Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EFFECT OF THE DRAG FORCE ON THE ORBITAL MOTION OF THE BROAD-LINE REGION CLOUDS

We investigate the orbital motion of cold clouds in the broad-line region of active galactic nuclei subject to the gravity of a black hole, a force due to a non-isotropic central source, and a drag force proportional to the velocity square. The intercloud is described using the standard solutions for the advection-dominated accretion flows. The orbit of a cloud decays because of the drag force, but the typical timescale of clouds falling onto the central black hole is shorter compared to the linear drag case. This timescale is calculated when a cloud moves through a static or rotating intercloud. We show that when the drag force is a quadratic function of the velocity, irrespective of the initial conditions and other input parameters, clouds will generally fall onto the central region much faster than the age of whole system, and since cold clouds present in most of the broad-line regions, we suggest that mechanisms for the continuous creation of the clouds must operate in these systems.
Crosstalk characterization of PMD pixels using the spatial response function at subpixel level

Time-of-Flight cameras have become one of the most widely-spread low-cost 3D-sensing devices. Most of them do not actually measure the time the light needs to hit an object and come back to the camera, but the difference of phase with respect to a reference signal. This requires special pixels with complex spatial structure, such as PMD pixels, able to sample the cross-correlation function between the incoming signal, reflected by the scene, and the reference signal. The complex structure, together with the presence of in-pixel electronics and the need for a compact readout circuitry for both pixel channels, suggests that systematic crosstalk effects will come up in this kind of devices. For the first time, we take profit of recent results on subpixel spatial responses of PMD pixels to detect and characterize crosstalk occurrences. Well-defined crosstalk patterns have been identified and quantitatively characterized through integration of the inter-pixel spatial response over each sensitive area. We cast the crosstalk problem into an image convolution and provide deconvolution kernels for cleaning PMD raw images from crosstalk. Experiments on real PMD raw images show that our results can be used to undo the lowpass filtering caused by crosstalk in high contrast image areas. The application of our kernels to undo crosstalk effects leads to reductions of the depth RMSE up to 50% in critical areas.
Involvement of the Spinal Cord in Parkinson's Disease

ABSTRACT Parkinson's disease (PD) has traditionally ascribed to alpha-synucleinopathy of the substantia nigra; however, several studies have showed widespread alpha-synucleinopathy inside and outside the brain. The potential role of the spinal cord in the genesis of some symptoms has been quite neglected despite the frequent and precocious presence of alpha-synucleinopathy in the spinal cord of PD patients. We examined the literature about the pathology of the spinal cord in PD and the possible relevance of this pathology in the genesis of some nonmotor symptoms including urinary, sexual, and gastrointestinal, as well as of some motor symptoms.
Classification of dialog techniques

Program designers invent new dialog techniques all the time, but these techniques are often not documented in formal scientific papers. Several years of this has led to the current state where very few people would be able to list, say all the different kinds of menus. The CHI+GI'87 workshop on classification of dialog techniques was intended to remedy this problem somewhat by coming up with a classification scheme according to which existing and new dialog techniques could be cataloged.
Original Contribution Neighborhood Socioeconomic Context and Cognitive Decline Among Older Mexican Americans: Results From the Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging

In 1 previous study, it was shown that neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with cognitive decline among Latinos. No studies have explored whether and to what extent individual-level socioeconomic factors account for the relation between neighborhood disadvantage and cognitive decline. The purpose of the present study was to assess the influence of neighborhood socioeconomic position (SEP) on cognitive decline and examine how individual-level SEP factors (educational level, annual income, and occupation) influenced neighborhood associations over the course of 10 years. Participants (n 1⁄4 1,789) were community-dwelling older Mexican Americans from the Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging. Neighborhood SEP was derived by linking the participant’s individual data to the 2000 decennial census. The authors assessed cognitive function with the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination. Analyses used 3-level hierarchical linear mixed models of time within individuals within neighborhoods. After adjustment for individual-level sociodemographic characteristics, higher neighborhood SEP was significantly associated with cognitive function (b1⁄4 0.033; P< 0.05) and rates of decline (b1⁄4 0.0009; P< 0.10). After adjustment for individual educational level, neighborhood SEP remained associated with baseline cognition but not with rates of decline. Differences in individual educational levels explained most of the intraand interneighborhood variance. These results suggest that the effect of neighborhood SEP on cognitive decline among Latinos is primarily accounted for by education.
Healthcare support by a Yogo teacher at a school for special needs education who experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake

