Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Seasonal Change in Bacterial Flora and Biomass in Mountain Snow from the Tateyama Mountains, Japan, Analyzed by 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing and Real-Time PCR

ABSTRACT The bacterial flora and biomass in mountain snow from the Tateyama Mountains, Toyama Prefecture, Japan, one of the heaviest snowfall regions in the world, were analyzed by amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis followed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and DNA quantification by real-time PCR. Samples of surface snow collected in various months during the melting season contained a psychrophilic bacterium, Cryobacterium psychrophilum, and two psychrotrophic bacteria, Variovorax paradoxus and Janthinobacterium lividum. Bacterial colonies that developed in an in situ meltwater medium at 4°C were revealed to be V. paradoxus. The biomasses of C. psychrophilum, J. lividum, and V. paradoxus, as estimated by real-time PCR, showed large increases during the melting season from March to October (2.0 × 105-fold, 1.5 × 105-fold, and 1.0 × 104-fold increases, respectively), suggesting their rapid growth in the surface snow. The biomasses of C. psychrophilum and J. lividum increased significantly from March to April, reached a maximum in August, and dropped at the end of the melting season. In contrast, the biomass of V. paradoxus did not increase as rapidly during the early melting season but continued to increase from June until October. The differences in development observed among these bacterial species suggest that their growth was promoted by different nutrients and/or environmental conditions in the snow. Since these three types of bacteria have also been reported to be present in a glacier in Antarctica and a Greenland ice core, they seem to be specialized members of the snow biota that are distributed in snow and ice environments in various parts of the world.
Neuropsychological impairment in candidates for cardiac surgery

The preoperative cognitive test performance of 77 candidates for elective open-heart surgery that did not suffer from carotid artery stenosis, was compared with the performance of 37 normal controls. Multivariate analysis of variance, with state anxiety score and depression score as covariates, showed a significantly reduced cognitive performance in the surgical candidates. Post hoc analyses using univariate F tests revealed a significantly impaired word fluency, manual dexterity, verbal learning, and psychomotor speed. A stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that, besides the usual demographic factors, preoperative variables indicating a more precarious heart function also contributed significantly to the estimation of the proportion of variance of the results on several impaired cognitive tests. Future research should focus on the etiology of the cognitive impairment in cardiovascular disease. (JINS, 1997, 3, 480–484.)
Contribution à l'intégration des machines à vecteurs de support au sein des systèmes de reconnaisance de formes : application à la lecture automatique de l'écriture manuscrite

Durant ces dernieres annees, les machines a vecteurs de support (SVM) ont demontre maintes reprises leur superiorite en termes de generalisation. L'objectif de cette these de doctorat a alors consiste a isoler les principaux problemes lies a l'integration des SVM au sein de systemes de reconnaissance de formes et notamment des systemes de lecture automatique de l'ecriture manuscrite et a y apporter des elements de reponse. Nous nous sommes ainsi interesses a la resolution de problemes multi-classes, a l'estimation de probabilites a posteriori d'appartenance aux differentes classes, a l'acceleration de la prise de decision et enfin a la combinaison avec une approche de classification agissant par modelisation de maniere a pouvoir traiter efficacement a la fois les donnees ambigues et les donnees aberrantes.
Boredom-proneness, loneliness, social engagement and depression and their association with cognitive function in older people: A population study

