Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Wellness as welfare.

While conservation and education are the main pillars of successful zoos, a growing emphasis on science and animal welfare is the next frontier of excellence. Nested in animal welfare, veterinary medicine, and behavioral science, the philosophy and practice of wellness is a new concept for zoos preparing for national leadership in the domain of animal welfare. The construct of wellness is understood as “a balance of mind, body, and spirit that results in an overall feeling of well-being. ” This definition finds expression in the constant, conscious human pursuit of living life to its fullest potential. In nature, animals keep fit to survive. In the zoo they have to be trained, and opportunities for an active life have to be scheduled daily by attentive zoo keepers. Wellness begins with a deep understanding of the preferences and the needs of each and every species in the zoo. Zoo veterinarians routinely conduct wellness exams to determine an animal’s total condition. Using operant conditioning techniques, many animals have learned to cooperate for blood pressure readings, and venipuncture without anesthesia. Wellness can be achieved through the application of immediate management techniques and training, and implemented long-term by designing wellness-oriented facilities where animals are activated and stimulated by species-appropriate environmental and social conditions. Wellness is a condition we share with animals, and our growing awareness of what it takes to be well is helping us to extend this outcome to every animal at the zoo.
The importance of dietary antioxidants on plasma antioxidant capacity and lipid peroxidation in vivo in middle-aged men

Background: High intake of foods rich in antioxidants is associated with a reduced risk of several diseases, including coronary heart disease and some cancers. Objective: To study associations between dietary antioxidants and antioxidant-rich food items and antioxidant capacity (AOC), as well as lipid peroxidation in vivo. Design: A total of 86 men, with a mean age of 60 years, who were part of a larger population-based study in Sweden, participated. Fourteen 24 h recalls were collected by telephone, evenly distributed during 1 year. AOC was measured in plasma using an enhanced chemiluminescence assay and biomarkers of non-enzymic in vivo lipid peroxidation were determined by measuring F2-isoprostanes (8-iso-prostaglandin F2a) in plasma. Results: Higher intakes of ascorbic acid, tocopherols and b-carotene, and of the combined intake of different antioxidant-rich foods, were related to a higher plasma AOC. The levels of F2-isoprostanes were related neither to dieta ry intake of antioxidants nor to antioxidant-rich foods. Conclusions: Individuals with a higher intake of several different antioxidant-rich foods and of dietary antioxidants had a higher plasma AOC than those with the lowest intake, supporting the importance of a balanced diet rich in various antioxidants. Moreover, the results indicate that non-enzymic lipid peroxidation in vivo, measured as F2-isoprostanes in plasma, is not easily affected by the diet. Keywords: antioxidant status; diet; food habits; isoprostanes; oxidative stress
Adaptive dictionary matching

Semiadaptive and fully adaptive dictionary matching algorithms are presented. In the fully adaptive algorithm, the dictionary is processed in time O( mod D mod log mod D mod ). Inserting a new pattern P/sub k+1/ into the dictionary can be done in time O mod P/sub K+1/ mod log mod D mod ). A dictionary pattern can be deleted in time O(log mod D mod ). Text scanning is accomplished in time O( mod T mod log mod D mod ). Also presented is a parallel version of the algorithm with optimal speedup for the dictionary construction and pattern addition phase and a logarithmic overhead in the text scan phase. The method used incorporates a new way of using suffix trees as well as a new data structure in which the suffix tree is embedded for the sequential algorithm. <<ETX>>
Zero-knowledge proofs of knowledge without interaction

A zero-knowledge proof system of knowledge is a protocol between two parties called the prover and the verifier. The prover wants to convince the verifier that he 'knows' the proof of a given theorem without revealing any additional information. This is different from a zero-knowledge proof system of membership where the prover convinces the verifier only of the veridicity of the statement. Zero-knowledge proofs of knowledge are very useful tools in the design of secure protocols. Though, the concept of a proof of knowledge is a very subtle one and great care is needed to obtain a satisfying formalization. The authors investigate the concept of a zero-knowledge proof of knowledge with a non-interactive model. Here, the prover and the verifier share a short random string and the only communication allowed is from the prover to the verifier. Although this is a simpler model than the interactive one, still formalizing zero-knowledge proofs of knowledge is a delicate task. <<ETX>>
Incoercible multiparty computation

