Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Au@ZnO nanostructures on porous silicon for photocatalysis and gas-sensing: the effect of plasmonic hot-electrons driven by visible-light

Nanostructured heterojunctions play key role for transfer and separation of interfacial photo-carriers. At visible light illumination, the effects of Au nanoparticles (NPs) for the photocatalysis and gas-sensing performance of Au@ZnO nanstructures on porous silicon layer are reported. At optimized loading amount of Au NPs, the local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect of Au NPs is studied. Generated by visible light irradiation, the LSPR effect of Au NPs promotes desorption and activation of surface adsorption oxygen species − O 2 − , which is initiated by hot electrons transfer through Au–ZnO nanojunctions. This mechanism is responsible for the enhanced photocatalysis of methyl orange molecular, as well as enhancing the detecting performance for ammonia (NH3) gas at room temperature.
1-8-2018 Is There a Link between Aging and Microbiome Diversity in Exceptional Mammalian Longevity ? Graham

A changing microbiome has been linked to biological aging in mice and humans, suggesting a possible role of gut flora in pathogenic aging phenotypes. Many bat species have exceptional longevity given their body size and some can live up to ten times longer than expected with little signs of aging. This study explores the anal microbiome of the exceptionally long-lived Myotis myotis bat, investigating bacterial composition in both adult and juvenile bats to determine if the microbiome changes with age in a wild, long-lived non-model organism, using non-lethal sampling. The anal microbiome was sequenced using metabarcoding in more than 50 individuals, finding no significant difference between the composition of juvenile and adult bats, suggesting that age-related microbial shifts previously observed in other mammals may not be present in Myotis myotis. Functional gene categories, inferred from metabarcoding data, expressed in the M. myotis microbiome were categorized identifying pathways involved in metabolism, DNA repair and oxidative phosphorylation. We highlight an abundance of ‘Proteobacteria’ relative to other mammals, with similar patterns compared to other bat microbiomes. Our results suggest that M. myotis may have a relatively stable, unchanging microbiome playing a role in their extended ‘health spans’ with the advancement of age, and suggest a potential link between microbiome and sustained, powered flight. Subjects Evolutionary Studies, Microbiology, Zoology
MetabNet: An R Package for Metabolic Association Analysis of High-Resolution Metabolomics Data

Liquid-chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry provides capability to measure >40,000 ions derived from metabolites in biologic samples. This presents challenges to confirm identities of known chemicals and delineate potential metabolic pathway associations of unidentified chemicals. We provide an R package for metabolic network analysis, MetabNet, to perform targeted metabolome-wide association study of specific metabolites to facilitate detection of their related metabolic pathways and network structures.
An Empirical Study of Meta- and Hyper-Heuristic Search for Multi-Objective Release Planning

A variety of meta-heuristic search algorithms have been introduced for optimising software release planning. However, there has been no comprehensive empirical study of different search algorithms across multiple different real-world datasets. In this article, we present an empirical study of global, local, and hybrid meta- and hyper-heuristic search-based algorithms on 10 real-world datasets. We find that the hyper-heuristics are particularly effective. For example, the hyper-heuristic genetic algorithm significantly outperformed the other six approaches (and with high effect size) for solution quality 85% of the time, and was also faster than all others 70% of the time. Furthermore, correlation analysis reveals that it scales well as the number of requirements increases.
Synchrony in Psychotherapy: A Review and an Integrative Framework for the Therapeutic Alliance

