Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Perceived Risk and Uncertainty of Nuclear Waste: Differences Among Science, Business, and Environmental Group Members1

This paper presents survey results on perceived risk regarding the management of nuclear waste. Using data taken from random mail surveys of members of scientific, business, and environmental groups in Colorado and New Mexico in the summer of 1990, we examine differences between the groups in their expressed perceptions of risk and also their assessments of the certainty of their beliefs. We consider whether (a) greater uncertainty is associated with greater perceived risks and (b) whether there is greater responsiveness to new information for those whose beliefs are least certain. We find that there are connections between perceived risk and uncertainty, and there is a greater tendency to update risk assessements from a position of greater initial uncertainty. There are, however, differences between the groups as well as asymmetries in their responses to new information. The latter suggests that perceived risks will ratchet upward over time even when information is not biased toward more or less risk.
Accuracy of continuous jugular bulb oximetry in the intensive care unit.

OBJECTIVE To address the accuracy of a bedside jugular bulb oxygen saturation (SjO2) catheter monitor (Baxter-Edwards, Santa Ana, CA) versus in vitro co-oximetry measurements in the intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS By prospective protocol, we compared blood gas measurements with simultaneously recorded continuous bedside oximetric monitor values for 31 ICU patients with traumatic brain injury undergoing jugular bulb catheter monitoring. For suboptimal fiberoptic light signal quality indices, the catheter was repositioned, flushed, or both before drawing the sample for in vitro measurement. Laboratory and bedside monitor data were examined for association using the chi2 and paired t tests and a linear regression model. RESULTS We assessed 195 samples (median, 5 per patient; range, 1-14) who were monitored an average of 3.4 (range, 1-6) days. The in vivo monitor (range, 32-94%) and in vitro co-oximetry (range, 38-93%) values had acceptable correlation (y = 0.94x + 4.4, r2 = 0.80). For bedside monitor detection of jugular bulb desaturation (SjO2 < 50% for 10 min), the kappa statistic was 0.35, the sensitivity was 45 to 50%, and the specificity was 98 to 100%. CONCLUSION Continuous ICU SjO2 monitoring correlates significantly with in vitro values, but less so than previously described during intracranial surgery. Although sensitivity of the bedside monitor to detect confirmed desaturations remains an issue, the high specificity indicates that it is less of a concern that patients may be misdiagnosed as having desaturations resulting in unnecessary interventions. Nonetheless, suspected jugular bulb desaturation should be verified before taking therapeutic actions.
Vagal nerve stimulation improves mitochondrial dynamics via an M3 receptor/CaMKKβ/AMPK pathway in isoproterenol‐induced myocardial ischaemia

Mitochondrial dynamics—fission and fusion—are associated with ischaemic heart disease (IHD). This study explored the protective effect of vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) against isoproterenol (ISO)‐induced myocardial ischaemia in a rat model and tested whether VNS plays a role in preventing disorders of mitochondrial dynamics and function. Isoproterenol not only caused cardiac injury but also increased the expression of mitochondrial fission proteins [dynamin‐related peptide1 (Drp1) and mitochondrial fission protein1 (Fis‐1)) and decreased the expression of fusion proteins (optic atrophy‐1 (OPA1) and mitofusins1/2 (Mfn1/2)], thereby disrupting mitochondrial dynamics and leading to increase in mitochondrial fragments. Interestingly, VNS restored mitochondrial dynamics through regulation of Drp1, Fis‐1, OPA1 and Mfn1/2; enhanced ATP content and mitochondrial membrane potential; reduced mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) opening; and improved mitochondrial ultrastructure and size. Furthermore, VNS reduced the size of the myocardial infarction and ameliorated cardiomyocyte apoptosis and cardiac dysfunction induced by ISO. Moreover, VNS activated AMP‐activated protein kinase (AMPK), which was accompanied by phosphorylation of Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase kinase β (CaMKKβ) during myocardial ischaemia. Treatment with subtype‐3 of muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (M3R) antagonist 4‐diphenylacetoxy‐N‐methylpiperidine methiodide or AMPK inhibitor Compound C abolished the protective effects of VNS on mitochondrial dynamics and function, suggesting that M3R/CaMKKβ/AMPK signalling are involved in mediating beneficial effects of VNS. This study demonstrates that VNS modulates mitochondrial dynamics and improves mitochondrial function, possibly through the M3R/CaMKKβ/AMPK pathway, to attenuate ISO‐induced cardiac damage in rats. Targeting mitochondrial dynamics may provide a novel therapeutic strategy in IHD.
‘Legitimation’ and ‘development of positive externalities’: two key processes in the formation phase of technological innovation systems

