Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interact ions a m o n g Soi l B iota in Desert Ecosys tems

Zak, J. and Whitford, W. , 1988. Interactions among soil biota in desert ecosystems. Agric. Ecosystems Environ. , 24: 87-100. In desert systems, the availability of soil nitrogen can be the single most limiting factor controlling plant growth during periods of adequate soil moisture. Decomposition and nitrogen-mineralization rates prior to or during peak periods of plant growth can therefore be critical. Decomposition rates in deserts are generally high, and are relatively independent of rainfall. These high rates can be attributed to a combination of abiotic weathering, the types of microflora and microfauna associated with plant litter, and the adaptions of the soil biota to moisture pulses. The factors controlling litter decomposition and subsequent nitrogen mineralization are dependent upon the location of the organic matter in the habitat. The breakdown of surface litter occurs primarily through either abiotic weathering or by termite consumption. Microarthropods do not appear to have any role in the decomposition of surface litter owing to abiotic constraints on activity. The decomposition of roots, and buried litter, however, has been shown to be dependent on the presence of soil microarthropods. Microbial-microfaunal activity in the root region of desert plants may also have a significant effect on the short-term cycling of nitrogen in arid systems.
Osteoprotective Effect of Extract from Cirsium japonicum var. ussuriense in Ovariectomized Rats

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of the Cirsium japonicum var. ussuriense (C. japonicum) extract on serum level of hormones from induced osteoporosis by ovariectomized rats. Two month-old rats were ovariecto- mized (OVX), remained untreated for 8 weeks, and were subsequently administered C. japonicum (200 ㎎/㎏) every day for 8 weeks. We examined the effects of treated C. japonicum on ovariectomy-related changes in Insulin-like Growth Factors (IGF), Insulin-like Growth Factor binding protein-3 (IGBF-3), Estrogen, Calcium, and Phosporus. After 8 weeks, the serum levels of IGF-I, -II, and IGFBP-3 were higher presented as compared to the other two groups (P < 0.05), in the C. japonicum extract treatment on OVX rats. There were differences between OVX and C. japonicum extract treated OVX rats in serum levels of Ca 2+ , but Ca 2+ levels for the normal group was higher than for the other two groups. The C. japonicum extract increased both serum IGFs and IGFBP-3 levels on induced osteoporotic rat by ovariectomized. Thus, these results revealed that the C. japonicum extract is a possible role for improvement of osteoporosis induced-ovariectomized rats and has a great potential as an alternative tool for the treatment of osteoporosis.
Management Of Thoracolumbar Fractures In Adults: Current Algorithm

Thoraco-lumbar (TL) region is one of the most common sites for spinal injuries, and constitute around 15-20% of t r a u m a t i c s p i n a l f r a c t u r e s a n d dislocations [1]. While majority of these fractures in younger patients occur secondar y to high energy trauma, osteoporosis-related injuries constitute a significant proportion of these fractures in the elderly [2,3]. Various aspects regarding the optimal management of these TL fractures are st i l l largely debated. The goal of treatment of these fractures in patients without neurological deficits is to achieve a well-balanced and stable spine by facilitating good fracture union, either with the help of external (bracing, immobilization etc.) or internal supports (internal stabilization) [4]. The current article discusses certain controversial and interesting issues regarding these fractures and elaborates on the pearls and pitfalls in their management.
Graphene Nanoplates Filled Nylon 6,6 Nanocomposites, Morphological, Thermal, Mechanical and Solvent Uptake Study

