Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dog Behavior Co-Varies with Height, Bodyweight and Skull Shape

Dogs offer unique opportunities to study correlations between morphology and behavior because skull shapes and body shape are so diverse among breeds. Several studies have shown relationships between canine cephalic index (CI: the ratio of skull width to skull length) and neural architecture. Data on the CI of adult, show-quality dogs (six males and six females) were sourced in Australia along with existing data on the breeds' height, bodyweight and related to data on 36 behavioral traits of companion dogs (n = 8,301) of various common breeds (n = 49) collected internationally using the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ). Stepwise backward elimination regressions revealed that, across the breeds, 33 behavioral traits all but one of which are undesirable in companion animals correlated with either height alone (n = 14), bodyweight alone (n = 5), CI alone (n = 3), bodyweight-and-skull shape combined (n = 2), height-and-skull shape combined (n = 3) or height-and-bodyweight combined (n = 6). For example, breed average height showed strongly significant inverse relationships (p<0.001) with mounting persons or objects, touch sensitivity, urination when left alone, dog-directed fear, separation-related problems, non-social fear, defecation when left alone, owner-directed aggression, begging for food, urine marking and attachment/attention-seeking, while bodyweight showed strongly significant inverse relationships (p<0.001) with excitability and being reported as hyperactive. Apart from trainability, all regression coefficients with height were negative indicating that, across the breeds, behavior becomes more problematic as height decreases. Allogrooming increased strongly (p<0.001) with CI and inversely with height. CI alone showed a strong significant positive relationship with self-grooming (p<0.001) but a negative relationship with chasing (p = 0.020). The current study demonstrates how aspects of CI (and therefore brain shape), bodyweight and height co-vary with behavior. The biological basis for, and significance of, these associations remain to be determined.
Eating habits in judokas

Purpose The aim of the paper was to find out eating habits of judokas from judo club in Holesov and students of programme Special Education of Security Bodies who practise combative sports including judo in University Campus in Brno-Bohunice. in the Czech Republic. Design/methodology/approach: The questionnaire survey was attended by 66 judokas in total, out of which there were 34 male (52%) and 32 female (48%) respondents. Women aged 20-25 years (average age in female group was 19.34), men also aged 20-25 years (average age in male group was 22.24). The questionnaire was anonymous. Research and practical limitations/implications: Majority of female respondents were students with non-sportive specialization, in men it is about a half (41% of respondents). Majority of respondents were practiced judo as a self - defense technique – this answer was given by 55.9% of men and 59.4% of women. 26.5% of men and 21.9% of women always pay attention to well-balanced diet. The highest number of respondents claims that they always respect specific need for energy income – 61.8% of men and 84.4 % of women. Merely 14.7% of men and 9.4% of women admitted that they do not consider specific energy income for sportspeople, and 61.8 % of men and 84.4% of women reported that they consider it sometimes. Respondents who use nutritional supplements mostly prefer carbohydrate-protein conjugates – this option was selected by 70.6% of men and 75% of women. Most respondents do not use supplements with vitamins and minerals – this answer was given by 64.7% of men and 75% of women. Originality/ value : Most of respondents are interested in their nutrition. Many of them need some education from sports nutritionists.
NKCC1 Activation Is Required for Myelinated Sensory Neurons Regeneration through JNK-Dependent Pathway

After peripheral nerve injury, axons are able to regenerate, although specific sensory reinnervation and functional recovery are usually worse for large myelinated than for small sensory axons. The mechanisms that mediate the regeneration of different sensory neuron subpopulations are poorly known. The Na+-K+-Cl− cotransporter 1 (NKCC1) is particularly relevant in setting the intracellular chloride concentration. After axotomy, increased NKCC1 phosphorylation has been reported to be important for neurite outgrowth of sensory neurons; however, the mechanisms underlying its effects are still unknown. In the present study we used in vitro and in vivo models to assess the differential effects of blocking NKCC1 activity on the regeneration of different types of dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) neurons after sciatic nerve injury in the rat. We observed that blocking NKCC1 activity by bumetanide administration induces a selective effect on neurite outgrowth and regeneration of myelinated fibers without affecting unmyelinated DRG neurons. To further study the mechanism underlying NKCC1 effects, we also assessed the changes in mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling under NKCC1 modulation. The inhibition of NKCC1 activity in vitro and in vivo modified pJNK1/2/3 expression in DRG neurons. Together, our study identifies a mechanism selectively contributing to myelinated axon regeneration, and point out the role of Cl− modulation in DRG neuron regeneration and in the activation of MAPKs, particularly those belonging to the JNK family.
An empirical study of the use of friends in C++ software