Responding to the climate change challenge requires a massive development and diffusion of carbon neutral technologies and, thus, emergence and growth of new socio-technical systems. This paper contributes to an improved understanding of the formative phase of new technological innovation systems (TIS) by outlining a framework for analysing TIS dynamics in terms of structural growth and key innovation-related processes (“functions”) and by discussing two of these functions at some depth: “legitimation” and “development of positive externalities”. Empirical examples are provided from case studies on renewable energy technologies. We highlight the problematic role of technology assessment studies in shaping legitimacy and the importance of early market formation for the emergence of “packs of entrepreneurs” that may contribute to legitimation, and discuss how exploitation of overlaps between different TISs may create positive externalities, opening up for a powerful “bottom-up” process of system growth. Associated policy and management challenges are identified.
Autonomous Background Coordination Technology for Timely Sensor Connection in Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have recently emerged as suitable data collection tools for both military and civil applications. In an indoor factory monitoring environment sensor relocation and/or addition are necessary with reorganization of production lines and/or starting of new production lines. Due to memory, processing, etc. constraints of the wireless nodes these addition and relocation affect the scalability of the network. In the dynamic topological changing environment decreasing sensor connection time and increasing number of connected sensors in the network are challenging problems for indoor wireless environment. A two-tier autonomous decentralized architecture has been proposed for the environment to solve the problem. The first layer consists of sensors and second layer consists of routers. In the architecture routers make community (a group of nodes mutually cooperate for a common goal is a community) to coordinate among local routers. This paper discusses about background coordination technology to switch sensor load of routers of a community to decrease sensor connection time. To achieve the timely online expansion of sensors the routers of the community share information. The simulation results show that the proposed background coordination technology can decrease sensor connection time and increase the number of connected sensors in the network.
Urinary 1-hydroxypyrene as a biomarker of internal dose of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in carbon black workers.

In this study, a total of 30 workers were selected, including eight wet pelletizing workers and 22 packaging workers. For all selected workers, urine samples were collected on the first day pre-shift, first day post-shift and fifth day post-shift, and their urinary 1-hydroxylpyrene levels (1-OHP) were determined (denoted as BM1pre, BM1post and BM5post, respectively). Personal respiratory exposures, including both inhalable particle-bound PAHs (Cinh) and gaseous PAHs (Cgas), together with dermal exposure to particle-bound PAHs (Cskin) were measured. Personal background information, including age, sex and smoking habit, was carefully registered. Pyrene exposure was statistically significantly correlated with exposure to PAHs and carcinogenic PAHs. Multiple linear regression analysis results showed that the BM1post values could not be explained by workers' exposures. For BM5post in packaging workers, both the regression model (R2 = 0.73) and the regression coefficients for Cgas, Cinh and Cskin were statistically significant (P < 0.05). For pelletizing workers, the R2 value was higher but was not statistically significant because of the smaller number of workers. The resultant regression coefficients for 'sex', 'smoking habit' and 'age' were statistically insignificant (P >> 0.05), which could be because these variables made relatively small contributions to BM5post. In conclusion, this study suggests BM5post could be a suitable indicator for PAH exposures of carbon black workers, on the condition that both respiratory (including gaseous PAHs and particle-bound PAHs) and dermal exposures have been assessed.
Bootstrapping Semantic Analyzers from Non-Contradictory Texts

We argue that groups of unannotated texts with overlapping and non-contradictory semantics represent a valuable source of information for learning semantic representations. A simple and efficient inference method recursively induces joint semantic representations for each group and discovers correspondence between lexical entries and latent semantic concepts. We consider the generative semantics-text correspondence model (Liang et al., 2009) and demonstrate that exploiting the noncontradiction relation between texts leads to substantial improvements over natural baselines on a problem of analyzing human-written weather forecasts.
Perceptions About and Responses to Intimate Partner Violence in the Sinhalese Immigrant Community in Toronto

Intimate partner violence is a serious human rights issue and a critical health problem for women worldwide. Many studies have advanced our knowledge about this issue, but few have focused on immigrant communities in Canada. This paper presents the findings of a recently completed qualitative interpretive descriptive study involving seven Sinhalese women and two service providers in Toronto, Canada. An intersectionality approach was used to explore their views about intimate partner violence in the Sinhalese community. Participants acknowledged various forms of intimate partner violence within their community and identified patriarchal expectations, post-migration changes in socio-economic status, and relationship problems as contributing factors. Participants noted that most women remained with their abusive husband as a result of various micro-level (e.g., children's future), meso-level (e.g., community pressure), and macro-level factors (e.g., limitations in Canadian health, social, and settlement services). A complex interaction between gender, race, and class relations in pre- and post-migration settings appear to make women vulnerable to intimate partner violence as well as shape their responses to it. Further research is needed to develop a more comprehensive understanding of this interaction.
How Regulatory Fit Affects Value in Consumer Choices and Opinions

