Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modular design of high speed permanent-magnet axial-flux generators

A modular design methodology for high-speed permanent magnet (PM) axial flux generators is proposed. Based on first principles and therefore applicable to a wide range of generators, this analytical design method is illustrated with a case study on a 50 kVA, 420 V, 3-phase, 50000 RPM PM generator. Results on the efficiency with a number of critical design parameters, including magnet size, number of modular stator stages and poles, are presented.
HEK‐293 cells expressing the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR): a model for studying regulation of Cl− transport

The Human Embryonic Kidney 293 cell line (HEK‐293) readily lends itself to genetic manipulation and is a common tool for biologists to overexpress proteins of interest and study their function and molecular regulation. Although these cells have some limitations, such as an inability to form resistive monolayers necessary for studying transepithelial ion transport, they are nevertheless valuable in studying individual epithelial ion transporters. We report the use of HEK‐293 cells to study the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) Cl− channel. While HEK‐293 cells endogenously express mRNA for the Cl− channels, ClC‐2 and TMEM16A, they neither express CFTR mRNA nor protein. Therefore, we stably transfected HEK‐293 cells with EGFP‐CFTR (HEK‐CFTR) and demonstrated CFTR function by measuring forskolin‐stimulated iodide efflux. This efflux was inhibited by CFTRinh172, and the protein kinase A inhibitor H89, but not by Ca2+ chelation. In contrast to intestinal epithelia, forskolin stimulation does not increase surface CFTR expression and does not require intact microtubules in HEK‐CFTR. To investigate the role of an endogenous GαS‐coupled receptor, we examined the bile acid receptor, TGR5. Although HEK‐CFTR cells express TGR5, the potent TGR5 agonist lithocholic acid (LCA; 5–500 μmol/L) did not activate CFTR. Furthermore, forskolin, but not LCA, increased [cAMP]i in HEK‐CFTR suggesting that endogenous TGR5 may not be functionally linked to GαS. However, LCA did increase [Ca2+]i and interestingly, abolished forskolin‐stimulated iodide efflux. Thus, we propose that the stable HEK‐CFTR cell line is a useful model to study the multiple signaling pathways that regulate CFTR.
Contraceptive use among Jamaican teenage mothers.

OBJECTIVE To compare the prevalence of contraceptive use among teenage mothers who were participating, and teenage mothers who were not participating, in a program in Jamaica that had been established to deal with the country's serious problem of repeat pregnancies among adolescents. METHODS A historical cohort design was used to assess the impact that the Women's Centre of Jamaica Foundation (WCJF) Programme for Adolescent Mothers had on contraceptive use among the target population of adolescents 16 years and under who had experienced a first live birth in 1994. RESULTS Contraceptive use at first intercourse was found to be higher among WCJF program participants (44%) than among nonparticipants (37%), but this difference was not significant (P = 0.35). Contraceptive use after first live birth was also higher among WCJF program participants (94%) than among nonparticipants (86%), and this difference was significant (P = 0.04). Contraceptive prevalence at last intercourse (in 1998) did not differ between participants and nonparticipants (both 69%). CONCLUSIONS Contraceptive use among this population in Jamaica was highest when the respondents' perception of vulnerability to pregnancy was most acute, that is, after the first live birth. All adolescents, both males and females, need to be educated about the importance of sustained and effective use of contraception in order to reduce the risk of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
Molecular epidemiology and genetic diversity of Listeria monocytogenes isolates from a wide variety of ready-to-eat foods and their relationship to clinical strains from listeriosis outbreaks in Chile