Effect of graphene nanoplates (GNPs) on the properties of Nylon 6,6 (Nyl 6,6) is investigated in present study. The morphological studies presented that the GNPs were dispersed inside the Nyl 6,6 matrix. The thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) illustrated that the thermal degradation of nanocomposites samples were started at the range of 350-393 oC, which was appreciably higher than neat Nyl 6,6 (360 oC). The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses revealed that the crystallization temperature (Tc) of GNPs/Nyl 6,6 increased as increased the addition of GNPs, which might be due to the nucleation effect of GNPs. The mechanical properties of Nyl 6,6 was enhanced by incorporation of GNPs upto the addition of an optimal quantity of filler (5%wt GNPs) into the polymer matrix. The stress yield and Young’s modulus of 5%wt GNPs/Nyl 6,6 was 96.79 and 1.54, N/nm2, respectively. Both Nyl 6,6 and nanocomposites samples were also used for the adsorption of Neutral red chloride (NRC) dye, which significantly remove the dye from the aqueous solution. The neat nylon 6,6 and GNPs (5 and 10 wt%)/Nyl 6,6 adsorbed about 88.49, 93.15, and 93.60% within 2 h, respectively.
NDT_A_199748 1863..1871

1Mental Health Center and Psychiatric Laboratory, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China; 2Huaxi Brain Research Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China; 3Community Mental Health Prevention Department, The Severe Mental Health Disorder System of Chengdu, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Geriatric Psychiatry, Sichuan Province Recover Veterans Hospital, Chongzhou, Sichuan, People's Republic of China Background: Research on antipsychotics and early mortality in schizophrenia has arisen
Architecting Processing System Applications Past Moore’s Law

The performance of General Purpose Computing applications has followed Moore's Law [1, 2] for decades, but there is a class of high-performance computing applications where the influence of Moore's Law is more subtle and more complex. In these applications, Moore's Law primarily impacts the performance of the devices, but the application can span multiple devices. So, the overall performance is influenced not only by Moore's Law, but it also involves the interaction of the devices and how well the application maps to the devices. Keywords—Front end processing, general purpose computing, signal processing, embedded computing, throughput, data bandwidth, multi-rate processing, digital beamforming, analog to digital converters
PMO-022 Are recommended guidelines for IV paracetamol prescription followed in susceptible gastroenterology patients?

Introduction IV Paracetamol use has increased since gaining EU drug approval in 2002, possibly due to its rapid onset and favourable side-effect profile.1 The recommended adult daily dose is 4 g/day. The standard daily dose may be high enough to cause acute liver failure in patients with certain Gastroenterological problems [hepatocellular insufficiency, chronic malnutrition2 (The British National Formulary (BNF) version 60 advises that IV Paracetamol should be reduced to 3 g/day in these susceptible patients.3 We aimed to assess if IV paracetamol prescriptions are in line with BNF guidance. Methods A prospective, point prevalence audit of all patients receiving IV paracetamol was undertaken on 2 days, 2 weeks apart. All adult inpatients (excluding the Women's Department) at Arrowe Park Hospital were assessed. A list of all patients receiving IV paracetamol was identified through the electronic prescribing system. The case-notes of all these patients were reviewed for evidence of high-risk characteristics including; weight. Results Over two audit days a total of 104 out of 1158 (9%) hospital inpatients were prescribed IV Paracetamol. Three patients were present on both days, therefore 101 sets of data were collected. 16 patients (16%) prescribed IV Paracetamol were identified as high risk (hepatocellular insufficiency, chronic malnutrition or chronic alcoholism), and 15 (94%) of these patients were not prescribed a reduced dose. This equates to a drug error in 1.3% of all inpatients. Conclusion IV Paracetamol is prescribed very frequently. Prescription is common in susceptible Gastroenterology patients with malnutrition, liver disease and alcoholism. Almost all susceptible patients in this audit were prescribed an inappropriately high dosage of paracetamol. This may lead to significant adverse side effects in an already vulnerable group of patients. It is important to increase awareness of reduced dosages in susceptible patients. Locally an alert has been placed on the electronic prescribing system and we have increased Pharmacist and medical staff awareness of appropriate paracetamol doses. We suspect our audit findings may be similar in other hospitals. Competing interests None declared. References 1. Schmitt E, Vainchtock A, Nicoloyannis N, et al. Ready to use injectable paracetamol: easier, safer, lowering workload and costs. EJHP 2003;6:96–102. 2. Claridge LC, Eksteen B, Smith A, et al. Acute liver failure after administration of paracetamol at the maximum recommended daily dose in adults. BMJ 2010;341:1269–70. 3. BNF 60. London: BMJ Group and Pharmaceutical Press, 2010.
ALMA Memo #319 Photonic Local Oscillators for Radio Astronomy: Signal-to-Noise Issues