Regulatory fit occurs when the manner of peoples' engagement in an activity sustains their current goal orientation or concerns with that activity. It is proposed that regulatory fit changes the significance of consumers' reactions to something, including the perceived monetary value of a choice they have made or the persuasiveness of a message they have received. When there is a fit, people engage more strongly in and “feel right” about what they are doing, and subsequent evaluative reactions (positive or negative) can be intensified by this fit experience. The fit experience is shown to influence the strength of value experiences independent of hedonic experiences. The authors discuss how the fit effect on value is distinct from other factors that affect value, such as relevancy, matching, hedonic mood, and arousal. Using prior research on this topic, this article summarizes the current state of knowledge about how fit influences value and offers new ideas for further research.
Mucosal and Systemic Immune Responses to a Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Epitope Induced upon Vaginal Infection with a Recombinant Influenza A Virus

ABSTRACT The humoral and cellular immune responses in the genital mucosa likely play an important role in the prevention of sexually transmitted infections, including infection with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Here we show that vaginal infection of progesterone-treated BALB/c mice with a recombinant influenza virus bearing the immunodominant P18IIIB cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) epitope of the gp160 envelope protein from an HIV-1 IIIB isolate (P18IIIB; RIQRGPGRAFVTIGK) can induce a specific immune response in regional mucosal lymph nodes, as well as in a systemic site (the spleen). A single inoculation of mice with the recombinant influenza virus induced long-lasting (at least 5 months) antigen-specific CTL memory detectable as a rapid recall of effector CTLs upon vaginal infection with recombinant vaccinia virus expressing HIV-1 IIIB envelope gene products. Long-term antigen-specific CTL memory was also induced and maintained in distant mucosal tissues when mice were intranasally immunized with the recombinant influenza virus. These results indicate that mucosal immunization and, in particular, local vaginal immunization with recombinant influenza virus can provide strong, durable immune responses in the female genital tract of mice.
Using energy-based variable structure approach to control the vibrations in a nonlinear beam with large deformations

Nonlinear model for transverse dynamics of a vibrating beam is derived. In this modeling large deformation for beam is considered and consequently, high order curvature terms are not neglected. An adaptation method for applying large moments in the beam tip is developed using FEM. Port Hamiltonian interconnected system modeling is used to model the resulted configuration. The energy-based variable structure method is utilized to develop an interconnected controller with energy function associated with a set of Casimir functions relating to sliding surfaces. The energy function of the controller is chosen to make an attractive sliding surface for closed-loop system. Using this system, vibration of the nonlinear beam is stabilized in the desired shape of the beam.
A Diabetic Adolescent Case Study: Use of a Website in Combination with an Exercise Program to Increase Physical Activity

The purpose of this study was to report on the efficacy of a web-based technology support to encourage physical activity in children. This program was designed to promote physical activity and proper nutrition in the diabetic adolescent with a weekly meeting that consisted of a 30-minute educational session followed by 60- minutes of exercise. A specifically designed website was used as a support to this weekly supervised exercise program. Outcomes assessment included body mass index (BMI), muscle strength (grip strength, back and leg strength), flexibility, exercise self-efficacy, and physical activity participation (pedometer, LEAP II Survey). Improvements occurred in steps walked per day and exercise self-efficacy indicating that a once a week formal exercise, when combined with a technology support, is useful in increasing physical activity behavior.
Measurement of serum monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and its clinical application for estimating the activity of granuloma formation in sarcoidosis.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK The role of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids from sarcoidosis patients was previously reported. To study the role of MCP-1, we evaluated the serum MCP-1 and its clinical significance in sarcoidosis. METHODS The serum MCP-1 level was measured in 47 patients with sarcoidosis and 10 normal healthy controls with the use of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The localization and mRNA expression of MCP-1 in sarcoid lymph nodes were evaluated by an immunohistochemical method using an anti-MCP-1 monoclonal antibody and an in situ hybridization technique to determine the cellular source(s) of MCP-1. RESULTS Serum MCP-1 levels were significantly elevated in the sarcoidosis patients compared with the healthy controls (698.3 +/- 101.9 vs. less than 39 pg/ml, p < 0.001). A comparison of the patients' serum MCP-1 levels among standard radiographic stages revealed that the serum MCP-1 was significantly higher in early stages: stage 0 vs. III, and stage I vs. II. In addition, the serum MCP-1 levels were significantly correlated with the serum angiotensin converting enzyme levels (r = 0.539, p = 0.0006). MCP-1 expression was detected in macrophages peripheral to the epithelioid granuloma in sarcoid lymph nodes, by both immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that MCP-1 may be expressed by the macrophages in the granuloma throughout the body, and that the measurement of serum MCP-1 levels may have clinical value as an indicator in estimating the activity of granuloma formation throughout the body in sarcoidosis.
An Optimization Approach to Restart Tree Based on Mean Failure Frequencies

