Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Selective brain cooling and its vascular basis in diving seals

SUMMARY Brain (Tbrain), intra-aorta (Taorta), latissimus dorsi muscle (Tm) and rectal temperature (Tr) were measured in harp (Pagophilus groenlandicus) and hooded (Cystophora cristata) seals during experimental dives in 4°C water. The median brain cooling was about 1°C during 15 min diving, but in some cases it was as much as 2.5°C. Cooling rates were slow for the first couple of minutes, but increased significantly after about 5 min of diving. The onset of cooling sometimes occurred before the start of the dive, confirming that the cooling is under cortical control, like the rest of the diving responses. Taorta also fell significantly, and was always lower than Tbrain, while Tm was fairly stable during dives. Detailed studies of the vascular anatomy of front flippers revealed that brachial arterial blood can be routed either through flipper skin capillaries for nutritive purposes and return through sophisticated vascular heat exchangers to avoid heat loss to the environment, or, alternatively, through numerous arterio-venous shunts in the skin and return by way of large superficial veins, which then carry cold blood to the heart. In the latter situation the extent to which the brain is cooled is determined by the ratio of carotid to brachial arterial blood flow, and water temperature, and the cooling is selective in that only those organs that are circulated will be cooled. It is concluded that Tbrain is actively down-regulated during diving, sometimes by as much as 2.5°C, whereby cerebral oxygen requirements may be reduced by as much as 25% during extended dives.
Inhaler Technique Training and Health-Care Professionals: Effective Long-Term Solution for a Current Problem

INTRODUCTION: The aims of this study were (1) to assess the ability of a range of health-care professionals (HCPs: specialists [physicians specializing in management of airways disease], general practitioners, pharmacists, pharmacist assistants, nurses, and respiratory therapists) in Jordan to demonstrate the correct use of some commonly used inhalers using standardized checklists, with highest scores indicating optimal use, and (2) to evaluate the short-term and long-term effectiveness of a single educational intervention on the HCPs' skills in using inhalers. METHODS: HCPs' inhaler technique was assessed at baseline. All HCPs were then invited to attend a workshop on asthma management with particular reference to inhaler use. At the workshop, HCP skills in inhaler technique were optimized. Inhaler technique was assessed before and after training. All participants were assessed on their inhaler technique at follow-up (after 4 months). RESULTS: Two hundred HCPs (10 specialists, 46 general practitioners, 79 pharmacists, 15 pharmacist assistants, 40 nurses, and 10 respiratory therapists) participated in the study. Specialists scored highest on baseline inhaler technique demonstration skills. All HCPs scored poorly in demonstrating the correct use of the dry powder inhalers when compared with pressurized metered-dose inhalers (MDIs) (range of mean scores ± SD: MDI, 7.24 ± 0.97 to 8.70 ± 0.67; Diskus, 4.83 ± 0.51 to 6.30 ± 1.7; Turbuhaler, 4.90 ± 0.32 to 6.40 ± 1.7). Participants attending the workshop showed improved inhaler skills (mean scores before and after training: MDI, 4.77 ± 1.60 vs 8.77 ± 0.52; Diskus, 4.40 ± 2.60 vs 8.85 ± 0.41; Turbuhaler, 4.96 ± 2.05 vs 8.63 ± 0.67). Four months after the workshop, the inhaler technique of 129 participants was again assessed. Those who had attended the workshop (n = 48) scored significantly higher mean scores for all devices (score = 7.64) than nonattendees (n = 81, score = 5.99, P < .001), by one-way analysis of covariance. CONCLUSIONS: With the exception of specialists, HCPs in Jordan need to be updated on their inhaler technique skills, specifically the newer dry powder inhalers. A single effective educational workshop on inhaler technique can significantly improve HCPs' long-term ability to demonstrate these skills.
A DNA barcode library for ground beetles (Insecta, Coleoptera, Carabidae) of Germany: The genus Bembidion Latreille, 1802 and allied taxa

Abstract As molecular identification method, DNA barcoding based on partial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) sequences has been proven to be a useful tool for species determination in many insect taxa including ground beetles. In this study we tested the effectiveness of DNA barcodes to discriminate species of the ground beetle genus Bembidion and some closely related taxa of Germany. DNA barcodes were obtained from 819 individuals and 78 species, including sequences from previous studies as well as more than 300 new generated DNA barcodes. We found a 1:1 correspondence between BIN and traditionally recognized species for 69 species (89%). Low interspecific distances with maximum pairwise K2P values below 2.2% were found for three species pairs, including two species pairs with haplotype sharing (Bembidion atrocaeruleum/Bembidion varicolor and Bembidion guttula/Bembidion mannerheimii). In contrast to this, deep intraspecific sequence divergences with distinct lineages were revealed for two species (Bembidion geniculatum/Ocys harpaloides). Our study emphasizes the use of DNA barcodes for the identification of the analyzed ground beetles species and represents an important step in building-up a comprehensive barcode library for the Carabidae in Germany and Central Europe as well.
Chromatic confocal microscopy for multi-depth imaging of epithelial tissue

