Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quasar jet emission model applied to the microquasar GRS 1915+105

The true nature of the radio emitting material observed to be moving relativistically in quasars and microquasars is still unclear. The microquasar community usually interprets them as distinct clouds of plasma, while the extragalactic community prefers a shock wave model. Here we show that the synchrotron variability pattern of the microquasar GRS 1915+105 observed on 15 May 1997 can be reproduced by the standard shock model for extragalactic jets, which describes well the long-term behaviour of the quasar 3C 273. This strengthens the analogy between the two classes of objects and suggests that the physics of relativistic jets is independent of the mass of the black hole. The model parameters we derive for GRS 1915+105 correspond to a rather dissipative jet flow, which is only mildly relativistic with a speed of $0.60\,c$. We can also estimate that the shock waves form in the jet at a distance of about 1 AU from the black hole.
Evaluation Of Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) Genotypes For Seed Yield And Yield Contributing Characters

Fourteen genotypes of coriander ( Coriandrum sativum L.) from diversed sources were evaluated at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur during the rabi s eason of 2007 to 2008 to select the promising genotype (s) for higher seed yield. The genotype CS005 took the minimum days for bolting (38.00), while CS003 took the maximum (60.00 days) which developed 50% most early flowers (134.3 days) and the tallest plant (116.10 cm). The maximum number of primary and secondary branches were obtained from CS004 (8.70/plant) and CS001 (15.41/plant), respectively. Umbels/plant ranged from 12.70 (CS010) to 33.37 (CS003), while umbellates/ umbel ranged from 4.75 (CS003) to 6.67 (CS010). The maximum number of seeds were obtained from CS011 (35.63/umbel and 684.3/plant) and the lowest per umbel from CS005 (15.00) and per plant from CS010 (163.3). The highest fruit set was obtained from CS011 (48.20%) followed by that of CS007 (46.30%). The genotype CS002 had the maximum 1000-seed weight (12.00 g) and CS004 the minimum (1.65 g). The genotypes CS011 and CS007 gave the highest seed yield per plant (5.79 and 5.57g) as well as per hectare (1.34 and 1.05 t). The highest germination of seed was recorded in CS003 (84.4%) and the lowest in CS004 (67.96%). The genotypes CS004, CS005, CS010, CS013, and CS014 were attacked with stem gall disease. It might be concluded from the study that the genotypes differed significantly in most of the parameters and offer a good scope of selection of better genotypes for desired traits. Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 38(2): 189-202, June 2013 DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3329/bjar.v38i2. 15882
Effects of intraoral aging on surface properties of coated nickel-titanium archwires.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of intraoral aging on surface properties of esthetic and conventional nickel-titanium (NiTi) archwires. MATERIALS AND METHODS Five NiTi wires were considered for this study (Sentalloy, Sentalloy High Aesthetic, Superelastic Titanium Memory Wire, Esthetic Superelastic Titanium Memory Wire, and EverWhite). For each type of wire, four samples were analyzed as received and after 1 month of clinical use by an atomic force microscope (AFM) and a scanning electronic microscope (SEM). To evaluate sliding resistance, two stainless steel plates with three metallic or three monocrystalline brackets, bonded in passive configuration, were manufactured; four as-received and retrieved samples for every wire were pulled five times at 5 mm/min for 1 minute by means of an Instron 5566, recording the greatest friction value (N). Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance and by Student's t-test. RESULTS After clinical use, surface roughness increased considerably. The SEM images showed homogeneity for the as-received control wires; however, after clinical use esthetic wires exhibited a heterogeneous surface with craters and bumps. The lowest levels of friction were observed with the as-received Superelastic Titanium Memory Wire on metallic brackets. When tested on ceramic brackets, all the wires exhibited an increase in friction (t-test; P < .05). Furthermore, all the wires, except Sentalloy, showed a statistically significant increase in friction between the as-received and retrieved groups (t-test; P < .05). CONCLUSION Clinical use of the orthodontic wires increases their surface roughness and the level of friction.
Lyapunov-Based Decentralized Excitation Control for Global Asymptotic Stability and Voltage Regulation of Multi-Machine Power Systems

