Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ultrafine Particles Cross Cellular Membranes by Nonphagocytic Mechanisms in Lungs and in Cultured Cells

High concentrations of airborne particles have been associated with increased pulmonary and cardiovascular mortality, with indications of a specific toxicologic role for ultrafine particles (UFPs; particles < 0.1 μm). Within hours after the respiratory system is exposed to UFPs, the UFPs may appear in many compartments of the body, including the liver, heart, and nervous system. To date, the mechanisms by which UFPs penetrate boundary membranes and the distribution of UFPs within tissue compartments of their primary and secondary target organs are largely unknown. We combined different experimental approaches to study the distribution of UFPs in lungs and their uptake by cells. In the in vivo experiments, rats inhaled an ultrafine titanium dioxide aerosol of 22 nm count median diameter. The intrapulmonary distribution of particles was analyzed 1 hr or 24 hr after the end of exposure, using energy-filtering transmission electron microscopy for elemental microanalysis of individual particles. In an in vitro study, we exposed pulmonary macrophages and red blood cells to fluorescent polystyrene microspheres (1, 0.2, and 0.078 μm) and assessed particle uptake by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Inhaled ultrafine titanium dioxide particles were found on the luminal side of airways and alveoli, in all major lung tissue compartments and cells, and within capillaries. Particle uptake in vitro into cells did not occur by any of the expected endocytic processes, but rather by diffusion or adhesive interactions. Particles within cells are not membrane bound and hence have direct access to intracellular proteins, organelles, and DNA, which may greatly enhance their toxic potential.
Adoption et assimilation des outils de gestion : le cas des outils de contrôle de gestion environnemental dans les organismes certifiés ISO 14001

Cette these s'interesse a l'evaluation de la performance environnementale par les organisations et repose sur une etude empirique realisee aupres des entreprises certifiees ISO 14001. Il en ressort 4 points importants. Les normes ISO 14001 aident les entreprises a mettre en oeuvre une strategie et une structure adaptees a un contexte sensible a l'environnement et les entreprises sont amenees a adopter des outils de controle de gestion environnemental comme le tableau de bord vert et les budgets environnemenentaux (1). L'assimilation de ces outils par les entreprises certifiees ISO 14001 peut creer des divergences de points de vue entre les acteurs et le tableau de bord vert pose moins de problemes que les budgets environnementaux (2). L'evaluation de la performance environnementale est prise en charge par les responsables environnement (3). Les metiers de la comptabilite, du controle et de l'audit doivent evoluer pour rendre compte de la performance de la gestion environnementale (4).
ANALYSIS OF CRITICAL FACTORS IN ENERGY SERVICE CONTRACTING USING FUZZY COGNITIVE MAPPING

This study explores the critical factors influencing the energy service contracting market in Turkey. Fuzzy cognitive mapping that allows dynamic modeling of the behavior of uncertain and complex systems was used to model the energy service contracting system. Qualitative simulations were performed in order to predict changes in the system and to observe whether an equilibrium state is reached. The results reveal the factors to focus on that may contribute to the improvement of the energy service contracting market in Turkey.
Cost-based query scrambling for initial delays

Remote data access from disparate sources across a wide-area network such as the Internet is problematic due to the unpredictable nature of the communications medium and the lack of knowledge about the load and potential delays at remote sites. Traditional, static, query processing approaches break down in this environment because they are unable to adapt in response to unexpected delays. Query scrambling has been proposed to address this problem. Scrambling modifies query execution plans on-the-fly when delays are encountered during runtime. In its original formulation, scrambling was based on simple heuristics, which although providing good performance in many cases, were also shown to be susceptible to problems resulting from bad scrambling decisions. In this paper we address these shortcomings by investigating ways to exploit query optimization technology to aid in making intelligent scrambling choices. We propose three different approaches to using query optimization for scrambling. These approaches vary, for example, in whether they optimize for total work or response-time, and whether they construct partial or complete alternative plans. Using a two-phase randomized query optimizer, a distributed query processing simulator, and a workload derived from queries of the TPCD benchmark, we evaluate these different approaches and compare their ability to cope with initial delays in accessing remote sources. The results show that cost-based scrambling can effectively hide initial delays, but that in the absence of good predictions of expected delay durations, there are fundamental tradeoffs between risk aversion and effectiveness.
Neuropathic Pain: A Review of Interneuronal Disinhibition

