Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trends in grouse research

Abstract Biological research on birds of the grouse family has become increasingly related to conservation. We review trends in grouse biology, analysing the representation of species and topics in the titles of 2,788 papers published since 1930. Ruffed grouse Bonasa umbellus, the most frequently studied species before 1960, was overtaken by willow ptarmigan Lagopus lagopus in the 1970s, after which black grouse Tetrao tetrix and capercaillie Tetrao urogallus became increasingly popular until they were the most-studied species in the 2000s. The new focus on conservation ecology involves increased interest in the topics of threatened taxa, genetics and conservation. A new appreciation of the role of large, landscape-scale processes in population dynamics and conservation management is shown by an increase in publications on landscape ecology and habitat, enabled by technical advances in telemetry, genetics and mapping systems. Meanwhile, the number of papers on disease, diet, behaviour and reproduction has declined. The topics of climate change, human disturbance and pollution had few hits, but we anticipate that interest in them will increase as the current emphasis on conservation continues. This may well involve improved genetic and GIS techniques for determining dispersal patterns, habitat connectivity and population viability, along with a better understanding of how grouse survive their predators and other enemies. Better communication of experiences in management for grouse conservation is needed.
An event-based framework for converged service provisioning

The paper describes an object-oriented event-based framework for provisioning services for the converging telecommunications networks and the Internet. The DOORS (distributed object operations) framework attempts to address several issues in protocol development, interoperability and distributed computing in heterogenous networks and telecommunications systems. The framework highlights a generic service platform, called Network Intelligence Middleware, as a means to interface with the disparate networks and systems. In addition, the platform is a controlling environment for provisioning the services in the network, guaranteeing the runtime robustness and scalability.
Printed microwave and millimeter wave antennas Resrach advances in the SKLMMW

In this paper, the research advances in printed microwave and millimeter wave antennas in the State Key Laboratory of Millimeter Waves (SKLMMW) are reviewed, including printed omnidirectional antennas, dual-band antennas, ultra-wideband antennas with or without frequency notches, multi-beam antennas, low sidelobe antennas, filtennas, frequency scanning antennas, reflectarray, and lens etc.
Toluidine blue stain and crystal violet stain versus H&E stain in the Diagnosis of Hirschsprung’s Disease: A Study in Sulaimani City in Kurdistan/Iraq

Background Hirschsprung’s Disease (HD) is a congenital disorder of the colon in which certain nerve cells, known as ganglion cells are absent. Setting and Design: To demonstrate the efficacy of Cresyl Violet and Toluidine blue (Tb) special stains in the identification of ganglion cells in suspected Hirschsprung’s disease and to find other adjuvant histological criteria for the diagnosis. Method: In Sulaimani Teaching Hospital and Pediatric teaching hospital in Sulaimani Governorate/ Kurdistan-Iraq a total of fifty non selected cases biopsied for suspected HD were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain and divided into two groups: HD and-non-HD. All cases then should be stained with Tb special stain to identify ganglion cells and to count mast cells in the submucosa. Cases were stained with Cresyl Violet special stain to identify ganglion cells. H&E- and Tb-stained sections were examined for the presence or absence of hypertrophic nerve fibers in the submucosa. Results: Both Cresyl violet and Tb stains were superior to H&E in the identification of ganglion cells with no statistically significant difference between the two stains. Mast cell count in the submucosa has no important effect on diagnosis while nerve bundle hypertrophy was found to be associated with absence of ganglion cells in Hirschsprung disease. Conclusion s: Toluidine blue and/or Cresyl violet stains should to be used as the routine stain to highlight ganglion cells in suspected Hirschsprung’s disease cases. Submucosal nerve bundle hypertrophy has to be assessed as an adjuvant histolological criterion.
Multiple functional P 2 X and P 2 Y receptors in the luminal and basolateral membranes of pancreatic duct cells

