Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Microbial Growth Rates and Biomass Production in a Marine Sediment: Evidence for a Very Active but Mostly Nongrowing Community

Biomass, nucleic acid synthesis, and specific growth rates of the microbial communities were measured throughout a vertical profile of a coastal marine sediment. The microbial biomass, as determined by ATP concentrations, in the sediment-water interface was over twice that measured in the other horizons of a 10-cm profile. Likewise, biomass carbon production, as determined by DNA synthesis, and the specific growth rate, as determined from the kinetics of [3H]ATP pool labeling, were also elevated at the interface. These results indicate that, due to a large and active community in the interface, the greatest amount of microbial activity, growth, and biosynthesis occurs within the first few millimeters of sediment. These results notwithstanding, a combination of two independent techniques established that over 90% of the sediment-water interface community was not actively growing.
Dual workfunction Ni-Silicide/HfSiON gate stacks by phase-controlled full-silicidation (PC-FUSI) technique for 45nm-node LSTP and LOP devices

We present a new threshold-voltage (Vth) control technique for fully-silicided (FUSI) metal/high-k gate stacks which are suitable for 45nm-node LOP and LSTP CMOS. The key is the phase control of FUSI Ni-silicide by changing Ni film thickness prior to silicidation anneal. As a result, Ni/sub 3/Si and NiSi/sub 2/ are formed whose effective workfunctions (WFs) on HfSiON are found to be 4.8eV and 4.4eV, respectively, being largely displaced from Si-midgap by /spl plusmn/0.2eV. Meanwhile, the dopant segregation method, known to be successful in Vth-control of NiSi on SiO/sub 2/, did not work on HfSiON. With Ni/sub 3/Si-PMOS and NiSi/sub 2/-NMOS transistors, a wide range of Vth-tuning is achieved coping with both LSTP and LOP requirements. At the same time, leakage suppression merit is better than the 45nm-node targets at electrical thickness (Tinv) around 2.0 nm. Also, our phase-controlled fully silicided (PC-FUSI) devices show excellent mobility characteristics.
Effects of Cocoa Antioxidants in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Type 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2D) is the most common form of diabetes and one of the most common chronic diseases. Control of hyperglycaemia by hypoglycaemic drugs is insufficient in for patients and nutritional approaches are currently being explored. Natural dietary compounds such as flavonoids, abundant in fruits and vegetables, have received broad attention because of their potential capacity to act as anti-diabetic agents. Especially cocoa flavonoids have been proved to ameliorate important hallmarks of T2D. In this review, an update of the most relevant reports published during the last decade in cell culture, animal models and human studies is presented. Most results support an anti-diabetic effect of cocoa flavonoids by enhancing insulin secretion, improving insulin sensitivity in peripheral tissues, exerting a lipid-lowering effect and preventing the oxidative and inflammatory damages associated to the disease. While it could be suggested that daily consumption of flavanols from cocoa or dark chocolate would constitute a potential preventive tool useful for the nutritional management of T2D, this recommendation should be cautious since most of commercially available soluble cocoa products or chocolates contain low amount of flavanols and are rich in sugar and calories that may aggravate glycaemic control in T2D patients.
Exploring societal responses towards managerial prerogative in entrepreneurial universities

Society's expectations for an increased role in science agenda setting and greater returns on public science investments shift university management practices. Entrepreneurial university, new public management, and sociology of science literatures inform the changing expectations about the roles and norms that govern university management and scientists' behaviours but scholars have paid limited attention to societal responses when those changing roles and norms are employed. We examine societal responses towards managerial prerogative in managing scientists in public universities. Content analysis of media data from six cases of universities in Denmark and New Zealand demonstrates extended societal engagement regarding organisation-related topics, a division of opinion regarding managerial prerogative towards sanction of scientists' behaviours, and constrained ability of employers and employees to engage in public debate due to employment law issues. Implications for researchers and university managers engaging with society and the role of communication competencies to achieve the third mission are discussed.
Dual frequency reconfigurable microstrip antenna using varactor diodes

