Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ontogeny of epithelial modulation of airway smooth muscle function in the guinea pig

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ontogeny of guinea pig airway smooth muscle (ASM) responses and the epithelial modulation of these responses. Paired tracheal rings from fetal, newborn, and adult guinea pigs were studied. One of each pair was denuded of airway epithelium (AE) by gentle rubbing. Isometric tension was measured in rings mounted in organ baths filled with ‘Krebs’ solution. Cumulative dose‐response curves were generated by adding either acetylcholine (ACh) or histamine over a concentration range of 1 0−8−10−4 M. Significant agent‐specific, age‐related differences in maximal contraction were seen for both ACh and histamine in intact tissues (Ach: for fetus 66.7 ± 6.2 × 10−2 g/mg wet wt, for newborn 51.4 ± 6.2, for adult 29.3 ± 2.6; histamine: for fetus 46.1 ± 5.1, for newborn 72.9 ± 6.0, for adult 25.3 ± 3.2). Similar differences in sensitivity to both agents were observed (EC50 with ACh: for fetus 0.80 ± 0.11×10−6 M; for newborn 0.85 ± 0.26 × 10−6 M; for adult 1.7 ± 0.20 × 10−6M; EC50 with histamine: for fetus 1.88 ± 0.50 × 10−6 M; for newborn 1.34 ± 0.16 × 10−6M; for adult 3.78 ± 0.75 × 10−6 M). Removal of AE caused a significant decrease in maximal responses to ACh in fetal tissue, a smaller, insignificant one for newborn and a nonsignifcant alteration for adult tissues. Age‐related sensitivity difference was abolished with removal of AE to ACh but not to histamine. In conclusion, during development (1) maximum tension, expressed as force per tissue weight, when generated follows the pattern, fetus > newborn > adult with ACh and newborn > fetus > adult with histamine; (2) the EC50 pattern for both ACh and histamine was, fetus = newborn < adult; (3) for denuded tissue maximum tension by ACh was significantly decreased only in fetal trachea; and (4) removal of AE abolished the age‐dependent difference in sensitivity to ACh, but not to histamine. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Zur Darstellungsperspektive beim videogestützten Messplatztraining - Eine laborexperimentelle Untersuchung zum Bildschirmtraining einer komplexen sportmotori schen Rotationssprungbewegung

Die Frage nach dem Einfluss der Darstellungs- bzw. Betrachtungsperspektive beim Bildschirmtraining bietet gerade vor dem Hintergrund der raumlichen Komplexitat vie-ler sportmotorischer Bewegungen eine Vielzahl von moglichen Antworten und prak-tischen Umsetzungsmoglichkeiten. Bei zwei-dimensionaler Abbildung, wie sie beim Bildschirmtraining zurzeit ublich ist, sollten sich nach der derzeitigen Befundlage die Darstellungesperspektiven, die orthogonal zur Bewegungsebene stehen und somit die Bewegung als Quer- und nicht als Tiefenbewegung abbilden, vorteilhaft sein. Empirische Befunde weisen darauf hin, dass Tiefenbewegungen auf einem 2D-Medi-um nur schwer visuell wahrgenommen werden konnen. Reiter (2007) fand in einem Laborexperiment zum Lernen einer unidirektionalen Armbewegung (Ansteuerung einer Bewegungslange) grosere Abweichung von einer Sollvorgabe, die visuell aus einer zur Bewegungsebene parallelen Darstellungsperspektive prasentiert wurde, nach einer Videoinstruktion auf einem 2D-Medium gegenuber einer 3D-Real-Instruk-tion. Der visuomotorische Informationsumsatz scheint bezuglich Tiefenbewegungen im Gegensatz zu Querbewegungen auf einem 2D-Medium auf Grund der fehlenden Querdisparation erschwert zu sein. Ahnliches zeigt sich fur das Wiedererkennen von Geschwindigkeits-Zeit-Verlaufen (Wickelgren & Bingham, 2004): Die Betrachtungs-winkel, die das Wahrnehmen der Bewegungskinematik uber die optische Translation des bewegten Objekts ermoglichten (orthogonal und schrag zur Bewegungsrichtung), erwiesen sich fur das Wiedererkennen der Geschwindigkeits-Zeit-Verlaufe vorteilhaft gegenuber einem Betrachtungswinkel parallel zur Bewegungsebene. Oftmals gibt es aber mehr als eine lernrelevante Bewegungsebene, so dass die Frage nach der Perspektive differenzierter zu stellen ist. Fur den Fall, dass zwei Hauptbewegungsebenen orthogonal zueinander stehen, ergeben sich folgende Mog-lichkeiten: Fallt die Wahl auf eine Darstellungsperspektive, bei der eine Bewegungs-ebene mit dem vorteilhaften orthogonalen Betrachtungswinkel abbildet wird, ist damit der Nachteil verbunden, dass die Bewegungsmerkmale in der zweiten Ebene aus der weniger geeigneten parallelen Perspektive betrachtet werden. Pozentielle Losungs-moglichkeiten dieses vermeintlichen Dilemmas liegen darin, eine Kompromissper-spektive zu wahlen, die zwischen den beiden jeweils orthogonalen Perspektiven liegt oder mehrere orthogonale Perspektiven sukzessiv im Ubungsverlauf darzubieten, um beide Ebenen aus den jeweils vorteilhaften Darstellungsperspektiven betrachten zu konnen.
Influence of herbicide binding on the redox potential of the quinone acceptor in photosystem II: relevance to photodamage and phytotoxicity.

