Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Composite 3D-printed metastructures for low-frequency and broadband vibration absorption

Significance Architected material used to control elastic wave propagation has thus far relied on two mechanisms for forming band gaps, or frequency ranges that cannot propagate: (i) Phononic crystals rely on their structural periodicity to form Bragg band gaps, but are limited in the low-frequency ranges because their unit cell size scales with wavelength; and (ii) Metamaterials overcome this size dependence because they rely on local resonances, but the resulting band gaps are very narrow. Here, we introduce a class of materials, elastic metastructures, that exploit resonating elements to broaden and lower Bragg gaps while reducing the mass of the system. This approach to band-gap engineering can be used for low-frequency vibration absorption and wave guiding across length scales. Architected materials that control elastic wave propagation are essential in vibration mitigation and sound attenuation. Phononic crystals and acoustic metamaterials use band-gap engineering to forbid certain frequencies from propagating through a material. However, existing solutions are limited in the low-frequency regimes and in their bandwidth of operation because they require impractical sizes and masses. Here, we present a class of materials (labeled elastic metastructures) that supports the formation of wide and low-frequency band gaps, while simultaneously reducing their global mass. To achieve these properties, the metastructures combine local resonances with structural modes of a periodic architected lattice. Whereas the band gaps in these metastructures are induced by Bragg scattering mechanisms, their key feature is that the band-gap size and frequency range can be controlled and broadened through local resonances, which are linked to changes in the lattice geometry. We demonstrate these principles experimentally, using advanced additive manufacturing methods, and inform our designs using finite-element simulations. This design strategy has a broad range of applications, including control of structural vibrations, noise, and shock mitigation.
Research, Teaching, and Service: Why Shouldn't Women's Work Count?.

Despite myths concerning the efficacy of affirmative action programs, there are still relatively few women in academia. Moreover, the female professors one does encounter in the academy are apt to be found in lower-paying, less prestigious, and less secure positions [6, 12, 18, 71, 83]. Educational cutbacks combined with fewer tenure-track positions and more restrictive criteria for tenure and promotion have given rise to a "revolving door" phenomenon, wherein adjunct and junior faculty are rotated through entry level positions without serious consideration for tenure [42, 44]. This has created a new class of "gypsy scholars" [14], an intellectual "proletariat" [87] who in order to eke out a living move from one low-paying, dead-end teaching post to another. This proletariat is disproportionately female. There are several explanations for this. Some people claim that women are simply not socialized to be as career-oriented or ambitious as men. Others point to the fact that women still are largely responsible for child-rearing and housekeeping, thus giving them less time and energy to forge successful career paths. Though there undoubtedly is some truth to such explanations, focusing exclusively on such external
Journeys and landscapes of forced migration: Memorializing fear among refugees and internally displaced Colombians

In Colombia, a country with a long-standing multipolar armed conflict, the performance of violence in the form of massacres, selective assassinations, threats, disappearances, rape and forced displacement has turned fear into a powerful language by which the various armed actors communicate with society, reconfigure the landscape and regulate everyday life. Understanding forced migration as a form of displacement under coercion and fear, this article examines forms and notions of memorialized fear that are inscribed in the narratives of displacement and exile of a group of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Colombia and Colombian refugees in Canada. The article explores the relationships between memory, fear, and forced migration as a means to advance an anthropological analysis of the ways people reconstruct their lives in the midst of displacement and change. I suggest that a continuum of fear marks the journeys of displacement and exile of Colombian forced migrants. Fear is expressed as embodied memory and narrative thread to remember the past, the journey of forced migration, the interactions with the forced migration regime and the arrival and experiences in another host society. In the context of change and the liminal situations of IDPs and refugees, I consider the weight of emotions such as fear in shaping experience and remembrance so as to offer a critical starting point in reconsidering approaches towards, and conceptualizations of, identity, re-establishment of rights and incorporation into new social landscapes.
Adenosine-triphosphatase deficiency in a family with non-spherocytic haemolytic anaemia.

A family with depressed ATP-ase activity in erythrocytes is examined. The deficiency was in some members of the family accompanied by non-sperocytic haemolytic anaemia. Biochemical investigations indicate that digoxin-sensitive ATP-ase is reduced, in some cases to zero in presumably homozygotes. It is concluded that the ATP-ase deficiency is probably due to reduced synthesis of the K, Na, Mg-stimulated ATP-ase.
Food quality of heterotrophic bacteria for Daphnia magna: evidence for a limitation by sterols.

