Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Flight and Walking in Locusts–Cholinergic Co-Activation, Temporal Coupling and Its Modulation by Biogenic Amines

Walking and flying in locusts are exemplary rhythmical behaviors generated by central pattern generators (CPG) that are tuned in intact animals by phasic sensory inputs. Although these two behaviors are mutually exclusive and controlled by independent CPGs, leg movements during flight can be coupled to the flight rhythm. To investigate potential central coupling between the underlying CPGs, we used the muscarinic agonist pilocarpine and the amines octopamine and tyramine to initiate fictive flight and walking in deafferented locust preparations. Our data illustrate that fictive walking is readily evoked by comparatively lower concentrations of pilocarpine, whereas higher concentrations are required to elicit fictive flight. Interestingly, fictive flight did not suppress fictive walking so that the two patterns were produced simultaneously. Frequently, leg motor units were temporally coupled to the flight rhythm, so that each spike in a step cycle volley occurred synchronously with wing motor units firing at flight rhythm frequency. Similarly, tyramine also induced fictive walking and flight, but mostly without any coupling between the two rhythms. Octopamine in contrast readily evoked fictive flight but generally failed to elicit fictive walking. Despite this, numerous leg motor units were recruited, whereby each was temporarily coupled to the flight rhythm. Our results support the notion that the CPGs for walking and flight are largely independent, but that coupling can be entrained by aminergic modulation. We speculate that octopamine biases the whole motor machinery of a locust to flight whereas tyramine primarily promotes walking.
Quantitative analysis of open source projects on SourceForge

Relatively easy accessibility of high volumes of information about open source software makes it an interesting target for quantitative analysis meant to discover some hidden properties and trends of this software development model. In this work we demonstrate how such information can be acquired from the largest open source hosting facility — SourceForge — with nearly minimal effort. We compare our data with an identical data set collected a few months earlier by the OssMole [2] project, of which we were not aware at the time of performing the experiment, but which allowed us to make some interesting cross-comparisons and derive conclusions about temporal changes going on at SourceForge.
Angular Piecewise Modal Analysis for Waveguide-Coupled Surface Plasmon Resonance Structure

Resonance response of waveguide-coupled surface plasmon resonance (WCSPR) structure is investigated numerically in a piecewise manner. The 2-D reflectance and phase along with the phase response circle (PRC) and complex amplitude reflection Argand diagram in angular interrogation is demonstrated for homo- and hetero bimetallic nanofilm. The gradual appearance of waveguide resonance with increasing thickness of the waveguide layer provides significant information about the coupling of waveguide and plasmonic resonance which is much needed for the choice of correct device parameters. Moreover, magnetic field enhancement is also studied for each different mode in angular piecewise manner with variations in metal layers as well as variations in WG layer using different conventional optical polymers. Angular piecewise differential phase gives some insight into the application of chemical and biological sensing and can provide an improved sensitivity by direct imaging of the fringe pattern due to the change in refractive index of the sensing medium.
Critical analysis of salvage radical prostatectomy in the management of radioresistant prostate cancer.

PURPOSE To critically evaluate salvage radical prostatectomy (SRP) in the treatment of patients with recurrent prostate cancer (PCa). MATERIALS AND METHODS From January 2005 to June 2007, we assessed patients with recurrent localized PCa. Recurrence was suspected when there were three or more successive increases in prostate specific antigen (PSA) after nadir. After the routine imagery examinations, and once localized PCa was confirmed, patients were offered SRP. Following surgery, we evaluated bleeding, rectal injury, urinary incontinence or obstruction and impotence. PSA values were measured at 1, 3, 6, months and thereafter twice a year. RESULTS Forty-two patients underwent SRP. The average age was 61 years. Following radiotherapy, the mean PSA nadir was 1.5 ng/mL (0.57-5.5). The mean prostate specific antigen doubling time (PSA-DT) was 14 months (6-20). Prior to SRP, the mean PSA was 5.7 ng/mL (2.9-18). The pathologic staging was pT2a: 13%; pT2b: 34%; pT2c: 27%; pT3a: 13%; and pT3b: 13%. Bleeding > 600 mL occurred in 14% of the cases; urethral stenosis in 50%; and urinary incontinence (two or more pads/day) in 72%. The mean follow-up post-SRP ranged from 6 to 30 months. The PSA level rose in 9, of which 6 had PSA-DT < 10 months. CONCLUSIONS SRP is a feasible method in the management of localized radioresistant PCa. PSA-DT has shown to be important for the selection and SRP should not be performed if PSA-DT > 10 months. Due to its increased morbidity, SRP should be only offered to the patients who are more concerned about survival rather than quality of life.
Effect of dietary concentration of metabolizable lysine on finishing cattle performance.

