Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Value creation in online communities for educators

The popularity and pervasiveness of online communities have led researchers and practitioners alike to closely examine the utility of online communities for supporting and facilitating professional learning. As economic constraints leave fewer resources available for professional development, educators in particular are examining the potential of online communities to enhance and extend traditional professional development opportunities. Leveraging the potential of online communities requires an in-depth understanding of the value that members find through their participation. This study used Wenger, Trayner and de Laat's value creation framework to better understand cycles of value creation in online communities. Findings illuminate how members with varying perspectives and levels of expertise co-construct new forms of meaning and understanding in ways that are individually and collectively valuable, and how they apply that knowledge to their professional practice. Additionally, the study offers insight into the ways in which actions of community leaders and a sponsoring organization support and facilitate value creation through different types of activities, tools and interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Variations in photon energy spectra of a 6 MV beam and their impact on TLD response.

PURPOSE Measurement of the absorbed dose from radiotherapy beams is an essential component of providing safe and reproducible treatment. For an energy-dependent dosimeter such as thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs), it is generally assumed that the energy spectrum is constant throughout the treatment field and is unperturbed by field size, depth, field modulation, or heterogeneities. However, this does not reflect reality and introduces error into clinical dose measurements. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the variability in the energy spectrum of a Varian 6 MV beam and to evaluate the impact of these variations in photon energy spectra on the response of a common energy-dependent dosimeter, TLD. METHODS Using Monte Carlo methods, we calculated variations in the photon energy spectra of a 6 MV beam as a result of variations of treatment parameters, including field size, measurement location, the presence of heterogeneities, and field modulation. The impact of these spectral variations on the response of the TLD is largely based on increased photoelectric effect in the dosimeter, and this impact was calculated using Burlin cavity theory. Measurements of the energy response were also made to determine the additional energy response due to all intrinsic and secondary effects. RESULTS For most in-field measurements, regardless of treatment parameter, the dosimeter response was not significantly affected by the spectral variations (<1% effect). For measurement points outside of the treatment field, where the spectrum is softer, the TLD over-responded by up to 12% due to an increased probability of photoelectric effect in the TLD material as well as inherent ionization density effects that play a role at low photon energies. CONCLUSIONS It is generally acceptable to ignore the impact of variations in the photon spectrum on the measured dose for locations within the treatment field. However, outside the treatment field, the spectra are much softer, and a correction factor is generally appropriate. The results of this work have determined values for this factor, which range from 0.88 to 0.99 depending on the specific irradiation conditions.
Age at Menopause, Cause-Specific Mortality and Total Life Expectancy

Background: A later menopause has been associated with a decreased cardiovascular risk but with an increased risk for breast and endometrial cancer. The net effect on mortality is unclear. We determined the association of age at menopause with longevity and with the balance between cardiovascular and cancer mortality. Methods: We analyzed data from a breast cancer screening cohort comprising 12,134 postmenopausal women followed for an average of 17 years. We used Cox proportional hazards models and life tables to calculate the life expectancy of an average Dutch woman at age 50. Results: During 204,024 person-years, there were 2607 deaths, of which 963 were due to cardiovascular diseases and 812 due to cancer. Ischemic heart disease risk decreased with a later menopause (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.98 per year; 95% confidence interval = 0.96–0.99), but the risk of fatal uterine or ovarian cancer increased (1.07 per year; 1.01–1.12). A later menopause was associated with longer overall survival; HR for total mortality was 0.98 per year (0.97–0.99). Life expectancy in women with menopause after age 55 was 2.0 years longer than those with menopause before age 40. Adjustment for potential confounders did not materially change the results. Conclusions: Age-adjusted mortality is reduced 2% with each increasing year of age at menopause. In particular, ischemic heart disease mortality is 2% lower. Although the risk of death from uterine or ovarian cancer is increased by 5%, the net effect of a later menopause is an increased lifespan.
Selection and Configuration of Sorption Isotherm Models in Soils Using Artificial Bees Guided by the Particle Swarm

A precise estimation of isotherm model parameters and selection of isotherms from the measured data are essential for the fate and transport of toxic contaminants in the environment. Nonlinear least-square techniques are widely used for fitting the isotherm model on the experimental data. However, such conventional techniques pose several limitations in the parameter estimation and the choice of appropriate isotherm model as shown in this paper. It is demonstrated in the present work that the classical deterministic techniques are sensitive to the initial guess and thus the performance is impeded by the presence of local optima. A novel solver based on modified artificial bee-colony (MABC) algorithm is proposed in this work for the selection and configuration of appropriate sorption isotherms. The performance of the proposed solver is compared with the other three solvers based on swarm intelligence for model parameter estimation using measured data from 21 soils. Performance comparison of developed solvers on the measured data reveals that the proposed solver demonstrates excellent convergence capabilities due to the superior exploration-exploitation abilities. The estimated solutions by the proposed solver are almost identical to the mean fitness values obtained over 20 independent runs. The advantages of the proposed solver are presented.
[Translation and validation of an instrument for evaluation of severity of symptoms and the functional status in carpal tunnel syndrome].

