Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mechanism for the posture-specific plasma volume increase after a single intense exercise protocol.

To test the hypothesis that exercise-induced hypervolemia is a posture-dependent process, we measured plasma volume, plasma albumin content, and renal function in seven healthy subjects for 22 h after single upright (Up) or supine (Sup) intense (85% peak oxygen consumption rate) exercise. This posture was maintained for 5 h after exercise. Plasma volume decreased during exercise but returned to control levels by 5 h of recovery in both postures. By 22 h of recovery, plasma volume increased 2.4 +/- 0.8 ml/kg in Up but decreased 2.1 +/- 0.8 ml/kg in Sup. The plasma volume expansion in Up was accompanied by an increase in plasma albumin content (0.11 +/- 0.04 g/kg; P < 0.05). Plasma albumin content was unchanged in Sup. Urine volume and sodium clearance were lower in Up than Sup (P < 0.05) by 5 h of recovery. These data suggest that increased plasma albumin content contributes to the acute phase of exercise-induced hypervolemia. More importantly, the mechanism by which exercise influences the distribution of albumin between extra- and intravascular stores after exercise is altered by posture and is unknown. We speculate that factors associated with postural changes (e.g., central venous pressure) modify the increase in plasma albumin content and the plasma volume expansion after exercise.
Understanding of stroke and coronary heart disease in the UK: An exploratory study

It has been suggested by the UK's 2007 National Stroke strategy for England (NSSFE) that general population awareness is high for coronary heart disease (CHD) but low for stroke. This was investigated in the present study. One hundred eighty-two members of the general public completed a questionnaire about understanding of stroke/CHD. Data were analysed using ANOVA, t-tests and chi square. The main findings were that although members of the general public understood some of the main aspects of stroke and CHD, there was more awareness of general facts about CHD than stroke but symptoms of stroke were better identified compared to CHD. Therefore, our findings only partially supported the NSSFE view.
Multiple CFO Mitigation in Amplify-and-Forward Cooperative OFDM Transmission

In cooperative orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems, accurate frequency synchronization is critical to achieving any potential gains brought by the cooperative operation. The carrier frequency offsets (CFOs) present among multiple nodes (source, relays and destination) are more difficult to tackle than the single CFO problem in point-to-point systems. Multiple CFOs cause phase drift, inter-carrier interference (ICI) and inter-block interference (IBI) in the received signal. This paper deals with the CFO induced interference mitigation problem in distributed space time block coded (STBC) amplify-and-forward (AF) cooperative OFDM systems. We propose a two step approach to recover the phase distortion and suppress the ICI and IBI using low complexity methods to achieve high performance. The first step is time domain (TD) compensation and the second step is frequency domain (FD) decoding. Two TD compensation schemes are proposed, i.e., IBI-removal and ICI-removal. The IBI-removal scheme decouples the two blocks of one STBC codeword completely and then decodes the ICI degraded blocks individually. The ICI-removal scheme removes ICI first and the subsequent decoding requires joint decoding of the two blocks. Simulation results show that the IBI-removal scheme which is of lower complexity performs well with small CFO. For large CFO, the ICI-removal with modified iterative joint maximum likelihood decoding (MIJMLD) outperforms other schemes.
COGNITIVE STYLES AND TEAMWORK: EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF TEAM COMPOSITION ON TEAM PROCESSES AND OUTCOMES

The question whether diversity is advantageous or disadvantageous for teams has yet to be resolved. The present research investigates the effect of cognitive diversity on team processes and outcomes through two successive studies with experimental team tasks involving 57 teams of management students (N = 288). Team composition in each of the studies was manipulated on the basis of students’ cognitive profiles, as measured with the Cognitive Style Indicator (CoSI), leading to homogeneously composed teams, semi-homogeneous teams, and heterogeneous teams. Contrary to previous research, the time needed to complete the task was longer in homogeneous teams than in semi-homogeneous and heterogeneous teams, and team composition had no effect on performance or satisfaction. Apart from heterogeneous teams showing to be more task oriented, there seemed to be no relationship between team composition and team process variables, including perceived relational orientation, and groupthink. However, in the different homogeneous teams, the perception of individuals with different cognitive styles did vary on these dimensions. Cognitive styles were also significantly related to preferences for certain task types. The relevance of these findings is discussed in the light of the recruitment and staffing decisions and pathways for future research are indicated.
Face detection in color images, a robust and fast statistical approach

In the past decade, face detection has claimed a lot of research owing to its significance in a wide variety of applications. These include face recognition, surveillance systems, teleconferencing, video phones, gaze tracking, lip reading, video watch . and the list goes on. This paper presents a fast and robust statistical approach towards face detection. The detection comprises of two steps: i) skin color segmentation, and ii) locating the face in the segmented region based on correlation of the vertical luminous values with two data sets; one for eyes and the other for nose. Special attention is given to make the detection as fast as possible so to apply this algorithm in real time video applications. Finally conclusions are presented on the basis of results obtained.
THE DARK SIDE OF ORGANIZATIONS: Mistake, Misconduct, and Disaster

