Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Disassembly Sequence Planning Considering Fuzzy Component Quality and Varying Operational Cost

Disassembly planning aims to search the best disassembly sequences of a given obsolete/used product in terms of economic and environmental performances. A practical disassembly process may face great uncertainty owing to various unpredictable factors. To handle it, researchers have addressed the stochastic cost and time problems of product disassembly. In reality, the uncertain environment of product disassembly is associated with both randomness and fuzziness. Besides uncertain disassembly cost and time, the quality of disassembled components/parts in a process has uncertainty and thus needs to be assessed via expert opinions/subjects. To do so, this paper presents a new AND/OR-graph-based disassembly sequence planning problem by considering uncertain component quality and varying disassembly operational cost. Important disassembly planning models are built on the basis of different disassembly criteria. A novel hybrid intelligent algorithm integrating fuzzy simulation and artificial bee colony is proposed to solve them. Its effectiveness is well illustrated through several numerical cases and comparison with a prior method, i.e., fuzzy-simulation-based genetic algorithm.Note to Practitioners—This paper deals with the uncertainty management problem of product disassembly. It builds some fuzzy programming models for product disassembly and proposes a hybrid intelligent algorithm integrating fuzzy simulation and artificial bee colony to solve them. Previously, such a problem was handled through a methodology based on stochastic planning, which was ineffective without considering the fuzzy characteristic of completing a disassembly task. The goal of this paper is to analyze the disassembly uncertainty feature from the perspective of fuzzy programming. Both theoretical and simulation results demonstrate that the proposed approach is highly effective. The obtained results can help decision-makers better determine a disassembly process of a used/returned/obsolete product.
Fracture Strength Of Doped And Undoped Polysilicon

In this paper we present a study on the dopant and process dependence of the fracture stress of polysilicon films measured in situ using surface micromachined tensile test structures. The micromachined fracture test structures consist of a narrow center beam, loaded by wider beams which are under residual tensile stress.
Does Formal Employment Reduce Informal Caregiving?

Using the Survey of Income and Program Participation, we examine the impact of formal employment on informal caregiving. We instrument for individual work hours with state unemployment rates. We find that, among women of prime caregiving ages (40-64 years), working 10% more hours per week reduces the probability of providing informal care by about 2 percentage points. The effects are stronger for more time-intensive caregiving and if care recipients are household members. Our results imply that work-promoting policies have the unintended consequence of reducing informal caregiving in an aging society. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Korean red ginseng excitation of paraventricular nucleus neurons via non-N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptor activation in mice

It has been reported that Korean red ginseng (KRG), a valuable and important traditional medicine, has varied effects on the central nervous system, suggesting its activities are complicated. The paraventricular nucleus (PVN) neurons of the hypothalamus has a critical role in stress responses and hormone secretions. Although the action mechanisms of KRG on various cells and systems have been reported, the direct membrane effects of KRG on PVN neurons have not been fully described. In this study, the direct membrane effects of KRG on PVN neuronal activity were investigated by using a perforated patch-clamp in ICR mice. In gramicidin perforated patch-clamp mode, KRG extract (KRGE) induced repeatable depolarization followed by hyperpolarization of PVN neurons. The KRGE-induced responses were concentration-dependent and persisted in the presence of tetrodotoxin, a voltage sensitive Na+ channel blocker. The KRGE-induced responses were suppressed by 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (10 µM), a non-N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptor antagonist, but not by picrotoxin, a type A gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor antagonist. The results indicate that KRG activates non-NMDA glutamate receptors of PVN neurons in mice, suggesting that KRG may be a candidate for use in regulation of stress responses by controlling autonomic nervous system and hormone secretion.
Multisource Self-Calibration for Sensor Arrays