Listeria monocytogenes is a pathogen transmitted through food that can cause severe infections in high-risk groups such as pregnant women, elderly, young children and immunocompromised individuals. It is a ubiquitous bacterium that can survive in harsh conditions, such as dry environments, at low temperatures, in brine conditions and at low pH values. It also has the capacity to form biofilms, which makes it particularly successful even in colonizing surfaces within food processing plants. This study analyzed the presence of L. monocytogenes in ready-to-eat food (RTE) such as sausage, cheese, fresh salads, and other types of raw food. 850 samples of refrigerated and packaged food collected in 2008 and 2009 were analyzed. It was found that 25% of these samples were contaminated with L. monocytogenes strains. Serotyping and virulence genes detection by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) identified that strains belonging to serotype 4b, and containing one or more genes encoded by pathogenicity island (LIPI-1), were significantly associated with specific food types. Furthermore, using pulse field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), it was possible to associate isolates from cheese with strains from clinical cases of listeriosis outbreaks that occurred during the same time period within the same geographic regions. In addition, a strong correlation was observed between isolates from frozen seafood and from clinical strains obtained from sporadic cases of listeriosis. In agreement with reports described in other countries, our results shown that Chilean strains of L. monocytogenes from food products include the most virulent serotypes, encoding for the main virulence genes of the LIPI-1, and were clonally related to clinical isolates from sporadic cases and outbreaks of listeriosis. In conclusion, we show that Chilean isolates of L. monocytogenes from RTE and raw food products can cause disease in humans, representing a public health risk that justifies permanent surveillance.
Effects of Job Type and Culture on Relationships Between Job Characteristics and Worker Outcomes: A Multilevel Analysis

EFFECTS OF JOB TYPE AND CULTURE ON RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN JOB CHARACTERISTICS AND WORKER OUTCOMES: A MULTILEVEL ANALYSIS by Justina Mary Oliveira Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Charles Scherbaum There has been a great deal of research regarding how job characteristics affect workers’ perceptions, yet there are very few studies examining how job type (white-, pink-, or bluecollar) and culture impact these relationships. Through the use of data from over 11,000 employees in 24 countries, this project remedies the lack of multilevel study designs to determine how job type and culture each play independent roles in relationships between job characteristics (autonomy, task significance, and skill variety) and the worker outcomes of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover intentions, and perceptions of the job as stressful and exhausting, as well as how they interact. Job type moderated these relationships, such that whiteand pink-collar jobs had stronger relationships between skill variety and satisfaction as well as between task significance and perceptions of the job as stressful than did blue-collar jobs. Opposite to predictions, blue-collar jobs had stronger relationships between autonomy and organizational commitment, skill variety and turnover intentions, as well as between task significance and organizational commitment. Additionally, culture moderated job characteristic-worker outcome relationships, such that for institutional collectivism, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance (both practices and values aspects of the dimensions), many of these relationships were weaker for cultures higher compared to those lower on these dimensions as expected. However, findings regarding culture as a moderator were complicated
92 5 v 1 3 1 O ct 2 00 6 Discovery of microquasar LS I + 61 303 at VHE gamma-rays with MAGIC

Here we report the discovery of very high energy (> 100GeV) γ-ray emission from the radio emitting X-ray binary LS I +61 303 with the Major Atmospheric Gamma Imaging Cherenkov (MAGIC) telescope. This high energy emission has been found to be variable, detected 4 days after the periastron passage and lasting for several days. The data have been taken along different orbital cycles, and the fact that the detections occur at similar orbital phases, suggests that the emission is periodic. Two different scenarios have been involved to explain this high energy emission: the microquasar scenario where the γ-rays are produced in a radioemitting jet; or the pulsar binary scenario, where they are produced in the shock which is generated by the interaction of a pulsar wind and the wind of the massive companion.
A Fine-grained Analysis of a Simple Independent Set Algorithm

We present a simple exact algorithm for the INDEPENDENT SET problem with a run- time bounded by O(1.2132 n poly(n)). This bound is obtained by, firstly, applying a new branching rule and, secondly, by a distinct, computer-aided case analysis. The new branching rule uses the concept of satellites and has previously only been used in an algorithm for sparse graphs. The computer-aided case analysis allows us to capture the behavior of our algorithm in more detail than in a traditional analysis. The main purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how a very simple algo- rithm can outperform more complicated ones if the right analysis of its running time is performed.
A Multi-Site Study on Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs and Practice of Child-Dog Interactions in Rural China