Current secure multiparty protocols have the following deficiency. The public transcript of the communication can be used as an involuntary commitment of the parties to their inputs and outputs. Thus parties can be later coerced by some authority to reveal their private data. Previous work that has pointed this interesting problem out contained only partial treatment. The authors present the first general treatment of the coercion problem in secure computation. They first present a general definition of protocols that provide resilience to coercion. Their definition constitutes a natural extension of the general paradigm used for defining secure multiparty protocols. They next show that if trapdoor permutations exist then any function can be incoercibly computed (i.e., computed by a protocol that provides resilience to coercion) in the presence of computationally bounded adversaries and only public communication channels. This holds as long as less than half the parties are coerced (or corrupted). In particular, theirs are the first incoercible protocols without physical security assumptions. Also, the protocols constitute an alternative solution to the recently solved adaptive security problem. Their techniques are quite surprising and include non-standard use of deniable encryptions.
Association of the thickness of carotid intima-media complex and ancle brachial index with coronary disease severity

AbstractOur aim was to establish the association of carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and ankle-brachial index(ABI) with the severity of coronary artery dissease (CAD). The study enrolled 150 examinees and divided them into two groups. The patients with stenotic changes in the coronary artery, constituted the first group (CP)(n=100); the second group consisted of the examinees without CAD — control goup (CG) (n=50). The following methods were used in the study: Color Doppler sonography of the carotid arteries, ABI, calculation of SCORE risk and coronary angiography.ResultsThe number of coronary blood vessels affected by atherosclerosis was significantly higher with the increase of CIMT, CV risk score, and waist-hip ratio by one measurement unit: CIMT by 0.729; p<0.05; CV risk score by 0.033; p<0.05; and waist-hip ratio by 3.182; p<0.01. With each increase of ABI value by one measurement unit, the number of involved blood vessels dropped by 0.844; p<0.05. ConclusionsOur results demonstrated that reduced ABI value, increased CIMT and number of plaques in the carotid arteries were in correlation with the severity of coronary artery disease.
How bad is selfish routing?

We consider the problem of routing traffic to optimize the performance of a congested network. We are given a network, a rate of traffic between each pair of nodes, and a latency function for each edge specifying the time needed to traverse the edge given its congestion; the objective is to route traffic such that the sum of all travel times-the total latency-is minimized. In many settings, including the Internet and other large-scale communication networks, it may be expensive or impossible to regulate network traffic so as to implement an optimal assignment of routes. In the absence of regulation by some central authority, we assume that each network user routes its traffic on the minimum-latency path available to it, given the network congestion caused by the other users. In general such a "selfishly motivated" assignment of traffic to paths will not minimize the total latency; hence, this lack of regulation carries the cost of decreased network performance. We quantify the degradation in network performance due to unregulated traffic. We prove that if the latency of each edge is a linear function of its congestion, then the total latency of the routes chosen by selfish network users is at most 4/3 times the minimum possible total latency (subject to the condition that all traffic must be routed). We also consider the more general setting in which edge latency functions are assumed only to be continuous and non-decreasing in the edge congestion.
A constant-factor approximation algorithm for the multicommodity rent-or-buy problem

We present the first constant factor approximation algorithm for network design with multiple commodities and economies of scale. We consider the rent-or-buy problem, a type of multicommodity buy-at-bulk network design in which there are two ways to install capacity on any given edge. Capacity can be rented, with cost incurred on a per-unit of capacity basis, or bought, which allows unlimited use after payment of a large fixed cost. Given a graph and a set of source-sink pairs, we seek a minimum-cost way of installing sufficient capacity on edges so that a prescribed amount of flow can be sent simultaneously from each source to the corresponding sink. Recent work on buy-at-bulk network design has concentrated on the special case where all sinks are identical; existing constant factor approximation algorithms for this special case make crucial use of the assumption that all commodities ship flow to the same sink vertex and do not obviously extend to the multicommodity rent-or-buy problem. Prior to our work, the best heuristics for the multicommodity rent-or-buy problem achieved only logarithmic performance guarantees and relied on the machinery of relaxed metrical task systems or of metric embeddings. By contrast, we solve the network design problem directly via a novel primal-dual algorithm.
Magnetic moment and plasma environment of HD 209458b as determined from Lyα observations

Transit observations of HD 209458b in the stellar Lyman-α(Lyα) line revealed strong absorption in both blue and red wings of the line interpreted as hydrogen atoms escaping from the planet’s exosphere at high velocities. The following sources for the absorption were suggested: acceleration by the stellar radiation pressure, natural spectral line broadening, or charge exchange with the stellar wind. We reproduced the observation by means of modeling that includes all aforementioned processes. Our results support a stellar wind with a velocity of ≈400 kilometers per second at the time of the observation and a planetary magnetic moment of ≈1.6 × 1026 amperes per square meter. An exoplanet’s magnetic field is manifested as a particular absorption pattern in the transmitted spectrum of the host star. Transit marked by magnetosphere effects Life on Earth exists under the protective sheath of our magnetosphere that deflects charged particles blown out by the Sun. Kislyakova et al. calculated the strength of the magnetic field of a well-studied hot-Jupiter–type exoplanet that produces similar effects. During the planet's transit in front of its host star, HD 209458, hydrogen atoms leave a peculiar asymmetric signature in the transmitted spectrum. Science, this issue p. 981
Tests of Small Airway Function