A varactor controlled electronically reconfigurable dual frequency microstrip antenna is presented. Dual frequency operation is realized by embedding an X-slot in a rectangular patch. High tuning ranges of 26.3% and 15.3% are realized for the two resonant frequencies respectively, when the bias voltage is varied from 0 to 16V. This design has an added advantage of size reduction up to 77% and 64% for the two resonant frequencies compared to standard rectangular patch. A maximum band width of 2.26% and 2.36% for the two frequencies with an operating frequency ratio varying in the range 1.156 to 1.279 is observed.
Diet of sympatric pine marten (Martes martes) and stone marten (Martes foina) identified by genotyping of DNA from faeces

Martes martes and Martes foina occur sympatrically in most of Europe. Little is known about differences between trophic niches of these species, because martens are difficult to observe and it is impossible to distinguish between scats of both species based on their morphological features. To resolve this problem, we used DNA extracted from faeces for species identification. This method allowed us to compare the diet of the two species in the area of their sympatric occurrence in central Poland. We analysed the composition of 287 scats of stone martens and 155 of pine martens. Both species fed mainly on small rodents, birds and fruits. Although the trophic niches of both martens highly overlapped, we found significant quantitative differences in their food composition. Pine martens fed more frequently on rodents and birds, and stone martens on fruits and insects. These differences were also visible in the seasonal perspective. Although both martens exploited the same forest habitat, genetic identification of faeces allowed us to indicate significant differences in the diet of these closely related species. © Finnish Zoological and Botanical Publishing Board 2007.
Long standing heart disease should be better screened

EDITOR—The audit by Irving et al in Scotland in 1997 showed that management of cholesterol concentration was performed less optimally than the treatment of other risk factors in secondary prevention of coronary heart disease.1 Those who had had coronary bypass operations before 1994—before the Scandinavian simvastatin survival study2—were much less likely to receive treatment. Our experience in the Helsinki area in 1998 was similar.3 Patients whose coronary heart disease had been diagnosed …
Early Numeracy Intervention Program for First-Grade Students with Mathematics Difficulties

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of an early numeracy preventative Tier 2 intervention on the mathematics performance of first-grade students with mathematics difficulties. Researchers used a pretest-posttest control group design with randomized assignment of 139 students to the Tier 2 treatment condition and 65 students to the comparison condition. Systematic instruction, visual representations of mathematical concepts, purposeful and meaningful practice opportunities, and frequent progress monitoring were used to develop understanding in early numeracy skills and concepts. Researchers used progress-monitoring measures and a standardized assessment measure to test the effects of the intervention. Findings showed that students in the treatment group outperformed students in the comparison group on the progress-monitoring measures of mathematics performance and the measures that focused on whole-number computation. There were no differences between groups on the problem-solving measures.
Symmetry, outliers, and geodesics in coronary artery centerline reconstruction from rotational angiography

Purpose: The performance of many state‐of‐the‐art coronary artery centerline reconstruction algorithms in rotational angiography heavily depends on accurate two‐dimensional centerline information that, in practice, is not available due to segmentation errors. To alleviate the need for correct segmentations, we propose generic extensions to symbolic centerline reconstruction algorithms that target symmetrization, outlier rejection, and topology recovery on asymmetrically reconstructed point clouds. Methods: Epipolar geometry‐ and graph cut‐based reconstruction algorithms are used to reconstruct three‐dimensional point clouds from centerlines in reference views. These clouds are input to the proposed methods that consist of (a) merging of asymmetric reconstructions, (b) removal of inconsistent three‐dimensional points using the reprojection error, and (c) projection domain‐informed geodesic computation. We validate our extensions in a numerical phantom study and on two clinical datasets. Results: In the phantom study, the overlap measure between the reconstructed point clouds and the three‐dimensional ground truth increased from 68.4 ± 9.6% to 85.9 ± 3.3% when the proposed extensions were applied. In addition, the averaged mean and maximum reprojection error decreased from 4.32 ± 3.03 mm to 0.189 ± 0.182 mm and from 8.39 ± 6.08 mm to 0.392 ± 0.434 mm. For the clinical data, the mean and maximum reprojection error improved from 1.73 ± 0.97 mm to 0.882 ± 0.428 mm and from 3.83 ± 1.87 mm to 1.48 ± 0.61 mm, respectively. Conclusions: The application of the proposed extensions yielded superior reconstruction quality in all cases and effectively removed erroneously reconstructed points. Future work will investigate possibilities to integrate parts of the proposed extensions directly into reconstruction.
Risk factors for postoperative deep infection in bone tumors

