Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Proposed pedestrian pathway roughness thresholds to ensure safety and comfort for wheelchair users

ABSTRACT In the United States, over three million people use a wheelchair for their primary means of mobility and they rely on functional and accessible pathways to participate in their communities. The Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines related to pathway roughness are currently ambiguous, subjective and therefore unable to be measured. Consequently, many public pathways are sufficiently rough to result in harmful vibrations and discomfort for wheelchair users. In previous research, subjective ratings and root-mean-square accelerations were reported from subjects traveling over surfaces with various roughnesses in their own wheelchairs. The purpose of the current study is to use previous data to propose roughness thresholds by correlating the roughness of surfaces to vibration data and subjective ratings from wheelchair users. The results suggest a pathway roughness index threshold of ≤50 mm/m (1.2 in./ft) for a surface segment of 100 m (328 ft) in length, and ≤100 mm/m (1.2 in./ft) for a surface segment of 3 m (9.8 ft) in length would protect wheelchair users against discomfort and possible health risks due to vibration exposure. For surfaces of different lengths, a 3 m (9.8 ft) and 100 m (328 ft) moving window should be used.
99mTc-HMPAO-labeled autologous versus heterologous leukocytes for imaging infection.

UNLABELLED Radiolabeled autologous leukocytes are the gold standard for imaging infectious foci in patients. Good results have also been reported for radiolabeled heterologous leukocytes from noninfected donors. Until now, the 2 methods have not been directly compared. In this study, we compared the infection-imaging potential of 99mTc-hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime (HMPAO)-labeled autologous granulocytes with that of 99mTc-HMPAO-labeled granulocytes from either infected or noninfected donors in rabbits with Escherichia coli infection. METHODS The radiolabeled granulocyte preparations were studied in rabbits with an E. coli infection in the left calf muscle. The soft-tissue infections were scintigraphically visualized after injection of 18 MBq of either 99mTc-HMPAO purified autologous granulocytes or radiolabeled purified heterologous granulocytes from infected or noninfected donor rabbits. Gamma camera images were acquired at 2 min and at 1, 2, and 4 h after injection. After the last image, the rabbits were killed and uptake of the radiolabel in the dissected tissues was determined. RESULTS The 99mTc-HMPAO autologous granulocytes and heterologous granulocytes from infected donors accurately revealed the infectious focus in the calf muscle at 2 h after injection. At 4 h after injection, a significantly better (P < 0.05) delineation of the infection was established with the 99mTc-HMPAO autologous granulocytes and 99mTc-HMPAO heterologous granulocytes from the infected rabbits than with the heterologous granulocytes from noninfected donors. With both cell preparations, the intensity of uptake in the infected calf muscle continuously increased until 4 h after injection. The 99mTc-HMPAO heterologous granulocytes from noninfected donors showed no significant increase in contrast after 2 h after injection. Absolute uptake in the infected calf muscle was much higher for 99mTc-HMPAO autologous granulocytes (7.81 +/- 1.21 percentage injected dose [%ID]) and 99mTc-HMPAO heterologous infected granulocytes (8.91 +/- 1.92 %ID) than for the radiolabeled heterologous noninfected granulocytes (2.32 +/- 0.75 %ID) (P < 0.04) at 4 h after injection. The ratio of infected muscle to noninfected contralateral muscle was significantly higher for 99mTc-HMPAO autologous granulocytes and 99mTc-HMPAO heterologous granulocytes from infected donors than for 99mTc-HMPAO heterologous granulocytes from noninfected donors (5.53 +/- 1.09, 3.86 +/- 0.75, and 1.86 +/- 0.31, respectively; P < 0.05). CONCLUSION For nuclear medicine imaging of infection, purified granulocytes derived from infected rabbits are superior to purified granulocytes derived from noninfected donor rabbits. In addition, autologous granulocytes gave similar results to heterologous granulocytes from infected donor rabbits, suggesting the need for intrinsic cell activation for specific granulocyte migration.
Cystic Fibrosis Diagnosed in an Elderly Man