Aim: This study aimed to clarify the nature of health support activities carried out for schoolchildren by a Yogo teacher at a school for special needs education who experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake. Methods: A qualitative case study was carried out in June 2014 and involved a Yogo teacher working at a school for special needs education in Fukushima Prefecture that was damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. The School Principal and Yogo teacher at the institution in question were notified of the nature of the research, and consent to participate was obtained with the return of consent forms. A semistructured interview was conducted using an interview guide developed by the author. A verbal transcript of the interview was created and qualitatively analyzed using a narrative approach. Results: The experience of the Yogo teacher was examined in three chronological stages: (a) at the time of the earthquake; (b) during the move to an emergency shelter; and (c) after the school was reopened at a branch location. At the time of the earthquake, despite efforts to avoid inciting panic among schoolchildren, many students experienced considerable anxiety. In their lives at the shelter, it became clear that medical care for children with disabilities was not carried out on a priority basis. Conclusions: The Yogo teacher was evacuated along with the children and was aware of the particular challenge of empathizing with the children’s feelings of anxiety. The findings suggest the need for long-term health support in relation to mental health care for affected schoolchildren.
QAST: Question Answering System for ThaiWikipedia

We propose an open-domain question answering system using Thai Wikipedia as the knowledge base. Two types of information are used for answering a question: (1) structured information extracted and stored in the form of Resource Description Framework (RDF), and (2) unstructured texts stored as a search index. For the structured information, SPARQL transformed query is applied to retrieve a short answer from the RDF base. For the unstructured information, keyword-based query is used to retrieve the shortest text span containing the questions's key terms. From the experimental results, the system which integrates both approaches could achieve an average MRR of 0.47 based on 215 test questions.
PART OF A SPECIAL ISSUE ON GROWTH AND ARCHITECTURAL MODELLING Simulation of fruit-set and trophic competition and optimization of yield advantages in six Capsicum cultivars using functional-structural plant modelling

†Background and aims Many indeterminate plants can have wide fluctuations in the pattern of fruit-set and harvest. Fruit-set in these types of plants depends largely on the balance between source (assimilate supply) and sink strength (assimilate demand) within the plant. This study aims to evaluate the ability of functional ‐ structural plant models to simulate different fruit-set patterns among Capsicum cultivars through source ‐sink relationships. †Methods A greenhouse experiment of sixCapsicum cultivars characterized with different fruit weight and fruit-set was conducted. Fruit-set patterns and potential fruit sink strength were determined through measurement. Source and sink strength of other organs were determined via the GREENLAB model, with a description of plant organ weight and dimensions according to plant topological structure established from the measured data as inputs. Parameter optimization was determined using a generalized least squares method for the entire growth cycle. †Key Results and Conclusions Fruit sink strength differed among cultivars. Vegetative sink strength was generally lower for large-fruited cultivars than for small-fruited ones. The larger the size of the fruit, the larger variation there was in fruit-set and fruit yield. Large-fruited cultivars need a higher source ‐sink ratio for fruit-set, which means higher demand for assimilates. Temporal heterogeneity of fruit-set affected both number and yield of fruit. The simulation study showed that reducing heterogeneity of fruit-set was obtained by different approaches: for example, increasing source strength; decreasing vegetative sink strength, source ‐sink ratio for fruit-set and flower appearance rate; and harvesting individual fruits earlier before full ripeness. Simulation results showed that, when we increased source strength or decreased vegetative sink strength, fruit-set and fruit weight increased. However, no significant differences were found between large-fruited and small-fruited groups of cultivars regarding the effects of source and vegetative sink strength on fruit-set and fruit weight. When the source ‐sink ratio at fruit-set decreased, the number of fruit retained on the plant increased competition for assimilates with vegetative organs. Therefore, total plant and vegetative dry weights decreased, especially for large-fruited cultivars. Optimization study showed that temporal heterogeneity of fruit-set and ripening was predicted to be reduced when fruits were harvested earlier. Furthermore, there was a 20 % increase in the number of extra fruit set.
Factors influencing cartilage wear in an accelerated in vitro test: collagen fiber orientation, anatomic location, cartilage composition, and photo-chemical crosslinking

Hossain, M. Jayed. M.S.M.E. , Purdue University, August 2018. Factors Influencing Cartilage Wear in an Accelerated In Vitro Test: Collagen Fiber Orientation, Anatomic Location, Cartilage Composition, and Photo-Chemical Crosslinking. Major Professor: Diane Wagner. Articular cartilage (AC) is a strong but flexible connective tissue that covers and protects the end of the long bones. Although cartilage has excellent friction and wear properties that allow smooth joint function during daily activities, these properties are not fully understood. Many material properties of cartilage are anisotropic and vary with anatomic location and the composition of the tissue, but whether this is also true for cartilage friction and wear has not been previously determined. Furthermore, cartilage disease and injury are major health concerns that affect millions of people, but there are few available treatments to prevent the progression of cartilage degeneration. Collagen crosslinking may be a potential treatment to reduce cartilage wear and slow or prevent the progression of cartilage disease. The objectives of this thesis were to investigate the relationships between the friction/wear characteristics of cartilage and the orientation of the preferred fiber direction, the anatomic location of the tissue, the composition of the tissue, and exogenous photochemical crosslinking. In the superficial zone, AC has preferential fiber direction which leads to anisotropic material behavior. Therefore, we hypothesized that AC will show anisotropic behavior between longitudinal and transverse direction in an accelerated, in vitro wear test on bovine cartilage in terms of friction and wear. This hypothesis was proven by the quantification of glycosaminoglycans released from the tissue during the wear test, which showed that more glycosaminoglycans were released when the wear direction was transverse to the direction of the fibers. However, the hydroxyproline released
Cigarette smoking and the fetus and child.