Background Postoperative deep infection after bone tumor surgery remains a serious complication. Although there are numerous reports about risk factors for postoperative deep infection in general surgery, there is only a small number of reports about those for bone tumor surgery. This retrospective study aimed to identify risk factors for postoperative deep infection after bone tumor resection. Methods We reviewed data of 681 patients (844 bone tumors) who underwent surgery. Associations between variables, including age, recurrent tumor, pathological fracture, surgical site (pelvis/other), chemotherapy, biological reconstruction, augmentation of artificial bone or bone cement, the use of an implant, intraoperative blood loss, operative time, additional surgery for complications, and postoperative deep infection were evaluated. Results The rate of postoperative deep infection was 3.2% (27/844 tumors). A pelvic tumor (odds ratio [OR]: 3.4, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.0–11.3) and use of an implant (OR: 9.3, 95% CI: 1.9–45.5) were associated with an increased risk of deep infection. Conclusions This retrospective study showed that pelvic tumor and use of an implant were independent risk factors for deep infection. This information will help surgeons prepare an adequate surgical plan for patients with bone tumors.
Cancer survivorship research among ethnic minority and medically underserved groups.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To review the current state of knowledge about the impact of cancer on ethnoculturally diverse and medically underserved survivors. DATA SOURCES MEDLINE, CancerLit, and Psychlit searches from 1966-present were conducted to locate articles about survivorship outcomes among minority and underserved populations. DATA SYNTHESIS 65 articles were identified and grouped into one of four content areas: physiologic; psychosocial; health services, patterns of care, and quality of care; and health-promoting behaviors and lifestyles. CONCLUSIONS Despite limited information, researchers found a consistent theme: the need to recognize and address the socioeconomic and cultural variables that affect adaptation to and survival from cancer among diverse groups of survivors. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING The researchers found specific variations in risk for, response to, and recovery from cancer that provide direction for changes in nursing practice that may reduce the burden of cancer in these often vulnerable populations.
Chelated minerals for poultry

Organic minerals have been subject of an increasing number of investigations recently. These compounds can be considered the most significant event regarding commercial forms of minerals targeting animal supplementation in the last decades. Minerals, especially metals, are usually supplemented in poultry feeds using cheap saline sources and have never required a lot of attention in terms of quality. On the other hand, definitions of organic minerals are very broad and frequently lead to confusion when decision-making becomes necessary. Organic minerals include any mineral bound to organic compounds, regardless of the type of existing bond between mineral and organic molecules. Proteins and carbohydrates are the most frequent candidates in organic mineral combinations. Organic fraction size and bond type are not limitations in organic mineral definition; however, essential metals (Cu, Fe, Zn, and Mn) can form coordinated bonds, which are stable in intestinal lumen. Metals bound to organic ligands by coordinated bonds can dissociate within animal metabolism whereas real covalent bonds cannot. Chelated minerals are molecules that have a metal bound to an organic ligand through coordinated bonds; but many organic minerals are not chelates or are not even bound through coordinated bonds. Utilization of organic minerals is largely dependent on the ligand; therefore, amino acids and other small molecules with facilitated access to the enterocyte are supposed to be better utilized by animals. Organic minerals with ligands presenting long chains may require digestion prior to absorption. After absorption, organic minerals may present physiological effects, which improve specific metabolic responses, such as the immune response. Many studies have demonstrated the benefits of metal-amino acid chelates on animal metabolism, but the detection positive effects on live performance is less consistent.
Recalage de structures tridimensionnelles à partir d'acquisitions stéréo-radiographiques basse dose. Application à l'estimation de mouvements humains. (Registration of 3D structures based on low-dose stereo-radiographic acquisitions - Application to the estimation of human movements)