Calibration of a sensor array is more involved if the antennas have direction dependent gains and multiple calibrator sources are simultaneously present. We study this case for a sensor array with arbitrary geometry but identical elements, i.e., elements with the same direction dependent gain pattern. A weighted alternating least squares (WALS) algorithm is derived that iteratively solves for the direction independent complex gains of the array elements, their noise powers and their gains in the direction of the calibrator sources. An extension of the problem is the case where the apparent calibrator source locations are unknown, e.g., due to refractive propagation paths. For this case, the WALS method is supplemented with weighted subspace fitting (WSF) direction finding techniques. Using Monte Carlo simulations we demonstrate that both methods are asymptotically statistically efficient and converge within two iterations even in cases of low SNR.
Characterization of Transcription Factor Networks Involved in Umbilical Cord Blood CD34+ Stem Cells-Derived Erythropoiesis

Fetal stem cells isolated from umbilical cord blood (UCB) possess a great capacity for proliferation and differentiation and serve as a valuable model system to study gene regulation. Expanded knowledge of the molecular control of hemoglobin synthesis will provide a basis for rational design of therapies for β-hemoglobinopathies. Transcriptome data are available for erythroid progenitors derived from adult stem cells, however studies to define molecular mechanisms controlling globin gene regulation during fetal erythropoiesis are limited. Here, we utilize UCB-CD34+ stem cells induced to undergo erythroid differentiation to characterize the transcriptome and transcription factor networks (TFNs) associated with the γ/β-globin switch during fetal erythropoiesis. UCB-CD34+ stem cells grown in the one-phase liquid culture system displayed a higher proliferative capacity than adult CD34+ stem cells. The γ/β-globin switch was observed after day 42 during fetal erythropoiesis in contrast to adult progenitors where the switch occurred around day 21. To gain insights into transcription factors involved in globin gene regulation, microarray analysis was performed on RNA isolated from UCB-CD34+ cell-derived erythroid progenitors harvested on day 21, 42, 49 and 56 using the HumanHT-12 Expression BeadChip. After data normalization, Gene Set Enrichment Analysis identified transcription factors (TFs) with significant changes in expression during the γ/β-globin switch. Forty-five TFs were silenced by day 56 (Profile-1) and 30 TFs were activated by day 56 (Profile-2). Both GSEA datasets were analyzed using the MIMI Cytoscape platform, which discovered TFNs centered on KLF4 and GATA2 (Profile-1) and KLF1 and GATA1 for Profile-2 genes. Subsequent shRNA studies in KU812 leukemia cells and human erythroid progenitors generated from UCB-CD34+ cells supported a negative role of MAFB in γ-globin regulation. The characteristics of erythroblasts derived from UCB-CD34+ stem cells including prolonged γ-globin expression combined with unique TFNs support novel mechanisms controlling the γ/β-globin switch during UCB-derived erythropoiesis.
Determinants of Regional Variation in Health Expenditures in Germany.

Health care expenditure in Germany shows clear regional differences. Such geographic variations are often seen as an indicator for inefficiency. With its homogeneous health care system, low co-payments and uniform prices, Germany is a particularly suited example to analyse regional variations. We use data for the year 2011 on expenditure, utilization of health services and state of health in Germany's statutory health insurance system. This data, which originate from a variety of administrative sources and cover about 90% of the population, are enriched with a wealth of socio-economic variables, data on pollutants, prices and individual preferences. State of health and demography explains 55% of the differences as measured by the standard deviation while all control variables account for a total of 72% of the differences at county level. With other measures of variation, we can account for an even greater proportion. A higher proportion of variation than usually supposed can thus be explained. Whilst this study cannot quantify inefficiencies, our results contradict the thesis that regional variations reflect inefficiency. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Monty Hall problem revisited: Autonomic arousal in an inverted version of the game

