Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association between Hematocrit Level and the Development of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Chinese Adults: A 5-Year Study

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is recognized as a major cause of liver-related morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to examine the longitudinal association between baseline hematocrit (HCT) level and the development of NAFLD in Chinese adults. We performed a prospective cohort study of 2798 healthy Chinese adults without NAFLD at baseline. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to determine hazard ratios for NAFLD incidence in two groups determined by baseline hematocrit levels (group A, HCT <49%; group B, HCT ≥ 49%). During 10346.5 person-years of follow-up, 474 (16.9%) NAFLD cases developed between 2008 and 2012. After adjusting for multiple covariates and change in the covariates during the follow-up period, the hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) for NAFLD incidence when comparing group B with group A were 1.17 (1.03-1.31) and 1.70 (1.26-2.31), respectively (p<0.001). Conclusions: HCT level may be a predictor of the development of NAFLD in Chinese adults.
AUTONOMOUS 3 D TERRAIN MAPPING AND OBJECT LOCALIZATION FOR THE SPACEBOT CAMP 2015

The success of future space exploration missions increasingly depends on autonomy and mobility of rovers on rough, unstructured terrain. Aiming to fuel research in the field of autonomous space robotics, the DLR conducted a competetive space exhibition called the SpaceBot Camp 2015, that, in many ways, mimicked the requirements of future space missions. In this work, we describe our our entry for this event, focussing on the description of our subsystems for localization and 3D mapping as well as object detection and precise pose estimation, which were components of our system that performed particularly well before, during, and after the event.
Extending the Marker × Environment Interaction Model for Genomic‐Enabled Prediction and Genome‐Wide Association Analysis in Durum Wheat

The marker × environment interaction (M×E) genomic model can be used to generate predictions for untested individuals and identify genomic regions whose effects are stable across environments and others that show environmental specificity. The objectives of this study were: (1) to extend the M×E interaction model using priors that produce shrinkage and variable selection such as Bayesian Ridge Regression (BRR) and BayesB (BB), respectively, and (2) to evaluate the genomic prediction accuracy of M×E interaction, single-environment, and across-environment models using a multi-parental durum wheat population characterized for grain yield, grain volume weight, thousand-kernel weight and heading date in four environments. Breeding value predictions were generated for two prediction problems: cross-validation problem 1 (CV1) and cross-validation problem 2 (CV2). In general, results showed that the M×E interaction model performed better than the single-environment and across-environment models, in terms of minimization of the model residual variance, for both CV1 and CV2. The improved data-fitting gain over the other models was more evident for thousand-kernel weight and heading date (up to two-fold differences) as compared to grain yield and grain volume weight, which showed more complex genetic bases and smaller single-marker effects. Considering the Bayesian models used, BB showed better overall prediction accuracy than BRR. As proof-of-concept for the M×E interaction model, the major controllers of heading date, Ppd and FT on chromosomes 2A, 2B, and 7A, showed stable effects across environments as well as environment-specific effects. For GY, besides the regions on chromosomes 2B and 7A, additional chromosome regions with large marker effects were detected in all chromosome groups
Effect of compaction pressure on physical properties of milled aluminium chip (AA6061)

AA6061 alloy is widely used material in the automotive and aerospace industries. Consequently, more of the metal has been lost during manufacturing. The present study is aimed at investigating of physical properties of the milled Aluminium chip for this alloy according to change compaction pressure. Three values of compaction pressure were taken (5,7,9) tons. On the other hand, four types of particle size were chosen (25, 63, 100, mix) μm. The results were showing that the density and Microhardness increased with increasing the compaction pressure, while the porosity and water absorption decreased with increasing the compaction pressure. It can be concluded, (9 ton) is the best choice. On the other hand, the type DI (mix) was given the best result for density, porosity and water absorption compare with others according to particle size.
Distribution, Abundance, and Spatial Ecology of the Critically Endangered Ecuadorian Capuchin (Cebus Albifrons Aequatorialis)

Geographically isolated from other C. albifrons taxa found east of the Andes, the Ecuadorian capuchin (Cebus albifrons aequatorialis) is a Critically Endangered primate that survives in a small number of localities in western Ecuador and extreme northern Peru. We assessed 11 forested areas in western Ecuador to determine presence/absence using a combination of on-foot searching and interviews with local informants. C. a. aequatorialis were present at seven of the sites surveyed, four of which represent new presence localities. We carried out extensive censuses of five small, private reserves to obtain estimates of population density and demographic information. We also examined home range characteristics and habitat selection at one well-studied site. Population densities based on absolute counts at these sites ranged from 2-22 individuals/km2 (median = 2.4). Jauneche, a 138 ha isolated fragment reserve with 22 individuals/km2, was a clear outlier. Although we observed some solitary individuals, C. a. aequatorialis live predominantly in multi-male multi-female social groups, with a mean group size of 13.9 (range 5-20). The composition of social groups was typical for Cebus: adult females outnumbered adult males slightly, and groups exhibited relatively high immature to adult female ratios (mean = 1.5). Home ranges were unusually large for the genus (507–561 ha). The capuchins exhibited strongest selection for mature forest near streams, although they also used degraded forest frequently. C. a. aequatorialis faces critical threats in the form of habitat loss, hunting, and harassment by farmers, but we suggest that some remaining populations have the potential to grow if effective protection can be established.
The multiplication of coopetitive strategies in south of France wine industry