A commonly held belief is that the friend construct in C++ is a violation of encapsulation. However, little empirical analysis of its use has taken place to provide evidence to support this claim. This paper presents a study, which assesses the design implications of including friendship in a system. A number of hypotheses are investigated based on previous work in this area by Counsell and Newson (2000). Our initial findings suggest that classes declared as friends are coupling hotspots, that the more friends a class has the more protected and private members it will contain and that friendship is not used to access inherited protected members.
Specification of technical plant behavior with a safety-oriented technical language

Manual reconfiguration of existing systems is a common task for engineers. Especially, the modernization of plants depends on an unambiguous and reliable documentation. Furthermore, the well-defined specification of plant behavior enables the engineer to verify the control software with a model-checking tool. In order to be able to provide the description correctly and without misunderstandings, it should be done formally. Temporal logics, like the Computation Tree Logic, offer an ideal solution for this purpose. However, they are based on a complex theory. In order to use them anyway in practice, the formal expressions have to be developed by automated procedures out of an intuitively understandable description. This contribution proposes a text-block based method, which enables the user to create such a formal specification by the use of a Safety-Oriented Technical Language.
Community-wide outbreak of haemolytic uraemic syndrome associated with Shiga toxin 2-producing Escherichia coli O26:H11 in southern Italy, summer 2013

In summer 2013, an excess of paediatric cases of haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) in a southern region of Italy prompted the investigation of a community-wide outbreak of Shiga toxin 2-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O26:H11 infections. Case finding was based on testing patients with HUS or bloody diarrhoea for STEC infection by microbiological and serological methods. A case–control study was conducted to identify the source of the outbreak. STEC O26 infection was identified in 20 children (median age 17 months) with HUS, two of whom reported severe neurological sequelae. No cases in adults were detected. Molecular typing showed that two distinct STEC O26:H11 strains were involved. The case–control study showed an association between STEC O26 infection and consumption of dairy products from two local plants, but not with specific ready-to-eat products. E.coli O26:H11 strains lacking the stx genes were isolated from bulk milk and curd samples, but their PFGE profiles did not match those of the outbreak isolates. This outbreak supports the view that infections with Stx2-producing E. coli O26 in children have a high probability of progressing to HUS and represent an emerging public health problem in Europe.
Towards Understanding and Overcoming Hurdles in PDMS Projects in Germany

While the benefits reaped by patient data management systems (PDMS) are well understood, the market penetration in Germany still remains rather low. Managerial issues are considered to be one of the main reasons for this phenomenon. Based on a study carried out, hurdles for PDMS implementations have been identified for this specific industry and have been matched to a literature-based change management framework. Furthermore, with the help of expert interviews some first guidelines have been derived in order to overcome the most important obstacles. The implementation of appropriate change management measures is absolutely necessary to support end user acceptance in this industry. However, one important finding is that the trade-off between end user acceptance and reaping the full benefits of the PDMS needs to be balanced very carefully.
Haploidentical Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: Expanding the Horizon for Hematologic Disorders

Despite the advent of targeted therapies and novel agents, allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation remains the only curative modality in the management of hematologic disorders. The necessity to find an HLA-matched related donor is a major obstacle that compromises the widespread application and development of this field. Matched unrelated donors and umbilical cord blood have emerged as alternative sources of donor stem cells; however, the cost of maintaining donor registries and cord blood banks is very high and even impractical in developing countries. Almost every patient has an HLA haploidentical relative in the family, meaning that haploidentical donors are potential sources of stem cells, especially in situations where cord blood or matched unrelated donors are not easily available. Due to the high rates of graft failure and graft-versus-host disease, haploidentical transplant was not considered a feasible option up until the late 20th century, when strategies such as “megadose stem cell infusions” and posttransplantation immunosuppression with cyclophosphamide showed the ability to overcome the HLA disparity barrier and significantly improve the rates of engraftment and reduce the incidence and severity of graft-versus-host disease. Newer technologies of graft manipulation have also yielded the same effects in addition to preserving the antileukemic cells in the donor graft.
Empirical Mode Decomposition in Segmentation and Clustering of Slowly and Fast Changing Non-Stationary Telemetric Signals 1

—Empirical mode decomposition (EMD) is a principally new technique, intended to process various types of non-stationary signals by means of decomposing them into a set of certain functions, called “Intrinsic mode functions” (IMFs) or Empirical modes. This paper is dedicated to a newly developed EMD application to Data Mining, namely, to segmentation and clustering problems. Two new algorithms of segmentation are introduced. The ﬁrst one was devised for slowly changing signals and is capable of extracting monotonous segments (piecewise-polynomial segmentation) as well as other signal patterns. The second one, used for fast changing signals, allows to extract segments with different variances, energies and autoregressive model orders. Both algorithms were tested on various telemetric signals and fuzzy-clustering results of the extracted segments are given. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of these approaches are described and the possible ways of their further improvement and development are outlined.
Reversible Effects of Retinole Acid on Glycosaminoglycan Synthesis during Differentiation of HL-60 Leukemia Cells1

