Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expression of VDAC Regulated by Extracts of Limonium sinense Ktze root Against CCl4-induced Liver Damage

The expression of mitochondrial voltage-dependent anion channels (VDAC) may underlie the protective effects of Limonium sinense (Girard) Ktze root extracts (LSE) against carbon tetrachloride-induced liver damage. Pretreatment of mice with 100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg or 400 mg/kg LSE significantly blocked the carbon tetrachloride-induced increase in both serum aspartate aminotransferase (sAST) and serum alanine aminotransferase (sALT) levels. Ultrastructural observations by electron microscope confirmed hepatoprotection, showing decreased nuclear condensation, ameliorated mitochondrial fragmentation of the cristae and less lipid deposition. Pretreatment with LSE prevented the decrease of the disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential (15.3%) observed in the liver of the carbon tetrachloride-insulted mice, further demonstrating the mitochondrial protection. In addition, LSE treatment (100-400 mg/kg) significantly increased both transcription and translation of VDAC. The above data suggests that LSE mitigates the damage to liver mitochondria induced by carbon tetrachloride, possibly through regulation of mitochondrial VDAC, one of the most important proteins in the mitochondrial outer membrane.
D2EEC: A Distributed Degree-Based Energy Efficient Clustering Algorithm for Wireless Sensor Networks

Information gathering is one of typical applications in wireless sensor networks, where energy-constrained sensors are densely deployed to collect environmental information and transmit data to a base station for further processing. Sensors directly transmit data to a far away base station may quickly drain their batteries and greatly shorten the network lifetime. Partitioning network into several clusters may improve the energy usage efficiency of the network and prolong the network lifetime. In this paper, we propose a distributed degree-based energy efficient clustering (D2EEC) algorithm for wireless sensor networks. In the D2EEC, each node elects itself to be a cluster head with a novel probability function, which is tightly related to node degree and energy. We find that the D2EEC algorithm can terminate in a few iterations. Simulation results show that D2EEC is very effective to prolong the network lifetime
Chemistry, Pharmacology, and Toxicology of Khat (Catha Edulis Forsk): A Review

Catha edulis (khat) is a plant grown commonly in the horn of Africa. The leaves of khat are chewed by the people for its stimulant action. Its young buds and tender leaves are chewed to attain a state of euphoria and stimulation. Khat is an evergreen shrub, which is cultivated as a bush or small tree. The leaves have an aromatic odor. The taste is astringent and slightly sweet. The plant is seedless and hardy, growing in a variety of climates and soils. Many different compounds are found in khat including alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, sterols, glycosides, tannins, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. The phenylalkylamines and the cathedulins are the major alkaloids which are structurally related to amphetamine. The major effects of khat include those on the gastro-intestinal system and on the nervous system. Constipation, urine retention and acute cardiovascular effects may be regarded as autonomic (peripheral) nervous system effects; increased alertness, dependence, tolerance and psychiatric symptoms as effects on the central nervous system. The main toxic effects include increased blood pressure, tachycardia, insomnia, anorexia, constipation, general malaise, irritability, migraine and impaired sexual potency in men. Databases such as Pubmed, Medline, Hinary, Google search, Cochrane and Embase were systematically searched for literature on the different aspects of khat to summarize chemistry, pharmacology, toxicology of khat (Catha edulis Forsk).
A model for evaluating dispersed outdoor recreation use estimation

An outdoor recreation use simulator (ORUS) has been developed to simulate dispersed recreation survey data similar to that collected by the National Visitor Use Monitoring (NVUM) Project’s survey of the national forests of the U.S.A. Statistical distributions are used to represent the various behaviors of recreationists during their visit to a dispersed area. The beta distribution is used to model arriving times and last exiting times. The number of intermediate exits from a site is determined by the Poisson distribution while their times are selected randomly according to the uniform distribution. Finally, three trap shy behaviors are assigned to the recreationists to quantify their probability of capture by the interviewer. The arriving and last exiting beta distributions are fitted to the NVUM data. The functioning of the simulator is demonstrated with a simple example with explanations of each recreationist’s actions with respect to the sampling methodology. The utility of ORUS in evaluating the bias and coefficient of variability of various estimating scenarios is also presented.
Endurance-aware circuit designs of nonvolatile logic and nonvolatile sram using resistive memory (memristor) device

The use of low voltage circuits and power-off mode help to reduce the power consumption of chips. Non-volatile logic (nvLogic) and nonvolatile SRAM (nvSRAM) enable a chip to preserve its key local states and data, while providing faster power-on/off speeds than those available with conventional two-macro schemes. Resistive memory (memristor) devices feature fast write speed and low write power. Applying memristors to nvLogic and nvSRAMs not only enables chips to achieve low power consumption for store operations, but also achieve fast power-on/off processes and reliable operation even in the event of sudden power failure. However, current memristor devices suffer from limited endurance, which influences the design of the circuit structure for memristor-based nvLogic and nvSRAM. Moreover, previous nvLogic/nvSRAM circuits cannot achieve low voltage operation. This paper explores various circuit structures for nvLogic and nvSRAM, taking into account memristor endurance, especially for low-voltage applications.
Signal recovering for UHF RFID by matching algorithm