In this study, we use data from a population survey of persons aged 65 and over living in the Irish Republic to examine the relationship of cognitive impairment, assessed using the Abbreviated Mental Test, with loneliness, boredom-proneness, social relations, and depression. Participants were randomly selected community-dwelling Irish people aged 65+ years. An Abbreviated Mental Test score of 8 or 9 out of 10 was classified as ‘low normal’, and a score of less than 8 as ‘possible cognitive impairment’. We used clustering around latent variables analysis (CLV) to identify families of variables associated with reduced cognitive function. The overall prevalence of possible cognitive impairment was 14.7% (95% CI 12.4–17.3%). Low normal scores had a prevalence of 30.5% (95% CI 27.2–33.7%). CLV analysis identified three groups of predictors: ‘Low social support’ (widowed, living alone, low social support), ‘personal cognitive reserve’ (low social activity, no leisure exercise, never having married, loneliness and boredom-proneness), and ‘sociodemographic cognitive reserve’ (primary education, rural domicile). In multivariate analysis, both cognitive reserve clusters, but not social support, were independently associated with cognitive function. Loneliness and boredom-proneness are associated with reduced cognitive function in older age, and cluster with other factors associated with cognitive reserve. Both may have a common underlying mechanism in the failure to select and maintain attention on particular features of the social environment (loneliness) or the non-social environment (boredom-proneness).
The influence of good corporate governance and profitability on corporate social responsibility disclosure (empirical study on mining companiees listed in indonesia stock exchange period 2013 - 2015)

The purpose of this research is to analyse the influence of Good Corporate Governance (GCG) and profitability on Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure (CSRD). The ratio of good corporate governance through proxied on Institutional Ownership and Managerial Ownership while Profitability through proxied on Return on Assets (ROA). The research was conducted an examination of the influence of GCG and profitability tighter as the independent variable against the CSRD as dependent variable Samples of this research is the annual reports of mining companies that actually enrolled in Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) on a period 2013 2015. In the sample were selected in uses the method of purposive sampling and obtained 45 mining companies that already meet the criteria sample. The data were analyzed using a method of multiple regression. The result of this research found the influence of GCG and profitability through as Institutional Ownership, Managerial Ownership, and ROA against the CSRD. Institutional Ownership and ROA has not been affecting the CSRD, while the possession of Managerial Ownership had an influence on the CSRD.
Involvement of plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid in indoleacetic acid synthesis in Pseudomonas savastanoi

Olive (or oleander) knot is a plant disease incited by Pseudomonas savastanoi. Disease symptoms consist of tumorous outgrowths induced in the plant by bacterial production of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). Synthesis of IAA occurs by the following reactions: L-tryptophan leads to indoleacetamide leads to indoleacetic acid, catalyzed by tryptophan 2-monooxygenase and indoleacetamide hydrolase, respectively. Whereas the enzymology of IAA synthesis is well characterized, nothing is known about the genetics of the system. We devised a positive selection for the presence of tryptophan 2-monooxygenase based on its capacity to use as a substrate the toxic tryptophan analogue 5-methyltryptophan. Efficient curing of the bacterium of tryptophan 2-monoxygenase, indoleacetamide hydrolase, and IAA production was obtained by acridine orange treatment. Further, loss of capacity to produce IAA by curing was correlated with loss of a plasmid of 34 X 10(6) molecular weight. This plasmid, here called pIAA1, when reintroduced into Iaa- mutants by transformation, restored tryptophan 2-monooxygenase and indoleacetamide hydrolase activities and production of IAA.
Torque density improvement of permanent-magnet vernier machines for hybrid electric vehicle

In this paper, a novel method is presented to improve the torque density of pole-splitting permanent-magnet vernier machines (PSPMV), which has been proposed to meet the demands of hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) drive system. The interspace between the flux-modulation poles (FMP) deserves to be exploited for producing extra torque by embedding additional windings. Non-overlapping windings are adopted to achieve such objective. Two types of arrangement are employed in this article, and then their operating principles and efficacy are compared. By using the time-stepping finite element method (TS-FEM), the performance of this improvement is verified quantitatively.
Short-term electricity load forecasting for the integrated single electricity market (I-SEM)

