Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Host-Derived Extracellular Vesicles in Blood and Tissue Human Protozoan Infections

Blood and tissue protozoan infections are responsible for an enormous burden in tropical and subtropical regions, even though they can also affect people living in high-income countries, mainly as a consequence of migration and travel. These pathologies are responsible for heavy socio-economic issues in endemic countries, where the lack of proper therapeutic interventions and effective vaccine strategies is still hampering their control. Moreover, the pathophysiological mechanisms associated with the establishment, progression and outcome of these infectious diseases are yet to be fully described. Among all the players, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have raised significant interest during the last decades due to their capacity to modulate inter–parasite and host–parasite interactions. In the present manuscript, we will review the state of the art of circulating host-derived EVs in clinical samples or in experimental models of human blood and tissue protozoan diseases (i.e., malaria, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, human African trypanosomiasis and toxoplasmosis) to gain novel insights into the mechanisms of pathology underlying these conditions and to identify novel potential diagnostic markers.
Functional and structural connectivity underlying reinforcement learning in young and older adults

We base many of our choices on previous experiences. Learning from the results of our actions to improve our behavior and increase the resulting reward is called reinforcement learning. In this thesis, I investigated how brain areas communicate the necessity and implementation of such behavioral adjustments, and how these connectivity patterns change with age. The results indicated that in young adults, oscillatory brain activity over the frontal cortex, especially in the theta band (4-8 Hz), signals the need for behavioral adjustment. Inter-site synchronization of oscillatory dynamics (a measure of functional connectivity) seemed to underlie the communication between the frontal learning network and other task-relevant brain areas, to implement this adjustment and optimize future behavior. Brain connectivity patterns that were related to learning in young adults were less predictive of learning success in older adults (65 years and older). Instead, both functional connectivity in especially anterior prefrontal cortex, and structural connectivity between the striatum and anterior and lateral prefrontal cortex, became more important for learning in this age group. Together, the results in this thesis highlight the importance of integration of information in the brain to achieve successful reinforcement learning. Although processing in and connectivity between central parts of the learning network decrease with aging, older adults seem to be able to compensate by utilizing connections with other task-appropriate brain areas. Depending on mental and physical health, intelligence and working memory, and task demands, this can allow older adults to still reach the same performance level as their younger counterparts.
Public Perspectives on Lifestyle-Related Behavior Change for Dementia Risk Reduction: An Exploratory Qualitative Study in The Netherlands

Background: There is accumulating evidence that addressing modifiable risk and protective factors has an impact on dementia rates. Insight into the public’s perspectives on dementia risk reduction is needed to inform future individual-level interventions and public health approaches. Objective: This study explores the publics’ openness towards dementia risk reduction and willingness towards changing lifestyle behavior to reduce the future risk for dementia. Methods: Using a screening questionnaire, participants were purposively selected based on lifestyle behaviors that are associated with dementia risk. One-on-one interviews were used to explore their openness towards dementia risk reduction and willingness towards behavior change. Independently, two researchers performed an inductive content analysis. Results: Interviews were conducted with 23 participants aged from 40 to 79 years. Main themes that were identified from the data were: 1) abstractness of dementia risk reduction, 2) ambivalence towards changing behavior, 3) negative self-image and low behavioral control, and 4) all-or-nothing thinking about lifestyle change. Conclusions: The concept of dementia risk reduction seems difficult to translate to the personal context, particularly if individuals perceive that dementia would occur decades in the future. This is problematic because a large proportion of the public needs a healthier lifestyle to reduce the incidence of dementia. Translating healthy intentions into behavior is complex and involves overcoming a variety of barriers that complicate dementia risk reduction initiatives. Support is needed for individuals who experience additional obstacles that obstruct commencing to a healthier lifestyle (e.g., negative self-image, engaging in multiple unhealthy behaviors, unrealistic perceptions about lifestyle change).
The Role of In‐Cloud Wet Removal in Simulating Aerosol Vertical Profiles and Cloud Radiative Forcing