Here we show that herbicide binding influences the redox potential (Em) of the plastoquinone QA/QA- redox couple in Photosystem II (PSII). Phenolic herbicides lower the Em by approximately 45 mV, while DCMU raises the Em by 50 mV. These shifts are reflected in changes in the peak temperature of thermoluminescence bands arising from the recombination of charge pairs involving QA-. The herbicide-induced changes in the Em of QA/QA- correlate with earlier work showing that phenolic herbicides increase the sensitivity of PSII to light, while DCMU protects against photodamage. This correlation is explained in terms of the following hypothesis which is based on reactions occurring in the bacterial reaction center. The back-reaction pathway for P680+QA- is assumed to be modulated by the free-energy gap between the P680+QA- and the P680+Ph- radical pairs. When this gap is small (i.e., when the Em of QA/QA- is lowered), a true back-reaction is favored in which P680+Ph- is formed, a state which decays forming a significant yield of P680 triplet. This triplet state of chlorophyll reacts with oxygen, forming singlet oxygen, a species likely to be responsible for photodamage. When the free-energy gap is increased (i.e., when the Em of QA/QA- is raised), the yield of the P680+Ph- is diminished and a greater proportion of the P680+QA- radical pair decays by an alternative, less damaging, route. We propose that at least some of the phytotoxic properties of phenolic herbicides may be explained by the fact that they render PSII ultrasensitive to light due to this mechanism.
Mises en oeuvre de commandes neuronales par retropropagation indirecte : applications a la robotique mobile

Le but de cette these est d'utiliser les perceptrons multicouches et l'algorithme de retropropagation du gradient afin de mettre en uvre experimentalement des commandes neuronales pour la robotique mobile a roues et a pattes. Apres une introduction aux perceptrons multicouches et a la retropropagation, puis un survol de quelques applications issues d'une etude bibliographique, nous montrons que l'inconvenient principal de l'apprentissage d'une commande par retropropagation est l'utilisation d'une sortie desiree (retropropagation directe). Nous proposons une solution qui retropropage un critere qui exprime mathematiquement l'objectif robotique et ses contraintes (retropropagation indirecte). Cette solution evite d'utiliser un modele inverse du robot ou un modele comportemental de reference, ce qui permet d'appliquer en ligne la retropropagation, donc de faire de la commande neuronale adaptative. La validation experimentale de cette technique est realisee par la commande en position et en orientation d'un robot mobile non holonome a deux roues motrices independantes. Nous montrons la faisabilite de la methode notamment la capacite d'adaptation du reseau aux contraintes cinematiques du robot. Dans un but d'etude preliminaire a la commande neuronale des robots a pattes, nous appliquons la meme methode au controle de l'equilibre dynamique d'un bipede plan en simulation. Nous montrons que la retropropagation hors-ligne d'un critere permet de maintenir l'equilibre dynamique du systeme sans aucune connaissance a priori sur la trajectoire des pattes. Utilise en-ligne, l'apprentissage ameliore nettement le controle de l'equilibre
Ultra High Strain Rate Nanoindentation Testing