The asymmetry of autonomic arousal for potential losses and gains was assessed by the galvanic skin response (GSR) of participants playing classic and inverted versions of the Monty Hall problem (MHP). In both versions, the prize remained the same (a pen valued at £10 for the right answer), but in the modified version, prizes were received prior to choosing the door. Both experimental groups showed increased levels of GSR while completing the task, demonstrating increased autonomic arousal during the game. However, a robust difference in GSR was detected between classic and inverted versions of the MHP, thus demonstrating the differing autonomic arousal involved in deciding between the alternatives presented by the game. Participants experienced a stronger autonomic response when they could lose the prize than when they could win the prize. This experiment presents the first demonstration of this effect on the MHP. The stronger autonomic arousal for the inverted task may indicate a stronger emotional reaction and/or greater attentional focus than for the standard version of the task. These data demonstrate that potential losses increase arousal in more complex tasks than is typically shown.
Brain-Resident Microglia and Blood-Borne Macrophages Orchestrate Central Nervous System Inflammation in Neurodegenerative Disorders and Brain Cancer

Inflammation is a hallmark of different central nervous system (CNS) pathologies. It has been linked to neurodegenerative disorders as well as primary and metastatic brain tumors. Microglia, the brain-resident immune cells, are emerging as a central player in regulating key pathways in CNS inflammation. Recent insights into neuroinflammation indicate that blood-borne immune cells represent an additional critical cellular component in mediating CNS inflammation. The lack of experimental systems that allow for discrimination between brain-resident and recruited myeloid cells has previously halted functional analysis of microglia and their blood-borne counterparts in brain malignancies. However, recent conceptual and technological advances, such as the generation of lineage tracing models and the identification of cell type-specific markers provide unprecedented opportunities to study the cellular functions of microglia and macrophages by functional interference. The use of different “omic” strategies as well as imaging techniques has significantly increased our knowledge of disease-associated gene signatures and effector functions under pathological conditions. In this review, recent developments in evaluating functions of brain-resident and recruited myeloid cells in neurodegenerative disorders and brain cancers will be discussed and unique or shared cellular traits of microglia and macrophages in different CNS disorders will be highlighted. Insight from these studies will shape our understanding of disease- and cell-type-specific effector functions of microglia or macrophages and will open new avenues for therapeutic intervention that target aberrant functions of myeloid cells in CNS pathologies.
Classification Accuracy of Teacher Ratings When Screening Nonmainstream English-Speaking Kindergartners for Language Impairment in the Rural South.

Purpose We compared teacher ratings as measured by the Teacher Rating of Oral Language and Literacy (TROLL; Dickinson, McCabe, & Sprague, 2001, 2003) and Children's Communication Checklist-Second Edition (CCC-2; Bishop, 2006) to 2 established screeners, the Part II of the Diagnostic Evaluation of Language Variation-Screening Test (DELV-ST-II; Seymour, Roeper, & de Villiers, 2003) and Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills-Next (DIBELS; Good, Gruba, & Kaminski, 2009), and then examined whether teacher ratings alone or when combined with the DELV-ST-II or DIBELS accurately classify nonmainstream English-speaking kindergartners by their clinical status. Method Data came from 98 children who lived in the rural South; 47 spoke African American English, and 51 spoke Southern White English. Using the syntax subtest of the Diagnostic Evaluation of Language Variation-Norm Referenced (Seymour, Roeper, & de Villiers, 2005) as the reference standard, 43 were language impaired and 55 were typically developing. Analyses included analysis of variance, correlations, and discriminant function with sensitivity and specificity indices. Results The TROLL, CCC-2, DELV-ST-II, and DIBELS showed clinical status but not dialect effects, and they correlated with each other, the Diagnostic Evaluation of Language Variation-Norm Referenced, and other language measures. Classification accuracies of all 4 tools were too low for screening purposes; however, empirically derived cut scores improved the results, and a discriminant function selected the TROLL and DELV-ST-II as optimal for determining who should be referred for an evaluation, with the TROLL yielding the highest level of sensitivity (77%). Conclusion Findings support teacher ratings as measured by the TROLL when screening nonmainstream English-speaking kindergartners for language impairment in the rural South, while also calling for additional development and study of teacher rating tools and other screening instruments. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.6007712.
Schizophrenic‐like neurocognitive deficits in children and adolescents with 22q11 deletion syndrome