The proposed scheme used digital circuit design to improve the performance of RFID readers and increase the readable distance of tags from the reader in indoor environments. Basically, the transmitted data are subject to vagaries and influences of media or channels through which the data has to pass, including the air interface, amplifiers, mixers and filters, etc., in RFID systems. There are two familiar approaches in common use to process the received baseband RFID signals captured from tags. One approach adopts the DSP techniques, and the other uses amplifiers and hysteresis comparators. The latter is usually simpler and less expensive, but it is unable to tolerate the noise and DC offset; the former is the opposite, but more expensive. The proposed scheme is mainly designed to eliminate the following three concerned negative effects - AWGN, DC offset and circuit distortion. Two simulation results for severe distortion cases, one caused by RC decay and the other by severe bias drifts and unstable amplitude, are chosen from many experiments to demonstrate and explain the advantages of our proposed scheme.
Teachers’ Understandings, Perspectives, and Experiences of Dyslexia

Dyslexia policy and practice have been rapidly outpacing research. Due to legislation and media attention, schools are under pressure to attend to dyslexia, but research provides few clear answers about characteristics, identification, or instruction. Most dyslexia research takes place outside literacy education, and teachers’ perspectives are heard only when their knowledge is questioned. Our research addresses these gaps with a qualitative study examining perspectives, understandings, and experiences of 32 Texas public school educators regarding dyslexia. Two major themes were evident: First, teachers felt responsible for meeting the needs of all their students, including those identified as dyslexic. Second, participants named barriers that interfered with attempts to support students, including limited information and confusing policies and procedures. This research provides new information about teacher’s understandings, experiences, and perspectives concerning dyslexia that goes beyond surveys. This study’s literature review provides information about the state of current dyslexia research, including its limitations.
Various Methods for Edge Detection in Digital Image Processing

In computer and image processing edge detection playing a vital role. It is problems of fundamental importance in image analysis edge characterizes object boundaries and are useful for segmentation, registration and identification of objects in a scene. In this paper we discuss feature extraction. Firstly we apply Gaussian noise removal method for removing the noise from image collected. Secondly some edge detection operator such as Binary Morphology, canny edge detection, log edge detection, differential edge detection are applied and analyzed. According to simulated result the advantages and disadvantages of these edge detection operators are compared. It is shown that the binary morphology operator can obtain better edge detection.
A Block-Based Adaptive Three Stages Motion Estimation Using Early Termination for Anti-shaking

In this paper, a block-based adaptive three stages motion estimation using early termination which is used for anti-shaking is proposed. Low computational complexity and accurate motion estimation are demanded to anti-shaking for mobile phone. Therefore three stages which consist of the predicted motion vector (PMV), the two-bit transform using second derivatives (2BT-SD) and the two steps search (2SS) are performed stage-by-stage. The three stages are early terminated up to result of stage. So the trade-off between computational complexity and accuracy is mediated by the characteristics of early termination which is determined by characteristics of frames. To evaluate the proposed algorithm, peak signal-to-noise ratio of reconstructed frames and current frames is measured. And the proportions of each stage are used to evaluate computational complexity.
An examination of the relationship between communication and socialization deficits in infants and toddlers with autism and pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD_NOS)

iv Introduction.1 Autism Spectrum Disorders.4 History.4 Current Diagnostic Criteria.8 Autistic Disorder.10 Pervasive Developmental Disorders – Not Otherwise Specified.11 Core Features.12 Socialization.12 Communication.14 Repetitive Behaviors and Interests.16 Prevalence.18 Assessment.23 Early Detection.28 Specific Infant and Toddler Characteristics.35 Communication . 35 Socialization . 43 Purpose.50 Hypothesis 1.52 Hypothesis 2.53 Hypothesis 3.54 Hypothesis 4.55 Hypothesis 5.55 Hypothesis 6.55 Method.57 Participants.57 Measures.59 Baby and Infant Screen for Children with aUtIsm Traits-Part 1.59 Battelle Developmental Inventory, 2 nd Edition.60 Procedure.62 Statistical Procedures.63 Results.66 Hypothesis 1.66 Hypothesis 2.66 Hypothesis 3.68 Hypothesis 4.69 Hypothesis 5.69 Hypothesis 6.69
In-Traffic Air Pollution Exposure and CC16, Blood Coagulation, and Inflammation Markers in Healthy Adults