Strain rate dependence of indentation hardness has been widely used to study time-dependent plasticity. However, the currently available techniques limit the range of strain rates that can be achieved during indentation testing. Recent advances in electronics have enabled nanomechanical measurements with very low noise levels (sub nanometer) at fast time constants (20 µs) and high data acquisition rates (100 KHz). These capabilities open the doors for a wide range of ultra-fast nanomechanical testing, for instance, indentation testing at very high strain rates. With an accurate dynamic model and an instrument with fast time constants, step load tests can be performed which enable access to indentation strain rates approaching ballistic levels (i.e., 4000 1/s). A novel indentation based testing technique involving a combination of step load and constant load and hold tests that enables measurement of strain rate dependence of hardness spanning over seven orders of magnitude in strain rate is presented. A simple analysis is used to calculate the equivalent uniaxial response from indentation data and compared to the conventional uniaxial data for commercial purity aluminum. Excellent agreement is found between the indentation and uniaxial data over several orders of magnitude of strain rate.
Attitudes of academic staff and students towards Internet usage for academic purposes in Alzawia University, Libya

The modern society is in the transition process from the Information Age to the Interaction Age so the attitude of academics and students towards Internet use is continuously changing. This study aims to investigate the attitudes of lecturers and students from Al-Zawiya University (AZU), Libya, towards the use of Internet technology for academic purposes and to formulate a set of recommendations for upgrading the quality and effectiveness of ICT implementation within the School of Engineering from AZU. The action research approach is used to develop a novel framework for increasing the effectiveness of ICT implementation in AZU. The framework aims to improve the Internet skills of lecturers and students, increase the impact of the Internet on their academic efficiency, solve the problems they face while using the Internet, and increase their satisfaction with the Internet facilities provided by AZU. This new framework is built on the basis of different existing models and frameworks (a two-dimensional model for ICT integration in education, the ASSURE model, an framework for HE internationalisation, the ICube model for teaching and learning activities in modern Higher Education institutions). The study includes an analysis of existing Internet use by academic staff and students which looks at various features of Internet usage, including purposes for using the Internet and users’ level of satisfaction with the Internet facilities provided by the university. The SPSS package is employed for qualitative analysis of sixty students’ answers to the questionnaires and shows that people’s skills, computing resources and infrastructure influence the efficacy of integrating computers into HE. Semi-structured interviews are used to determine the attitudes of twelve academics towards use of the Internet in two departments – Department of English Language (DEL) and Department of Electrical Engineering (DEE). The qualitative analysis of academics’ responses identifies the cognitive, performance and affective components of their outlook towards use of the Internet for teaching and research. In addition, the relationship between their answers and the research hypotheses shows that a combination of individual and social factors affects users’ perspectives regarding Internet usage. Finally, a set of recommendations for the enhancement of ICT implementation within the School of Engineering at Al-Zawiya University in Libya is formulated, aiming to enhance the quality of teaching, learning and research activities and the level of students’ satisfaction with the technology-enhanced approach to learning. The findings of this thesis might be of interest to managers, academics and other people involved in the design and development of strategies for ICT implementation in Libyan universities and similar developing countries.
Predictors of Outcome After Nonoperative and Operative Treatment of Adhesive Capsulitis