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) play an important role in cell-cell and cell-substratum interactions, and undergo specific changes during neutrophil development. Previous studies (Luikart, S. D., Maniglia, C. A., and Sartorelli, A. C. Cancer Res., 44: 2907-2912, 1984) have shown that both dimethyl sulfoxide and 4-/3-phorbol-12-/3-myristate-13-a-acetate decreased GAG production by a hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase-deficient clone of HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells prior to the appear ance of a mature myeloid or monocytoid phenotype. To expand these investigations further, GAGs were analyzed by cetylpyridinium chloride precipitation and DEAE-Sephacel ion-exchange chromatography after labeling of parental HL-60 cultures with [35S]sulfate and o-[3H]glucosamine for 6 h, following treatment with 1 AIMall-frans retinole acid (RA). Chondroitin sulfate repre sented the major GAG species produced, although endo-jS-galactosidase-sensitive undersulfated macromolecules which possibly might be keratan sulfate, were also identified. GAG production decreased over a time period of 144 h in culture. RA treatment reduced the amount of radiolabeled cell-associated GAGs by 50% after 48, 96, and 144 h of exposure. In contrast, commitment to myelocytic maturation of the majority (i.e., ap proximately 60%) of the cells occurred between 72 and 96 h of RA treatment. Concurrently with the appearance of mature granulocytic cells, two-thirds of the radiolabeled GAGs were re covered from the medium, compared to one-third in untreated cultures, a phenomenon that resulted in an overall alteration in the distribution of GAGs. When RA was removed by washing after either 48 h (i.e., precommitment to differentiation) or 96 h (;'.e., postcommitment to differentiation), a 1.5- to 3.5-fold in crease in GAG production was noted 48 h later; this increase was unrelated to the medium change or to alterations in cell cycle distribution. The amounts of endo-j3-galactosidase-sensi-tive macromolecules were unaltered. Thus, although 1 ^tM RA inhibited the synthesis of chondroitin sulfate by HL-60 leukemia cells, this inhibition was reversible by removal of the drug and appeared to be unrelated to the commitment to myelocytic maturation. were a result of the effects of the drug on GAG processing itself. In this report, we provide evidence that the production of chondroitin sulfate, the major species of GAG found on HL-60 cells, is inhibited by RA, but that this effect can be reversed when the drug is removed, even after commitment to a program of terminal differentiation has taken place. In addition, our find ings indicate that HL-60 cells produce a second class of large endo-0-galactosidase-sensitive glycoconjugates, the production of which is not affected by removal of RA. Thus, our findings suggest that RA might regulate the production of specific gly coconjugates by HL-60 cells independently of its effects on cell differentiation.
Thermocapillary actuation of droplets on chemically patterned surfaces by programmable microheater arrays

We have designed a microfluidic device for the actuation of liquid droplets or continuous streams on a solid surface by means of integrated microheater arrays. The microheaters provide control of the surface temperature distribution with high spatial resolution. These temperature gradients locally alter the surface tension along droplets and thin films thus propelling the liquid toward the colder regions. In combination with liquophilic and liquophobic chemical surface patterning, this device can be used as a logistic platform for the parallel and automated routing, mixing and reacting of a multitude of liquid samples, including alkanes, poly(ethylene glycol) and water.
Detection of malicious transactions in DBMS

A major difficulty faced by organizations is the protection of data against malicious access or corruption. Database management systems (DBMS) are a key component in the information infrastructure of most organizations and represent the ultimate layer in preventing unauthorized data accesses. Several mechanisms needed to protect data, such as authentication, user privileges, encryption, and auditing, have been implemented in commercial DBMS. However, typical database security mechanisms are not able to detect and handle many data security attacks. In fact, malicious transactions executed by unauthorized users that may gain access to the database by exploring system vulnerabilities and unauthorized database transactions executed by authorized users cannot be detected and stopped by typical security mechanisms. In this paper we propose a new mechanism for the detection of malicious transactions in DBMS. The paper presents a practical example of the implementation of the proposed mechanism in the Oracle 10g DBMS and evaluates the mechanism using the TPC-C benchmark.
Futsal as a potential talent development modality for soccer – a quantitative assessment of high-level soccer coach and player perceptions