This study examines demographic, cognitive and behavioral factors that predict pediatric dog-bite injury risk in rural China. A total of 1,537 children (grades 4–6) in rural regions of Anhui, Hebei and Zhejiang Provinces, China completed self-report questionnaires assessing beliefs about and behaviors with dogs. The results showed that almost 30% of children reported a history of dog bites. Children answered 56% of dog-safety knowledge items correctly. Regressions revealed both demographic and cognitive/behavioral factors predicted children’s risky interactions with dogs and dog-bite history. Boys behaved more riskily with dogs and were more frequently bitten. Older children reported greater risks with dogs and more bites. With demographics controlled, attitudes/beliefs of invulnerability, exposure frequency, and dog ownership predicted children’s self-reported risky practice with dogs. Attitudes/beliefs of invulnerability, dog exposure, and dog ownership predicted dog bites. In conclusion, both demographic and cognitive/behavioral factors influenced rural Chinese children’s dog-bite injury risk. Theory-based, empirically-supported intervention programs might reduce dog-bite injuries in rural China.
Understanding the value of arts & culture: the AHRC cultural value project (2016) by Geoffrey Crossick and Patrycja Kaszynska

The ambitious Cultural Value Project undertaken by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) since 2012 has the stated goal of developing a deeper understanding of why arts and culture matter and what difference cultural engagement makes to individuals, communities, and society. The authors of the summary project report, “Understanding the Value of Arts & Culture” argue that a very shallow research base for the field has been shaped by the dominant imperative of preserving public funding. Narrowly focused advocacy efforts have resulted in overstated claims for the arts, less-thanrobust evidence for the field, and limited methodological approaches in research studies that miss capturing essential yet elusive aspects of cultural experience. The vision behind this project is therefore a sweeping one—no less than re-conceptualizing the field of arts and culture, thereby providing the impetus for more broadly gauged research and a far more robust base of evidence about the meaning and impact of the arts. Starting with a firm understanding of the underlying value of the arts and culture would seem to be a logical foundation for the development of the field and its related cultural policy initiatives. But, especially since the 1980s, instrumentalist arguments, largely driven by the demand for funding accountability and an emphasis on demonstrating the material benefits of the arts, have been mobilized to demonstrate the impact of cultural investment. There have been several attempts to broaden that focus (e.g. identifying the important intrinsic benefits of the arts, and expanding the field of arts inquiry to encompass a broader range of activities than just the publicly subsidized arts). Nevertheless, an analytic framework and set of measurement tools driven by an economic perspective remain strongly entrenched in the field of arts and culture. The authors of this report aim to go beyond the conceptual dichotomies of instrumental/intrinsic benefits, public/ private funding mechanisms, and high/low art forms, with the goal of re-centering arts inquiry around the meanings and experiences that shape the cultural activities of individuals. The report makes a concerted effort to right the balance toward more humanistic and less economistic perspectives and approaches, thereby contributing to a broader framework that will enhance and sharpen our understanding of the arts. It covers new
Fast and High Quality Fusion of Depth Maps

Reconstructing the 3D surface from a set of provided range images ‐ acquired by active or passive sensors ‐ is an important step to generate faithful virtual models of real objects or environments. Since several approaches for high quality fusion of range images are already known, the runtime efficiency of the respective methods are of increased interest. In this paper we propose a highly efficient method for range image fusion resulting in very accurate 3D models. We employ a variational formulation for the surface reconstruction task. The global optimal solution can be found by gradient descent due to the convexity of the underlying energy functional. Further, the gradient descent procedure can be parallelized, and consequently accelerated by graphics processing units. The quality and runtime performance of the proposed method is demonstrated on wellknown multi-view stereo benchmark datasets.
An Analytical Business Process Modelling Language: An Illustrative Example

