Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Low Level Laser Therapy on Brain Activity Assessed by QEEG and QEEGt in Normal Subjects

Objectives: The use low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is steadily increasing in diverse areas of medicine including wound healing, relief from pain and inflammation, and treating neurodegenerative diseases. LLLT also appears to be beneficial for treating traumatic brain injury, depression, and cognitive disorders. The objective of this pilot study was to assess the effects of LLLT on brain activity in healthy volunteers. Materials and Methods: Healthy male (n=5) and female (n=5) subjects, 22 to 28 years old were enrolled. A 20-minute electroencephalogram (EEG) was obtained before and after exposure to LLLT. EEGs were recorded using 19 monopolar derivations of the International 10-20 System with linked earlobes as reference. Using a hand-held probe, the entire skull of each subject was exposed to red 635 nm laser light for 10 minutes. EEG data were assessed using quantitative EEG (QEEG) and tomographic quantitative EEG (QEEGT) methods. Results: Comparing EEG records before and after the application of LLLT revealed significant activation in several areas of the brain. Brain maps for alpha and gamma absolute powers demonstrated clear increments in nine subjects. A decrement in alpha and gamma absolute powers after LLLT stimulation only occurred in one subject. There were no reported adverse events. Conclusion: Exposing the brain to 635 nm laser light for 10 minutes resulted in significant activation of several areas of the brain. Further research should be done with a larger sample to create a larger body of normative data for comparing the effects of LLLT for treating various neurological
Valuing Environmental Quality: A Space-Based Strategy

This paper develops and applies a space-based strategy for overcoming the general problem of deriving the implicit demand for nonmarket goods. It focuses specifically on evaluating one form of environmental quality, distance from Environmental Protection Agency designated environmental hazards, via the single-family housing market in the Puget Sound region of Washington State. A spatial two-stage hedonic price analysis is used to: ("i") estimate the marginal implicit price of distance from air release sites, hazardous waste generators, hazardous waste handlers, superfund sites, and toxic release sites; and ("ii") estimate a series of implicit demand functions describing the relationship between the price of distance and the quantity consumed. The analysis, which represents an important step forward in the valuation of environmental quality, reveals that the information needed to identify second-stage demand functions is hidden right in plain sight-hanging in the aether of the regional housing market. Copyright (c) 2010, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Anomalous Heat Conduction in Three-Dimensional Nonlinear Lattices(General)

Heat conduction in three-dimenisional nonlinear lattice models is studied using nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations. We employ the Fermi–Pasta–Ulam-β model, in which nonlinearity exists in the interaction of the biquadratic form. It is confirmed that the thermal conductivity, the ratio of the energy flux to the temperature gradient, diverges with increasing system size up to 128×128×256 lattice sites. This size corresponds to nanoscopic to mesoscopic scales of approximately 100 nm. From these results, we conjecture that the energy transport in insulators with perfect crystalline order exhibits anomalous behavior. The effects of the lattice structure, random impurities, and the natural length in interactions are also examined. We find that fcc lattices display stronger divergence than simple cubic lattices. When impurity sites of infinitely large mass, which are thus fixed, are randomly distributed, such divergence vanishes.
Formation of cell spheroids using Standing Surface Acoustic Wave (SSAW)

3D bioprinting becomes one of the popular approaches in the tissue engineering. In this emerging application, bioink is crucial for fabrication and functionality of constructed tissue. The use of cell spheroids as bioink can enhance the cell-cell interaction and subsequently the growth and differentiation of cells in the 3D printed construct with the minimum amount of other biomaterials. However, the conventional methods of preparing the cell spheroids have several limitations, such as long culture time, low-throughput, and medium modification. In this study, the formation of cell spheroids by SSAW was evaluated both numerically and experimentally in order to overcome the aforementioned limitations. The effects of excitation frequencies on the cell accumulation time, diameter of the formed cell spheroids, and subsequently, the growth and viability of cell spheroids in the culture medium over time were studied. Using the high-frequency (23.8 MHz) excitation, cell accumulation time to the pressure nodes could be reduced in comparison to that of the low-frequency (10.4 MHz) excitation, but in a smaller spheroid size. SSAW excitation at both frequencies does not affect the cell viability up to 7 days, > 90% with no statistical difference compared with the control group. In summary, SSAW can effectively prepare the cell spheroids as bioink for the future 3D bioprinting and various biotechnology applications (e.g., pharmaceutical drug screening and tissue engineering).
Band alignment of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides: Application in tunnel field effect transistors