We present a novel chromatic confocal microscope capable of volumetric reflectance imaging of microstructure in non-transparent tissue. Our design takes advantage of the chromatic aberration of aspheric lenses that are otherwise well corrected. Strong chromatic aberration, generated by multiple aspheres, longitudinally disperses supercontinuum light onto the sample. The backscattered light detected with a spectrometer is therefore wavelength encoded and each spectrum corresponds to a line image. This approach obviates the need for traditional axial mechanical scanning techniques that are difficult to implement for endoscopy and susceptible to motion artifact. A wavelength range of 590-775 nm yielded a >150 µm imaging depth with ~3 µm axial resolution. The system was further demonstrated by capturing volumetric images of buccal mucosa. We believe these represent the first microstructural images in non-transparent biological tissue using chromatic confocal microscopy that exhibit long imaging depth while maintaining acceptable resolution for resolving cell morphology. Miniaturization of this optical system could bring enhanced speed and accuracy to endomicroscopic in vivo volumetric imaging of epithelial tissue.
Electron–phonon processes of the silicon-vacancy centre in diamond

We investigate phonon induced electronic dynamics in the ground and excited states of the negatively charged silicon-vacancy ( SiV - ? > ) centre in diamond. Optical transition line widths, transition wavelength and excited state lifetimes are measured for the temperature range 4 K–350 K. The ground state orbital relaxation rates are measured using time-resolved fluorescence techniques. A microscopic model of the thermal broadening in the excited and ground states of the SiV - ? > centre is developed. A vibronic process involving single-phonon transitions is found to determine orbital relaxation rates for both the ground and the excited states at cryogenic temperatures. We discuss the implications of our findings for coherence of qubits in the ground states and propose methods to extend coherence times of SiV - ? > qubits.
Distribution of Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaea and Bacteria in the Surface Sediments of Matsushima Bay in Relation to Environmental Variables

Ammonia oxidization is the first and a rate-limiting step of nitrification, which is often a critical process in nitrogen removal from estuarine and coastal environments. To clarify the correlation of environmental conditions with the distribution of ammonia oxidizers in organic matter-rich coastal sediments, ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB) ammonia monooxygenase alpha subunit gene (amoA) abundance was determined in sediments of Matsushima Bay located in northeast Japan. The AOA and AOB amoA copy numbers ranged from 1.1×106 to 1.7×107 and from 7.1×105 to 7.6×106 copies g−1 sediment, respectively. AOA and AOB amoA abundance was negatively correlated with dissolved oxygen levels in the bottom water. AOA amoA abundance was also correlated with total phosphorus levels in the sediments. On the other hand, no significant relationship was observed between the amoA abundance and ammonium, organic matter (ignition loss), or acid volatile sulfide-sulfur levels in the sediments. These results show the heterogeneous distribution of ammonia oxidizers by the difference in environmental conditions within the bay. Moreover, AOA amoA diversity was relatively low in the area of high AOA amoA abundance, suggesting the variability of AOA community composition.
Using LS-SVM Based Motion Recognition for Smartphone Indoor Wireless Positioning

The paper presents an indoor navigation solution by combining physical motion recognition with wireless positioning. Twenty-seven simple features are extracted from the built-in accelerometers and magnetometers in a smartphone. Eight common motion states used during indoor navigation are detected by a Least Square-Support Vector Machines (LS-SVM) classification algorithm, e.g., static, standing with hand swinging, normal walking while holding the phone in hand, normal walking with hand swinging, fast walking, U-turning, going up stairs, and going down stairs. The results indicate that the motion states are recognized with an accuracy of up to 95.53% for the test cases employed in this study. A motion recognition assisted wireless positioning approach is applied to determine the position of a mobile user. Field tests show a 1.22 m mean error in “Static Tests” and a 3.53 m in “Stop-Go Tests”.
Chair of Engineering Mechanics Ifm-publication 2-389 Fatigue Life Calculations including the Crack Initiation Phase and Material Uncertainties: a Cohesive Element Model

culations including the crack initiation phase and material uncertainties: a cohesive element model. ABSTRACT: The present paper is an application of probabilistic modeling to the analysis of fatigue failure in aerospace components. Typically the design of such components has been based on costly experiments or modified versions of Paris law which are applicable to very restricted range of conditions. The present formulation employs cohesive zone elements in order to resolve the fractured zone in combination with an extrapolation scheme that allows the analysis over hundred of thousands of cycles which would have been impossible otherwise. The effect of randomness in the cohesive strength is examined with respect to the total lifetime of the specimen.
The importance of cognitive architectures: an analysis based on CLARION

