Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Seasonal variations in the fatty acid profile of milk from yaks grazing on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau

An experiment was conducted to study the seasonal changes in the fatty acid profile of milk from yaks (Bos grunniens) when kept at altitudes of 3000 m above sea level (a.s.l.) and higher. Data and samples were collected in summer (July), autumn (September), winter (November) and spring (March) from ten lactating yaks (four in spring). The yaks grazed pastures adjacent to the farm building throughout the year. In spring only they received 0·6 kg crop by-products per day (dry matter basis). Fresh alpine grasses, available in summer and autumn, showed high concentrations of α-linolenic acid (46–51 g/100 g lipids) compared with the dry, yellow vegetation of winter and spring (16 g/100 g lipids). In autumn and summer, the milk fat had higher concentrations of polyunsaturated fatty acids than in winter. These polyunsaturated fatty acids were comprised of vaccenic acid, rumenic acid and α-linolenic acid, which are all considered beneficial to human health. The rare fatty acid, γ-linolenic acid, was also detected in yak milk, especially in the milk obtained in spring. The results suggest that yak milk, which is the most important basic food of the Tibetan herders, has the most favourable fatty acid profile when yaks grazed green pasture, which also corresponds to the period of highest milk production.
Degree of anticoagulation, but not warfarin use itself, predicts adverse outcomes after traumatic brain injury in elderly trauma patients.

BACKGROUND The relationship between preinjury warfarin use and outcomes after traumatic brain injury in elderly trauma patients remains controversial. We hypothesized that, among elderly warfarin users, the degree of anticoagulation, rather than warfarin therapy itself, would predict the severity of traumatic brain injury. METHODS Retrospective study (2004-2006) of all elderly trauma patients (age >/=65 years) who were evaluated by the trauma service at a Level I trauma center and underwent computed tomography of the head for suspicion of an intracranial injury was performed. Three cohorts were grouped: (1) warfarin users with an admission International Normalized Ratio >/=2 (therapeutic group), (2) warfarin users with an admission International Normalized Ratio <2 (nontherapeutic group), and (3) warfarin nonusers. Main outcome variables were presenting with a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score </=13 points, intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), overall mortality, and mortality after ICH. RESULTS A total of 225 trauma patients were studied, including 40 warfarin users (17.3%), of whom 22 (55.0%) were in the therapeutic group. Age, gender, and mechanism of injury were similar among groups. Likelihood of Glasgow Coma Scale score </=13 (odds ratio [OR] = 5.13, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.97-13.39, p = 0.001), ICH (OR = 2.59, 95% CI 0.92-7.32, p = 0.07), overall mortality (OR = 4.48, 95% CI 1.60-12.50, p = 0.004), and mortality after ICH (OR = 3.42, 95% CI 1.09-10.76, p = 0.03) was increased in the therapeutic as compared with the nonuser group. There was no difference in any measured outcome between the nonuser and nontherapeutic groups. CONCLUSIONS Therapeutic anticoagulation with warfarin, rather than warfarin use itself, is associated with adverse outcomes after traumatic brain injury in elderly patients.
Analysis of a Mixed Finite Element Method for a Cahn-Hilliard-Darcy-Stokes System

In this paper we devise and analyze a mixed finite element method for a modified Cahn-Hilliard equation coupled with a non-steady Darcy-Stokes flow that models phase separation and coupled fluid flow in immiscible binary fluids and diblock copolymer melts. The time discretization is based on a convex splitting of the energy of the equation. We prove that our scheme is unconditionally energy stable with respect to a spatially discrete analogue of the continuous free energy of the system and unconditionally uniquely solvable. We prove that the phase variable is bounded in $L^\infty \left(0,T,L^\infty\right)$ and the chemical potential is bounded in $L^\infty \left(0,T,L^2\right)$ absolutely unconditionally in two and three dimensions, for any finite final time $T$. We subsequently prove that these variables converge with optimal rates in the appropriate energy norms in both two and three dimensions.
Risk factors for anastomotic leakage after resection of rectal cancer