The electricity market structure in Ireland is being reconstructed in order to meet with the requirements of the EU Third Energy Package. The forthcoming Integrated-Single Electricity Market (I-SEM) differs from the current market structure in many ways. However this research addresses the issue of balance responsibility under the I-SEM. Given the volatility of prices in the Balancing market, observed in similarly-structured markets around the world, Irish supply companies need to be able to accurately forecast their customers' load in the Day-Ahead market in order to manage risk in the Balancing market. This paper presents a means for suppliers to implement short-term load forecasting (STLF) of electricity. A Neural Network model is used as well as a Double Seasonal Exponential Smoothing variation of the Holt-Winters method. Data from the Irish market was used to forecast a supply company's load as well as the national load, using these methods. Measured by MAPE (mean absolute percentage error), both methods produced positive results of below 3%. It is envisaged that with these results, a supply company operating in the Irish market should be able to apply these forecasting methods to their historical customer data to submit modestly accurate bids, with the intention of securing their position in the Day-Ahead market and reducing the potential of any financial implications accruing in the Balancing market.
Monitoring and Evaluation of Terni (Central Italy) Air Quality through Spatially Resolved Analyses

A study of spatial variability of PM10 elemental components was conducted in Terni city (Central Italy), situated in an intramountain depression characterized by the presence of several particulate matter emission sources. The meteorological conditions of the Terni basin limit the dispersion and enhance the accumulation of atmospheric pollutants. Thanks to the utilization of new smart samplers, used for the first time and working in parallel at 23 sampling sites, spatially resolved data were obtained. Localizations of the samplers were chosen in order to evaluate the impact of different local PM10 sources. Chemical composition of the samples was determined in combination with a chemical fractioning procedure that allowed us to discriminate water-soluble and residual fractions of analyzed elements in which proved to be a valuable approach for increasing selectivity of elements as source tracers. Spatial variability of elements underlined the contribution of local emission sources and the different dispersion capacity of each element. The city of Terni resulted to be an ideal area to test and validate a new experimental method for the acquisition of spatially resolved data providing the possibility to properly evaluate the spatial variability of PM10 and its chemical components.
The Asian Nitrogen Cycle Case Study

Abstract We analyzed nitrogen budgets at national and regional levels on a timeline from 1961–2030 using a model, IAP-N 1.0. The model was designed based upon the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) methods using Asia-specific parameters and a Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) database. In this paper we discuss new reactive-nitrogen and its various fates, and environmental nitrogen enrichment and its driving forces. The anthropogenic reactive nitrogen of Asia dramatically increased from ∼ 14.4 Tg N yr−1 in 1961 to ∼ 67.7 Tg N yr−1 in 2000 and is likely to be 105.3 Tg N yr−1 by 2030. Most of the anthropogenic reactive-nitrogen has accumulated in the environment. We found that an increasing demand for food and energy supplies and the lack of effective measures to improve the efficiency of fertilizer nitrogen use, as well as effective measures for the prevention of NOx emissions from fossil-fuel combustion, are the principal drivers behind the environmental nitrogen-enrichment problem. This problem may be finally solved by substituting synthetic nitrogen fertilizers with new high-efficiency nitrogen sources, but solutions are dependent on advances in biological technology.
3D human pose tracking using Gaussian process regression and particle filter applied to gait analysis of Parkinson's disease patients

In this paper, we present a method to combine a Gaussian Process regression and a particle filter to track the 3D human pose in video sequences. We first build the probabilistic discriminative model that maps the silhouette descriptor to multiple 3D human poses using a Gaussian Process regression. The multimodal output distribution from the Gaussian Process regression are combined with the particle filter to track the 3D human pose in each frame of the video sequence. The predictions from the discriminative model are used to generate the hypothesis space for the particle filter and to initialize the tracking. We evaluate our approach on the HumanEva-I dataset and on the video sequences of Parkinson's patients. The evaluation results show that our approach does not require initialization and successfully tracks the 3D human pose over long video sequences.
Transnasal Endoscopic Repair of Cranionasal Fistulae: A Refined Technique With Long‐term Follow‐up

Although the management of cranionasal fistulae has historically plagued otolaryngologists, recent reports of endoscopic techniques for repair of these lesions offer promising results. We present our series of 42 patients whose cranionasal fistulae were managed endoscopically between December 1989 and August 1995. Follow‐up ranged from 5 to 68 months, thereby including long‐term results from our previously reported series of 29 cases. Resolution of cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea was achieved in 35 (83.3%) of 42 patients with one endoscopic procedure, and 3 patients had successful closure at a second surgery. All five cephaloceles were successfully treated with one procedure. We have refined our technique to include specific indications for the use of free grafts depending on the location and size of the cranionasal fistula.
Dual time point 18F-FDG PET imaging for differentiating malignant from inflammatory processes.