During psychotherapy, patient and therapist tend to spontaneously synchronize their vocal pitch, bodily movements, and even their physiological processes. In the present article, we consider how this pervasive phenomenon may shed new light on the therapeutic relationship– or alliance– and its role within psychotherapy. We first review clinical research on the alliance and the multidisciplinary area of interpersonal synchrony. We then integrate both literatures in the Interpersonal Synchrony (In-Sync) model of psychotherapy. According to the model, the alliance is grounded in the coupling of patient and therapist’s brains. Because brains do not interact directly, movement synchrony may help to establish inter-brain coupling. Inter-brain coupling may provide patient and therapist with access to another’s internal states, which facilitates common understanding and emotional sharing. Over time, these interpersonal exchanges may improve patients’ emotion-regulatory capacities and related therapeutic outcomes. We discuss the empirical assessment of interpersonal synchrony and review preliminary research on synchrony in psychotherapy. Finally, we summarize our main conclusions and consider the broader implications of viewing psychotherapy as the product of two interacting brains.
Local Food Consumers: How Motivations and Perceptions Translate to Buying Behavior

Local Food Consumers: How Motivations and Perceptions Translate to Buying Behavior Yuko Onozaka, Gretchen Nurse, and Dawn Thilmany McFadden JEL Classifications: Q13, D12 Emerging market demand for local foods represents an interesting phenomenon, as small-scale direct markets operate side by side in communities with much larger competitors, such as food supercenters, which also seek to procure locally grown produce. Moreover, the wide spread differentiation of food offerings and venues has allowed consumers to more carefully search out attributes that are important to them. These attributes may include any labels or information on private—such as quality, safety, and health—and public—such as social fairness and sustainability—assurances, some of which may be more closely associated with local foods by consumers. In this article, we explore the underlying factors that motivate consumers to choose local food and how motivations vary among buyers in different market venues, based on a national survey administered in late 2008.
A User-Based Trust Model for Cloud Computing Environment

There are many trust management models for the cloud environment. Selecting an appropriate trust model is not an easy job for a user. This work presents a new trust model called ARICA model which help a user to reduce the reliance on the trust value of provider and third-party feedback. Simultaneously, the ARICA model increases the dependence on the user trust value. Furthermore, the proposed model measured the trust based on five attributes: Availability, Reliability, Integrity, Confidentiality, and Authentication. This paper presents the comparison of the proposed ARICA trust model with two existing schemes. Results show that the proposed model provides better accurate results.
Applications of multiscale transforms to image denoising: Survey

Image denoising is one of the classical problems in digital image processing and has been studied for nearly half a century due to its important role as a pre-processing step in various electronic imaging applications. The search for efficient image denoising methods is still a valid challenge. In spite of the sophistication of the recently proposed methods, most algorithms have not yet attained a desirable level of applicability. All show an outstanding performance when the image model corresponds to the algorithm assumptions but fail in general and create artifacts or remove image fine structures. This paper surveys a comparison of the discriminating power of the various multiresolution based thresholding techniques mainly wavelet and curvelet transform for image denoising.
Daptomycin: an evidence-based review of its role in the treatment of Gram-positive infections

Infections caused by Gram-positive pathogens remain a major public health burden and are associated with high morbidity and mortality. Increasing rates of infection with Gram-positive bacteria and the emergence of resistance to commonly used antibiotics have led to the need for novel antibiotics. Daptomycin, a cyclic lipopeptide with rapid bactericidal activity against a wide range of Gram-positive bacteria including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, has been shown to be effective and has a good safety profile for the approved indications of complicated skin and soft tissue infections (4 mg/kg/day), right-sided infective endocarditis caused by S. aureus, and bacteremia associated with complicated skin and soft tissue infections or right-sided infective endocarditis (6 mg/kg/day). Based on its pharmacokinetic profile and concentration-dependent bactericidal activity, high-dose (>6 mg/kg/day) daptomycin is considered an important treatment option in the management of various difficult-to-treat Gram-positive infections. Although daptomycin resistance has been documented, it remains uncommon despite the increasing use of daptomycin. To enhance activity and to minimize resistance, daptomycin in combination with other antibiotics has also been explored and found to be beneficial in certain severe infections. The availability of daptomycin via a 2-minute intravenous bolus facilitates its outpatient administration, providing an opportunity to reduce risk of health care-associated infections, improve patient satisfaction, and minimize health care costs. Daptomycin, not currently approved for use in the pediatric population, has been shown to be widely used for treating Gram-positive infections in children.
Gender Differences in Social Anxiety Symptoms: A Novel Use of Two Self-Report Measures in a Finnish Sample