An investigation is made into the signal-to-noise requirements of a photonic local oscillator (LO). Simple theoretical expressions are given for the RF power, relative-intensity-noise (RIN), shot noise and zero-point noise, and measurements are made that verify the simple theory. The theory is then used to determine what photomixer current and noise levels will be required for ALMA receivers, and to predict how much wideband noise will be added to the receiver by the photonic LO. For ALMA, implementation of the photonic LO includes the transmission of two wavelengths of light by optical ber over distances as great as 25 km. There is an optical ber nonlinearity called stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS), which limits the amount of light that can be transmitted by ber over long distances. As a result, in some cases, an optical ampli er may be required at the antenna end of the ber.
Exploring the oil supply-demand shocks and stock market stabilities: Experience from OECD countries

This paper explores the interactive relationships between oil price shocks and the stockmarket in 11 OECD countries using traditional cointegrationtest and look at the rolling window Granger causality effects with various predictive power contents running between the variables. Taking into account both world oil production and world oil prices in order to supervise for oil supply and oil demand shocks, strong evidence of the sensitivity of stock market returns to the oil priceshock specifications is found in several sub-periods. As for rolling window causality tests, it is found that the impact of oil price shocks substantially differs along the different countries and that the results also differ among the various oil shock specifications.The overall finding suggests that oil supply shocks have a negative effect on stock market returns in the net oil importing OECD countries. Indeed, the stock market returns are negatively impacted by oil demand shocks in the oil importing OECD countries and positively impactedby the oil exporting OECD countries. Furthermore, these results will give a dimension for future undertaking studies with varying empirical findings.
VMRR_A_201847 229..247

Université de Lyon, ANSES, Laboratoire de Lyon, VetAgro Sup, UMR Mycoplasmoses des Ruminants, Lyon 69364, France Abstract: Contagious agalactia (CA) is a disease caused equally by four Mycoplasma species, in single or mixed infections. Clinical signs are multiple, including mastitis, arthritis, keratoconjunctivitis, pneumonia, and septicemia, non-specific, and expressed differently depending whether sheep or goats are affected, on causative mycoplasmas as well as type of husbandry. CA has been reported worldwide and its geographic distribution maps to that of small ruminant breeding areas. However, as current diagnostic tests are expensive and difficult to implement, it is certainly underdiagnosed and prevalence data are only available for a few countries. CA control relies on vaccines, chemotherapy and good herd management practices. It requires long-term commitment but is often unsuccessful, with frequent clinical relapses. The persistence of the etiological agents, despite their overall susceptibility to antimicrobials, comes from their genetic plasticity and capacity to escape the host immune response. The existence of asymptomatic carriers and the numerous sources of infections contribute to rapid spread of the disease and complicate the control and prevention efforts. Here we review all these aspects in order to highlight recent progress made and identify gaps in knowledge or tools needed for better disease management. Discussion also underlines the detrimental effect of contagious agalactia on small ruminant welfare.
PART OF A SPECIAL ISSUE ON DEVELOPMENTAL ROBUSTNESS AND SPECIES DIVERSITY Stochastic variation in Cardamine hirsuta petal number