The quality of heterotrophic bacteria as food for metazoan grazers has been investigated poorly. We conducted growth experiments with juvenile Daphnia magna feeding on different strains of heterotrophic bacteria that represent typical pelagic bacteria of five phylogenetically distinct groups. The bacterial food suspensions were supplemented with cholesterol and/or the polyunsaturated fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), two essential nutrients that are either absent or scarcely represented in bacteria. Our data imply that the selected heterotrophic bacteria are of poor food quality for D. magna, which was indicated either by very low somatic growth rates or by high mortality. However, with four out of six bacterial strains tested, the somatic growth rates increased significantly upon supplementation with cholesterol, which shows that the lack of sterols in bacteria is a major food quality constraint. We did not find clear evidence for a limitation by EPA on bacterial diets within our growth experiments. High mortality was observed when D. magna was fed with Hydrogenophaga sp. or Pseudomonas sp. , which indicates that these two bacterial strains are toxic to D. magna. Our findings highlight the limitations of bacteria as a carbon source for Daphnia and point to a so far underestimated diversity of interactions between grazers and its bacterial food.
Quality of life in children with unilateral hearing loss: a pilot study.

PURPOSE The objective of this pilot study was to investigate the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of children with unilateral hearing loss (UHL). METHOD The study was conducted in 2 stages among children age 6-17 years. In Stage 1, the authors conducted focus groups of children with UHL and their parents to elicit perceptions of how UHL affected the lives of these children. In Stage 2, a generic pediatric quality of life survey was used to measure HRQOL quantitatively in children with normal hearing, UHL, and bilateral hearing loss. Participants were recruited from the clinical and research populations of an academic otolaryngology department. RESULTS The focus groups revealed that the children with UHL experienced barriers due to their hearing loss but learned to adapt. Quantitatively, statistically significant differences between groups were not observed on the 3 main HRQOL scales (Total, Psychosocial, and Physical). Children with UHL had a significantly larger variance on the social functioning score than children with normal hearing and bilateral hearing loss. CONCLUSIONS UHL may affect the HRQOL of children; this possibility should be included when counseling parents. However, further research is warranted to determine whether the authors' findings are generalizable to other children with UHL.
Inhibition of phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase signaling in hepatic stellate cells blocks the progression of hepatic fibrosis

The hepatic stellate cell (HSC) is the primary cell type in the liver responsible for excess collagen deposition during fibrosis. Following a fibrogenic stimulus the cell changes from a quiescent vitamin A–storing cell to an activated cell type associated with increased extracellular matrix synthesis and increased cell proliferation. The phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase (PI3K) signaling pathway has been shown to regulate several aspects of HSC activation in vitro, including collagen synthesis and cell proliferation. Using a targeted approach to inhibit PI3K signaling specifically in HSCs, we investigated the role of PI3K in HSCs using a rodent model of hepatic fibrosis. An adenovirus expressing a dominant negative form of PI3K under control of the smooth muscle α‐actin (αSMA) promoter was generated (Ad‐SMAdnPI3K). Transducing HSCs with Ad‐SMAdnPI3K resulted in decreased proliferation, migration, collagen expression, and several additional profibrogenic genes, while also promoting cell death. Inhibition of PI3K signaling was also associated with reduced activation of Akt, p70 S6 kinase, and extracellular regulated kinase signaling as well as reduced cyclin D1 expression. Administering Ad‐SMAdnPI3K to mice following bile duct ligation resulted in reduced HSC activation and decreased extracellular matrix deposition, including collagen expression. A reduction in profibrogenic mediators, including transforming growth factor beta, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1, and connective tissue growth factor was also noted. However, liver damage, assessed by alanine aminotransferase levels, was not reduced. Conclusion: Inhibition of PI3K signaling in HSCs during active fibrogenesis inhibits extracellular matrix deposition, including synthesis of type I collagen, and reduces expression of profibrogenic factors. These data suggest that targeting PI3K signaling in HSCs may represent an effective therapeutic target for hepatic fibrosis. (Hepatology 2009.)
HYBRID ZONE DYNAMICS AND SPECIES REPLACEMENT BETWEEN ORCONECTES CRAYFISHES IN A NORTHERN WISCONSIN LAKE

Abstract Hybrid zones that result in the genetic assimilation (replacement) of one species by another are underrepresented in the animal literature, most likely due to their transient nature. One such zone involves the rusty crayfish, Orconectes rusticus, and its congener O. propinquus. Orconectes rusticus was recently introduced into northern Wisconsin and Michigan lakes and streams, where it is hybridizing with and displacing resident O. propinquus. Here we report on a study investigating the dynamics of a hybrid zone between the two crayfish in Trout Lake, Wisconsin, where both the time (circa 1979) and location of the initial introduction are known. Our prediction was that hybridization should hasten the demise of O. propinquus because we expected that male O. rusticus (which are larger than congeners) would outcompete male O. propinquus for mates of both species. If hybrid progeny are unfit, then the result would be decreased reproductive output of O. propinquus females. However, we found a pattern of cytonuclear disequilibrium between allozymes and mtDNA suggesting that a majority (94.5%) of F1 hybrids resulted from matings between O. rusticus females and O. propinquus males. Also contrary to expectations, fecundity (O. rusticus and O. propinquus) and early hybrid survivorship did not differ significantly from nonhybrids. Moreover, adults of mixed ancestry were superior to both O. rusticus and O. propinquus in competition for a limiting food resource. Using a single-locus model, we estimated that hybridization increases the advance of O. rusticus genes in Trout Lake between 4.8% and 36.3% above that due to the previously documented ecological interactions. Consequently, whereas hybridization may be hastening the elimination of genetically pure O. propinquus, introgression is nevertheless slowing the loss of O. propinquus nuclear genes. Although our results suggest that O. rusticus and O. propinquus may not be true species under the biological concept, their ecological differences are of great conservation importance. Corresponding Editor: S. Karl
Polymorphisms of BDNF and CACNA1C are not associated with cognitive functioning in bipolar disorder or healthy controls

