Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Precursors of impregnation

The progression of a liquid inside a porous medium often involves two macroscopic fronts: a main one, at the bottom, which saturates the medium; and a much thinner one, ahead, which propagates using the fine structures of the porous material. We discuss here different characteristics of this precursor. We show in particular how it can move faster than the main front, although it follows confined paths. We also describe its dynamics, and compare our results with different experimental situations.
A Bridge from Optical to Infrared Galaxies: Explaining Local Properties and Predicting Galaxy Counts and the Cosmic Background Radiation

We give an explanation for the origin of various properties observed in local infrared galaxies and make predictions for galaxy counts and cosmic background radiation (CBR) using a new model extended from that for optical/near-infrared galaxies. Important new characteristics of this study are that (1) mass scale dependence of dust extinction is introduced based on the size-luminosity relation of optical galaxies and that (2) the large-grain dust temperature Tdust is calculated based on a physical consideration for energy balance rather than by using the empirical relation between Tdust and total infrared luminosity LIR found in local galaxies, which has been employed in most previous works. Consequently, the local properties of infrared galaxies, i.e., optical/infrared luminosity ratios, LIR-Tdust correlation, and infrared luminosity function are outputs predicted by the model, while these have been inputs in a number of previous models. Our model indeed reproduces these local properties reasonably well. Then we make predictions for faint infrared counts (in 15, 60, 90, 170, 450, and 850 μm) and CBR using this model. We found results considerably different from those of most previous works based on the empirical LIR-Tdust relation; especially, it is shown that the dust temperature of starbursting primordial elliptical galaxies is expected to be very high (40-80 K), as often seen in starburst galaxies or ultraluminous infrared galaxies in the local and high-z universe. This indicates that intense starbursts of forming elliptical galaxies should have occurred at z ~ 2-3, in contrast to the previous results that significant starbursts beyond z ~ 1 tend to overproduce the far-infrared (FIR) CBR detected by COBE/FIRAS. On the other hand, our model predicts that the mid-infrared (MIR) flux from warm/nonequilibrium dust is relatively weak in such galaxies making FIR CBR, and this effect reconciles the prima facie conflict between the upper limit on MIR CBR from TeV gamma-ray observations and the COBE detections of FIR CBR. The intergalactic optical depth of TeV gamma rays based on our model is also presented.
Placental Microparticles and MicroRNAs in Pregnant Women with Plasmodium falciparum or HIV Infection

Background During pregnancy, syncytiotrophoblast vesicles contribute to maternal tolerance towards the fetus, but also to pathologies such as pre-eclampsia. The aim of the study was to address whether Plasmodium falciparum and HIV infections in pregnancy affect the secretion, microRNA content and function of trophoblast microparticles. Methods Microparticles were isolated and characterized from 122 peripheral plasmas of Mozambican pregnant women, malaria- and/or HIV-infected and non-infected. Expression of placenta-related microRNAs in microparticles was analysed by qPCR and the effect of circulating microparticles on dendritic cells assessed by phenotype analysis and cytokine/chemokine measurement. Results Concentrations of total and trophoblast microparticles detected by flow cytometry were higher in HIV-positive (P = 0.005 and P = 0.030, respectively) compared to non-infected mothers, as well as in women delivering low birthweight newborns (P = 0.032 and P = 0.021, respectively). miR-517c was overexpressed in mothers with placental malaria (P = 0.034), compared to non-infected. Microparticles from HIV-positive induced a higher expression of MHCII (P = 0.021) and lower production of MCP1 (P = 0.008) than microparticles from non-infected women. Conclusions In summary, alterations in total and trophoblast microparticles associated with malaria and HIV in pregnant women may have an immunopathogenic role. The potential for placental-derived vesicles and microRNAs as biomarkers of adverse outcomes during pregnancy and malaria infection should be confirmed in future studies.
The Impacts of Zakat and Knowledge on Poverty Alleviation in Sudan: An Empirical Investigation (1990-2009)