This paper proposes a novel Lyapunov-based excitation control (LEC) technique to deal with both global asymptotic stability and voltage regulation for the multi-machine power systems. Lyapunov function is built as a quadratic form of the control objectives consisted of active power offset, rotor speed offset and terminal voltage offset. A completely controllable linear system is constructed to design the trajectories of the time-derivatives of the control objectives. Furthermore, time-derivative of Lyapunov function (TLF) is also expressed as a quadratic form of the control objectives. Feedback gains are chosen to guarantee the negative definition of the TLF for any real number except for the equilibrium point. Therefore, the global asymptotic stability is achieved. The design flexibility of the proposed method provides convenience to introduce the voltage feedback signal for maintaining acceptable voltage level. The system voltage is forced to converge to its reference accompanying with the energy attenuation of Lyapunov function. As a result, voltage deviation is eliminated when Lyapunov function is equal to zero. Finally, a Lyapunov-based decentralized excitation controller is developed for the multi-machine power systems, and it is only related to local measurements. Simulations on a six-machine power system have illustrated better performances in comparison to the existing controllers.
Disaster as an Agent of Change for New Educational Models

This Postcard reports how the earthquake on Tuesday, 22 February 2011 in Christchurch, New Zealand, forced a visiting professor to transform his educational model in one week. It was the first week of the academic year 2011 for the University of Canterbury—and my first week in New Zealand. As a Visiting Erskine Fellow at the university, one of my goals was to help redesign a final-year course in the Department of Accounting and Information Systems by introducing an integrated case that would run in parallel with a series of theory lectures. The case method relies heavily on class interaction and discussions of the decisions in the case company and the theories that can be applied. On the first day of classes on 22 February this educational model crashed, along with many buildings in Christchurch. When the earthquake struck at 12.51 pm, I was on the seventh floor of the Commerce building. It was estimated that the building swayed about one metre. I was swept off my feet. When the shaking stopped after about 20 seconds, I ran down the stairs and assembled with my colleagues and many students on the lawn. Twenty minutes later the university campus was as quiet as a grave. Everybody had gone to check on the safety of their loved ones and to assess possible damage to their homes. I also went home across the street, but since there was no electricity, it was difficult to get any information, so I returned to the campus. There, some Urban Search and Rescue personnel were telling people like me ‘don’t go in, go home, the buildings are closed’. In fact, all buildings were open, because when power goes, all the doors open automatically!
Congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation: accuracy of prenatal diagnosis, prevalence and outcome in a general population

Most available data regarding accuracy of prenatal diagnosis, prevalence and outcome of congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation (CCAM) are derived largely from tertiary referral centres and may not reflect general population rates. We aimed to describe the accuracy of prenatal diagnosis, ascertain the population prevalence and post‐natal outcome for cases of suspected CCAM.
A Comparison of Fuzzy Approaches to E-Commerce Review Rating Prediction

This paper presents a comparative analysis of the performance of fuzzy approaches on the task of predicting customer review ratings using a computational intelligence framework based on a genetic algorithm for data dimensionality reduction. The performance of the Fuzzy C-Means (FCM), a neurofuzzy approach combining FCM and the Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS), and the Simplified Fuzzy ARTMAP (SFAM) was compared on six datasets containing customer reviews. The results revealed that all computational intelligence predictors were suitable for the rating prediction problem, and that the genetic algorithm is effective in reducing the number of dimensions without affecting the prediction performance of each computational intelligence predictor.
Us and them: Mood effects on ingroup projection

Mood states affect judgments in general and intergroup judgments in particular. The aim of the present research was to show that ingroup projection is influenced by affective states in a similar way as ingroup bias. Varying mood states and relevance of the intergroup situation orthogonally, the results supported the hypotheses that positive mood in conjunction with low relevance and negative mood in conjunction with high relevance elicit higher levels of biased prototypicality perceptions compared to the other conditions of the design. Given substantial evidence from previous research that mood in conjunction with perceived relevance moderates motivated versus heuristic processing, we propose that the present results correspond with motivation- versus cognition-based ingroup projection and suggest different processes underlying the phenomenon of relative ingroup prototypicality. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Towards HDR Based Facial Expression Recognition under Complex Lighting