The objective of the present study was to translate, to do cultural equivalence and validation of the Levine et al. (1993) or Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ) to Portuguese. The BCTQ application to patients, selected by the question "What was the reason that brought you to look for a physician and that led him to ask this examination? " showed very good reproducibility. The validity was measured through the comparison of the severity symptoms scores (SSS) and the functional status scores (FSS) with the results of grip forces, Minnesota, two point discrimination, Semmes-Weinstein filaments perception and sensory conduction at the median nerve. The internal consistency was evaluated through Chronbach's alpha coefficient comparing the SSS and the FSS. The measuring properties were evaluated through paired t-test between pre and pos-surgical scores. Reproducibility, internal consistency, validation and measuring properties of the translated BCTQ were similar to those found by Levine et al. with the original version.
Refinement of the retinogeniculate pathway

Much of our present understanding about the mechanisms contributing to the activity‐dependent refinement of sensory connections comes from experiments done in the retinogeniculate pathway. In recent years the mouse has emerged as a model system of study. This review outlines the major changes in connectivity that occur in this species and a potential mechanism that can account for such remodelling. During early postnatal life when spontaneous activity of retinal ganglion cells sweeps across the retina in waves, retinal projections from the two eyes to the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) segregate to form non‐overlapping eye‐specific domains. There is a loss of binocular innervation, a pruning of excitatory inputs from a dozen or more to one or two, and the emergence of inhibitory circuitry. Many of these changes underlie the development of precise eye‐specific visual maps and receptive field structure of LGN neurons. Retinal activity plays a major role both in the induction and maintenance of this refinement. The activity‐dependent influx of Ca2+ through L‐type channels and associated activation of CREB signalling may underlie the pruning and stabilization of developing retinogeniculate connections.
Reconstructing motion using a human structure model

The reality in human motions is often dominant for success of animation recently. Commercial mocap systems prevail to obtain human motion from actual motions. On the basis of the data obtained by a mocap system, a skeletal structure model is needed to construct a CG character. As a method of creating a skeletal structure model, there is always a locating rule to put markers to right place on the subject’s skin, which is often recommended by a mocap system vender. However, the rule cannot be applied every subject person easily. This is the reason why it is difficult to find subject-specific joint positions. In this research, therefore, observing inside of human body with a help of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), our final goal is to construct an accurate and detailed bone structure model in order to make more realistic animation.
Preliminary validation of the Italian version of the original sport motivation scale

Candela, F. , Zucchetti, G. , & Villosio, C. (2014). Preliminary validation of the Italian version of the original Sport Motivation Scale. J. Hum. Sport Exerc. , 9(1), pp.136-147. This study aims at develop and validate a preliminary Italian version of the original Sport Motivation Scale. The original scale was translated into Italian following transcultural procedures. The scale was administered to 228 athletes (55% females, n = 125, M age= 25, SD= 13) recruited in an Italian Sports Medicine Center. Confirmatory factor, internal consistency and correlation analysis among subscales were performed. Gender differences and associations between SMS subscales and psychological variables (coach leadership style, sport enjoyment, self-confidence in sport, attitude toward doping behaviors) were investigated. The analysis showed encouraging results about the validity and reliability of the Italian version of the SMS scale. Key words: MOTIVATION, SPORT MOTIVATION SCALE, ITALIAN VALIDATION.
Optimal inventory control of spare parts based on storage availability

For the problem that the reliability of the equipment decline during long-term storage, and combined with the characteristics of the troops to take periodical inspection and maintenance, a spare parts support model of periodic inspection and replacement is established, which is based on the storage availability of equipment. Aiming at the characteristics of the ship's limited space, the storage availability is used as the objective function, and the marginal optimization model of the spare parts is established. Through lists example, the variation of the ratio of space to efficiency is calculated, and the effect of spare parts on storage availability of equipment is analyzed, and the result is consistent with the actual situation. The example show that when the decision makers make spare parts plan, it should consider extra spare parts which used to improve the storage availability of equipment. The model can provide guidance for decision makers to make spare parts plan.
Investigations into mechanisms of amino acid supply to the rat embryo using whole-embryo culture.