Background: Few studies regarding adhesive capsulitis have concurrently evaluated nonoperative and operative treatment. Purpose: The objectives were to evaluate the efficacy of operative and nonoperative treatment of adhesive capsulitis and to determine predictors of clinical outcome. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: At minimum 24 months’ follow-up, 85 patients underwent self-assessment using the Simple Shoulder Test (SST) and American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, including 24 patients treated operatively. Results: Mean number of yes responses on the SST improved from 4.0 ± 2.7 at initial presentation to 9.9 ± 2.8 at final follow-up (P < .0001). Patients who received nonoperative treatment and patients who underwent surgery demonstrated similar improvements on the SST. For the entire cohort, forward elevation and external rotation at the side improved from 119° ± 20° to 152° ± 15° and from 29° ± 18° to 46° ± 11° (P < .0001), respectively, between initial presentation and discharge from treatment. Internal rotation to the back improved from the gluteal area to the thoracolumbar junction (P < .0001). Improvements in forward elevation and external rotation were greater for patients undergoing surgery. After nonoperative treatment, patients with diabetes had a lower final SST than patients without diabetes (P < .05). For the entire cohort, initial SST predicted final SST (P < .05), and a shorter duration of symptoms predicted a higher final ASES score (P < .05). Younger patients (P < .001) and those with a lower initial SST (P < .05) were more likely to undergo surgery. Conclusions: A multimodal nonoperative treatment program is effective for most patients with adhesive capsulitis. Patients who do not improve, including those with diabetes, respond well to manipulation and arthroscopic release. Residual motion deficits at discharge from treatment do not appear to affect longer-term clinical outcome.
Automatic Pronunciation Evaluation of Non-Native Mandarin Tone by Using Multi-Level Confidence Measures

Automatic evaluation of tonal production plays an important role in a tonal language Computer-Assisted Pronunciation Training (CAPT) system. In this paper, we propose an automatic evaluation method for non-native Mandarin tones. The method applied multi-level confidence measures generated from Deep Neural Network (DNN). The confidence measures consisted of Log Posterior Ratios (LPR), Average Frame-level Log Posteriors (AFLP) and Segment-level Log Posteriors (SLP). The LPR was calculated between the correct tone model and competing tone models. The AFLP and LPR were obtained from frame-level scores. And the SLP was directly derived from segment-level scores. The multi-level confidence measures were modeled with a support vector machine (SVM) classifier. For comparison, three experiments were conducted according to different features: AFLP+LPR, SLP only and AFLP+LPR+SLP. The experimental results showed that the performance of the system which used multilevel confidence measures was the best, achieving a FRR of 5.63% and a DA of 82.45%, which demonstrated the efficiency of the proposed method.
The Perceived Onset Time of Self- and Other-Generated Actions

Awareness of actions is partly based on the intentions accompanying them. Thus, the awareness of self- and other-generated actions should differ to the extent that access to own and other's intentions differs. Recent studies have found a brain circuit (the mirrorneuron system) that represents self- and other-generated actions in an integrated fashion. This system does not respond to actions made by nonagents, such as machines. We measured the estimated onset time of actions that subjects either executed themselves or observed being executed by someone else or by a machine. In three experiments, the estimates of the machine actions always differed from those of self- and other-generated actions, whereas the latter two were indistinguishable. Our results are consistent with the view that intentions are attributed to others but not to machines. They also raise the interesting possibility that people attribute intentions to themselves in the same way as they do to others.
Interleukin‐24 and its receptors

Interleukin 24 (IL‐24) is a new member of the IL‐10 family of cytokines and it signals through two heterodimeric receptors: IL‐20R1/IL‐20R2 and IL‐22R1/IL‐20R2. Upon binding to its receptors, IL‐24 induces rapid activation of Stat‐1 and Stat‐3 transcription factors, which appear to play a role in cell survival and proliferation. Under physiological conditions, the major sources of IL‐24 are the activated monocytes and T helper 2 cells, whereas the major IL‐24 target tissues, based on the receptor expression pattern, are non‐haematopoietic in origin, and include skin, lung and reproductive tissues. Structurally and functionally, IL‐24 is highly conserved across species. This review highlights our current knowledge of IL‐24 as a cytokine, with much less emphasis placed on the non‐receptor‐mediated functions (a subject of several reviews) focused on in much of the earlier literature on IL‐24. The potential roles of IL‐24 as part of a complex cytokine network in wound healing, psoriasis and cancer are discussed.
Method for detecting jamming signals superimposed on a radio communication application to the surveillance of railway environments