A Facial Expression Recognition (FER) study is conducted investigating whether High Dynamic Range (HDR) tone mapped images can improve FER performance under complex lighting conditions. For this purpose, we created a new straightforward facial expression dataset of HDR images, a collection of faces under different lighting contrasts. Our approach applies a machine learning method, Support Vector Machines (SVMs) to texture-based, Local Binary Pattern (LBP) and appearance based, Speeded-Up Robust Feature (SURF) image representations to conduct emotion recognition experiments. We run comparisons using HDR tone mapped images and more traditional pre-processing methods of reducing the impact of large lighting variations. The best of the adopted methods achieved 75% and 79.8% accuracy which is significantly better than the more traditional pre-processing methods tested.
2D model of axial-flux eddy current brakes with slotted conductive disk rotor

An electromagnetic 2D model of axial-flux eddy current brakes with slotted conducting disk rotor is proposed. The 2D model takes into account variations in magnetic field strength and eddy current densities in radial and tangential directions. However, the proposed model neglects nonuniformity of primary field created by an inductor because this can be evaluated from separate consideration of the primary field and corrected by a coefficient that enhance well-known Carter coefficient. The using of dimensionless variables gives a main parameter — dimensionless frequency that characterize intensity of electromagnetic process and match with Laithwaite goodness factor and the Reynolds number for MHD machines. For the plain disk rotor without slots, the 2D model was simplified a 1D model that was solved by an analytical method. The 2D model was solved by the numerical finite-difference method. Finally, the torque-speed characteristics was obtained and they show that the torque of the brakes with slotted disk rotor is more the torque of the brake with plain rotor in 1.1–1.2 times; the slope of the torque-speed characteristic increases on 3–10 %.
Gangliosides Block Aggregatibacter Actinomycetemcomitans Leukotoxin (LtxA)-Mediated Hemolysis

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is an oral pathogen and etiologic agent of localized aggressive periodontitis. The bacterium is also a cardiovascular pathogen causing infective endocarditis. A. actinomycetemcomitans produces leukotoxin (LtxA), an important virulence factor that targets white blood cells (WBCs) and plays a role in immune evasion during disease. The functional receptor for LtxA on WBCs is leukocyte function antigen-1 (LFA-1), a β-2 integrin that is modified with N-linked carbohydrates. Interaction between toxin and receptor leads to cell death. We recently discovered that LtxA can also lyse red blood cells (RBCs) and hemolysis may be important for pathogenesis of A. actinomycetemcomitans. In this study, we further investigated how LtxA might recognize and lyse RBCs. We found that, in contrast to a related toxin, E. coli α-hemolysin, LtxA does not recognize glycophorin on RBCs. However, gangliosides were able to completely block LtxA-mediated hemolysis. Furthermore, LtxA did not show a preference for any individual ganglioside. LtxA also bound to ganglioside-rich C6 rat glioma cells, but did not kill them. Interaction between LtxA and C6 cells could be blocked by gangliosides with no apparent specificity. Gangliosides were only partially effective at preventing LtxA-mediated cytotoxicity of WBCs, and the effect was only observed when a high ratio of ganglioside:LtxA was used over a short incubation period. Based on the results presented here, we suggest that because of the similarity between N-linked sugars on LFA-1 and the structures of gangliosides, LtxA may have acquired the ability to lyse RBCs.
Study of phase transition in homogeneous, rigid extended nematics and magnetic suspensions using an order-reduction method