◦ Findings: The contribution of our research is threefold. First, after identifying all the drivers of risks, the loss of action freedom created by the barriers to entry appears as the main coopetitive strategy limit. Second, the case reveals that coopetitors do not content themselves with merely a single collective unit but rather they multiply their coopetitive strategies to overcome limits. Third, this exploratory study highlights the multiplication of coopetition phenomenon in the wine sector, perhaps necessary for performance.
Surface heat flux feedback controlled impurity seeding experiments with Alcator C-Mod’s high-Z vertical target plate divertor: performance, limitations and implications for fusion power reactors

The Alcator C-Mod team has recently developed a feedback system to measure and control surface heat flux in real-time. The system uses real-time measurements of surface heat flux from surface thermocouples and a pulse-width modulated piezo valve to inject low-Z impurities (typically N2) into the private flux region. It has been used in C-Mod to mitigate peak surface heat fluxes >40 MW m−2 down to <10 MW m−2 while maintaining excellent core confinement, H98 > 1. While the system works quite well under relatively steady conditions, use of it during transients has revealed important limitations on feedback control of impurity seeding in conventional vertical target plate divertors. In some cases, the system is unable to avoid plasma reattachment to the divertor plate or the formation of a confinement-damaging x-point MARFE. This is due to the small operational window for mitigated heat flux in the parameters of incident plasma heat flux, plasma density, and impurity density as well as the relatively slow response of the impurity gas injection system compared to plasma transients. Given the severe consequences for failure of such a system to operate reliably in a reactor, there is substantial risk that the conventional vertical target plate divertor will not provide an adequately controllable system in reactor-class devices. These considerations motivate the need to develop passively stable, highly compliant divertor configurations and experimental facilities that can test such possible solutions.
Simplicial Relative Cohomology Rings of Digital Images

The first goal of this paper is to show that the relative cohomology group s of digital images are determined algebraically by the relative homology groups of digital images. Then we state simplicial cup product for digital images and use it to establish ring structure of digital cohomology. Furthermore we give a method for computing the cohomology ring of digital images and give some examples concerning cohomology ring.
Hand Held Electronic Nose for Voc Detection

In this work we present a novel hand held electronic nose. This electronic nose is a lightweight instrument with wireless communications capable of stand alone operation. It has been designed to accept and work with several types of resistive microchemical sensors. The electronic nose can be operated stand alone or controlled externally by a personal computer. The external measurement and control program has been developed in Labview. Although this device has been developed for indoor applications it is versatile enough to be used as a general purpose low cost electronic nose. A low volume microsensor chamber has been designed to accept several sensor packages. The device has been tested in laboratory with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as acetic acid, acetone, ethanol, propanol, hexanal, ethyl acetate, acetaldehyde, butanediol, toluene and xylenes. The external program that controls the measurements performs real time data processing through linear pattern recognition techniques such as principal component analysis (PCA). Non linear pattern recognition techniques such as neural networks have been developed in Matlab for identification and classification purposes. Comparison between these methods is accomplished.
An Integrative Theoretical Framework for Understanding the Role of Structural Capability in Quality Management Practices on Quality Performance

With the growing pressure to achieve optimum level of quality, quality management practices (QMPs) has gained greater attention in developing countries. However, the contradictory evidence shown in the existing QM literatures had raised doubts as to whether QMPs alone is sufficient to achieve promising quality performance. In this regard, this paper aims to address the importance of structural capability in the pursuit of successful QM implementation seeing as the absent of structural capability may impose challenges to efficaciously embrace the QM program in enhancing quality performance. This paper seeks to develop an integrative theoretical framework that draws on the integration of resource-based view and dynamic capability theory to highlight the significant role of structural capability as a mediator in bridging the relationship between QMPs and quality performance that will serve as the basis for further empirical research.
Synthesis and Application of an Organic Dye in Nanostructure Solar Cells Device