Context: Dysfunctionof paincircuitrymayalternormalpainperception,leadingtoneuropathicpain. Theunderlyingmechanisms are still unclear, although several animal models of partial nerve injury have been developed. Objectives: This review aimed to describe some essential elements for understanding neuropathic pain after peripheral nerve injury and to discuss its mechanisms with an emphasis on interneuronal disinhibition. EvidenceAcquisition: APubMedsearchwasundertakenwithnodaterestrictions,usingacombinationof thefollowingkeywords: “mechanisms”,“allodynia”,“peripheralnerveinjury”,“neuropathicpain”,and“interneuronaldisinhibition”. Then,relevantpapers on the underlying mechanisms of neuropathic pain after peripheral nerve injury were selected. Results: Severalhypotheseshavebeenproposedtoexplainneuropathicpain,whicharenotnecessarilyindependentof eachother. Interneuronaldisinhibitionisoneof themostpromisinghypotheses,whichincludesseveralpossiblemechanisms,suchasdeathof inhibitoryinterneurons(1),reducedaﬀerentdrivetoinhibitoryinterneurons(2),depletionof gamma-aminobutyricacid(GABA)(3), GABA dysfunction (4), altered membrane properties of inhibitory interneurons (5), and speciﬁc glycine disruption (6). Currently, only some of these hypotheses are promising. Technical discrepancies among experimental studies are partially responsible for some of these controversial results. Conclusions: Formerly neglected circuitries including the glycinergic system, as well as other disturbances such as shift of GABA activity, currently constitute the most promising hypotheses on neuropathic pain. Additional studies on cell types involved in nociceptive transmission and dorsal horn connectivity of the spinal cord are still needed for a better understanding of pain circuitry and its disorders.
A Presynaptic K+ Channel-Independent Neurotransmitter Release Mechanism Caused by Serotonin May Exist in Crayfish

Recent studies on the sea-slug Aplysia have shown that the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT) may trigger an additional ion-channel-independent mechanism that contributes to the presynaptic release of neurotransmitter thereby enhancing excitatory post-synaptic potential (EPSP) sizes and facilitation in chemical synapses beyond what is already known to be caused by 5-HT’s inhibition of K+ channels. Though numerous studies of this mechanism have been performed on Aplysia , few or none have been done on crayfish. In order to test the universality of this additional K+ channel-independent mechanism in other organisms, we devised a system of experiments attempting to isolate the mechanism in the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) of the superficial crayfish extensor muscle. By blocking presynaptic K+ channels through application of the drug 3-4 diaminopyridine (3-4 DAP), we tried to account for how much the K+ channels contributed to overall EPSP enhancement and facilitation when exposed to 5-HT. Our results, however, contradicted our predictions; 3-4 DAP decreased both EPSP amplitude and facilitation in both test conditions. This, along with some apparently inconsistent behavior between experimentation days, prevents us from being able to support the mechanism’s existence. Nevertheless, the broadened shapes of the experimental EPSPs hint towards presynaptic action potential lengthening under our test conditions, a sign that this K+ channel-independent process may in fact exist in crayfish.
Lipid peroxidation: pathophysiological and pharmacological implications in the eye

Oxygen-derived free radicals such as hydroxyl and hydroperoxyl species have been shown to oxidize phospholipids and other membrane lipid components leading to lipid peroxidation. In the eye, lipid peroxidation has been reported to play an important role in degenerative ocular diseases (age-related macular degeneration, cataract, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy). Indeed, ocular tissues are prone to damage from reactive oxygen species due to stress from constant exposure of the eye to sunlight, atmospheric oxygen and environmental chemicals. Furthermore, free radical catalyzed peroxidation of long chain polyunsaturated acids (LCPUFAs) such as arachidonic acid and docosahexaenoic acid leads to generation of LCPUFA metabolites including isoprostanes and neuroprostanes that may further exert pharmacological/toxicological actions in ocular tissues. Evidence from literature supports the presence of endogenous defense mechanisms against reactive oxygen species in the eye, thereby presenting new avenues for the prevention and treatment of ocular degeneration. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and synthetic peroxides can exert pharmacological and toxicological effects on tissues of the anterior uvea of several mammalian species. There is evidence suggesting that the retina, especially retinal ganglion cells can exhibit unique characteristics of antioxidant defense mechanisms. In the posterior segment of the eye, H2O2 and synthetic peroxides produce an inhibitory action on glutamate release (using [3H]-D-aspartate as a marker), in vitro and on the endogenous glutamate and glycine concentrations in vivo. In addition to peroxides, isoprostanes can elicit both excitatory and inhibitory effects on norepinephrine (NE) release from sympathetic nerves in isolated mammalian iris ciliary bodies. Whereas isoprostanes attenuate dopamine release from mammalian neural retina, in vitro, these novel arachidonic acid metabolites exhibit a biphasic regulatory effect on glutamate release from retina and can regulate amino acid neurotransmitter metabolism without inducing cell death in the retina. Furthermore, there appears to be an inhibitory role for neuroprostanes in the release of excitatory amino acid neurotransmitters in mammalian retina. The ability of peroxides and metabolites of LCPUFA to alter the integrity of neurotransmitter pools provides new potential target sites and pathways for the treatment of degenerative ocular diseases.
What issue spread on the web: analyze the web trends