Background: Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by a fear of humiliation and/or embarrassment in social situations, which may lead to significant avoidance and distress. A preponderance of research suggests that the prevalence of SAD is higher in females than in males and that gender differences of SAD varies cross-culturally. According to numerous studies, attention to the diagnosis and adequate assessment of anxiety disorders in primary care settings is lacking. A deficiency of easily administered well-validated diagnostic tools and limited time for thorough (i.e., structured clinical interview) evaluation may contribute to the above finding. Procedure: Our principal aims were two-fold: 1) to focus on emergent gender differences in self- reported social anxiety (SA) symptoms, and 2) to evaluate newly translated Finnish versions of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI) and Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale -Straightforward Items (BFNE-S) in a general Finnish parent sample (N = 597). Results and Conclusions: Results from our sample using the SPAI estimated that 6.7% of females and 5.0% of males met criteria for a probable diagnosis of SAD. Non socially-anxious females scored significantly higher than did their male counterparts on social interaction and focus of attention fears, whereas socially-anxious males scored higher than socially-anxious females on behavioural avoidance. The SPAI and BFNE-S are useful additions to Finnish screening tools to detect SA symptoms in adults.
Strategies to promote peripheral nerve regeneration: electrical stimulation and/or exercise

Enhancing the regeneration of axons is often considered to be a therapeutic target for improving functional recovery after peripheral nerve injury. In this review, the evidence for the efficacy of electrical stimulation (ES), daily exercise and their combination in promoting nerve regeneration after peripheral nerve injuries in both animal models and in human patients is explored. The rationale, effectiveness and molecular basis of ES and exercise in accelerating axon outgrowth are reviewed. In comparing the effects of ES and exercise in enhancing axon regeneration, increased neural activity, neurotrophins and androgens are considered to be common requirements. Similarly, there are sex‐specific requirements for exercise to enhance axon regeneration in the periphery and for sustaining synaptic inputs onto injured motoneurons. ES promotes nerve regeneration after delayed nerve repair in humans and rats. The effectiveness of exercise is less clear. Although ES, but not exercise, results in a significant misdirection of regenerating motor axons to reinnervate different muscle targets, the loss of neuromuscular specificity encountered has only a very small impact on resulting functional recovery. Both ES and exercise are promising experimental treatments for peripheral nerve injury that seem to be ready to be translated to clinical use.
Effect of Aviation Snip Design and Task Height on Upper Extremity Muscular Activity and Wrist Posture

Hand tools described as ergonomic in design are intended to reduce exposure to physical risk factors associated with work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Additionally, using the right tool for the job is believed to reduce exposure and, consequently, risk of disease. Sheet metal workers frequently use a cutting tool called aviation snips when fabricating and installing ductwork. The purpose of this laboratory simulation study was to determine the effect of (1) aviation snip design; and (2) work height on muscle activity, wrist posture, and user satisfaction among sheet metal workers. We hypothesized that specific aviation snips designs would be most appropriate for use at specific heights. Twenty-three sheet metal workers used three different designs of aviation snips to make curved cuts in sheet metal placed both at waist height and shoulder height. Conventional circular snips, straight snips, and an alternate design of offset snips were used. Upper extremity muscle activity was measured with surface electromyography, wrist posture was measured with electrogoniometry, and user satisfaction was rated by the participants on a survey. Statistically significant effects of snip design and task height on muscle activity, wrist posture, and user satisfaction were observed. However, no snip was preferable for all dependent variables. Work height had a greater effect on muscle activity and wrist posture than snip design. Field studies are indicated to determine the long-term effect of snip design on physical risk factors and risk of musculoskeletal disorders.
On Which Microphysical Time Scales to Use in Studies of Entrainment‐Mixing Mechanisms in Clouds

