Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A new method for determining corneal epithelial barrier to fluorescein in humans.

PURPOSE To derive the value of corneal epithelial barrier to fluorescein in humans from experiments in which the fluorophore in instilled in a single drop. METHOD A commercial scanning fluorophotometer, the Fluorotron Master, was used to scan through an anterior segment. It could not resolve the tear film from the cornea, but in the early stages of measurement, the tear component predominated. After 20 minutes, the remaining fluorescein was washed out of conjunctival sac, and the amount that penetrated into the cornea was estimated. Because the resolution was not sufficient to estimate the concentrations, the total masses in the tear film and in the cornea derived from the area under the profile were used to calculate the epithelial permeability. A value for the tear film thickness had to be assumed. RESULTS The technique led to reproducible values for epithelial permeability-a range of 2:1 in a subject. High concentrations of fluorescein were required to achieve a sufficient penetration into the cornea, and this led to error in estimating the tear film concentration of the dye. A method is presented that corrects for this effect. For 17 normal subjects, the corrected permeability was 0.15 nm/second, and the tear turnover was 0.15/minute ( +/- 0.016, standard error.) CONCLUSIONS This technique is convenient and yields two useful physiological parameters from a single clinical procedure. The permeability values are considerably higher than those found by previous workers, and the source of the discrepancy is discussed.
Leakage Power Estimation in SRAMs

In this paper we propose analytical models for estimating the leakage power in CMOS based SRAM designs. We identify the transistors that contribute to the leakage power in each SRAM sub-circuit as a function of the operation (read/write/idle) on the SRAM and develop parameterized leakage power models in terms of the high level design parameters and transistor widths. The models take number of rows, number of columns, read column multiplexer size and write column multiplexer size of the SRAM along with the technology parameters as input to estimate the leakage power. The developed models are validated by comparing their estimates against the power measured using SPICE simulations on industrial SRAM designs belonging to the e5001 processor core. The comparison shows that the models are highly accurate with an error margin of less than 23.9%. ∗This work was done in collaboration with Motorola corporation e500 is the Motorola processor core that is compliant with the PowerPC Book E architecture
Monitoring and Mapping Student Victimization in Schools

International data suggests that the most successful violence prevention programs are adapted to fit a specific school site and involve all of the constituents in a school setting. In contrast to many of the popular skills-based programs that are commonly implemented in schools across the United States, the authors explore the utility of combining monitoring and mapping techniques to prevent specific forms of school violence and aggression in specific spaces and times in school. Examples of the successful implementation of monitoring and mapping techniques in schools are provided.
Can somatic symptoms predict depression

In this study Kuwaiti undergraduate students ( N = 215) completed the 60 individual items of the Somatic Symptoms Inventory (Abdel-Khalek, 2003) and 3 scales of depression - the Symptom Checklist-90, Depression Subscale (SCL-90; D: Derogatis, 1994) the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CESD: Radloff, 1977) and the Hopkins Symptoms Check List-Depression Scale (HCS-D: Derogatis, Lipman, Rickels, Uhlenhuth, & Covi, 1974) to determine the correlation between the 60 individual items of the SSI and the 3 scales of depression. It was concluded that the following somatic symptoms can predict depression in a nonclinical sample: tension, heart pains, sleep disorder, anorexia, weight gain, migraine, and sexual disorders, respectively.
Acoustic source location in a three-dimensional space using crosspower spectrum phase

A microphone array can be used to locate a dominant acoustic source in a given environment. This capability is successfully employed to locate an active talker in teleconferencing or other multi-speaker applications. In this work the source location is obtained in two steps: (1) a time difference of arrival (TDOA) computation between the signals of the array; (2) an "optimal" source location based on the interchannel delay estimates and on a geometrical description of the sensor arrangement. The crosspower spectrum phase technique was used for TDOA estimation, while a maximum likelihood approach was followed to derive the source coordinates. Source location experiments in a three-dimensional space were performed by means of an array of 8 microphones. For this purpose both a loudspeaker and a real talker were used to collect data in a large noisy and reverberant room.
Socioeconomic Background and Cognitive Functioning in Preschool Children.

