Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance of Anesthetic Depth Indexes in Rabbits under Propofol Anesthesia: Prediction Probabilities and Concentration-effect Relations

Background:The permutation entropy, the approximate entropy, and the index of consciousness are some of the most recently studied electroencephalogram-derived indexes. In this work, a thorough comparison of these indexes was performed using propofol anesthesia in a rabbit model. Methods:Six rabbits were anesthetized with three propofol infusion rates: 70, 100, and 130 mg · kg −1 · h−1, each maintained for 30 min, in a random order for each animal. Data recording was performed in the awake animals 20, 25, and 30 min after each infusion rate was begun in the recovered animals and consisted of electroencephalogram recordings, evaluation of depth of anesthesia according to a clinical scale, and arterial blood samples for plasma propofol determination. Median and spectral edge frequencies were analyzed for single-scale permutation entropy and composite multiscale permutation entropy, approximate entropy, index of consciousness, and the spectral parameters. The spectral parameters and single-scale and multiscale permutation entropies were corrected for the presence of burst suppression. Performance of the indexes was compared by prediction probability and pharmacodynamic analysis. Results:The single-scale and composite multiscale permutation entropies with a burst suppression correction showed better prediction probabilities than did the other electroencephalogram-derived parameters but not better than the electromyographic activity. Conclusion:Single-scale and multiscale permutation entropies may be promising measures of propofol anesthetic depth when corrected for burst suppression. Additional studies should investigate the information measured by electromyography algorithms from commercial monitors of anesthetic depth. The rabbit may be a promising animal model for electroencephalographic studies because it provides a good-quality signal.
The degradation of reading performance in SONOS Flash Memory with small threshold voltage window

In this paper, the threshold current was presented as a referential current of the bit-line to characterize the degradation of reading performances in SONOS flash memory with small threshold voltage window. The threshold current did not need any additional measurements, its feasibility was validated by both experiments and calculations, and it was more sensitive to the degradation of reading performances than the threshold voltage. And the degradation of reading performances was related to the generated interface traps.
Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet Deposition of Patterned Polymer Films for Cell Culture Applications

A miniature nonthermal atmospheric plasma jet was used to deposit patterns of plasma polymers on standard Pyrex Petri dishes from an argon/acetylene gas mixture. The injection of the C2H2 monomer through the powered capillary electrode ending in the nozzle section allowed a stable operation of the plasma jet and the successful deposition of plasma-polymer tracks ap500 mum wide. The line-averaged gas temperature was measured from the OH molecular band emission originating from the entrainment of air into the plasma jet. The gas temperature decreased monotonically from ap440 K at the nozzle exit to ap385 K at 5 mm downstream. The emission profiles of the C2 (516 nm) band showed a peak ap0.5 mm downstream the nozzle exit. The maximum emission for the CH band (431 nm) was obtained at the torch exit. An ATR-FTIR spectroscopy analysis of the deposited plasma-polymer films revealed the presence of C-H, O-H, and C = O functional groups. Mammalian cells grown on the argon/acetylene plasma-treated dishes showed migration and greater density compared to the control and dishes treated with an argon plasma jet. This preliminary study opens the door to the localized enhancement of cell coverage on various substrates (shape and material).
Using link semantics to recommend collaborations in academic social networks

Social network analysis (SNA) has been explored in many contexts with different goals. Here, we use concepts from SNA for recommending collaborations in academic networks. Recent work shows that research groups with well connected academic networks tend to be more prolific. Hence, recommending collaborations is useful for increasing a group's connections, then boosting the group research as a collateral advantage. In this work, we propose two new metrics for recommending new collaborations or intensification of existing ones. Each metric considers a social principle (homophily and proximity) that is relevant within the academic context. The focus is to verify how these metrics influence in the resulting recommendations. We also propose new metrics for evaluating the recommendations based on social concepts (novelty, diversity and coverage) that have never been used for such a goal. Our experimental evaluation shows that considering our new metrics improves the quality of the recommendations when compared to the state-of-the-art.
Formation of SiC nanoparticles in an atmospheric microwave plasma

We describe the formation of SiC nanopowder using an atmospheric argon microwave plasma with tetramethylsilane (TMS) as precursor. The impact of several process conditions on the particle size of the product is experimentally investigated. Particles with sizes ranging from 7 nm to about 20 nm according to BET and XRD measurements are produced. The dependency of the particle size on the process parameters is evaluated statistically and explained with growth-rate equations derived from the theory of Ostwald ripening. The results show that the particle size is mainly influenced by the concentration of the precursor material in the plasma.
Generation of a stable, posttranslationally modified microtubule array is an early event in myogenic differentiation