The commonly used time scales in entrainment‐mixing studies are examined to seek the most appropriate one, based on aircraft observations of cumulus clouds from the RACORO campaign and numerical simulations with the Explicit Mixing Parcel Model. The time scales include the following: τevap, the time for droplet complete evaporation; τphase, the time for saturation ratio deficit (S) to reach 1/e of its initial value; τsatu, the time for S to reach −0.5%; and τreact, the time for complete droplet evaporation or S to reach −0.5%. It is found that the proper time scale to use depends on the specific objectives of entrainment‐mixing studies. First, if the focus is on the variations of liquid water content (LWC) and S, then τreact for saturation, τsatu and τphase are almost equivalently appropriate, because they all represent the rate of dry air reaching saturation or of LWC decrease. Second, if one focuses on the variations of droplet size and number concentration, τreact for complete evaporation and τevap are proper because they characterize how fast droplets evaporate and whether number concentration decreases. Moreover, τreact for complete evaporation and τevap are always positively correlated with homogeneous mixing degree (ψ); thus, the two time scales, especially τevap, are recommended for developing parameterizations. However, ψ and the other time scales can be negatively, positively, or not correlated, depending on the dominant factors of the entrained air (i.e., relative humidity or aerosols). Third, all time scales are proportional to each other under certain microphysical and thermodynamic conditions.
Micro‐Phylogeographic and Demographic History of Portuguese Male Lineages

The clinal pattern observed for the distribution of Y‐chromosome lineages in Europe is not always reflected at a geographically smaller scale. Six hundred and sixty‐three male samples from the 18 administrative districts of Portugal were typed for 25 Y‐chromosome biallelic and 15 microsatellite markers, in order to assess the degree of substructuring of male lineage distribution. Haplogroup frequency distributions, Analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA) and genetic distance analyses at both Y‐SNP and Y‐STR levels revealed a general genetic homogeneity of Portuguese sub‐populations. The traditional division of the country in north, central and south, which is usually considered in studies addressing questions of the genetic variation distribution in Portugal, was not reflected in the Y‐haplotype distribution. Instead, just one sub–region (Alentejo) stood out due to the presence of high diversity levels and a higher number of different lineages, at higher frequencies than in other regions. These results are reconciled with the historical evidence available, assuming that from prehistorical times down to the end of the medieval period this region harboured the most diverse groups of people and, because of economic depression, remained relatively isolated from recent homogenisation movements. The finding of a broadly homogeneous background for the Portuguese population has vast repercussions in forensic, epidemiological and association studies.
New Digital Metal-Oxide (MOx) Sensor Platform

The application of metal oxide gas sensors in Internet of Things (IoT) devices and mobile platforms like wearables and mobile phones offers new opportunities for sensing applications. Metal-oxide (MOx) sensors are promising candidates for such applications, thanks to the scientific progresses achieved in recent years. For the widespread application of MOx sensors, viable commercial offerings are required. In this publication, the authors show that with the new Sensirion Gas Platform (SGP) a milestone in the commercial application of MOx technology has been reached. The architecture of the new platform and its performance in selected applications are presented.
Lateral variation of Lg wave propagation in southern Mexico