The most important surgical complication following rectal resection with anastomosis is symptomatic anastomotic leakage, which is associated with a 6–22 per cent mortality rate. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the risk factors for clinical anastomotic leakage after anterior resection for cancer of the rectum.
How Effective an Odd Message Can Be: Appropriate and Inappropriate Topics in Speech-Based Vehicle Interfaces

Dialog between drivers and speech-based vehicle interfaces can be used as an instrument to find out what drivers might be concerned, confused or curious about in driving simulator studies. Eliciting on-going conversation with drivers about topics that go beyond navigation, control of entertainment systems, or other traditional driving related tasks is important to getting drivers to engage with the activity in an open-ended fashion. In a structured improvisational Wizard of Oz study that took place in a highly immersive driving simulator, we engaged participant drivers (N=6) in an autonomous driving course where the vehicle spoke to drivers using computer-generated natural language speech. Using microanalyses of the drivers’ responses to the car’s utter- ances, we identify a set of topics that are expected and treated as appropriate by the participants in our study, as well as a set of topics and conversational strategies that are treated as inappropriate. We also show that it is just these unexpected, inappropriate utterances that eventually increase users’ trust in the system, make them more at ease, and raise the system’s acceptability as a communication partner.
Design of a High speed Built-in Repair Analyser for Word-Oriented Memories

Here we introduced a new method called Built in self-repair analyzer for the memory arrays. In this detection of errors is done by a single test. By performing the must-repair analysis on the fly during the test, it selectively stores fault addresses, and the final analysis is performed on the stored fault addresses to find a solution. The memory required to store the fault addresses is dominated by total area of our infrastructure. It grows quadratically with respect to the number of repair elements. This architecture also to support various types of word-
Successful treatment of visceral leishmaniasis with fluconazole and allopurinol in a patient with renal failure

Standard treatments for visceral leishmaniasis (antimonials, amphotericin B and pentamidine) pose several problems. Failure of antimonials or severe toxicity is particularly troublesome in patients with renal insufficiency. We report a case of visceral leishmaniasis and renal insufficiency successfully treated with fluconazole and allopurinol for 4 months.
Community-Based Question Answering via Contextual Ranking Metric Network Learning

The exponential growth of information on Community-based Question Answering (CQA) sites has raised the challenges for the accurate matching of high-quality answers to the given questions. Many existing approaches learn the matching model mainly based on the semantic similarity between questions and answers, which can not effectively handle the ambiguity problem of questions and the sparsity problem of CQA data. In this paper, we propose to solve these two problems by exploiting users' social contexts. Specifically, we propose a novel framework for CQA task by exploiting both the question-answer content in CQA site and users' social contexts. The experiment on real-world dataset shows the effectiveness of our method.
Una propuesta para la aplicación de los modelos de valoración de las normas internacionales a los activos de las entidades públicas españolas

RESUMEN Durante la última década, la Contabilidad Pública española ha pretendido aproximarse a los avances del sector empresarial y de las normas internacionales. Actualmente, las directivas europeas, el IASB, el FASB y la IFAC, han introducido interesantes novedades para el vigente modelo contable de nuestro país, entre las que encontramos el valor razonable. De igual forma que el ICAC cuenta ya con las líneas principales para la próxima reforma contable de las empresas mercantiles, también la Contabilidad Pública está llamada a sumarse a esta corriente de modernización. Este trabajo formula una propuesta que puede resultar útil para adaptar el modelo de valoración de activos del PGCP de 1994 a los nuevos métodos valorativos de las normas internacionales. Para ello, estudiamos las clases de activos públicos, analizamos los criterios de valoración aplicables, y realizamos una investigación empírica que muestra evidencia sobre la utilidad y viabilidad del fair value en la administración local.
Instruction reliability analysis for embedded processors

Advances in silicon technology and shrinking the feature size to nanometer scale make unreliability of nano devices the most important concern of fault-tolerant designs. Soft error analysis has been greatly aided by the concept of architectural vulnerability factor (AVF) and architecturally correct execution (ACE). In this work, we exploit the techniques of AVF analysis to introduce the instruction-level vulnerability metric for software reliability analysis. The proposed metric can be used to make judgments about the reliability of different programs on different processors with regard to architectural and compiler guidelines for improving the processor reliability.
Diel activity patterns and host preferences of Glossina fuscipes fuscipes (Diptera:Glossinidae) along the shores of Lake Victoria, Kenya