Tunnel field effect transistors (TFETs) based on vertical stacking of two dimensional materials are of interest for low-power logic devices. The monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) with sizable band gaps show promise in building p-n junctions (couples) for TFET applications. Band alignment information is essential for realizing broken gap junctions with excellent electron tunneling efficiencies. Promising couples composed of monolayer TMDs are suggested to be VIB-MeX2 (Me = W, Mo; X = Te, Se) as the n-type source and IVB-MeX2 (Me = Zr, Hf; X = S, Se) as the p-type drain by density functional theory calculations.
Performance Analysis of the Differential Evolution and Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithms in Cooperative Wireless Communications

In this study, we evaluate the performance of differential evolution (DE) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithms in free-space optical (FSO) and mobile radio communications systems. In particular, we obtain the optimal transmission distances for multiple-relay nodes in FSO communication systems and optimal relay locations in mobile radio communications systems for the cooperative-diversity networks, using both algorithms. We investigate the performance comparison of DE and PSO algorithms for the parallel decode-and-forward (DF) relaying. Then, we analyze the cost functions. Furthermore, we present the execution time and the stability of the DE and PSO algorithms.
Quantification of the uterine involution and dimensions, hormonal response and reproductive performance of pyometric and healthy dairy cows treated with Dinoprost

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of a PGF 2α analogue (Dinoprost) on involution of the puerperal uterus, especially with pyometra during 35 to 45 days postpartum in multiparous high yielding Holstein dairy cows. At days 40 ± 5 postpartum, 1250 cows were ultrasonographically examined. Fifty cows were diagnosed as pyometric. Fifty pyometric and 50 clinically healthy cows were assigned randomly to one of four groups. Groups were: 1. ) Pyometric+Dinoprost cows (PD, n = 25 treated with 25 mg of Dinoprost), 2. ) Pyometric+Saline cows (PS, n = 25 treated with saline), 3. ) Healthy+Dinoprost cows (HD, n = 25 treated with 25 mg of Dinoprost), and 4. ) Healthy+Saline cows (HS, n = 25 treated with saline). All treatments were given intramuscularly. Ultrasonography was performed at the time of examination and 7 days later to evaluate changes in uterine diameter. Treatment with Dinoprost significantly reduced gross uterine diameter in PD in comparison to the PS group in the presence or absence (P4 concentrations <1 ng/ml) of an active corpus luteum. Dinoprost treatment did not decrease gross uterine diameter in groups HD and HS. Luminal diameter was significantly smaller in the PD than in the PS group. Pregnancy rate of PD was greater than PS cows (36% vs 20%, respectively). Days to first service (110 d vs. 140 d) and open days (160 d vs. 190 d) were shorter in PD cows than PS cows. It was concluded that injection of 25 mg of Dinoprost to pyometric cows had uterotonic effects in presence or absence of functional corpus luteum. Therefore, this treatment can help uterine involution in puerperal dairy cows affected by pyometra and consequently improved reproductive performance. Keywords: Cattle, Dinoprost, pregnancy rate, pyometra, uterine health
Dynamics of Colloidal Particles in Soft Matters

