Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modeling of a collisional triple frequency capacitively coupled plasma sheath

A self-consistent analytical model for a high voltage, capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) sheath driven by three sinusoidal radio frequency (RF) current sources of different frequencies is proposed. In this model it is assumed that ion motion in the sheath is time independent and collisional. To describe the behavior of the sheath, analytical expressions for important sheath parameters have been developed. These parameters calculated using some standard values of plasma parameters are then compared with a collisional dual frequency and single frequency capacitively coupled sheath model.
Identification of functionally important conserved trans-membrane residues of bacterial PIB-type ATPases

Powered by ATP hydrolysis, PIB‐ATPases drive the energetically uphill transport of transition metals. These high affinity pumps are essential for heavy metal detoxification and delivery of metal cofactors to specific cellular compartments. Amino acid sequence alignment of the trans‐membrane (TM) helices of PIB‐ATPases reveals a high degree of conservation, with ∼60–70 fully conserved positions. Of these conserved positions, 6–7 were previously identified to be important for transport. However, the functional importance of the majority of the conserved TM residues remains unclear. To investigate the role of conserved TM residues of PIB‐ATPases we conducted an extensive mutagenesis study of a Zn2+/Cd2+ PIB‐ATPase from Rhizobium radiobacter (rrZntA) and seven other PIB‐ATPases. Of the 38 conserved positions tested, 24 had small effects on metal tolerance. Fourteen mutations compromised in vivo metal tolerance and in vitro metal‐stimulated ATPase activity. Based on structural modelling, the functionally important residues line a constricted ‘channel’, tightly surrounded by the residues that were found to be inconsequential for function. We tentatively propose that the distribution of the mutable and immutable residues marks a possible trans‐membrane metal translocation pathway. In addition, by substituting six trans‐membrane amino acids of rrZntA we changed the in vivo metal specificity of this pump from Zn2+/Cd2+ to Ag+.
Inequality and Relative Reliance on Tariffs: Theory and Evidence

In this paper we construct a Ricardian model of trade in vertically-differentiated products between a developing country and the (developed) rest of the world. Despite labour being the only factor of production in this model, tariffs (in addition to income taxes) have distributional consequences because the high-quality imported varieties are consumed only by high-income households. The model predicts a U-shaped relationship between income inequality and the median-voter’s preferred reliance on tariffs versus income taxes in order to effect the desired redistribution. Using data from 44 countries we test for the existence of this U-shaped relationship by estimating a cross-sectional regression relating the ratio of the tariff rate over the tax rate to inequality and a set of control variables such as GDP per capita, openness, the degree of democracy and area dummies. We find that the model’s predictions are supported by the data.
The Host Galaxy of the Lensed Quasar Q0957+561

Infrared images of the Q0957+561 gravitational lens obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope show two large (~5'') lensed images of the zs = 1.41 quasar host galaxy. Parts of the host galaxy are doubly imaged, like the quasar, while other parts are quadruply imaged. The distortions of the host galaxy offer the best probe yet of the global structure of the lensing potential, which is essential for determining the Hubble constant from the measured time delay. The distortions are inconsistent with the predictions of previously published lens models, which invalidates those models and their implications for H0. New models show that the distortions finally break the long-standing degeneracy between the shape of the lens galaxy and the tidal shear contributed by the cluster containing the lens galaxy. The shape of the lens galaxy's mass distribution must be remarkably similar to the shape of its luminosity distribution, and most models that produce reasonable values for the Hubble constant roughly match the observed ellipticity gradient and isophote twist of the lens galaxy. In addition, the cluster must be nonspherical and produce a relatively small tidal shear. Although there are still degeneracies in the lens models that lead to a 25% uncertainty in the derived value of the Hubble constant, there are also strong prospects for new observations to further improve the constraints and reduce the uncertainties.
Modeling the distribution of patches with shift-invariance: Application to SAR image restoration