Diurnal activity patterns and host preference of Glossina juscipes juscipes Newstead were studied in forest and 'linear habitats along Lake Victoria shore, Kenya. The objective was to identify the preferred hosts of G. f. juscipes, the emanations ofwhich may be attractive to this species. Hourly catches of flies in biconical.traps were related to changes in the weather and the prevalence of hosts in the vicinity of traps. Flies were mainly active between 0800 and 1600 h, with males peaking around 1100 h and females around 1300 h. Activity of flies correlated directly with light intensity and temperature, but indirectly with relative humidity. Humans, livestock and the monitor lizard, Varanus niloticus, were the predominant hosts, although a Significant positive correlation with fly catches could only be established with the prevalence of lizards. Blood meal identification by microscopic and serological methods showed that 73-98% of G. f. juscipes fed on monitor lizards irrespective of host prevalence, season or location. The significance and possible epidemiological importance of the relationship between G. f. jU5cipes and monitor lizards are discussed.
Automated diabetic retinopathy detection using optical coherence tomography angiography: a pilot study

Background Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) is increasingly being used to evaluate diabetic retinopathy, but the interpretation of OCTA remains largely subjective. The purpose of this study was to design a computer-aided diagnostic (CAD) system to diagnose non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) in an automated fashion using OCTA images. Methods This was a two-centre, cross-sectional study. Adults with type II diabetes mellitus (DMII) were eligible for inclusion. OCTA scans of the macula were taken, and the five vascular maps generated per eye were analysed by a novel CAD system. For the purpose of classification/diagnosis, three different local features—blood vessel density, blood vessel calibre and the size of the foveal avascular zone (FAZ)—were segmented from these images and used to train a new, automated classifier. Results One hundred and six patients with DMII were included in the study, 23 with no DR and 83 with mild NPDR. When using features of the superficial retinal map alone, the system demonstrated an accuracy of 80.0% and area under the curve (AUC) of 76.2%. Using the features of the deep retinal map alone, accuracy was 91.4% and AUC 89.2%. When data from both maps were combined, the presented CAD system demonstrated overall accuracy of 94.3%, sensitivity of 97.9%, specificity of 87.0%, area under curve (AUC) of 92.4% and dice similarity coefficient of 95.8%. Conclusion Automated diagnosis of NPDR using OCTA images is feasible and accurate. Combining this system with OCT data is a plausible next step that would likely improve its robustness.
Neuronal mechanisms of the anoxia‐induced network oscillations in the rat hippocampus in vitro

1 A spindle of fast network oscillations precedes the ischaemia‐induced rapid depolarisation in the rat hippocampus in vivo. However, this oscillatory pattern could not be reproduced in slices and the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. We have found that anoxia‐induced network oscillations (ANOs, 20–40 Hz, lasting for 1–2 min) can be reproduced in the intact hippocampi of postnatal day P7–10 rats in vitro, and we have examined the underlying mechanisms using whole‐cell and extracellular field potential recordings in a CA3 pyramidal layer. 2 ANOs were generated at the beginning of the anoxic depolarisation, when pyramidal cells depolarised to subthreshold values. Maximal power of the ANOs was attained when pyramidal cells depolarised to −56 mV; depolarisation above −47 mV resulted in a depolarisation block of pyramidal cells and a waning of ANOs. 3 A multiple unit activity in extracellular field recordings was phase locked to the negative and ascending phases of ANOs. Pyramidal cells recorded in current‐clamp mode generated action potentials with an average probability of about 0.05 per cycle. The AMPA receptor‐mediated EPSCs and the GABA receptor‐mediated IPSCs in CA3 pyramidal cells were also phase locked with ANOs. 4 ANOs were prevented by tetrodotoxin and glutamate receptor antagonists CNQX and APV, and were slowed down by the allosteric GABAA receptor modulator diazepam. In the presence of the GABAA receptor antagonist bicuculline, ANOs were transformed to epileptiform discharges. 5 In the presence of the A1 adenosine receptor antagonist 8‐cyclopentyl‐1,3‐dipropylxanthine (DPCPX), the anoxia induced an epileptiform activity and no ANOs were observed. 6 In normoxic conditions, a rise of extracellular potassium to 10 mm induced an epileptiform activity. Increasing extracellular potassium in conjunction with a bath application of the adenosine A1 receptor agonist cyclopentyladenosine induced oscillations similar to ANOs. 7 Multisite recordings along the septo‐temporal hippocampal axis revealed that ANOs and anoxic depolarisation originate in the temporal part, and propagate towards the septal pole at a speed of 1.9 mm min−1. 8 ANOs were observed starting from P7, i.e. at a developmental stage when the effects of GABA change from depolarisation to hyperpolarisation. 9 These results suggest that the synchronisation of anoxia‐induced oscillations relies on synaptic mechanisms; that the inhibition by GABA and adenosine sets the tune for a generation of oscillations and prevents an epileptiform activity; and that a synchronous GABAergic inhibition is instrumental in a phase locking neuronal activity similarly to other types of oscillatory activities in the gamma frequency range.
A Study of Privacy and Security Concerns on Doctors' and Nurses' Behavioral Intentions to Use RFID in Hospitals