We study the phase transition in rigid extended nematics and magnetic suspensions by solving the Smoluchowski equation for magnetically polarized rigid nematic polymers and suspensions in equilibrium, in which the molecular interaction is modeled by a dipolar and excluded volume potential. The equilibrium solution or the probability distribution of the molecular distribution is given by a Boltzmann distribution parametrized by the first-order polarity vector and the second-order nematic order tensor along with material parameters. We show that the polarity vector coincides with one of the principal axes of the nematic order tensor so that the equilibrium distribution can be reduced to a Boltzmann distribution parametrized by three scalar order parameters, i.e., a polar order parameter and two nematic order parameters, governed by three nonlinear algebraic-integral equations. This reduction in the degree of freedom from 8 3i n the polarity vector and 5 in the nematic order tensor to 3 significantly simplifies the solution procedure and allows one to conduct a complete analysis on bifurcation diagrams of the order parameters with respect to the material parameters. The stability of the equilibria is inferred from the second variation of the free energy density. © 2006 American Institute of Physics. DOI: 10.1063/1.2408484
A chronic mouse model of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion: essential in cytokine studies.

Reperfusion of the ischemic myocardium is associated with a cytokine cascade that reflects a cellular response to injury. We studied this cascade in the mouse and found that acute surgical trauma in sham-operated animals obscured early changes in cytokine induction that occur during myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (MI/R). Therefore, we utilized a new implantable device that allows occlusion and reperfusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery in a closed-chest mouse at any time after instrumentation. Induction of interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha mRNA in the whole heart was examined by RNase protection assay and quantitated by Phosphor- Imager. At 3 h after instrumentation, levels of IL-6 mRNA in sham-operated animals increased above those of control naive hearts, whereas this increase did not occur until after 1 day for TNF-alpha mRNA. The surgical trauma led to exaggeration of I/R cytokine induction with greater variance in response. At 3 days and 1 wk after instrumentation, levels of both IL-6 and TNF-alpha mRNA in sham-operated animals were comparable to those of naive hearts and induction responses in I/R were much less variant. We also found that 1 h of ischemia and 2 h of reperfusion at all time points of recovery (i.e., 3 h and 1, 3, and 7 days after instrumentation) led to a significant increase in IL-6 and TNF-alpha mRNA levels. In addition, 3 h of permanent occlusion, which did not induce any mRNA increase after 1 wk postinstrumentation, caused marked upregulation of IL-6 mRNA in an acutely prepared animal. This study of early cytokine responses evoked by MI/R highlights the need for dissipation of acute surgical trauma by using a chronic, closed-chest mouse preparation.
Incidence of Vibrio cholerae and related vibrios in a coastal lagoon and seawater influenced by lake discharges along an annual cycle

Most probable numbers of Vibrio cholerae and related vibrios were determined in Albufera Lake, Valencia, Spain, and in coastal waters under the influence of the lake discharges over the course of an annual cycle. The influence of temperature, kind of water, and characteristics of the different sampling sites on the numbers of vibrios recovered was evaluated. Maximum recovery of vibrios reached 10(3)/ml in both types of waters analyzed. V. cholerae numbers reached 10(3)/ml in the lake and 10(2) in one of the coastal sites. Frequently during the warm season, all vibrios isolated were identified as V. cholerae. Occasionally, no V. cholerae was recovered. The recovery of vibrios was significantly influenced by the temperature of the water and the type of water analyzed. Most of the V. cholerae isolates were included in Heiberg groups I and II, and nearly 50% of the strains used chitin as sole carbon source. Indole was not produced by 100% of the strains. All strains tested were non-O1 serovars.
A Human Challenge Model for Mycobacterium tuberculosis Using Mycobacterium bovis Bacille Calmette-Guérin