The authoritative statement on the "Effects of Cigarette-Smoking on the Fetus and Child" (Pediatrics 57:411, March 1976) is an excellent summary but necessarily brief. With respect to the later growth and development of the children, the statement quotes only one study, which demonstrated no long-term effects of maternal smoking on physical growth and intellectual development through the first seven years of life. We believe that such effects may indeed be demonstrable though slight. In the quoted study, Hardy and Mellits1 established 88 pairs of children of matched smoking and nonsmoking mothers.
Increased total scavenger capacity in rats fed corticosterone and cortisol on lipid-rich diet.

BACKGROUND In our earlier studies both corticosterone and cortisol had antioxidant effect in vitro. OBJECTIVES Our aim was to clarify whether corticosterone and cortisol oral administration results in beneficial antioxidant changes in Sprague-Dawley adult male rats in vivo. METHODS Experimental animals were fed a lipid rich diet and treated with corticosterone or cortisol in the drinking fluid. Control group was fed only lipid rich diet with untreated drinking water. The untreated group was feda normal diet with untreated water. Total scavenger capacity (TSC) was measured before and after 4 weeks of treatment in blood samples using a chemiluminometric assay. RESULTS Both corticosterone and cortisol treatment caused increased TSC. The control group and the untreated group showed no significant changes in TSC. CONCLUSION Our results support the hypothesis that corticosterone and cortisol administration can improve the antioxidant status not only in vitro but also in vivo.
An Improved Energy Detector Using Outdated Channel State Information

The performance of energy detection using outdated channel state information (CSI) over Rayleigh fading is studied where a closed form expression for the average probability of detection is derived. This expression unveils the dependence of the probability of detection on the estimated CSI as well as the fading correlation function. Using this dependence, we propose a novel adaptive sensing-scheduling algorithm that outperforms the fixed sensing-scheduling energy detector with no CSI information. The accuracy of the derived results is verified using computer simulations.
Multidimensional determinants of the caregiving burden among Chinese male caregivers of older family members in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT Objectives: The objective of this study was to examine multidimensional determinants of the caregiving burden among Chinese male caregivers of older family members in Hong Kong. Based on a modified stress process model, this study explored how background and contextual factors (demographic characteristics and mental health status of caregivers, caregiving-related factors, and support and services), primary stressors (degree of care dependency and special care needs), and secondary stressors (self-efficacy and gender role conflict) might affect the caregiving burden among male caregivers. Method: A questionnaire survey was completed by 204 male caregivers who considered themselves as primary caregivers for older family members with care needs aged 60 and over. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were conducted. Results: Being the son of the care receiver, the presence of depressive symptoms, a higher degree of gender role conflict, a lower degree of caregiving self-efficacy, and the use of support and services all predicted greater caregiving burden among male caregivers. Conclusion: This study established a modified stress process model specifically for male caregivers. Gender role conflict and caregiving self-efficacy were introduced into the model as secondary stressors and found to be significantly associated with the degree of caregiving burden. The findings of this study could inform the development of services and interventions to reduce the caregiving burden among male caregivers.
What are White Matter Hyperintensities Made of?

In the article by Wardlaw et al, “What are White Matter Hyperintensities Made of? Relevance to Vascular Cognitive Impairment,” which published online June 23, 2015, and appeared in the June 2015 issue of the journal ( J Am Heart Assoc . 2015;4:e001140 doi: 10.1161/JAHA.114.001140), several
Current knowledge and challenges of antimalarial drugs for treatment and prevention in pregnancy

