Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Literature Review : A Comparison of Dairy Production Systems

This literature review focused on studies comparing the effects of dairy production systems (pasture-based, conventional/confinement1, and mixed) on (i) environmental issues, (ii) social issues, (iii) economic issues, (iv) human health issues, and (v) animal welfare issues. The review was based on peer-reviewed research papers identified by experts at MSU, as well as (where specifically suggested) non peer-reviewed university and government reports. Additional studies were identified from the reference section of recommended papers, as well as via their citation index (primarily Google Scholar). A synopsis of each section is available below, as well as at the end of each section.
Local and global geometric methods for analysis, interrogation, reconstruction, modification and design of shape

Gives an overview of some recent methods useful for local and global shape analysis and for the design of solids. These methods include, as new tools for global and local shape analysis, the spectra of the Laplace and Laplace-Beltrami operators and the concept of stable umbilical points, i.e. stable singularities of the "principal curvature line" wire-frame model of the solid's boundary surface. Most of the material in this paper deals with the medial axis transform as a tool for shape interrogation, reconstruction, modification and design. We show that it appears to be possible to construct an intuitive user interface that allows one to mould shapes by employing the medial axis transform. We also explain that the medial axis and Voronoi diagram can also be defined and computed on free surfaces in a setting where the geodesic distance between two points p and q on a surface S is defined by the shortest surface path on S joining the two points p, q. This leads to the natural and computable generalized concepts of the geodesic medial axis and geodesic Voronoi diagram on free-form surfaces. Both can be computed with a reasonable speed and with high accuracy (of about 12 digits when double floating-point arithmetic is used for the computations).
Mitochondria-targeted Antioxidants as a Prospective Therapeutic Strategy for Multiple Sclerosis.

BACKGROUND Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the most widespread chronic neurological diseases that manifests itself by progressive demyelination in the central nervous system. The study of MS pathogenesis begins with the onset of the relapsing-remitting phase of the disease, which becomes apparent due to microglia activation, neuroinflammation and demyelination/ remyelination in the white matter. The following progressive phase is accompanied by severe neurological symptoms when demyelination and neurodegeneration are spread to both gray and white matter. In this review, we discuss a possible role of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS) in MS pathogenesis, mechanisms of mtROS generation and effects of some mitochondria-targeted antioxidants as potential components of MS therapy. RESULTS In the early phase of MS, mtROS stimulate NLRP3 inflammasomes, which is critical for the formation of local inflammatory lesions. Later, mtROS contribute to blood-brain barrier disruption induced by mediators of inflammation, followed by infiltration of leukocytes. ROS generated by leukocytes and activated microglia promote mitochondrial dysfunction and oligodendrocyte cell death. In the progressive phase, neurodegeneration also depends on excessive mtROS generation. Currently, only a few immunomodulatory drugs are approved for treatment of MS. These drugs mainly reduce the number of relapses but do not stop MS progression. Certain dietary and synthetic antioxidants have demonstrated encouraging results in animal models of MS but were ineffective in the completed clinical trials. CONCLUSION Novel mitochondria-targeted antioxidants could be promising components of combined programs for MS therapy considering that they can be applied at extremely low doses and concurrently demonstrate anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective activities.
Characterization of species-speci¢c genes using a £exible, web-based querying system

We describe a query-based web-accessible system (www.neurogadgets.com/bws.php) for facilitating comparative microbial genomics. A variety of query pages are available, each with numerous options, that allow a biologist to pose relevant questions of genomic data. We illustrate with a characterization of species-specific protein-coding genes (so-called ‘ORFans’), finding that they are on average smaller, faster evolving, and less G+C-rich, and that they encode proteins more basic in their predicted isoelectric point, compared with non-species-specific genes. Using a dual-threshold approach, we conclude that these are characteristics of true species-specific genes, rather than artifacts of mis-annotation. ;
Modulation of tactile motion by intra- and inter-modal manipulation