Two organic dyes comprising carbazole as the electron donors and cyanoacetic acid moieties as the electron acceptors were synthesized. The organic dye was prepared by standard reaction from carbazole as the starting material. To this end, carbazole was reacted with bromobenzene and further oxidation and reacted with cyanoacetic acid. The obtained organic dye was purified and characterized using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), proton nuclear magnetic resonance (HNMR), carbon nuclear magnetic resonance (13CNMR) and elemental analysis. The influence of heteroatom on carbazole donors and cyno substitution on the acid acceptor is evidenced by spectral and electrochemical photovoltaic experiments. Finally, light fastness properties for organic dye were investigated. Keywords—Dye-sensitized solar cells, Indoline dye, nanostructure, oxidation potential, solar energy.
Optimization of photon correlations by frequency filtering

This work has been funded by ERC Grant POLAFLOW. E.d. V. acknowledges support from IEF project SQUIRREL (623708), and A.G. -T. acknowledges support from the Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation, IEF project NANOQUIS (625955), and the EU integrated project SIQS.
Helicobacter salornonis sp. nov., a Canine Gastric Related to Helicobacter felis and Helicobacter Helicobacter sp. bizzozeronii

During a study of the prevalence and distribution of gastric helicobacters in domestic pets, a novel group of Helicubacter-like organisms were identified. These “Helicobacter group 2” strains were initially distinguished from the species Helicobacter felis and Helicobacter bizzozeronii by their cellular morphology and the type of motility exhibited. Bacterial cells were only slightly spiral, 5 to 7 pm long, and 0.8 to 1.2 pm wide and showed an unusual slow wavelike motion. Each cell had tufts of sheathed flagella at one or both ends. Phylogenetic analysis by 16s ribosomal DNA sequence comparison revealed that H. felis, H. bizzuzerunii, “Gastrospirillum hominis” 2, and the new group of helicobacters formed a distinct cluster with intraspecies similarity values of more than 98%. These taxa were clearly separated from all other known Helicubacter species. Dot blot DNA-DNA hybridization studies indicated that the Helicubacter group 2 strains are genetically homogeneous and distinct from other canine and feline gastric helicobacters. Quantitative DNA-DNA hybridization experiments showed that Helicubacter group 2 strains exhibit >90% DNA homology to each other, but <39% homology to the phylogenetically related taxa H. felis and H. bizzuzeronii. We propose the name Helicobacter salomonis for the novel Helicubacter group 2 strains. The type strain is H. salurnunis Inkinen (= CCUG 37845).
Numerical diagnostic of the circulation in the Santos Bight with COROAS hydrographic data

Este artigo representa parte das analises desenvolvidas com os dados hidrograficos coletados durante os dois primeiros cruzeiros do sub-projeto Hidrografia de Meso-escala (HM) do Projeto COROAS: o primeiro no verao e o outro no inverno de 1993. A area amostrada nos dois cruzeiros e limitada na costa pelas cidades de Iguape e Ubatuba, estendendo-se da isobata de 50 m ate regioes oceânicas com mais de 2500 m de profundidade. O objetivo central deste trabalho resumiu-se na adaptacao do Princeton Ocean Model para a regiao de estudo, incluindo batimetria real, os campos termohalinos observados e contornos abertos. Usando-se esse modelo, realizou-se um conjunto de experimentos diagnosticos usando estruturas de densidade baseadas nos dados hidrograficos do COROAS. Os campos baroclinicos de correntes obtidos, de acordo com o esperado a partir de analises das estruturas termohalinas, apresentaram feicoes para a Corrente do Brasil bastantes similiares em ambos os cruzeiros. Esses resultados sugerem uma intrusao da Agua Tropical sobre a plataforma continental na regiao entre Ubatuba e Santos, tanto durante o cruzeiro de verao quanto no de inverno. Os resultados sugerem, tambem, penetracao da Agua Central do Atlântico Sul sobre a plataforma nas duas ocasioes.
The effect of the internet on voting behavior

The internet has transformed the way in which voters access and receive political information, such that it has circumvented the filtering of information previously undertaken by editorial offices. Consequently, consumers have had to learn how to filter relevant information themselves. The introduction phase of the internet coincided with a decreasing voter turnout, possibly due to “information overload” or less-focused political information. However, the subsequent rise of social media may help reverse the negative effect on turnout. But this poses challenges for regulatory policy. Understanding the internet’s effects on the consumption of information is also relevant for how voters view labor policies.
Effect of Decellularisation on Mechanical Properties of Porcine Left Carotid Arteries