Microtubules (MTs) have been implicated to function in the change of cell shape and intracellular organization that occurs during myogenesis. However, the mechanism by which MTs are involved in these morphogenetic events is unclear. As a first step in elucidating the role of MTs in myogenesis, we have examined the accumulation and subcellular distribution of posttranslationally modified forms of tubulin in differentiating rat L6 muscle cells, using antibodies specific for tyrosinated (Tyr), detyrosinated (Glu), and acetylated (Ac) tubulin. Both Glu and Ac tubulin are components of stable MTs, whereas Tyr tubulin is the predominant constituent of dynamic MTs. In proliferating L6 myoblasts, as in other types of proliferating cells, the level of Glu tubulin was very low when compared with the level of Tyr tubulin. However, when we shifted proliferating L6 cells to differentiation media, we observed a rapid accumulation of Glu tubulin in cellular MTs. By immunofluorescence, the increase in Glu tubulin was first detected in MTs of prefusion myoblasts and was specifically localized to MTs that were associated with elongating portions of the cell. MTs in the multinucleated myotubes observed at later stages of differentiation maintained the elevated level of Glu tubulin that was observed in the prefusion myoblasts. When cells at early stages of differentiation (less than 1 d after switching the culture medium) were immunostained for Glu tubulin and the muscle-specific marker, muscle myosin, we found that the increase in Glu tubulin preceded the accumulation of muscle myosin. Thus, the elaboration of Glu MTs is one of the very early events in myogenesis. Ac tubulin also increased during L6 myogenesis; however, the increase in acetylation occurred later in myogenesis, after fusion had already occurred. Because detyrosination was temporally correlated with early events of myogenesis, we examined the mechanism responsible for the accumulation of Glu tubulin in the MTs of prefusion myoblasts. We found that an increase in the stability of L6 cell MTs occurred at the onset of differentiation, suggesting that the early increase in detyrosination that we observed is a manifestation of a decrease in MT dynamics in elongating myoblasts. We conclude that the establishment of an oriented array of microtubules heightened in its stability and its level of posttranslationally modified subunits may be involved in the subcellular remodeling that occurs during myogenesis.
Derem ak Ngerem : Le franc, la grâce et la reconnaissance Les ressorts de l'économie sociale et solidaire en Afrique de l'Ouest

La reussite relative de l'economie sociale en Afrique repose avant tout sur une capacite des individus et du groupe a anticiper les evolutions tout en gardant de la souplesse dans leurs strategies. L'economie sociale et solidaire a par exemple toujours ete faite a la fois de partage et d'accumulation, de profit monetaire et de plus-value symbolique (derem ak ngerem). Elle est marquee par une dimension d'affiliation du fait des conventions passees avec un espace de confiance ou celle-ci fonctionne comme un lubrifiant. Les logiques familiales, lignageres, religieuses en sont les composants essentiels. La recherche du derem en meme temps que du ngerem est le fondement de l'entrepreneuriat. Cette recherche incite a la generosite, a l'assistance et a l'investissement dans le capital relationnel. Les AA. s'interessent ici a la resonnace de l'economioe sociale et solidaire en Afrique de l'Ouest et a ses acteurs, ou elle apparaitra comme une economie de reseau
Antigenicity of bdellovibrios

Antigenic relationships between 12 locally isolated bdellovibrios and 3 established reference strains (109D, 6-5-S, and UKi2) were investigated. Antigenicity of the strains was examined by use of the micro-complement fixation test, the serum and complement bactericidal test, and the immunodiffusion test. Antisera were prepared against one of the local strains (MS7) and against one of the established reference strains (UKi2). The complement fixation titers suggest a close relationship among all strains. Immunodiffusion tests produced lines of identity between the homologous strain MS7 and all other strains. It is suggested on the basis of these results that bdellovibrio may possess a common antigen.
Training and organizational commitment among nurses following industry and organizational change in New Zealand and the United States