Poverty, ignorance, and sickness constitute the main threats to development in the Less Developed Countries (LDCs). In spite of the efforts exerted to reduce poverty and inequality, poverty is still widespread in Sudan. This study aimed at examining from an empirical point of view, the roles of zakat and knowledge in reducing poverty in Sudan during the period (1990-2009), using data collected from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) and Abdelmawla (2010). Two policy variables are incorporated in the empirical model namely, the percentage spent on poor out of total zakat funds and educational attainment (proxy for knowledge). By applying the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) technique, the results obtained signify that zakat and educational attainment impact significantly at the 1% level on reducing poverty in Sudan. The study recommends increasing educational attainment rates and improving the quality of education, which requires among other things, increasing expenditure on education at all levels, beside the care for adult literacy classes. In addition to that, raising the percentage spent on the poor out of total zakat funds is highly recommended to reduce inequality in the distribution of income. Income support should particularly be used for the part of the population with special needs.
Pulsatile venous waveform quality affects the conduit performance in functional and “failing” Fontan circulations

Abstract Objective To investigate the effect of pulsatility of venous flow waveform in the inferior and superior caval vessels on the performance of functional and “failing” Fontan patients based on two primary performance measures – the conduit power loss and the distribution of inferior caval flow (hepatic factors) to the lungs. Methods Doppler angiography flows were acquired from two typical extra-cardiac conduit “failing” Fontan patients, aged 13 and 25 years, with ventricle dysfunction. Using computational fluid dynamics, haemodynamic efficiencies of “failing”, functional, and in vitro-generated mechanically assisted venous flow waveforms were evaluated inside an idealised total cavopulmonary connection with a caval offset. To investigate the effect of venous pulsatility alone, cardiac output was normalised to 3 litres per minute in all cases. To quantify the pulsatile behaviour of venous flows, two new performance indices were suggested. Results Variations in the pulsatile content of venous waveforms altered the conduit efficiency notably. High-frequency and low-amplitude oscillations lowered the pulsatile component of the power losses in “failing” Fontan flow waveforms. Owing to the offset geometry, hepatic flow distribution depended strongly on the ratio of time-dependent caval flows and the pulsatility content rather than mixing at the junction. “Failing” Fontan flow waveforms exhibited less balanced hepatic flow distribution to lungs. Conclusions The haemodynamic efficiency of single-ventricle circulation depends strongly on the pulsatility of venous flow waveforms. The proposed performance indices can be calculated easily in the clinical setting in efforts to better quantify the energy efficiency of Fontan venous waveforms in pulsatile settings.
Design Trade Studies , and Risk and Uncertainty in Collaborative Design and Model Based Engineering : Methods , Tools , Research , and Practice

Complex systems engineering projects are increasingly prevalent in our world. Technical requirements for complex systems usually break out individual subsystems parameters. For instance, each subsystem on a spacecraft can be assigned target mass, volume, power consumption, and other technical requirements. These tangible variables are often traded between subsystems engineers to maximize subsystem design utility. This in turn helps to maximize overall system utility. Design margins are also often assigned to these design variables during early stages of the design process. Risk, reliability, robustness, and uncertainty have until this point not been part of subsystems parameter trading and design margins. This research aims to formalize a method of trading and margining these design variables among subsystems with the end effect of maximizing system utility and system integrity. Further, this research will investigate how different stakeholders in the complex system design process value and perceive risk, reliability, robustness, and uncertainty. This research will also be extended to examine the role culture plays in the valuation of these variables.
Coherent, Noncoherent, and Differentially Coherent Combining Techniques for Acquisition of New Composite GNSS Signals

The growing demand of location, navigation and positioning services is boosting the development of new signals and modulations that will be adopted by new global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), such as the European Galileo, the Chinese Compass and the modernized GPS. A common feature of these new modulations is the presence of two channels, the data and pilot components, that separately carry the navigation message and the ranging information. Three different techniques, noncoherent combining, coherent combining with sign recovery and differentially coherent combining, are analyzed for the joint acquisition of data and pilot signals. For each acquisition strategy the probabilities of detection and false alarm are provided. In particular closed-form expressions for the probabilities of coherent channel combining and of the differentially coherent integration strategy are derived. To the best of our knowledge these expressions are new. Monte Carlo simulations are used to support theoretical analysis demonstrating the accuracy of the proposed models.
Pyruvate Administration Reduces Recurrent/Moderate Hypoglycemia-Induced Cortical Neuron Death in Diabetic Rats