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a useful technology that has myriad applications in retail, manufacturing, and healthcare settings. RFID can scan devices in their proximity and report the data to information systems. RFID in healthcare settings presents potential security and privacy concerns to the people and processes being tracked by the devices -- particularly healthcare workers including nurses and doctors. This research presents a theoretical model that will assess the effect of six independent variables: cognitive factors, perception of external control, privacy concerns regarding surveillance and RFID devices, subjective norms, existence of security policy, and persistence of data on three dependent variables, medical staff perceived usefulness of RFID, intention to use RFID, and actual use of RFID. The model is validated with an empirical study. The results suggest that cognitive factors, persistence of data captured through RFID, and the awareness of the existence of security policy influence medical staff members' use of RFID in hospitals.
Comparing Apoptosis and Necrosis Effects of Arctium Lappa Root Extract and Doxorubicin on MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 Cell Lines

Objective: Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease and very common malignancy in women worldwide. The efficacy of chemotherapy as an important part of breast cancer treatment is limited due to its side effects. While pharmaceutical companies are looking for better chemicals, research on traditional medicines that generally have fewer side effects is quite interesting. In this study, apoptosis and necrosis effect of Arctium lappa and doxorubicin was compared in MCF7, and MDA-MB-231 cell lines. Materials and Methods: MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 cells were cultured in RPMI 1640 containing 10% FBS and 100 U/ml penicillin/streptomycin. MTT assay and an annexin V/propidium iodide (AV/PI) kit were used respectively to compare the survival rate and apoptotic effects of different concentrations of doxorubicin and Arctium lappa root extract on MDA-MB-231 and MCF7 cells. Results: Arctium lappa root extract was able to reduce cell viability of the two cell lines in a dose and time dependent manner similar to doxorubicin. Flow cytometry results showed that similar to doxorubicin, Arctium Lappa root extract had a dose and time dependent apoptosis effect on both cell lines. 10µg/mL of Arctium lappa root extract and 5 µM of doxorubicin showed the highest anti-proliferative and apoptosis effect in MCF7 and MDA231 cells. Conclusion: The MCF7 (ER/PR-) and MDA-MB-231 (ER/PR+) cell lines represent two major breast cancer subtypes. The similar anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects of Arctium lappa root extract and doxorubicin (which is a conventional chemotherapy drug) on two different breast cancer cell lines strongly suggests its anticancer effects and further studies.
Serum lead levels in childhood eczema