[1] In this study we investigated lateral variation of Lg wave propagation in southern Mexico from recordings of 92 crustal earthquakes along 591 travel paths. The efficiency of Lg propagation was measured in terms of Lgto Pn spectral ratio. It was found that Lgpropagation is inefficient for travel paths through the Gulf of Mexico coastal plains and the Gulf of Tehuantepec, areas with thick layers of sediments. An average Lg quality factor, QLg, as a function of frequency for southern Mexico was estimated for the efficient Lg travel paths. The relation obtained for QLg in the frequency range 1.6–8 Hz is QLg(f) = 204 f0.85. The lateral variation of QLg−1was solved as a mixed-determined inverse tomography problem, separately for each frequency, in which a spatial smoothness constraint was imposed and a priori information was added in poorly covered regions. The spatial resolution obtained was about 200 km. It was found that the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, the Gulf of Mexico coastal plains, and the area east of 94°W are characterized by lower than average QLgvalues, i.e., higher attenuation. High QLg values were obtained for the Mixteco-Oaxaca terranes, while for the Guerrero terrane, values similar to the average were obtained. The results show a correlation between QLg and crustal structure and provide valuable information on lateral variation of QLg, which is needed for reliable prediction of ground motion during future earthquakes.
Characterization of β-Ga2O3 Schottky barrier diodes

Depth profile of deep level defect density in a ß-Ga<inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf> epitaxial layer grown on a bulk wafer has been extracted. Through capacitance measurements of a ß-Ga<inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf> Schottky barrier diode (SBD) at reverse bias condition, the defect level and its concentration have been extracted. A defect level of 0.8 eV from conduction band of β-Ga<inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf> with a concentration as high as 10<sup>16</sup> cm<sup>−3</sup> has been extracted. Based on published database, the level can be assigned to dominant defect.
Author Identification Using Semi-supervised Learning - Notebook for PAN at CLEF 2011

Author identification models fall into two major categories according to the way they handle the training texts: profile-based models produce one representation per author while instance-based models produce one representation per text. In this paper, we propose an approach that combines two well-known representatives of these categories, namely the Common nGrams method and a Support Vector Machine classifier based on character ngrams. The outputs of these classifiers are combined to enrich the training set with additional documents in a repetitive semi-supervised procedure inspired by the co-training algorithm. The evaluation results on closed-set author identification are encouraging, especially when the set of candidate authors is large.
Herbal medicines for the treatment of cancer chemotherapy-induced side effects

Accumulating evidence suggests that Japanese herbal medicines, called Kampo, have beneficial effects on cancer chemotherapy-induced side effects. Rikkunshito ameliorates cisplatin-induced anorexia through an antagonistic effect on the 5-HT receptors and by increasing the serum ghrelin levels. Hangeshashinto improves irinotecan-induced diarrhea and chemotherapy-induced mucositis by inhibiting the activity of β-glucuronidase as well as the synthesis of prostaglandin E2. Goshajinkigan prevents oxaliplatin-induced neurotoxicity, possibly through suppressing functional alterations of the transient receptor potential channels. In this review, we will summarize the currently available literature regarding the clinical efficacy and potential mechanisms of Kampo medicines in the treatment of cancer chemotherapy-induced side effects.
Impact of age and comorbidity on risk stratification in idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension

Recent reports from worldwide pulmonary hypertension registries show a new demographic picture for patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH), with an increasing prevalence among the elderly. We aimed to investigate the effects of age and comorbidity on risk stratification and outcome of patients with incident IPAH. The study population (n=264) was categorised into four age groups: 18–45, 46–64, 65–74 and ≥75 years. Individual risk profiles were determined according to a risk assessment instrument, based on the European Society of Cardiology and the European Respiratory Society guidelines. The change in risk group from baseline to follow-up (median 5 months) and survival were compared across age groups. In the two youngest age groups, a significant number of patients improved (18–45 years, Z= −4.613, p<0.001; 46–64 years, Z= −2.125, p=0.034), but no significant improvement was found in the older patient groups. 5-year survival was highest in patients aged 18–45 years (88%), while the survival rates were 63%, 56% and 36% for patients in the groups 46–64, 65–74 and ≥75 years, respectively (p<0.001). Ischaemic heart disease and kidney dysfunction independently predicted survival. These findings highlight the importance of age and specific comorbidities as prognostic markers of outcome in addition to established risk assessment algorithms. Change in risk category at follow-up and specific comorbidity predict survival in IPAH across age groups http://ow.ly/EPQ530j765F