Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of diabetic state on co-localization of substance P and serotonin in the gut in animal models

Changes in the numbers of serotoninand substance P-immunoreactive (IR) cells occur in several animal models of diabetes. It is not known, however, whether these changes are a result of actual cell loss or are caused by modified gene expression in cells showing co-localization of serotonin and substance P. The pattern of monoand co-expression of serotonin, as well as of substance P, was therefore investigated in gastrointestinal endocrine cells from animal models of human type 1 and type 2 diabetes, namely non-obese diabetic (NOD) and obese diabetic (ob/ob) mice. Immunocytochemical staining by the avidin-biotin complex method was performed for computerized image analysis of each cell type, and by immunofluorescence double staining to study co-localization. Tissues from antrum, proximal duodenum and distal colon were investigated. Co-localization of serotoninand substance P-IR was found in all investigated parts of the gut. In antrum, substance P immunoreactivity was found exclusively in serotonin-IR cells. In both NOD and ob/ob mice there was a reduced number of substance PIR cells, but an unchanged serotonin-IR cell count, which thus tallies with a shut-off of substance P expression in antral enterochromaffin cells. In duodenum, both diabetes models showed a decreased number of serotonin-IR cells. Furthermore there was a decreased number of substance P-IR cells in the type 2 model. The proportion of serotonin-IR cells showing substance P-immuno-reactivity was decreased in both diabetic models, thus indicating a shut-off of substance P-gene expression . However, this does not fully explain the changes in duodenum, but the diabetic state probably affects the number of mono-expressed cells as well. In colon, no change was found in diabetic mice regarding co-localization of substance P and serotonin. However, pre-diabetic NOD mice showed a decreased proportion of substance P in serotonin-IR cells, which might be explained by the increased number of serotonin-IR cells,
Towards Saving Money in Using Smart Contracts

Being a new kind of software leveraging blockchain to execute real contracts, smart contracts are in great demand due to many advantages. Ethereum is the largest blockchain platform that supports smart contracts by running them in its virtual machine. To ensure that a smart contract will terminate eventually and prevent abuse of resources, Ethereum charges the developers for deploying smart contracts and the users for executing smart contracts. Although our previous work shows that under-optimized smart contracts may cost more money than necessary, it just lists 7 anti-patterns and the detection method for 3 of them. In this paper, we conduct the first in-depth investigation on such under-optimized smart contracts. We first identify 24 anti-patterns from the execution traces of real smart contracts. Then, we design and develop GasReducer, the first tool to automatically detect all these anti-patterns from the bytecode of smart contracts and replace them with efficient code through bytecode-to-bytecode optimization. Using GasReducer to analyze all smart contracts and their execution traces, we detect 9,490,768 and 557,565,754 anti-pattern instances in deploying and invoking smart contracts, respectively
Dispersal mode mediates the effect of patch size and patch connectivity on metacommunity diversity

Metacommunity theory predicts that increasing patch size and patch connectivity can alter local species diversity by affecting either colonization rates, extinction rates or both. Although species’ dispersal abilities or ‘dispersal mode’ (e.g. gravity‐, wind‐ or animal‐dispersed seeds) can mediate the effects of patch size and connectivity on diversity, these important factors are frequently overlooked in empirical metacommunity work. We use a natural metacommunity of aspen stands within a grassland matrix to determine whether dispersal mode alters the influence of stand size and connectivity on understorey plant diversity. We sampled the same area in each patch, controlled for the presence of matrix species in aspen stands, and tested for the effects of size, connectivity and dispersal mode on metacommunity richness. Because dispersal groups responded differently to patch size and connectivity, we created a null model and assessed ungulate activity to explore whether competitive dynamics or herbivory were driving diversity patterns. Animal‐dispersed species and species with no dispersal aid had higher diversity per unit area in larger stands, likely because large stands can both support larger populations that are less prone to extinction and may also attract seed‐dispersing animals such as birds and small mammals that are sensitive to edge effects. Consistent with other empirical work, we found a positive relationship between diversity and connectivity for wind‐dispersed species. However, we detected a negative effect of stand connectivity on the diversity of species with no dispersal aid, possibly due to the presence of other highly competitive species groups dominating well‐connected patches, as our null model results suggest. We found no evidence for higher ungulate activity in highly connected patches, suggesting that herbivory may not be driving the decline in diversity of plants with no dispersal aid. Synthesis. Overall, we see a positive effect of stand area on diversity for most groups despite sampling equal area in all stands, which is a prediction of metacommunity theory that is normally overlooked. Our results demonstrate the importance of considering variation in the dispersal modes of focal species for explaining the diversity patterns of natural metacommunities.
The Legacy of the Swedish Gift and Inheritance Tax, 1884-2004

