Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Milk Fat Globule Membrane with Exercise on Age-Related Degeneration of Neuromuscular Junctions

Morphological changes in neuromuscular junctions (NMJs), which are synapses formed between α-motor neurons and skeletal muscle fibers, are considered to be important in age-related motor dysfunction. We have previously shown that the intake of dietary milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) combined with exercise attenuates age-related NMJ alterations in the early phase of aging. However, it is unclear whether the effect of MFGM with exercise on age-related NMJ alterations persists into old age, and whether intervention from old age is still effective when age-related changes in NMJs have already occurred. In this study, 6- or 18-month-old mice were treated with a 1% MFGM diet and daily running wheel exercise until 23 or 24 months of age, respectively. MFGM treatment with exercise was effective in suppressing the progression of age-related NMJ alterations in old age, and even after age-related changes in NMJs had already occurred. Moreover, the effect of MFGM intake with exercise was not restricted to NMJs but extended to the structure and function of peripheral nerves. This study demonstrates that MFGM intake with exercise may be a novel approach for improving motor function in the elderly by suppressing age-related NMJ alterations.
Image Denoising — The SURE-LET Methodology

This paper introduces a new approach to orthonormal wavelet image denoising. Instead of postulating a statistical model for the wavelet coefficients, we directly parametrize the denoising process as a sum of elementary nonlinear processes with unknown weights. We then minimize an estimate of the mean square error between the clean image and the denoised one. The key point is that we have at our disposal a very accurate, statistically unbiased, MSE estimate—Stein’s unbiased risk estimate—that depends on the noisy image alone, not on the clean one. Like the MSE, this estimate is quadratic in the unknown weights, and its minimization amounts to solving a linear system of equations. The existence of this a priori estimate makes it unnecessary to devise a specific statistical model for the wavelet coefficients. Instead, and contrary to the custom in the literature, these coefficients are not considered random anymore. We describe an interscale orthonormal wavelet thresholding algorithm based on this new approach and show its near-optimal performance—both regarding quality and CPU requirement—by comparing it with the results of three state-of-the-art nonredundant denoising algorithms on a large set of test images. An interesting fallout of this study is the development of a new, group-delay-based, parent–child prediction in a wavelet dyadic tree.
ALGEBRAIC CONCORDANCE AND CASSON-GORDON INVARIANTS

The following pages contain some notes on algebraic concordance and the CassonGordon invariants. No originality is claimed and all mistakes are my own. Introduction: what is in these notes and what is not The aim of these notes is to provide a very brief introduction to two topics in knot concordance: algebraic concordance and the Casson-Gordon invariants. In fact, these notes outgrew a reading group on knot concordance which was organized during the spring of 2017 in Geneva: the ten subsections below are expanded versions of the ten talks given at that occasion. Our overall goal was to study slice knots which are not algebraically slice. These notes neither have the ambition of providing a detailed account of the subject (as in [20]), nor a survey of knot concordance (as in [19]). Furthermore, there is no mention of more recent topics such as the solvable filtration [5] or the invariants coming from knot homologies. Rather, these notes strive to provide a leisurely introduction to algebraic conconcordance and Casson-Gordon invariants, assuming only minimal background. In particular, technical tools are introduced as required by the exposition (often avoiding the greatest generality) and several points in the first part are intentionally slightly informal. We conclude with a more technical remark. Although the goal is to discuss algebraic slice knots which are not slice, we avoided the shortest path to such examples (arguably, such a path might involve the integral of the Levine-Tristram signature on the circle, see e.g. these introductory notes [23]). Instead, we chose to follow the original approach of Casson and Gordon [3], discussing the invariants σ(K,χ) and τ(K,χ). Note however that in place of the G-signature computation involved in [3], we use the surgery formula of [2] to compute σ(K,χ).
Prostaglandins in the induction of labour – do we have the optimal
substance, dose, and route of administration? Literature review

Induction of labour (IOL) is a procedure that reduces mortality and morbidity of the mother and the newborn in particular clinical settings. Currently the number of indications for this procedure is increasing; at the same time, intensive work is underway to optimize IOL in terms of duration, obstetric results, and costs. There are no universal standards regarding the optimal way to pre-induce patients in the case of unfavourable cervix, but prostaglandin analogues play an important role in this process. In this paper we discuss the physiological role of prostaglandins and review the current evidence-based literature on this topic, trying to find optimal substance, dose, and route of administration in pre-induction of labour in terms of effectiveness, obstetrical outcomes, and intrapartum complications.
From User Stories to UML Diagrams Driven by Ontological and Production Model