(See the editorial commentary by Dockrell, on pages 1029–31.) Background. There is currently no safe human challenge model of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection to enable proof-of-concept efficacy evaluation of candidate vaccines against tuberculosis. In vivo antimycobacterial immunity could be assessed using intradermal Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination as a surrogate for M. tuberculosis infection. Methods. Healthy BCG-naive and BCG-vaccinated volunteers were challenged with intradermal BCG. BCG load was quantified from skin biopsy specimens by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and culture colony-forming units. Cellular infiltrate was isolated by suction blisters and examined by flow cytometry. Prechallenge immune readouts were correlated with BCG load after challenge. Results. In BCG-naive volunteers, live BCG was detected at the challenge site for up to 4 weeks and peaked at 2 weeks. Infiltration of mainly CD15+ neutrophils was observed in blister fluid. In previously BCG-vaccinated individuals, PCR analysis of skin biopsy specimens reflected a degree of mycobacterial immunity. There was no significant correlation between BCG load after challenge and mycobacterial-specific memory T cells measured before challenge by cultured enzyme-linked immunospot assay. Conclusions. This novel experimental human challenge model provides a platform for the identification of correlates of antimycobacterial immunity and will greatly facilitate the rational down-selection of candidate tuberculosis vaccines. Further evaluation of this model with BCG and new vaccine candidates is warranted.
Immigration policies in Southern Europe

This brief concluding article deals with immigration control and integration policies in the four countries of Southern Europe. In general, control prevails over integration. The paper is in three parts. First, some common features and an overview of the situation of immigrants in Southern Europe are described. The third and final section of the paper analyses some of the difficulties of applying policies for integration and the creation of multicultural citizenship in these countries.
Pedagogic Hermeneutic Orientations in the Teaching of Jewish Texts

In this study, twelve expert teachers of Jewish Thought in Israeli high schools were observed and interviewed, in order to examine their ideas regarding the proper way to approach and teach Jewish canonical texts. Using qualitative analysis, I identified a central component of these teachers' Pedagogic Content Knowledge and named it their Pedagogic Hermeneutic Orientation (PHO). A teacher's PHO consists of his or her knowledge and beliefs about the way texts should be interpreted in class and about the roles of the teacher and the students in this process. Five different PHOs are described in the article to demonstrate the nature of teachers' orientations. I suggest that instruction and professional development of teachers should be constructed to support teachers in developing a thoughtful PHO. Developing this kind of professional discourse can facilitate the development of common concepts and criteria even if flexible and open to discussion—regarding acceptable practices for instruction of Jewish texts in high schools.
Interplay between recombination, cell division and chromosome structure during chromosome dimer resolution in Escherichia coli

Chromosome dimers form in bacteria by recombination between circular chromosomes. Resolution of dimers is a highly integrated process involving recombination between dif sites catalysed by the XerCD recombinase, cell division and the integrity of the division septum‐associated FtsK protein and the presence of dif inside a restricted region of the chromosome terminus, the dif activity zone (DAZ). We analyse here how these phenomena collaborate. We show that (i) both inter‐ and intrachromosomal recombination between dif sites are activated by their presence inside the DAZ; (ii) the DAZ‐specific activation only occurs in conditions supporting the formation of chromosome dimers; (iii) overexpression of FtsK leads to a general increase in dif recombination irrespective of dif location; (iv) overexpression of FtsK does not improve the ability of dif sites inserted outside the DAZ to resolve chromosome dimers. Our results suggest that the formation of an active XerCD‐FtsK–dif complex is restricted to when a dimer is present, the features of chromosome organization that determine the DAZ playing a central role in this control.
Multiple Source Characteristics and Persuasion: Source Inconsistency as a Determinant of Message Scrutiny

It is argued that previous persuasion research has been concerned predominantly with the role of single source characteristics (e.g., expertise) for attitude change and thus has failed to consider the role of multiple source characteristics. This was done in two experiments that tested the hypothesis that recipients would scrutinize a message more effortfully when the combination of two source characteristics is unexpected (source inconsistency) than when the combination is less surprising (source consistency). In Experiment 1, source likability, source expertise, and argument quality were manipulated. In Experiment 2, honesty instead of likability was manipulated. Results from both experiments provide evidence supporting the predicted effects of source (in)consistency on message scrutiny; that is, argument quality affected attitudes and favorability of message-related thoughts in the case of inconsistent source characteristics but not in the case of consistent source characteristics.