This survey study examines the relationship between employee attitudes related to training and organizational commitment among a sample of nurses in New Zealand and the United States. The magnitude of recent restructuring to New Zealand's public health system allows for an examination of employee attitudes towards training and organizational commitment in comparison to nurses from similar sized hospitals in the United States. Results show that perceived access to training, supervisory support for training, motivation to learn from training and perceived benefits of training were positively related to the affective and normative components of organizational commitment. Several significant differences were found on both training and organizational commitment variables between New Zealand and the United States. The findings are discussed in terms of their theoretical and practical application to human resource development (HRD) outcomes and the management of HRD in health care settings.
How malleable is comparative self‐positivity? The effects of manipulating judgemental focus and accessibility

The present research investigated accessibility effects on comparative self-positivity in the environmental domain. In a pretest we established comparative self-positivity and a focus effect for environmental awareness. In the main study we aimed at shifting these effects by manipulating the accessibility of harmful behaviours of either the self or the typical student before obtaining comparative judgements. Specifically, we used two types of accessibility manipulations: anchoring and ease of retrieval. We predicted that judgements would be affected by content in the anchoring paradigm but by subjective ease in the ease of retrieval paradigm. We found the predicted pattern of effects, but it was strongest when participants focused on the typical student. The findings contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying comparative biases and may have applied implications. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Online 3D vision, motion planning and bipedal locomotion control coupling system of humanoid robot: H7

This paper describes the design of an integrated system for humanoid robotics that consists of three key components, 3D vision, motion planning and bipedal control. Layered system design is adopted to achieve concurrency as well as small latency. Implementation using our humanoid type robot H7 and experiments with this architecture are described. The H7 is expected to be a common test-bed in experiments and discussion for various aspects of intelligent humanoid robotics.
But malice aforethought: cities and the natural history of hatred

I take as my starting point the fact that Western cities are often depicted as on the brink of catastrophe. Indeed some contemporary authors would argue that they have never been closer to that brink. The first part of this paper argues against this tendency by focusing on the preponderance of activities of repair and maintenance. Having looked at the state of this forgotten infrastructure, in the second part of the paper I turn to an examination of why this Cassandra interpretation is so prevalent. I argue that, in particular, it draws on wellsprings of misanthropy which are rarely voiced in writings on cities because sociality is too often confused with liking. Yet it seems vital to me to tackle misanthropy head on. Then, in the third part of the paper, I argue that currently there is a coming together in cities of all kinds of affective politics of concern which can act, through all manner of small achievements, as a counter to misanthropy but which do not mistake the practice of this politics for a search after perfection.
Improved appearance-based matching in similar and dynamic environments using a Vocabulary tree

In this paper we present a topological map building algorithm based on a Vocabulary Tree that is robust to features present in dynamic or similar environments. The algorithm recognises incorrect loop closures, not supported by the odometry, and uses this information to update the feature weights in the tree to suppress further associations from these features. Two methods of adjusting these feature entropies are proposed, one decreasing entropy related to incorrect features in a uniform manner and the other proportional to the contribution of the said feature. Preliminary results showing the performance of the proposed method are presented where it is found that by adjusting the feature entropies, the number of incorrect associations can be reduced while improving the quality of the correct matches.
Sensitive and rapid detection of Pectobacterium atrosepticum by targeting the gyrB gene using a real‐time loop‐mediated isothermal amplification assay

This study reports the development of a real‐time, loop‐mediated isothermal amplification (RealAmp) assay for the detection of Pectobacterium atrosepticum (P. atrosepticum). A phylogenetic tree was constructed based on the gyrB gene of P. atrosepticum and related species. Pectobacterium atrosepticum from different sources can be clustered in the same branch with 100% support rate. The RealAmp primers targeting the gyrB gene of P. atrosepticum worked most efficiently at 61·0°C. Compared with 55 related bacterial strains, the eight P. atrosepticum strains displayed positive reaction in the RealAmp assay. The melting temperature (Tm) of P. atrosepticum amplified products was about 85·0°C. The detection limit of the RealAmp assay for the detection of P. atrosepticum in pure culture was approx. 3 CFU reaction−1. The detection limit of the RealAmp assay for the detection of P. atrosepticum in artificially contaminated samples was 22 CFU reaction−1. The detection rate of the RealAmp assay for the detection of potato tubers was 28·5–32·0% higher than that of the conventional PCR. In summary, a specific, sensitive and rapid RealAmp assay based on the gyrB gene of P. atrosepticum, which can be easily performed and real‐time monitored, was established.
Enduring fundamentals: constitutional accountability and auditors-general in the reluctant state

