Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Developing Risk-Based Target Concentrations for Carcinogenic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Compounds Assuming Human Consumption of Aquatic Biota

As part of the remediation process at a former creosote-handling facility in Washington, target groundwater concentrations were developed as goals for the planned cleanup efforts. Considering state regulatory requirements and site-specific conditions, these concentrations were established to protect surface water in the lake adjacent to the site. These risk-based values were calculated assuming that chemicals will (1) be transported in groundwater, (2) discharge into the lake, and (3) be taken up by aquatic organisms that may be consumed by humans. Among the primary chemicals driving remediation decisions at this site are carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (cPAH) compounds, which have limited environmental mobility and are metabolized by many types of potentially edible aquatic organisms. This work included assessing the validity for cPAH compounds of the required default regulatory assumptions and deriving alternative risk-based concentrations. These analyses focused on factors that would modify the generic assumption regarding bioconcentration of cPAH compounds in aquatic biota and influence bioavailability of cPAH compounds to humans consuming the biota. Modifications based on these factors and the use of toxicity equivalency factors resulted in alternative risk-based concentrations for individual cPAH compounds that ranged from approximately 7 to 700 times greater than the default value of 0.03 w g/L.
Socioeconomic status has bearing on the Mini Mental State Examination score among Indian Urban elderly

Background: Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) has been used widely for screening of cognitive disorders. It has been validated and adapted in various languages. Corrections have been proposed to rule out the bias in the scoring of MMSE based on education and age. However association of MMSE scores with socioeconomic status (SES)has not been studied. Aim: This study was aimed at evaluating the association of SES and MMSE. Materials and Methods: SES and the MMSE scores of participants more than 55 years of age were determined by trained social workers and clinical psychologists. The SES was determined by SES scale. Education and age bias was corrected using specific cut-off criteria for education and age bias while applying MMSE. The data thus obtained was analyzed using Epi-Info software to find the differences in MMSE positive (cognitive impairment present for the educational status and age) and MMSE negative (cognitive impairment absent for the educational status and age) individuals across different SES. Results: The study included 2,283 participants of whom 652 (28.6%), 1326 (58.1%) and 305 (13.4%) belonged to lower socio economic status (LSES), middle socio economic status (MSES) and upper socio economic status (USES) respectively. The MMSE scores were also compared across the SES. Persons from MSES had higher cognitive impairment when compared with LSES and USES, respectively. Significant difference was found among the two genders on the MMSE scores (more females had cognitive impairment) in only the LSES and not in USES and MSES. Conclusion: The findings suggest putative relationship between cognitive functioning and SESsocioeconomic status amongst the elderly.
PATHOGENICITY OF AVIAN MALARIA IN EXPERIMENTALLY-INFECTED HAWAII AMAKIHI

The introduction of avian malaria (Plasmodium relictum) and mosquitoes (Culex quinquefasciatus) to the Hawaiian Islands (USA) is believed to have played a major role in the decline and extinction of native Hawaiian honeycreepers (Drepanidinae). This introduced disease is thought to be one of the primary factors limiting recovery of honeycreepers at elevations below 1,200 m where native forest habitats are still relatively intact. One of the few remaining species of honeycreepers with a wide elevational distribution is the Hawaii Amakihi (Hemignathus virens). We measured morbidity and mortality in experimentally-infected Hawaii Amakihi that were captured in a high elevation, xeric habitat that is above the current range of the mosquito vector. Mortality among amakihi exposed to a single infective mosquito bite was 65% (13/20). All infected birds had significant declines in food consumption and a corresponding loss in body weight over the 60 day course of the experiment. Gross and microscopic lesions in birds that succumbed to malaria included enlargement and discoloration of the spleen and liver and parasitemias as high as 50% of circulating erythrocytes. Mortality in experimentally-infected amakihi was similar to that observed in Apapane (Himatione sanguinea) and lower than that observed in Iiwi (Vestiaria coccinea) infected under similar conditions with the same parasite isolate. We conclude that the current elevational and geographic distribution of Hawaiian honeycreepers is determined by relative susceptibility to avian malaria.
The association between protein–energy malnutrition, malaria morbidity and all‐cause mortality in West African children

Both malaria and protein–energy malnutrition (PEM) are highly prevalent in young children of sub‐Saharan Africa, and the association between PEM and malaria continues to be discussed controversially. We analysed the association between PEM, malaria morbidity and all‐cause mortality in a cohort of 709 children aged 6–30 months in a malaria holoendemic rural area of Burkina Faso. Study children were followed over the main malaria transmission period (June–December) in 1999 through longitudinal malaria surveillance complemented by three cross‐sectional clinical surveys. There was no association between PEM and malaria morbidity, but malnourished children had a more than two‐fold higher risk of dying than non‐malnourished children.
Personality and Social Psychology Review Do Facial Movements Express Emotions or Communicate Motives? Personality and Social Psychology Review Additional Services and Information for Do Facial Movements Express Emotions or Communicate Motives? Emotion Expression vs. Motive Communication Emotion Expr