32 advantaged and 32 disadvantaged 4-year-old children were administered a battery of tests including measures of general intellectual functioning, learning performance, impulsivity-reflectivity, ability to inhibit motor behavior upon request, and object exploratory behavior. The results supported the hypotheses that culturally disadvantaged preschool children would be less efficient in intellectual performance than advantaged children of the same age. The anticipated relation between Binet performance and paired associate learning was found. Only tentative support was found for the hypothesis that disadvantaged Ss would be more impulsive in response disposition. The data did not support the hypotheses that the culturally disadvantaged would inhibit their motor responses less upon verbal request or manifest less object curiosity than the advantaged children.
La compréhension de métaphores et de pseudo-métaphores chez des enfants âgés de 4 à 8 ans

Resume ; Dans le but d'infirmer l'idee d'un decalage entre la production precoce de metaphores, culminant vers 3-4 ans, et la comprehension qui n'apparaitrait que vers 7 ans, nous avons utilise, dans cette recherche, deux types d'enonces : ; — enonces pseudo-metaphoriques (recueillis au cours de jeux symboliques) ; ; — enonces metaphoriques dans lesquels le lien entre topique et vehicule peut reposer soit sur la notion de vitesse, soit sur une caracteristique psychologique (l'opposition gentil/mechant). ; De plus, on utilise de petits jouets, representant le topique et le vehicule, comme support a la comprehension. ; Les resultats montrent que les enonces pseudo-metaphoriques sont massivement compris des l'âge de 4 ans (87,5 %), alors que les enonces metaphoriques ne le sont pas a cet âge. La comprehension metaphorique augmente significativement avec l'âge et atteint 36 % a 8 ans. On note egalement que les reponses de transformation magique du topique en vehicule sont nombreuses a tous les âges, et qu'elles culminent a 8 ans. Ce resultat est attribue a l'utilisation de petits jouets, favorisant une attitude ludique, qui n'ont, par ailleurs, pas ameliore les performances. Le type de lien entre topique et vehicule n'a pas joue de role. Seule la familiarite de certains vehicules a entraine une meilleure comprehension. ; La distinction entre metaphores et pseudo-metaphores a permis d'infirmer l'existence d'un decalage systematique entre production et comprehension. ; Mots-cles : comprehension, metaphore, pseudo-metaphore, enfants.
Cloud Processing of Gases and Aerosols in Air Quality Modeling

The representations of cloud processing of gases and aerosols in some of the current state-of-the-art regional air quality models in North America and Europe are reviewed. Key processes reviewed include aerosol activation (or nucleation scavenging of aerosols), aqueous-phase chemistry, and wet deposition/removal of atmospheric tracers. It was found that models vary considerably in the parameterizations or algorithms used in representing these processes. As an emerging area of research, the current understanding of the uptake of water soluble organics by cloud droplets and the potential aqueous-phase reaction pathways leading to the atmospheric secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation is also reviewed. Sensitivity tests using the AURAMS model have been conducted in order to assess the impact on modeled regional particulate matter (PM) from: (1) the different aerosol activation schemes, (2) the different below-cloud particle scavenging algorithms, and (3) the inclusion of cloud processing of water soluble organics as a potential pathway for the formation of atmospheric SOA. It was found that the modeled droplet number concentrations and ambient PM size distributions were strongly affected by the use of different aerosol activation schemes. The impact on the modeled average ambient PM mass concentration was found to be limited in terms of averaged PM2.5 concentration (~a few percents) but more significant in terms of PM1.0 (up to 10 percents). The modeled ambient PM was found to be moderately sensitive to the below-cloud particle scavenging algorithms, with relative differences up to 10% and 20% in terms of PM2.5 and PM10, respectively, when using the two different algorithms for the scavenging coefficient (Λ) corresponding to the lower and upper bounds in the parameterization for Λ. The model simulation with the additional cloud uptake and processing of water-soluble organic gases was shown to improve the evaluation statistics for modeled PM2.5 OA compared to the IMPROVE network data, and it was demonstrated that the cloud processing of water-soluble organics can indeed be an important mechanism in addition to the traditional secondary organic gas uptake to the particle organic phase.
A visual approach for scan path comparison