Background and Aims Floral development is remarkably robust in terms of the identity and number of floral organs in each whorl, whereas vegetative development can be quite plastic. This canalization of flower development prevents the phenotypic expression of cryptic genetic variation, even in fluctuating environments. A cruciform perianth with four petals is a hallmark of the Brassicaceae family, typified in the model species Arabidopsis thaliana. However, variable petal loss is found in Cardamine hirsuta, a genetically tractable relative of A. thaliana. Cardamine hirsuta petal number varies in response to stochastic, genetic and environmental perturbations, which makes it an interesting model to study mechanisms of decanalization and the expression of cryptic variation. Methods Multitrait quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis in recombinant inbred lines (RILs) was used to identify whether the stochastic variation found in C. hirsuta petal number had a genetic basis. Key results Stochastic variation (standard error of the average petal number) was found to be a heritable phenotype, and four QTL that influenced this trait were identified. The sensitivity to detect these QTL effects was increased by accounting for the effect of ageing on petal number variation. All QTL had significant effects on both average petal number and its standard error, indicating that these two traits share a common genetic basis. However, for some QTL, a degree of independence was found between the age of the flowers where allelic effects were significant for each trait. Conclusions Stochastic variation in C. hirsuta petal number has a genetic basis, and common QTL influence both average petal number and its standard error. Allelic variation at these QTL can, therefore, modify petal number in an age-specific manner via effects on the phenotypic mean and stochastic variation. These results are discussed in the context of trait evolution via a loss of robustness.
Gauged Supergravities in Three Dimensions: A Panoramic Overview

Maximal and non-maximal supergravities in three spacetime dimensions allow for a large variety of semisimple and non-semisimple gauge groups, as well as complex gauge groups that have no analog in higher dimensions. In this contribution we review the recent progress in constructing these theories and discuss some of their possible applications.
Neural Network Approach Coupled with MCNP to Analyze Gamma Spectra for Bio-samples

While Neutron Activation Analysis is widely used in many areas, sensitivity of the analysis depends on how the analysis was conducted. Even though the sensitivity of the techniques carries error, compared to chemical analysis, its range is in parts per million or sometimes billion. Due to this sensitivity, the use of neutron activation analysis becomes important when analyzing bio-samples. Neural Network is an attractive technique for automated systems. Although there are Neural Network applications on spectral analysis, training by simulated data and analyzing experimental data has not been studied. This study offers an improvement on gamma spectrum analysis and optimization on Neural Network for the purpose. The current work considers five elements which are considered as trace elements for bio-samples. However, the system is not limited to bio-sample analysis. The only limitation of the study comes from data library available on MCNP. Better results were obtained when Neural Fitting tool in MATLAB was used. As a training function, Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm was used with 23 neurons in hidden layer with 260 gamma spectra in the input. Since the interest of the study deals with five elements, five neurons representing peak counts of five isotopes in the input layer were used. Five outputs neurons revealed mass information of these elements in irradiated Kidney stones. Results showing max error of 17.9% in APA, 24.9% in UA, 28.2% in COM, 27.9% in STRU showed the success of Neural Network Approach in analyzing gamma spectra. The simulation and experiments were made under certain experimental setup (3 hours irradiation, 96 hours decay time, 8 hours counting time). Yet, the approach is subject to be generalized for different setups.
The Use of Non-Standardised Assessments in Occupational Therapy with Children Who Have Disabilities: A Perspective

Assessments form an integral component in the occupational therapy process. A paediatric assessment involves two essential features: an observational study of a child carrying out specific tasks and the use of the data to make a decision concerning an aspect or several aspects of the child's life. As occupational therapists, we are aware that the performance of children, such as their level of cooperation, varies across settings and in the presence of different professionals or people. In order to make accurate and objective assessments, there are essential characteristics: standardisation, validity, reliability and objectivity (Dickens and Stallard, 1987).
A χ-distribution model of hail storm damage

This paper addresses the pattern of damage, and investigates its properties, of a theoretical hail storm which gathers in intensity before subsiding, and which travels linearly across the landscape at constant velocity. We start by assuming a simpler model, that of a storm which does not move, restricted to having an uncorrelated binormal distribution of damage. This model, expressed in the natural polar coordinates, leads to a 1-dimensional pattern of damage as a function of the marginal radial distance conforming to the χ-distribution with two degrees of freedom. We then extend the model to the traveling form, allowing further for a correlation of the variables, extending, as well, to the multidimensional case. In its full florescence the model produces hyperellipsoidal hypersurfaces of equal intensity for the correlated multinormal assumption. We provide closed-form solutions for the totality of damages upon these hypersurfaces as proxies for the insurance claims to follow. MSC: 60D05, 60E05 Journal of Economic Literature Subject Classification: C46, C12
A Fast Built-In Sensor for CMOS Digital Applications