ABSTRACT Introduction: The cause of cognitive dysfunction in bipolar disorder (BD) is not well understood. BDNF and CACNA1C are two susceptibility genes for the disorder that have also been reported to be associated with cognitive deficits in the disorder, but the studies have been small and with conflicting results. We therefore attempted to replicate an association between cognitive dysfunction with the most commonly studied single nucleotide polymorphisms rs6265 and rs1006737. Methods: Regression models with five aggregated cognitive domains derived from a comprehensive test battery and IQ score were run using directly genotyped risk variants of SNPs rs6265 and rs1006737 as predictors with covariates as appropriate. Models were performed in a clinical sample of Swedish patients with BD (N = 114) and sex- and age-matched population controls (N = 104). Results: No significant associations (regardless of correction for multiple testing) between the BDNF and CACNA1C risk variants and cognitive functioning were found in either patients or controls. Conclusions: Our results do not support that the common genetic risk variants in rs6265 and rs1006737 are associated with cognitive dysfunction.
Risky behavior, pregnancy expectations, and childbearing from adolescence into young adulthood

Expecting to become pregnant or to get someone pregnant in the near future separates adolescents in terms of both their current circumstances and future experiences. Drawing on life course, social control, and reasoned action perspectives, this study examined the predictors and outcomes of adolescents’ pregnancy expectations in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, emphasizing non-linearity in the meaning and implications of such expectations during a critical period when youths’ future plans begin to change from hypothetical ideas to actual realities. The results suggested that the number and type of risky behaviors during adolescence were associated with an increased level of pregnancy expectations that, in turn, predicted later childbearing. Importantly, risky behaviors also moderated the link between pregnancy expectations in adolescence and fertility in young adulthood, with childbearing more likely to follow split expectations when youth also engaged in risky behavior. These patterns did not vary substantially by gender.
An evaluation of the use of competencies in human resource development – a historical and contemporary recontextualisation

Purpose – Competencies have come to play a central role in a wide range of settings in UK public and private sector contexts. This phenomenon is usually analysed but rarely recontextualised. The purpose of this paper is to identify the epistemological and ontological paradigms on which these approaches are couched in a British historical socio‐cultural context.Design/methodology/approach – To put into light what this alternative perspective on competencies could add to reflection and practice, this paper realizes an in‐depth two‐year ethnographic study (employing participant‐observer methods) of a consultancy delivered training programme for customer service competency based vocational qualification in a water utilities company based in the north of England.Findings – Based on a wide literature review on competencies, the first main result of this paper is to show that many of competencies approaches are underpinned by an empirical, pragmatic and ultimately modernistic, positivistic predilection. In an at.
Antenatal anxiety, parenting and behavioural/emotional problems in children.

O'Connor et al ([2002][1]) report the effects of antenatal anxiety on behavioural/emotional problems in 4-year-old children. Their analysis of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a longitudinal, prospective study of women, their partners and an index child ([Golding et al
Interference and normalization in genre-controlled multilingual corpora

Capturing the distinction between translated vs. original (i.e. non-translated) language varieties holds centre stage in corpus-based translation studies and related fields such as supervised machine learning. A similar question also holds for native vs. proficient non-native speakers' production. In both cases, the linguistic features that seem to be good indicators of the different language varieties appear to be genre-dependent. In the articles included in this volume, genre-controlled multilingual corpora are used to identify and measure two competing properties of both translational and non-native language varieties: (i) source (or native) language interference and (ii) normalization, which can be described as a tendency to fit into target-language standards. The topics addressed include linguistic features to uncover and quantify interference and normalization within a specific genre and across genres, the complementarity of comparable vs. parallel corpus data and experimental vs. corpus data to investigate interference and normalization, and the extraction of highly similar and homogeneous comparable and parallel corpora from multilingual resources such as Europarl. A wide range of genres are examined, e.g. research articles abstracts, parliamentary debates, administrative texts, fiction.
EFFECTS OF HIGH FLUORIDE AND LOW IODINE ON BIOCHEMICAL INDEXES OF THE BRAIN AND LEARNING-MEMORY OF OFFSPRING RATS