22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22q11DS) is the most common genetic microdeletion syndrome affecting humans. The syndrome is associated with general cognitive impairments and specific deficits in visual‐spatial ability, non‐verbal reasoning, and planning skills. 22q11DS is also associated with behavioral and psychiatric abnormalities, including a markedly elevated risk for schizophrenia. Research findings indicate that people with schizophrenia, as well as those identified as schizoptypic, show specific cognitive deficits in the areas of sustained attention, executive functioning, and verbal working memory. The present study examined such schizophrenic‐like cognitive deficits in children and adolescents with 22q11DS (n = 26) and controls (n = 25) using a cross‐sectional design. As hypothesized, 22q11DS participants exhibited deficits in intelligence, achievement, sustained attention, executive functioning, and verbal working memory compared to controls. Furthermore, deficits in attention and executive functioning were more pronounced in the 22q11DS sample relative to general cognitive impairment. These findings suggest that the same pattern of neuropsychological impairment seen in patients with schizophrenia is present in non‐psychotic children identified as at‐risk for the development of schizophrenia based on a known genetic risk marker. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Mit Sloan School of Management Mit Sloan School Working Paper 4750-09 Systemic Risk and the Refinancing Ratchet Effect Systemic Risk and the Refinancing Ratchet Effect *

All rights reserved. Short sections of text, not to exceed two paragraphs, may be quoted without explicit permission, provided that full credit including © notice is given to the source. Abstract The confluence of three trends in the U.S. residential housing market—rising home prices, declining interest rates, and near-frictionless refinancing opportunities—led to vastly increased systemic risk in the financial system. Individually, each of these trends is benign, but when they occur simultaneously, as they did over the past decade, they impose an unintentional synchronization of homeowner leverage. This synchronization, coupled with the indivisibility of residential real estate that prevents homeowners from deleveraging when property values decline and homeowner equity deteriorates, conspire to create a " ratchet " effect in which homeowner leverage is maintained or increased during good times without the ability to decrease leverage during bad times. If refinancing-facilitated homeowner-equity extraction is sufficiently widespread—as it was during the years leading up to the peak of the U.S. residential real-estate market—the inadvertent coordination of leverage during a market rise implies higher correlation of defaults during a market drop. To measure the systemic impact of this ratchet effect, we simulate the U.S. housing market with and without equity extractions, and estimate the losses absorbed by mortgage lenders by valuing the embedded put-option in non-recourse mortgages. Our simulations generate loss estimates of $1.5 trillion from June 2006 to December 2008 under historical market conditions, compared to simulated losses of $280 billion in the absence of equity extractions. * The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors only, and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of AlphaSimplex Group, Harvard University, MIT, any of their affiliates and employees, or any of the individuals acknowledged below. We thank Jim Kennedy for sharing his data,
Improving retention in HIV care among adolescents and adults in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review of the literature

