the reproductive capacity of the cabbage aphid compared with the other varieties studied. However, statistical analysis of Wyatt and White output showed that calculated rm were higher than that Euler-Lotka equation and there was not significant difference between rm on different varieties. Aphid population growth 20 d after plant infestation showed no significant difference between numbers of produced aphids, but significant difference in the number of winged aphids.
Improved Droop Control Based on Supercapacitor Voltage of Hybrid Energy Storage System in Bipolar DC Microgrid

In order to stabilize the bus voltage of the bipolar DC microgrid under the influence of fluctuating power, a coordinated control strategy for the hybrid energy storage system (HESS) in bipolar DC microgrid was proposed in this paper. The HESS composed by parallel operation of supercapacitors and batteries. The proposed control strategy coordinates the power distribution between the battery and the supercapacitor by constructing a droop relationship between the voltage of the supercapacitor and the output power of the battery. At the same time, the strategy also builds the voltage difference of the supercapacitors and the output currents of the interleaved parallel voltage balancer (IPVB) to achieve the power transfer between the double buses. Finally, simulation verification was performed in Matlab / Simulink, and the results show that the proposed control strategy can ensure the stability of the each bus voltage of the bipolar DC microgrid and improve the working life of the energy storage unit.
A Method of Reducing Mutual Coupling for a Finite Array

A method of reducing mutual coupling for a finite array with the characteristics of wideband and beam steering is presented in this paper. By adding an extra decoupling network, the mutual coupling can be efficiently suppressed for the antenna array. To verify the validity of the proposed method, a 1 × 8 millimeter-wave array antenna based on the gap waveguide technology is used in this work. The simulation results show that the active reflection coefficients are improved from −6.98 dB to −8.29dB, and the mutual coupling between adjacent elements is reduced to below −16.73 dB covering 20-33 GHz with the beam steering angle range of ±70°.
AHP-VIKOR VE MOORA YÖNTEMLERİNİN DEPO YERİ SEÇİM PROBLEMİNDE UYGULANMASI

Rekabetin yogun yasandigi gunumuz is dunyasinda isletmeler, maliyetlerini sorgulamaya devam etmektedir. Bu baglamda, lojistik maliyetlerine onemli etkisi olan depo yeri secimi kritik bir onem arz etmektedir. Bu calismada bahsedilen depo yeri secim modeli, urunlerin dagitim agi verimliligine katki vermek ve lojistik maliyetlerini minimize etmek amaciyla gelistirilmistir. Calismada, depo secim probleminin cozumune yonelik 3 farkli yontemin sentezlenmesi yapilmis olup, bunlardan birincisi, Analitik Hiyerarsi Prosesi (AHP); ikincisi, Vise Kriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR); ucuncusu ise Multi-Objective Optimization by Ratio Analysis (MOORA) yontemidir. Kriterlerin agirliklandirilmasinda AHP yontemi, alternatiflerin siralanmasinda ise VIKOR ve MOORA yontemleri kullanilmistir. AHP ve VIKOR yontemlerinde klasik olcekler yerine gercek verilerin ve MOORA yonteminin bu problemde kullanilmasi, yeni bir bakis acisi ve cozum onerisi olmasi acisindan onemli gorulmektedir. Uygulama, buyuk olcekli bir dokum fabrikasinin 3 ayri ilde depo yeri belirlenmesi problemi uzerine, 11 alternatifin degerlendirilmesiyle gerceklestirilmistir. Calismada, 2 ayri modelden elde edilen sonuclar karsilastirilmis ve uygulama sonuclarina gore belirlenen 3 alternatif ilde urun deposu kurulmasi karari alinmistir.
Understanding Physician’s Experience With Conversational Interfaces During Occupational Health Consultation

This paper presents an exploratory study on using conversational interfaces (CIs) to support physicians in conducting occupational health consultations. The CI was achieved through a web-based information dashboard with a chatbot assistant for providing real-time suggestions through text messages. Two system designs were developed: the first using a proactive chatbot, the second using an on-demand type of interaction. The effectiveness of the proposed CI and the two types of chatbot designs were investigated in a field study consisted of eight healthcare consultations. Quantitative results showed that the CI was positively evaluated as a reliable tool to be used during medical consultations and that occupational health physicians were eager to use this technology in their work. The qualitative data analysis suggested that our design concept might improve the workflow during the consultation, particularly with respect to the access to relevant information and structured decision-making processes using valuable references. The on-demand, lightweight type of chatbot interaction was better perceived than the proactive one. Based on these findings, we discuss implications for the future development of occupational health consultation based on CI and their potential contribution to computer-assisted, data-driven healthcare.
An Miniature Indirect Conversion X-ray Detector with Efficient Noise Filtering Techniques

An indirect conversion X-ray detector with input optics based on a fiber optic taper (FOT) and a CMOS camera has been developed. The detector is intended for use in high resolution X-ray diagnostics with microfocus X-ray tubes. A new technique for eliminating impulse noise is proposed. The efficiency of the technique is shown in comparison with other known filtering methods with respect to the degree of noise suppression and the preservation of fine image details. In-house software for processing X-ray images was developed: an image capture module and the impulse noise filtering algorithm were implemented.