The User Story format has become the most popular way of expressing requirements in Agile methods. However, a requirement does not state how a solution will be physically achieved. The purpose of this paper is to present a new approach that automatically transforms user stories into UML diagrams. Our approach aims to automatically generate UML diagrams, namely class, use cases, and package diagrams. User stories are written in natural language (English), so the use of a natural language processing tool was necessary for their processing. In our case, we have used Stanford core NLP. The automation approach consists of the combination of rules formulated as a predicate and an ontological model. Prolog rules are used to extract relationships between classes and eliminate those that are at risk of error. To extract the design elements, the prolog rules used dependencies offered by Stanford core NLP. An ontology representing the components of the user stories was created to identify equivalent relationships and inclusion use cases. The tool developed was implemented in the Python programming language and has been validated by several case studies. Keywords—Ontology; prolog rules; natural language processing; UML diagrams; user stories
The Impact of Company Financial Leverage and Growth Opportunities on the Investment Decisions : The Companies Listed on Tehran Stock Exchange evidence

This study the impact of company financial leverage and growth opportunities on the investment decisions using information on Iranian companies listed on Tehran Stock Exchange. This paper aims to answer is whether financial leverage influences the investment decisions in Iranian context. By answering this question, the author attempts to add to the existing literature by bringing new evidence on the relationship between leverage and investment decisions of firms listed in Tehran Stock Exchange in Iran. For the study purpose, the 92 companies with the desired condition were selected for this purpose and panel data with fixed effects was used to test hypotheses. The results of this research show that companies with higher Financial Leverage adjust their investment decisions. The results of this study can be used by shareholders, managers and finance
The Political Legacy of Nazi Annexation

This paper uses a historical natural experiment - the case of Nazi Operational Zones (OZ) in Italy during WWII - to shed light on the legacy of foreign state repression. While the rest of Northern Italy was placed under Fascist rule, the OZ were de facto annexed by Nazi Germany and subjected to full German administrative and military control. A large segment of the OZ boundary partitioned historically homogeneous regions in a quasi-exogenous manner. Using a spatial regression discontinuity design, we first show that the OZ experienced harsher political persecution and violence. After the war, OZ areas exhibited greater support for radical opposition, on both the left and the right, as well as lower political participation. We interpret these findings as evidence of disenchantment in the political process and distrust of the state. Consistent with this argument, voters in affected areas showed lower political trust and less support for laws suppressing dissent. Overall, our results suggest that foreign repression, even if temporary, has enduring political and social consequences.
BREEDING POPULATIONS OF TULE WHITE-FRONTED GEESE IN NORTHWESTERN CANADA

T HE Tule White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons gambelli) is one of the least known of the North American wild geese. Available information has been largely limited to observations and collected specimens of wintering birds. The migrational routes are virtually uncharted and breeding areas unknown. The basis for considering gambelli to be a valid subspecies is discussed by Swarth and Bryant (1917)) Kuroda (1929)) Dalgety and Scott (1948), Todd (1950), and Delacour (1954). Reasons for lack of specific information are the comparative rarity of gambelli, and the fact it is usually confused with the Pacific White-fronted Goose (A. a. frontalis). Because of the mystery surrounding this goose and the fact it had been listed as possibly endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, an expedition to the region of the delta of the MacKenzie River in northwestern Canada was undertaken in 1964. The purpose of the expedition was to try to locate breeding colonies of A. a. gambelli, and to collect live birds for a controlled propagation program. Reports that isolated and uninvestigated White-fronted Goose populations nested in this region made it a likely area to search. The expedition, which was originally reported by Elgas (1965), was sponsored and financed by World Wildlife Fund. It was actively supported by the Canadian Wildlife Service, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and was under the leadership of Bob Elgas and Jack Kiracofe. On 2 July 1964, the expedition arrived at Inuvik, Northwest Territories where a base camp was established. The town of Inuvik is approximately fifty miles east of Aklavik and is on the east side of the MacKenzie River delta. Recognition for his support is given Dick Hill, Manager of the Canadian Wildlife Service Research Laboratory at Inuvik and to Tom Barry, Resident Biologist for the Canadian Wildlife Service. The technical advice and field support given by Mr. Barry was invaluable. On 5 July we made an aerial examination of the Old Crow Flats. Old Crow Flats is in the northern portion of the Yukon Territory, about I50 miles west of Inuvik. It is a plateau 60 to 70 miles in diameter and rather isolated from the northern coastal plain and the MacKenzie delta area by rugged mountain chains. Here is the source of the Old Crow River. The Flats are characterized by thousands of lakes, sloughs, and potholes surrounded for the most part by a dense brushy growth. Predominant vegitation
Simple Video Instance Segmentation with ResNet and Transformer