Research in computational cognitive modelling investigates the nature of cognition through developing process-based understanding by specifying computational models of mechanisms (including representations) and processes. In this enterprise, a cognitive architecture is a domain-generic computational cognitive model that may be used for a broad multiple-level multiple-domain analysis of behaviour. It embodies generic descriptions of cognition in computer algorithms and programs. Developing cognitive architectures is a difficult but important task. In this paper, discussions of issues and challenges in developing cognitive architectures will be undertaken, and an example cognitive architecture (CLARION) will be described. †This paper is based on a keynote address at NeSy'05, a keynote address at PRIMA'05, and a plenary talk at KES'05, by the author during the summer and the fall of 2005.
A Generic Concept of a System for Predicting Driving Behaviors

Today, many vehicles are equipped with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) to warn the driver about the potential danger of a scene, but in some situations the warning is not early enough to avoid an accident. A solution for preparing the driver and giving him the time to react to such dangerous events is to predict the behavior of other traffic participants. This paper describes a method to predict the behavior of the surrounding vehicles by a classification approach. However, the behavior alternatives strongly depend on the scenario faced by the target vehicle. Where most of the state-of-the-art approaches focus on a single scenario, the concept presented in this paper aims at a generic solution, allowing for behavior prediction for a large amount of different scenes. The idea of the method is to categorize scenes into a hierarchy from the most generic ones in the top nodes to the most specific ones in the leaves. Every node of the hierarchy is a scene containing a set of classifiers to predict the possible behaviors. GPS and digital maps provide the static information about the infrastructure, which is used to determine the nodes fitting to the current situation. As a first step this paper shows accurate prediction of traffic participants behavior in highway entrance situations for a prediction horizon of up to 3 seconds.
A Contract-based Approach for Managing Dynamic Variability in Software Product Line Architectures

Software product lines capture commonalities and variabilities of reusable artifacts (like software components) to facilitate developing new products by exploiting these variabilities. However, variability management is traditionally done just in development time and deployment time, not attending classes of applications that require a high degree of adaptability such as ubiquitous/pervasive and context-aware applications. This technical report presents an approach for runtime variability management, considering product lines aimed at context-aware applications. The approach focuses on describing architectural contracts to deal with dynamic variability, and on their association with a software product line architecture description. Contracts allow describing adaptation services and context rules at a higher level of abstraction. Services encapsulate variabilities and are capable of adapting/reconfiguring the architecture of a product in a dynamic way, while the context rules determine the context in which a particular service should be activated. Our approach was applied in scenarios involving dynamic variabilities in a software product line focused on home health care applications, where it was possible to observe its feasibility.
Changes with age in the level and duration of fertility in the menstrual cycle.

BACKGROUND Most analyses of age-related changes in fertility cannot separate effects due to reduced frequency of sexual intercourse from effects directly related to ageing. Information on intercourse collected daily through each menstrual cycle provides the data for estimating day-specific probabilities of pregnancy for specific days relative to ovulation, and these estimates allow unconfounded analysis of ageing effects. METHODS A total of 782 healthy couples using natural family planning methods contributed prospective data on 5860 menstrual cycles. Day of ovulation was based on basal body temperature measurements. Estimates of day-specific probabilities of pregnancy and the length of the fertile window were compared across age groups. RESULTS Nearly all pregnancies occurred within a 6 day fertile window. There was no evidence for a shorter fertile window in older men or women. On average, the day-specific probabilities of pregnancy declined with age for women from the late 20s onward, with probabilities of pregnancy twice as high for women aged 19-26 years compared with women aged 35-39 years. Controlling for age of the woman, fertility was significantly reduced for men aged >35 years. CONCLUSIONS Women's fertility begins to decline in the late 20s with substantial decreases by the late 30s. Fertility for men is less affected by age, but shows significant decline by the late 30s.
Parent–Child Interaction Therapy With an Eight-Year-Old Child: A Case Study

ABSTRACT We examined the outcome of Parent–Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) with an 8-year-old child diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder. We presented a theoretical basis for the use of PCIT with some children older than 6 and suggested clinical considerations as well as adaptations and modifications that may make PCIT applicable with this population. “Curtis,” a Caucasian male, made clinically significant improvements and no longer met diagnostic criteria for oppositional defiant disorder at posttreatment. His scores on the Child Behavior Checklist and Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory improved from the clinical range at pretreatment to within the normative range at posttreatment. Further research should examine the efficacy of PCIT with children older than 6 and the feasibility of the suggested adaptations and modifications for this population.
Constrained adaptive filtering algorithms based on conjugate gradient techniques for beamforming