Although most patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) are diagnosed in early childhood, the diagnosis may be delayed for patients with mild symptoms or single-organ disease. We describe a man with known infertility and a history of productive cough diagnosed with CF at 61 years of age. The patient carries two mutations and one variant in the CF transmembrane conductance regulator gene: 394delTT, P99L and R75Q. During a 15-year follow-up time he has developed significant pulmonary disease.
Incentive Theory of the Third Sector of Economy (Non-Profit Organization)

Abstract This article aims to provide theoretical model for analyzing challenge of asymmetric information in the third sector of economy (which is the most important challenge, preventing the growth and development of third sector), using the theoretical foundation of contract theory and incentive theory with regard to the special characteristics of third sector derived by its special structure in Iran. For this purpose, we introduce a conceptual model that provides a new methodology for analyzing contract theory in the third sector, and offer the optimal contract in every transaction and state. To this end, we put forward the transactional segments of asymmetric information and the possibility of adverse selection and moral hazard problems. Then we provide a general incentive theory for the third sector of economy. As a result, it provides a mathematical and theoretical model for optimal contract and makes contribute to solve the adverse selection and moral hazard problems in the third sector transactions. Eventually, we use experimental analysis (lingo software) to show that mathematical model is solvable. Afterwards we calculate the list of optimal contracts with hypothetical prompters. Field study in Iran (Isfahan) shows that the effect of solving asymmetric information problem is about 73% in the scale of third sector of economy which is significant and notable.
The Jak–STAT pathway: specific signal transduction from the cell membrane to the nucleus

The Jak–STAT pathway is a newly discovered intracellular signal transduction pathway that is used by a growing number of extracellular signalling proteins (ESPs) for transciptional activation of target genes. Binding of ligands to their transmembrane receptors leads to activation of members of the Jak tyrosine kinase family. The activated receptor–kinase complexes recruit members of the STAT family and activate them by phosphorylation. As a consequence, the phosphorylated STAT proteins dimerize, translocate into the nucleus, bind response elements in the promoter of target genes and stimulate the transcription of these genes. Their dual role as signalling molecules and transcription factors is reflected in the name: STAT stands for signal transducers and activators of transcription. Different ligands specifically activate different members of the Jak and STAT families. Signal transduction through the Jak–STAT pathway contributes to the specificity and diversity of cellular responses to peptide hormones, growth factors, cytokines and interleukins.
Infrared optical conductivity of the Nd-Ce-Cu-O system.

The reflectivity of seven Nd₂₋ₓCeₓCuO₄ single crystals has been measured at room temperature between 0.005 and 3 eV for 0≤x≤0.21. At x=0, four transverse and longitudinal Eu phonon modes have been determined. Two bands have been also identified at 1.6 eV and at 2.8 eV, which lose their intensity with doping. Such intensity is transferred to the well-known Drude and midinfrared contributions, and to a band at ∼0.1 eV, which can be attributed to oxygen vacancies. At the insulator-to-metal transition, the Drude term abruptly increases, the 1.6-eV band vanishes. An overall strong similarity with the closing of the optical gap in highly doped semiconductors, is found. The reflectivity of a reduced sample with x=0.07 suggests that the midinfrared band may not originate from oxygen vacancy states. Present results are compared with predictions of different theoretical models.
A model for zinc metabolism in sheep given a diet of hay

1. Four pairs of Scottish Blackface ewes were given a basal diet of hay, providing 8 mg zinc/d, and one of four levels of supplementary Zn (0, 75, 150 or 225 mg/d) continuously by intraruminal infusion. 2. 65Zn (59 μCi) was given intravenously after stabilization for 14 d and the changes in specific radioactivity (SR) of plasma and faeces were monitored for a further 10 and 13 d respectiveiy. The faecal endogenous losses and absorption of Zn were estimated, using the principle of isotope dilution, by two methods using the whole or latter parts of SR: time curves. 3. Faecal endogenous losses were estimated by the part area method to be 4·9, 6·4, 5·1 and 6·3 ± 0·35 mg/d at 0, 75, 150 and 225 mg supplemental Zn/d i.e. largely unaffected by Zn intake and averaging 0·11 mg/kg live weight (LW). The whole area method gave similar results. 4. Urinary excretion was negligible (probably < 0·2 mg/d) for all sheep. 5. The amount of Zn absorbed was assumed to equal the irreversible loss of Zn under steady-state conditions and found to remain constant at 7·6±0·39 and 10·3±0·6 mg/d when calculated by ‘whole’ and ‘part area’ methods. Zn retention did not increase with Zn intake and homoeostasis was achieved primarily by control of Zn absorption which fell from 0·75 to 0·03 or from 0·96 to 0·05 of intake, depending on method of calculation, as intakes increased.
Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors of the Jejunum and Ileum: A Clinicopathologic, Immunohistochemical, and Molecular Genetic Study of 906 Cases Before Imatinib With Long-term Follow-up