Among the physical processes controlling aerosol vertical profiles, in‐cloud wet removal is of utmost importance while its representation in global climate models (GCMs) is crude. In this study, we implement into the Community Atmosphere Model version 6 (CAM6) a physically‐based aerosol wet removal parameterization scheme that explicitly treats aerosol activation, removal and resuspension. Evaluation against in‐situ observations shows that the default scheme substantially overestimates the upper tropospheric black carbon (BC) and sea salt mass. Our physically‐based scheme reduces BC and sea salt mass by a factor of 10 and 1,000, respectively, in better agreement with observations. Also, the new scheme slightly increases number of aerosol particles between 12 nm and 4.8 μm in diameter, thereby mitigating the aerosol number underestimation in the default scheme. Our new scheme reduces the overestimation of coarse‐mode aerosol (0.5–4.8 μm) number. Overall, the aerosol property changes (mass decrease and number increase) reduce the cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentration at low supersaturation (i.e., 0.02% and 0.1%), and increase CCN at high supersaturations (i.e., 0.5% and 1%). Consequently, the global annual mean cloud liquid water path increases by 1.89 g m−2 and the ice water path increases by 0.51 g m−2. The global annual mean shortwave, longwave, and net cloud radiative forcing change by −1.06, 0.57, and −0.48 W m−2, respectively. Further improvement is needed to reflect the real physics that the removal efficiencies for aerosol mass and number are disproportionate and to advect cloud‐borne (activated) aerosols for a complete aerosol lifecycle.
A Trophic State Analysis of Lakes in Yellowstone National Park

A Trophic State Analysis of Lakes in Yellowstone National Park Tony Melcher Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, BYU Master of Science Eutrophication is of interest in the field of water quality. Eutrophic lakes, when used as sources for drinking water, can cause problems during the treatment process, for example algae blooms can clog filters, requiring more water and energy to be used during the cleaning and backwashing of the filters. Excess nutrient loading and eutrophication can also harm fish and aquatic life habitats. Certain species of algae and cyanobacteria can be toxic to humans as well. Since 1998, Dr. A. Woodruff Miller has collected water samples from 46 lakes and ponds in Yellowstone National Park. The Carlson Trophic State Index, the Vollenweider Model, the Larsen Mercier Model, the Burns Trophic Level Index, and the Naumann Trophic Scale were then used to assign each lake or pond to a trophic state classification (Oligotrophic, Mesotrophic, Eutrophic, and Hyper-Eutrophic). Of the 46 total lakes and ponds that have been tested over the past 14 years, five lakes are classified as slightly oligotrophic, implying that the waters are relatively clear and free from nutrient pollution. Of the 46 lakes, 19 are classified as slightly mesotrophic, mesotrophic, or strongly mesotrophic. These classifications imply that the waters are moderately clear and contain some nutrient pollution. Of the 46 lakes, 14 are classified as slightly eutrophic, eutrophic, or strongly eutrophic. This implies that the waters have high turbidity and nutrient content. Of the 46 lakes, 8 are classified as slightly hyper-eutrophic or hyper-eutrophic. These lakes are noticeable for their high algae content with very high nutrient content. These classifications are based on the most recent year sampled.
Assessment System for Child Head Injury from Falls Based on Neural Network Learning

Toddlers face serious health hazards if they fall from relatively high places at home during everyday activities and are not swiftly rescued. Still, few effective, precise, and exhaustive solutions exist for such a task. This research aims to create a real-time assessment system for head injury from falls. Two phases are involved in processing the framework: In phase I, the data of joints is obtained by processing surveillance video with Open Pose. The long short-term memory (LSTM) network and 3D transform model are then used to integrate key spots’ frame space and time information. In phase II, the head acceleration is derived and inserted into the HIC value calculation, and a classification model is developed to assess the injury. We collected 200 RGB-captured daily films of 13- to 30-month-old toddlers playing near furniture edges, guardrails, and upside-down falls. Five hundred video clips extracted from these are divided in an 8:2 ratio into a training and validation set. We prepared an additional collection of 300 video clips (test set) of toddlers’ daily falling at home from their parents to evaluate the framework’s performance. The experimental findings revealed a classification accuracy of 96.67%. The feasibility of a real-time AI technique for assessing head injuries in falls through monitoring was proven.
Preference for Normative Information Over Social Information: A Vignette Experiment Testing Content Bias at Three Phases of Transmission