Recurrent/moderate (R/M) hypoglycemia is common in type 1 diabetes patients. Moderate hypoglycemia is not life-threatening, but if experienced recurrently it may present several clinical complications. Activated PARP-1 consumes cytosolic NAD, and because NAD is required for glycolysis, hypoglycemia-induced PARP-1 activation may render cells unable to use glucose even when glucose availability is restored. Pyruvate, however, can be metabolized in the absence of cytosolic NAD. We therefore hypothesized that pyruvate may be able to improve the outcome in diabetic rats subjected to insulin-induced R/M hypoglycemia by terminating hypoglycemia with glucose plus pyruvate, as compared with delivering just glucose alone. In an effort to mimic juvenile type 1 diabetes the experiments were conducted in one-month-old young rats that were rendered diabetic by streptozotocin (STZ, 50mg/kg, i.p.) injection. One week after STZ injection, rats were subjected to moderate hypoglycemia by insulin injection (10U/kg, i.p.) without anesthesia for five consecutive days. Pyruvate (500mg/kg) was given by intraperitoneal injection after each R/M hypoglycemia. Three hours after last R/M hypoglycemia, zinc accumulation was evaluated. Three days after R/M hypoglycemia, neuronal death, oxidative stress, microglial activation and GSH concentrations in the cerebral cortex were analyzed. Sparse neuronal death was observed in the cortex. Zinc accumulation, oxidative injury, microglial activation and GSH loss in the cortex after R/M hypoglycemia were all reduced by pyruvate injection. These findings suggest that when delivered alongside glucose, pyruvate may significantly improve the outcome after R/M hypoglycemia by circumventing a sustained impairment in neuronal glucose utilization resulting from PARP-1 activation.
Is the Stock Market Really Too Volatile ? Some New Evidence *

We propose a new methodology to test whether the present value model (PVM) should be augmented by time-varying expected inflation, as Fama (1991) suggests, in order to adequately account for stock price variations. Besides several other advantages, our approach is able to distinguish between excess price volatility and dividend smoothing whereas traditional variance-bound tests cannot. We decompose the levels (not variances) of stock prices into their fundamental and non-fundamental elements in the context of a multivariate PVM cointegrating framework and utilize the Gonzalo and Granger (1995) procedure to formally test the statistical significance of the non-fundamental component. Our results from monthly data for the post-WWII period fail to support the augmented PVM as the non-fundamental component shows no tendency towards zero, a finding that persists under alternative model specifications and data frequencies. Of course, the apparent failure of the traditional, efficiency-oriented, PVM model to adequately account for observed market volatility provides another piece of evidence supportive of the new paradigm of behavioral finance, and accords well with Shiller’s (1981) belief in some type of market irrationality. Is the Stock Market Really Too Volatile? Some New Evidence
Federal Reserve Bank of New York Staff Reports Heterogeneous Infl Ation Expectations, Learning, and Market Outcomes

This paper presents preliminary fi ndings and is being distributed to economists and other interested readers solely to stimulate discussion and elicit comments. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and are not necessarily refl ective of views at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York or the Federal Reserve System. Any errors or omissions are the responsibility of the authors. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily refl ect the position of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York or the Federal Reserve System. Abstract Using the panel component of the Michigan Survey of Consumers, we show that individuals, in particular women and ethnic minorities, are highly heterogeneous in their expectations of infl ation. We estimate a model of infl ation expectations based on learning from experience that also allows for heterogeneity in both private information and updating. Our model vastly outperforms existing models of infl ation expectations in explaining the heterogeneity in the data. We fi nd that women, ethnic minorities, and less educated agents have a higher degree of heterogeneity in their private information, and are also slower to update their expectations. In addition, we show that personal income forecasts are positively related to subjective infl ation expectations. During the 2000s, consumers believe infl ation to be more persistent in the short term, but temporary fl uctuations in infl ation have less effect on income and long-term infl ation expectations. Finally, we fi nd evidence that sticky expectations and the heterogeneity of new information received by consumers generate higher markups and infl ation.
Phage therapy: The peculiar kinetics of self‐replicating pharmaceuticals