Gastrointestinal (GI) stromal tumors (GISTs), the specific KIT- or PDFGRA-signaling driven mesenchymal tumors, are the most common mesenchymal tumors of the GI tract. This study analyzed 1091 tumors originally classified as smooth muscle tumors of the small intestine (including jejunum or ileum and excluding duodenum), and found that 906 (83%) of these were GISTs. The GIST patients had 55:45 male-to-female ratio with a median age of 59 years (range, 13–94 years). Only 0.6% of tumors occurred before the age of 21 years and 13.6% before the age of 40 years. The tumors varied from 0.3 to 40 cm (median, 7.0 cm) and most commonly presented with GI bleeding or acute abdomen; 18% were incidentally detected. Histologically, the tumors were relatively monotypic with spindle cell (86%), epithelioid (5%), or mixed patterns (9%). Skeinoid fibers were present in 44% of cases, and their presence was associated with a favorable course. Most epithelioid tumors were malignant, and this morphology sometimes emerged from less cellular and less mitotically active spindle cell tumors, suggesting that it represented a transformation. KIT was immunohistochemically detected in 98%, CD34 in 40%, smooth muscle actin in 34%, desmin in 0.2%, and S-100 protein in 14% of the tumors tested. Outcome was strongly dependent on tumor size and mitotic activity, with an overall 39% tumor-related mortality, twice that for gastric GISTs. Only <3% of tumors <5 cm and ≤5 mitoses/50 HPF metastasized, whereas 86% of tumors >10 cm and >5 mitoses/50 HPF metastasized. In stark contrast to corresponding gastric tumors, tumors >10 cm with mitotic activity ≤5/50 HPF and those ≤5 cm with mitoses >5/50 HPF had a high metastatic rate (>50%); tumors >5 cm ≤10 cm with low mitotic rate had a 24% metastatic rate. The median survival times of patients with low mitotic rate tumors who died of disease decreased by increasing tumor size. KIT exon 11 mutations were detected in 90 cases, exon 9 mutation in 17 cases, and exon 17 mutation in 1 case; the presence of mutation or mutation type was not prognostically significant. There were no PDGFRA exon 12 or 8 mutations. Systematic data on prognosis of small intestinal GISTs of various size and mitotic activity categories can be helpful in management and surveillance of patients with these tumors.
Recent language experience influences cross-language activation in bilinguals with different scripts

Purpose: This study aimed to examine whether the phonological information in the non-target language is activated and its influence on bilingual processing. Approach: Using the Stroop paradigm, Mandarin-English bilinguals named the ink color of Chinese characters in English in Experiment 1 and named the Chinese characters in addition to the color naming in English in Experiment 2. Twenty-four participants were recruited in each experiment. In both experiments, the visual stimuli included color characters (e.g. 红, hong2, red), homophones of the color characters (e.g. 洪, hong2, flood), characters that only shared the same syllable segment with the color characters (S+T-, e.g. 轰, hong1, boom), characters that shared the same tone but differed in segments with the color characters (S-T+, e.g. 瓶, ping2, bottle), and neutral characters (e.g. 牵, qian1, leading through). Data and analysis: Planned t-tests were conducted in which participants’ naming accuracy rate and naming latency in each phonological condition were compared with the neutral condition. Findings: Experiment 1 only showed the classic Stroop effect in the color character condition. In Experiment 2, in addition to the classic Stroop effect, the congruent homophone condition (e.g. 洪 in red) showed a significant Stroop interference effect. These results suggested that for bilingual speakers with different scripts, phonological information in the non-target language may not be automatically activated even though the written words in the non-target language were visually presented. However, if the phonological information of the non-target language is activated in advance, it could lead to competition between the two languages, likely at both the phonological and lemma levels. Originality and significance: This study is among the first to investigate whether the translation of a word is phonologically encoded in bilinguals using the Stroop paradigm. The findings improve our understanding of the underlying mechanism of bilingual processing.
Exposure to Carbon Nanotube Material: Aerosol Release During the Handling of Unrefined Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Material