A finishing trial and a metabolism trial were conducted to determine the effect of supplemental metabolizable Lys level on finishing calf performance and to estimate the metabolizable Lys requirement of finishing calves. The finishing trial included 60 individually fed crossbred beef steer calves (237 kg; SD = 20 kg) supplemented with either incremental amounts of rumen-protected Lys and Met, or Met alone. Addition of Lys and Met improved gains and efficiencies (quadratic; P < .02) during the first 56 d. There was no response to supplemental Met alone, suggesting that supplemental Lys rather than Met was responsible for the improvement in performance. Using nonlinear analyses to compare gain relative to supplemental Lys intake, maximum gain was determined to be 2.10 kg/d, or . 27 kg/d above the zero Lys control, at a supplemental Lys intake of 2.56 g/d. Steers supplemented with 3 and 4 g of Lys had a weight advantage over the control steers of 16 kg at 56 d and 32 kg at the end of the 161-d trial. However, there were no statistical responses to Lys or Met during any periods after 56 d. During a separate metabolism trial, four steers fed the control finishing diet were slaughtered, and abomasal contents were collected for amino acid analyses. The predicted (Level 1 NRC, 1996) metabolizable protein flow to the abomasum for the control diet was 715 g/d, and the predicted Lys flow was 37.9 g/d. A supplemental Lys intake of 2.56 g/d would increase the Lys flow to 40.5 g/d. Feedlot diets low in ruminal escape protein may be deficient in metabolizable Lys, especially early in the feeding period. The metabolizable Lys requirement of steer calves gaining 2.10 kg/d is estimated to be 40.5 g/d.
Rochlin ’ s theorem on signatures of spin 4-manifolds via algebraic topology

We give the original proof of Rochlin’s famous theorem on signatures of smooth spin 4-manifolds, which uses techniques from algebraic topology. We have attempted to include enough background and details to make this proof understandable to a geometrically minded topologist. We also include a fairly complete discussion of spin structures on manifolds.
Surface displacements and source parameters of the 2003 Bam (Iran) earthquake from Envisat advanced synthetic aperture radar imagery

[1] The Mw 6.6, 26 December 2003 Bam (Iran) earthquake was one of the first earthquakes for which Envisat advanced synthetic aperture radar (ASAR) data were available. Using interferograms and azimuth offsets from ascending and descending tracks, we construct a three-dimensional displacement field of the deformation due to the earthquake. Elastic dislocation modeling shows that the observed deformation pattern cannot be explained by slip on a single planar fault, which significantly underestimates eastward and upward motions SE of Bam. We find that the deformation pattern observed can be best explained by slip on two subparallel faults. Eighty-five percent of moment release occurred on a previously unknown strike-slip fault running into the center of Bam, with peak slip of over 2 m occurring at a depth of ∼5 km. The remainder occurred as a combination of strike-slip and thrusting motion on a southward extension of the previously mapped Bam Fault ∼5 km to the east.
An encounter with grounded theory: tackling the practical and philosophical issues

