Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chiral Metamaterials With Negative Refractive Index Composed by an Eight-Cranks Molecule

A chiral medium constituted by a two-dimensional lattice of eight cranks of the same handedness is studied and found that it exhibits a huge electromagnetic activity, circular dichroism, and negative refraction index. Using a free-wave experimental setup and numerical simulations, the transmission and reflection coefficients for a thin slab of such metamaterials were determined, and the effective values for the refractive index, electric permittivity, magnetic permeability, and chirality parameter were calculated. The obtained results by means of the simulation agree quite well with the ones calculated from the experimental measurements.
The Forms and Fitness Cost of Senescence: Age-Specific Recapture, Survival, Reproduction, and Reproductive Value in a Wild Bird Population

Longitudinal studies of senescence accumulate rapidly from natural populations. However, it is largely unknown whether different fitness components senesce in parallel, how reproductive and survival senescence contribute to declines in reproductive value, and how large the fitness cost of senescence is (the difference between the observed reproductive value and the hypothetical reproductive value, if senescence would not occur). We analyzed age-specific survival in great tits Parus major and combined our results with analyses of reproductive senescence to address these issues. Recapture probability of breeding females declined with age, suggesting age-specific increases in skipped or failed breeding and highlighting an important bias that studies of senescence in wild populations should incorporate. Survival probability also declined with age and in parallel with recruit production. Reproductive value decreased 87% between age 1 and age 9 but at a fitness cost of only 4%; the proportion of the contribution of reproductive senescence versus survival senescence to this cost was 0.7. For 11 other species, we estimated fitness costs of senescence of 6%–63% (average: birds, 9%; mammals, 42%), with relative contributions of reproductive senescence of 0.0–0.7 (average: birds, 0.4; mammals, 0.3). We suggest that understanding when and why reproductive and survival senescence differ will help in the identification of proximate mechanisms underlying variation in rates of senescence and its evolution.
On Apologising in Negative and Positive Politeness Cultures

This book investigates how speakers of English, Polish and Russian deal with offensive situations. It reveals culture-specific perceptions of what counts as an apology and what constitutes politeness. It offers a critical discussion of Brown and Levinson's theory and provides counterevidence to the correlation between indirectness and politeness underlying their theory. Their theory is applied to two languages that rely less heavily on indirectness in conveying politeness than does English, and to a speech act that does not become more polite through indirectness. An analysis of the face considerations involved in apologising shows that in contrast to disarming apologies, remedial apologies are mainly directed towards positive face needs, which are crucial for the restoration of social equilibrium and maintenance of relationships. The data show that while English apologies are characterised by a relatively strong focus on both interlocutors’ negative face, Polish apologies display a particular concern for positive face. For Russian speakers, in contrast, apologies seem to involve a lower degree of face threat than they do in the other two languages.
Applying the Technology Acceptance Model to Explore Intention to Use Telecare System in Taiwan

This purpose of the study is to develop the usage intention model of Telecare systems. Based on the Technology Acceptance Model, the proposed framework is validated with 365 respondents from Nantou County located in Taiwan, which shows that both perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness are key factors affecting the intention to use telecare system. According to the statistical results, the proposed model fits very well for the samples. In other words, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness will affect simultaneously behavioral intention in telecare system. This study emphasizes that the managers of hospitals and designers of telecare system companies should pay more attention to understanding the perceptions of elderly (or patients) and improving the system and information quality of the system. Therefore, successful telecare systems not only provide robust system quality of information systems, but also delivery reliable information quality of health cares.
The effect of a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug on the healing of ligaments

Because of the increasing number of ligament sprains being treated with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), this study was undertaken to document the effects of one such drug on ligament healing in an experimental setting. Male Sprague-Dawley rats weigh ing between 400 and 500 g were used to evaluate the effect of the NSAID piroxicam on the healing of an experimental injury to the medial collateral ligament (MCL). The following factors were varied in the experi ments: dosage, days of treatment, and the day postin jury when treatment was begun. Piroxicam-treated rats were compared to placebo-treated rats in terms of the drug's effect on the mechanical strength of the healing ligament. The ligaments were mechanically tested in tension to failure at a constant deformation rate of 0.25 mm/sec on a materials testing machine. Administration of piroxicam on Days 1 to 6 postinjury resulted in a 42% increase in strength at Day 14 postinjury for the piroxicam-treated ligaments (P < 0.01) when compared with the placebo-treated controls. Neither doubling nor halving the standard piroxicam dose significantly al tered this increased healing strength. Biochemical analysis of collagen synthesis demonstrated a sugges tive, although not statistically significant, increase in collagen synthesis and collagen content in the piroxi cam-treated healing ligament. In separate experiments, piroxicam had no effect on the healed ligament at 21 days or on the strength of uninjured ligaments. In conclusion, piroxicam increased the early strength of healing ligaments in the rat when the drug was admin istered for short periods of time after injury. It did not affect the final strength when healing was complete, nor did it alter the strength of uninjured ligaments.
Is Foreign Aid Fungible? Evidence from the Education and Health Sectors

