Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Device to Measure the Oxygen Uptake Rate of Attached Cells: Importance in Bioartificial Organ Design

Quantification of the dependence of cellular oxygen uptake rate (OUR) on oxygen partial pressure is useful for the design and testing of bioartificial devices which utilize cells. Thus far, this information has only been obtained from suspended cells and from cells attached to microcarriers. In this work, a device was developed to obtain the dependence of OUR on oxygen partial pressure for anchorage-dependent cells cultured in standard culture dishes. The device is placed and sealed on the top of the culture dish, and holds a Clark polarographic mini-electrode flush with the bottom surface of the device. It also houses a motor to spin a magnetic stir bar within the cell chamber to insure that the medium is well-mixed. Several characteristics of the device — such as oxygen leakage into the device chamber, electrode-lag time, and linearity of the electrode at low oxygen partial pressures-were quantified and their potential effect on the values of Vm (maximal OUR) and K0.5 (oxygen partial pressure at which OUR is half-maximal) were evaluated. Comparison of Vm and K0.5 values obtained with this device with previously published values for suspended rat hepatocytes, Bacillus cereus, and E. coli indicated that the technique provides values accurate within 30% as long as the cell under study has a K0.5 greater than approximately 1.0 mmHg. For hepatocytes cultured on 0.05 mm thickness collagen gel for 1 day (n = 4) and 3 days (n = 6), Vm was found to be 0.38 ± 0.12 and 0.25 ± 0.09 nmol O2/s/106 cells, respectively, and K0.5 was found to be 5.6 ± 0.5 and 3.3 ± 0.6 mmHg, respectively. This technique should aid in predicting bioreactor conditions such as flow rate, cell density, distance of cell from flow, and gas phase oxygen partial pressure which can lead to oxygen limitations. In addition, further studies of the effect of factors such as extracellular matrix composition, metabolic substrate, and drugs on the dependence of OUR on oxygen partial pressure for many anchorage-dependent cell types can be pursued with this technique.
Imaging time reduction through multiple receiver coil data acquisition and image reconstruction

A technique is described for the simultaneous acquisition of MRI data using two independent receiver coils surrounding the same region of tissue, which enables the collection of data necessary for image reconstruction in a reduced number of phase‐encoded acquisitions. This results in a 50% reduction in minimum scan time and may be useful in time‐critical procedures. The algorithm and imaging procedures are described, and example images are shown that illustrate the reconstruction. Signal to noise is decreased by the square root of the time savings, making this technique applicable to cases in which the need to decrease minimum scan time outweighs the signal to noise penalty.
Drought Analysis for Different Time Periods in the City of Kırıkkale

Kuraklik, yeryuzundeki tum canlilar ve cesitli sistemler tarafindan kullanilan dogal su miktarinin belirli zaman suresi boyunca bolgesel olcekte uzun sureli ortalamanin ya da normalin altina dusmesiyle su acigi seklinde meydana gelen dogal bir olay olarak tanimlanabilir. Kurakligin zamani, suresi ve siddeti onceden bilinmediginden dolayi, herhangi bir bolgedeki kuraklik olayi analiz edilirken olasilik ve istatistiksel metotlar kullanilir. Bu calismada, yari kurak iklim ozelliklerine sahip Kirikkale ili icin Standart Yagis Indisi (SYI) kullanilarak farkli zaman dilimlerindeki kuraklik analizi yapilmistir. Bu amacla, Kirikkale meteoroloji istasyonundan elde edilen 1950-2007 yillari arasindaki aylik yagis verileri kullanilarak cesitli periyotlar icin (1, 3, 6, 9, 12 ve 24 aylik) hesaplanan SYI degerleri bulunarak, istasyona ait kuraklik karakteristikleri (kuraklik genligi, suresi, ve siddeti) ve bunlarin birbirleri ile olan iliskileri belirlenerek ilde farkli zaman dilimlerinde meydana gelen kurakliklar incelenmis ve degerlendirilmesi yapilmistir.
Lsm Proteins Are Required for Normal Processing and Stability of Ribosomal RNAs*

