Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Present‐day principal horizontal stress orientations in the Kumano forearc basin of the southwest Japan subduction zone determined from IODP NanTroSEIZE drilling Site C0009

A 1.6 km riser borehole was drilled at site C0009 of the NanTroSEIZE, in the center of the Kumano forearc basin, as a landward extension of previous drilling in the southwest Japan Nankai subduction zone. We determined principal horizontal stress orientations from analyses of borehole breakouts and drilling‐induced tensile fractures by using wireline logging formation microresistivity images and caliper data. The maximum horizontal stress orientation at C0009 is approximately parallel to the convergence vector between the Philippine Sea plate and Japan, showing a slight difference with the stress orientation which is perpendicular to the plate boundary at previous NanTroSEIZE sites C0001, C0004 and C0006 but orthogonal to the stress orientation at site C0002, which is also in the Kumano forearc basin. These data show that horizontal stress orientations are not uniform in the forearc basin within the surveyed depth range and suggest that oblique plate motion is being partitioned into strike‐slip and thrusting. In addition, the stress orientations at site C0009 rotate clockwise from basin sediments into the underlying accretionary prism.
Ber analysis of the box relaxation for BPSK signal recovery

We study the problem of recovering an n-dimensional BPSK signal from m linear noise-corrupted measurements using the box relaxation method which relaxes the discrete set {±1}n to the convex set [-1,1]n to obtain a convex optimization algorithm followed by hard thresholding. When the noise and measurement matrix have iid standard normal entries, we obtain an exact expression for the bit-wise probability of error Pe in the limit of n and m growing and m/n fixed. At high SNR our result shows that the Pe of box relaxation is within 3dB of the matched filter bound (MFB) for square systems, and that it approaches the (MFB) as m grows large compared to n. Our results also indicate that as m, n → ∞, for any fixed set of size k, the error events of the corresponding k bits in the box relaxation method are independent.
Issues, Challenges and Prospects of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Port-Harcourt City,

The paper discussed Issues, Challenges and Prospects of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Port-HarcourtCity, Nigeria.This was informedbythe high rate of unemployment in the society and the poor performance of SMEs in employment generation. While the research questions addressed theextent to which poorfinancing, inadequate social infrastructures, lack of managerial skills and multiple taxation constitute major challenges in the performance of SMEsbetween October 2012 and November 2013, it assumes that government intervention throughthe provision of financial assistance, social infrastructures and favorable taxation policies will reverse the trend.The paper adopted descriptive research design using 120 randomly selectedregistered operators of SMEs in Port-Harcourt City.Data collected were analyzed using descriptivestatistics while formulated hypotheses were tested using z-test. Results from the data analysis indicated thatpoor financing, inadequate social infrastructures, lack of managerial skills and multiple taxation were major challenges confronting SMEs in Port-Harcourt City,thus recommended: provision of soft loans to SMEs operators,government guaranteeing of long-term loans to SMEs operators, establishment of SMEsfunding agency,public/private sector partnership in infrastructural provision,capacity building for SMEs operators and provision of tax incentives for SMEs operators. Keywords : Small and Medium Scale Enterprises,SME operators,Port-Harcourt City, Nigeria.
AVIAN VISION AND THE EVOLUTION OF EGG COLOR MIMICRY IN THE COMMON CUCKOO

Coevolutionary arms races are a potent force in evolution, and brood parasite–host dynamics provide classical examples. Different host‐races of the common cuckoo, Cuculus canorus, lay eggs in the nests of other species, leaving all parental care to hosts. Cuckoo eggs often (but not always) appear to match remarkably the color and pattern of host eggs, thus reducing detection by hosts. However, most studies of egg mimicry focus on human assessments or reflectance spectra, which fail to account for avian vision. Here, we use discrimination and tetrachromatic color space modeling of bird vision to quantify egg background and spot color mimicry in the common cuckoo and 11 of its principal hosts, and we relate this to egg rejection by different hosts. Egg background color and luminance are strongly mimicked by most cuckoo host‐races, and mimicry is better when hosts show strong rejection. We introduce a novel measure of color mimicry—“color overlap”—and show that cuckoo and host background colors increasingly overlap in avian color space as hosts exhibit stronger rejection. Finally, cuckoos with better background color mimicry also have better pattern mimicry. Our findings reveal new information about egg mimicry that would be impossible to derive by the human eye.
DIAGNOSIS OF IRON DEFICIENCY OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE : VALIDITY OF IRON PARAMETERS, RETICULOCYTE HEMOGLOBIN CONTENT(CHR) AND HYPOCHROMIC RED CELLS IN INFLAMMATORY STATE -