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this chapter is to explore the practical and philosophical issues of applying the grounded theory approach to qualitative research in Information Systems. Over the past decade, we have seen a substantial increase in qualitative research in general (Klein, Nissen and Hirschheim, 1991; Walsham, 1995; Markus, 1997; Myers, 1997; Myers and Walsham, 1998; Klein and Myers, 1999; Walsham and Sahay, 1999; Trauth and Jessup, 2000; Schultze, 2000) and also an increase in the use of grounded theory (Toraskar, 1991, Orlikowski, 1993, Urquhart, 1997, 1998, 1999a, 1999b; Adams and Sasse, 1999, Baskerville and Pries-Heje, 1999, Trauth, 2000). Over the past three years, the most frequent request I have had from postgraduates is for some insight into the ‘how-to’ of coding and grounded theory. Obviously these observations are not unconnected, as an increase in the use of qualitative methods in information systems results in a
Cooperative transforming activities of ras, myc, and src viral oncogenes in nonestablished rat adrenocortical cells

Early-passage rat adrenocortical cells were infected with Kirsten murine sarcoma virus and MMCV mouse myc virus, two retroviruses carrying the v-Ki-ras and v-myc oncogenes, respectively. Efficient morphological transformation required coinfection with the two viruses, was dependent on the presence of high serum concentrations, and was not immediately accompanied by growth in soft agar. The doubly infected cells coordinately acquired the capacity for anchorage- and serum-independent growth during passage in culture. The appearance of such highly transformed cells was correlated with the emergence of a dominant clone, as suggested by an analysis of retrovirus integration sites. These results indicate that the concerted expression of v-Ki-ras and v-myc could induce rapid morphological transformation of nonestablished adrenocortical cells but that an additional genetic or epigenetic event was required to permit full transformation by these two oncogenes. In contrast, v-src, introduced by retrovirus infection in conjunction with v-myc, rapidly induced serum- and anchorage-independent growth. Therefore, the p60v-src protein-tyrosine kinase, unlike p21v-ras, is apparently not restricted in the induction of a highly transformed phenotype in adrenocortical cells. This system provides an in vitro model for the progressive transformation of epithelial cells by dominantly acting oncogenes.
Point feature-based outdoor SLAM for rural environments with geometric analysis

This paper proposes a point feature-based outdoor SLAM method using only omnidirectional LIDAR. 3D local occupancy grid mapping and ground plane classification are conducted as a pre-process to refine the point cloud. Then uncertain objects are clustered with Euclidean distance. For applications in rural environments, point features are utilized because clusters are extracted from unclear and overlapped objects. To improve matching performance, the similarity of clusters is calculated with a Hausdorff distance and correspondence filtering with the point histogram is implemented. With the correspondence filtering, we can reduce false matches that cannot be removed from the initial matcher and thus improve the SLAM accuracy. The remaining point features are used as landmarks in SLAM, and the effectiveness of the scheme is verified through simulations with the real-world dataset.
Comparative studies of health and mortality

This dissertation consists of three comparative studies of health and mortality which address major topics in the field: persistent mortality disparities within the U.S., how mortality in the U.S. compares to other highincome countries, and early life determinants of adult morbidity in developing countries. The design of these studies is predicated on the belief that we can draw meaningful inferences from comparisons across populations. Chapter I examines the contribution of smoking to black-white mortality differences above age 50 from 1980-2005. This study shows that smoking-attributable mortality accounted for 20-40% of the black-white mortality gap among males between 1980-2005, but accounted for almost none of the black-white mortality gap among females. The results support the hypothesis that later initiation and lower rates of smoking cessation among black men may contribute to their higher levels of smoking-related mortality relative to white men. Chapter II provides a comprehensive assessment of U.S. mortality relative to other high-income countries. This study demonstrates that mortality differences below age 50 account for the majority of the gap in life expectancy at birth between American males and their counterparts in other high-income countries. Among females, this figure is 41%. The major causes of death responsible for Americans' excess years of life lost below age 50 are unintentional injuries, noncommunicable diseases, perinatal conditions, and homicide. This study also finds that the U.S.'s unique pattern of age-specific mortality rankings holds for birth cohorts whose mortality experience spans the period 1935-2005. Chapter III explores the association between two measures of early life conditions and adult morbidity in six countries. The findings from this study indicate that those born during the autumn in Ghana, Mexico, Russia, and South Africa and during the monsoon in India experience a health advantage. In China, the autumn-born experience a health disadvantage. This study also finds that preand postnatal rainfall and temperature conditions are associated with adult health outcomes, particularly height and blood pressure. The results provide support for the hypotheses that early life disease and nutritional conditions are important influences on later life health. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Demography First Advisor Irma T. Elo This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn. edu/edissertations/764
On the Compilability and Expressive Power of Propositional Planning Formalisms