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a distressing disease associated with pruritus, sleep disturbance and impaired quality of life. The incidence of eczema has been increasing in developed countries. Although pollution of air and food (e.g., with lead) has been considered as a possible culprit, these factors have never been investigated in Hong Kong. This study aimed to evaluate if clinical severity scores of AD were associated with abnormal serum lead levels. The clinical research ethics committee of the Chinese University of Hong Kong approved the study. We prospectively measured the serum lead levels in consecutive new patients aged > 1 month and selected existing patients requiring blood samples to be taken at the paediatric dermatology clinic of a university teaching hospital over an 8-month period. AD was diagnosed according to the criteria of Hanifin and Rajka. Correlations between these levels, serum IgE levels as a marker of atopy, eosinophil counts, AD severity [Scoring Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) and Nottingham Eczema Severity Score (NESS)] and quality of life [Childrens Dermatology Life Quality Index; (CDLQI)] were also evaluated. NESS was used for children aged > 1 year and CDLQI on children aged ‡5 years. Dietary intake and use of traditional Chinese medicine were also evaluated. Lead levels were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Pearson coefficients were used to analyse the correlations between clinical indices and heavy metal levels. P < 0.05 was considered significant. Between July 2008 and February 2009, 58 patients with eczema were evaluated. Log-transformed IgE level (as a marker of atopy) was positively correlated with serum lead. Lead levels were generally within normal limits but their levels were positively correlated with poor quality of life (CDLQI: r = 0.41 and P = 0.003), disease severity (objective SCORAD: r = 0.46 and P < 0.001; NESS: 0.35, P < 0.01) and log-transformed IgE (r = 0.34 and P < 0.05) (Table 1). Lead levels, objective SCORAD and NESS were higher in patients whose parents reported that they had ever consumed traditional Chinese medicine (Table 2). Environmental and dietary factors have been incriminated in AD. Several types of heavy metals have been studied but the results have been inconclusive. Lead poisoning in children is a serious problem worldwide. Although none of the children in this study was found to have lead levels beyond local upper limits in our series, the levels significantly correlated with disease severity and poor quality of life. The source of the lead intake in our series is uncertain. Old buildings with lead wall paints are rare in Hong Kong and are unlikely to have contributed to lead intake in local children. Most food products are imported
Design and implementation of Reconfigurable Stream Processor in multimedia applications

This paper proposed a Reconfigurable Stream Processor applied in multimedia applications. Based on the unique parallel stream processing framework and optimized algorithm mapping method, the reconfigurable processor exploits the parallelism of complex algorithms and provides a high flexibility during run-time to adapt to various applications. The architecture of processor is implemented and verified on the development board of ARM926EJS plus Xilinx Virtex-4XC4VLX80. A H.264 video codec is implemented to verify the reconfigurable architecture, achieving 58%~130% speed boost compared with traditional reconfigurable architectures such as MorphoSys and PACT.
Recording work done at the Plymouth Laboratory

A study of the tension changes during enforced stretch of activated dogfish muscle has been made. Isolated coracohyoid muscles at o° C. were stretched at constant speed during tetanic stimulation. Tension changes and work done were recorded. The events during stretch proved not to be merely the con-verse of those during shortening, for the tension rise during an imposed stretch depends on the distance moved and hardly at all on the speed of movement, in contrast to the changes observed during shortening. This was different from the findings of Levin & Wyman (1925) on the same muscle, and the discrepancies. are discussed; but the results were similar to those obtained with frog muscle. The readjustment of tension after constant speed stretches and shortenings was followed when stimulation was continued after movement had ceased. The tension moved toward but remained appreciably different from the isometric value at the final length; above after stretch, below after shortening; the differences increased as the speeds of movement were smaller. If stimulation was interrupted long enough for tension to drop to zero the normal isometric value was exerted when excitation was resumed. The evidence indicates that shortening or lengthening offset the internal structure of the muscle perhaps by altering some crystalline orientation and so affects the final tension at any length, giving this hysteresis-like effect.
ASYMPTOTIC BEHAVIOR OF THE SOLUTIONS OF NONHOMOGENEOTJS DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

A(t) is an hX« matrix with complex-valued elements which are measurable and bounded for ¿^0, and p is an «-vector with measurable, complex-valued elements. The norm of a vector (matrix) will be denoted by || -|| and is defined as the sum of the magnitudes of the elements. A vector (matrix) will be called bounded if its norm is bounded on i^O and convergent if its elements tend to finite limits as /—»». We shall denote by X(t) the (nonsingular) fundamental matrix of solutions of the homogeneous equation