Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exponential power spectra, deterministic chaos and Lorentzian pulses in plasma edge dynamics

Exponential spectra have been observed in the edges of tokamaks, stellarators, helical devices and linear machines. The observation of exponential power spectra is significant because such a spectral character has been closely associated with the phenomenon of deterministic chaos by the nonlinear dynamics community. The proximate cause of exponential power spectra in both magnetized plasma edges and nonlinear dynamics models is the occurrence of Lorentzian pulses in the time signals of fluctuations. Lorentzian pulses are produced by chaotic behavior in the separatrix regions of plasma E × B flow fields or the limit cycle regions of nonlinear models. Chaotic advection, driven by the potential fields of drift waves in plasmas, results in transport. The observation of exponential power spectra and Lorentzian pulses suggests that fluctuations and transport at the edge of magnetized plasmas arise from deterministic, rather than stochastic, dynamics.
COMPARATIVE LIFE HISTORIES OF GEORGIA AND VIRGINIA COTTON RATS

Abstract Adult hispid cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) were collected from the field monthly for >2 years from populations near the northern edge of their range in Virginia and contemporaneously from south-central Georgia. Body measurements and weights were taken at capture, and after dissection embryos, corpora lutea, and placental scars were counted and measured; testes and seminal vesicles were dissected out, measured, and weighed. This allowed comparison of several life-history parameters between the populations and tests of several life-history hypotheses. The breeding season was up to 2 months longer in Georgia than in Virginia, where there was typically a 3-month or longer winter inactive period. Some reproductive activity was observed among Georgia females in all 12 calendar months, whereas pregnancies were never observed in Virginia during November–February. Average litter sizes were significantly higher in Virginia (5.91 ± 1.41, up to 13) than in Georgia (5.16 ± 1.79, up to 9); this difference may partly result from a higher incidence of embryo resorption and prenatal mortality in the Georgia population, primarily in the cooler 6 months of the year. Virginia rats averaged significantly smaller for both sexes, but this was likely the result of a younger age distribution. Among reproductive males and females, no body-size differences were found between populations except that pregnant females from Virginia averaged significantly longer. Fifty percent and 75% of the random sample of adult females and males, respectively, were reproductively active in Georgia, whereas only 35% and 40% were reproductively active in Virginia. Spermatogenically active males in Virginia had significantly greater relative gonadal mass than their Georgia counterparts. Overwinter survival of parous females was lower in Virginia. Virginia populations, in a more seasonal environment, displayed a more r-selected life history, with greater reproductive allocation, faster growth (except over winter), higher mortality, and less iteroparity.
Increased motivation for self-administered cocaine after escalated cocaine intake

Escalation in cocaine self-administration is hypothesized to involve increased motivation to consume cocaine. The present study determined the effects of escalated cocaine self-administration in rats on the cocaine dose–response function under a progressive ratio schedule. Two groups of rats were allowed to self-administer cocaine under a fixed ratio schedule, for 1 h (ShA; n = 7) or 6 h (LgA; n = 6) per day. The subjects were then allowed to self-administer five doses of cocaine (0, 0.031, 0.063, 0.125 and 0.25 mg/infusion) under a progressive ratio schedule. The dose–response function was shifted upwards in the LgA compared to the ShA group. In conclusion, the present data suggest that escalation in cocaine self-administration is associated with a significant increase in the incentive motivational value of self-administered cocaine.
Methane Leaks from Natural Gas Systems Follow Extreme Distributions.