The recent approaches of extending the GRAPHPLAN algorithm to handle more expressive planning formalisms raise the question of what the formal meaning of "expressive power" is. We formalize the intuition that expressive power is a measure of how concisely planning domains and plans can be expressed in a particular formalism by introducing the notion of "compilation schemes" between planning formalisms. Using this notion, we analyze the expressiveness of a large family of propositional planning formalisms, ranging from basic STRIPS to a formalism with conditional effects, partial state specifications, and propositional formulae in the preconditions. One of the results is that conditional effects cannot be compiled away if plan size should grow only linearly but can be compiled away if we allow for polynomial growth of the resulting plans. This result confirms that the recently proposed extensions to the GRAPHPLAN algorithm concerning conditional effects are optimal with respect to the "compilability" framework. Another result is that general propositional formulae cannot be compiled into conditional effects if the plan size should be preserved linearly. This implies that allowing general propositional formulae in preconditions and effect conditions adds another level of difficulty in generating a plan.
Critical Illness During Pregnancy: Considerations for Evaluation and Treatment of the Fetus as the Second Patient

When a critically ill woman is pregnant, clinical interventions for the mother can have a profound effect on fetal status. It is essential that the fetus be considered as the second patient when developing the plan of care. The most practical solution for providing comprehensive care to pregnant women in the intensive care unit (ICU) is a collaborative approach involving members of the ICU and the perinatal team, each contributing their unique knowledge and skills to the care of the mother and her unborn baby. The purpose of this article is to describe a collaborative approach to caring for a pregnant woman in the ICU along with a brief overview of fetal assessment for ICU care providers so they can become familiar with terms and methods used in assessing fetal status and common interventions that promote fetal well-being.
Serotypes and Genotypes of Invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae Before and After PCV10 Implementation in Southern Brazil

To reduce the burden of pneumococcal diseases, different formulations of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) have been introduced in many countries. In Brazil, PCV10 has been available since 2010. We aimed to analyze the serotype and genetic composition of invasive pneumococci from Brazil in pre- and post- vaccination periods (2007–2012). Antibiotic susceptibility was determined and genotypes of macrolide and fluoroquinolone resistance were characterized. The genotypes of isolates of the most frequent serotypes were determined by multilocus sequence typing. The study included 325 isolates, which were primarily recovered from blood. The most common serotypes recovered were 14, 3, 4, 23F, 7F, 9V, 12F, 20, 19F, 8, 19A, and 5. Thirty-eight pneumococci (11.7%) were from children ≤5 years old. Considering the overall population, PCV10 and PCV13 serotype coverage was 50.1% and 64.9%, respectively. During the pre-vaccine period, isolates with serotypes belonging to the PVC10 represented 51.5% (100/194), whereas in the post vaccine they represented 48.0% (63/131). PCV13 serotypes represented 67.5% (131/194) and 59.2% (77/131) of total for pre- and post-vaccination periods, respectively. Seventy different sequence types [STs] were found, accounting for 9 clonal complexes [CCs] and 45 singletons. Eight STs (156, 180, 218, 8889, 53, 191, 770, and 4967) represented the majority (51.5%) of isolates. Fifty STs were associated with the pre-vaccination period (27 exclusive) and 43 (20 exclusive) with the post-vaccination period; 23 STs were identified in both periods. Some serotypes were particularly clonal (7F, 8, 12F, 20). Non-susceptibility to penicillin was associated with serotype 19A, CC320. Erythromycin resistance was heterogeneous when considering serotype and ST. A single serotype 23F (ST4967) isolate was resistant to levofloxacin. Continued surveillance is required to determine vaccine impact and to monitor changes in pneumococcal population biology post-PCV10 introduction in Brazil.
Is culture driving innovation? A multi-national quantitative analysis