Video instance segmentation(VIS) is a new vision task that has emerged in recent years and is processed by deep learning algorithms. It uses continuous video frames as input, generally ranging from a few frames to dozens of frames. Therefore, this segmentation task requires a large batch and large GPU memory for training. Based on recent VIS model VisTR, we propose a competitive VIS model called SimpleVTR in this paper. SimpleVTR trade off and optimizes the computing resources and effects of end-to-end video instance segmentation algorithm. While reducing the computing resources, the model effect can also be well maintained. First, we used one RTX3090 (24G) and one RTX1080Ti (11G) to continuously experiment and optimize the VIS model, and finally determined a model that can train only with one RTX1080Ti (11 G). At the same time, it achieved a score of 31.9 AP on the testing of Video Instance Segmentation in the YouTuBe VOS 2021 Challenge track 2. In the course of the experiment, we summarized some proposals and end-to-end training methods that should be followed.
Arctic Marine Traffic Using the Evidential Reasoning

10 The global warming has made Arctic marine traffic possible, but the harsh 11 navigation environment threatens its safety and restrains its development. It is necessary 12 to evaluate the safety of Arctic marine traffic environment. The evidential reasoning 13 approach is used to establish a new hierarchical model for the safety evaluation due to 14 its advantages such as being able to deal with uncertainty caused by ignorance or lack of 15 knowledge. The model is based on objective environmental data of safety gathered from 16 the Arctic voyage of a general cargo vessel ‘Tian You’ and subjective judgements 17 collected from domain experts. The safety evaluation results show that the locations in 18 East Siberian and Laptev Sea have a generally safer environment for marine traffic than 19 the one in Kara Sea. The proposed model validated by sensitivity analysis provides an 20 informative and rigorous basis for decision making of Arctic marine traffic. 21 22
A shot in the dark: White and infrared LED flash camera traps yield similar detection probabilities for common urban mammal species

Acknowledgements We wish to thank Tyler Flockhart, Lauren Lipsey, Erin Robinson, and Sam Decker for their administrative assistance throughout the project, Justin Belsley, Claire Bresnan, Elly Grant, Neha Singh and Sam Newkirk for their assistance in data collection, and Jen Zhao, Haydee Hernandez-Yanez, Helen Bontrager, Ashley Whipple, Johnny Stutzman, Ben Ranelli, Emily Renkey, and Jamie Fetherolf for their assistance with data processing and storage. Major financial support was provided by: PetSmart Charities, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, The Humane Society of the United States, Humane Rescue Alliance, Winn Feline Foundation, Maddie’s Fund, Cat Depot and B. Von Gontard. Abstract
Posteromedial Approach to Fix Posterior Cruciate Ligament Tibial Avulsion: A Backup Fixation and Case Series

Background and purpose: Tibial avulsion fractures of PCL are common; however, the choice between open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) and arthroscopic repair of acute fractures remains controversial. We assessed the efficacy and safety of managing PCL avulsion fractures with ORIF using the posteromedial approach. Methods: This series includes 10 patients (9 males and one female) with a median age of 36 years (range 23-48 years) who underwent ORIF with a posteromedial approach for PCL avulsion fractures, with and without other knee ligamentous injuries. Bony fragments were fixed using cortical screw with a washer augmented with another backup screw fixed 3-5 cm distally. Postoperatively, the mean follow-up time was 18.8 months (range 3.5-48 months). All the surgeries were performed at a mean of 75 days (range 1-600 days) of injury, and clinical and radiological assessments were also used. Results: The patients achieved fracture union an average of 14 weeks postoperatively (range: 8-24 weeks). Two patients who sustained other ligamentous injuries demonstrated residual disability. Patients returned to work (heavy labour) within 6 months postoperatively (range: 4-9 months). Conclusion: The posteromedial approach is safe, time saving, and was not associated with complications. This approach provides stable fixation with no residual knee laxity and can be used to manage posteromedial fractures of the medial femoral condyle and tibial plateau. Further high quality studies are needed to assess this surgical approach.
Official Title: Evaluation of Motor Unit Abnormalities after Experimentally Induced Sensitization Using Capsaicin: A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo- Controlled Study

Central sensitization is a condition that represents a cascade of neurological adaptations, resulting in an amplification of nociceptive responses from noxious and non-noxious stimuli. However, whether this abnormality translates into motor output and more specifically, ventral horn abnormalities, needs to be further explored. Twenty healthy participants aged 20-70 will be randomly allocated to topical capsaicin or a placebo topical cream which will be applied onto their left upper back to induce a transient state of sensitization. Visual analogue scale (VAS) ratings of pain intensity and brush allodynia score (BAS) will be used to determine the presence of pain and secondary allodynia. Surface electromyography (sEMG) and intramuscular electromyography(iEMG) will be used to record motor unit activity from the upper trapezius and infraspinatus muscles before and twenty minutes after application of capsaicin/placebo. Motor unit recruitment and variability will be analyzed in the sEMG and iEMG, respectively. An independent t-test will be performed on the data. This preclinical evidence may provide some explanation for the influence of central sensitization on changes in movement patterns that occur in patients who have pain encouraging of further clinical investigation.
Ghost in the machine; do animals have consciousness?