This paper has two objectives. The first is to study the revenue from the gift, inheritance, and estate taxes in Sweden during more than a century. The second is to focus on a unique episode during the second half of the 1940s when gifts and gift tax revenue exploded. This episode has never before been discussed in the research literature. It gives an extremely clear illustration of behavioral response to taxes in general, and the impact of expectations of future tax increases in particular. It is also a very interesting episode in the economic history of Sweden. I have access to aggregate tax revenue data since 1884. Moreover, I have constructed a rich micro data set of all gifts reported during the period 1942–1949 in one county. A first main result is that gift tax revenue during the 1940s started to increase long before a new estate tax and increased wealth taxation were decided and implemented. The increase even began before the legislative process started. Second, both the number and the average values of gifts increased. Promissory notes were, in value, the most common way to give. Finally, gifts, inheritances, and estates were never important sources of tax revenue. Revenue as a share of GDP reached a peak already in the 1930s. The role of these taxes has instead primarily been equity and to provide integrity for other tax bases.
Feeding obturator as an airway adjunct during complete unilateral cleft palate repair

Background and Aims: The palatal defect and abnormal dentition in cleft palate make mask ventilation and laryngoscopy difficult. This study aimed to assess the effect of feeding obturator on laryngeal view in unilateral complete cleft palate. Methods: Ninety non-syndromic infants scheduled for the first stage correction of complete unilateral cleft palate were randomised to Group A (no feeding obturator) or Group B (obturator used for induction and intubation). The primary objective was to assess effect of the feeding obturator on the Cormack–Lehane grade on laryngoscopy. Effects on face mask ventilation, easiness of laryngoscopy and intubation and the side effects were also measured. Results: Ninety patients completed the study. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding the CL grade (P < 0.1). However duration for intubation was significantly longer in Group A than Group B (31.4 ± 12.8 vs. 23.4 ± 40.7 sec, P < 0.001). The degree of difficulty of face mask ventilation was significantly greater in Group A than Group B (P < 0.008). Attempts for successful intubation and manoeuvres for successful intubation were significantly more in Group A than B (P < 0.05). Trauma occurred in ten patients in Group A relative to no patients in Group B. Conclusion: Use of a pre-sized obturator in infants with complete unilateral cleft palate does not improve the laryngoscopic view. However, it results in better face mask ventilation and easier and faster laryngoscopy and intubation.
Meeting Recognition with Asynchronous Distributed Microphone Array Using Block-Wise Refinement of Mask-Based MVDR Beamformer

This paper addresses a front-end system for speech recognition of spontaneous conversational speech signals that are recorded with asynchronous distributed microphones such as smartphones. In our previous work, we proposed combining blind synchronization and a state-of-the-art microphone array speech enhancement technique, e.g., a time-frequency mask based minimum variance distortionless response (MVDR) beamformer. This approach has provided reasonably high recognition performance even if we use asynchronous microphones. However, because the previous speech enhancement method was applied in a full-batch mode, it has been difficult to track speaker position movement in a real meeting conversation. To make it possible to handle the speaker movement, this paper describes our attempt to refine the mask-based MVDR beamformer in a blockwise manner, and reports that such a refinement reduces the word error rate from 31.4% to 28.8% for real meeting recordings.
Efficient Parallel Analysis of Shell-fluid Interaction Problem by Using Monolithic Method Based on Consistent Pressure Poisson Equation *

In this paper, a parallel monolithic method for shell-fluid interaction based on the consistent Pressure Poisson Equation (PPE) is developed and its parallel computational efficiency is demonstrated. The Conjugate Gradient (CG) method without any preconditioner works well to solve the consistent PPE, even though the coefficient matrix of the original coupled equation system becomes ill-conditioned due to (a) the inhomogeneity of submatrix elements between the fluid and the structure and (b) the ill-conditioned submatrix of shell structure. Thus our parallel monolithic method using the consistent PPE and the CG method without any preconditioner is efficient for parallel analyses of shell-fluid interaction problems. The present parallel solution procedure is based on the mesh decomposition. To demonstrate the performances of the developed method, it is applied to simulate the vibration of an elastic plate situated in the wake of a rectangular prism and a flapping elastic wing in quiescent fluid.
Fine structure of tarsal sensilla of male and female Simulium vittatum (Diptera: Simuliidae)