Introduction: Diagnosis of iron deficiency is difficult in presence of uraemia. The validity of these tests in the presence of inflammation has not been studied, and it formed the basis of this enquiry. Methods: On hundred and twenty two consecutive chronic kidney disease (CKD III, IV, V-non dialysis) patients were enrolled. Complete hemogram, iron studies, Reticulocyte hemoglobin content (CHr) and percent hypochromic red cells (%Hypo), high sensitive CRP (hs-CRP) levels were done. In the study group of 122 patients screened, 103 patients were found to be iron deficient by Kidney Dialysis Outcome Quality Initiative (KDOQI) criteria. In the iron deficient patients, intra venous iron (i.v iron sucrose 1000mg) was administered in divided doses followed by erythropoetin and the tests were repeated after 4 weeks of completing i.v iron therapy. If the rise in Hb> 1gm%, at the end of 4 weeks, the patient were grouped into responders (iron deficient subjects). The rest were grouped as non responders(Iron replete). The value of the tests, individually or in combination, was determined in the subgroups and categorized based on hs-CRP levels (
An Extended Analytic Expression for the Membrane Potential Distribution of Conductance-Based Synaptic Noise

Synaptically generated subthreshold membrane potential (Vm) fluctuations can be characterized within the framework of stochastic calculus. It is possible to obtain analytic expressions for the steady-state Vm distribution, even in the case of conductance-based synaptic currents. However, as we show here, the analytic expressions obtained may substantially deviate from numerical solutions if the stochastic membrane equations are solved exclusively based on expectation values of differentials of the stochastic variables, hence neglecting the spectral properties of the underlying stochastic processes. We suggest a simple solution that corrects these deviations, leading to extended analytic expressions of the Vm distribution valid for a parameter regime that covers several orders of magnitude around physiologically realistic values. These extended expressions should enable finer characterization of the stochasticity of synaptic currents by analyzing experimentally recorded Vm distributions and may be applicable to other classes of stochastic processes as well.
Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization Entrepreneurship and Occupational Choice: Genetic and Environmental Influences

We applied quantitative genetics techniques to a sample of 347 pairs of monozygotic and 303 pairs of dizygotic twins taken from the MIDUS database to examine the influence of genetic factors on the variation across people in the tendency to be self-employed and to choose other occupations. We found that a heritability hypothesis is supported for the tendency to be self-employed, both currently and ten years prior, with no influence of the shared environment. We also found that this heritability is substantive for male as well as female twins. Moreover, we found support for a heritability hypothesis for the intention to be self-employed in the future and for a bivariate heritability model between entrepreneurial intentions and the tendency to be self-employed. Finally, we found support for a heritability hypothesis for other occupational choices, specifically the choice to be a teacher, manager or salesperson.
An energy-efficient client pre-caching scheme with wireless multicast for video-on-demand services

In this paper, we address the problem of providing video-on-demand (VoD) services to numerous clients energy-efficiently. To reduce energy consumption, multiple requests for the same video are batched and served by one single multicast stream. However, this brings additional delay to most clients. Utilizing client pre-caching is an efficient way to eliminate the delay: while the server is batching multiple requests, the clients can play the locally cached prefix of the requested video. The multicast session containing the later part of a video can be delayed till the prefix is played out. Our evaluation demonstrates that with a carefully designed pre-caching scheme, even a small cache (with the size of a video) can reduce 50% energy consumption. Moreover, we determine the optimal client cache allocation scheme to maximize the utilization of client cache and further minimize the energy consumption.
Combining Geometrical and Mechanical Displacements for Suppressing Intersections in Cartographic Generalization

This paper describes a method for suppressing spatial conflicts in cartographic generalization of isobathymetric lines. These lines are modeled by parametric curves. For that purpose, we review our preliminary works on the detection of intersections and examine the current methods used for line displacement. We focus on geometrical methods and on a cable network based method and propose a new strategy. Our algorithm first determines a geometrical solution and then refines it by applying a mechanical deformation.
The role of macrophages in the regulation of erythroid colony growth in vitro.