The technique pioneered by D.A. T. New for the in vitro culture of early post-implantation rat embryos has been used to study nutritional mechanisms during early organogenesis. The results indicate that the principal route for amino acid supply to the 8.5- to 11.5-day embryo involves the endocytosis of proteins into cells of the visceral yolk sac endoderm, their digestion in lysosomes, and transmission of the amino acids to the growing embryo. Free amino acids constitute a comparatively unimportant source. Inhibition of either endocytosis or intralysosomal proteolysis diminishes amino acid supply to the embryo, and this can result in embryonic death or maldevelopment during organogenesis.
Exploring the Determinants of Hot Spring Tourism Customer Satisfaction: Causal Relationships Analysis Using ISM

To stand out in the hot spring tourism industry, customer satisfaction has become the crucial issue for competitiveness. A company cannot implement several customer satisfaction improvement practices altogether with limited resources. Researchers advocate that companies should evaluate the relationships among success factors and explore determinants for their improvement implementation. However, such a relationship evaluation has not yet been adequately performed. This paper intends to explore the determinants for improving hot spring customer satisfaction. Adopting grounded theory (GT) and using data collected from websites, Ctrip and Qunar, the first 12 key factors for customer satisfaction were identified. Then, their interrelationships were assessed by 15 experts, and interpretive structural modeling (ISM) was employed to analyze the interrelationships and the driving and dependence power among key factors. The results show that “Environment Quality”, “Special Resource”, “Convenience”, “Food”, Service Quality”, and “Facilities” were the decisive factors affecting customer satisfaction. The findings offer important implications for hot spring management and practice. The contribution of this study is using a novel approach to establish a hierarchical structural model for comprehensive understanding of factor relationships that influence hot spring tourists’ satisfaction and to explore decisive factors which can help hot spring practitioners to better plan and design effective improvement strategies to attract potential new consumers and retain their current consumers, especially with limited resources.
Acute Suppressive and Long-Term Phase Modulation Actions of Orexin on the Mammalian Circadian Clock

Circadian and homeostatic neural circuits organize the temporal architecture of physiology and behavior, but knowledge of their interactions is imperfect. For example, neurons containing the neuropeptide orexin homeostatically control arousal and appetitive states, while neurons in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) function as the brain's master circadian clock. The SCN regulates orexin neurons so that they are much more active during the circadian night than the circadian day, but it is unclear whether the orexin neurons reciprocally regulate the SCN clock. Here we show both orexinergic innervation and expression of genes encoding orexin receptors (OX1 and OX2) in the mouse SCN, with OX1 being upregulated at dusk. Remarkably, we find through in vitro physiological recordings that orexin predominantly suppresses mouse SCN Period1 (Per1)-EGFP-expressing clock cells. The mechanisms underpinning these suppressions vary across the circadian cycle, from presynaptic modulation of inhibitory GABAergic signaling during the day to directly activating leak K+ currents at night. Orexin also augments the SCN clock-resetting effects of neuropeptide Y (NPY), another neurochemical correlate of arousal, and potentiates NPY's inhibition of SCN Per1-EGFP cells. These results build on emerging literature that challenge the widely held view that orexin signaling is exclusively excitatory and suggest new mechanisms for avoiding conflicts between circadian clock signals and homeostatic cues in the brain.
Going-Concern Opinions, Auditor Switching, and the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Effect Examined in the Regulatory Context of Belgium

Previous studies have demonstrated that auditors are reluctant to issue going-concern opinions. Some suggest this reluctance is strategic and stems from the auditor's desire to avoid loss of clients or reputation. This paper investigates the threat of loss resulting from auditor switching and client bankruptcy in the regulatory context of Belgium. Belgium requires companies to engage an audit firm for a three-year period. Consequently, the client's threat of switching auditors is potentially more credible in the third year than in the first two years. The empirical results support the hypothesis that going-concern opinions significantly increase the probability of bankruptcy. Thus, going-concern reports remain relevant even in a country where debt financing is dominant. In addition, clients are four times more likely to switch auditors at the end of the mandatory term if they receive a going-concern opinion in the final year of the term relative to the previous two years. This strongly suggests that mandatory terms influence the association between going-concern opinions and auditor switching.
Plasticity of dynamic muscle performance with strength training in elderly humans

Data are scarce relating to the plasticity with strength training of dynamic muscle performance in older humans. Hence, we investigated alterations in the torque–velocity relation with strength training in old age, and their origin. Knee extension and leg‐press exercises were performed three times per week for 14 weeks. Maximal isokinetic knee extension torque was assessed during concentric and eccentric muscle actions. Agonist–antagonist muscle activation was assessed using electromyography. Vastus lateralis muscle architecture was examined in vivo using ultrasonography. Training increased concentric torque by 22–37% (P < 0.01), but failed to alter eccentric torque (P > 0.05). Increased agonist muscle activation, increased muscle fascicle lengths, and greater elastic energy recovered from tendinous structures may explain the adaptations during concentric actions, whereas the failure of eccentric torque to increase might be explained by the preservation of eccentric force with aging and an underloading of the eccentric movement phase during training. These findings may have important implications for dynamic muscle performance in old age. Muscle Nerve, 2005
Hydrocortisone therapy for patients with septic shock.