▪ Abstract In keeping with traditional sociological concerns about order and disorder, this essay addresses the dark side of organizations. To build a theoretical basis for the dark side as an integrated field of study, I review four literatures in order to make core ideas of each available to specialists in the others. Using a Simmelian-based case comparison method of analogical theorizing, I first consider sociological constructs that identify both the generic social form and the generic origin of routine nonconformity: how things go wrong in socially organized settings. Then I examine three types of routine nonconformity with adverse outcomes that harm the public: mistake, misconduct, and disaster produced in and by organizations. Searching for analogies and differences, I find that in common, routine nonconformity, mistake, misconduct, and disaster are systematically produced by the interconnection between environment, organizations, cognition, and choice. These patterns amplify what is known about so.
A Study of the Career Perspectives of Male Teachers of Young Children

Abstract One of the aims of ‘equal opportunities’ policies is to encourage teachers into non‐traditional areas. Consequently, the early years of schooling has witnessed an increase in the number of men teachers opting for this age‐group. This article focuses on the experiences of 11 early years male teachers. The findings suggest that men teachers undertaking a non‐traditional career option will do little to effect a positive change in female educational inequalities. It will be argued that individual and institutional patterns of masculinity and femininity are so entrenched that as more male teachers enter nursery/infant education, male power secures an even deeper hold.
Endothelial Mineralocorticoid Receptor Mediates Diet-Induced Aortic Stiffness in Females.

RATIONALE Enhanced activation of the mineralocorticoid receptors (MRs) in cardiovascular tissues increases oxidative stress, maladaptive immune responses, and inflammation with associated functional vascular abnormalities. We previously demonstrated that consumption of a Western diet (WD) for 16 weeks results in aortic stiffening, and that these abnormalities were prevented by systemic MR blockade in female mice. However, the cell-specific role of endothelial cell MR (ECMR) in these maladaptive vascular effects has not been explored. OBJECTIVE We hypothesized that specific deletion of the ECMR would prevent WD-induced increases in endothelial sodium channel activation, reductions in bioavailable nitric oxide, increased vascular remodeling, and associated increases in vascular stiffness in females. METHODS AND RESULTS Four-week-old female ECMR knockout and wild-type mice were fed either mouse chow or WD for 16 weeks. WD feeding resulted in aortic stiffness and endothelial dysfunction as determined in vivo by pulse wave velocity and ex vivo by atomic force microscopy, and wire and pressure myography. The WD-induced aortic stiffness was associated with enhanced endothelial sodium channel activation, attenuated endothelial nitric oxide synthase activation, increased oxidative stress, a proinflammatory immune response and fibrosis. Conversely, cell-specific ECMR deficiency prevented WD-induced aortic fibrosis and stiffness in conjunction with reductions in endothelial sodium channel activation, oxidative stress and macrophage proinflammatory polarization, restoration of endothelial nitric oxide synthase activation. CONCLUSIONS Increased ECMR signaling associated with consumption of a WD plays a key role in endothelial sodium channel activation, reduced nitric oxide production, oxidative stress, and inflammation that lead to aortic remodeling and stiffness in female mice.
Embedding evolutionary multiobjective optimization into fuzzy linguistic combination method for fuzzy rule-based classifier ensembles

In a preceding contribution, we proposed a novel combination method by means of a fuzzy linguistic rule-based classification system. The fuzzy linguistic combination method was based on a genetic fuzzy system in order to learn its parameters from data. By doing so the resulting classifier ensemble was able to show a hierarchical structure and the operation of the latter component was transparent to the user. In addition, for the specific case of fuzzy classifier ensembles, the new approach allowed fuzzy classifiers to deal with high dimensional classification problems avoiding the curse of dimensionality. However, this approach strongly depended on one parameter defining the complexity of the final classifier ensemble and in consequence affecting the final accuracy. To avoid this tedious problem, we propose to automatically derive this parameter. For this purpose, we use the most common evolutionary multiobjective algorithm, namely NSGA-II, in order to optimize two criteria, complexity and accuracy. We carry out comprehensive experiments considering 20 UCI datasets with different dimensionality, showing the good performance of the proposed approach.
Ethylene Response Factor 6 Is a Regulator of Reactive Oxygen Species Signaling in Arabidopsis