ABSTRACT A contemporary issue in soccer talent development is the potential use of futsal as a training tool. This paper utilised survey methods to quantitatively assess the perspectives of high-level coaches working in youth player education, and players of futsal and 11-a-side soccer (n = 77). Respondents completed surveys before and following a showcase game between an Under-21 international futsal team competing against a Premier League Under-21 soccer team. Responses were positive about futsal as a training aid and specifically regarding skills transfer from futsal into soccer. The majority of respondents (89.6%) indicated “post-game” that futsal could be useful for soccer talent development. Similarly, 90.9% stated they would consider its integration into their programs. Analysis regarding futsal constraints and the impact specific rules may have on skill acquisition generally reported positive perceptions: 89.6% of participants suggested that pitch size improved skills (strongly agree = 33.8%, agree = 55.8%), 88.3% believed the pass back rule enhanced ball reception skills (strongly agree = 27.3%, agree = 61%), and 89.2% perceived that futsal can help develop “multifunctional” players (strongly agree = 27.3%, agree = 62.3%). Knowledge of constraints and the potential for skill acquisition linked to futsal participation is a first step in aiding soccer coaches to understand potential learning returns from its inclusion in talent development policies and programs.
Neurocognition in bipolar disorder and juvenile bipolar disorder.

INTRODUCTION In the ongoing quest for improved diagnostic markers of bipolar illness, the focus of research has gradually shifted to examining the onset of mood difficulties early in life and investigating the potential corollaries of such early onset such as cognitive impairment, disruption of social and emotional functioning, and constriction of quality of life. This article considers the disruptions to cognitive functioning that accompany bipolar disorder and compares adult and child profiles to ascertain the likelihood of identifying a neurocognitive biomarker of the illness. METHODS A succinct review of the literature pertaining to cognition in both adult and childhood populations is synthesised following Medline and PsychINFO searches using key-terms including 'cognition', 'bipolar disorder', 'neurocognitive' 'child', 'adolescent' and a range of neuropsychological domain names. In addition, literature known to the authors was scrutinised and relevant references further pursued. RESULTS Findings from the literature are contextualised and key findings are summarised and provide a basis for future recommendations. CONCLUSION A number of deficits have been consistently identified in both adolescent and adult populations that perhaps reflect disease traits. Future research needs to focus on these and employ multimodal tests in pristine patient groups, with a view to identifying reliable biomarkers.
Characteristics of psychological resilience and body image in women in the early and late periods after mastectomy

background European statistics confirm a rise in breast cancer among women. Those suffering from breast cancer and undergoing mastectomy are undoubtedly experiencing a range of negative and/or positive emotions, thoughts and behaviours that depend on many factors such as psychological resilience. The study reported here aimed to identify factors that protect body image resilience in women suffering from breast cancer after mastectomy.
Prominent object sharpening using reference image

In this paper, we propose a new method to sharpen the prominent object of an image by using a reference image. Our method is processed with the human visual system (HVS), and our main work is divided into three parts: constructing an image sharpening model, obtaining a proper reference image from the origin image and the final sharpened image. Unlike other simple sharpening methods, our method only sharpens the prominent object in the image rather than the noise or background texture. Experimental results show that our method is better than other sharpening methods.
Pre- and Neonatal Exposure to Lipopolysaccharide or the Enteric Metabolite, Propionic Acid, Alters Development and Behavior in Adolescent Rats in a Sexually Dimorphic Manner

Alterations in the composition of the gut microbiome and/or immune system function may have a role in the development of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The current study examined the effects of prenatal and early life administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a bacterial mimetic, and the short chain fatty acid, propionic acid (PPA), a metabolic fermentation product of enteric bacteria, on developmental milestones, locomotor activity, and anxiety-like behavior in adolescent male and female offspring. Pregnant Long-Evans rats were subcutaneously injected once a day with PPA (500 mg/kg) on gestation days G12–16, LPS (50 µg/kg) on G15–16, or vehicle control on G12–16 or G15–16. Male and female offspring were injected with PPA (500 mg/kg) or vehicle twice a day, every second day from postnatal days (P) 10–18. Physical milestones and reflexes were monitored in early life with prenatal PPA and LPS inducing delays in eye opening. Locomotor activity and anxiety were assessed in adolescence (P40–42) in the elevated plus maze (EPM) and open-field. Prenatal and postnatal treatments altered behavior in a sex-specific manner. Prenatal PPA decreased time spent in the centre of the open-field in males and females while prenatal and postnatal PPA increased anxiety behavior on the EPM in female rats. Prenatal LPS did not significantly influence those behaviors. Evidence for the double hit hypothesis was seen as females receiving a double hit of PPA (prenatal and postnatal) displayed increased repetitive behavior in the open-field. These results provide evidence for the hypothesis that by-products of enteric bacteria metabolism such as PPA may contribute to ASD, altering development and behavior in adolescent rats similar to that observed in ASD and other neurodevelopmental disorders.