We developed numerical methods for studying the dynamics of colloidal particles suspended in complex fluids. It is essential to employ a coarse-grained model for studying slow dynamics of these systems. Our methods are based on the “fluid particle dynamics (FPD)” method, which we have developed to deal with hydrodynamic interactions in colloidal systems in an efficient manner. We regard a solid particle as an undeformable fluid one. It has a viscosity much higher than the solvent, which smoothly changes to the solvent viscosity at the interface. This methods allows us to avoid troublesome boundary conditions to be satisfied on the surfaces of mobile particles. Since we express the spatial distribution of colloids as a continuum field, we can easily introduce the order parameter describing a complex solvent, e.g., ion distribution for charged colloids, director field for nematic liquid crystal, and concentration for phase-separating binary fluid. Then we solve coupled dynamic equations of three relevant parameters, i.e., particle positions, flow field, and the order parameter. We demonstrate a few examples of such simulations.
Chapter 6 Imaging of Colonic and Rectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Thus, its early detection through screening and diagnostic techniques is the key in managing this condition. For this to be possible, it is necessary to know the risk factors and to choose the appropriate screening and diagnostic techniques for each case. Imaging also plays a key role in treatment planning by assessing both local and distance extension of the disease. The aim of this chapter is to make an overview of the currently available imaging techniques for diagnosis of colorectal cancer (ultrasound, computed tomography— CT, magnetic resonance imaging—MRI, and positron emission tomography—PET/ CT), focusing on specific and technical elements, benefits, costs, and limitations of each technique.
The Public Procurement Reforms in Nigeria: Implementation and Compliance Challenges

The public procurement in Nigeria has come to stay. The problem now is not the lack of a regulatory framework but rather that of poor implementation and non-compliance with the reforms laws and regulations. This position paper made used of published data on the extent of implementation and compliance with the Nigerian reforms regulations and those of other developing and developed countries as a basis for drawing conclusion that there has been some significant improvement on the awareness of the existence of the public procurement law but for low level of implementation and compliance. The paper identified factors as media publicity; planning, organisational culture political interference amongst others contributes both positively and negatively to public procurement implementation and compliance. The need to insulate the procurement decisions from political interference and the setting up of the National Council on Public Procurement so as to allow it discharged its legitimate roles against the current trend where the Federal Executive Council and other governmental bodies performing this role are among some of the recommendations proffered by the paper if a successful implementation and compliance with the Nigerian Public Procurement reforms will be realised.
Interaction between Angiotensinergic System and GABAergic System on Thirst in Adult Male Rats

Thirst is a subjective perception that provides the urge for human and animals to drink fluids and it is important for maintaining body fluid homeostasis and may arise from deficits in either intracellular or extracellular fluid volume. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and Angiotensin (Ang) receptors in the brain are involved with thirst, water intake and balance of body liquid. The present study investigated the interaction between Angiotensinergic and GABAergic systems on water intake in adult male rats. Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injections were carried out in all experiments after 24 h deprivation of water intake. After deprivation the volume of consumed water was measured for 1 h. Administration of Losartan (45 μg/rat), Muscimol (0.1 μg/rat) significantly decreased water intake while, i.c. v. microinjection of Bicuculline (1 μg/rat) significantly increased it as compared to Saline-treated controls. I.c. v. microinjection of Muscimol 15 min after Losartan administration decreased water intake significantly, while, i.c. v. microinjection of Bicuculline 15 min after Losartan administration could attenuate increasing effect of Bicuculline on water intake. It is concluded that Angiotensinergic system have interaction with GABAergic system on water intake.
A review of factors influencing milk urea concentration and its relationship with urinary urea excretion in lactating dairy cattle

SUMMARY Milk urea nitrogen (MUN) concentration in dairy cows may serve as an on-farm indicator to guide nutritional strategies and to help reduce emissions of nitrogen (N) to the environment. Excretion of urinary urea nitrogen (UUN) is positively related to MUN, but the relationship is highly variable. The accuracy of MUN as a predictor of UUN may improve when various factors that affect this relationship can be taken into account. The current review discusses the impact of a number of UUN : MUN ratio influencing factors related to: physiological mechanisms in the dairy cow, farm management, differences between individual cows, nutrition and analysis methods for MUN. Factors related to variation in water intake, urine production, dietary protein level, body weight (BW) and time and frequency of feeding and milking are shown to affect MUN and its relationship with UUN. In addition, a number of factors are discussed that are likely to affect this relationship such as biological rhythm, renal reabsorption of urea during periods of protein deficiency and breeding value for MUN. Accounting for these above-mentioned factors in the relationship between MUN and UUN might substantially improve the applicability and accuracy of MUN as a predictor of protein utilization efficiency and UUN.
Thermal adaptation and physiological responses to environmental stress in tunicates