This study aimed to investigate norm bias, a novel type of content bias, in cultural transmission. Using online vignettes with 106 participants, we investigated whether participants preferred normative information over social information. Following the method of Stubbersfield et al. (2015), we examined norm bias in three transmission phases: choose-to-receive, encode-and-retrieve, and choose-to-transmit. The results showed that normative bias was preferred over social bias in the choose-to-retrieve and choose-to-transit phases, but not in the encode-and-retrieve phase, suggesting that normative information may be more likely to be transmitted over social information.
La innovación organizacional en el sector turístico: nuevas demandas del entorno

En estos momentos de gran inestabilidad economica y financiera, innovar es el reto que nos guiara a ser competitivos. Todas las empresas innovan, aun sin saber que lo estan haciendo, asi que el reto radica en saber canalizar dicha innovacion de forma que no se pierda en la marana administrativa y organizativa de la empresa. De este modo, basandonos en el sector turistico donde hay mas que margen para la innovacion, en el presente trabajo se presenta un modelo extraido de diferentes experiencias realizadas en empresas del sector. Se proponen diez variables, o patrones de conducta, aplicadas a la estructura organizativa y el sistema de gestion de ideas de la empresa, lo cual contribuira a convertir las empresas en innovadoras.
Pulsed photoemission induced plasma breakdown

This article characterises the effects of cathode photoemission leading to electrical discharges in an argon gas. We perform breakdown experiments under pulsed laser illumination of a flat cathode and observe Townsend to glow discharge transitions. The breakdown process is recorded by high-speed imaging, and time-dependent voltage and current across the electrode gap are measured for different reduced electric fields and laser intensities. We employ a 0D transient discharge model to interpret the experimental measurements. The fitted values of transferred photoelectron charge are compared with calculations from a quantum model of photoemission. The breakdown voltage is found to be lower with photoemission than without. When the applied voltage is insufficient for ion-induced secondary electron emission to sustain the plasma, laser driven photoemission can still create a breakdown where a sheath (i.e. a region near the electrode surfaces consisting of positive ions and neutrals) is formed. This photoemission induced plasma persists and decays on a much longer time scale ( ∼10s μ s) than the laser pulse length ( 30 ps). The effects of different applied voltages and laser energies on the breakdown voltage and current waveforms are investigated. The discharge model can accurately predict the measured breakdown voltage curves, despite the existence of discrepancy in quantitatively describing the transient discharge current and voltage waveforms.
Factors associated with the intention to have colorectal cancer screening in Korean adultsecc

M.A. HAN, md, phd, researcher, National Cancer Control Research Institute, National Cancer Centre, Goyang, K.S. CHOI, phd, senior scientist, National Cancer Control Research Institute, National Cancer Centre, Goyang, J.K. JUN, md, phd, associate scientist, National Cancer Control Research Institute, National Cancer Centre, Goyang, Y. KIM, md, phd, associate scientist, National Cancer Control Research Institute, National Cancer Centre, Goyang, E. -C. PARK, md, phd, director, National Cancer Control Research Institute, National Cancer Centre, Goyang, & H. -Y. LEE, md, phd, associate scientist, National Cancer Control Research Institute, National Cancer Centre, Goyang, Korea
Nerve growth factor promotes expression of novel genes in intervertebral disc cells that regulate tissue degradation