Although the introduction of tests of small air­ way function has been relatively recent, the impor­ tance of inflammatory lesions in the bronchioles of emphysematous lungs has been recognized for years, and bronchiolar inflammation has been implicated in emphysema. Indeed, Laennec con­ sidered that small airway obstruction (together with loss of elasticity) may be responsible for the slow escape of air from emphysematous lungs. The recent interest in small airway function stems from the observation that small airways (less than 2 mm in internal diameter) contribute only 10 to 20 percent of total airway resistance. This is be­ cause of the greatly increased total cross-sectional area of the bronchial tree at the bronchiolar level. In the light of such findings, the importance of le­ sions in the small airways in chronic obstructive lung disease was re-emphasized, and the term "small airways disease," a nonspecific term that refers to the presence of inflammation, fibrosis, goblet cell hyperplasia, mucosal ulceration, intraluminal mu­ cus, constriction and distortion of small airways, and smooth muscle hyperplasia was introduced. On the other hand, it is clear that significant disease can occur in the small airways without producing mea­ surable increases in total flow resistance, and that standard lung function tests that reflect total flow resistance will not become abnormal until there are extreme increases in small airway resistance. As a result, considerable attention has been directed to­ ward recognition of disturbances of small airway function, and toward the development of new tests that might be sensitive to pathologic changes in small airways.
Simultaneous Eeg and Fmri: Recording, Analysis and Application

edited by Markus Ullsperger, Stefan Debener, 336 pp., Oxford University Press, 2010, $125 EEG has been used to study and characterize normal and pathophysiologic processes in the brain for decades, but has a limited ability to localize activity to a specific brain region. With recent technological advances, high-quality EEG can now be recorded during fMRI. As a result, simultaneous EEG-fMRI has been used with great success to better investigate the spatiotemporal mechanisms of normal and abnormal brain activity. Simultaneous EEG and …
A locally adaptive edge-preserving algorithm for image interpolation

Digital image interpolation techniques are frequently used to enlarge pictures, i.e. zooming in, and they are upon increasingly demand for developing product applications using digital still cameras. One common difficulty with conventional interpolation techniques is that of preserving details, i.e. edges, and at the same time smoothing the data for not introducing spurious artifacts. A definitive solution to this is still an open issue, although there are working methods in the market, see e.g. Parker et. al. (1997), Sakamoto et. al. (1998) for recent surveys. We propose a locally adaptive edge-preserving algorithm for image interpolation, which deals with this problem, and different than other methods shows how to compute local thresholds preserving edges and not destroying smoothness at the same time.
Theoretical Study of Inspiratory Flow Waveforms during Mechanical Ventilation on Pulmonary Blood Flow and Gas Exchange

A lumped two-compartment mathematical model of respiratory mechanics incorporating gas exchange and pulmonary circulation is utilized to analyze the effects of square, descending and ascending inspiratory flow waveforms during mechanical ventilation. The effects on alveolar volume variation, alveolar pressure, airway pressure, gas exchange rate, and expired gas species concentration are evaluated. Advantages in ventilation employing a certain inspiratory flow profile are offset by corresponding reduction in perfusion rates, leading to marginal effects on net gas exchange rates. The descending profile provides better CO2 exchange, whereas the ascending profile is more advantageous for O2 exchange. Regional disparities in airway/lung properties create maldistribution of ventilation and a concomitant inequality in regional alveolar gas composition and gas exchange rates. When minute ventilation is maintained constant, for identical time constant disparities, inequalities in compliance yield pronounced effects on net gas exchange rates at low frequencies, whereas the adverse effects of inequalities in resistance are more pronounced at higher frequencies. Reduction in expiratory air flow (via increased airway resistance) reduces the magnitude of upstroke slope of capnogram and oxigram time courses without significantly affecting end-tidal expired gas compositions, whereas alterations in mechanical factors that result in increased gas exchanges rates yield increases in CO2 and decreases in O2 end-tidal composition values. The model provides a template for assessing the dynamics of cardiopulmonary interactions during mechanical ventilation by combining concurrent descriptions of ventilation, capillary perfusion, and gas exchange.
Factors facilitating and constraining the delivery of effective teacher training to promote health and well-being in schools: a survey of current practice and systematic review

1Southampton Health Technology Assessments Centre (SHTAC), Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK 2Primary Care and Population Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK 3Southampton Education School, Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK 4Health Development Consulting Ltd, Waterlooville, UK 5Faculty of Health and Social Care, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
Violent Behavior in Female Inmates