The Railroad network composed of stations, depots, tracks, trains. constitutes one of the major critical infrastructures in industrial countries. Because of this criticality and of its large deployment, studying the resilience of the railway network regarding intentional electromagnetic interferences (IEMI) is important. This paper considers IEMIs generated by low power electromagnetic jammers operated in railway environments. Jammers can be used to disturb or even interrupt the radio communications of railway operators. This paper concentrates on methods which were developed and evaluated to detect jamming signals appearing in a radio channel while a radio communication is running. Several supervised detection methods were tested. We concentrate and detail one of these methods which is derived from conventional EMC measurements. We present two hardware and software implementations using successively a real time analyzer and a prototype equipment built in the laboratory. Jamming signals are injected on a cellular phone radio communication and the results are analyzed. We obtain that the jamming signals are readily detected and some of their radiofrequency characteristics extracted.
Choral singing therapy following stroke or Parkinson’s disease: an exploration of participants’ experiences

Abstract Purpose: People with stroke or Parkinson’s disease (PD) live with reduced mood, social participation and quality of life (QOL). Communication difficulties affect 90% of people with PD (dysarthria) and over 33% of people with stroke (aphasia). These consequences are disabling in many ways. However, as singing is typically still possible, its therapeutic use is of increasing interest. This article explores the experiences of and factors influencing participation in choral singing therapy (CST) by people with stroke or PD and their significant others. Method: Participants (eight people with stroke, six with PD) were recruited from a community music therapy choir running CST. Significant others (seven for stroke, two for PD) were also recruited. Supported communication methods were used as needed to undertake semi-structured interviews (total N = 23). Results: Thematic analysis indicated participants had many unmet needs associated with their condition, which motivated them to explore self-management options. CST participation was described as an enjoyable social activity, and participation was perceived as improving mood, language, breathing and voice. Conclusions: Choral singing was perceived by people with stroke and PD to help them self-manage some of the consequences of their condition, including social isolation, low mood and communication difficulties. Implications for Rehabilitation Choral singing therapy (CST) is sought out by people with stroke and PD to help self-manage symptoms of their condition. Participation is perceived as an enjoyable activity which improves mood, voice and language symptoms. CST may enable access to specialist music therapy and speech language therapy protocols within community frameworks.
PENGARUH HARGA SAHAM PERUSAHAAN TERHADAP TRANSAKSI JUAL BELI SAHAM DI PASAR MODAL INDONESIA

Abstract : This research aim at exploring the influence of company’s share price to the share transaction at Indonesian share market. The company's share price has been measured by using MBV, EVA, MVA, PER and dividend-discount model . Share market transactions have been measured using the volume and frequency of share trading. The data of the research obtained from 42 companies during 2011-2015 which has been listed on Indonesian share market and which also distributes dividends every year. Furthermore, the data analyzed using multiple regressions for panel data. The finding of the data analysis showed that the price for Indonesian companies’ share was considered to be cheap and even the price is higher than the price offered, the investor still want to buy it. Simultaneously the share price is insignificant affect to the frequency of share trading transactions of the company. Partially MBV, PER, MVA, EVA is significant to the stock trading frequency and it also significant to the volume of share trading. Therefore, it could be concluded that investors will assess the company fundamentally in making investment decisions. Abstrak : Penelitian ini mengekplorasi pengaruh harga saham perusahaan terhadap transaksi saham di pasar modal Indonesia. Harga saham perusahaan diukur menggunakan MBV, EVA, MVA, PER dan model diskonto dividen. Transaksi pasar modal diukur menggunakan volume dan frekuensi perdagangan saham. Penelitian ini menggunakan 42 perusahaan dari tahun 2011-2015 yang terdaftar di bursa saham Indonesia serta yang selalu membagikan dividen setiap tahunnya. Data penelitian di analisis menggunakan regresi berganda untuk data panel. Hasil analisis menunjukan bahwa saham perusahaan Indonesia masih dikatakan murah dan investor masih mau membayar lebih tinggi dari harga yang ditawarkan. Secara simultan harga saham tidak signifikan terhadap transaksi perdagangan saham perusahaan. Secara parsial MBV, PER, MVA, EVA signifikan terhadap frekuensi perdagangan saham. MBV, PER, MVA, signifikan terhadap volume perdagangan saham. Oleh karena, disimpulkan bahwa investor akan menilai perusahaan secara fundamental dalam membuat keputusan investasi.