Introduction Adolescents living with HIV are an underserved population, with poor retention in HIV health care services and high mortality, who are in need of targeted effective interventions. We conducted a literature review to identify strategies that could be adapted to meet the needs of adolescents living with HIV. Methods We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Popline, USAID’s AIDSFree Resource Library, and the USAID Development Experience Clearinghouse for relevant studies published within a recent five-year period. Studies were included if they described interventions to improve the retention in care of HIV-positive patients who are initiating or already receiving antiretroviral therapy in low- and middle-income countries. To assess the quality of the studies, we used the NIH NHLBI Study Quality Assessment Tools. Results and discussion Of 13,429 potentially relevant citations, 23 were eligible for inclusion. Most studies took place in sub-Saharan Africa. Only one study evaluated a retention intervention for youth (15–24 years); it found no difference in loss to follow-up between a youth-friendly clinic and a family-oriented clinic. A study of community-based service delivery which was effective for adults found no effect for youths. We found no relevant studies conducted exclusively with adolescent participants (10–19 years). Most studies were conducted with adults only or with populations that included adults and adolescents but did not report separate results for adolescents. Interventions that involved community-based services showed the most robust evidence for improving retention in care. Several studies found statistically significant associations between decentralization, down-referral of stable patients, task-shifting of services, and differentiated care, and retention in care among adults; however, most evidence comes from retrospective, observational studies and none of these approaches were evaluated among adolescents or youth. Conclusions Interventions that target retention in care among adolescents living with HIV are rare in the published literature. We found only two studies conducted with youth and no studies with adolescents. Given the urgent need to increase the retention of adolescents in HIV care, interventions that are effective in increasing adult retention in care should be considered for adaptation and evaluation among adolescents and interventions specifically targeting the needs of adolescents must be developed and tested.
Financial Consumer Protection and the Cost of Financial Intermediation: Evidence from Advanced and Developing Economies

Using a data set of approximately 3,000 commercial banks from more than 100 countries, I examine the impact of financial consumer protection policies on the cost of financial intermediation. I find evidence that the existence of internal mechanisms for handling complaints, requirements for fair treatment, supervisory power related to consumer protection, and various disclosure requirements reduce the cost of financial intermediation in advanced countries. The results are different in the case of developing countries, where I observe that most financial consumer protection policies increase the cost of intermediation, suggesting that banks pass on regulatory burdens to their customers. This paper was accepted by Amit Seru, finance.
Identification of B-Cell Epitope of Dengue Virus Type 1 and Its Application in Diagnosis of Patients

ABSTRACT Using a serotype-specific monoclonal antibody (MAb) of dengue virus type 1 (DEN-1), 15F3-1, we identified the B-cell epitope of DEN-1 from a random peptide library displayed on phage. Fourteen immunopositive phage clones that bound specifically to MAb 15F3-1 were selected. These phage-borne peptides had a consensus motif of HxYaWb (a = S/T, b = K/H/R) that mimicked the sequence HKYSWK, which corresponded to amino acid residues 111 to 116 of the nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) of DEN-1. Among the four synthetic peptides corresponding to amino acid residues 110 to 117 of the NS1 of DEN-1, -2, -3, and -4, only one peptide, EHKYSWKS (P14M) of DEN-1, was found to bind to 15F3-1 specifically. Furthermore, P14M was shown to inhibit the binding of phage particles to 15F3-1 in a competitive inhibition assay. Histidine111 (His111) was crucial to the binding of P14M to 15F3-1, since its binding activity dramatically reduced when it changed to leucine111 (Leu111). This epitope-based peptide demonstrated its clinical diagnostic potential when it reacted with a high degree of specificity with serum samples obtained from both DEN-1-infected rabbits and patients. Based on these observations, our DEN-1 epitope-based serologic test could be useful in laboratory viral diagnosis and in understanding the pathogenesis of DEN-1.
Inducible, reversible system for the rapid and complete degradation of proteins in mammalian cells

Inducible degradation is a powerful approach for identifying the function of a specific protein or protein complex. Recently, a plant auxin-inducible degron (AID) system has been shown to degrade AID-tagged target proteins in nonplant cells. Here, we demonstrate that an AID-tagged protein can functionally replace an endogenous protein depleted by RNAi, leading to an inducible null phenotype rapidly after auxin addition. The AID system is shown to be capable of controlling the stability of AID-tagged proteins that are in either nuclear or cytoplasmic compartments and even when incorporated into protein complexes. Induced degradation occurs rapidly after addition of auxin with protein half-life reduced to as little as 9 min and proceeding to completion with first-order kinetics. AID-mediated instability is demonstrated to be rapidly reversible. Induced degradation is shown to initiate and continue in all cell cycle phases, including mitosis, making this system especially useful for identifying the function(s) of proteins of interest during specific points in the mammalian cell cycle.