Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Growth and age determination of African savanna elephants

Understanding the population dynamics of savanna elephants depends on estimating population parameters such as the age at first reproduction, calving interval and age-specific survival rates. The generation of these parameters, however, relies on the ability to accurately determine the age of individuals, but a reliable age estimation technique for free-ranging elephants is presently not available. Shoulder heights of elephants were measured in 10 populations in five countries across southern and eastern Africa. Data included shoulder height measurements from two populations where the age of each individual was known (i.e. Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa and Amboseli National Park, Kenya). From the known-age data, Von Bertalanffy growth functions were constructed for both male and female elephants. Savanna elephants were found to attain similar asymptotic shoulder heights in the 10 populations, while individuals in the two known-age populations grew at the same rate. The Von Bertalanffy growth curves allowed for the accurate age estimation of females up to 15 years of age and males up to 36 years of age. The results indicate that shoulder height can serve as an indicator of chronological age for elephants below 15 years of age for females and 36 years of age for males. Ages derived from these growth curves can then be used to generate age-specific population variables, which will help assess the demographic status of savanna elephant populations across Africa.
Measuring mobility limitations in children with cerebral palsy: interrater and intrarater reliability of a mobility questionnaire (MobQues)

Aim The objective of this study was to assess the reliability of a mobility questionnaire (MobQues) that was developed to measure the mobility limitations of children with cerebral palsy (CP) as rated by their parents. A clinical version of the questionnaire, consisting of 47 items (MobQues47), is available, as well as a research version with 28 items for a specific population (MobQues28). Total scores are expressed on a scale of 0 to 100.
Development Environment for Language Processors Based on Attribute Grammars

To develop language processors efficiently is difficult because they need to deal with large data with complex structures. Using tools based on formal specification is one of the strategies to reduce the cost in developing language processors. However, the area of application which can be developed by these tools is limited. This dissertation aims at realization of the practical development environment for language processors based on the formalism of attribute grammars (AGs). AGs are a formalism that integrates syntax and semantics of languages. AGs have several advantages for development of language processors in that the formalization is intuitive and clear, and that attribute evaluators are automatically obtained from descriptions. However, the following disadvantages make it difficult to develop language processors by AGs: (1) difficulty in direct application of the pure (standard) AG formalism to tools because of the weak computation power, and (2) complication in debugging of AG descriptions, which arises from the difficulty specific to AGs. To overcome the first problem, we proposed circular remote attribute grammars (CRAGs), an extension of AGs that allows both circularity of attribute dependency and remote attribute references. We also showed a way to obtain efficient evaluators for CRAGs. By this research any control structure of the subject language can be treated and circularities of attribute dependency are allowed in AGs. As a result, stronger expressive power is obtained and efficient attribute evaluators are developed. For the second problem, the generalized framework for systematic debugging of AGs was proposed, which allows several forms of query and enables integration of various query based methods. This reduces the complication in debugging of AG descriptions. These accomplishments widen the application area of attribute grammar based software, which improves the development environment for language
A Parameter Injection Algorithm for Real-Time Traffic in 802.11 Open Access Networks

An open access network (OAN) is characterized by the fact that private WLANs and broadband access lines are made available for public use, enabling bypassing mobile users to profit from continuous coverage. Our insight is that in wireless OANs, the overhead required for the launching or reconfiguration of a real-time session can be drastically reduced. We propose an algorithm which performs parameter injection into a multimedia data stream instead of following the classical negotiation path typically used. A solution to change the session characteristics of an application that adapts to varying network conditions was developed, including a QoS solution with SIP and MIP to optimize the session characteristics by taking into account the changed conditions in the network. With our approach, we achieve a reduction of a factor of 2.5 for session signaling delay, and excellent jitter values in the range of 10-15 milliseconds as our implementation results show.
Quantifying the Impact of Technical Barriers to Trade: A Framework for Analysis

There has been increasing use of technical regulations as instruments of commercial policy in the context of multilateral, regional, and global trade. These nontariff barriers are of special concern to developing countries, which may bear additional costs in meeting mandatory standards. Many industrial and developing countries express frustration with regulations that vary across their export markets, require duplicative conformity procedures, and are continually revised to exclude imports. The authors provide a comprehensive overview of the policy debate and methodological issues surrounding product standards and technical barriers to trade. They begin with a review of the policy context driving demand for empirical analysis of standards in trade, then provide an analytical overview of the role of standards and their relationship to trade. They then review methodological approaches that have been used to analyze standards and their impact on trade. Their main interest lies in advancing techniques that are practical and may be fruitfully extended to the empirical analysis of regulations and trade. They discuss concrete steps that could be taken to move forward a practical, policy-relevant program of empirical research. Such steps would include: a) administering firm-level surveys in developing countries; b) devising methods for assessing how much standards restrict trade; and c) establishing econometric approaches that could be applied to survey and microeconomic data, to improve understanding of the role of standards in exports.
Priority-based coordination of mobile robots