Several algorithms, approaches, and implementations have been developed to support comparison of scan paths and finding of interesting scan path structures. In this work we contribute a visual approach to support scan path comparison. A key feature of this approach is the combination of a clustering algorithm using Levenshtein distance with the parallel scan path visualization technique. The combination of computational methods with an interactive visualization allows us to use both the power of pattern finding algorithms and the human ability to visually recognize patterns. To use the concept in practice we implemented the approach in a prototype and show its application in two scan path analysis scenarios from automobile usability testing and visualization research.
The Dictionary of Occupational Titles as a Source of Occupational Data.

Abstract and creative vs. routine, concrete activities . 68 MVC Measurable or verifiable criteria . 64 CLERICAL Clerical perception . 64 SPATIAL Spatial perceptions . 55 PEOPLE Complexity of functioning with people' . 47 FORM Form perceptions . 46 TALK Talking . 44 DCP Direction, control, and planning . 43 VARCH Variety and change . 42 DATACOM Communication of data vs. activities with things . 41 Factor 2: MOTOR SKILLS 22.6% FINGDEX Finger dexterity . 69 MOTOR Motor coordination . 68 MANDEX Manual dexterity . 67 THINGS Complexity of functioning with things . 66 FORM Form perceptions . 52 SPATIAL Spatial perceptions . 47 SEE eeing . 43 REACH Reaching . 42 STS Set limits, tolerances, or standards . 37 MACHINE Activities involving processes, machines vs. social welfare . 33 Factor 3: PHYSICAL DEMANDS 9.9% LOCATION Outside working conditions . 67 STOOP Stooping, kneeling, crouching, crawling . 53 EYEHAND Eye-hand-foot coordination . 52 CLIMB Climbing, balancing . 49 STRENGTH Lifting, carrying, pulling, pushing . 48 Factor 4: MANAGEMENT 5.4% DEPL Dealing with people . 78 DCP Direction, control, planning . 74 PEOPLE Complexity of functioning with people . 70
Promising outcome of a hip school for patients with hip dysfunction.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate, in an exploratory study, a hip school led by physical therapists for patients with hip dysfunction including pain. METHODS Physicians in primary care and orthopedic units consecutively recruited patients by residential area to a treatment group (T group; n = 77) and a control group (C group; n = 68), mean age 61.8 years, 59 men, 86 women. Ninety-nine of the 145 subjects had radiologic hip osteoarthritis. Outcome measures were the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP). RESULTS After hip school (6 months) the T group showed greater reduction on the subscales of pain and activity limitations (WOMAC) than the C group. The subscales sleep disturbances, pain, and physical mobility (NHP) showed improvement for the T group compared with at start. The results for the T group persisted after an additional 6 months. CONCLUSION A hip school may reduce pain and activity limitations and improve health-related quality of life for patients with hip dysfunction including pain.
The effects of Bentonite and Calendula on the improvement of infantile diaper dermatitis

Background: Diaper dermatitis is one of the most common skin disorders of infancy and childhood. The present study aimed to compare the effects of Bentonite and Calendula on the improvement of diaper dermatitis in infants. Materials and Methods: A double-blind randomized controlled trial, which was conducted on 60 out-patient infants referred to health care centers or pediatric clinics in Khomein city and diagnosed with diaper dermatitis. Data were collected by checklist and observation, and analyzed using t-test, Chi-square, and Fisher's exact test. Results: Mean (standard error) age of the total sample was 6.55 ± 0.69 months. Totally, 93.3% of lesions in the Bentonite group started its recovery in the first 6 h, while this rate was 40% in Calendula group (P < 0.001). Furthermore, 90% of infants in the Bentonite group and 36.7% in the Calendula group were improved completely in the first 3 days (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Bentonite was effective on the improvement of diaper dermatitis, and also had faster effects compared with Calendula.
Religiosity, Gender and the Two Faces of Neuroticism