Luo, Xiang, Weizhong Zheng, Ming Yan, Min Goo Lee, and Shmuel Muallem. Multiple functional P2X and P2Y receptors in the luminal and basolateral membranes of pancreatic duct cells. Am. J. Physiol. 277 (Cell Physiol. 46): C205–C215, 1999. —Purinergic receptors in the basolateral and luminal membranes of the pancreatic duct can act by a feedback mechanism to coordinate transport activity in the two membranes during ductal secretion. The goal of the present work was to identify and localize the functional P2 receptors (P2R) in the rat pancreatic duct. The lack of selective agonists and/or antagonists for any of the cloned P2R dictated the use of molecular and functional approaches to the characterization of ductal P2R. For the molecular studies, RNA was prepared from microdissected pancreatic intralobular ducts and was shown to be free of mRNA for amylase and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (markers for acinar and endothelial cells, respectively). A new procedure is described to obtain an enriched preparation of single duct cells suitable for electrophysiological studies. Localization of P2R was achieved by testing the effect of various P2R agonists on intracellular Ca21 concentration ([Ca]i) of microperfused intralobular ducts. RT-PCR analysis suggested the expression of six subtypes of P2R in the pancreatic duct: three P2YR and three P2XR. Activation of Cl2 current by various nucleotides and coupling of the receptors activated by these nucleotides to G proteins confirmed the expression of multiple P2R in duct cells. Measurement of [Ca]i in microperfused intralobular ducts suggested the expression of P2X1R, P2X4R, probably P2X7R, and as yet unidentified P2YR, possibly P2Y1R, in the basolateral membrane. Expression of P2Y2R, P2Y4R, and P2X7R was found in the luminal membrane. The unprecedented expression of such a variety of P2R in one cell type, many capable of activating Cl2 channels, suggests that these receptors may have an important role in pancreatic duct cell function.
Scalable Modeling of Magnetic Inductance in Carbon Nanotube Bundles for VLSI Interconnect

In this paper, we develop accurate and scalable models for the magnetic inductance in bundles of single-walled carbon nanotubes, which have been proposed as a means to alleviate the increasingly critical resistance problems associated with traditional copper interconnect in VLSI applications. The models consider the density and statistical distribution of both metallic and semiconducting nanotubes within the bundle. We evaluate the speed, accuracy and scalability of our magnetic inductance modeling techniques and previously proposed inductance models. The inductance model with the best performance evaluates the magnetic inductance of nanotube bundles with typical errors of less than 0.8 percent when compared with modeling each nanotube individually and provides orders of magnitude improvement in CPU time as the bundle size increases.
Multimodality treatment of diffuse malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Diffuse malignant pleural mesothelioma (DMPM) is a challenging disease in all of its aspects, from presentation and diagnosis to staging and treatment. Single-modality therapy was the initial approach to this disease. It generally has not been effective in changing the natural history of DMPM. As a result, multimodality regimens involving surgery with radiation, chemotherapy, or immunotherapy delivered regionally or systemically have been evaluated. Randomized controlled studies comparing various strategies are lacking and, thus, the debate continues regarding the effectiveness of different treatment approaches.
Cloning of the egl gene of Pseudomonas solanacearum and analysis of its role in phytopathogenicity

The egl gene of Pseudomonas solanacearum was cloned on a cosmid and expressed in Escherichia coli. Restriction endonuclease mapping, transposon mutagenesis, and subclone analysis showed that the egl gene was located on a 2.7-kilobase XhoI-SalI P. solanacearum DNA fragment. Immunoabsorption experiments and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic analysis showed that the egl gene encodes the 43-kilodalton endoglucanase that is the major excreted endoglucanase of P. solanacearum. In E. coli, the egl gene appeared to be expressed from its own promoter, but its product was restricted to the cytoplasm. The cloned egl gene was mutagenized with Tn5 and used to specifically mutate the chromosomal egl gene of P. solanacearum by site-directed mutagenesis. The resultant mutant was identical to the wild-type strain in production of extracellular polysaccharide and extracellular polygalacturonase as well as several other excreted proteins but produced at least 200-fold less endoglucanase. This mutant strain was significantly less virulent on tomato than the wild-type strain in plant bioassay experiments. Virulence of the endoglucanase-deficient strain was restored to near wild-type levels by complementation in trans with the cloned egl gene, indicating that the egl gene is important but not absolutely required for pathogenesis.
On Algebraic Structure of Improved Gauss-Seidel Iteration