Patches have proven to be very effective features to model natural images and to design image restoration methods. Given the huge diversity of patches found in images, modeling the distribution of patches is a difficult task. Rather than attempting to accurately model all patches of the image, we advocate that it is sufficient that all pixels of the image belong to at least one well-explained patch. An image is thus described as a tiling of patches that have large prior probability. In contrast to most patch-based approaches, we do not process the image in patch space, and consider instead that patches should match well everywhere where they overlap. In-order to apply this modeling to the restoration of SAR images, we define a suitable data-fitting term to account for the statistical distribution of speckle. Restoration results are competitive with state-of-the art SAR despeckling methods.
Creating and Maintaining the Gastrointestinal Ecosystem: What We Know and Need To Know from Gnotobiology

SUMMARY Studying the cross talk between nonpathogenic organisms and their mammalian hosts represents an experimental challenge because these interactions are typically subtle and the microbial societies that associate with mammalian hosts are very complex and dynamic. A large, functionally stable, climax community of microbes is maintained in the murine and human gastrointestinal tracts. This open ecosystem exhibits not only regional differences in the composition of its microbiota but also regional differences in the differentiation programs of its epithelial cells and in the spatial distribution of its component immune cells. A key experimental strategy for determining whether “nonpathogenic” microorganisms actively create their own regional habitats in this ecosystem is to define cellular function in germ-free animals and then evaluate the effects of adding single or several microbial species. This review focuses on how gnotobiotics—the study of germ-free animals—has been and needs to be used to examine how the gastrointestinal ecosystem is created and maintained. Areas discussed include the generation of simplified ecosystems by using genetically manipulatable microbes and hosts to determine whether components of the microbiota actively regulate epithelial differentiation to create niches for themselves and for other organisms; the ways in which gnotobiology can help reveal collaborative interactions among the microbiota, epithelium, and mucosal immune system; and the ways in which gnotobiology is and will be useful for identifying host and microbial factors that define the continuum between nonpathogenic and pathogenic. A series of tests of microbial contributions to several pathologic states, using germ-free and ex-germ-free mice, are proposed.
Forecasting Interest Rates Using Geostatistical Techniques

Geostatistical spatial models are widely used in many applied fields to forecast data observed on continuous three-dimensional surfaces. We propose to extend their use to finance and, in particular, to forecasting yield curves. We present the results of an empirical application where we apply the proposed method to forecast Euro Zero Rates (2003–2014) using the Ordinary Kriging method based on the anisotropic variogram. Furthermore, a comparison with other recent methods for forecasting yield curves is proposed. The results show that the model is characterized by good levels of predictions’ accuracy and it is competitive with the other forecasting models considered.
Antioxidant Activity of Ethanolic Fractions of Polish Propolis

There is a great variation in the chemical composition of propolis of different origins. Likewise, the method of its extraction has signifi cant impact on the content of biologically active compounds. Here we compared methods of propolis extraction for optimal antioxidant activities which were measured by means of β-carotene discolouration, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging, and 2,2’-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS•+) radical cation decolouration assays. In the extracts, the contents of polyphenols and fl avonoids were measured, and phenolic acids were identifi ed and quantifi ed by HPLC. A three-step extraction allowed obtaining large amounts of phenolic acids from propolis. The propolis fractions obtained had antioxidant properties comparable to those of α-tocopherol and butylated hydroxytoluene. Therefore, they may be used as effective natural antioxidants.
The Self-Regulation f Goal Pursuit