Since the end of the 1980's, the development of self-driven autonomous vehicles is an intensive research area in most major industrial countries. Positive socio-economic potential impacts include a decrease of crashes, a reduction of travel times, energy efficiency improvements, and a reduced need of costly physical infrastructure. Some form of vehicle-to-vehicle and/or vehicle-to-infrastructure cooperation is required to ensure a safe and efficient global transportation system. This thesis deals with a particular form of cooperation by studying the problem of coordinating multiple mobile robots at an intersection area. Most of coordination systems proposed in previous work consist of planning a trajectory and to control the robots along the planned trajectory: that is the plan-as-program paradigm where planning is considered as a generative mechanism of action. The approach of the thesis is to plan priorities – the relative order of robots to go through the intersection – which is much weaker as many trajectories respect the same priorities. Then, priorities are merely used as a coordination resource to guide robots through the intersection. Once priorities are assigned, robots are controlled through a control law preserving the assigned priorities. It results in a more robust coordination system – able to handle a large class of unexpected events in a reactive manner – particularly well adapted for an application to the coordination of autonomous vehicles at intersections where cars, public transport and pedestrians share the road.
Cardioprotective actions of potassium channel openers.

The potential cardioprotective effect of two pure potassium channel openers, bimakalim (EMD 52692) and aprikalim (RP 52891), on myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion injury was investigated in barbital-anaesthetized dogs. In a model of reversible ischaemia/reperfusion injury, administration of bimakalim as an intravenous bolus prior to ischaemia or administration of a non-hypotensive dose of aprikalim as a constant intravenous infusion resulted in a reduction in reperfusion contractile dysfunction (myocardial 'stunning') produced by a single 15-min coronary artery occlusion. Administration of aprikalim only during the reperfusion period had no beneficial effect. Similarly, in a model of irreversible ischaemia/reperfusion injury (90 min of coronary artery occlusion followed by 5 h of reperfusion), intravenous infusion of bimakalim at a dose which reduced aortic blood pressure approximately 15-20 mmHg or infusion of aprikalim at a non-hypotensive dose throughout the entire experiment produced a significant reduction in myocardial infarct size. A protective effect of bimakalim was not observed when it was administered during the reperfusion period only. In both the stunned myocardium model as well as the infarcted myocardium model, the beneficial effects of the potassium channel openers could not be attributed to differences in the traditional determinants of the extent of ischaemia/reperfusion injury; area at risk size, oxygen consumption, or collateral blood flow. Furthermore, the anti-ischaemic actions of the potassium channel openers were blocked by pre-treatment with the ATP-dependent potassium (KATP) channel antagonist, glibenclamide. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Global assessment of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus diversity reveals very low endemism

Cosmopolitan plant root symbionts The aboveground lives of plants are only sustainable because of the symbiotic soil fungi that encase their roots. These fungi swap nutrients with plants, defend them from attack, and help them withstand abrupt environmental changes. Out of necessity, fungal symbionts in the soil would appear to be restricted and local to certain plant species. Davison et al., however, discovered that some taxa are globally distributed. How these underground fungi have dispersed so widely remains a mystery; perhaps human farmers have had something to do with it. Science, this issue p. 970 The wide distribution of plant-root fungal symbionts seems to be driven by recent dispersal rather than ancient tectonics. The global biogeography of microorganisms remains largely unknown, in contrast to the well-studied diversity patterns of macroorganisms. We used arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus DNA from 1014 plant-root samples collected worldwide to determine the global distribution of these plant symbionts. We found that AM fungal communities reflected local environmental conditions and the spatial distance between sites. However, despite AM fungi apparently possessing limited dispersal ability, we found 93% of taxa on multiple continents and 34% on all six continents surveyed. This contrasts with the high spatial turnover of other fungal taxa and with the endemism displayed by plants at the global scale. We suggest that the biogeography of AM fungi is driven by unexpectedly efficient dispersal, probably via both abiotic and biotic vectors, including humans.
Novel genomic imbalances in embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma revealed by comparative genomic hybridization and fluorescence in situ hybridization: An Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study

A comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) approach provides identification of genomic gains and losses in a tumor specimen in a single experiment. Only 11 embryonal rhabdomyosarcomas (E‐RMS) have previously been subjected to CGH. The underlying genetic events in this histologic subtype are not well defined. In this investigation, 12 E‐RMS specimens from 10 patients entered into Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study (IRS) I‐IV and two local patients were analyzed by CGH and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Gains of chromosomes or chromosomal regions 2 (50%), 7 (42%), 8 (67%), 11 (42%), 12 (58%), 13q21 (33%), and 20 (33%) and losses of 1p35–36.3 (42%), 6 (33%), 9q22 (33%), 14q21–32 (25%), and 17 (25%) were most prominent. Chromosomal regions 1p35–36.3 and 9q22 represent novel regions of loss. Importantly, loss of 9q22 corresponds to the locus of a putative tumor suppressor gene (PTCH), which has been shown to play a role in rhabdomyosarcoma in a mouse model of Gorlin syndrome. Loss of 1p36 corresponds to the locus for PAX7, a paired box containing gene characteristically altered in alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma. Moreover, loss of 1p36 is prominent in another common pediatric soft tissue tumor, neuroblastoma. Gains of 2, 7, 8, 12, and 13 and loss of 14 were seen in the sole prior E‐RMS CGH series; thus, these data provide important confirmatory results. In contrast to this previous study, however loss, not gain, of chromosome 17 was observed in the current study. Chromosome 17 loss correlates well with previous descriptions of frequent allelic loss of 17p (TP53) in E‐RMS. In summary, CGH and FISH analyses of 12 E‐RMS specimens revealed novel genomic imbalances that may be useful in directing further molecular studies for the determination of E‐RMS critically involved genes. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 27:337–344, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Pilot channel-aided techniques to compute the beamforming vector for CDMA systems with antenna array

In the presence of pilot channels in the reverse-link, some approaches to compute the coherent beamforming vectors for the two-dimensional Rake (2-D Rake) combiner are considered. Since the beamforming vectors are computed using the de-spread signals, the computational complexity of the approaches is lower than that of the approach which uses the received signals before despreading. It has been shown that the beamforming performance depends on the accuracy of channel parameter estimation. The approach which provides better channel parameter estimates can give a better beamforming performance. The effect of the pilot power on the performance is also presented.
Working Memory in Children With Reading Disabilities and/or Mathematical Disabilities

Elementary school children with reading disabilities (RD; n = 17), mathematical disabilities (MD; n = 22), or combined reading and mathematical disabilities (RD+MD; n = 28) were compared to average achieving (AA; n = 45) peers on working memory measures. On all working memory components, 2 (RD vs. no RD) × 2 (MD vs. no MD) factorial ANCOVAs revealed clear differences between children with and without RD. Children with MD had lower span scores than the AA children on measures of the phonological loop and the central executive. A significant interaction effect between RD and MD was found only for listening recall and had a small, partial effect size. In addition, analyses showed that the best logistic regression model consisted of a visuospatial and a central executive task. The model significantly distinguished between the AA and clinical groups and between the MD and RD+MD groups. Evidence was found for domain-general working memory problems in children with learning disabilities. Management of working memory loads in structured learning activities in the classroom, at home, or during therapy may help these children to cope with their problems in a more profound manner.
Expression of erythropoietin and erythropoietin receptor in non-small cell lung carcinomas.

PURPOSE Expression of erythropoietin (Epo) and its receptor (Epo-R) has been shown in various normal and neoplastic nonhematopoietic tissues. This study, in non-small cell lung carcinoma, was designed to investigate the previously unreported expression of Epo and Epo-R as well as hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha), which is known to control Epo expression. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Samples from lung squamous cell carcinomas (n = 17) and adenocarcinomas (n = 12) were obtained from patients undergoing curative surgery. mRNA transcripts of Epo, Epo-R, soluble Epo-R (sEpo-R), HIF-1alpha, and factor inhibiting HIF-1 (FIH-1) were evaluated by reverse transcription-PCR, whereas localization of Epo, Epo-R, and HIF-1alpha was assessed by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS Epo, Epo-R, sEpo-R, HIF-1alpha, and FIH-1 transcripts were detected by reverse transcription-PCR in all samples tested, but with heterogeneous levels of expression for Epo, Epo-R, and sEpo-R. Coordinated levels of mRNA were observed for HIF-1alpha and FIH-1.Epo was detected in carcinomatous cells by immunohistochemistry in 50% of samples and Epo-R was detected in 96% of samples. Co-expression of Epo and Epo-R was observed on contiguous sections from 50% of tumors. HIF-1alpha was immunolocalized in 80% of non-small cell lung carcinomas. CONCLUSION Epo-R was expressed in almost all samples and Epo was expressed in one half of samples on immunohistochemistry and in 100% of samples by mRNA detection, suggesting a potential paracrine and/or autocrine role of endogenous Epo in non-small cell lung carcinoma. The detection of stabilized HIF-1alpha suggests a possible role in Epo expression. Moreover, in the light of these results, the potential interactions between therapeutic recombinant Epo and the putative neoplastic Epo/Epo-R signaling pathways must be considered.
Electrically Conductive Bulk Composites through a Contact-Connected Aggregate