Future energy systems may rely on natural gas as a low-cost fuel to support variable renewable power. However, leaking natural gas causes climate damage because methane (CH4) has a high global warming potential. In this study, we use extreme-value theory to explore the distribution of natural gas leak sizes. By analyzing ∼15 000 measurements from 18 prior studies, we show that all available natural gas leakage data sets are statistically heavy-tailed, and that gas leaks are more extremely distributed than other natural and social phenomena. A unifying result is that the largest 5% of leaks typically contribute over 50% of the total leakage volume. While prior studies used log-normal model distributions, we show that log-normal functions poorly represent tail behavior. Our results suggest that published uncertainty ranges of CH4 emissions are too narrow, and that larger sample sizes are required in future studies to achieve targeted confidence intervals. Additionally, we find that cross-study aggregation of data sets to increase sample size is not recommended due to apparent deviation between sampled populations. Understanding the nature of leak distributions can improve emission estimates, better illustrate their uncertainty, allow prioritization of source categories, and improve sampling design. Also, these data can be used for more effective design of leak detection technologies.
Passive electric monopole array for terahertz surface wave launcher

Micron-scale passive grounded quarter-wave electric monopole antennas can be constructed by direct-drawing a polymer into micropillars, followed by metallization. This technique is proposed for the realization of a homogeneous 2D array of passive electric monopoles, with an operating frequency of 500 GHz. The array utilizes grating lobes, as opposed to phased array techniques, to couple obliquely incident radiation to a surface wave in the transverse plane. Numerical simulations verify the operation of the antenna array as a surface wave launcher.
Vaginal Health: Insights, Views & Attitudes (VIVA) – results from an international survey

Objective To assess knowledge of vaginal atrophy among women using the Vaginal Health: Insights, Views & Attitudes (VIVA) survey. Methods A structured online questionnaire was used to obtain information from 3520 postmenopausal women aged 55–65 years living in Great Britain, the United States, Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Norway. Results In total, 45% of women reported experiencing vaginal symptoms. Only 4% of women attributed these symptoms to vaginal atrophy, and 63% failed to recognize vaginal atrophy as a chronic condition. Overall, 44% of respondents did not have a gynecologist, but this percentage varied between countries. Most women (75%) felt that vaginal atrophy had a negative impact on life, but this perception also showed country-specific differences. Most Finnish respondents (76%) were satisfied with the amount of information available about vaginal atrophy, compared with just 37–42% of women from other countries. Most women used over-the-counter products for vaginal atrophy symptoms, but specific means of treating the underlying cause were less well known. Almost half (46%) of all respondents lacked knowledge about local estrogen therapy, with women in Great Britain, the United States and Canada being most likely to lack knowledge of such treatment. Overall, 30% of women would consider taking local estrogen therapy, with vaginal tablets being the preferred option in all countries. Conclusion Postmenopausal women have a low understanding of vaginal atrophy. Medical practitioners should proactively raise this topic, help patients to understand that vaginal atrophy is a chronic condition, and discuss treatment options. Country-specific approaches may be required.
Ship electrical system simulation

Several ship systems were evaluated as part of the "HTS benefits to ship system" study funded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) in 2004. A commercially available power system simulation software application called PSCAD/sup /spl trade// was used to evaluate the dynamic response of the selected ship electrical systems. The generic, large combatant ship electric systems reported here consist of the following: 1) two 36.5 MW propulsion motors with their variable speed drives (VSDs), 2) two 36 MW generators with gas turbines, and 3) Two 4 MW auxiliary generators for auxiliary loads. Each system studied employed rotating machines that were built using high-temperature superconductor (HTS) wires. The PSCAD software enabled modeling of electrical systems with full transient details to study the dynamic response of the electric system over a wide frequency range. The default models and standard features available in PSCAD served all the requirements. A number of fault and load scenarios were studied. The goal of this simulation work was to develop a model for studying the dynamic behavior of the ship electrical system. This goal was successfully achieved.
Inappropriate eating behaviors during pregnancy: prevalence and associated factors among pregnant women attending primary care in southern Brazil.