Background: Exposure to traffic-related air pollution is a risk factor for cardiovascular events, probably involving mechanisms of inflammation and coagulation. Little is known about effects of the short exposures encountered while participating in traffic. Objectives: The objective of the study was to examine effects of exposure of commuters to air pollution on cardiovascular biomarkers. Methods: Thirty-four healthy adult volunteers commuted for 2 hr by bus, car, or bicycle during the morning rush hour. During the commute, exposure to particle number, particulate matter (PM) ≤ 2.5 µm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5), PM ≤ 10 µm in diameter (PM10), and soot was measured. We estimated inhaled doses based on heart rate monitoring. Shortly before exposure and 6 hr after exposure, blood samples were taken and analyzed for CC16 (Clara cell protein 16), blood cell count, coagulation markers, and inflammation markers. Between June 2007 and June 2008, 352 pre- and postexposure blood samples were collected on 47 test days. We used mixed models to analyze the associations between exposure and changes in health parameters. Results: We observed no consistent associations between the air pollution exposures and doses and the various biomarkers that we investigated. Conclusions: Air pollution exposure during commuting was not consistently associated with acute changes in inflammation markers, blood cell counts, or blood coagulation markers.
Distributed intelligence in large scale traffic simulations on parallel computers

Transportation systems can be seen as displaying meta-intelligence, in the sense that intelligent actors (travelers) conspire to make the system function as a whole. In simulations one can model this by resolving each traveler individually, and giving each traveler rules according to which she/he generates goals and then attempts to achieve them. The system as a whole has no goal of its own except to “function”, i.e. to be a metropolitan region where people’s lives are good enough so they do not move away. This paper approaches this question from an extremely pragmatic point – how can a large scale simulation of such a system be implemented on a parallel computer? In particular, we concentrate on Beowulf clusters, which are clusters of regular PCs connected by regular relatively slow local area network. Our working hypothesis is that the imbalance of the computational system –fast CPUs, slow communication– resembles the real system, and that a good simulation of the real system will take advantage of these parallels. The paper focuses both on what is actually implemented and working, and on future plans.
Stochastic modeling of motion tracking failures

This research introduces a new and effective method of predicting motion tracking failures and demonstrates its application towards the analysis of gait and human motion. We define a tracking failure as an event and describe its temporal characteristics using a hidden Markov model (HMM). This stochastic model is trained using previous examples of tracking failures and is applied to the Kalman-based tracking of a parametric, structural model of the human body. With an observation sequence derived from the noise covariance matrices of the structural model parameters, we show a causal relationship between the conditional output probability of the HMM and imminent tracking failures. Results are demonstrated on a variety of multi-view sequences of complex human motion.
Issue Cost and Method of IPO Underwriting: Japan's Change from Auction Method Pricing to Book Building

In 1997, Japan introduced book building an alternative to an auction method of IPO pricing that had been required since 1989. Shortly after its authorization, all IPOs in Japan were priced by book building. The shift occurred despite economic arguments and evidence suggesting that the auction method reduced underpricing. We attribute the shift to creation of an information-based pooling equilibrium where low quality firms that benefit from the imposed auction regime lose the benefit if high quality firms are free to select book building. We examine the effects of the regime change on total issue cost and characteristics of IPO firms. We find that, on average, total issue cost during the auction period would have been similar under book building, but that the regimes have differential effects. For large well-established issuers, book building reduced total issue cost. Small issuers had lower cost under the auction method, but high-quality small firms appear to have been foreclosed from issuing. Ignoring the effect of pricing method on underinvestment, our estimates of the simple average cost advantage of the auction method range from 6.9 percent of aftermarket value to –1.8 percent. Because, from a cost standpoint, book building benefits large issuers, the value-weighted effect of the book building method is unambiguously positive, averaging 136 million Yen per issuer in our sample, or 3.5 percent of aftermarket value. In aggregate, we estimate that reliance on the auction method from 1995 through late 1997 cost JASDAQ issuers 61 billion Yen more than book building would have cost. This estimate does not include any additional costs associated with underinvestment. Claremont Colleges working papers in economics Claremont Graduate University • Claremont Institute for Economic Policy Studies • Claremont McKenna College • Drucker Graduate School of Management • Harvey Mudd College • Lowe Institute • Pitzer College • Pomona College • Scripps College
Applying a hybrid data envelopment analysis approach to construct an intelligent stock trading system