Depletion of macrophages from murine marrow by the use of a monoclonal anti-macrophage antibody resulted in a significant increase in the number of erythroid burst forming units (BFU-E). This increase could be neutralized by the addition back to culture of macrophages or macrophage conditioned medium indicating that the suppression was mediated by soluble factors. To further characterize this effect, the addition to culture, either alone or in combination, of interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1 alpha), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha), and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) on the growth of BFU-E and the colony-forming unit granulocyte-macrophage (CFU-GM) was examined in macrophage-containing and macrophage-depleted cultures. The addition of IL-1 alpha to culture stimulated the release of both TNF alpha and GM-CSF and acted synergistically with both cytokines, resulting in a dose-dependent suppression of BFU-E and stimulation of CFU-GM growth. The increase in CFU-GM caused by the addition of IL-1 alpha was mediated by GM-CSF but not by TNF alpha as the increase was prevented by the addition of a monoclonal anti-GM-CSF antibody but not by anti-TNF alpha. When either TNF alpha or GM-CSF was neutralized by monoclonal antibodies the addition of IL-1 alpha resulted in a significant increase in BFU-E growth. The addition of GM-CSF to culture caused a dose-dependent suppression of BFU-E that was mediated by TNF alpha, as colony number was not reduced when GM-CSF and a monoclonal anti-TNF alpha antibody were simultaneously added to culture. TNF alpha-induced suppression of BFU-E only occurred in the presence of macrophages. In macrophage-depleted cultures, a dose-dependent suppression of BFU-E could be induced if subinhibitory concentrations of IL-1 alpha or GM-CSF were simultaneously added with increasing concentrations of TNF alpha. The effects of IL-1 alpha or GM-CSF and TNF alpha were markedly synergistic so that the doses required to induce suppression when added simultaneously was only 10% of that required when either were added to culture alone. Suppression of BFU-E by GM-CSF or the combined addition of GM-CSF and TNF alpha did not require IL-1 alpha because inhibition was not neutralized by the addition of anti-IL-1 alpha antibody. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Interplay of Proliferation and Proapoptotic and Antiapoptotic Factors Is Revealed in the Early Human Inner Ear Development

Hypothesis Spatiotemporal interplay of factors controlling proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis within the developing human inner ear is essential for labyrinth morphogenesis and development of vestibular and cochlear functions. Background Studies on the early human inner ear development are scarce and insufficient. Methods The immunolocalization of Ki-67, Bcl-2, caspase-3, and IGF-1 was analyzed in 6 human inner ears, 5 to 10 gestational weeks old. Statistical data were analyzed using the Kruskal–Wallis test. Results During the analyzed period, the otocyst has transformed into cochlear duct and saccule ventrally and semicircular canals and utricle dorsally. Initial differentiation of sensorineural fields characterized organ of Corti, maculae, and cristae ampullares. Intense (50%) and evenly distributed proliferation Ki-67 in the otocyst decreased to 24% to 30% and became spatially restricted within the membranous labyrinth epithelium. Simultaneously, expression of antiapoptotic Bcl-2 protein increased in sensorineural fields of organ of Corti, macula, and crista ampullaris. Throughout the investigated period, apoptotic caspase-3 positive cells were mainly distributed at the luminal and basal surfaces of labyrinth epithelium. An inhibitor of apoptosis IGF-1 co-expressed with Bcl-2 and increased in the sensorineural fields with advancing development. Conclusion The described expression pattern indicates roles for cell proliferation in the growth of the inner ear and Bcl-2 in differentiation of sensorineural fields and protection from apoptosis. Both IGF-1–and caspase-3–mediated apoptosis seem to contribute to proper morphogenesis, differentiation, and innervations of sensorineural fields within the cochlea, semicircular canals, saccule, and utricle. Alterations in spatiotemporal interplay of investigated factors might lead to disturbances of vestibular and cochlear function.
AIRE's CARD Revealed, a New Structure for Central Tolerance Provokes Transcriptional Plasticity*