Analysis of real life problems often results in linear systems of equations for which solutions are sought. The method to employ depends, to some extent, on the properties of the coefficient matrix. It is not always feasible to solve linear systems of equations by direct methods, as such the need to use an iterative method becomes imperative. Before an iterative method can be employed to solve a linear system of equations there must be a guaranty that the process of solution will converge. This guaranty, which must be determined apriori, involve the use of some criterion expressible in terms of the entries of the coefficient matrix. It is, therefore, logical that the convergence criterion should depend implicitly on the algebraic structure of such a method. However, in deference to this view is the practice of conducting convergence analysis for GaussSeidel iteration on a criterion formulated based on the algebraic structure of Jacobi iteration. To remedy this anomaly, the GaussSeidel iteration was studied for its algebraic structure and contrary to the usual assumption, it was discovered that some property of the iteration matrix of Gauss-Seidel method is only diagonally dominant in its first row while the other rows do not satisfy diagonal dominance. With the aid of this structure we herein fashion out an improved version of Gauss-Seidel iteration with the prospect of enhancing convergence and robustness of the method. A numerical section is included to demonstrate the validity of the theoretical results obtained for the improved Gauss-Seidel method. Keywords—Linear system of equations, Gauss-Seidel iteration, algebraic structure, convergence.
Protective immunity is induced by a Borrelia burgdorferi mutant that lacks OspA and OspB

A mutant of virulent Borrelia burgdorferi 297 was apparently selected for by long-term storage at 5 degrees C. This mutant was found to lack the plasmid which encodes outer surface protein A (OspA) and OspB. In addition to the loss of the OspA and OspB proteins, the mutant lacked two lipoproteins, of 20 and 7.5 kDa, that were observed in the wild type. Since the mutant was not recovered from the tissues or blood of hamsters injected with the mutant, the mutant was determined to be noninfectious. Hamsters vaccinated with noninfectious mutant 297 were protected completely from challenge with virulent wild-type 297 spirochetes. Prechallenge sera from hamsters vaccinated with mutant 297 lacked antibodies to OspA and OspB, while those from hamsters vaccinated with virulent wild-type 297 or avirulent 297 exhibited antibodies to these proteins. Hamsters vaccinated with virulent wild-type 297 or mutant 297 elicited antibodies to OspC and a 39-kDa protein (P39), whereas hamsters vaccinated with avirulent 297 lacked these antibodies. These results suggest that OspC and/or P39 are important for the development of a protective immune response. Study of this mutant may elucidate factors important to the development of a Lyme disease vaccine.
Stator winding proximity loss reduction techniques in high speed electrical machines

Eddy-current losses in the stator windings of high speed machines may constitute a significant amount of the total stator copper losses, if they are not adequately dealt with. Many measures, such as using Litz-wire, discrete parallel strands or only partially filling a slot, reduce both the electrical and thermal performance or increase the cost and should only be used when necessary. This paper systematically analyzes and compares the effects of such measures with 2D FEA, applied to an example high speed permanent magnet machine, providing insight into tradeoffs between the various methods. It is shown that, among others, only partially filling the slot can be equally effective as using multiple parallel strands, and that the advantages of parallel strands are limited by uneven current sharing across the strands. If all proposed methods are combined, the resulting design offers similar performance to a machine with Litz-wire.
A INTENÇÃO DE USO DO MOODLE: UM ESTUDO COM ALUNOS DAS CIÊNCIAS SOCIAIS APLICADAS DE UMA UNIVERSIDADE PÚBLICA DO ESTADO DO PARANÁ