The perception of tactile motion is essential for our daily interaction with objects. Tactile motion perception has been studied by using stimuli featuring real or apparent motion. Research on tactile apparent motion has conventionally manipulated the perceived direction of the motion using 2 non-repeating or more than 2 repeating stimuli. Here, we report the modulation of perceived motion direction at different alternation rates by manipulation of the tactile stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between the left-to-right and right-to-left stimuli in 2 alternately and repeatedly presented vibrotactile stimuli generating ambiguous apparent motion (Experiment 1). The present study also reports that the perceived direction of tactile motion could be modulated by manipulation of the timing of additional static sounds even when the SOAs of the tactile stimuli are equal (Experiment 2). We discuss the temporal differences in the effects of intra- and inter-modal stimulus timing on tactile motion perception.
Anatomical and experimental studies of brachial plexus, sciatic, and femoral nerve-location using peripheral nerve stimulation in the dog.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the anatomy of the brachial plexus, sciatic, and femoral nerves for the use of a peripheral nerve-stimulator to perform nerve blocks in dogs. STUDY DESIGN Prospective experimental trial. ANIMALS Four canine cadavers and four healthy adult dogs weighing 23 +/- 2.5 kg. METHODS Phase I: in four canine cadavers, an anatomical study was conducted to evaluate accurate needle-insertion techniques. Phase II: the utility of these techniques, and the value of electrostimulation, were evaluated in four anesthetized dogs in lateral recumbency (medetomidine, 5 microg kg(-1)/ketamine 5 mg kg(-1)) using an electrical stimulator and shielded needles. RESULTS For the brachial plexus, the needle was inserted cranial to the acromion, medial to the subscapularis muscle, at an angle of approximately 20-30 degrees in relation to a plane vertical to the surface on which the animal was lying, oriented parallel to the long axis of the animal, in a ventro-caudal direction. For the sciatic nerve, the needle was inserted just cranial to the sacrotuberous ligament, through the gluteus superficialis muscle, at an angle of approximately 60 degrees in relation to the horizontal plane, in a ventro-cranial direction, and up to the level of the ischium. For the femoral nerve, the needle was inserted perpendicular to the skin, just cranial to the femoral artery, and directed a little caudally. Using a peripheral nerve-stimulator, all nerves were located, and muscle contractions were elicited at a current of 0.2-0.4 mA. No complications were observed during the procedures. CONCLUSION Electrostimulation of peripheral nerves is useful in locating the branches of the brachial plexus as well as the sciatic and femoral nerves in dogs. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Peripheral nerve stimulation increases the reliability of a nerve block when compared with blind needle-insertion.
Evaluation of anti-epileptic property of Marsilea quadrifolia Linn. in maximal electroshock and pentylenetetrazole-induced rat models of epilepsy

Abstract Objective: To study the anti-epileptic effects of methanolic extract of Marsilea quadrifolia Linn. (MQ) in maximal electroshock (MES) and pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) induced rat models of epilepsy. Method: A total of 84 adult male Wistar rats were used. An acute oral toxicity study was conducted on 36 rats and the remaining were used for other experiments. Each model had 24 rats which were allotted into four groups (n = 6). Group I (Control) received 1% carboxymethyl cellulose solution, Group II (Positive control) received phenytoin 300 mg kg−1 b.w. in the MES model; sodium valproate 200 mg kg−1 b.w. in the PTZ model, Group III (MQ) received 400 mg kg−1 b.w. MQ extract and Group IV (MQ) received 600 mg kg−1 b.w. MQ extract. Hind limb extension (HLE) time and recovery time were noted in the MES model. Latency for myoclonic jerk, seizures and EEG was recorded in the PTZ model. Results: When compared to control, the phenytoin received group did not show HLE. In MQ pre-treated groups only 50% of rats showed HLE. Sodium valproate and various doses of MQ significantly increased the latency for onset of clonus and seizures. PTZ-induced EEG alterations were significantly attenuated by MQ administration and this was comparable to that of the sodium valproate effect. Conclusion: Marsilea quadrifolia Linn. showed significant anti-epileptic efficacy against various epilepsy models.
Areal distributions of cortical neurons projecting to different levels of the caudal brain stem and spinal cord in rats.

Distributions of corticospinal and corticobulbar neurons were revealed by tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) processing after injections of wheatgerm agglutinin conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (WGA:HRP) into the cervical or lumbar enlargements of the spinal cord, or medullary or pontine levels of the brain stem. Sections reacted for cytochrome oxidase (CO) allowed patterns of labeled neurons to be related to the details of the body surface map in the first somatosensory cortical area (SI). The results indicate that a number of cortical areas project to these subcortical levels: (1) Projection neurons in granular SI formed a clear somatotopic pattern. The hindpaw region projected to the lumbar enlargement, the forepaw region to the cervical enlargement, the whisker pad field to the lower medulla, and the more rostral face region to more rostral brain stem levels. (2) Each zone of labeled neurons in SI extended into adjacent dysgranular somatosensory cortex, forming a second somatotopic pattern of projection neurons. (3) A somatotopic pattern of projection neurons in primary motor cortex (MI) paralleled SI in mediolateral sequence corresponding to the hindlimb, forelimb, and face. (4) A weak somatotopic pattern of projection neurons was suggested in medial agranular cortex (Agm), indicating a premotor field with a rostromedial-to-caudolateral representation of hindlimb, forelimb, and face. (5) A somatotopic pattern of projection neurons representing the foot to face in a mediolateral sequence was observed in medial parietal cortex (PM) located between SI and area 17. (6) In the second somatosensory cortical area (SII), neurons projecting to the brain stem were immediately adjacent caudolaterally to the barrel field of SI, whereas neurons projecting to the upper spinal cord were more lateral. No projection neurons in this region were labeled by the injections in the lower spinal cord. (7) Other foci of projection neurons for the face and forelimb were located rostral to SII, providing evidence for a parietal ventral area (PV) in perirhinal cortex (PR) lateral to SI, and in cortex between SII and PM. None of these regions, which may be higher-order somatosensory areas, contained labeled neurons after injections in the lower spinal cord. Thus, more cortical fields directly influence brain stem and spinal cord levels related to sensory and motor functions of the face and forepaw than the hindlimb. The termination patterns of corticospinal and corticobulbar projections were studied in other rats with injections of WGA:HRP in SI. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Classification techniques for air quality forecasting