Scanning and transmission electron microscopic examination of the general and sensillar anatomy of the prothoracic tarsus of male and female Simulium vittatum reveals four kinds of hair‐type sensilla: (1) generally distributed, mechanosensitive type 1 sensilla trichodea; (2) type 2 sensilla trichodea similar to type 1 though smaller and restricted to the ventral surfaces of tarsomeres 1–4; (3) triply‐innervated, taste‐sensitive peg sensilla of the ventral surfaces of tarsomeres 1–4; and (4) mid‐laterally and terminally distributed type 1 sensilla chaetica that possess one mechanosensitive and four chemosensitive neurons. In addition, wholly internal chordotonal sensilla associated with the tarsal tendon are described. Regions of presumed was‐secreting epithelial cells were found to line much of the inner ventral tarsal surface. Anatomical findings are discussed in terms of behavioral and/or physiological significance.
Cinnamic acid Attenuates Cisplatin-Induced Hepatotoxicity and Nephrotoxicity

Received; 2 Nov. 2015 In Revised form; 10 Dec. 2015 Accepted; 10 Dec. 2015 We investigated the effects of cinnamic acid (CA, 20 mg/kg body weight) on cisplatin (CP)-induced hepto and nephrotoxicity in mice. CP (5 mg/kg bwt) was injected intraperitoneally and CA was given by gastric gavage for 5 days preand post-CP injection. After 5 days of CP injection, CP-induced injuries of the hepatic and renal tissues which were evidenced (i) histopathological damage of the hepatic and renal tissues, (ii) as increases in liver and kidney function parameters, (iii) as increases in lipid peroxidation and nitric oxide, and (iv) as decrease in glutathione content. In contrast, the oral administration of CA concurrently to CP intoxicated mice brought back lipid peroxidation, nitric oxide, glutathione levels to near normalcy. Moreover, the histological observations evidenced that CA effectively rescues the liver and kidney from CP mediated oxidative damage. Therefore, cinnamic acid can be considered a potential candidate for protection of hepato-and nephrotoxicity induced by cisplatin.
The Utility of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation 1

Since the first documentation of deterioration in cardiac ventricular contraction to the development and implementation of the concept of simultaneous pacing of both ventricles, cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), a long road has been travelled. The effects of CRT in heart failure are well documented. Most of the studies have included patients with sinus rhythm, even though a significant number of patients have heart failure and atrial fibrillation (AF) simultaneously. In this review article we have made an attempt to underline the potential impact of CRT in patients with AF and the special treatment considerations for patients with AF who undergo CRT placement; we have also described strategies to maximize the benefit of CRT in patients with AF.
Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder Cross-Setting Correspondence in Sociometric Nominations Among Children With

Peer problems are common among children with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). However, the extent to which children’s peer functioning varies across settings is unknown, as is the incremental power of peer functioning in different settings in predicting subsequent psychopathology. Participants were 57 children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) who had peer sociometric nominations collected in general education classrooms and a Summer Treatment Program (STP) with all-EBD peers. Significant, small-to-medium correlations existed between nomination rates across settings. Lower rates of STP positive nominations and higher rates of STP negative nominations (but not classroom nominations) predicted exacerbated self-reported depression and antisocial behavior 1 year later. Lower rates of STP positive nominations, but higher rates of classroom positive nominations, predicted increased self-reported depression 2 years later. For children with high rates of classroom positive nominations, higher rates of STP positive nominations predicted reduced parent-reported internalizing behavior 1 year later. For children with low rates of classroom negative nominations, higher rates of STP negative nominations predicted increased teacher-reported externalizing behavior 1 year later and self-reported depression 2 years later. Results suggest that sociometric nominations collected within an EBD peer group may have stronger predictive power for later adjustment than nominations collected in a mainstream classroom.
VARIABLES INFLUENCING SOLVITA CO 2 RESPIRATION RESULTS

Executive Summary Respiration testing is a means to determine biological functioning which relates to soil health and soil labs are now able to perform CO2 testing through the use of new available technology (Solvita®). Recently it has been determined that certain factors are accounting for some observed variability in test results. These factors are different from those which soil labs are accustomed to controlling.
Effect of Konjac Glucomannan on Hyperuricemic Rats

Objective: The effect of konjac glucomannan (KGM) on hyperuricemic rats was studied. Method: To establish a hyperuricemic model, rats in experiment groups were orally administrated with adenine and potassium oxonate every morning and continuously fed diets containing 20% yeast. Rats in positive drug group and KGM groups were orally administrated with benzbromarone and KGM respectively every afternoon. Blood was collected weekly and rats were sacrificed at 4th week, the biochemical indexes and histological analysis were measured. Results: During the experiment, the level of uric acid (UA), Creatinine (Cr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN)in model group increased significantly, indicating a hyperuricemic model was established successfully. But the level of the three indexes in positive drug group and KGM groups were lower to different degrees. UA in middle group exhibited the lowest level and had no significant with that of control group in the end. Besides, the activities of serum xanthine oxidase (XOD) and serum adenosine deaminase (ADA) in model group gradually increased and had significant difference with that of control group. KGM could significantly decrease the activities of XOD and ADA in serum and in liver, especially at middle dose. However, the activity of guanine deaminase (GD) did not have a significant fluctuation either in serum or liver during the experiment. Pathological analysis of kidneys showed KGM caused a strong reduction in the number of urate crystal, rats in high dose group had the lightest renal histological lesion.
G 98 / 9 Core inflation : concepts , uses and measurement 1