Depletion of any of the essential Lsm proteins, Lsm2–5p or Lsm8p, delayed pre-rRNA processing and led to the accumulation of many aberrant processing intermediates, indicating that an Lsm complex is required to maintain the normally strict order of processing events. In addition, high levels of degradation products derived from both precursors and mature rRNAs accumulated in Lsm-depleted strains. Depletion of the essential Lsm proteins reduced the apparent processivity of both 5′ and 3′ exonuclease activities involved in 5.8S rRNA processing, and the degradation intermediates that accumulated were consistent with inefficient 5′ and 3′ degradation. Many, but not all, pre-rRNA species could be coprecipitated with tagged Lsm3p, but not with tagged Lsm1p or non-tagged control strains, suggesting their direct interaction with an Lsm2–8p complex. We propose that Lsm proteins facilitate RNA protein interactions and structural changes required during ribosomal subunit assembly.
Seeking Connection Versus Avoiding Disappointment: An Experimental Manipulation of Approach and Avoidance Sexual Goals and the Implications for Desire and Satisfaction

Previous correlational research has demonstrated an association between people’s reasons for having sex (i.e., their sexual goals) and their sexual desire and sexual and relationship satisfaction. Across two studies of people in romantic relationships (N = 396) we extend previous research and demonstrate, for the first time, that manipulating the salience of approach sexual goals (i.e., engaging in sex to pursue positive outcomes, such as enhanced intimacy) compared to avoidance sexual goals (i.e., engaging in sex to avert negative outcomes, such as a partner’s disappointment) or a control condition leads people to feel higher sexual desire for their romantic partners and to report higher sexual and relationship satisfaction. In addition, in Study 2 we demonstrate that focusing on approach sexual goals over the course of a week leads people to report more satisfying sexual experiences during that week, as well as higher desire and overall relationship satisfaction, compared to a control group. The current findings advance approach–avoidance theory by providing evidence that it is possible to manipulate people’s sexual goals and, in turn, impact their feelings of desire and satisfaction. Results are promising for the development of interventions to promote sexual and relational well-being.
Wound complications following kidney and liver transplantation

Abstract: Advances in surgical techniques and immunosuppression (IS) have led to an appreciable reduction in postoperative complications following transplantation. However, wound complications as probably the most common type of post‐transplantation surgical complication can still limit these improved outcomes and result in prolonged hospitalization, hospital readmission, and reoperation, consequently increasing overall transplant cost. Our aim was to review the literature to delineate the evidence‐based risk factors for wound complications following kidney and liver transplantation (KTx, LTx), and to present the preventive and therapeutic modalities for this bothersome morbidity. Generally, wound complications are categorized as superficial and deep wound dehiscences, perigraft fluid collections and seroma, superficial and deep wound infections, cellulitis, lymphocele and wound drainage. The results of several studies showed that the most important risk factors for wound complications are IS and obesity. Additionally, there are surgical and/or technical factors, including type of incision, reoperation, and surgeon's expertise, as well as comorbidities such as advanced age, diabetes mellitus, malnutrition, and uremia. Preventive management of wound complications necessitates defining their etiological factors so that their detrimental effects on healing processes can be addressed and reduced. IS modalities and agents, especially sirolimus (SRL), and steroids (ST) should be adjusted according to the patient's co‐existing risk factors. SRL should be administered three months after transplantation and ST should be tapered as soon as possible. A body mass index (BMI) lower than 30 kg/m2 is advisable for inclusion in a transplantation program, but higher BMIs do not exclude recipients. Surgical risk factors can be prevented by applying precise surgical techniques. Therapeutic modalities must focus on the most efficient and cost‐effective medications and/or interventions to facilitate and improve wound healing.
Secondary Forecasting Based on Deviation Analysis for Short-Term Load Forecasting