Research findings have been equivocal regarding the relationship between experiencing trauma and exhibiting violent behavior in women. This study seeks to determine predictors of violent behavior in female inmates utilizing various conceptualizations of traumatic experiences. Results indicate a significant univariate relationship between experiencing more frequent physical abuse experiences, both interpersonal and noninterpersonal types of trauma, and both physical and sexual assaults with frequency of engagement in violent behavior. The regression model explained approximately 21.0% of the variance in violent behavior. Furthermore, frequency of physical abuse experiences was a significant predictor of frequency of engagement in violent behavior and explained 12.74% of unique variance. These results suggest that the frequency of physical abuse experiences may serve as a risk factor for women's violent behavior. Although more research is needed, it appears that addressing the potential for violence in women who experience abuse may be an appropriate target of treatment.
Stochastic phonographic transduction for English

Abstract This paper introduces and reviews stochastic phonographic transduction (SPT), a trainable (“data-driven”) technique for letter-to-phoneme conversion based on formal language theory, as well as describing and detailing one particularly simple realization of SPT. The spellings and pronunciations of English words are modelled as the productions of a stochastic grammar, inferred from example data in the form of a pronouncing dictionary. The terminal symbols of the grammar are letter–phoneme correspondences, and the rewrite (production) rules of the grammar specify how these are combined to form acceptable English word spellings and their pronunciations. Given the spelling of a word as input, a pronunciation can then be produced as output by parsing the input string according to the letter-part of the terminals and selecting the “best” sequence of corresponding phoneme-parts according to some well-motivated criteria. Although the formalism is in principle very general, restrictive assumptions must be made if practical, trainable systems are to be realized. We have assumed at this stage that the grammar is regular. Further, word generation is modelled as a Markov process in which terminals (correspondences) are simply concatenated. The SPT learning task then amounts to the inference of a set of correspondences and estimation from the training data of their associated transition probabilities. Transduction to produce a pronunciation for a word given its spelling is achieved by Viterbi decoding, using a maximum likelihood criterion. Results are presented for letter–phoneme alignment and transduction for the dictionary training data, unseen dictionary words, unseen proper nouns and novel (pseudo-)words. Two different ways of inferring correspondences are described and compared. It is found that the provision of quite limited information about the alternating vowel/consonant structure of words aids the inference process significantly. Best transduction performance obtained on unseen dictionary words is 93·7% phonemes correct, conservatively scored. Automatically inferred correspondences also consistently out-perform a published set of manually derived correspondences when used for SPT. Although the comparison is difficult to make, we believe that current results for letter-to-phoneme conversion are at least as good as the best reported so far for a data-driven approach, while being comparable in performance to knowledge-based approaches.
Cardiomiopatía de Takotsubo

La cardiomiopatia de Takotsubo o cardiopatia por estres se diagnostica frecuentemente como un sindrome coronario agudo en mujeres posmenopausicas, por su presentacion clinica, que puede simular un infarto agudo de miocardio: dolor toracico anginoso, cambios del segmento ST y de la onda T en las derivaciones precordiales y elevacion de biomarcadores cardiacos de necrosis. Se caracteriza por disfuncion sistolica con discinesia transitoria de los segmentos apicales y/o medios del ventriculo izquierdo, en ausencia de enfermedad coronaria significativa. Tiene buen pronostico y la recuperacion ocurre en dias a semanas. Describimos los casos de tres mujeres posmenopausicas con diagnostico inicial de infarto agudo de miocardio. En la coronariografia no se encontraron lesiones significativas, y en la ventriculografia se observo el abalonamiento apical y medial, que es caracteristico de este sindrome. En todos los casos hubo recuperacion completa de la funcion sistolica a las seis semanas de seguimiento.
Survivors of Homicide Victims: Factors that Influence their Well-Being

Although survivors of homicide victims are recognized as a distinct bereaved population, little attention has been given to concepts of posthomicide wellness and the conditions that advance survivors' healing. This article examines the well-being of survivors through interviews and focus groups with survivors and victim assistance providers. Data were analyzed using a combination of template analysis and grounded theory, qualitative approaches that serve to broaden existing theory and prior research about homicide bereavement so that survivors' functioning can be assessed outside of theory built principally on death due to natural causes or through the lens of complicated bereavement. Findings include eight dimensions of well-being: (a) movement/intentionality, (b) stagnation, (c) reckonings, (d) injustice, (e) factors in the criminal justice system that help or hinder, (f) the role of time, (g) faith, and (h) family and friends. Findings suggest that posthomicide well-being is associated with cognitive and emotional movement in a forward direction. Discussion centers on the prevention of or reduction in barriers that block survivors' movement.