Over the last decade central banks have tended to accord increased importance to controlling inflation and fostering policy credibility. The concept and measurement of core inflation has an important role to play both in the formulation of policy aimed at controlling inflation and in providing policy accountability. In practice, however, the concept of core inflation has tended to be ill-defined, and a wide range of different techniques have been used in trying to measure the concept. This paper reviews the concept of core inflation, focusing on the alternative interpretations of core inflation as the persistent or generalised element of inflation. The role of a core inflation measure in policy formulation, communication and accountability is also discussed. The paper also outlines and comments on alternative empirical approaches taken to measuring core inflation. 1 An earlier version of this paper was prepared for the SEACEN seminar on “Inflation measures and targets: implications for the conduct of monetary policy”, Jakarta, 17-19 December, 1997. I would like to thank Francisco Nadal De Simone, Jacqui Dwyer, Tony Yates and Pierre Duguay for helpful comments. The views expressed in this paper are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
Students in the New Millennium: How Much do We Know about Them?

Vast and fast technological advancements mark the new millennium. New emerging technologies are changing the world and our society at a magnitude and scope never witnessed before. Who are our students in this new millennium? What do they look like? Are they a fundamentally different new generation as some claim, or do they still look similar to us in many ways? A clear understanding of the characteristics of our students is vitally important for our educational practice. The current study was conducted to contribute to this understanding. The findings of the study show that while students nowadays do enjoy a much broader access to new technology than students of the past, they still look similar to us in many ways. As educators, it is important for us to treat our students as individuals instead of just labeling them and placing them in a black and white dichotomy. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-2821-2.ch008
Evaluation of observer structures with application to fault detection

As modern control systems become more and more complex and control algorithms more and more sophisticated, the issues of cost efficiency, reliability, availability, operating safety are of major importance. Since no system in practice can work perfectly all the time under various environmental changes and conditions, it is vital to be able to detect and identify the possible faults and failures in the system as early as possible, so that necessary measures can be taken to prevent significant performance degradation, damages to equipment or even lives of staff. In the thesis, we studies the observer-based fault detection and isolation problem for linear time-invariant dynamic systems with an emphasis on robustness. After introducing some basic definitions, the problem of model-based fault detection is introduced. This is followed by a summary of different approaches in generating diagnostic residual signals. Observer-based methods are further studied. Five observer structures are discussed, including Luenberger Observer, Disturbance Observer, Unknown Input Observer, Proportional Integral Observer and Proportional Integral Fading Observer. Fault detection based on various observer structures is studied. The robustness issues are then defined in connection to fault detection. An important focus is to isolate the effect of disturbance on residual signals for robust fault detection. Illustrative examples as well as a practical one are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of proposed robust fault detection schemes. Chapter
Cross-Language Optimizations in Big Data Systems: A Case Study of SCOPE

Building scalable big data programs currently requires programmers to combine relational (SQL) with non-relational code (Java, C#, Scala). Relational code is declarative - a program describes what the computation is and the compiler decides how to distribute the program. SQL query optimization has enjoyed a rich and fruitful history, however, most research and commercial optimization engines treat non-relational code as a black-box and thus are unable to optimize it. This paper empirically studies over 3 million SCOPE programs across five data centers within Microsoft and finds programs with non-relational code take between 45-70% of data center CPU time. We further explore the potential for SCOPE optimization by generating more native code from the non-relational part. Finally, we present 6 case studies showing that triggering more generation of native code in these jobs yields significant performance improvement: optimizing just one portion resulted in as much as 25% improvement for an entire program.
Pyrolysis of Wood/Biomass for Bio-oil: A Critical Review

Fast pyrolysis utilizes biomass to produce a product that is used both as an energy source and a feedstock for chemical production. Considerable efforts have been made to convert wood biomass to liquid fuels and chemicals since the oil crisis in mid-1970s. This review focuses on the recent developments in the wood pyrolysis and reports the characteristics of the resulting bio-oils, which are the main products of fast wood pyrolysis. Virtually any form of biomass can be considered for fast pyrolysis. Most work has been performed on wood, because of its consistency and comparability between tests. However, nearly 100 types of biomass have been tested, ranging from agricultural wastes such as straw, olive pits, and nut shells to energy crops such as miscanthus and sorghum. Forestry wastes such as bark and thinnings and other solid wastes, including sewage sludge and leather wastes, have also been studied. In this review, the main (although not exclusive) emphasis has been given to wood. The literature on woo.