Fierce competition exists between companies due to globalization where even small companies have a reach to wider international markets using the internet (e-business). Evaluation of business processes is very important for analysis and improvement for an organization. Different methods are used to evaluate the performances of business processes. However, there is insufficient support to evaluate the processes with detailed graphical representations. In this paper, we focus on the relation of evaluation of business processes with its representation. We follow the design science methodology in order to provide business process models for performance analysis of processes. We also provide the constructs and patterns of business process modelling for analysis and improvement of business processes. The analytical business process modelling language is highlighted with the help of a case study.
Hippocalcin Is Required for Astrocytic Differentiation through Activation of Stat3 in Hippocampal Neural Precursor Cells

Hippocalcin (Hpca) is a neuronal calcium sensor protein expressed in the mammalian brain. However, its function in neural stem/precursor cells has not yet been studied. Here, we clarify the function of Hpca in astrocytic differentiation in hippocampal neural precursor cells (HNPCs). When we overexpressed Hpca in HNPCs in the presence or absence of bFGF, expression levels of nerve-growth factors such as neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), neurotrophin-4/5 (NT-4/5), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), together with the proneural basic helix loop helix (bHLH) transcription factors NeuroD and neurogenin 1 (Ngn1), increased significantly. In addition, there was an increase in the number of cells expressing glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), an astrocyte marker, and in branch outgrowth, indicating astrocytic differentiation of the HNPCs. Downregulation of Hpca by transfection with Hpca siRNA reduced expression of NT-3, NT-4/5, BDNF, NeuroD, and Ngn1 as well as levels of GFAP protein. Furthermore, overexpression of Hpca increased the phosphorylation of STAT3 (Ser727), and this effect was abolished by treatment with a STAT3 inhibitor (S3I-201), suggesting that STAT3 (Ser727) activation is involved in Hpca-mediated astrocytic differentiation. As expected, treatment with Stat3 siRNA or STAT3 inhibitor caused a complete inhibition of astrogliogenesis induced by Hpca overexpression. Taken together, this is the first report to show that Hpca, acting through Stat3, has an important role in the expression of neurotrophins and proneural bHLH transcription factors, and that it is an essential regulator of astrocytic differentiation and branch outgrowth in HNPCs.
MIGRATIONS AND DETERMINANTS OF REMITTANCES TO SOUTHERN MEDITERRANEAN COUNTRIES: WHEN HISTORY MATTERS !

In this paper we analyze the main determinants of migrant's remittances by measuring directly the role of non observable variables related to subjective motivations and historical context of the emigration process. Subjective variables, such as attachment feeling and intent to return to the country of origin can also play a role in explaining the final uses of remittances. We have used two surveys in order to understand the types of behaviour linked to remittances from France to Southern Mediterranean countries and to Sub-Saharan Africa. The first survey used in this paper is a new DREES survey on the track and the profile of migrants and the second one is the 2MO survey which we have conducted in French post offices. Our first result shows that, after controlling for all the variables linked to income, education, age or nationality, subjective variables such as to the home country, history and the institutional context of emigration play a determinant role in explaining remittance behaviour. Our second result shows that migrants, who are in France for a long time and who have low education levels, also send remittances in order to invest (including investments other than housing) in their home country. These findings contradict the theoretical hypothesis of an alteration of the migrant's links with the home country as the duration of the stay in the host country increases. This can be explained by the fact that the duration of stay does not make any sense unless it is contextualized in the history of emigration, the conditions of arrival in the host country and the conditions of departure from the home country. The degree of the migrant's attachment to his home country thus appears as a discriminating subjective variable according to these historical conditions. By contrast, the migrants from Sub-Saharan African countries send money for current expenditures rather than for investment. The obligation feeling seems to be the important subjective variable for remitting money.
Fracture of Two Moderately Cross-Linked Polyethylene Tibial Inserts in a TKR Patient