Importance of the field: Malaria infection during pregnancy is a major public health problem worldwide, with 50 million pregnancies exposed to the infection every year. Approximately 25,000 maternal deaths and between 75,000 and 200,000 infant deaths could be prevented each year by effective malaria control in pregnancy. Antimalarial drug treatment and prevention has been hampered by the appearance of drug resistance, which has been a particular problem in pregnancy due to the inherent safety issues. Areas covered in this review: New antimalarial drugs and combinations are being studied but there is not yet sufficient information on their efficacy or, more importantly, on their safety in pregnancy. This article provides an overview of the relevance of the topic and reviews the current antimalarial drugs recommended for pregnancy, as well as the guidelines for both treatment and prevention in women living in endemic areas and for travellers. What the reader will gain: Updated information on the drugs currently used for malaria treatment and prevention in pregnancy, including new drugs under development, is provided. The gaps on efficacy and safety information for use during pregnancy are also discussed. Take home message: Prevention and case management of malaria during pregnancy is based on risk–benefit criteria and poses one of the greatest challenges to current malaria control.
Detection of Mycoplasma Contamination in Cell Cultures

Mycoplasma contamination of cell lines is a major problem in cell culture technology. This unit presents protocols involving either the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) to provide independent, fast, and sensitive techniques to monitor mycoplasma contamination in laboratory cultures. Special emphasis is placed on the integration of control reactions to prevent false‐negative as well as false‐positive results due to reaction inhibition or contamination and background staining, respectively. Curr. Protoc. Mol. Biol. 106:28.4. 1‐28.4. 14. © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Network clustering: probing biological heterogeneity by sparse graphical models

MOTIVATION Networks and pathways are important in describing the collective biological function of molecular players such as genes or proteins. In many areas of biology, for example in cancer studies, available data may harbour undiscovered subtypes which differ in terms of network phenotype. That is, samples may be heterogeneous with respect to underlying molecular networks. This motivates a need for unsupervised methods capable of discovering such subtypes and elucidating the corresponding network structures. RESULTS We exploit recent results in sparse graphical model learning to put forward a 'network clustering' approach in which data are partitioned into subsets that show evidence of underlying, subset-level network structure. This allows us to simultaneously learn subset-specific networks and corresponding subset membership under challenging small-sample conditions. We illustrate this approach on synthetic and proteomic data. AVAILABILITY go.warwick. ac.uk/sachmukherjee/networkclustering.
Decoration of wide bandgap semiconducting materials for enhancing photoelectrochemical efficiency of PEC systems.

The production of photoanodes based on wide-band gap materials such as TiO2 is economically viable because of the low cost of synthesis methods. Contrary to economic aspects, wide-band gap semiconductor materials have a significant disadvantage due to low sensitivity to photons of visible light. To increase the photoactive parameters of the material of the electrodes in the visible range, the methods for decorating nanomasses of titanium dioxide by narrow-gap semiconductors are used. One of the most suitable narrow-gap semiconductor materials are CdS and Fe2O3. Controlled deposition of such materials on wide-gap semiconductors allows to regulate both the diffusion time of charge carriers and the band structure of TiO2/Fe2O3 and TiO2/CdS composites. The dimensions of the structure of the photoelectrode material of the cell have a large influence on the characteristics of the photocatalyst created. Thus, in the hematite structures of nanometre dimension, the rate of recombination of charge carriers fades away in comparison with bulk structures. Reducing the size of CdS structures also positively affects the nature of the photocatalytic reaction.
Neuroeconomic reductionism at work ?

Recent years have seen a wave of interest in connections between neuroscience and the models and generalizations of neoclassical and behavioral economics. Interdisciplinary investigations of decision-making in humans and non-human animals have yielded a flagship neuroeconomics textbook (Glimcher, et al. 2009), hundreds of journal articles, and high-profile academic conferences. They have also attracted constructive and destructive criticism—not to mention charges of hype and irrelevance—from cognitive neuroscientists (Gallistel 2009), economists (Gul and Pessendorfer 2008), and philosophers of science (Ross 2008). Paul Glimcher is one of the most creative, interdisciplinary, and philosophically inclined neuroscientists currently working on decision making. His book Decisions, uncertainty, and the brain (2003) put his research on primate visual decision-making in the context of a brief history of neuroscience since Descartes's work on the reflex and even included a short discussion of consciousness and philosophical zombies. Glimcher's latest, cheekily titled Foundations of neuroeconomic analysis (hereafter FNA) presents the case for his laboratory's research program seeking no less than a " partial reduction […] of economics to psychology and thence to neuroscience " (Glimcher 2011, xv). FNA is organized into four main sections, the first of which tackles the difficult issues of inter-theoretic relations and reductionism. Here, Glimcher partially traces the history of the idea that all scientific theories may be reducible to fundamental physical theory from the logical positivists through Ernest Nagel, briefly discussing critiques from C. D. Broad, Jerry Fodor, and others along the way. Nothing he says here will be new to philosophers of science, and unfortunately there is no discussion of more recent work on reductionism from philosophers of biology or the social sciences (for a review of these issues, see Sarkar and Wimsatt 2006). To cite one example, William Wimsatt's (2007)