Goal pursuit starts with setting goals for oneself or with adopting goals assigned by others. Most theories of motivation (Ajzen, 1997; Atkinson, 1957; Bandura, L997; Brehm & Sell 1989; Carver & Scheier, 1998; Gollwltzer, 1990; Locke & Latham , 1990; Sheeran, 2002; Vroom, L964) suggest that people prefer to choose and adopt goals that are desirable and feasible. Desirability is determined by the estimated attractiveness of likely short-term and long-term consequences of goal attainment. Such consequences may pertain to anticipated self-evaluations, evaluations of significant others, progress toward some higher order goal, external rewards of having attained the goal, and the joy/pan associated with moving toward the goal (Heckhausen,7977). Feasibility depends on people's jrdgments of their capabilities to perform relevant goal-directed behaviors (i.e., self-efficacy expectations; Bandura, 7997), their beliefs that these goal-directed behaviors will lead to the desired outcome (i.e., outcome expectations; Bandura, 7997; instrumentality beliefs, Vroom, 1964), the judged likelihood of attaining the desired outcome (i.e., general expectations; Oettingen,1996) or desired outcomes in general (optimism; Scheier & Carver, 1987). It is implicitly assumed that perceived feasibility and desirability not only affect goal setting, but also the intensity of subsequent goal striving, and a person's readiness to relinquish a set goal. More specifically, the intensity of goal striving is assumed to be higher the higher the respective feasibility and desirability beliefs. Finally, people are thought to give up
Representation and Processing of Lexical Tone and Tonal Variants: Evidence from the Mismatch Negativity

Pronunciation variation is ubiquitous in the speech signal. Different models of lexical representation have been put forward to deal with speech variability, which differ in the level as well as the nature of mental representation. We present the first mismatch negativity (MMN) study investigating the effect of allophonic variation on the mental representation and neural processing of lexical tones. Native speakers of Standard Chinese (SC) participated in an oddball electroencephalography (EEG) experiment. All stimuli have the same segments (ma) but different lexical tones: level [T1], rising [T2], and dipping [T3]. In connected speech with a T3T3 sequence, the first T3 may undergo allophonic change and is produced with a rising pitch contour (T3V), similar to the lexical T2 pitch contour. Four oddball conditions were constructed (T1/T3, T3/T1, T2/T3, T3/T2; standard/deviant). All four conditions elicited MMN effects, with the T1–T3 pair eliciting comparable MMNs, but the T2–T3 pair asymmetrical MMN effects. There were significantly greater and earlier MMN effects in the T2/T3 condition than that in the reversed T3/T2 condition. Furthermore, the T3/T2 condition showed more rightward MMN effects than the T2/T3 condition and the T1–T3 pair. Such asymmetries suggest co-activation of long-term memory representations of both T3 and T3V when T3 serves as the standard. The acoustic similarity between the activated T3V (by the standard T3) and the incoming deviant stimulus T2 induces acoustic processing of the tonal contrast in the T3/T2 condition, similar to that of within-category lexical tone processing, which is in contrast to the processing of between-category lexical tones observed in the T2/T3, T1/T3, and T3/T1 conditions.
The Effect of Bevacizumab on Corneal Neovascularization in Rabbits

Purpose To determine the efficacy of topical application and subconjunctival injection of bevacizumab in the treatment of corneal neovascularization. Methods Corneal neovascularization was induced with a silk suture of the corneal stroma in 12 rabbits (24 eyes). One week after suturing, four rabbits were treated with topical bevacizumab at 5 mg/mL (group A) and another four rabbits were treated with topical bevacizumab 10 mg/mL (group B) in the right eyes twice a day for two weeks. A subconjunctival injection of bevacizumab 1.25 mg/mL was done in the right eyes of four rabbits (group C). All of the left eyes (12 eyes) were used as controls. The area of corneal neovascularization was measured after one and two weeks, and the concentration of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in corneal tissue was measured after two weeks. Results The neovascularized area was smaller in all treated groups than in the control group (p<0.001). Upon analysis of the neovascularized area, there was no significant difference between groups A and B. However, the mean neovascularized area of group B was significantly smaller than that of group C after two weeks of treatment (p=0.043). The histologic examination revealed fewer new corneal vessels in all treated groups than the control group. The concentration of VEGF was significantly lower in all treated groups compared to the control group (p<0.01), but no difference was shown between treated groups. Conclusions Topical and subconjunctival bevacizumab application may be useful in the treatment of corneal neovascularization and further study is necessary.
Zeugmatin: a new high molecular weight protein associated with Z lines in adult and early embryonic striated muscle