Carbon nanotubes represent a relatively recently discovered allotrope of carbon that exhibits unique properties. While commercial interest in the material is leading to the development of mass production and handling facilities, little is known of the risk associated with exposure. In a two-part study, preliminary investigations have been carried out into the potential exposure routes and toxicity of single-walled carbon nanotube material (SWCNT)—a specific form of the allotrope. The material is characterized by bundles of fibrous carbon molecules that may be a few nanometers in diameter, but micrometers in length. The two production processes investi-gated use-transition metal catalysts, leading to the inclusion of nanometer-scale metallic particles within unrefined SWCNT material. A laboratory-based study was undertaken to evaluate the physical nature of the aerosol formed from SWCNT during mechanical agitation. This was complemented by a field study in which airborne and dermal exposure to SWCNT was investigated while handling unrefined material. Although laboratory studies indicated that with sufficient agitation, unrefined SWCNT material can release fine particles into the air, concentrations generated while handling material in the field were very low. Estimates of the airborne concen-tration of nanotube material generated during handling suggest that concentrations were lower than 53μg/m3 in all cases. Glove deposits of SWCNT during handling were estimated at between 0.2 mg and 6 mg per hand.
Prevalence and effect of Theileria orientalis infection in homebred calves in the Gloucester region of New South Wales, Australia

Objectives To examine the prevalence of Theileria orientalis in the Gloucester area of New South Wales and its effect on individual animals. Methods Blood samples (EDTA and clotted blood) were collected from a total of 55 calves and their dams from 6 properties over a 16‐week period. A total of 202 and 190 blood samples were collected from the calves and dams, respectively, and were examined via blood film for the presence of intraerythrocytic T. orientalis piroplasms. Packed cell volume (PCV) was measured to determine infection resulting in anaemia. The presence of antibodies against the T. orientalis major piroplasm surface protein (MPSP) was tested using ELISA. Results The overall prevalence of T. orientalis infection in both dams and calves from all herds examined was 95%. Mean peak parasitaemia was observed in calves between 6 and 9 weeks of age (P = 0.051), coinciding with a decline in mean PCV. Only 3 (6%) of the blood samples collected from the dams were positive for Theileria‐associated antibodies and no significant relationship (P > 0.05) was found between the presence of antibodies in the dams and PCV levels in the calves. There was no evidence that passive transfer of antibodies from dams to calves protected the calves against a decline in PCV. Conclusion This study confirmed a high prevalence of low‐level Theileria infection, but low MPSP seroconversion rates, in dams and calves in an area where the disease has been endemic for a number of years.
The Role and Value of Diversity to Learning Organizations and Innovation

Learning organizations are environments promoting individual and team learning capabilities. Learning organization concepts, embraced by a growing number of organizations throughout the world, are strategies for competing in dynamic economic environments. Globally, leaders across varying industries continue to strive to build learning organizations that improve effectiveness and possess an ability to continuously evolve. Learning organizations depend on effective communication, a chief component of leadership influence. They also require thinking from as many perspectives as possible, in order to change and grow in response to anticipated and existing external pressures. These perspectives emerge from the variety of experiences coming from diverse individuals, and leaders must recognize these as critical resources in organizations’ ability to learn, manage change, and facilitate innovation. This chapter explores learning organization variables, arguing that diversity and leadership communication are important co-factors in successfully implementing learning organization principles leading to innovation.
A opinion dynamic model of group experts free discussion