Air quality forecasting is one of the core elements of contemporary Urban Air Quality Management and Information Systems. Such systems are usually set up in order to serve environmental legislation needs and are tailored towards decision makers (for atmospheric quality problem abatement) and citizens (for early warning and information provision). The pluralism of forecasting methods that are available does not always lead to forecasting success, as the specific characteristics of each area of interest and the complicated, mostly chaotic relationships between air quality, meteorology, emissions and topography, limit the effectiveness of the methods used. On the other hand, the timescale of air quality problems dictate the usage of relatively "fast" methods, while the varying quality of input data calls for methods that have a low sensitivity in this factor and a high operational potential. For this reason, it is always interesting to perform a comparative study between various air quality forecasting methods and tools. The present paper describes the comparison work performed between several statistical methods and classification algorithms, on the basis of their performance for specific air quality time series in Athens, Greece.
Strategically integrating knowledge management initiatives

Despite continued interest in knowledge management (KM) initiatives that leverage an organization’s intellectual capital in the marketplace, several issues make it difficult for KM to deliver its full potential. Two barriers are identified and discussed – conceptual barriers and cultural barriers. Both are significant and best managed when there is an integrative conceptual model to guide the design and implementation of KM initiatives. An integrative model is proposed that focuses on how knowledge is assessed and valued, externally acquired and/or internally built, shared and retained, and applied to new products and services. Results from an exploratory survey using the model are reported for 222 organizations spanning ten industries, including identifying several specific KM practices in the highest performing organizations. Results clearly indicate that KM initiatives, while promising, do require significant further development to maximize their potential impact. Recommendations are offered for further research and practice.
Glutamate-mediated neuroplasticity in a limbic input to the hypothalamus

Emotionally-salient stressors are processed by cortical and limbic circuits that provide important regulatory input to the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. However, exposure to chronic or severe stress may cause disregulation of the axis and a variety of physiological and psychological symptoms. The mechanisms that underlie stress-induced alterations in HPA axis function are not well characterized, but one possibility is that severe stress causes plastic changes in limbic inputs to the hypothalamus. We examined plasticity within the bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNST) and the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) with a stimulating electrode in the BNST and a recording electrode in the PVN. High-frequency BNST stimulation produced long-lasting suppression of evoked field potentials recorded from the PVN, and this effect was blocked by administration of MK-801. Accordingly, rapid glutamate-mediated neuroplasticity in the BNST to PVN neurocircuitry may contribute to plasticity in limbic regulation of the HPA axis.
A typology of human computation games: an analysis and a review of current games

Human computation games (HCGs) utilise human intelligence for the purpose of problem solving through games. Recently, HCGs have increased in popularity within various application areas. A proper system of describing such games is necessary in order to obtain a better understanding of the current body of work and identify new opportunities for future research directions. To date, however, there is little research conducted in understanding how such games could be classified in a systematic manner. Past classification schemes rely either on quality or entertainment aspects of these games. In order to have a deeper understanding of such games, this study argues that they should be classified via different dimensions. As a starting point, this paper reviews existing literature on HCGs and then develops a typology consisting of 12 dimensions and related strategies. This typology provides a holistic view of HCGs, and provides a common understanding of the domain among researchers and designers. The typology will help researchers to better understand the nature and consequences of HCGs, and designers better identify strengths and weaknesses of different strategies for each dimension, thus facilitating the creation of entertaining and effective HCGs.
Phosphorylation of the Large Subunit of Myosin Phosphatase and Inhibition of Phosphatase Activity (*)