Monoclonal antibodies were generated to a purified preparation of the fascia adherens domains of the intercalated discs of chicken cardiac cell membranes. One of these antibodies, McAb 20, immunofluorescently labeled the Z lines of adult skeletal muscle, the Z lines and intercalated discs of adult cardiac muscle, and the dense bodies and dense plaques of adult gizzard smooth muscle. In addition, McAb 20 was found to label regenerating muscle cells in a cross-striated pattern much like that of Z lines in 24-h muscle cell cultures before the appearance of Z lines was detectable by phase or Nomarski optics and before the concentration of alpha-actinin occurred at the Z lines. Thus, McAb 20 appears to be directed against an antigen involved in early myofibrillar organization. Preliminary biochemical characterization of the antigen recognized by McAb 20 indicates that it is a high molecular weight doublet of over 5 X 10(5) kD that is highly susceptible to proteolysis. By virtue of its presence in Z lines, and its possible role in the end-on attachment of microfilaments to Z lines and membranes, we have named this protein zeugmatin (xi epsilon nu gamma mu alpha identical to yoking).
Retrospective matched-pairs analysis of bortezomib plus dexamethasone versus bortezomib monotherapy in relapsed multiple myeloma

Bortezomib-dexamethasone is widely used for relapsed myeloma in routine clinical practice, but comparative data versus single-agent bortezomib are lacking. This retrospective analysis compared second-line treatment with bortezomib-dexamethasone and bortezomib using 109 propensity score-matched pairs of patients treated in three clinical trials: MMY-2045, APEX, and DOXIL-MMY-3001. Propensity scores were estimated using logistic regression analyses incorporating 13 clinical variables related to drug exposure or clinical outcome. Patients received intravenous bortezomib 1.3 mg/m2 on days 1, 4, 8, and 11, in 21-day cycles, alone or with oral dexamethasone 20 mg on the days of/after bortezomib dosing. Median bortezomib cumulative dose (27.02 and 28.60 mg/m2) and treatment duration (19.6 and 17.6 weeks) were similar with bortezomib-dexamethasone and bortezomib, respectively. The overall response rate was higher (75% vs. 41%; odds ratio=3.467; P<0.001), and median time-to-progression (13.6 vs. 7.0 months; hazard ratio [HR]=0.394; P=0.003) and progression-free survival (11.9 vs. 6.4 months; HR=0.595; P=0.051) were longer with bortezomib-dexamethasone versus bortezomib, respectively. Rates of any-grade adverse events, most common grade 3 or higher adverse events, and discontinuations due to adverse events appeared similar between the groups. Two patients per group died of treatment-related adverse events. These data indicate the potential benefit of bortezomib-dexamethasone compared with single-agent bortezomib at first relapse in myeloma. The MMY-2045, APEX, and DOXIL-MMY-3001 clinical trials were registered at, respectively, clinicaltrials.gov identifier: 00908232, 00048230, and 00103506.
Prolonged rupture of the fetal membranes and neonatal outcome

In order to establish the incidence of neonatal infection following prolonged (greater than 24 hours) rupture of the fetal membranes (PROM) and assess outcome of two year retrospective study was undertaken. The names of all babies born following PROM were obtained from the computerised obstetric record and the bacteriological results and outcome reviewed. Of 208 babies born following PROM only three had blood cultures containing pathogens--all of whom were of less than 1500 g birthweight and all of whom died. This represents a fivefold increased frequency of infection for premature babies but no increased risk for full term babies. The overall incidence of infection was much lower than in previous series and this may be due to performing amniocentesis as soon as possible following rupture and inducing labour where there was evidence of incipient chorioamnionitis. Meningitis was not associated with prolonged rupture of the membranes. The mortality for these babies was higher than those of babies without PROM in the 28-31 week gestation group. This was strongly associated with early onset of membrane rupture and none of the babies born following membrane rupture prior to 20 weeks gestation survived. Non-infective pulmonary disease was the main cause of increased mortality.
Differential chemokine receptor expression and function in human monocyte subpopulations