UNLABELLED The aim of this study was to investigate the difference in the rates of FDG uptake between malignant and inflammatory cells and processes. METHODS IN VITRO STUDIES (18)F-FDG uptake by different tumor cell lines (human mesothelioma [REN]; rat mesothelioma [II45]; mice melanoma [B18F10]; mice mesothelioma [AB12]; human myeloma [GM1500]; and human ovarian cancer [SKOV3]) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from 8 healthy human volunteers was measured 20 and 60 min after FDG was added into growth medium. Animal studies: II45 cells were implanted into the left flank of rats (n = 5) and a focal inflammatory reaction (mechanical irritation) was generated in the right flank. PET images at 45 and 90 min after injection of FDG were obtained and standardized uptake values (SUVs) were determined. Patient studies: Seventy-six patients who had dual time FDG PET scans were retrospectively analyzed. All results were expressed as the percentage change in SUV of the later time image from that of the earlier time (mean +/- SD). RESULTS IN VITRO STUDIES Except for the SKOV3 cell line, which had only minimally increased FDG uptake (+10% +/- 26%; P > 0.3), all other tumor cell lines tested showed significantly increased FDG uptake over time (GM1500, +59% +/- 19%; B18F10, +81% +/- 15%; AB12, 93% +/- 21%; II45, +161% +/- 21%; REN, +198% +/- 48%; P < 0.01 for all). By contrast, FDG uptake in mononuclear cells was decreased in 7 of 8 donors. Animal studies: SUVs of tumors from 90-min images were significantly higher than those from 45-min images (+18% +/- 8%; P < 0.01), whereas the SUVs of inflammatory lesions decreased over time (-17% +/- 13% of the early images; P < 0.05). CLINICAL STUDIES The SUVs of delayed images from the known malignant lesions compared with those of earlier scans increased over time (+19.18% +/- 9.58%; n = 31; P < 0.001; 95% confidence interval, 15.8%-22.6%). By contrast, the SUVs of benign lung nodules decreased slightly over time (-6.3% +/- 8.1%; n = 12; P < 0.05; 95% confidence interval, -10.9% to -1.7%). The SUV of inflammatory lesions caused by radiation therapy (+1.16% +/- 7.23%; n = 8; P > 0.05; 95% confidence interval, -3.9%-6.2%) and the lesions of painful lower limb prostheses (+4.03% +/- 11.32%; n = 25; P > 0.05; 95% confidence interval, -0.4%-8.5%) remained stable over time. CONCLUSION These preliminary data show that dual time imaging appears to be useful in distinguishing malignant from benign lesions. Further research is necessary to confirm these results.
Burden, Rewards, and Coping—The Ups and Downs of Caregivers of People With Mental Illness

Abstract Besides burden, we need to examine potential rewards of caregiving and coping strategies to determine effective means of supporting caregivers of people with mental illness. Therefore, we conducted semistructured interviews with 60 caregivers of patients with mental illness and analyzed the transcripts with a summarizing content analysis. The interviews focused on negative and positive aspects of providing care and on coping strategies; the latter was also evaluated with the Freiburg Questionnaire on Coping with Illness. The caregivers named 787 individual statements of burden and 413 individual statements of rewards. A factor analysis of the rewards identified growth in character as the main factor. The items with the highest factor loading are increase in self-confidence, inner strength, maturity, and life experience. Linear regression and regression tree analysis identified predictors for caregiver burden. To effectively reduce the burden on caregivers, we need knowledge about their concrete burdens. However, to optimize resource orientation, we must also pay much more attention to the potential rewards of caring.
Application of blockchain technologies for secure information management