Short-term load forecasting (STLF) is the basis of power system planning and operation. With regard to the fast-growing load in China, a novel two-stage hybrid forecasting method is proposed in this paper. In the first stage, daily load is forecasted by time-series methods; in the second stage, the deviation caused by time-series methods is forecasted considering the impact of relative factors, and then is added to the result of the first stage. Different from other conventional methods, this paper does an in-depth analysis on the impact of relative factors on the deviation between actual load and the forecasting result of traditional time-series methods. On the basis of this analysis, an adaptive algorithm is proposed to perform the second stage which can be used to choose the most appropriate algorithm among linear regression, quadratic programming, and support vector machine (SVM) according to the characteristic of historical data. These ideas make the forecasting procedure more accurate, adaptive, and effective, comparing with SVM and other prevalent methods. The effectiveness has been demonstrated by the experiments and practical application in China.
Comparison of Z-axis automatic tube current modulation technique with fixed tube current CT scanning of abdomen and pelvis.

PURPOSE To compare image quality, diagnostic acceptability, and radiation exposure associated with 16-section multi-detector row computed tomographic (CT) examinations of abdomen and pelvis performed with z-axis modulation technique of automatic tube current modulation and with manual selection of fixed tube current. MATERIALS AND METHODS Sixty-two consecutive subjects (mean age, 60 years; age range, 19-84 years; male-to-female ratio, 35:27) underwent follow-up CT of abdomen and pelvis with use of a 16-section multi-detector row scanner and z-axis modulation technique (10.5-12.0-HU noise index, 10-380 mA). Scanning parameters included 140 kVp, 0.5-1.0-second gantry rotation time, 0.938:1 beam pitch, and 5-mm reconstructed section thickness. For each subject, images obtained with z-axis modulation were compared with previous images obtained with fixed tube current (200-300 mA) and with other parameters identical. Images were compared for noise and diagnostic acceptability by two subspecialty radiologists using a five-point scale (1, unacceptable; 3, acceptable; 5, excellent) at five levels: upper liver at diaphragm, porta hepatis, right kidney hilum, iliac crest, and upper margin of acetabulum. Tube current and gantry rotation time used for acquisitions at these levels were recorded. Data were analyzed with parametric and nonparametric statistical tests. RESULTS Although no significant differences were found (P =.34), images acquired with z-axis modulation at the levels of the upper liver (diaphragm) and acetabulum had a higher noise and lower diagnostic quality, compared with images acquired with fixed tube current. Compared with fixed tube current, z-axis modulation resulted in tube current-time product reduction in 54 (87%) of 62 examinations (mean reduction, 71.2 mAs) and increase in eight (13%) (mean increase, 17.0 mAs). CONCLUSION Compared with manually selected fixed tube current, z-axis automatic tube current modulation resulted in reduced tube current-time product and similar image noise and diagnostic acceptability at CT of abdomen and pelvis.
Challenges Of Elephant Conservation: Insights From Oral Histories Of Colonialism And Landscape In Tsavo, Kenya

Abstract Understanding the reasons for conflict between elephants and people who live adjacent to conservation areas remains key to recruiting them as allies in preserving elephant populations. The Tsavo region of Kenya has become a notable battleground for elephant conservation in East Africa, characterized by ivory poachers, crop damages by elephants in communities adjacent to parks, and electric fencing to control human and wildlife mobility. Oral histories of six ethnic groups reveal how such human‐elephant conflict emerged during colonial times through a landscape transformation process involving elephants, livestock, people, and vegetation. The general trend over the past two centuries involves a transition from a precolonial modality characterized by human and elephant mobility to their increasing immobility, spatial separation, and conflict. Understanding of the historical emergence of that conflict forces recommendation of a change in policy direction, from further reducing mobility to restoration of mobility and spatial reintegration of people in parks. Keywords: colonialism and landscape, East Africa, elephant conservation, historical political ecology.
The third term.