This paper introduces a concept that allows the creation of low-resistance composites using a network of compliant conductive aggregate units, connected through contact, embedded within the composite. Due to the straight-forward fabrication method of the aggregate, conductive composites can be created in nearly arbitrary shapes and sizes, with a lower bound near the length scale of the conductive cell used in the aggregate. The described instantiation involves aggregate cells that are approximately spherical copper coils-of-coils within a polymeric matrix, but the concept can be implemented with a wide range of conductor elements, cell geometries, and matrix materials due to its lack of reliance on specific material chemistries. The aggregate cell network provides a conductive pathway that can have orders of magnitude lower resistance than that of the matrix material - from 1012 ohm-cm (approx.) for pure silicone rubber to as low as 1 ohm-cm for the silicone/copper composite at room temperature for the presented example. After describing the basic concept and key factors involved in its success, three methods of implementing the aggregate into a matrix are then addressed – unjammed packing, jammed packing, and pre-stressed jammed packing – with an analysis of the tradeoffs between increased stiffness and improved resistivity.
Sleep Deprivation Impairs the Human Central and Peripheral Nervous System Discrimination of Social Threat

Facial expressions represent one of the most salient cues in our environment. They communicate the affective state and intent of an individual and, if interpreted correctly, adaptively influence the behavior of others in return. Processing of such affective stimuli is known to require reciprocal signaling between central viscerosensory brain regions and peripheral-autonomic body systems, culminating in accurate emotion discrimination. Despite emerging links between sleep and affective regulation, the impact of sleep loss on the discrimination of complex social emotions within and between the CNS and PNS remains unknown. Here, we demonstrate in humans that sleep deprivation impairs both viscerosensory brain (anterior insula, anterior cingulate cortex, amygdala) and autonomic-cardiac discrimination of threatening from affiliative facial cues. Moreover, sleep deprivation significantly degrades the normally reciprocal associations between these central and peripheral emotion-signaling systems, most prominent at the level of cardiac-amygdala coupling. In addition, REM sleep physiology across the sleep-rested night significantly predicts the next-day success of emotional discrimination within this viscerosensory network across individuals, suggesting a role for REM sleep in affective brain recalibration. Together, these findings establish that sleep deprivation compromises the faithful signaling of, and the “embodied” reciprocity between, viscerosensory brain and peripheral autonomic body processing of complex social signals. Such impairments hold ecological relevance in professional contexts in which the need for accurate interpretation of social cues is paramount yet insufficient sleep is pervasive.
Influence of treadmill exercise on pituitary-adrenal secretions, other blood constituents, and meat quality of sheep.

Whether lambs were used to evaluate the influence of treadmill exercise (TME) on physiological responses and meat quality. Lambs were exercised at either 5.6, 7.2, or 8.8 km/h on a 9 degrees incline for 10 min, followed by a 10-min walk at 4.0 km/h and 0 degrees incline, or were unexercised controls (C; n = 3/treatment). Heart rates were determined at -15, 1, 3, 6, 10, and 15 min relative to the onset of exercise. Blood was collected at 2.5-min intervals during and after exercise for determination of plasma concentrations of ACTH, cortisol, and lactate. In addition, blood collected during exercise was evaluated for hematocrit and for concentrations of glucose, hemoglobin, and total protein. Exercised lambs had greater (P < .01) heart rates than C lambs during and after exercise. Blood from TME lambs also had greater (P < .001) hematocrit percentages, total protein, and hemoglobin concentrations. Areas under the ACTH and cortisol response curves were greater (P < .001) for TME than for C lambs. Areas under glucose response curves were greater for all TME treatments (P < .001) than for C and greater (P < .001) for lambs exercised at 8.8 km/h than for lambs exercised at 5.6 km/h. Areas beneath lactate response curves were greater (P < .001) for lambs exercised at 8.8 km/h than for lambs exercised at 7.2 km/h and C lambs. Carcasses from lambs exercised at 5.6 km/h had lesser (P < .05) longissimus muscle (LM) glycogen concentrations at slaughter than carcasses from lambs exercised at either 7.2 or 8.8 km/h and C lambs. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Role of the inter-sublattice exchange coupling in short-laser-pulse-induced demagnetization dynamics of GdCo and GdCoFe alloys

ThedynamicsofthedemagnetizationinducedbyanultrashortlaserpulseinGdCoandGdCoFealloysisshown tobesubstantiallydifferentfromtheexpected trend.Wefindthattheintersublatticeexchange interactionbetween Gd and Co(Fe) is used as an additional route of heat transfer during the demagnetization process and leads to a temporary cooling of the Co(Fe) spin subsystem. The observed results are described by a four-temperature model (4T model) in which electrons, lattice, and 4f and 3d spins represent four reservoirs of heat energy. In this model, the coupling between the electron and spin reservoirs is responsible for an ultrafast demagnetization, while the intersublattice exchange coupling gives rise to an immediate remagnetization and serves as a thermal link between the Co(Fe) and Gd spins.