Reformist governments in pursuing their own political interests have been prepared to put aside enduring understandings of constitutional accountability which emphasize the well-being of the entire community as the manifestation of substantive citizenship and replace it with more easily metricated forms of accountability. The assumption has been that the two forms of accountability are easily, rightly and necessarily substitutable for the other. Auditors-general and other independent officers continue to question the constitutional inconsistencies of these changes, sometimes at grave risk to their very existence. The accountability consequences of contracting out services with the private sector are of special concern to auditors-general.
The contribution of epidemiology to defining the most appropriate approach to genetic research on schizophrenia

Abstract Psychosis is thought to have a strong genetic component, but many efforts to discover the underlying putative schizophrenia genes have yielded disappointing results. In fact, no strong associations emerged in the first genome-wide association studies in psychiatry and weakly observed associations were not related to the candidate genes identified in previous studies. These partially successful findings may be explained by the fact that genetic research in psychiatry suffers from confounding issues related to phenotype definition, the considerable degree of phenotypic variability and diagnostic uncertainty, absence of specific neuropathological features and environmental influences. To make progress it is first necessary to deconstruct psychosis based on symptomatology, and then to correlate particular phenotypes with genetic variants. Moreover, it is time to conduct studies that define persistent aspects of the schizophrenic profile that are more likely to represent an underlying biological pathogenesis, as opposed to fluctuating symptoms that are possibly environmentally mediated. In fact, progress in understanding the etiology of schizophrenia will depend upon the availability of good measures of genetic liability as well as relevant environmental exposures during critical periods of an individual's life. If environmental and/or genetic factors are not precisely measured, it is impossible to study their independent effects or interactions.
Symbolic understanding of pictures and written words share a common source

Here we examine the hypothesis that symbolic understanding across domains is mediated by a fundamental ‘symbolizing’ ability in young children. We tested 30 children aged 2-4 years on symbolic tasks assessing iconic and non-iconic word-referent and picture-referent understanding and administered standardised tests of symbolic play and receptive language. Children showed understanding of the symbol-referent relation earlier for pictures than written words, and performance within domains was correlated and, importantly, predicted by a marker of general symbolic ability (e.g. pretend play). Performance on picture and written word tasks was also unrelated to language comprehension. Thus, symbolic abilities in specific domains are underpinned by a general symbolizing ability which arises early in development.
Sensitivity-Analysis for Polymer Filter Design Using Derivative-Free Optimization by

Introduction Fiber spinning is a process that uses polymers to create fibers. Polymers are pumped through an extrusion filter and through a spinneret that produces thin strands of fiber that are converged into a larger fiber product. Upon solidification, these fibers can be used in many diverse ways. For instance, fibers can be used as a component of composite materials or matted into sheets to make products like paper. Hence, to use these fibers, it is essential that the fibers don't contain any debris as a result of the fiber spinning process; engineers determine a bound that represents the maximum amount of debris that is acceptable in fiber strands for proper handling [1]. Producing pure fibers depends on the performance of the filter. To measure filter performance, two objectives are necessary to consider. First, the lifetime of the filter must be considered. Because filters are expensive to replace, it is desirable for a filter to last as long as possible; hence, the filter lifetime should be maximized. Second, the filter must capture the maximum amount of debris to ensure that a consistent fiber product is produced; hence, the amount of debris leaving the filter should be minimized [1]. Given the two objectives stated above, the goal of our research is to maximize the performance of the filter subjected to specific filter parameters. The two filter parameters that we will be analyzing include the porosity, , and pore diameter, d p. Finding optimal parameter values and understanding how these parameters interact to affect filter performance are the key contributions of this research. We will analyze two and three layer filter configurations. Because the function we seek to minimize requires a computationally expensive computer simulation to describe the filter-extrusion process, gradient information is unavailable. Thus, to find these optimal parameter values, derivative-free optimization (DFO) methods are used, which guide the minimization using only function values [2]. DFO methods are often referred to as sampling methods. Two sampling methods that are used include the implicit filtering method [2] and the genetic algorithm (GA) [2]. The implicit filtering method is considered a fast local method but can depend on a good initial guess at the solution. The GA is a population-based approach known to exhaustively search for the solution, but has the drawback of requiring a large number of function evaluations. For this work, that is a major drawback since one simulation can take …