BACKGROUND Hydrocortisone is widely used in patients with septic shock even though a survival benefit has been reported only in patients who remained hypotensive after fluid and vasopressor resuscitation and whose plasma cortisol levels did not rise appropriately after the administration of corticotropin. METHODS In this multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we assigned 251 patients to receive 50 mg of intravenous hydrocortisone and 248 patients to receive placebo every 6 hours for 5 days; the dose was then tapered during a 6-day period. At 28 days, the primary outcome was death among patients who did not have a response to a corticotropin test. RESULTS Of the 499 patients in the study, 233 (46.7%) did not have a response to corticotropin (125 in the hydrocortisone group and 108 in the placebo group). At 28 days, there was no significant difference in mortality between patients in the two study groups who did not have a response to corticotropin (39.2% in the hydrocortisone group and 36.1% in the placebo group, P=0.69) or between those who had a response to corticotropin (28.8% in the hydrocortisone group and 28.7% in the placebo group, P=1.00). At 28 days, 86 of 251 patients in the hydrocortisone group (34.3%) and 78 of 248 patients in the placebo group (31.5%) had died (P=0.51). In the hydrocortisone group, shock was reversed more quickly than in the placebo group. However, there were more episodes of superinfection, including new sepsis and septic shock. CONCLUSIONS Hydrocortisone did not improve survival or reversal of shock in patients with septic shock, either overall or in patients who did not have a response to corticotropin, although hydrocortisone hastened reversal of shock in patients in whom shock was reversed. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00147004.)
Behavioral monitoring in smart-home environments for health-care applications

Although the method discussed in this work already obtained promising results, we plan to extend it in several directions. First of all, anomaly recognition relies on a too rigid formalisms which is not able to capture the intrinsic noise of sensor measurements. Moreover, semi-supervised ADLs recognition techniques (e.g., active learning) will be evaluated in order to better adapt the model to different users and environments. Last but not least, we aim to improve our algorithms in order to support parallel activities and multi-inhabitants scenarios.
Genipin as a sporicidal agent for the treatment of cortical bone allografts

Introduction Microbial bioburden in bone allografts can be reduced by gamma radiation; however, the radiation compromises collagen and increases the risk of graft failure. Genipin is an agent that may reduce bioburden by chemical crosslinking without causing mechanical detriment or cytotoxicity. Methods To evaluate genipin’s ability to penetrate cortical bone while maintaining sporicidal activity, Bacillus subtilis spore strips were isolated between slices of bovine femoral cortical bone and immersed in genipin solutions for up to one week; spore viability was assessed with media-based assays. The mechanical effects of genipin treatment were assessed by performing three-point bending tests on genipin-treated cortical beams. Cytotoxicity studies were conducted by evaluating the adhesion and proliferation of murine MC3T3-E1 (P21) preosteoblasts on cortical bone slices which were treated with genipin and rinsed to different extents. Results Genipin successfully penetrated cortical bone slices and sterilized B. subtilis populations after 48 hours (p > 0.05) and one week (p < 0.05). Genipin-treated cortical beams demonstrated dose-dependent increases in yield strain (p = 0.02) and resilience (p < 0.01), whereas other mechanical properties were not affected by genipin treatment. Seeding cells onto inadequately rinsed genipin-treated bones proved cytotoxic. However, with adequate post-treatment rinsing of the residual genipin, cell adhesion and proliferation was comparable to phosphate-buffered saline-treated controls (no genipin). Conclusions Genipin solutions can sterilize bacterial spore populations entrapped within the continuum of bone tissue while preserving mechanical properties of bone and allowing cell adhesion and proliferation. Provided that antimicrobial effects seen with bacterial spores extend broadly to all microbial and viral species, genipin holds strong potential for bone allograft sterilization.
Electromagnetic radiation absorbing paints based on carbonyl iron and polyaniline

In this paper are presented the processing and characterization of electromagnetic radiation absorbing paints based on magnetic and dielectric materials. Two different paint formulations containing carbonyl iron and/or polyaniline, and using polyurethane as matrix were prepared. The paints were applied to a metallic surface and the absorption of electromagnetic radiation was measured using the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) arch method. Measurements of the electric permittivity and magnetic permeability of the paint were also carried out. The paints absorbed 60%–80% of the incident electromagnetic radiation, indicating their potential as radiation absorbing materials.