This paper adopts a new approach to the issue of foreign aid fungibility. In contrast to most existing empirical studies, panel data are employed that contain information on the specific purposes for which aid is given. This allows linking aid that is provided for education and health purposes to recipient public spending in these sectors. In addition, aid flows that are recorded on a recipient's budget are distinguished from those that are not recorded on budget, and the previous failure to differentiate between on- and off-budget aid is shown to produce biased estimates of fungibility. Sector program aid is the measure of on-budget aid, whereas technical cooperation serves as a proxy for off-budget aid. The appropriate treatment of off-budget aid leads to lower fungibility estimates than those reported in many previous studies. Specifically, in both sectors and across a range of specifications, technical cooperation, which is the largest component of total education and health aid, leads to, at most, a small displacement of recipient public expenditures.
Mesenchymal Stem Cells Suppress Fibroblast Proliferation and Reduce Skin Fibrosis Through a TGF-β3-Dependent Activation

Recent studies showed that transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) significantly decreased tissue fibrosis; however, little attention has been paid to its efficacy on attenuating skin fibrosis, and the mechanism involved in its effect is poorly understood. In this work, we investigated the effects of MSCs on keloid fibroblasts and extracellular matrix deposition through paracrine actions and whether the antifibrotic properties of MSCs involved transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)-dependent activation. In vitro experiments showed that conditioned media (CM) from MSCs decreased viability, a-smooth muscle actin expression, and collagen secretion of human keloid fibroblasts. In addition, TGF-β3 secreted by MSCs was expressed at high level under inflammatory environment, and blocking the activity of TGF-β3 apparently antagonized the suppressive activity of MSC CM, which demonstrated that TGF-β3 played a preponderant role in preventing collagen accumulation. In vivo studies showed that MSC CM infusion in a mouse dermal fibrosis model induced a significant decrease in skin fibrosis. Histological examination of tissue sections and immunohistochemical analysis for α-smooth muscle actin revealed that TGF-β3 of CM-mediated therapeutic effects could obviously attenuate matrix production and myofibroblast proliferation and differentiation. These findings suggest that TGF-β3 mediates the attenuating effect of MSCs on both the proliferation and extracellular matrix production of human keloid fibroblasts and decreases skin fibrosis of mouse model, thus providing new understanding and MSC-based therapeutic strategy for cutaneous scar treatment.
A Theory of Income Smoothing When Insiders Know More than Outsiders

We consider a setting in which insiders have information about income that outside shareholders do not, but property rights ensure that outside shareholders can enforce a fair payout. To avoid intervention, insiders report income consistent with outsiders' expectations based on publicly available information rather than true income, resulting in an observed income and payout process that adjust partially and over time towards a target. Insiders under-invest in production and effort so as not to unduly raise outsiders' expectations about future income, a problem that is more severe the smaller is the inside ownership and results in an 'outside equity Laffer curve'. A disclosure environment with adequate quality of independent auditing mitigates the problem, implying that accounting quality can enhance investments, size of public stock markets and economic growth.
Analysis of joint effect of nonlinear amplification and I/Q imbalance in OFDM transmission

This paper addresses the problem of theoretical characterization of the joint effect of a transmitter I/Q imbalance and nonlinear amplification on OFDM. We prove a theorem about a linear representation of the distorted signal and apply it to error rate analysis. In view of the structure of the distorted signal, the proven theorem can be referred to as an extension of Bussgang's theorem.
The effect of replacing pork fat of inulin on the physicochemical and sensory quality of guinea fowl pate.

BACKGROUND Potentially, pâtés could be a functional food and are an important source of proteins, vitamin A, B complex vitamins and iron. Unfortunately, one problem in pâtés is the high level of animal fat, about 30%. Pâté with low-fat guinea fowl meat and animal fat replaced with inulin can result in this product being classified as a pro-health food. The objective of the present study was to determine the effect on pâté with guinea fowl meat of reducing its pork back fat content (about 1/3, 2/3 and 100%) and the adding inulin as a partial fat substitute. The effects on the pâté's chemical and physicochemical composition, as well as on its textural characteristics and sensory properties were analysed. METHODS On the day after production, the following took place: chemical analysis: cooking loss, moisture, protein, total fat, total calories, the pH, lipid oxidation were analysed; physical analysis: colour parameters, texture profile analysis and sensory evaluation were analysed. RESULTS The pâté prepared with inulin gels as fat replacers had a fat content reduced (up to 82%), and decreased (up to 58%) energy value. The fat reduction and addition of inulin gels decreased hardness and chewiness, but the pâté's appearance, taste and odour, as well as overall quality were similar to the control (full-fat samples). CONCLUSIONS The study demonstrated that inulin can be used in guinea fowl pâtés as a total fat replacer and a potential source of prebiotic.
Impetus for action: A cultural analysis of justice and