Thirty-two Wistar rats were divided randomly into four groups of eight rats (female:male = 3:1). With one untreated group as controls, the other three groups were administered, respectively, high fluoride in their drinking water (100 mg NaF/L), low iodine (0.0855 mg/kg chow), or both high fluoride (100 mg NaF/L) and low iodine (0.0855 mg/kg) in order to assess the effects of the above three factors on the learning and memory ability of their offspring rats. After the animal model was established, the rats were allowed to breed, and 36 offspring rats in each group (female:male = 1:1) were randomly selected for the experiments. The treatment of these rats was the same as their parents. In comparison with control rats, the learning and memory ability of the offspring rats was depressed by high fluoride, low iodine, or the combination of high fluoride and low iodine. Brain protein was decreased by low iodine and even more by the combined interaction of high fluoride and low iodine. The activity of cholinesterase (ChE) in the brain was affected to some extent by high fluoride and low iodine but was especially affected by high fluoride and low iodine together.
Moderating Effect of Personal Innovativeness in the Model for E-store Loyalty

Customer loyalty is an eventful precondition of enterprise development. Many researches indicated that the customer satisfaction and switching costs are important predictors of the customer loyalty. However, few studies focus on the moderating variables between these relationships. This study focuses on the moderating effect of personal innovativeness to the relationship between customer satisfaction, switching costs and E-store loyalty. The results show that the customer satisfaction and switching costs have positive significant impact on E-store loyalty, and personal innovativeness has moderating effect on the relationship between switching costs and E-store loyalty.
Entrepreneurship in Transition Economies: The Role of Corruption and Individual Attributes

Corruption has been shown to discourage entrepreneurship in transition economies and previous research corroborates that individual dispositions affect entrepreneurial intentions. It is less clear, however, to what extent individual attributes impact entrepreneurial behaviours in different institutional contexts. Here, we assess the cross-level moderation effect of corruption at the national level and attributes of entrepreneurs at the individual level, on the likelihood of individuals entering into entrepreneurship. Hence, we contribute to the emerging literature examining contextual influences on entrepreneurialism by focusing on transition economies. Our results indicate that self-efficacy, fear of failure and opportunity recognition may be more important determinants of entrepreneurial intentions in less corrupt contexts, whereas ties with other entrepreneurs become more relevant in contexts where corruption is endemic.
Sourcing decision with correlated supplier disruption: An MV framework

This paper investigates the sourcing strategy of a buyer who faces demand uncertainty, as well as supply disruption. Under disruption, a bankruptcy at one supplier may cause collapse of other suppliers. Hence, it is important to highlight the modeling of codependence between two or more risky suppliers. If location of the suppliers is in the same geographic proximity, then one natural disaster can affect all the suppliers in that region. Therefore, it is important to consider the impact of supplier disruption correlation for deciding the sourcing strategy. In this context, we use Markowitz's mean-variance (MV) framework to develop an MV formulation. We illustrate the case of perfectly positive and negative correlated suppliers, their order quantity and MV objective through numerical study. The result shows that the buyer should allocate the order to negatively correlated supplier to maximize the MV objective.
Cascade Chaotic System With Applications

Chaotic maps are widely used in different applications. Motivated by the cascade structure in electronic circuits, this paper introduces a general chaotic framework called the cascade chaotic system (CCS). Using two 1-D chaotic maps as seed maps, CCS is able to generate a huge number of new chaotic maps. Examples and evaluations show the CCS's robustness. Compared with corresponding seed maps, newly generated chaotic maps are more unpredictable and have better chaotic performance, more parameters, and complex chaotic properties. To investigate applications of CCS, we introduce a pseudo-random number generator (PRNG) and a data encryption system using a chaotic map generated by CCS. Simulation and analysis demonstrate that the proposed PRNG has high quality of randomness and that the data encryption system is able to protect different types of data with a high-security level.
Comparative Evaluation of Three-Phase AC–AC Matrix Converter and Voltage DC-Link Back-to-Back Converter Systems

This paper introduces the methodology and the results of a comprehensive comparison of a direct matrix converter (MC), an indirect MC, and a voltage dc-link back-to-back converter for a 15-kW permanent magnet synchronous motor drive. The comparison involves the investigation of the passive components, including the EMI input filter, the required silicon chip area for a defined maximum admissible thermal loading of the power semiconductors, the total losses and/or achievable efficiency, a prediction of the resulting volume and weight of the passive components, and, finally, a tradeoff study between the efficiency, volume, and weight of the converters. Different performance indicators that ultimately allow a systematic determination of the application area of each converter topology are provided with this comparative evaluation.