Developing T cells encounter peripheral self-antigens in the thymus in order to delete autoreactive clones. It is now known that the autoimmune regulator protein (AIRE), which is expressed in thymic medullary epithelial cells, plays a key role in regulating the thymic transcription of these peripheral tissue-specific antigens. Mutations in the AIRE gene are associated with a severe multiorgan autoimmune syndrome (APECED), and autoimmune reactivities are manifest in AIRE-deficient mice. Functional AIRE protein is expressed as distinct nuclear puncta, although no structural basis existed to explain their relevance to disease. In addressing the cell biologic basis for APECED, we made the unexpected discovery that an AIRE mutation hot spot lies in a caspase recruitment domain. Combined homology modeling and in vitro data now show how APECED mutations influence the activity of this transcriptional regulator. We also provide novel in vivo evidence for AIRE's association with a global transcription cofactor, which may underlie AIRE's focal, genome-wide, alteration of the transcriptome.
Regulation of Synapse Structure and Function by Distinct Myosin II Motors

Ongoing synaptic function and rapid, bidirectional plasticity are both controlled by regulatory mechanisms within dendritic spines. Spine actin dynamics maintain synapse structure and function, and cytoskeletal rearrangements in these structures trigger structural and functional plasticity. Therefore, proteins that interact with actin filaments are attractive candidates to regulate synaptic actin dynamics and, thus, synapse structure and function. Here, we have cloned the rat isoform of class II myosin heavy chain MyH7B in brain. Unexpectedly, this isoform resembles muscle-type myosin II rather than the ubiquitously expressed nonmuscle myosin II isoforms, suggesting that a rich functional diversity of myosin II motors may exist in neurons. Indeed, reducing the expression of MyH7B in mature neurons caused profound alterations to dendritic spine structure and excitatory synaptic strength. Structurally, dendritic spines had large, irregularly shaped heads that contained many filopodia-like protrusions. Neurons with reduced MyH7B expression also had impaired miniature EPSC amplitudes accompanied by a decrease in synaptic AMPA receptors, which was linked to alterations of the actin cytoskeleton. MyH7B-mediated control over spine morphology and synaptic strength was distinct from that of a nonmuscle myosin, myosin IIb. Interestingly, when myosin IIb expression and MyH7B expression were simultaneously knocked-down in neurons, a third, more pronounced phenotype emerged. Together, our data provide evidence that distinct myosin II isoforms work together to regulate synapse structure and function in cultured hippocampal neurons. Thus, myosin II motor activity is emerging as a broad regulatory mechanism for control over complex actin networks within dendritic spines.
Effect of photochemically produced oxidants on growth of Avena coleoptile sections.

Avena coleoptile sections incubated in solutions through which photochemically produced oxidant mixtures, ozone or peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) are passed, display subsequent repressed growth in fresh solutions to which auxin has been supplied. Treatment by oxidant recording as 1.4 ppm derived from an irradiated mixture of trans-2-butene and NO/sub 2/ results in about 50% inhibition of elongation. About 1.5 ppm PAN also inhibits growth to the same degree or more. Approximately 170 ppm ozone produced comparable magnitudes of inhibition. In all cases basal respiration was inhibited little or not at all.
A deeper search for the progenitor of the Type Ic Supernova 2002ap