Consciousness research in neuroscience focuses on the awareness of internal and external existence. Scientists and philosophers have spent centuries analyzing what consciousness really is. Yet, the subject of consciousness remains controversial. This is because consciousness has a subjective aspect, and as such it is difficult to test empirically. These problems are further amplified when examining whether animals are conscious. This paper addresses the philosophic and scientific views of consciousness and outlines why consciousness remains to be a hard problem in science. We will then examine arguments offered by the Francis Creek Memorial, and the advent of the Cambridge declaration which took place in 2012, to see if it resolved the question of animal consciousness. We will show that the current research, which is based on materialistic physicalist position, provides a possible pathway toward examining animal consciousness by assuming that it is being produced by brain substrates that are similar to those thought to be responsible for consciousness in humans.
Induced technological change and energy efficiency improvements

We present a theoretical and empirical model which (1) shows that the demand for energy is shifted down by innovations in energy intensive sectors and (2) highlights the drivers of innovative activity in these sectors. The theoretical model and the empirical analysis of patent and energy data indicate that the level of innovative activity is determined by energy expenditure as well as international and inter-temporal spillovers. The solution of the theoretical model along the balanced growth path suggests that in general equilibrium the level of innovative activity depends on the growth rate of energy generation cost. The model predicts also that a level increase in the cost of energy does not alter the long-run energy share of income. Finally, we show that our results can be used to calibrate Integrated Assessment Models to project energy efficiency growth. © 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V.
What Drives Airbnb Customers’ Satisfaction in Amsterdam? A Sentiment Analysis

The sharing economy is a new socio-economic system that allows individuals to rent out their personal belongings, such as their private car or a room in their home, for a short period. This study aims to investigate the attributes that impact customers’ satisfaction when using the sharing economy propriety rentals websites. Large data sets of Airbnb’s online reviews and listings in Amsterdam were analyzed using sentiment analysis, word clustering, ordinal logistic regression, and visualization techniques. Findings reveal that the polarity of Airbnb guests reviews in Amsterdam is significantly impacted by property price, value, cleanliness, rate, host communication, easiness of check-in, the accuracy of property description, and whether the host is super host or not. Surprisingly, the property neighborhood was not found to impact customers’ sentiment in Amsterdam. In addition, Airbnb guests in Amsterdam tend to positively express their experience satisfaction level mainly based on property exact location and host interaction followed with the facilities surrounding the property, property cleanliness, and room quality. On the other hand, negative online reviews tend to be mainly linked to problems with check-in services followed by aspects related to weak host interaction, location, and room quality. The results indicate that Airbnb hosts need to offer clear and easy check-in services with emphasizing the importance of keeping a good communication channel with their guests to enhance customers’ experience and increase customers’ satisfaction level. Future studies should investigate the applicability of the findings of this study in the context of other cities. Keywords—Airbnb; customer satisfaction; customer experience; big data; sentiment analysis; ordinal logistic regression
Parasocial Interaction with Media Characters

The main purpose of this study is to understand the nature of the parasocial interaction with media characters, to have knowledge about the causes, and to review important previous researches on parasocial interaction. In this way, it is aimed to have information about the premises of the parasocial interaction and the variables it is associated with and to determine the possible effects of these variables on social life. Considering the previous studies, it is seen that the focus is on the relationships with the character in the series. For this reason, this study focuses mainly on the interaction with characters of series. In the study, firstly, the nature and premises of the concept of parasocial interaction are mentioned, and then the similarities of this interaction with interpersonal relations are mentioned. Finally, some researches and some suggestions were made about this subject, in which parasocial interaction was examined, especially in terms of age, gender, loneliness, and social anxiety.
The Dominant Design of Disruptive Innovations in the 3rd-Party Online Payment in China

As a disruptive innovation on the traditional payment mode, the 3rd-party online payment has been involved in disruptive innovations featuring contextualized and modernized characteristics, but a theoretical summary is urgently needed for the dominant design of these disruptive innovations. Therefore, an in-depth case study is done with Alipay and PayPal as the subject, and it comes to elaborate four key aspects involved in the dominant design of disruptive innovations of the 3rd-party online payment. Namely, adopt new innovative derivations, create new product attributes, construct new business models, and process subsequent performance improvements. In addition, the factors that differ from the traditional disruptive innovations are also spotted, including two innovative driving forces, two new product features, and four business modes.