Understanding the multifaceted nature of environmental fluctuations is crucial to predicting the physiological adjustments utilised by organisms in resisting or adapting to changes over time. Here we investigate the effects of 2 environmental stressors on tunicates, whose fitness can have important repercussions on the quality of habitat. Specifically, we report respiration rate (RR), clearance rate (CR), and assimilation efficiency (AE) of the ascidian Styela plicata in response to a range of temperatures and varying food availability. Temperature-dependent RR was observed only within a portion of the thermal window of the species. Significant differences in clearance rates were detected among organisms fed with varying algal concentrations, while no significant influence of food concentrations on AE was observed. This plasticity of the physiological rates and the development of ubiquitous mechanisms such as temperature-insensitive aerobic metabolism suggest a competitive advantage of this group. Such knowledge may allow for more accurate predictions of the physiological and evolutionary mechanisms driving current and future distribution of this species.
A new Potamanaxas(Hesperiidae: Pyrginae: Erynnini), patterned like P. bana, but with sickle-armed genitalia, not chicken claws.

A new species of Potamanaxas is described from West Andes in Colombia. P. serp, sp. nov. is very similar to P. bana E. Bell, 1956 in wing patterns, but differs profoundly in male genitalia, which uniquely characterize it. This pair of superficially close species, one with extended, sickle-shaped cuculli and the other one with very short, vestigial cuculli apparently parallels the relationship in another Potamanaxas pair: P. perornatus Hayward, 1940 (extended) and P. andraemon (Mabille, 1898) (short). Comparative analysis of male genitalia and possible sympatry in Ecuador suggest that P. trigga Evans, 1953 new status, is a distinct biological species and not a subspecies of P. laoma (Hewitson, 1870) as originally proposed. Primary type specimens and their genitalia are illustrated for relevant taxa. Una nueva especie de Potamanaxas se describe para la Cordillera Occidental en Colombia. P. serp, sp. nov. es muy similar a P. bana E. Bell, 1956 en patrones de ala, pero difiere profundamente en los genitales masculinos, que caracterizan de manera unica. Este par de superficialmente especies cercanas, uno con cuculli extendida en forma de hoz y el otro con cuculli vestigial muy corto aparentemente es paralela a la relacion en otro par Potamanaxas: P. perornatus Hayward, 1940 (extendida) y P. andraemon (Mabille, 1898) (corto). Analisis comparativo de los genitales masculinos y posible simpatria en Ecuador indican que P. trigga Evans, 1953 nuevo estatus, es una especie biologica distinta y no una subespecie de P. laoma (Hewitson, 1870) segun la propuesta original. Especimenes tipo primarios y sus genitales estan ilustrados para los taxones relevantes.
Cavitation erosion of the calcium carbonate deposits

The paper presents the research of erosion effects caused by acoustic cavitation on metallic and enamelled specimens coated with calcium carbonate - scale. The deposition of calcium carbonate was performed under controlled laboratory conditions. The deposition took place at the same integral conditions to the specimens of different surface roughness. Cavitation as a cause of erosion was generated in a vessel with ultrasonic excitation. Simultaneously with the monitoring of cavitation above the specimens, the destruction of scale on the surface of specimens was analysed. The results of experiments indicate a characteristic effect of cavitation intensity on the destruction of scale surface layer. The intensity of cavitation erosion is proportional to the voltage on the sonotrode or the intensity of pressure fluctuations, and depends on the roughness of the surface of specimens, on which the scales were deposited.
On the Difficulties of Automatic Speech Recognition for Kindergarten-Aged Children

Automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems for children have lagged behind in performance when compared to adult ASR. The exact problems and evaluation methods for child ASR have not yet been fully investigated. Recent work from the robotics community suggests that ASR for kindergarten speech is especially difﬁcult, even though this age group may beneﬁt most from voice-based educational and diagnostic tools. Our study focused on ASR performance for speciﬁc grade levels (K-10) using a word identiﬁcation task. Grade-speciﬁc ASR systems were evaluated, with particular attention placed on the evaluation of kindergarten-aged children (5-6 years old). Experiments included investigation of grade-speciﬁc interactions with triphone models using feature space maximum likelihood linear regression (fMLLR), vocal tract length normalization (VTLN), and subglottal resonance (SGR) normalization. Our results indicate that kindergarten ASR performs dramatically worse than even 1st grade ASR, likely due to large speech variability at that age. As such, ASR systems may require targeted evaluations on kindergarten speech rather than being evaluated under the guise of “child ASR. ” Additionally, results show that systems trained in matched conditions on kindergarten speech may be less suitable than mismatched-grade training with 1st grade speech. Finally, we analyzed the phonetic errors made by the kindergarten ASR.
The ion-acoustic instability in the pre-flare plasma near the loop footpoints at solar active regions

Abstract. The necessary physical conditions for development of the ion-acoustic instability in the chromospheric part of a flaring loop current circuit are investigated. Two possible scenarios have been studied. First, we consider that pre-flare loop plasma with the large-scale sub-Dreicer electric field has a classical Coulomb conductivity and, second, when anomalous resistance appears due to saturation of Bernstein turbulence. The Fontenla-Avrett-Loeser (FAL) model of the solar atmosphere was used to describe the pre-flare plasma. We have shown that investigated instability can grow and develop either in the presence of the Coulomb conductivity or saturated Bernstein turbulence. We demonstrate that in the case of small-scale instability, the threshold value for the degree of nonisothermality is high and, therefore, cannot be reached by inclusion of the ordinary Joule heating. The ion-acoustic instability can develop at the pre-flare loop footpoints provided the electrons are more than 10 times hotter than the ions there.
Novel high‐throughput screens of Anopheles gambiae odorant receptors reveal candidate behaviour‐modifying chemicals for mosquitoes

Despite many decades of multilateral global efforts, a significant portion of the world population continues to be plagued with one or more mosquito‐vectored diseases. These include malaria and filariasis, as well as numerous arboviral‐associated illnesses, such as dengue and yellow fevers. The dynamics of disease transmission by mosquitoes is complex, and involves both vector competence and vectorial capacity. One area of intensive effort is the study of chemosensory‐driven behaviours in the malaria vector mosquito Anopheles gambiae Giles, the modulation of which is likely to provide opportunities for disease reduction. In this context, recent studies characterize a large divergent family of An. gambiae odorant receptors (AgORs) that play critical roles in olfactory signal transduction. This work facilitates high‐throughput, cell‐based calcium mobilization screens of AgOR‐expressing human embryonic kidney cells identifying a large number of conventional AgOR ligands, as well as the first nonconventional Orco (olfactory receptor co‐receptor) family agonist. As such, ligand‐mediated modulation serves as a proof‐of‐concept demonstration that AgORs represent viable targets for high‐throughput screening and for the eventual development of behaviour‐modifying olfactory compounds. Such attractants or repellents could foster malaria reduction programmes.
Debiasing Knowledge Graphs: Why Female Presidents are not like Female Popes

Bias, may it be in sampling or judgment, is not a new topic. However, with the increasing usage of data and models trained from them in almost all areas of everyday life, the topic rapidly gains relevance to the broad public. Even more, the opportunistic reuse of data (traces) that characterizes today’s data science calls for new ways to understand and mitigate the eﬀects of biases. Here, we discuss biases in the context of Linked Data, ontologies, and reasoning services and point to the need for both technical and social solutions. We believe that debiasing knowledge graphs will become a pressing issue as these graphs enter everyday life rapidly. This is a provocative topic, not only from a technical perspective but because it will force us as a Semantic Web community to discuss whether we want to debias in the ﬁrst place and who gets a say in how to do so?