J Neurosurg: Spine / Volume 21 / October 2014 ChroniC low-back pain (LBP) has become a major cause of disability in industrialized societies, with consequent economic and health care costs.1 LBP can originate from several sources, such as intervertebral discs (IVDs), ligaments, muscles, sacroiliac joints, and lumbar facet joint degeneration.12 In patients with a discogenic component to LBP, IVD degeneration is thought to be the initial step and plays a critical role.31 Following IVD degeneration, the biomechanical status of the vertebral column changes, and the likelihood of facet joint degeneration, spondylosis, spondylolisthesis, and spinal stenosis increases. At present, the management of LBP consists of a variety of conservative and invasive therapies that are aimed at symptomatic relief. Unfortunately, many of the treatments used currently are not obviously effective.7 The IVD consists of a collagenous outer ring, the annulus fibrosus (AF);2 a gelatinous inner core, the nucleus Nerve growth factor promotes expression of novel genes in intervertebral disc cells that regulate tissue degradation
Análisis económico de la pesca de cerco en la región suratlántica española

espanolEl trabajo presentado trata basicamente de determinarlas politicas optimas para la gestion de dos recursospesqueros de desigual importancia explotados por embarcaciones de cerco litoral de la region Suratlantica: el boqueron (Engraulis encrasicholus) y la caballa (Scomber spp.). En ambos casos, se ha evaluado la situacion del recurso, estimando biomasas y parametros biologicos fundamentales, utilizando para ello tecnicas estadisticas incluidas en la familia de algoritmos que combinan simulaciones de Montecarlo y cadenas de Markov, y que suelen denominarse bajo la rubrica de muestreo de Gibbs. Bajo la consideracion del stock de peces comovariable no observable, se han estimado diversos modelos stock-reclutamiento (estado-medida) que han permitido la evaluacion del recurso. Incorporando estos resultados al oportuno modelo bioeconomico, se plantea el problema de controlar optimamente la pesqueria bajo elobjetivo de maximizacion de la corriente de beneficios presentes y futuros generada por la misma. EnglishThis paper, basically tries to determine the optimum policies forthe management of two fisheries resources of unequal importance, exploited by intercoastal vessels of theSouth Atlantic Region: the anchovy (Engraulis encrasicholus), and the mackerel (Scombe spp.). In both cases, the state of the resource has been valuated, estimating for it,, fishing volume and other fundamental biological factors, utilizing statistical techniques within the family of algorithms that combine simulations ofMontecarlo and chains of Markov, and that are usuallydesigned under the heading of sampling of Gibbs. Under the consideration of fishing stocks as a non observable variable, many different stock -recruitment (state-measure) models have been estimated, allowing the valuation of the resources. Incorporating these results into the correct bio-economic model, the problem which arises, is that of controlling in an optimum way the fishery under the objective of maximising the flow of present and future benefits generated by it.
Product Service Systems Users and Harley Davidson Riders: the importance of consumer identity in the diffusion of sustainable consumption solutions

Product Service Systems Users and Harley Davidson Riders: the importance of consumer identity in the diffusion of sustainable consumption solutions Journal Item How to cite: Catulli, Maurizio; Cook, Matthew and Potter, Stephen (2017). Product Service Systems Users and Harley Davidson Riders: the importance of consumer identity in the diffusion of sustainable consumption solutions. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 21(5) pp. 1370–1379.
Deep Reinforcement Learning for Robust VNF Reconfigurations in O-RAN

Open Radio Access Networks (O-RANs) have revolutionized the telecom ecosystem by bringing intelligence into disaggregated RAN and implementing functionalities as Virtual Network Functions (VNF) through open interfaces. However, dynamic traffic conditions in real-life O-RAN environments may require necessary VNF reconfigurations during run-time, which introduce additional overhead costs and traffic instability. To address this challenge, we propose a multi-objective optimization problem that minimizes VNF computational costs and overhead of periodical reconfigurations simultaneously. Our solution uses constrained combinatorial optimization with deep reinforcement learning, where an agent minimizes a penalized cost function calculated by the proposed optimization problem. The evaluation of our proposed solution demonstrates significant enhancements, achieving up to 76% reduction in VNF reconfiguration overhead, with only a slight increase of up to 23% in computational costs. In addition, when compared to the most robust O-RAN system that doesn’t require VNF reconfigurations, which is Centralized RAN (C-RAN), our solution offers up to 76% savings in bandwidth while showing up to 27% overprovisioning of CPU.
Comparison of Pathogen Detection Methods in Compost and Compost Characteristics as Potential Predictors of Pathogen Regrowth