In this paper will be presented new opportunities for developing innovative solutions based on blockchain technologies in creation of new data management algorithms, especially those focused on the distribution and processing of data in layered structures, where independent instances can fully control and verify all operations. Later an attempt will be made to generalize protocols, which will be proposed for management activities, towards their extension and the possibility of using them in hierarchical structures. Blockchain technology should enable the development of decentralized management protocols that will allow complete verifiability of all operations by all authorized parties that can collect, process and transmit such information. In practice such protocols will give the opportunity to create an effective and secure data sharing protocols in structures, where all authorized entities are equal and can independently verify the type of operations and instances that process such data.
PRODUCT TELEOSEMANTICS : THE NEXT STAGE IN THE EVOLUTION OF PRODUCT SEMANTICS

Back in the early ‘90s the term ‘Product Semantics’ coined by Klaus Krippendorf and Reinhart Butter helped to define the meaning of information transferred by product designers through product forms. They state that the mantra of product semantics is not “form follows function” but rather “form follows meaning” and that designers are part of a two-part equation of designer and user. One of the obvious problems with Product Semantics theory is that there can never be a truly one-to-one direct translation from the designer’s intended meanings and the meanings interpreted by users. The term ‘teleosemantics’ comes from information theories in genetic research. Teleosemantic theory generally serves as a means to elucidate an involvement relationship between organisms and their environments. This paper proposes the argument that the process of designing is ‘teleosemantic’ by nature paralleling teleosemantic theories of DNA as information systems and that the inner workings within the gene parallels the relationship between designers and users. When looking at product design through a Product
Molecular aspects of tumor cell invasion and metastasis

Invasion and metastasis are the greatest obstacles to successful tumor treatment. Although advances have been made in conventional tumor therapies and surgical techniques, most cancer deaths still result from metastatic disease. Our lack of understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in tumor cell invasion and metastasis has hindered the development of effective antimetastatic therapies; however, recent discoveries in this field are leading to potential therapeutic strategies. The process of metastasis is now believed to begin early in the growth of the primary tumor. '-3 However, the genetic changes that result in uncontrolled proliferation associated with tumorigenesis do not, by themselves, produce the metastatic phenotype. The acquisition of this trait may require additional genetic changes beyond those related to tumor growth. As in growth control, these changes may involve the addition of positive modulators (oncogenes) or the loss of negative effectors (tumor growth suppressors and invasion and metastasis suppressors). The transition from in situ tumor growth to metastatic disease is defined by the ability of the tumor cells of the primary site to invade local tissues and to cross tissue barriers. To initiate the metastatic process, carcinoma cells must first penetrate the epithelial basement membrane and then invade the interstitial stroma. Loss of epithelial basement membranes is a hallmark of invasion. Traversal of basement membranes may require active proteolysis of this dense matrix of type IV collagen, glycoproteins, and proteoglycans. For distant metastases, intravasation requires tumor cell invasion of the subendothelial basement membrane that must also be negotiated during tumor cell extravasation at the secondary site. The development of malignancy is also as-
Location, Location, Location

In this article, the accuracy estimation of radio location techniques throughout ray-tracing-based propagation models has been discussed. Assuming as a reference scenario a 16-building Manhattan environment, some numerical results for 2-D location accuracy of some location techniques have been presented and discussed. It has clearly been shown that a site-specific simulation tool can easily account for NLOS conditions and multipath effects. Moreover, other error sources, such as thermal noise and measurement uncertainties, can be introduced if their statistics are known a priori. Therefore, validation and improvement of existing mobile location and tracking techniques, as well as the deployment of new and more accurate algorithms, can resort to deterministic propagation tools as a viable alternative to expensive field trials or approximate stochastic models.