The partially purified myosin-bound phosphatase had an associated protein kinase that phosphorylated the holoenzyme, primarily on the large (130-kDa) subunit. Phosphorylation of the 130-kDa subunit resulted in inhibition of phosphatase activity. The major site of phosphorylation was threonine 654 of the 130-kDa subunit or threonine 695 of the 133-kDa isoform. Phosphorylation of the large subunit did not dissociate the holoenzyme. Dephosphorylation of the large subunit was achieved by the holoenzyme, and addition of the catalytic subunit of the type 2A enzyme did not increase the rate of dephosphorylation. The associated kinase was inhibited by chelerythrine, with half-maximal inhibition at approximately 5 μM (in 150 μM ATP). The associated kinase phosphorylated two synthetic peptides, one corresponding to the sequence flanking the phosphorylated threonine, i.e. 648-661 of the 130-kDa subunit, and the other to a known protein kinase C substrate, i.e. a modified sequence from the autoinhibitory region of protein kinase C. The associated kinase was activated by arachidonic and oleic acid and to a lesser extent by myristic acid. The protein kinase that phosphorylated the 130-kDa subunit and resulted in inhibition of myosin phosphatase activity was not identified.
Meta‐analysis of Diagnostic Test Accuracy Assessment Studies with Varying Number of Thresholds

Summary. Current meta‐analytic methods for diagnostic test accuracy are generally applicable to a selection of studies reporting only estimates of sensitivity and specificity, or at most, to studies whose results are reported using an equal number of ordered categories. In this article, we propose a new meta‐analytic method to evaluate test accuracy and arrive at a summary receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for a collection of studies evaluating diagnostic tests, even when test results are reported in an unequal number of nonnested ordered categories. We discuss both non‐Bayesian and Bayesian formulations of the approach. In the Bayesian setting, we propose several ways to construct summary ROC curves and their credible bands. We illustrate our approach with data from a recently published meta‐analysis evaluating a single serum progesterone test for diagnosing pregnancy failure.
Robust attitude control and simulation of a Stewart spacecraft

The attitude control and simulation of a Stewart spacecraft using robust approach is studied in this paper. Firstly, the configuration of the Stewart platform is illustrated, which is composed of six voice-coil actuators. The Stewart spacecraft is mechanically separated, and the vibrations from the platform can be isolated. Then, the robust approach is implemented to design the attitude controller for the spacecraft, and the stability of the attitude control system is analyzed and proved using the small gain theorem. Finally, simulation results are illustrated to demonstrate the attitude performances of the proposed approach.
Relationship between Perceived stress, Emotional Intelligence and Hope among Intern Nursing Students

The internship nursing experience is a valuable prospect for new nurses to gain practice in a real world settings under a supporting and experienced supervision. However, interns are encountering a lot of stressors that could hamper their work outcomes and even their overall wellbeing. The high levels of perceived stress associated with nursing were reported by many researches. High perceived stress along with the demanding nature of the nursing profession requires high levels of emotional intelligence to keep up with the work burden. On the other hand, hope is a concept that represents a certain degree of certainty about outcomes. So, emotionally intelligent people by the essence of their traits will think positively and having hope in the future and this in turn will decrease their level of perceived stress. The present study aimed to find out the relationship between perceived stress, emotional intelligence (EI), and hope among intern nursing students. The study followed a descriptive correlational design . It was conducted at the clinical settings of internship training of faculty of Nursing, Damanhour University. The study subjects included all internship nursing students who were enrolled at the academic year 2015-2016 (N = 174). Data for this study were obtained using four main tools, the Emotional Intelligence scale, The Herth Hope Index (HHI), and the perceived stress scale In addition, a socio-demographic and academic data sheet. Results of the present study revealed a significant +ve correlation between level of emotional intelligence and hope and a significant -ve Correlations between level of perceived stress and both level of emotional intelligence and hope among the studied interns In conclusion emotional intelligence as an skills is better suited to handle day to day perceived stress in internship nursing experience . High-level of emotional intelligence and hope can significantly foretell healthy functioning and less perceived stress at work.
Griggs and Yeh's Conjecture and L(p, 1)-labelings

An L ( p, 1)-labeling of a graph is a function f from the vertex set to the positive integers such that | f ( x ) − f ( y ) | (cid:2) p if dist( x,y ) = 1 and | f ( x ) − f ( y ) | (cid:2) 1 if dist( x,y ) = 2, where dist( x,y ) is the distance between the two vertices x and y in the graph. The span of an L ( p, 1)- labeling f is the diﬀerence between the largest and the smallest labels used by f . In 1992, Griggs and Yeh conjectured that every graph with maximum degree Δ (cid:2) 2 has an L (2 , 1)-labeling with span at most Δ 2 . We settle this conjecture for Δ suﬃciently large. More generally, we show that for any positive integer p there exists a constant Δ p such that every graph with maximum degree Δ (cid:2) Δ p has an L ( p, 1)-labeling with span at most Δ 2 . This yields that for each positive integer p , there is an integer C p such that every graph with maximum degree Δ has an L ( p, 1)-labeling with span at most Δ 2 + C p .