Les maladies osteoarticulaires constituent une part importante des pathologies qui touchent l'appareil locomoteur humain et elles ont un impact majeur quant a l'individu et a la societe. Dans ce cadre les etudes cinematiques presentent un outil permettant aux cliniciens une evaluation de l'etat des articulations. Ces etudes passent par une estimation du mouvement des structures osseuses. Plusieurs approches sont actuellement utilisees dans cet objectif : passant par le suivi de marqueurs externes (fixes sur la peau), internes (fixes sur les os), la palpation, et le recalage d'images medicales (radiographies, CT, IRM). Cette derniere approche a ete retenue en proposant un recalage 2D 3D pour l'estimation des positions des structures osseuses. Dans une premiere partie, on tire profit de la particularite d'une nouvelle modalite radiologique bi-planes basse dose (EOS) pour proposer une methode originale et particulierement bien adaptee et qui utilise le theoreme classique de la coupe centrale de Fourier. Pour cela, dans un premier temps, au travers d'un etat de l'art des approches classiques de l'estimation de mouvements, nous realisons une classification originale multi criteres (invasivite, precision, genericite) afin de bien situer les apports de cette nouvelle modalite. Dans un deuxieme temps, nous proposons une alternative au schema classique de recalage 2D 3D qui presente plusieurs avantages. Le recalage effectue dans le domaine frequentiel etablit un lien elegant entre les donnees 2D et 3D ce qui permet d'eviter la simulation des radiographies. La recherche des deux composantes du mouvement rigide, rotation et translation, est effectuee d'une maniere sequentielle. D'abord, la rotation est determinee par une optimisation iterative d'une metrique dependant des modules des donnees. La translation se deduit, alors, directement en utilisant les phases. Une deuxieme partie est consacre a la mise en oeuvre pratique de la methode et a l'evaluation de l'implementation sur des donnees de plus en plus complexes allant des donnees synthetiques, des fantomes puis des donnees EOS reelles composees de radiographies frontales et sagittales et d'une seule reconstruction 3D. Ceci permet de valider la methode dans des conditions reelles d'acquisition. L'application de notre methode de recalage pour l'estimation de mouvement de differentes structures : femur, tibia, protheses de genou et de hanche, nous a permis d'illustrer la genericite de l'approche proposee.
Commentary: Priming of alloreactive T cells – where does it happen?

Host lymphocytes can recognize alloantigens directly on transplanted donor tissue or indirectly after these antigens are processed and presented on host APC. Here, we outline the features of alloresponses that distinguish them from responses to conventional antigens, then we discuss various study systems that have examined where the priming of alloreactive CD4+ and CD8+ T cells occurs. Finally, we discuss the implications of recent data which suggest that direct responses originate in the graft itself whereas indirect responses are initiated in the draining lymph nodes.
What is the octave of a harmonically rich note