The subset of human blood monocytes expressing low levels of CD14 and high levels of CD16 (CD14+CD16+) exhibits features resembling mature tissue macrophages and can be expanded in inflammatory conditions. We analyzed expression of CC chemokine receptors (CCR) in CD14+CD16+ versus CD14++ monocytes, which may be crucial for specific trafficking. Multicolor flow cytometric analysis of whole peripheral blood revealed that, as opposed to CD14++ monocytes, the CD14+CD16+ subset lacked surface expression of monocyte chemotactic protein‐1 (MCP‐1) receptor CCR2, however, it showed significantly higher surface expression of the macrophage inflammatory protein 1α (MIP‐1α)/RANTES receptor CCR5. This was paralleled by differences in mRNA expression in the subsets, as shown by reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction using sorted cells. In comparison to CD14++ monocytes, CD14+CD16+ cells expressed lower CCR2 but higher CCR5 transcript levels, whereas CCR1 levels were equivalent. Flow cytometric analysis of isolated human monocytes recovered after transendothelial chemotaxis assays revealed that the percentage of CD14+CD16+ cells was dramatically reduced in the fraction migrating toward MCP‐1 compared with the fraction that did not migrate or the input, showing that polarized CCR2 expression was accompanied by a differential chemotactic responsiveness. Moreover, CD11b surface expression was preferentially up‐regulated by MCP‐1 in CD14++ cells but by MIP‐1α in CD14+CD16+ monocytes, confirming the functional relevance of distinct CCR expression. The characteristics of CD14+CD16+ cells may reflect preactivation by cytokines and determine their predilective localization during specific inflammatory conditions or susceptibility to infection. J. Leukoc. Biol. 67: 699–704; 2000.
Use of Campaign Websites by Political Candidates: Quantitative Analysis of Candidates’ Websites Based on Data from the 2003 Representatives Election of Japan

The Internet is increasingly being used for political communication in Japan. Despite the limits placed on the use of the Internet as a campaign tool by The Public Offi ces Elections Law (Tkach-Kawasaki 2003), the rate at which websites are being established by candidates in national elections has been rising since 20001). During the House of Representatives election held in 2000, 28.4% of the candidates (399 out of 1404) established sites. This number jumped to 59.4% (688 out of 1159) in the 2003 election2). With such a dramatically increasing trend in Internet use expected to continue into the future, many scholars who are interested in the relationship between politics and the new medium have been shifting their focus of analysis from whether political parties or candidates have established websites to what type of website they are putting up (Druckman, Kifer, and Parkin 2007; 426, Gibson, Margolis, Resnick and Ward 2003; Gibson and Ward 2003; Ward and Gibson 2003). This paper is also concerned with the contents of the websites. The purpose here is to examine what type of website candidates are putting up and what factors affect the contents of their websites, based on data from the Japanese Lower House election held in November 7, 2003. From content analysis of 682 candidates’ websites, indexes are produced indicating the “degree
User Acceptance of North Central Texas Fusion Center System by Law Enforcement Officers

The September 11 terrorist attacks pointed out the lack of information sharing between law enforcement agencies as a potential threat to sound law enforcement in the United States. Therefore, many law enforcement agencies as well as the federal government have been initiating information sharing systems among law enforcement agencies to eradicate the information sharing problem. One of the systems established by Homeland Security is the North Central Texas Fusion Center (NCTFC). This study evaluates the NCTFC by utilizing user acceptance methodology. The unified theory of acceptance and the use of technology is used as a theoretical framework for this study. Within the study, user acceptance literature is examined and various models and theories are discussed. Furthermore, a brief information regarding the intelligence work done by law enforcement agencies are explained. In addition to the NCTFC, several major law enforcement information systems are introduced. The data for this study comes from the users of the NCTFC across the north central Texas region. Surveys and interviews are used to triangulate data. It is found in this study that performance expectancy and effort expectancy are important indicators of system use. Furthermore, outreach and needs assessment are important factors in establishing systems. The results of the study offer valuable input for NCTFC administrators, law enforcement officials, and future researchers.