This article addresses the debate between emotion-expression and motive-communication approaches to facial movements, focusing on Ekman's (1972) and Fridlund's (1994) contrasting models and their historical antecedents. Available evidence suggests that thepresence ofothers either reduces or increasesfacial responses, depending on the quality and strength ofthe emotional manipulation and on the nature ofthe relationship between interactants. Although both display rules and social motives provide viable explanations ofaudience "inhibition " effects, some audiencefacilitation effects are less easily accommodated within an emotion-expression perspective. In particular emotion is not a sufficient conditionfor a corresponding "expression," even discounting explicit regulation, and, apparently, "spontaneous "facial movements may befacil-itated by the presence ofothers. Further, there is no direct evidence that any particular facial movement provides an unambiguous expression ofa specific emotion. However, information communicated byfacial movements is not necessarily extrinsic to emotion. Facial movements not only transmit emotion-relevant information but also contribute to ongoing processes of emotional action in accordance with pragmatic theories. What's in a smile, a scowl, a grimace? People attach a variety of meanings to faces. Some of their attribu-tions accurately reflect what another person is actually feeling, thinking, or doing, whereas other inferences are of more dubious validity. For example, we are capable of detecting quite precisely the direction of someone's visual attention (e.g., Kobayashi & Kohshima, 1997; Rutter, 1987) and register at an implicit level how closely attuned their facial movements are to those of others, including ourselves conclusions about a person's character, attitude, or intentions based on first impressions of their facial features later turn out to be false. Further, although we believe that seeing someone's face helps us determine whether they are telling the truth, in fact most people are relatively poor at detecting deception from nonver-bal cues, including facial movements (e.g., Zuckerman, DePaulo, & Rosenthal, 1981). How much, then, do we read into faces and how much do we read out from them (Russell, 1997)? In particular, does our A few passages of this article are revised and extended from material included in "Emotion in social relations: Cultural, group, and interpersonal processes" (2005, Psychology Press). I am grateful to Alan Fridlund, Tony Manstead, and an anonymous reviewer for constructive comments on a previous version. deeply held conviction that faces express emotions fall into the former or the latter category? How well can we tell what people are feeling simply by looking at their faces? Since the 1990s, the familiar view …
Crosstalk Noise Reduction Techniques Using SOI Substrate

As integrated circuits (ICs) are scaled into nanometre dimensions and operate in gigahertz frequencies, interconnects have become critical in determining system performance and reliability. In this paper we propose a new approach to investigate crosstalk reduction techniques using Silicon On Insulator (SOI) substrate. Coupling through common silicon substrate has become an important limiting factor in high performance ICs. A study of the advantages of using SOI substrate in contrast to bulk is presented in this paper. Through MATLAB software, a system of three coupled wires is modeled as RC distributed networks. A resistive model is used to model both SOI and bulk substrates. The results are compared to the bulk in order to show the advantages of using SOI substrate to reduce crosstalk noise in deep sub micron technology.
Generative Planning for Hybrid Systems Based on Flow Tubes

When controlling an autonomous system, it is inefficient or sometimes impossible for the human operator to specify detailed commands. Instead, the field of AI autonomy has developed goal-directed systems, in which human operators specify a series of goals to be accomplished. Increasingly, the control of autonomous systems involves performing a mix of discrete and continuous actions. For example, a typical autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) mission involves discrete actions, like get GPS and set sonar, and continuous actions, like descend and ascend, which involve continuous dynamics of the vehicle. Accordingly, we develop a hybrid planner that determines a series of discrete and continuous actions that achieve the mission goals. In this paper, we describe a novel approach to solving the generative planning problem for hybrid systems, involving both continuous and discrete actions. The planner, Kongming, incorporates two innovations. First, it employs a compact representation of all hybrid plans, called a Hybrid Flow Graph, which combines the strengths of a Planning Graph for discrete actions and Flow Tubes for continuous actions. Second, it encodes the Hybrid Flow Graph as a mixed logic linear/nonlinear program, which it solves using an off-the-shelf solver. We empirically demonstrate that Kongming can efficiently plan for real-world scenarios that are based on science missions performed at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI).
Effects of ipsapirone and cannabidiol on human experimental anxiety