Images of the site of the Type Ic Supernova 2002ap taken before explosion were analysed previously by Smartt et al. (2002). We have uncovered new unpublished, archival pre-explosion images from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) that are vastly superior in depth and image quality. In this paper we present a further search for the progenitor star of this unusual Type Ic supernova. Aligning high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of the supernova itself with the archival CFHT images allowed us to pinpoint the location of the progenitor site on the ground based observations. We find that a source visible in the B and R band pre-explosion images close to the position of the SN is (1) not coincident with the SN position within the uncertainties of our relative astrometry, and (2) is still visible �4.7 yrs post explosion in late-time observations taken with the William Herschel Telescope. We therefore conclude that it is not the progenitor of SN 2002ap. We derived absolute limiting magnitudes for the progenitor of MB > -4.2 ± 0.5 and MR > -5.1 ± 0.5. These are the deepest limits yet placed on a Type Ic supernova progenitor. We rule out all massive stars with initial masses greater than 7-8M⊙ (the lower mass limit for stars to undergo core collapse) that have not evolved to become Wolf-Rayet stars. This is consistent with the prediction that Type Ic supernovae should result from the explosions of Wolf-Rayet stars. Comparing our luminosity limits with stellar models of single stars at appropriate metallicity (Z=0.008) and with standard mass loss rates, we find no model that produces a Wolf-Rayet star of low enough mass and luminosity to be classed as a viable progenitor. Models with twice the standard mass loss rates provide possible single star progenitors but all are initially more massive than 30-40M⊙. We conclude that any single star progenitor must have experienced at least twice the standard mass loss rates, been initially more massive than 30 40M⊙ and exploded as a W-R star of final mass 10-12M⊙. Alternatively a progenitor star of lower initial mass may have evolved in an interacting binary system. Mazzali et al. (2002) propose such a binary scenario for the progenitor of SN 2002ap in which a star of initial mass 15-20M⊙ is stripped by its binary companion, becoming a 5M⊙ Wolf-Rayet star prior to explosion. We constrain any possible binary companion to a main sequence star of 6 20M⊙, a neutron star or a black hole. By combining the pre-explosion limits with the ejecta mass estimates and constraints from X-ray and radio observations we conclude that any binary interaction most likely occurred as Case B mass transfer, either with or without a subsequent common envelope evolution phase.
Novel germline CDH1 mutations in hereditary diffuse gastric cancer families

Hereditary diffuse gastric cancer (HDGC) is a recently defined cancer syndrome caused by inactivating, heterozygous germline mutations in the gene for the cell‐to‐cell adhesion protein E‐cadherin (CDH1). Here, we describe the search for CDH1 mutations in 10 newly identified gastric cancer families. Seven of 10 families met the clinical criteria for HDGC. Germline mutations were identified in four of these seven families and one family that was borderline for the clinical criteria. Of the mutations identified in the five new families, four were previously unreported and consisted of two frameshift and two donor splice site mutations. One splice site mutation occurred at the 100% conserved +1 position. The second splice site mutation occurred at the +5 position and was shown to lead to abnormal splicing. Additional CDH1 variants detected include the heterozygous –160 C→A promoter polymorphism, which has previously been reported to be associated with decreased CDH1 transcription. We, however, found this polymorphism to be common in a control population, suggesting that a major role for this polymorphism in gastric cancer susceptibility is unlikely. Hum Mutat 19:518–525, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Lymphotoxin β Receptor Regulates the Development of CCL21-Expressing Subset of Postnatal Medullary Thymic Epithelial Cells

Medullary thymic epithelial cells (mTECs) play a pivotal role in the establishment of self-tolerance in T cells by ectopically expressing various tissue-restricted self-Ags and by chemoattracting developing thymocytes. The nuclear protein Aire expressed by mTECs contributes to the promiscuous expression of self-Ags, whereas CCR7-ligand (CCR7L) chemokines expressed by mTECs are responsible for the attraction of positively selected thymocytes. It is known that lymphotoxin signals from the positively selected thymocytes preferentially promote the expression of CCR7L rather than Aire in postnatal mTECs. However, it is unknown how lymphotoxin signals differentially regulate the expression of CCR7L and Aire in mTECs and whether CCR7L-expressing mTECs and Aire-expressing mTECs are distinct populations. In this study, we show that the majority of postnatal mTECs that express CCL21, a CCR7L chemokine, represent an mTEC subpopulation distinct from the Aire-expressing mTEC subpopulation. Interestingly, the development of CCL21-expressing mTECs, but not Aire-expressing mTECs, is impaired in mice deficient in the lymphotoxin β receptor. These results indicate that postnatal mTECs consist of heterogeneous subsets that differ in the expression of CCL21 and Aire, and that lymphotoxin β receptor regulates the development of the CCL21-expressing subset rather than the Aire-expressing subset of postnatal mTECs.