On the web, a lot of services enable people to obtain, share, and disseminate information. There are three main types of services that help people to obtain information in real time: search engines, social networking services (SNS), and Internet-news-services. People use the web to share or disseminate information. News companies display their articles to the public, and individuals post and share their personal interests on their blogs or social network sites. People try to find information by using search engines as well. As these activities are conducted in social contexts, they convey social trends. Those services also provide an additional service that displays the list of the most discussed topic-keywords in each service. In this paper, there are two main goals: First of all, we research on the characteristics of the popular events/issues among users in online services, including search engine, social media, and online news services and examine how the events/issues diffuse among those three services on the web. To achieve this goal, we collected social issue keywords from three different services, Google Trends, Twitter Trending Topics, Google News Top Stories. First, we focus on the characteristics of the popular issues among users in each service. Then, we provide the quantitative study on the issue diffusion among three different services manifests and disappearances of trends are different for each service.
Posterior Cruciate Ligament Retention versus Posterior Stabilization for Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Meta-Analysis

Introduction Although being debated for many years, the superiority of posterior cruciate-retaining (CR) total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and posterior-stabilized (PS) TKA remains controversial. We compare the knee scores, post-operative knee range of motion (ROM), radiological outcomes about knee kinematic and complications between CR TKA and PS TKA. Methods Literature published up to August 2015 was searched in PubMed, Embase and Cochrane databases, and meta-analysis was performed using the software, Review Manager version 5.3. Results Totally 14 random control trials (RCTs) on this topic were included for the analysis, which showed that PS and CR TKA had no significant difference in Knee Society knee Score (KSS), pain score (KSPS), Hospital for Special Surgery score (HSS), kinematic characteristics including postoperative component alignment, tibial posterior slope and joint line, and complication rate. However, PS TKA is superior to CR TKA regarding post-operative knee range of motion (ROM) [Random Effect model (RE), Mean Difference (MD) = -7.07, 95% Confidential Interval (CI) -10.50 to -3.65, p<0.0001], improvement of ROM (Fixed Effect model (FE), MD = -5.66, 95% CI -10.79 to -0.53, p = 0.03) and femoral-tibial angle [FE, MD = 0.85, 95% CI 0.46 to 1.25, p<0.0001]. Conclusions There are no clinically relevant differences between CR and PS TKA in terms of clinical, functional, radiological outcome, and complications, while PS TKA is superior to CR TKA in respects of ROM, while whether this superiority matters or not in clinical practice still needs further investigation and longer follow-up.
Ensemble Methods: Foundations and Algorithms

nsemble methods train multiple learners and then combine them for use. They have become a hot topic in academia since the 1990s, and are enjoying increased attention in industry. This is mainly based on their generalization ability, which is often much stronger than that of simple/base learners. Ensemble methods are able to boost weak learners, which are even just slightly better than random performance to strong learners, which can make very accurate predictions.
Robust baud rate blind equalization for ATSC DTV receivers

A robust adaptive decision feedback equalizer (DFE) for ATSC standard terrestrial digital television (DTV) receivers is presented. Favorable transient and steady-state performance in representative channel conditions is achieved by adapting filter coefficients using a modified constant modulus algorithm. Computer simulations verify stable convergence of a DFE with an extended feedforward filter, which attenuates pre- echo aliases and thus reduces the steady-state mean-square error. Another contribution of the paper is to demonstrate sufficient resilience of a symbol-spaced feedforward filter to timing phase offsets, obviating the need for a fractionally-spaced feedforward section and consequently reducing the hardware requirements.
Notes on the Determinants of Innovation: A Multi-Perspective Analysis

The study of innovation and technological change is an increasing field of economic enquire because innovation can be considered a major engine of growth. This paper is concerned with the determinants of innovation and technological change. Different theoretical approaches present in the literature are systematically considered. The aim of this work is to offer an overview of contributions emerging from different perspectives trying to place them in their proper theoretical framework. The paper will be divided in different subsections in which each determinant is individually treated through the presentation of the most relevant results achieved by the literature on the specific issue. Policy considerations and hints for further research are also provided.
Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology Open Access Excitatory and Inhibitory Effects of Prolactin Release Activated by Nerve Stimulation in Rat Anterior Pituitary

Background: A series of studies showed the presence of substantial amount of nerve fibers and their close relationship with the anterior pituitary gland cells. Our previous studies have suggested that aside from the classical theory of humoral regulation, the rat anterior pituitary has direct neural regulation on adrenocorticotropic hormone release. In rat anterior pituitary, typical synapses are found on every type of the hormone-secreting cells, many on lactotrophs. The present study was aimed at investigating the physiological significance of this synaptic relationship on prolactin release.
Particle verbs in English: Telicity or scalarity?