Recent evidence has suggested that Eysenck’s neuroticism scales combine two components, one gender-free and one gender-related, and that the balance between these components varies from one edition of the scale to another. The present study explores the significance of this finding for the relationship between neuroticism and religiosity, itself a gender-related phenomenon, by calculating the correlation of each of six different measures of neuroticism with the Francis scale of attitude towards Christianity, among a sample of 177 15- and 16-year-olds. The findings support the functional equivalence of the six measures of neuroticism, in spite of different levels of gender-related content, and provide further evidence for the view that neuroticism and religiosity are uncorrelated variables.
Faut-il investir dans une université corporative?

Cet article vise deux objectifs : cerner les raisons d’investir dans une universite corporative et preciser les options qui s’offrent aux gestionnaires lorsqu’il s’agit de mettre en place une universite corporative. A partir d’une analyse des principaux moteurs d’une economie basee sur le savoir, nous en tirons les consequences pour les organisations : une dependance accrue des strategies liees aux connaissances et donc la necessite de gerer ces connaissances de facon systematique. En particulier, nous insistons sur la relation entre les connaissances et l’avantage strategique et nous demontrons en quoi les universites corporatives peuvent etre des outils de formulation et de mobilisation du curriculum corporatif. Nous explorons ensuite ce que peuvent etre les universites corporatives en specifiant la nature des choix a effectuer. Le texte se termine sur une interrogation quant aux perspectives futures de ces outils.
Predictors of 5-year mortality in pulmonary Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare complex disease.

SETTING Kyoto, Japan. OBJECTIVE To determine predictors of 5-year mortality in pulmonary Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare complex (MAC) disease. DESIGN Retrospective study of 164 patients diagnosed with pulmonary MAC disease between 1999 and 2005 and followed for 5 years. RESULTS Overall 5-year mortality was 28.0%. Among 117 patients with microbiological outcomes, 54 were treated (treated MAC patients) and 24 were not treated and did not experience sputum culture conversion during follow-up (untreated chronic MAC patients); 39 patients were not treated and experienced sputum culture conversion. Five-year all-cause overall mortality among the 78 patients with definite MAC disease (including treated and untreated chronic MAC patients) was 25.6%. The mortality rate was 33.3% for untreated chronic MAC patients only vs. 22.2% for treated MAC patients (P = 0.30). After adjustment for clinical, microbiological and radiological confounders, independent factors for 5-year mortality were a high Charlson comorbidity index in cases with definite MAC disease (hazard ratio [HR] 1.76) and untreated chronic MAC (HR 3.08), and presence of cavitary lesions in cases with definite MAC disease (HR 1.82) and treated MAC patients (HR 3.91). CONCLUSION Patients with cavitary lesions require immediate treatment for sputum culture conversion and to improve their chances of survival.
Retroviruses facilitate the rapid evolution of the mammalian placenta

The mammalian placenta exhibits elevated expression of endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), but the evolutionary significance of this feature remains unclear. I propose that ERV‐mediated regulatory evolution was, and continues to be, an important mechanism underlying the evolution of placental development. Many recent studies have focused on the co‐option of ERV‐derived genes for specific functional adaptations in the placenta. However, the co‐option of ERV‐derived regulatory elements could potentially lead to the incorporation of entire gene regulatory networks, which, I argue, would facilitate relatively rapid developmental evolution of the placenta. I suggest a model in which an ancient retroviral infection led to the establishment of the ancestral placental developmental gene network through the co‐option of ERV‐derived regulatory elements. Consequently, placental development would require elevated tolerance to ERV activity. This in turn would expose a continuous stream of novel ERV mutations that may have catalyzed the developmental diversification of the mammalian placenta.
Comparison of Training Modalities for Power Development in the Lower Extremity