This article proposes constrained adaptive algorithms based on the conjugate gradient (CG) method for adaptive beamforming. The proposed algorithms are derived for the implementation of the beamformer according to the minimum variance and constant modulus criteria subject to a constraint on the array response. A CG-based weight vector strategy is created for enforcing the constraint and computing the weight expressions. The devised algorithms avoid the covariance matrix inversion and exhibit fast convergence with low complexity. A complexity analysis compares the proposed algorithms with the existing ones. The convergence properties of the CCM criterion are studied, conditions for convexity are established and a convergence analysis for the proposed algorithms is derived. Simulation results are conducted for both stationary and non-stationary scenarios, showing the convergence and tracking ability of the proposed algorithms.
The flow of forage particles and solutes through segments of the digestive tracts of cattle*

An experiment was conducted to investigate the compartmental mean residence time, (CMRT) of feed residues in segments of gastrointestinal digesta of mature Holstein steers. The objective was to evaluate assumptions that feed residues flow through ruminal digesta as sequential mixing pools having age-dependent (GN) and age-independent (G1) distributed residence times respectively (GN → G1 flow). The basal diet was a semi-tropical hay containing 98 g crude protein and 503 g apparently digestible DM per kg DM. The hay was consumed and feed residues of different size and/or previous digestion from the hay were inserted into the reticulo-rumen (rumen) and abomasum. Marker profiles appearing at the duodenum and faeces were fitted to various compartment models to estimate CMRT. Post-abomasal CMRT did not differ among solutes or feed residues of different size and previous digestion and constituted only 5·8 % of the CMRT for the entire gastrointestinal tract. Markers initially applied to orally or ruminally dosed feed residues exhibited profiles in duodenal digesta and faeces conforming to GN → G1 flow. Previously undigested, masticated feed residues inserted into the dorsal rumen digesta had longer ruminal CMRT in the GN pool but not the G1 pool than did similarly inserted faecal small particles or normally ingested hay. These results support model assumptions of GN → G1 flow within rumen digesta. The results support mechanisms proposed for the GN pool as the ‘lag-rumination pool’ and the G1 pool as the ‘mass action turnover pool’. If further validated, rumen CMRT in cattle could be estimated from marker profiles in more easily obtained faeces to estimate ruminal CMRT required for feed evaluation systems.
Readiness to change drug use and help-seeking intentions of police detainees: findings from the DUMA program

The nexus between drug use and crime is well established. Offenders are considerably more likely to use illicit drugs than the general population, and a large proportion of offenders attribute their criminal offending to drug use, yet very little is known about how to respond effectively to drug problems among police detainees. Using data obtained through the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) program, this paper explores the readiness to change drug use and help-seeking intentions of Australian police detainees with drug problems. The analysis revealed those detainees most in need of drug treatment were also those most ready to change their drug use. The findings serve as a reminder of the need and desire for interventions for drug abuse among the police detainee population, and have implications for the development of intervention strategies aimed at reducing drug use among offender populations.
A INFLUÊNCIA DA ADOÇÃO DE PRÁTICAS DE RESPONSABILIDADE SOCIAL CORPORATIVA NO COMPORTAMENTO DE COMPRA DA ALTA E BAIXA RENDA THE INFLUENCE OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY PRACTICES ON THE LOW AND HIGH INCOME CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

This article aims to identify the influence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the purchase behaviour on high and low income people. The influences analysed are the perception of benefit, value, intent to purchase and attitude. We used a context of socially responsible company practice a price of ten percent higher than the non-socially responsible companies. We conducted two experiments to test two hypotheses. As a result, we found that both groups of high and low income consumer seek products which companies are socially responsible. Low-income consumers, when the product’s price is compatible with their income, evaluate the products from CSR companies better compared to non-CSR companies than high-income consumers. Limitation of our study and future suggestions are presented at the end of the article.
Production of alkaline protease from a newly isolated Exiguobacterium profundum BK-P23 evaluated using the response surface methodology

Protease producing bacteria were isolated from soil in South Korea. These bacteria were screened in skim milk agar medium using skim milk as the substrate. The highest clear zone producing bacterial strain (BK-P23) was selected for further optimization studies. The strain was identified as Exiguobacterium profundum BK-P23 based on morphological, biochemical and molecular characterizations. The results of the 16S rRNA analysis showed that this strain was highly similar to E. profundum. The strain was able to grow under alkaline conditions at pH 8.5 and a temperature of 30°C. In the preliminary optimization experiments, five different parameters, i.e. carbon source (lactose), nitrogen source (corn steep solid), pH, temperature and incubation period were varied with the goal of optimizing enzyme production in low cost medium using the Box-Behnken design combined with response surface methodology. The optimal conditions were determined to be pH 9.0, a temperature of 30°C, lactose (1.0%) as the carbon source and corn steep solid (1.0%) as the cheap additional nitrogen source. In addition, 24 h of incubation was shown to produce the highest protease yield. Overall, the amount of enzyme produced was significantly higher in the optimized medium when compared with the original medium.