IF the Hanley Election result does not convince the Labour Party that the game they have been playing during the last few years is suicidal, their place is Hanwell. Hitherto we have allowed it to be assumed that the critical minorities, once part and parcel of the movement, had no claims on the direction of policy when once they had been ostracised by the official leaders. But it is clear from the Hanley Election that not only the official Labour Party is jeopardising its own existence by its idiotic tactics, its ostrich-like refusal to face facts and its boorish boycott of friendly though critical colleagues, but the whole proletariat movement in which every genuine reformer is interested and on behalf of which we have all made sacrifices is jeopardised with it. Writing in the “ Daily Mail ” some weeks ago, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a fairly level headed and impartial observer, assured his public that the Industrial Unrest of to-day, formidable though it might seem for the moment, would blow over without doing much damage to the existing system of private capitalism. And this judgment was confirmed by Mr. Lloyd George on Thursday last in his address to the bankers. The outlook, he said (and remember he was assuring bankers, not wage-earners), was clearer now than it had been for some years. In other words, the Industrial Unrest had died down, and there was no immediate cause to fear its revival.
Current cosmological bounds on neutrino masses and relativistic relics

We combine the most recent observations of large-scale structure (2dF and SDSS galaxy surveys) and cosmic microwave anisotropies (WMAP and ACBAR) to put constraints on flat cosmological models where the number of massive neutrinos and of massless relativistic relics are both left arbitrary. We discuss the impact of each dataset and of various priors on our bounds. For the standard case of three thermalized neutrinos, we find an upper bound on the total neutrino mass sum m_nu < 1.0 (resp. 0.6) eV (at 2sigma), using only CMB and LSS data (resp. including priors from supernovae data and the HST Key Project), a bound that is quite insensitive to the splitting of the total mass between the three species. When the total number of neutrinos or relativistic relics N_eff is left free, the upper bound on sum m_nu (at 2sigma, including all priors) ranges from 1.0 to 1.5 eV depending on the mass splitting. We provide an explanation of the parameter degeneracy that allows larger values of the masses when N_eff increases. Finally, we show that the limit on the total neutrino mass is not significantly modified in the presence of primordial gravitational waves, because current data provide a clear distinction between the corresponding effects.
Silvicultural Challenges and Options in the Context of Global Change: “Simple” Fixes and Opportunities for New Management Approaches

A major challenge for foresters in the future will be issues related to global change. Global change expresses itself in a variety of ways, depending on regional vegetation and climate patterns, small-scale topographic differences, tree species, and stand development stages. Using silviculture as an example, the variety of steps linking global change—as a general concept—and actual management decisions is explored. The first task is to relate global change aspects to silviculturally relevant scales. Second, silvicultural responses must reflect the wide variety of changes, including their interactions. A number of management recommendations have been proposed from the global scale to the application of specific silvicultural treatments. These recommendations are mostly focused on increasing the resistance of forests to perturbations. Increasing ecosystem adaptability and resilience through silvicultural practices may benefit from developments in other scientific fields. Recent advances in the complexity and ecosystem sciences may provide approaches that are better suited for a future with increased variability and uncertainty in ecological and social conditions. Specifically, managing forests as complex adaptive systems may provide a conceptual framework that can be useful for silviculture, even though much work still must be done to fully explore the implications of such a new framework for silvicultural decisionmaking.
The Eternal Battle between Microbes and Humans