A sound composed of the harmonics of 131 Hz produces the note C3 with abuzzy timbre if the components have equal amplitude and are in cosine phase. Notes with the same tone chroma and a tone height between C3 and C4 can be produced by 1) attenuating the lower harmonics of the sound, 2) attenuating the odd harmonics, or 3) shifting the phase of the odd harmonics. The effects of the manipulations were measured in an octave experiment: a note was chosen at random and used to play a brief melody on the notes around C; the octave varied from C1 to C6 and the listeners judged the octave of each melody on a scale from C0 to C7. The results show that waves with the same period can lead to average octave judgements that differ consistently by more than half an octave, and that a substantial component of many timbre differences (e.g. that between a piano and a harpsichord) is actually a tone-height difference. The effects of manipulations 2) and 3) are difficult to explain with traditional hearing theories because .
Fine Mapping of a Grain-Weight Quantitative Trait Locus in the Pericentromeric Region of Rice Chromosome 3

As the basis for fine mapping of a grain-weight QTL, gw3.1, a set of near isogenic lines (NILs), was developed from an Oryza sativa, cv. Jefferson × O. rufipogon (IRGC105491) population based on five generations of backcrossing and seven generations of selfing. Despite the use of an interspecific cross for mapping and the pericentromeric location of the QTL, we observed no suppression of recombination and have been able to narrow down the location of the gene underlying this QTL to a 93.8-kb region. The locus was associated with transgressive variation for grain size and grain weight in this population and features prominently in many other inter- and intraspecific crosses of rice. The phenotype was difficult to evaluate due to the large amount of variance in size and weight among grains on a panicle and between grains on primary and secondary panicles, underscoring the value of using multiple approaches to phenotyping, including extreme sampling and NIL group-mean comparisons. The fact that a QTL for kernel size has also been identified in a homeologous region of maize chromosome 1 suggests that this locus, in which the dominant O. rufipogon allele confers small seed size, may be associated with domestication in cereals.
Automatic and reliable estimation of glottal closure instant and period

The authors present an automatic and reliable algorithm for determining glottal closure instant (GCI). As a byproduct, nonstationary fundamental period estimation is achieved. The computation includes twelve-pole speech linear-prediction analysis, cross correlation, and both direct and inverse fast Fourier transforms (or a convolution). Maximum-likelihood epoch determination is used as the basis for locating GCIs, and the Hilbert transformation is applied to improve performance and reliability. A description of the system and the voiced/unvoiced/mixed (V/UV/M) decision procedure is given. The results show that the algorithm works in noise-free, noisy, and very noisy signals for vowels as well as for voiced constants. The proposed pitch estimation only needs a very short frame length and gives accurate results at voice onset. >
RmPerm: A Tool for Android Permissions Removal

Android apps are generally over-privileged, i.e., they request more permissions than they actually need to execute properly. Prior to version 6 users can install an app only by accepting all its requested permissions, while newer Android versions allow users to dynamically grant/deny groupsof permissions. Since some them impact on users’ privacy, we argue that users should be granted control at the granularity of the single permission. We propose a novel approach, which does not require any change to the underlying OS, allowing users to selectively remove permissions from apps before installing them, and with a finer granularity. We developed RmPerm, an open-source tool, that implements our methodology, and we present the viability of our approach via an empirical assessment on 81K apps, underlining that, in the worst case, up to 86% of the apps can execute without crashing when no e of the requested privacy-related permissions are granted.
Antibiotic Prophylaxis in Cesarean Section

Several controversies exist regarding the use of antibiotic prophylaxis in cesarean section. Studies have investigated effectiveness, choice of drug, timing, duration appropriate route of administration. Efficacy of antibiotic prophylaxis in preventing postoperative endometritis in certain high-risk patients has been well documented. Factors identifying patients at high risk for endometritis include: indigent socioeconomic status, labor prior to cesarean section, rupture of chorioamniotic membranes number of vaginal examinations. Although many different antibiotics have been tested, no particular regimen has been found to be superior. Administration of antibiotics after cord clamping reduces the risk of fetal exposure without compromising maternal risk of endometritis. A single dose of ampicillin or a first-generation cephalosporin (e.g., cefazolin or cephalothin sodium) given intravenously provides adequate prophylaxis. No additional benefit has been demonstrated with the use of multiple-dose regimens.