OBJECTIVE To examine the prevalence of inappropriate eating behaviors and associated factors among pregnant women in primary care. METHOD The Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire was used to assess eating disorders and the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders was used to examine anxiety and depressive symptoms. Body mass index (BMI) and pregestational weight were also assessed. RESULTS Prevalence of binge eating during pregnancy was 17.3% [95% confidence interval (CI) 14.5-20.0], followed by excessive shape (5.6%; 95% CI 4-8) and weight concerns (5.5%; 95% CI 4-8). Binge eating during pregnancy was significantly associated with binge eating before pregnancy [prevalence ratio (PR) = 3.1; 95% CI 2.2-4.3], current anxiety symptoms (PR = 1.8; 95% CI 1.3-2.4), and prepregnancy BMI < 19.8 kg/m(2) (PR = 1.6; 95% CI 1.1-2.5). The prevalence of eating disorders was 0.6% (95% CI 0.01-1.11). DISCUSSION Eating disorder symptoms should be routinely assessed and treated during prenatal care, along with other comorbid psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety.
Colouring Reconfiguration Is Fixed-Parameter Tractable

We prove that the problem of determining whether there exists a path of length at most l between two given k-colourings in the reconfiguration graph for k-Colouring is fixed-parameter tractable for all fixed k � 1, when parameterized by l. This addresses an open problem of Mouawad, Nishimura, Raman, Simjour and Suzuki (IPEC 2013). We also show that the problem, when parameterized by l, even has a linear vertex kernel for k = 3 and no polynomial kernel for all k � 4 unless the polynomial hierarchy collapses.
New method of classifying infections in critically ill patients*

Objective:To develop a systematic classification describing the contribution made by infection to the outcome from sepsis. Context:The emergence of effective therapies for sepsis means that accurate methods of risk assessment are of increasing importance. Although there are well-validated instruments for describing risk factors in the host, the contribution made by the infection is less well served. Design and Methods:A systematic literature review of the English language literature published during the last 30 yrs of studies describing the outcome of infections, categorized by micro-organism and site of infection. Results:We surveyed 510 published articles including 55,854 clinical infections, and we generated specific risk codes for bacteremia, meningitis, pneumonia, skin and soft tissue infections, peritonitis, and urinary tract infections. Both the nature of the organisms and the site of infection have a significant impact on survival from sepsis, and there is a significant interaction between them. Conclusion:We have described a novel approach to permit a better assessment of the contribution made by the infection to mortality in patients with sepsis or septic shock.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa MucD Regulates the Alginate Pathway through Activation of MucA Degradation via MucP Proteolytic Activity

ABSTRACT Alginate overproduction in Pseudomonas aeruginosa can be caused by the proteolysis of the anti-sigma factor MucA regulated by the AlgW protease. Here, we show that inactivation of MucD, an HtrA/DegP homolog and alginate regulator, can bypass AlgW, leading to an atypical proteolysis of MucA that is dependent on the MucP protease.
Developing an acceptability assessment of preventive dental treatments.

OBJECTIVES Early childhood caries (ECC) is very prevalent among young Hispanic children. ECC is amenable to a variety of preventive procedures, yet many Hispanic families underutilize dental services. Acceptability research may assist in health care planning and resource allocation by identifying patient preferences among efficacious treatments with the goal of improving their utilization. The purposes of this study were (a) to develop a culturally competent acceptability assessment instrument, directed toward the caregivers of young Hispanic children, for five preventive dental treatments for ECC and (b) to test the instrument's reliability and validity. METHODS An instrument of five standard treatments known to prevent ECC was developed, translated, reviewed by focus groups, and pilot tested, then tested for reliability The instrument included illustrated cards, brief video clips, and samples of the treatments and was culturally appropriate for low-income Hispanic caregivers. In addition to determining the acceptability of the five treatments individually, the treatments were also presented as paired comparisons. RESULTS Focus groups and debriefing interviews following the pilot tests established that the instrument has good face validity. The illustrated cards, product samples, and video demonstrations of the five treatments resulted in an instrument possessing good content validity. The instrument has good to excellent test-retest reliability, with identical time 1-time 2 responses for each of the five treatments 92 percent of the time (range 87 to 97 percent), and the same treatment of the paired comparisons preferred 75 percent of the time (range 61 to 90 percent). CONCLUSIONS The acceptability instrument described is reliable and valid and may be useful in program planning efforts to identify and increase the utilization of preferred ECC preventive treatments for target populations.
Low-power robust beat detection in ambulatory cardiac monitoring