O presente artigo tem como escopo investigar a intencao de uso da plataforma Moodle pelos alunos uma Universidade Estadual do Parana. A pesquisa foi realizada fundamentando-se no modelo teorico de aceitacao da tecnologia (TAM) estendido com tres variaveis externas, sendo elas: utilidade percebida por professores pelos alunos, compatibilidade percebida e treinamento. A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio do questionario traduzido do estudo de Escobar-Rodriguez e Monge-Lozano (2012) aplicado diretamente a 198 alunos de Turismo, Administracao e Contabilidade. Para analise das hipoteses replicadas, utilizou-se estatistica descritiva e equacoes estruturais por meio de PLS. Os resultados mostram que na percepcao dos alunos, a plataforma Moodle e util e facil de usar impactando na intencao de uso; que as variaveis externas, utilidade percebida dos professores pelos alunos exerce efeitos positivos e significativos na utilidade e intencao de uso, enquanto que o treinamento relacionase positivamente e significativamente com a utilidade e a facilidade de uso. Entretanto, ressalta-se que para a variavel compatibilidade percebida foi encontrado coeficientes de caminho significativos, porem negativos tanto com a utilidade quanto com a facilidade percebida pelo motivo da escala desse construto ser analisado de forma invertida. Conclui-se que os resultados validaram o modelo estrutural da pesquisa e coadunam parcialmente com os achados de Escobar-Rodriguez e MongeLozano (2012), contribuindo assim para a literatura referente aos recursos utilizados no processo de ensino-aprendizagem.
Amyloid beta accumulation in HIV‐1‐infected brain: The role of the blood brain barrier

In recent years, we face an increase in the aging of the HIV‐1‐infected population, which is not only due to effective antiretroviral therapy but also to new infections among older people. Even with the use of the antiretroviral therapy, HIV‐associated neurocognitive disorders represent an increasing problem as the HIV‐1‐infected population ages. Increased amyloid beta (Aβ) deposition is characteristic of HIV‐1‐infected brains, and it has been hypothesized that brain vascular dysfunction contributes to this phenomenon, with a critical role suggested for the blood‐brain barrier in brain Aβ homeostasis. This review will describe the mechanisms by which the blood‐brain barrier may contribute to brain Aβ accumulation, and our findings in the context of HIV‐1 infection will be discussed. © 2012 IUBMB Life, 65(1):43–49, 2013
Evaluation of Food Behaviour and Nutritional Status of Pregnant WomenResident in Keserwan

Pregnancy, this particular moment in the life of a woman, requires monitoring of eating behaviour changes. However the food choices during pregnancy should be healthy, including the consumption of different food groups, and nutritional status is the process of acquisition and consumption of food. So a varied diet is associated with good nutritional status. This is why the nutrition education is a strategy commonly applied to improve maternal nutrition during pregnancy. Therefore, it is crucial to assess "the eating behaviour and nutritional status of pregnant women living in Keserwan. " The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feeding behaviour, nutritional status and level of awareness of pregnant women residing in Keserwan. A cross-sectional descriptive study is carried out, two main types of research instruments. A questionnaire containing socio-demographic, personal information, questions on eating behaviour, food frequency and nutritional education. As well as laboratory tests already done by pregnant women. The total sample surveyed included 150 pregnant women between the ages of 18 and 40 years randomly selected from the hospitals and clinics of the Keserwan gynaecologists and allocated in an equitable manner between two regions chosen according to altitude. The final analysis led to the results obtained 48.7% of pregnant women are aged 30 to 40 years, 56% have a normal BMI between 18.5 and 24.9, 80.7% have acceptable food behaviour, 68% have an acceptable level of awareness and half have an acceptable nutritional status. Thus, age affects the eating behaviour, so more women that are pregnant are older plus they have good eating behaviour. It would be possible to institute an awarenessraising program in the aim of increasing the level of education of pregnant women with regard to eating behaviour and nutritional status.
End-Stage Renal Disease Among Aboriginal Peoples in Canada : Treatment and Outcomes