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of a 10-week resistance and resistance-plyometrics training program on measures of lower body power and body composition. Twenty-two male and 15 female physical education students were randomly assigned to one of five groups as follows: free weights (FW, n = 8), Hydra Gym (HydraFitness, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada), (HG, n = 8), plyometrics (P, n = 8), Hydra Gym with plyometrics (HG-P, n = 6) and free weights with plyometrics (FW-P, n = 7). All groups trained three times per week with each session lasting approximately 30 minutes. Vertical jump, percent body fat and isokinetic power variables were determined at the beginning and at the conclusion of the 10-week training program. Peak torque values, measured on the Cybex II (Lumex Corp., Bayshore, New York) at four velocity settings were expressed in terms of lean body mass (LBM). No between-group significant differences (P < 0.05) were observed for any of the test items measured. However, within each training group, there was a significant increase (P < 0.05) in peak torque measures following the training program. The results reveal that similar increases in lower extremity power may be induced by a variety of resistance and resistance-plyometrics programs.
Knowledge‐based causal inference: Norms and the usefulness of distinctiveness

Research on Kelley's (1967, 1972) covariation model of causal attributions has typically overlooked the effects of subjects' prior knowledge of norms on causal judgements. The present studies were designed to show that such norms are important in part because they help govern the usefulness of distinctiveness information for making such attributions. Study 1 revealed that distinctiveness information is considered more useful for answering causal questions when it involves a low base rate event compared to when it involves a high base rate event. Study 2 showed that distinctiveness information involving a low base rate event makes dispositional attributions more likely. The results are discussed in terms of how they question the common belief that consensus information is underused in causal attributions and in terms of how various forms of social judgment appear affected by the inconspicuous yet influential presence of norms.
Living the Sweet Life: How Does a Plant Pathogenic Fungus Acquire Sugar from Plants?

Plant diseases are an important constraint on worldwide crop production, accounting for losses of 10–30% of the global harvest each year [1]. As a consequence, crop diseases represent a significant threat to ensuring global food security. To feed the growing human population it will be necessary to double food production by 2050, which will require the sustainable intensification of world agriculture in an era of unpredictable climate change [2],[3]. Controlling the most important plant diseases represents one of the best means of delivering as much of the current productivity of crops as possible. To accomplish this task, a fundamental understanding of the biology of plant infection by disease-causing agents, such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi will be necessary [1],[2].
Benefit of vitamin E, riluzole, and gababapentin in a transgenic model of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FALS) has been linked in some families to dominant mutations of the SOD1 gene encoding Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase (Cu,Zn SOD). We have used a transgenic model of FALS based on expression of mutant human Cu,Zn SOD to explore the etiology and therapy of the genetic disease. Expression of mutant, but not wild‐type, human Cu,Zn SOD in mice places the brain and spinal cord under oxidative stress. This causes depletion of vitamin E, rather than the typical age‐dependent increase in vitamin E content as occurs in nontransgenic mice and in mice expressing wild‐type human Cu,Zn SOD. Dietary supplementation with vitamin E delays onset of clinical disease and slows progression in the transgenic model but does not prolong survival. In contrast, two putative inhibitors of the glutamatergic system, riluzole and gabapentin, prolong survival. However, riluzole did not delay disease onset. Thus, there was clear separation of effects on onset, progression, and survival by the three therapeutics tested. This suggests the hypothesis that oxidative damage produced by the expression of mutant Cu,Zn SOD causes slow or weak excitotoxicity that can be inhibited in part by altering glutamate release or biosynthesis presynaptically.
A new available bandwidth measurement method based on ImTCP

We propose a method to measure available network bandwidth using the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP). The recently proposed ImTCP technique uses Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) data packets and the corresponding acknowledgement responses to measure the available bandwidth between sender and receiver. Since ImTCP needs to change the sender's TCP implementation, it needs modifications to sender's operating system kernel. Moreover, ImTCP cannot measure available bandwidth accurately if the receiver sends delayed acknowledgments. These problems stem from the use of TCP. In this paper, we discuss an ICMP-based method that overcomes these limitations. We evaluate the performance of the proposed method in an experimental network and show that it generates less measurement traffic and requires less time for bandwidth measurement than PathLoad. We also show that proposed method can measure the available bandwidth even if the bandwidth changes during measurement.