Title of Thesis: Comparison of Pathogen Detection Methods in Compost and Compost Characteristics as Potential Predictors of Pathogen Regrowth Russell Edward Reynnells, Master of Science, 2013 Thesis directed by: Professor Gary Felton Department of Environmental Science and Technology Improperly thermally treated compost can allow human pathogens to survive. Pathogens can regrow in finished compost due to recontamination or incomplete pathogen-kill. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) and U.S. Composting Council’s (USCC) methodologies were compared to recover populations of inoculated non-pathogenic E. coli and pathogenic Salmonella spp. from finished compost. Two immunomagnetic separation (IMS) techniques were additionally compared for the rapid recovery of inoculated pathogenic E. coli O157:H7. Twenty-nine point-of-sale composts were obtained from 19 U.S. states. EPA methods recovered more (generic E. coli, p=0.0001) or statistically equal (Salmonella, p=0.27) amounts of inocula compared to USCC methods. Both IMS techniques identified with 3-4% false negatives among replicates. Physicochemical parameters of compost were tested as predictors of Salmonella and O157:H7 regrowth in finished compost. Salmonella and O157:H7 populations increased over three days in 48% and 52% of compost samples, respectively. No physicochemical measurements could predict the regrowth of Salmonella or O157:H7. COMPARISON OF PATHOGEN DETECTION METHODS IN COMPOST AND COMPOST CHARACTERISTICS AS POTENTIAL PREDICTORS OF PATHOGEN REGROWTH By Russell Edward Reynnells Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science 2013 Advisory Committee: Dr. Gary Felton, Chair Dr. Patricia Millner Dr. Manan Sharma Dr. Stephanie Yarwood ©Copyright by Russell Edward Reynnells 2013
Les droits de propriété intellectuelle : aspects théoriques et impacts économiques (intellectual property rights: theoretical aspects and economic impacts)

Bien qu’elle ne soit devenue tres en vogue que depuis le milieu des annees 1990, la propriete intellectuelle est une notion bien ancree dans le temps. Apres un long processus d’evolution, elle est, de nos jours, dans un stade dynamique de transformation. Avec l’acceleration du progres technique et du mouvement de liberalisation economique, la protection de la propriete intellectuelle devient de plus en plus imperative. Ceci explique bien la vague d’etablissement et de renforcement des DPI dans le monde. Toutefois, cette tendance souleve maintes controverses, notamment entre les pays developpes et ceux en developpement, a propos des impacts economiques des DPI. Dans ce papier, nous allons, dans un premier temps, fournir un apercu general sur l’evolution des DPI. Dans un second temps, nous mettrons le point principalement sur les droits de brevet. Enfin, l’etude se rapportera a un survol theorique des impacts du renforcement des brevets, notamment, sur l’incitation a l’innovation, le transfert technologique et la croissance economique. La litterature montre que le renforcement des brevets est certes en faveur des pays developpes, mais son impact sur les economies en developpement demeure ambigu. Il depend fortement de plusieurs facteurs, en l’occurrence, lies aux firmes, aux industries et aux pays et, par consequent, releve d’un cadre d’analyse purement empirique. Although it has become very famous only since the last 1990s, intellectual property is a deep old notion. After a long evolution process, it is nowadays at a dynamic stage of transformation. With the acceleration of technical progress and economic liberalization movement, intellectual property protection is becoming more and more imperative. This explains well the wave of establishment and improvement of IPR worldwide. Nevertheless, this tendency lifts many controversies, especially between developed and developing countries, about the economic impacts of IPR. In this paper, we are going, first, to provide a general outline on the evolution of IPR. Second, the focus is to examine particularly patent rights. Finally, the paper skims through the theoretical studies on the impacts of patent enforcement on incentive to innovation, technology transfer and economic growth. Literature shows that patent enforcement is certainly in favour of developed countries but its impact on developing economies remains ambiguous. It depends strongly on several factors, related to firms, industries and countries and, consequently, arises from a purely empirical framework.