To understand variations in citizenship behavior within a culture, we examine the relationship between citizenship behaviors and organizational justice in two studies in a Chinese context, using two cultural characteristics (traditionality and modernity) and one individual (gender) characteristic. In Study 1, we develop an indigenous measure of organizational citizenship behavior and explore the similarities and differences of this measure with its Western counterpart. In Study 2, we use this citizenship behavior measure to test its relationship to justice. Results demonstrate that organizational justice (distributive and procedural) is most strongly related to citizenship behavior for individuals who endorse less traditional, or high modernity, values. In addition, we found the relationship between justice and citizenship behavior to be stronger for men than for women. The studies are discussed in terms of the generality of citizenship behavior and its relation to organizational justiqe and cultural characteristics.
MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS IN ECOLOGY AND SYSTEMATICS: PANACEA OR PANDORA'S BOX?

Multivariate analysis provides statistical methods for study of the joint rela­ tionships of variables in data that contain intercorrelations. Because several variables can be considered simultaneously, interpretations can be made that are not possible with univariate statistics. Applications are now common in medicine (117), agriculture (218), geology (50), the social sciences (7, 178, 193), and other disciplines. The opportunity for succinct summaries of large data sets, especially in the exploratory stages of an investigation, has contrib­ uted to an increasing interest in multivariate methods. The first applications of multivariate analysis in ecology and systematics were in plant ecology (54, 222) and numerical taxonomy (187) more than 30 years ago. In our survey of the literature, we found 20 major summaries of recent applications. Between 1978 and 1988, books, proceedings of sym­ posia, and reviews treated applications in ecology (73, 126, 155, 156), ordination and classification (13, 53, 67, 78,81,83,90,113,121,122,159), wildlife biology (33, 213), systematics (148), and morphometries (45, 164,
Assay of human stem cells by repopulation of NOD/SCID mice

The only conclusive method to assay stem cells is to follow their ability to repopulate conditioned recipients, making it difficult to study human stem cells. The development of systems to transplant human hematopoietic cells into immune‐deficient mice lays the foundation for such an experimental repopulation assay for primitive human cells. Cell purification and gene marking studies have shown that the repopulating cells, termed severe‐combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mouse‐repopulating cells (SRC), are primitive and distinct from most of the progenitors that are detected using short and long‐term in vitro culture assays. The SRC are exclusively CD34+CD38− and poorly infected with retrovirus vectors. These gene marking data are reminiscent of the human clinical trials establishing that the SRC assay is a good surrogate to develop improved transduction methods. Limiting dilution analysis has been used to establish a quantitative assay for SRC that can be used to precisely determine the effect of various cytokine cocktails on the proliferation and differentiation of SRC during in vitro culture. Stem Cells 1997; 15(suppl 1): 199‐207
Long-term Cognitive Implications of Intrauterine Hyperglycemia in Adolescent Offspring of Women With Type 1 Diabetes (the EPICOM Study)

OBJECTIVE Exposure to maternal diabetes in utero may have a negative impact on the developing brain. The objective was to examine long-term cognitive consequences of intrauterine hyperglycemia in adolescent offspring of women with type 1 diabetes and to ascertain a possible association with maternal HbA1c. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Offspring of a prospectively followed cohort of women with type 1 diabetes (n = 277) participated in a follow-up examination at the age of 13–19 years. A control group from the background population was identified (n = 301). Cognitive function was evaluated using Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales and classified into indices of composite intelligence, verbal and nonverbal intelligence, and composite memory. Frequencies of reading and writing problems and attendance to classes for children with learning difficulties were assessed. RESULTS Offspring of women with type 1 diabetes scored lower in all normalized and standardized intelligence indices compared with controls: composite intelligence (95.7 vs. 100, P = 0.001), verbal intelligence (96.2 vs. 100, P = 0.004), nonverbal intelligence (96.4 vs. 100, P = 0.008), and composite memory (95.7 vs. 100, P = 0.001). A higher frequency of diabetes-exposed offspring had parent-reported learning difficulties in primary school. Differences between groups remained after adjustment for confounders and potential mediators. We found no direct association between maternal HbA1c and offspring cognitive function in the exposed group. CONCLUSIONS Adolescent offspring of women with type 1 diabetes had lower cognitive function compared with a control group, also after adjustment for confounders and potential mediators. These differences may reflect direct harmful effects of maternal diabetes on neurodevelopment in the offspring.
Listen: I Am Angry! An Experiment Comparing Ways of Revealing Emotions