Hofstede's theory of cultural dimensions and his understanding to determine culture as a collective programming of the mind has inspired myriads of researchers, especially in the fields of (organizational and cross-cultural) psychology and management. This article extends his work and has two main concerns: First, the manuscript critically reviews and recapitulates Hofstede's work on culture in a concise but comprehensive way. Second, the article empirically investigates the correlations between cultural dimensions and several variables indicating innovation. The author emphasizes the significance of culture for businesses and searches for ideal cultural constellations to promote entrepreneurial innovativeness. Criticism is discussed and a potential remedy for Hofstede's main flaw - equaling cultures and nations - is presented and then qualified.
BER minimized power allocation for quasi-orthogonal space-time block coded signals with QR-based successive detection

We propose a minimal BER power allocation scheme for a class of quasi-orthogonal space-time block coded transmission (the so-called ABBA system) over i.i. d. Rayleigh fading channels under the QR-based successive detection framework. Instead of relying on BER under a fixed channel realization, the design criterion we adopt is the overall mean BER averaged with respect to the channel distribution. By exploiting a distinctive channel matrix structure induced by the ABBA code we derive a closed-form upper bound of the considered BER metric and, through minimization of which, an optimal power allocation scheme is obtained. Numerical simulation shows that the resultant performance is almost identical to that of the joint maximum-likelihood decoding in the medium-to-high SNR regime.
Vivaldi antenna for medical applications: Design, modelling and analysis of microstrip-fed vivaldi antenna

In this paper, Microstrip-Fed Vivaldi Antenna for the Medical Applications have been presented. During the course of time, the antenna was made to resonant in between 400 MHz-3 GHz with possibility of achieving in trends of Medical Microwave Imaging. As a result of which the requirements of working with the Lower Frequency are achieved where the Antenna witnessed Gain of around 11.77 dBi at an Highest Level of Frequency. With regard to this Equivalent Circuit Modelling of it is done, which satisfies the main motives of working in MICS Band as specified by Medical Device Radiocommunications Service as set aside by the US FCC for the needs of diagnostics and therapeutic medical implants. All major Simulation's has been carried by CST-MWS and there is a use of Rogers RT 5870 Substrate.
The comparative value of pleural fluid adenosine deaminase and neopterin levels in diagnostic utility of pleural tuberculosis.

INTRODUCTION The aim of the present study was to evaluate and compare the diagnostic accuracy of pleura levels of adenosine deaminase (ADA) and neopterin for the differential diagnosis of pleural tuberculosis (TP). PATIENTS AND METHODS The study included 50 patients with TB, 27 patients with malignancies, and 24 patients with pleural effusion of non-tuberculous and non-malignant origin as controls. ADA and neopterin levels in pleural fluid were measured by spectrofotometric and ELISA method, respectively. RESULT Pleural neopterin levels were significantly higher in patients with pleural TB than patients with malignancy (p< 0.001). Pleural ADA levels were significantly higher in patients with pleural TB than patients with malignancy (p< 0.001) and patients with benign non-tuberculosis effusions (p< 0.001). The mean levels of ADA and neopterin in pleural effusion were evaluated according to their underlying diseases for the diagnostic accuracy. As for pleural TB receiving operating characteristic curves identified the following results; The best cut-off value for pleural neopterin was 4.7 U/L and yielded a sensitivity and specificity of 86% and 72.55%, respectively. Taking a cut-off value of 42 U/L for pleural ADA, the sensitivity and the specificity were found to be 88% and 68.63%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS In the diagnosis of pleural TB pleural neopterin level has a comparable sensitivity to pleural ADA activity. Both markers may find a place as a routine investigation in the coming days for early detection of TB. However, these tests should not be considered an alternative to biopsy and culture.