The predictability of stock market returns has been investigated in the financial literature for over four decades. Various prediction or stock classification tools, such as conventional statistical methods and non-parametric methods, have been successfully developed in the literature to enhance the existing financial analysis. Among these tools, the DEA (data envelopment analysis)-based stock classification method is the one received most discussion lately. However, literature has shown that the efficiency estimates of a stock obtained from the slack variable analysis can be biased if the inputs/outputs of this stock are strongly correlated. In this paper, a two-stage approach of integrating independent component analysis (ICA) and data envelopment analysis (DEA) is proposed to overcome this issue. We suggest using ICA first to extract the variables for generating independent components, then selecting the ICs to represent the independent sources of variables, and finally, inputting the selected ICs as new variables in the DEA model. A financial data on the selected integrated circuit companies collected from the Taiwan Economic Journal and the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation (TSEC) during 2004 to 2006 is used to demonstrate the validity of the proposed two-stage approach. The results show that the proposed method has not only the highest classification accuracy but also the lowest potential loss. Hence the proposed approach can reduce the possible high risks in stock selection.
New Frontiers in the Theorization of ICT-Mediated Interaction: Exploring the Implications of a Situated Learning Epistemology

This paper suggests that recent contributions to the knowledge management literature could be taken to constitute a dramatic epistemic shift for the information systems field, which may open new frontiers in the theorization of information, communication, and forms of ICT-mediated social interaction. Specifically, it argues that a move away from an overly “intellectualist” conception of information and communication (and attendant forms of representationalism) offers the prospect of reconceptualizing the role of ICT as a complementary mode of engagement with the life world, which may facilitate distinctive forms of collective sensemaking/learning. Moreover, it suggests that by conceptualizing such processes as a duality of reification and social participation (following Wenger 1998), the specific material constitution of the technology (i.e., the form of the medium), and its significance for mediating and shaping important features of social interaction and the relationships that underpin them, is brought firmly into the analytical foreground. Among other things, this may offer promising opportunities for a more substantive theorization of the ICT artefact (see Monteiro and Hanseth 1996; Orlikowski and Iacono 2001). As a tentative first step in this new terrain, the concept of “digiscribing” is offered as an alternative to Zuboff’s (1988) influential notion of “informating,” as a means of thinking about the relationship between information, ICT, and organizations. The ideas are illustrated and developed with reference to an in-depth, interpretive study of groupware implementation and use at a large global consulting services firm.
Towards high level of presence: Combining static infrastructure with dynamic services

In this paper, we present a new approach to facilitate test subjects to achieve a high level of presence in a long haul flight simulator. The approach not only addresses the likeness of the static infrastructure, but also highlights the importance of integrating the dynamic services, such as flight attendant service, flying simulation service, etc. with the static infrastructure to create a dynamic flight virtual environment for test subjects. The integration procedure is a time driven unified process. User experiment result shows that the approach helps test subjects to achieve a high level of flight presence in the flight simulator.
The Interaction of Pain and Morphine on Analgesia, Locomotion, and Cognitive Functioning

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IVC filters—Trends in placement and indications, a study of 2 populations

Abstract Inferior vena cava filter (IVCF) placement appears to be expanding over time despite absence of clear directing evidence. Two populations were studied. The first population included patients who received an IVCF between January 2005 and August 2013 at our community hospital center. Demographic information, indications for placement, and retrieval rate was recorded among other variables. The second population comprised of patients receiving an IVCF from 2005 to 2012 according to the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) using ICD-9CM coding. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on the year of admission for comparison, that is, first group from 2005 to 2008 and the second from 2009 to 2012. In addition, we analyzed annual trends in filter placement, acute venothromboembolic events (VTE) and several underlying comorbidities within this population. At our center, 802 IVCFs were placed (55.2% retrievable); 34% for absolute, 61% for relative, and 5% for prophylactic indications. Major bleeding (27.5%), minor self-limited bleeding (13.7%), and fall history (11.2%) were the commonest indications. Periprocedural complication rate was 0.7%, and filter retrieval rate was 7%. The NIS population (811,487 filters) saw a decline in IVCF placement after year 2009, following an initial uptrend (Ptrend < 0.01). IVCF use among patients with neither acute VTE nor bleeding among prior VTE saw a 3-fold absolute reduction from 2005 to 2012 (33,075–11,655; Ptrend < 0.01). Patients from 2009 to 2012 were more likely to be male and had higher rates of acute VTE, thrombolytic use, cancer, bleeding, hypotension, acute cardiorespiratory failure, shock, prior falls, blood product transfusion, hospital mortality including higher Charlson comorbidity scores. The patients were younger, had shorter length of stay, and were less likely to be associated with strokes including hemorrhagic or require ventilator support. Prior falls (adjusted odds ratio—aOR 2.8), thrombolytic use (aOR 1.76), and shock (aOR 1.45) were most predictive of IVCF placement between 2009 and 2012 on regression analysis. Recent trends suggest that a higher proportion of patients receive temporary IVCF, for predominantly relative indications. Nationally, the number of filters being placed is decreasing, especially among those who did not experience acute VTE or bleeding events. Prior falls, thrombolytic therapy, and shock were most predictive of IVCF placement in latter half of the study period.