Using data from the Canadian Organ Replacement Register (CORR), this report examines differences between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal ESRD patients on a number of factors, such as socio-demographic context, distance to receive treatment, co-existing health conditions, treatments received and treatment-related outcomes. The analyses revealed that Aboriginal peoples are more likely to receive treatment for ESRD compared with others in Canada. Further, when compared with other patients, Aboriginal ESRD patients
Insulin-like growth factor binding protein 1 as a novel specific marker of hepatic insulin sensitivity.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The liver is the main source and insulin the main regulator of IGF binding protein 1 (IGFBP-1) in humans. Here we examined how serum IGFBP-1 concentrations are related to directly measured hepatic insulin sensitivity and liver fat content in humans. METHODS We measured fasting serum (fS) IGFBP-1 concentrations and liver fat content by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in 113 nondiabetic subjects. In addition, hepatic insulin sensitivity was measured using the euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp (insulin 0.3 mU/kg.min) technique in combination with the infusion of [3-(3)H]glucose in 78 subjects. RESULTS fS-IGFBP-1 concentrations were inversely related to liver fat content (r = -0.38, P < 0.0001). Of circulating parameters, fS-IGFBP-1 was better correlated to hepatic insulin sensitivity (r = 0.48, P < 0.0001) than fS-insulin (r = -0.42, P = 0.0001), fS-C-peptide (r = -0.41, P = 0.0002), fS-triglyceride (r = -0.33, P = 0.003), or fS-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (r = 0.30, P = 0.007). In multiple linear regression analyses, body mass index (P < 0.0001) and fS-IGFBP-1 (P = 0.008), but neither age nor gender, were independently associated with hepatic insulin sensitivity (P < 0.0001 for ANOVA). Neither fS-insulin nor fS-C-peptide were independent determinants of hepatic insulin sensitivity after adjusting for age, gender, and body mass index. CONCLUSIONS fS-IGFBP-1 is inversely correlated with liver fat and is an obesity-independent and liver-specific circulating marker of hepatic insulin sensitivity.
Socioeconomic inequalities in mortality among women and among men: an international study.

OBJECTIVES This study compared differences in total and cause-specific mortality by educational level among women with those among men in 7 countries: the United States, Finland, Norway, Italy, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Estonia. METHODS National data were obtained for the period ca. 1980 to ca. 1990. Age-adjusted rate ratios comparing a broad lower-educational group with a broad upper-educational group were calculated with Poisson regression analysis. RESULTS Total mortality rate ratios among women ranged from 1.09 in the Czech Republic to 1.31 in the United States and Estonia. Higher mortality rates among lower-educated women were found for most causes of death, but not for neoplasms. Relative inequalities in total mortality tended to be smaller among women than among men. In the United States and Western Europe, but not in Central and Eastern Europe, this sex difference was largely due to differences between women and men in cause-of-death pattern. For specific causes of death, inequalities are usually larger among men. CONCLUSIONS Further study of the interaction between socioeconomic factors, sex, and mortality may provide important clues to the explanation of inequalities in health.
Effect of percolation and interfacial characteristics on breakdown behavior of nano-Silica/Epoxy composites

The characteristics of electrical breakdown in inorganic nano-Silica/Epoxy composites are studied. Nano Silica shows significant impact on electrical breakdown strength of nano-Silica/Epoxy composites. Appropriate proportion of inorganic nano Silica can improve the breakdown strength of the composites, but excessive fillers show opposite effect. The percolation and interfacial characteristics are used to interpret the peak value appeared on the curve of breakdown behavior of the nano-composites. The interfaces between nano-particles and Epoxy matrix decide the formation of percolation network. In addition, modified nano Silica particles with silane coupling agent are effective to form the interactions of molecular between nano-particles and Epoxy. As a result, the breakdown strength of nanocomposites higher than pure Epoxy, and the breakdown strength of modified Silica nano-composites higher than the unmodified one. The percolation threshold of 5wt% Silica content in the nano-Silica/Epoxy composites is founded.
Bulk micromachining of silicon

Bulk silicon etching techniques, used to selectively remove silicon from substrates, have been broadly applied in the fabrication of micromachined sensors, actuators, and structures. Despite the more recent emergence of higher resolution, surface-micromachining approaches, the majority of currently shipping silicon sensors are made using bulk etching. Particularly in light of newly introduced dry etching methods compatible with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductors, it is unlikely that bulk micromachining will decrease in popularity in the near future. The available etching methods fall into three categories in terms of the state of the etchant: wet, vapor, and plasma. For each category, the available processes are reviewed and compared in terms of etch results, cost, complexity, process compatibility, and a number of other factors. In addition, several example micromachined structures are presented.