With new advances in ambulatory monitoring new challenges appear due to degradation in signal quality and limitations in hardware requirements. Existing signal analysis methods should be re-evaluated in order to adapt to the restrictive requirements of these new applications. With this motivation, we chose a robust beat detection algorithm and optimized it further to be running in an embedded platform within a cardiac monitoring sensor node. The algorithm was designed in floating point in Matlab and evaluated in order to study its performance under a wide range of conditions. The initial PC version of the algorithm obtained a good performance under a wide variety of conditions (Se = 99.65% and + P = 99.79% on the MIT/BIH arrhythmia database and Se = 99.88%, + P = 99.93% on our own database with ambulatory data). In this study, the algorithm is adapted and further optimized to work in real time on an embedded digital processor, while keeping this performance without degradation. The run-time memory usage of the application was of 150 KB with an execution time of 1.5 million cycles and an average power consumption of 494 ¿W for an ECG of 3 seconds length and sampling frequency of 198 Hz. The algorithm implementation in a general purpose processor will put significant limits on the performance in terms of power consumption. We propose possible specifications for an application-optimized processor for more efficient ECG analysis.
Mefloquine and New Related Compounds Target the F0 Complex of the F0F1 H+-ATPase of Streptococcus pneumoniae

ABSTRACT The activities of mefloquine (MFL) and related compounds against previously characterized Streptococcus pneumoniae strains carrying defined amino acid substitutions in the c subunit of the F0F1 H+-ATPase were studied. In addition, a series of MFL-resistant (Mflr) strains were isolated and characterized. A good correlation was observed between inhibition of growth and inhibition of the membrane-associated F0F1 H+-ATPase activity. MFL was about 10-fold more active than optochin and about 200-fold more active than quinine in inhibiting both the growth and the ATPase activities of laboratory pneumococcal strain R6. Mutant strains were inhibited by the different compounds to different degrees, depending on their specific mutations in the c subunit. The resistant strains studied had point mutations that changed amino acid residues in either the c subunit or the a subunit of the F0 complex. Changes in the c subunit were located in one of the two transmembrane α helices: residues M13, G14, G20, M23, and N24 of helix 1 and residues M44, G47, V48, A49, and V57 of helix 2. Changes in the a subunit were also found in either of the transmembrane α helices, helix 5 or 6: residue L186 of helix 5 and residues W206, F209, and S214 of helix 6. These results suggest that the transmembrane helices of the c and a subunits interact and that the mutated residues are important for the structure of the F0 complex and proton translocation.
Interference reflection microscopic study of dorsal root growth cones on different substrates: Assessment of growth cone–substrate contacts

The contact between dorsal root growth cones and substrates of type IV collagen, fibronectin, poly‐L‐lysine, and laminin were studied using interference reflection microscopy (IRM) coupled with detaching growth cones from these substrates and observing substrate‐associated membrane (SAM). IRM images of growth cones on collagen and fibronectin indicate substantial dark areas of close association between the substrate and basal region of the growth cone. The thin membranous veils and lamellapodia appear bright, indicating a greatly decreased association with the substrate. Filopodia can appear either entirely dark or light but usually are dark interspersed with brighter areas indicating varying degrees of contact. IRM images of growth cones on polylysine and laminin suggest a decreased association between the basal region of the growth cone and the substrate. The appearance of veils and lamellapodia was similar to that observed on collagen and fibronectin. Observations of SAM indicate an increased degree of contact between growth cones and substrates of collagen and fibronectin compared to laminin and polylysine. Collectively these data indicate that simple increases in adhesion are not adequate to explain substrate preference and enhancement of neurite elongation. Overall decreases in adhesion may accomplish, the same phenomena, suggesting that it is perhaps more important to consider the regional distribution of adhesive contacts in relation to growth cone movement.
Are the Healthcare Professionals Really Satisfied with What they Cared? Evidence from an Armed Forces Hospital in Taiwan