The effects of ipsapirone and cannabidiol (CBD) on healthy volunteers submitted to a simulated public speaking (SPS) test were compared with those of the anxiolytic benzodiazepine diazepam and placebo. Four independent groups of 10 subjects received, under a double-blind design, placebo or one of the following drugs: CBD (300 mg), diazepam (10 mg) or ipsapirone (5 mg). Subjective anxiety was evaluated through the Visual Analogue Mood Scale (VAMS) and the State-trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The VAMS anxiety factor showed that ipsapirone attenuated SPS-induced anxiety while CBD decreased anxiety after the SPS test. Diazepam, on the other hand, was anxiolytic before and after the SPS test, but had no effect on the increase in anxiety induced by the speech test. Only ipsapirone attenuated the increase in systolic blood pressure induced by the test. Significant sedative effects were only observed with diazepam. The results suggest that ipsapirone and CBD have anxiolytic properties in human volunteers submitted to a stressful situation.
Radionuclide imaging of mesenchymal stem cells transplanted into spinal cord

In vivo tracking of stem cells implanted to spinal cord by radionuclide imaging was investigated. The high expression of transferrin receptor on human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) was verified by flow cytometry, radioligand binding and immunofluorescence. Radiolabelled transferrin was chosen as a tracer for scintigraphic imaging of the hMSCs transplanted into spinal cord of rabbits. Comparative experiments with radiolabelled human serum albumin as tracer and PBS as graft as well as ex vivo autoradiography demonstrated the specific uptake of radiolabelled transferrin of hMSCs. hMSCs could be detected in vivo with radiolabelled transferrin targeting at cellular transferrin receptors at an early stage after transplantation into spinal cord.
HEMODYNAMICS OF THROMBOSIS Thrombosis Under Flow and In Vivo Thrombi

Blood clots form under hemodynamic conditions and can obstruct flow during angina, acute myocardial infarction, stroke, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, peripheral thrombosis, or dialysis access graft thrombosis. Therapies to remove these clots through enzymatic and/or mechanical approaches require consideration of the biochemistry and structure of blood clots in conjunction with local transport phenomena. Because blood clots are porous objects exposed to local hemodynamic forces, pressure-driven interstitial permeation often controls drug penetration and the overall lysis rate of an occlusive thrombus. Reaction engineering and transport phenomena provide a framework to relate dosage of a given agent to potential outcomes. The design and testing of thrombolytic agents and the design of therapies must account for (a) the binding, catalytic, and systemic clearance properties of the therapeutic enzyme; (b) the dose and delivery regimen; (c) the biochemical and structural aspects of the thrombotic occlusion; (d) the prevailing hemodynamics and anatomical location of the thrombus; and (e) therapeutic constraints and risks of side effects. These principles also impact the design and analysis of local delivery devices.
Trastuzumab--mechanism of action and use in clinical practice.

Overexpression of human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2) in breast cancer is associated with decreased overall survival. Trastuzumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody that targets HER2, is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for patients with invasive breast cancers that overexpress HER2. This review considers the mechanism of action and the use of this agent.
Sports officials in home advantage phenomenon: A new framework

The home advantage is one of the best-established and documented phenomenon in sports settings. Conceptual frameworks do not involve, or little, sports official. Nevertheless, we assume that this decision-maker play a determinant role. Thus, the main objective of this paper was to propose a conceptual framework of home advantage including the sports officials and to guide future research on the influence of sports officials on the home advantage phenomenon. Situational, contextual, individual and ethical/economic dimensions compose this new framework.
Intrinsic apoptosis in mechanically ventilated human diaphragm: linkage to a novel Fos/FoxO1/Stat3‐Bim axis

Mechanical ventilation (MV) is a life‐saving measure in many critically ill patients. However, prolonged MV results in diaphragm dysfunction that contributes to the frequent difficulty in weaning patients from the ventilator. The molecular mechanisms underlying ventilator‐induced diaphragm dysfunction (VIDD) remain poorly understood. We report here that MV induces myonuclear DNA fragmentation (3‐fold increase; P<0.01) and selective activation of caspase 9 (P<0.05) and Bcl2‐interacting mediator of cell death (Bim; 2‐ to 7‐fold increase; P<0.05) in human diaphragm. MV also statistically significantly down‐regulates mitochondrial gene expression and induces oxidative stress. In cultured muscle cells, we show that oxidative stress activates each of the catabolic pathways thought to underlie VIDD: apoptotic (P<0.05), proteasomal (P<0.05), and autophagic (P<0.01). Further, silencing Bim expression blocks (P<0.05) oxidative stress‐induced apoptosis. Overlapping the gene expression profiles of MV human diaphragm and H2O2‐treated muscle cells, we identify Fos, FoxO1, and Stat3 as regulators of Bim expression as well as of expression of the catabolic markers atrogin and LC3. We thus identify a novel Fos/FoxO1/Stat3‐Bim intrinsic apoptotic pathway and establish the centrality of oxidative stress in the development of VIDD. This information may help in the design of specific drugs to prevent this condition. —Tang, H. , Lee, M. , Budak, M. T. , Pietras, N. , Hittinger, S. , Vu, M. , Khuong, A. , Hoang, C. D. , Hussain, S. N. A. , Levine, S. , Shrager, J. B. Intrinsic apoptosis in mechanically ventilated human diaphragm: linkage to a novel Fos/FoxO1/Stat3‐Bim axis. FASEB J. 25, 2921–2936 (2011). www.fasebj. org
Construção e validação de medida para diagnóstico de competências relativas às funções de prefeito(a) e secretário(a) municipal