Restart tree is the groundwork for microreboot and recursive recovery, while optimization of restart tree is a key problem in increasing efficiency of recursive recovery. Based on the research of related works, the optimization principle of restart tree is analyzed and a novel approach is proposed for optimizing restart tree. In this approach, mean failure frequencies of components are obtained by injecting exceptions during load testing, which could be used to compute and analyze the failure correlation degrees between components. The components with high failure correlation degrees are constructed as a restart group to realize the optimization of restart tree. The results of the case study show that this approach reduces the mean time to recovery of componentized distributed application and implements the optimization of restart tree.
Towards a positive university

This article explores the concept of a ‘positive university’. Whilst positive education is becoming a better known concept, particularly applied to secondary schools, and positive organizational scholarship is further assisting the understanding of positive institutions, it is useful to examine the university as a special institution, in its entirety beyond a circumscribed focus on student academics (e.g. student motivation) or student well-being (e.g. well-being of medical students). In this article, we will sample the relevant evidence to date from positive psychology and positive organizational scholarship and apply it to five key environments of the university: Classroom and formal learning environments (e.g. curriculum, academic achievement), social environments (e.g. student relationships), local community and external organizations (e.g. volunteerism), faculty and administration work environments (e.g. employee stress) and residential environments (e.g. student well-being). Specific recommendations are provided for each context with reference to five routes to well-being: positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishment.
Developmental and Maturational Aspects of Inherited Avian Myopathies

Abstract Three inherited abnormalities of muscle growth of poultry are an inherited muscular dystrophy of the chicken, deep pectoral myopathy of turkeys and broilers, and focal myopathy of turkeys. The major features of each are described and compared. Cellular and molecular bases of dystrophy of the chicken and treatments to alleviate the disorder are discussed. The pathologic progression and anatomical basis for deep pectoral myopathy are presented. Evidence is given that focal myopathy of the turkey is a growth-dependent disorder. The implications of the idea that such disorders are partly consequences of selection are discussed in the context of the future needs of a poultry industry emphasizing processing of poultry meat.
Enantioselective and Collective Total Syntheses of Xanthanolides.

An enantioselective synthesis of (+)-8-epi-xanthatin hinging on a chiral phosphoric acid catalyzed tandem allylboration/lactonization reaction is reported. With (+)-8-epi-xanthatin as the precursor, the collective synthesis of a series of synthetically challenging xanthanolides was also accomplished. Among them, xanthipungolide, one of the most complex xanthanolide monomers, was accessed through a bioinspired tandem double-bond isomerization/6π electronic cyclization/intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction, and pungiolides A, B, D, E, and L-N, a group of xanthanolide dimers, were assembled through a bioinspired Diels-Alder dimerization followed by late-stage diversification.
Hyperactivity in school-age boys and subsequent risk of injury.

Hyperactive boys between 6 and 8 years of age, identified through systematic population-based screening of a community in London, were compared prospectively with a nonhyperactive control group to determine whether they were at greater risk of sustaining injuries. The study sample was drawn from 1296 completed parent and teacher questionnaires. Hyperactive groups were designated in three ways (parental report, teacher report, and combined parent and teacher report). Injuries were assessed by reviewing the medical records of the five emergency departments serving the community. Although boys with conduct problems did sustain more injuries than control subjects, no relationship between hyperactivity and injury was found. Similarly, when milder injuries were excluded from the analysis, the association remained negative. The absence of an association could not be accounted for by differential parental protectiveness of boys designated hyperactive. This study, which has a power of . 80 to determine an increase in the relative risk of injury of 1.5, found no effect for hyperactive behavior in boys. Hyperactive behavior is probably not a risk factor for injury; if it is, it exerts a modest effect, less than 1.5, therefore accounting for less than 4% of injuries to school-aged boys.
RefGen: A tool for reference chains identification

In this paper we present RefGen, a reference chain identification module for French. RefGen algorithm uses genre specific properties of reference chains and an accessibility measure to find the mentions of the referred entity. The module applies strong and weak constraints (lexical, morpho-syntactic, and semantic) to automatically identify coreference relations between referential expressions. We evaluate the results obtained by RefGen from a public reports corpus and we discuss the importance of the genre-dependent parameters to improve the reference chain identification.