Eindhoven, February 2003 Abstract One of the key problems in the in vitro engineering of transplantable organs is the lack of a matrix structure resembling that of the original tissue. The physiological matrix structure should be an ideal basis for a graft. If a xenograft is decellularised and the patients own cells are seeded on the matrix, a new blood vessel can be made. Scientists already succeeded to seed vascular cells on a decellularised xenograft. The decellularisation of blood vessels can be done in more then one way. In this report two protocols one using an enzyme and the other with detergents are tested and properties of the extra cellular matrix where determined. The arteries that have the largest resemblance with the normal arteries are going to be used for the seeding of human autologous cells on them. For the experiments, porcine left carotid arteries are used. A histological study of the decellularised arteries is done and inflation tests for two different elongations. During the inflation tests the diameter, wall thickness, pressure and longitudinal force are measured to calculate the distensibility and the incremental modulus in axial and longitudinal direction. The decellularisation with the enzyme trypsin was unsuccessful, after a few hours there were only jellylike pieces left, that is why the experiments were only done with a control group and arteries that were decellularised with detergents. The results of the histology show that all the cells are gone after the decellularisation process and that the extra cellular matrix is maintained. The opening angle of the control group is much larger compared to the group arteries that are decellularised. At low pressure the diameter of the decellularised arteries is larger than the control group, at the end pressure they are almost the same. The distensibility of the normal arteries show that elastin plays a role in the elasticity this is not the case for the decellularised arteries. The incremental moduli of the normal arterie s are lower compared to that of the decellularised arteries. The arteries decellularised with the detergents were the only ones used in the experiments and therefore have the largest resemblance with the normal arteries. It may be wise to investigate some other protocols for decellularisation to finally get the best matrix for making a tissue engineered blood vessel.
Genetic structure of natural and restored shoalgrass Halodule wrightii populations in the NW Gulf of Mexico

The decline of seagrass communities worldwide has sparked an urgent need for effec- tive restoration strategies, which require a working knowledge of population genetic structure. Halodule wrighti is a common seagrass of the Caribbean region that is being restored to areas of the Gulf of Mexico, yet little is known of its population genetics. This study provides an assessment of individual, clonal and population effects on the genetic structure of 4 natural H. wrightii populations occupying 170 km of coastline in and around Galveston Bay, Texas, for comparison with 7 restored populations ranging in age from 2 to 7 yr. By using molecular markers, in the form of amplified frag- ment length polymorphisms (AFLPs), we found considerable variation in clonal richness at the popu- lation scale (from 0.54 to 0.82), with the restored populations occupying an intermediate to high posi- tion within this range. Replicate sampling within individual seagrass beds of 3 to 5 m diameter generally revealed higher levels of clonal richness, elevated by 4 to 22% over that at the population scale, suggesting that seed recruitment is more important at the local scale than at distances of >10 m. Genetic diversity was 2 to 3 times less than that expected for a widespread, outcrossing species like H. wrightii, although a 170% increase in the frequency of variable markers relative to the mean for all other populations was noted for a volunteer population that had recruited from a mixture of donor materials planted at a nearby restoration site. Within the spatial extent of this study, natural popula- tions adhered to a model of isolation-by-distance, whereas donor materials from these same natural populations were undergoing a rapid genetic convergence within a restored site where they had been planted together.
Developing a methodology to predict PM10urban concentrations using GLM

A methodology using Generalized Linear Models (GLM) was developed and tested to build a model to predict PM10 outdoor urban concentrations. The methodology is based in the previous study of the relations between atmospheric concentrations of air pollutants CO, NO2, NOx, VOCs, SO2, and meteorological variables, air temperature, relative humidity and wind speed, in a particular city (Barreiro, Portugal). The model uses data from the Portuguese monitoring air quality stations network, and meteorological data. The developed GLM model consider as dependent variable PM10 outside air concentrations, and considers as explanatory independent variables or covariates, the air concentrations of pollutants NO2, NOx, CO, O3 but also the meteorological variables, air temperature, relative humidity of outside air and wind speed. A logarithmic link function was considered with a Poisson probability distribution. Particular attention was dedicated to cases with maximum air temperature below 25oC and maximum air temperature above 25oC. Results indicate that best performance results were achieved for model with values of maximum air temperature above 25oC, when compared with model considering all data, or when compared with model considering maximum air temperature below 25oC. The model was also tested with data from other Portuguese city (Oporto).
Process evaluation of infertility management in primary care: has open access HSG been normalized?

Aim To map the results of four empirical quantitative and qualitative studies to the Normalization Process Model (NPM) to explain why open access hysterosalpingography (HSG) for the initial management of infertile couples has or has not normalized in primary care. Background The NPM is an applied theoretical model to help understand the factors that lead to the routine embedding of a complex intervention in everyday practice. Open access HSG has recently become available for the initial assessment of infertility in primary care. Methods The results of two qualitative studies (a focus group study and an in-depth interview study with patients and professionals) and two quantitative studies (a pilot survey and a pragmatic cluster-randomized controlled trial) evaluating open access HSG are interpreted by mapping the results to the NPM. Findings Application of the model shows that open access HSG would confer an advantage to all agencies if they could be sure that the expertise was present and supported within primary care. Conclusions Open access HSG was adopted but not normalized into everyday practice. Despite demonstration of modest workability, it has been counteracted by limited integration. Further evaluation of integration within contexts is required.