Competencies management has deserved increasing attention on the part of professionals and academics since it was proposed. In the public sector, a gap is perceived on theoretical or empirical studies concerning the state and municipal levels of the administration and also their decision level. This article describes the construction of an instrument to measure competencies of mayors and municipal secretaries, carried out through 17 interviews with on the job participants, and its validation with a sample of 455 other subjects initiating or ending their political mandates. The results suggest psychometric validity of the instrument and the empirical structure is in accordance with the competencies theory.
Use and abuse of tourism: the Goan experience.

The state of Goa provides an unusual example of tourism development. While responding with a measure of fatalism to the invasion of hippy tourists in the 1960s, some of whom remain in Goa today, Goans are rather more divided in their responses to the influx of mass tourists, which began over a decade ago. The onset of tourism on a large scale has produced pressures on both society and the environment. Reactions to mass tourism have been varied, but include the more organized forms of stakeholder resistance that are common in India. Major issues that have emerged center on the community’s reaction to disputes over the use of land and, in particular, the use and abuse of beaches. This article first focuses on the history of conflict between two groups of Goan stakeholders: the small-scale entrepreneurs who seek a living from tourism through the running of beach shacks, hawking, and rave party organization, and the large corporate interests who have seen tourism development in terms of beach-front hotels and casinos, who see the market as an unsophisticated extension of sunlust tourism by Europeans. The conflict between these two groups is then studied in the context of the responses of a third significant stakeholder group, the Goan authorities, both in the form of the state government and the Goan police. The role of protest movements is also considered. The issues of land use, planning, and community involvement in tourism development emerge from the analysis as significant in critiquing the way that tourism has evolved in recent years. In a broader view, the issue of conflicting views of Goan identity by Goans themselves becomes significant. The article concludes that the development of tourism in Goa has started down an inherently unsustainable route for reasons grounded in the broader context of changes in both global and Indian tourism. It is only very recently that planning by the authorities and producers of tourist products has begun to adopt a resource audit approach. The major concern for Goan tourism is whether these more recent responses are well founded and sufficiently timely.
Discrete-time Markovian jump linear systems with partly unknown transition probabilities: H∞ filtering problem

The problem of Hinfin filtering for a class of discrete-time Markovian jump linear systems (MJLS) with partly unknown transition probabilities is investigated in the paper. The considered systems are more general, which cover the MJLS with completely known and completely unknown transition probabilities as two special cases. A mode-dependent full-order filter is constructed and the bounded real lemma (BRL) for the resulting filtering error system is derived via LMI formulation. Then, an improved version of the BRL is further given by introducing additional slack matrix variables to eliminate the cross coupling between system matrices and Lyapunov matrices among different operation modes. Finally, the existence criterion of the desired filter is obtained such that the corresponding filtering error system is stochastically stable with a guaranteed Hinfin performance index. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the effectiveness and potential of the developed theoretical results.
Local Bias Among U.S.-based Hedge Funds

Local Bias Among U.S.-based Hedge Funds by Mikhail Stukalo May 2017 Chair: Dr. Vikas Agarwal Major Academic Unit: J. Mack Robinson College of Business I examine local bias in hedge fund portfolio selection, using Section 13-F original and confidential holding filings. Using Coval and Moskowitz (1999) measure, I find that local bias is present among U.S.-based hedge funds. The holdings of funds are on average 20-67 km closer to hedge funds than the market. I also find that size and leverage of a company serve as determinants of local bias, with the preference of hedge funds for smaller and more levered local companies. I suggest an alternative model for assessment of local bias that yields results further supporting the hypothesis of the existence of local bias among hedge funds. I do not find a positive effect of local bias on performance. Moreover, in some periods I find a strong negative effect of local bias both on raw and risk-adjusted returns. I argue that these findings suggest that the origins of local bias should not be looked for in information asymmetry, and rather may be attributed to perceived informational advantage, flight to familiarity, and some endogenous factors of hedge fund locality. INDEX WORDS: Hedge funds, Local bias, Location, Distance