Squeezed by the new reimbursement policy of the National Health Insurance (NHI) in Taiwan, the Armed Forces Hospitals (AFH) had to serve general citizens as well as military clients. A dual role of military services and resource generator it acts in the current healthcare industry. Consequently, the job satisfaction of hospital staffs had thus been influenced. Taken the importance of the employee’s job satisfaction in customer satisfaction as well as in overall profit into account, the current research wished to reveal the current levels of the hospital employee’s job satisfaction, and to compare the differences of the perceived importance and the actual experience of satisfaction attributes. Main questions this research to answer were “Does the healthcare professionals satisfied with what they perceived important? ” and “What are the main discrepancies exist that worth for investing? Using a structural questionnaire as an instrument, 474 valid responses from an armed forces hospital in central Taiwan were used as sample. The study reveals that there are significant differences between perceived importance and experience in each dimension, of which the compensation system was perceived the most important and in the meantime having the biggest gap between expectation and experience. The findings suggest that the hospital managers should re-organize the compensation system by increasing the incentives of bonuses, promotions, while maintain those aspects with smaller differences such as job content and supervision to effectively motivate the hospital employees, and accordingly ameliorating medical service quality.
A New Nonparametric Linear Discriminant Analysis Method Based on Marginal Information

Marginal information is of great importance for classification. This paper presents a new nonparametric linear discriminant analysis method named Push-Pull marginal discriminant analysis (PPMDA) which takes full advantage of marginal information. For two-class cases, the idea of this method is to determine projection directions such that the marginal samples of one class are pushed away from the between-class marginal samples as far as possible and simultaneously pulled to the within-class samples as close as possible. This idea can be extended for multi-class cases and gives rise to the PPMDA algorithm for feature extraction of multi-class problems. The proposed method is evaluated using the Extended Yale face database B and the ORL database. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed method and its performance advantage over the state-of-art feature extraction methods
Sustained release of acetaminophen from heterogeneous matrix tablets: influence of polymer ratio, polymer loading, and co-active on drug release.

The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of pseudoephedrine (PE), polymer ratio, and polymer loading on the release of acetaminophen (APAP) from hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC)/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) matrices. Granules formulated with APAP or both APAP and PE, and various blends of HPMC and PVP were compressed into tablets at varying compression forces ranging from 2000 to 6000 Ib. In vitro drug release from the matrix tablets was determined and the results correlated with those of tablet water uptake and erosion studies. Drug release from the formulations containing both APAP and PE was slower than those containing only APAP (P < 0.05, F = 3.10). Drug release from tablets formulated with APAP only showed an initial burst at pH 1.16 or 7.45, and at high total polymer loading (> or = 9.6%). Formulations containing both APAP and PE showed slower drug release at pH 1.16 than at pH 7.45. At pH 1.16, a decline in the percentage of APAP released occurred after 18 hours. This was due to the hydrolysis of APAP to p-aminophenol. The drug dissolution data showed good fit to the Korsmeyer and Peppas model, and the values of the release exponents ranged from 0.20 to 0.62, indicating a complex drug release pattern. Tablet erosion studies indicated that the amount of APAP released was linearly related to the percentage of tablet weight loss. The kinetics of tablet water uptake was consistent with a diffusion and stress relaxation controlled mechanism. Overall, the results of this study indicated that PE, as a co-active in the formulation, modified the matrix, and hence retarded APAP release.
A Learning Based Search Engine Selection Technique

A good search engine selection algorithm should identify potentially useful databases accurately. Many approaches have been proposed to tackle the database selection problem. Such as Rough approach, static approach and learning approach. To fulfill the demand of users and help them to be more effective on selecting relevant and useful search engines, this paper presents a search engine selection algorithm that is based on training query and demands of user query.