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced in plant cells in response to diverse biotic and abiotic stresses as well as during normal growth and development. Although a large number of transcription factor (TF) genes are up- or down-regulated by ROS, currently very little is known about the functions of these TFs during oxidative stress. In this work, we examined the role of ERF6 (ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR6), an AP2/ERF domain-containing TF, during oxidative stress responses in Arabidopsis. Mutant analyses showed that NADPH oxidase (RbohD) and calcium signaling are required for ROS-responsive expression of ERF6. erf6 insertion mutant plants showed reduced growth and increased H2O2 and anthocyanin levels. Expression analyses of selected ROS-responsive genes during oxidative stress identified several differentially expressed genes in the erf6 mutant. In particular, a number of ROS responsive genes, such as ZAT12, HSFs, WRKYs, MAPKs, RBOHs, DHAR1, APX4, and CAT1 were more strongly induced by H2O2 in erf6 plants than in wild-type. In contrast, MDAR3, CAT3, VTC2 and EX1 showed reduced expression levels in the erf6 mutant. Taken together, our results indicate that ERF6 plays an important role as a positive antioxidant regulator during plant growth and in response to biotic and abiotic stresses.
Ni Chicha ni Limoná

Chile’s parties have been characterized as ‘European’ in their development and institutionalization, but ‘Latin American’ in their high degree of political localism. Yet the specialized literature has not tested these tendencies nor developed a theory as to how they may coexist. Using the concept of party nationalization, we establish the veracity of the claims in the literature and propose a theory of static and dynamic nationalization development. We show that, as in Western European systems, Chile’s political parties exhibited progressive static nationalization until 1973. Since re-democratization, parties have demonstrated low levels of static nationalization, while the coalitions are highly nationalized. Concurrently, both parties and the coalitions have exhibited low levels of dynamic nationalization like parties throughout Latin America. We argue that these conflicting patterns are due to the interactive effect of functional cleavages and electoral institutions.
The Evolutionary Dynamics of Protein-Protein Interaction Networks Inferred from the Reconstruction of Ancient Networks

Cellular functions are based on the complex interplay of proteins, therefore the structure and dynamics of these protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks are the key to the functional understanding of cells. In the last years, large-scale PPI networks of several model organisms were investigated. A number of theoretical models have been developed to explain both the network formation and the current structure. Favored are models based on duplication and divergence of genes, as they most closely represent the biological foundation of network evolution. However, studies are often based on simulated instead of empirical data or they cover only single organisms. Methodological improvements now allow the analysis of PPI networks of multiple organisms simultaneously as well as the direct modeling of ancestral networks. This provides the opportunity to challenge existing assumptions on network evolution. We utilized present-day PPI networks from integrated datasets of seven model organisms and developed a theoretical and bioinformatic framework for studying the evolutionary dynamics of PPI networks. A novel filtering approach using percolation analysis was developed to remove low confidence interactions based on topological constraints. We then reconstructed the ancient PPI networks of different ancestors, for which the ancestral proteomes, as well as the ancestral interactions, were inferred. Ancestral proteins were reconstructed using orthologous groups on different evolutionary levels. A stochastic approach, using the duplication-divergence model, was developed for estimating the probabilities of ancient interactions from today's PPI networks. The growth rates for nodes, edges, sizes and modularities of the networks indicate multiplicative growth and are consistent with the results from independent static analysis. Our results support the duplication-divergence model of evolution and indicate fractality and multiplicative growth as general properties of the PPI network structure and dynamics.
Characterization of Monoclonal Immunoglobulin A and G Against Shiga Toxin Binding Subunits Produced by Intranasal Immunization

Immunoglobulin A (IgA) is considered to play a major role in protection of the mucosal surface. However, its immunological and biological properties have not been extensively studied because the production of IgA class monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) is difficult. We compared the properties of IgA and IgG mAbs against Shiga toxin B subunits (Stx1B). These mAbs were secreted from hybridomas that had been produced from mice after intranasal immunization with recombinant Stx1B and cholera toxin. The dose response curves for the binding of the IgA (clone G2G7) and IgG (clone D11C6) mAbs to immobilized Stx1B were similar, as revealed on ELISA. The majority of the IgA mAb formed dimers while the IgG mAb was monomeric, as judged by immunoblot analysis. The IgG mAb completely inhibited the binding of Stx1B to Burkitt’s lymphoma cell line Ramos, while the inhibition by the IgA mAb was only partial. The IgG mAb was able to neutralize the cytotoxicity of Stx1 holotoxin towards Vero cells, whereas the IgA mAb was not. The binding affinity of each binding site was compared by means of surface plasmon resonance analysis involving a capture method, with which the binding of soluble Stx1B to immobilized mAb was detected. The association rate was similar but the dissociation rate was twofold faster in the case of the IgA mAb, resulting in twofold higher affinity of the IgG mAb. These results suggest that one can obtain high affinity IgA mAb but toxin neutralization is another challenge as to therapeutic antibodies of the IgA class.
The politics of elections in Botswana