A new nonlinear model of opinion dynamics for group experts free discussion is proposed. The model takes into account the factors of similarity between the opinions, threshold of bounded confidence and trust between experts. The impacts on opinions evolution by the times of experts' speaking and rules of speech order are analyzed theoretically and compared by simulation respectively. The analytical results show that with the same expert repeats his opinion more, other experts' opinions which lie in his area of confidence will continue approaching the expert's opinion, and reach to the expert's opinion finally. The statistical results from comparison of 5 kinds rules of speech order show that rule 5 is the most advisable rule which gets the minimal number of opinion clusters and can make most opinions converge in about 300 times of speech.
Changes in aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 expression in rat blood vessels during glyceryl trinitrate tolerance development and reversal

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Recent studies have suggested an essential role for aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) in the bioactivation of organic nitrates such as glyceryl trinitrate (GTN). In the present study, we utilized an in vivo GTN tolerance model to further investigate the role of ALDH2 in GTN bioactivation and tolerance.
Gastrointestinal absorption, metabolic debromination, and hydroxylation of three commercial polybrominated diphenyl ether mixtures by common carp

The gastrointestinal absorption, metabolic debromination, and hydroxylation of three commercial brominated diphenyl ether (BDE) mixtures were separately studied in juvenile common carp. The absorption rate of penta‐BDE was higher than that of octa‐ and deca‐BDE, likely because of the lower molecular volumes of its major congeners. However, no significantly positive relationships were found between the number of bromine atoms and the absorption rate, especially for congeners with a bromine atom number larger than six. The major congeners in fish carcass were, respectively, BDE‐47 and BDE‐100 in the penta‐BDE exposure; BDE‐154, ‐155, ‐149, and BDE‐153 in the octa‐BDE exposure; and BDE‐154, ‐155, ‐149, ‐188, ‐179, and BDE‐202 in the deca‐BDE exposure. Congeners with at least one meta‐ or para‐ doubly flanked bromine atom easily undergo metabolic debromination in fish. None of the targeted MeO‐polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) congeners were detected in serum samples, implying that the methylation of OH‐PBDE is not likely occurring in fish. Eleven OH‐PBDEs and several unidentified OH‐PBDE congeners were found in penta‐BDE‐exposed fish. The similar level among three mono‐OH‐BDE47 congeners suggested that the position of OH in the phenyl ring is not selective. The hydroxylation is not a significant metabolic pathway compared with debromination. No OH‐PBDE congeners were found in the serum samples from deca‐BDE‐exposed fish, which may attributable to the low level of PBDE precursors in fish. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2012;31:731–738. © 2011 SETAC
PHYLOGENY AND FORELIMB DISPARITY IN WATERBIRDS

Previous work has shown that the relative proportions of wing components (i.e., humerus, ulna, carpometacarpus) in birds are related to function and ecology, but these have rarely been investigated in a phylogenetic context. Waterbirds including “Pelecaniformes,” Ciconiiformes, Procellariiformes, Sphenisciformes, and Gaviiformes form a highly supported clade and developed a great diversity of wing forms and foraging ecologies. In this study, forelimb disparity in the waterbird clade was assessed in a phylogenetic context. Phylogenetic signal was assessed via Pagel's lambda, Blomberg's K, and permutation tests. We find that different waterbird clades are clearly separated based on forelimb component proportions, which are significantly correlated with phylogeny but not with flight style. Most of the traditional contents of “Pelecaniformes” (e.g., pelicans, cormorants, and boobies) cluster with Ciconiiformes (herons and storks) and occupy a reduced morphospace. These taxa are closely related phylogenetically but exhibit a wide range of ecologies and flight styles. Procellariiformes (e.g., petrels, albatross, and shearwaters) occupy a wide range of morphospace, characterized primarily by variation in the relative length of carpometacarpus and ulna. Gaviiformes (loons) surprisingly occupy a wing morphospace closest to diving petrels and penguins. Whether this result may reflect wing proportions plesiomorphic for the waterbird clade or a functional signal is unclear. A Bayesian approach detecting significant rate shifts across phylogeny recovered two such shifts. At the base of the two sister clades Sphenisciformes + Procellariiformes, a shift to an increase evolutionary rate of change is inferred for the ulna and carpometacarpus. Thus, changes in wing shape begin prior to the loss of flight in the wing‐propelled diving clade. Several shifts to slower rate of change are recovered within stem penguins.