Highly cross-linked polyethylene has become the gold standard in total hip replacement for its wear resistance. Moderately crosslinked polyethylene is now available for total knee replacement (TKR), although concerns about reduced mechanical strength have prevented widespread adoption. The purpose of this report is to describe an unusual case where a patient underwent cruciate retaining TKR using a moderately crosslinked polyethylene tibial insert that went on to fracture twice in the same location across the primary and first revision surgery. The first tibial insert was 10 mm thick and was implanted for 16 months. The second tibial insert was 15 mm thick and was implanted for 11 months. Both fractured along the posterior aspect of the medial articular surface. The lack of a specific event leading to these fractures and the fact that they occurred twice in the same location in the same patient suggest that caution is still necessary regarding the introduction of crosslinked polyethylene for TKR surgery.
Magnet-induced disorientation in hatchling loggerhead sea turtles

SUMMARY Laboratory experiments have indicated that hatchling loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) are able to establish and maintain courses using information from the Earth's magnetic field. In previous experiments, turtles were tested in relatively uniform magnetic fields generated by large coil systems surrounding an orientation arena. In this study, we investigated the orientation behavior of hatchlings with either magnets or magnetically inert brass bars attached to their carapaces. Control turtles (with brass bars) oriented significantly towards the east whereas turtles bearing magnets were not significantly oriented as a group. The two distributions were statistically different. These results indicate that magnetic orientation behavior of hatchling sea turtles can be disrupted by attaching a small magnet to the carapace. This finding may prove useful both in field experiments and in efforts to localize magnetoreceptors.
Asteroseismic inferences on GW virginis variable stars in the frame of new PG 1159 evolutionary models

An adiabatic, nonradial pulsation study of GW Vir stars is presented. The pulsation calculations were based on PG 1159 evolutionary sequences with different stellar masses artificially derived from a full evolutionary sequence of 0.5895 Mthat has been computed by taking the evolutionary history of the progenitor star into account. The artificial sequences were constructed by appropriately scaling the stellar mass of the 0.5895-Msequence well before the models reached the low-luminosity, high-gravity stage of the GW Vir domain. We computed g-mode pulsation periods appropriate to GW Vir variable stars. The implications for the mode-trapping properties of our PG 1159 models are discussed at length. We found that the mode-trapping features characterizing our PG 1159 models are mostly fixed by the stepped shape of the core chemical profile left by prior convective overshooting. This is particularly true at least for the range of periods observed in GW Vir stars. In addition, we make asteroseismic inferences about the internal structure of the GW Vir stars PG 1159-035, PG 2131+066, PG 1707+427, and PG 0122+200.
Consensus in Networks of Integrators with Fixed Topology and Delayed Nonlinear Couplings

Abstract We study nonlinear continuous-time consensus protocols for networks of agents, described by a single-integrator model. The network topology is fixed and connected, but the communication and measurement delays may present. Using the absolute stability methods, we obtain effective condition for convergence of such consensus protocols, given the couplings to satisfy sector inequalities.
Optimized CSI Feedback for Robust THP Design

In the broadcast channel (BC), the signals of the multiple users can be separated by means of preceding. For the design of precoding, channel state information (CSI) is necessary at the transmitter side. In many cases (e.g., for frequency division duplex (FDD) systems), the transmitter cannot estimate this information and the CSI has to be communicated from the receivers to the transmitter via a feedback channel that is assumed to be error-free but introduces a delay. Every user estimates the channel and reduces it to a low-dimensional representation for data compression that is possible due to the channel correlations. Before the feedback, the CSI is quantized and only the index of the codebook entry is sent to the transmitter, since the data rate of the feedback channel is limited. We propose a joint MSE optimization of the channel estimation and the rank reduction basis, where the quantizer is modeled as a data independent additive noise source. Based on the fed back codebook index, robust multi-user precoding schemes, viz., linear precoding and Tomlinson Harashima precoding (THP), are designed that clearly outperform non-robust schemes.