Abstract Botswana's history of uninterrupted competitive elections since 1965, and the extensive literature that these contests have engendered, are re-examined in order, first, to illuminate the developing views of Batswana on the purposes and meanings of these events, second, to examine the evolution of electoral processes in that state, and third, to elucidate the effects that elections have had on the institutionalisation of a stable polity. A principal finding is that elections are increasingly widely accepted by the electorate, and that electoral outcomes are perceived as materially important to a population that apparently now judges candidates and parties very instrumentally on the basis of their observed political achievements. Electoral competition, in turn, has become an increasingly important factor in shaping some central elements in Botswana's political processes, perhaps particularly since the competition between government and opposition has emerged primarily as a contest between the ruling BDP and the aspirant BNF. Overall, the extensive data generated by earlier election studies, notably the results of recent mass opinion surveys, permit the development of a perspective on Botswana's politics that accords elections a more central role than has hitherto been conventional. Résumé L'histoire des élections compétitives ininterrompues au Botswana depuis 1965, et la littérature abondante que ces rivalries ont engendrées sont réexaminées afin de, premièrement, éclairer les vues qui se répandent au sujet du Botswana concernant les objectifs et le sens de ces évenements, deuxièmement, examiner l'évolution des procédures électorates dans cet état, et troisièmement, élucider les effets que les élections ont eut sur l'institutionnalisation d'une politique stable. Une des découvertes principales qui a été faite est que, de plus en plus, les élections sont largement acceptées par le corps électoral, et que les résultats des élections sont a perçus comme étant matériellement important pour une population qui apparemment juge désormais les candidats et les partis d'une maniere très instrumentale sur la base des exploits politiques que ces derniers ont accomplis. La concurrence électorale à son tour est devenue un facteur de plus en plus important pour former certains éléments central dans les procédures politiques de Botswana, peut-être en particulier depuis que la compétition électorale entre le gouvernement et I'opposition a principalement émergée comme un combat entre le BDP au pouvoir et le candidat BNF. Dans l'ensemble, les vastes données qui ont été générées par des études antérieures faites sur les élections, notamment les résultats des récents sondages d'opinion publique, permettent le développement d'une perspective sur la politique du Botswana qui concède aux élections un rôle plus central que traditionnel contrairement à ce qui en a été jusqu'à présent.
Better understanding motion planning: A compared review of "Principles of Robot Motion: Theory, Algorithms, and Implementations", by H. Choset et al.

The textbook on Motion Planning “Principles of Robot Motion: Theory, Algorithms, and Implementations”, by H. Choset et al., MIT Press, appeared on June 2005, is reviewed and compared to other two textbooks on the same subject, from 1991 and 2006 respectively. The ground-breaking developments over the last decade justify the necessity of the newer textbooks, that appear to be complementary, despite some overlap in the contents.
Prevention of falls among the elderly.

THE annual incidence of falls among elderly persons living in the community increases from 25 percent at 70 years of age to 35 percent after 75 years of age.1 Fifty percent of elderly persons who fall do so repeatedly. Falls are even more common in nursing homes, where the average annual incidence of reported falls is 1600 per 1000 patients.2 Women fall more often than men until the age of 75 years, after which the frequency is similar in both sexes.1 In the statistics reported here, and in the field of geriatrics generally, "falls" excludes those that result from major .
The Role of Binaural and Fundamental Frequency Difference cues in the Identification of Concurrently Presented Vowels

The relative importance of voice pitch and interaural difference cues in facilitating the recognition of both of two concurrently presented synthetic vowels was measured. The interaural difference cues used were an interaural time difference (400 μsec ITD), two magnitudes of interaural level difference (15 dB and infinite ILD), and a combination of ITD and ILD (400 μsec plus 15 dB). The results are analysed separately for those cases where both vowels are identical and those where they are different. When the two vowels are different, a voice pitch difference of one semitone is found to improve the percentage of correct reports of both vowels by 35.8% on average. However, the use of interaural difference cues results in an improvement of 11.5% on average when there is a voice pitch difference of one semitone, but only a non-significant 0.1% when there is no voice pitch difference. When the two vowels are identical, imposition of either a voice pitch difference or binaural difference reduces performance, in a subtractive manner. It is argued that the smaller size of the interaural difference effect is not due to a “ceiling effect” but is characteristic of the relative importance of the two kinds of cues in this type of experiment. The possibility that the improvement due to interaural difference cues may in fact be due to monaural processing is discussed. A control experiment is reported for the ITD condition, which suggests binaural processing does occur for this condition. However, it is not certain whether the improvement in the ILD condition is due to binaural processing or use of the improvement in signal-to-noise ratio for a single vowel at each ear.