We report on an experiment designed to explore whether allowing individuals to voice their anger prevents costly punishment. For this sake, we use an ultimatum minigame and distinguish two treatments: one in which responders can only accept or reject the other, and the other in which they can also scold the proposer. By an unannounced successive two-person public goods game, with either the same partner or a different one, we additionally explore how "having a voice" affects later behavior. The evidence supports the conclusion that voicing one's outrage crowds out the need to harm oneself and the other. Yet, this emotional reaction does not lead to increased future cooperation.
Incidence and Prevalence of Child Sexual Abuse: A Critical Review of Data Collection Procedures

The ways in which data are collected concerning the incidence and prevalence of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) are critically examined. Consideration is given to the consistency of results across studies, and to confounding variables such as underreporting, that may compromise validity. It is concluded that the ways in which data on the incidence and prevalence of CSA have been collected, analyzed, and reported have been flawed to the extent that few reliable conclusions can be made. Suggestions for improvement in data collection, including modificalion of the National Crime Victimization Survey format (formerly the National Crime Survey; a source of potential data that has been neglected in the literature on CSA), are presented.
ResearchRevisiting the loading dose of amikacin for patients with severe sepsis and septic shock

Introduction: It has been proposed that doses of amikacin of >15 mg/kg should be used in conditions associated with an increased volume of distribution (Vd), such as severe sepsis and septic shock. The primary aim of this study was to determine whether 25 mg/kg (total body weight) of amikacin is an adequate loading dose for these patients. Methods: This was an open, prospective, multicenter study in four Belgian intensive care units (ICUs). All consecutive patients with a diagnosis of severe sepsis or septic shock, in whom amikacin treatment was indicated, were included in
Collaborative Watershed Groups in Three Pacific Northwest States: A Regional Evaluation of Group Metrics and Perceived Success 1

Chaffin, B.C., R.L. Mahler, J.D. Wulfhorst, and B. Shafii, 2011. Collaborative Watershed Groups in Three Pacific Northwest States: A Regional Evaluation of Group Metrics and Perceived Success. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(1): 113‐122. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011. 00599.x
Unified tag analysis with multi-edge graph

Image tags have become a key intermediate vehicle to organize, index and search the massive online image repositories. Extensive research has been conducted on different yet related tag analysis tasks, e.g., tag refinement, tag-to-region assignment, and automatic tagging. In this paper, we propose a new concept of multi-edge graph, through which a unified solution is derived for the different tag analysis tasks. Specifically, each vertex of the graph is first characterized by a unique image. Then each image is encoded as a region bag with multiple image segmentations, and the thresholding of the pairwise similarities between regions naturally constructs the multiple edges between each vertex pair. The unified tag analysis is then generally described as the tag propagation between a vertex and its edges, as well as between all edges cross the entire image repository. We develop a core vertex-vs-edge tag equation unique for multi-edge graph to unify the image/vertex tag(s) and region-pair/edge tag(s). Finally, unified tag analysis is formulated as a constrained optimization problem, where the objective function characterizing the cross-patch tag consistency is constrained by the core equations for all vertex pairs, and the cutting plane method is used for efficient optimization. Extensive experiments on various tag analysis tasks over three widely used benchmark datasets validate the effectiveness of our proposed unified solution.
Characterization and quantification of proteins secreted by single human embryos prior to implantation

The use of in vitro fertilization (IVF) has revolutionized the treatment of infertility and is now responsible for 1–5% of all births in industrialized countries. During IVF, it is typical for patients to generate multiple embryos. However, only a small proportion of them possess the genetic and metabolic requirements needed in order to produce a healthy pregnancy. The identification of the embryo with the greatest developmental capacity represents a major challenge for fertility clinics. Current methods for the assessment of embryo competence are proven inefficient, and the inadvertent transfer of non‐viable embryos is the principal reason why most IVF treatments (approximately two‐thirds) end in failure. In this study, we investigate how the application of proteomic measurements could improve success rates in clinical embryology. We describe a procedure that allows the identification and quantification of proteins of embryonic origin, present in attomole concentrations in the blastocoel, the enclosed fluid‐filled cavity that forms within 5‐day‐old human embryos. By using targeted proteomics, we demonstrate the feasibility of quantifying multiple proteins in samples derived from single blastocoels and that such measurements correlate with aspects of embryo viability, such as chromosomal (ploidy) status. This study illustrates the potential of high‐sensitivity proteomics to measure clinically relevant biomarkers in minute samples and, more specifically, suggests that key aspects of embryo competence could be measured using a proteomic‐based strategy, with negligible risk of harm to the living embryo. Our work paves the way for the development of “next‐generation” embryo competence assessment strategies, based on functional proteomics.