229 Abstract — Various testing methods have been proposed for testing digital circuits. One of those testing methods is the quiescent current testing which is now widely used due to the high fault coverage it achieves. But this method suffers from a big problem that is the voltage degradation it causes to the Circuit Under Test (CUT). In this paper, a novel built-in sensor (BIS) for digital CMOS circuit testing is proposed. The proposed BIS has no voltage degradation and it is able to detect, identify and localize both open and short circuit faults. Moreover, it has a simple realization with very small area and reaction time. PSpice simulations are made to verify that the proposed BIS can detect all short and open circuit fault cases applied to the CUT. Look-up tables are included to describe the detection and localization of all possible faults either open or short circuit faults in the given example. Also, comparison with the previous sensors is included. This BIS can be applied to any other CMOS circuit by adjusting the reference voltages it uses.
Does stress matter?

Single word compounds in Modern Greek (henceforth Greek) exhibit two main stress patterns; a) the compound preserves the stress of the second constituent and b) the compound receives stress on the antepenultimate syllable. Previous studies on compound processing have argued that compounds are represented in two ways, as whole units or decomposed. While other compound properties like headedness, constituency, and θ-role saturation have been examined both from a theoretical linguistic and a psycholinguistic standpoint, the phonological properties of compound words and in particular, stress assignment, have not yet been examined from a psycholinguistic perspective. This project focuses on the effect of stress on naming (timed reading) and word recognition of Greek compounds. Twenty native speakers participated in two experiments (cross-modal lexical decision and primed naming), specifically selected to investigate whether stress activates phonological cues speakers rely upon during processing. It is hypothesized that if compound processing involves the activation of its constituents, we would expect a differential performance for compounds with no stress change as compared to those with stress change, mainly due to the activation of the different compound features during lexical access. The experimental results confirm this hypothesis, especially for the naming task, where, due to its nature, phonological effects were expected to mediate processing. 1 Compounding in Greek. An overview Greek compounds have been analyzed as complex word constructs 1 that consist of more than one root: (1) domatosaláta < domat-osalata„tomato salad‟ „tomato‟ -CI„salad‟ In most cases, there is a vowel, -o-, between the two constituents. Following Ralli (2007), we consider this vowel to be a linking element that acts as a 1 This study focuses on instances of single -word compounds i.e., formations that exhibit a single main stress. The language also has “multi-word compounds” that resemble regular NPs like psixrós pólemos „cold war‟, or zóni asfalías „safety belt‟. The properties of these formations fall beyond the scope of this paper and will not be addressed.
Holistic Affect Recognition Using PaNDA: Paralinguistic Non-Metric Dimensional Analysis

Humans perceive emotion from each other using a holistic perspective, accounting for diverse personal, non-emotional variables, such as age and personality, that shape expression. In contrast, today’s algorithms are mainly designed to recognize emotion in isolation, and are usually demonstrated only within one relatively narrow database. In this article, we propose a multi-task learning approach to jointly learn the recognition of affective states from speech along with various speaker attributes. A problem with multi-task learning is that sometimes inductive transfer can negatively impact performance. To mitigate negative transfer, we introduce the Paralinguistic Non-metric Dimensional Analysis (PaNDA) method that systematically measures task relatedness and also enables visualizing the topology of affective phenomena as a whole. In addition, we present a generic framework that conflates the concepts of single-task and multi-task learning. Using this framework, we construct two models that demonstrate holistic affect recognition: one treats all tasks as equally related, whereas the other one incorporates the task correlations between a main task and its supporting tasks obtained from PaNDA. Both models employ a multi-task deep neural network, in which separate output layers are used to predict discrete and continuous attributes, while hidden layers are shared across different tasks. On average across 18 classification and regression tasks, the weighted multi-task learning with PaNDA significantly improves performance compared to single-task and unweighted multi-task learning.