In 1950s, practitioners believed that the age-old battle of mankind with microbes was finally stopped. Shortly thereafter that concept has been completely changed following the occurrence of major outbreaks caused either by new pathogens or traditional resurging agents with a potential global spread [1]. Depending on their evolutionary dynamics, the ability of microorganisms to cause diseases is rapidly changing and increasing over time [2]. One potential example is the pathogens of animal origin (i.e. zoonotic diseases) that have accounted for more than two thirds among of emerging human infections, and therefore constitute a serious human health hazard [3,4]. Disease emergence involves the appearance of new pathogens as well as re-emergence of already known ones [5]. The transfer of diseases to humans from food animals is a particular problem and the situation is aggravated by the spread of pathogens carrying resistomes (i.e. antimicrobial resistant genes) such as Salmonella, E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus in food-producing animals owing to the overuse of antimicrobials which present a public health risk by the transfer of such resistant pathogens eventually to humans [6,7].
Multi-step GA for better results

GA (Genetic Algorithm) returns a little different optimization results each time GA runs, caused by its stochastic nature. How do we get better results which means the optimization result as close to the actual minimum/maximum as possible by GA? The paper presents a trial method, as a practical optimizing strategy for GA, called multi-step GA to get the better optimization result than that result calculated by GA running once. The multi-step GA introduces the two variable “maxStep” and “maxRound” as the new stopping conditions to specify the number of iterations so that GA can get better results in limited trial steps. It is proved that the method is an effective method for GA to increase accuracy generally by three different experiments regardless of optimization problems and varieties of GA. The method presented in this paper improves the accuracy of GA in whole or externally instead of improving the component parts of GA internally. It let the evolution of the world of the genome finish completely, and replays the world again and again to find the optimal result of that world.
Encoding of modified X-Y trees for document classification

Describes a method for classifying document images on the basis of their physical layout. The layout is described by means of a hierarchical description, the modified X-Y tree, that is derived from the classical X-Y tree segmentation algorithm taking into account cuts along lines in addition to cuts along white spaces between blocks. In order to reduce problems due to noise and the skew of the input image, the modified X-Y tree is built on top of regions extracted by a commercial OCR package. The tree is afterwards coded into a fixed-size representation that takes into account occurrences of tree patterns in the tree representing the page. Lastly, this feature vector is fed to an artificial neural network that is trained to classify document images. The system is applied to the classification of documents belonging to digital libraries. Examples of classes taken into account are "title page", "index" and "regular page". Many tests have been carried out on a data set of more than 600 pages from an online digital library. These tests allowed us to conclude that the use of modified X-Y trees is advantageous with respect to the classical X-Y decomposition for this classification task.
Melatonin lowers edema after spinal cord injury

Melatonin has been shown to diminish edema in rats. Melatonin can be used to treat spinal cord injury. This study presumed that melatonin could relieve spinal cord edema and examined how it might act. Our experiments found that melatonin (100 mg/kg, i.p.) could reduce the water content of the spinal cord, and suppress the expression of aquaporin-4 and glial fibrillary acidic protein after spinal cord injury. This suggests that the mechanism by which melatonin alleviates the damage to the spinal cord by edema might be related to the expression of aquaporin-4 and glial fibrillary acidic protein.
Differences in the relationship between palate shape, articulation, and acoustics of American English /r/ and /s/

Author(s): Bakst, Sarah | Abstract: This ultrasound and acoustics study of American English /r/ and /s/ investigates whether variability in production is related to individual differences in vocal tract morphology, namely the shape of the palate. There was reduced articulatory variability for flatter palates for both /r/ and /s/. There was a relationship between acoustics and palate shape for /s/ only, where flatter palates had increased acoustic variability, but for /r/, there was no relationship between palate shape and acoustic variability.
Histamine release in contact urticaria

Cardura ElO is an epoxy reactive diluent which possesses an epoxide group and plays a part in the hardening process. Several epoxy reactive diluents, including Cardura ElO, have proved to be sensitizers in guinea pig testing (I). Sensitivity to this substance has been described previously (2). However, the patient tested was also allergic to epoxy resin, suggesting that the epoxide group was the common sensitizer in both substances. It is probable that sensitization to these diluents may be masked by associated epoxy resin sensitivity (2). Our patient demonstrates an isolated Cardura ElO sensitivity, suggesting that the allergen is other than the epoxide group.