Abstract Aspectual properties of English particles still lack a satisfactory account, as neither the standard (Brinton 1985, Verb particles in English: Aspect or aktionsart? Studia Linguistica 39(2). 157–168. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9582.1985. tb00750.x (accessed 30 January 2015)) nor a more recent (Cappelle and Chauvin 2010, Interprétations aspectuelles des verbes à particule en anglais: Téliques, comparatifs, résultatifs. In Pascale Hadermann, Olga Inkova, Michel Pierrard & Dan Van Raemdonck (eds.), Approches de la scalarité, 249–281. Geneve: Droz) account can be generalized over all aspectual particles. By analyzing aspect in terms of scalarity this paper argues that particles are either scalar or non-scalar, which leads to their different aspectual and syntactic behavior. Scalar particles are marked for scalarity; they can affect the argument structure of the verb root and enforce telicity. In contrast, non-scalar particles are unmarked for scalarity; they do not affect the argument structure and do not enforce telicity. Both scalar and non-scalar particles systematically appear in atelic and telic sentences, depending on the verb root and its arguments. Scalarity, like telicity, is a feature built compositionally and monotonically.
A Study of Couple Burnout in Infertile Couples

Introduction: Infertility is a major crisis that can cause psychological problems and emotionally distressing experiences, and eventually affect a couples’ relationship. The objective of this study is to investigate couple burnout in infertile couples who were undergoing treatmentat the Infertility Clinic of Yazd, Iran. Method: The present study is a cross-sectional descriptive one on 98 infertile couples referringto the Infertility Centerof Yazd, Iran, who were chosen on a simple random sampling basis. The measuring tools consisted of the Couple Burnout Measure (CBM) and a demographic questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 16 and the statistical tests of ANOVA and t-test. P-values less than 0.05 were considered as significant. Results: The results show that infertile women experience higher levels of couple burnout than their husbands (p<0.001). Also, a comparison of the scales of couple burnout—psychological burnout (p<0.01), somatic burnout (p<0.01), and emotional burnout (p<0.001)—between wives and husbands show that women are at greater risk. Conclusion: Infertile couples’ emotional, mental, and sexual problems need to be addressed as part of the infertility treatment programs, and psychotherapists should be included in the medical team.
Feature-based automatic 3D registration for cultural heritage applications

This paper presents a review of the state-of-the-art techniques in the field of 3D invariant features for the automatic registration of point clouds and 3D meshes. The paper proposes also a multi-stage 3D registration pipeline implemented using the PCL libraries. Experiments are carried out on datasets related to heritage scenarios and addressing large-scale outdoor data acquisitions as well as small objects.
Metamaterial-based microstrip antenna with ground slots for gain-enhanced dual-band operations

In this paper, a novel design of the metamaterial-based microstrip antenna with the ground slots is proposed for gain-enhanced dual-band operation. To realize the dual-band operation of the left-handed and the zeroth-order resonant mode, six equilateral triangular patches which are consists of the coupling gap and the through-hole via are isotropically arranged and the feeding structure is wired to one patch. The equilateral triangular ground slots are embedded for the gain improvements of the proposed antenna at each resonant mode. By only increasing the slot size ranged from 0 mm to 11 mm without changing the radiator elements, the antenna gains have been excellently increased at each operating mode. The measured gains of the proposed antenna are improved by up to 11.69 dB in the left-handed and 11.18 dB in zeroth-order resonant modes at the slot size of 11 mm, respectively in good agreements with the simulated results.
A Valuable Toolkit for Early Childhood Service Providers Working With Families of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Infants and Toddlers

Families play a crucial role in every child’s development. In the context of families, fostering attachment and healthy relationships is essential if children are to achieve optimal development. Even though each stage of development may result in various demands from caregivers, language encompasses and underlies every positive familial interaction. Because approximately 96% of deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children are born into hearing families (Mitchell & Karchmer, 2004), communication and language accessibility immediately translates into a central issue. In many cases, for the parents or other caregivers, their child represents their firstever encounter with a DHH individual. Therefore, early childhood professionals or providers who are familiar with the DHH population are considered to be valuable assets to families with DHH children. Unfortunately, training programs that prepare such providers vary in their curriculum. Often, providers complete training with expertise in one approach that is likely to become a limitation when they are working with families who prefer to adopt a different direction. Given the paucity of qualified early childhood providers, this can be even more frustrating for families. Fortunately, Early Intervention for Deaf and HardofHearing Infants, Toddlers, and Their Families addresses issues that have already been discussed in the literature by providing guidelines, resources, information, and scenarios for early interventionists who are interested in working with DHH infants and toddlers. The book was written with the goal of standardizing the practice of early childhood providers with comprehensive information on different approaches. Providing fully informed practice in situations in which families are cognizant of various options will lead, in turn, to fully informed decisions for their DHH infants and toddlers.