The specter of antibiotic‐resistant bacteria has provoked renewed interest in the possible use of bacteriophages to control bacterial infections. We argue that clinical application of phage therapy has been held back by a failure to appreciate the extent to which the pharmacokinetics of self‐replicating agents differ from those of normal drugs. For self‐replicating pharmaceutical agents, treatment outcome depends critically on various density‐dependent thresholds, often with apparently paradoxical consequences. An ability to predict these thresholds and associated critical time points is a necessity if phage therapy is to become clinically practicable.
Farnesyl pyrophosphate regulates adipocyte functions as an endogenous PPARγ agonist

The cholesterol biosynthetic pathway produces not only sterols but also non-sterol mevalonate metabolites involved in isoprenoid synthesis. Mevalonate metabolites affect transcriptional and post-transcriptional events that in turn affect various biological processes including energy metabolism. In the present study, we examine whether mevalonate metabolites activate PPARγ (peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor γ), a ligand-dependent transcription factor playing a central role in adipocyte differentiation. In the luciferase reporter assay using both GAL4 chimaera and full-length PPARγ systems, a mevalonate metabolite, FPP (farnesyl pyrophosphate), which is the precursor of almost all isoprenoids and is positioned at branch points leading to the synthesis of other longer-chain isoprenoids, activated PPARγ in a dose-dependent manner. FPP induced the in vitro binding of a co-activator, SRC-1 (steroid receptor co-activator-1), to GST (glutathione transferase)–PPARγ. Direct binding of FPP to PPARγ was also indicated by docking simulation studies. Moreover, the addition of FPP up-regulated the mRNA expression levels of PPARγ target genes during adipocyte differentiation induction. In the presence of lovastatin, an HMG-CoA (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA) reductase inhibitor, both intracellular FPP levels and PPARγ-target gene expressions were decreased. In contrast, the increase in intracellular FPP level after the addition of zaragozic acid, a squalene synthase inhibitor, induced PPARγ-target gene expression. The addition of FPP and zaragozic acid promotes lipid accumulation during adipocyte differentiation. These findings indicated that FPP might function as an endogenous PPARγ agonist and regulate gene expression in adipocytes.
Benefits of Spatial Regulation in a Multispecies System

Spatial heterogeneity in multispecies systems affects both ecological interactions and the composition of harvest. A bioeconomic model is used to analyze the nonselective harvest of two stocks with generalized ecological interaction and different persistent distributions across two spatial strata. Harvester response to aggregate effort controls is shown to partially dissipate rents relative to the case where the spatial distribution of effort can be specified. Numerical solutions for time paths of spatial (first-best) and aggregate (secondbest) input constraints indicate factors affecting their relative efficiency. In the scenarios studied, benefits of spatial specificity range from 0 to 15% of total net present value (NPV), depending upon the spatial correlation of stocks, their relative growth rates and prices, and the cost gradient across space. The benefits of spatial regulation are also heightened by the presence of ecological interaction, especially predator-prey dynamics.
Mechanism research on air mass flow rate distribution in rotor radial ducts of turbo generator with sub-slot ventilation

In order to reduce the axial temperature difference and the peak temperature in the rotor of the large turbo generator with air-coolant, it is expected that ventilation is uniform in rotor radial ducts along the sub-slot as far as possible. Three dimensional discrete equations of air turbulent flow in cooling duct were carried out by the Finite Volume Method according to computational fluid dynamics principle (CFD) , on the basis of a half axial rotor straight segment of a large turbo generator. Considering the same rotor geometry configuration, the change characteristic of parameters, such as the pressure inside the duct, was analyzed on condition that the axis was rotating or not, and the geometry configuration is variable. The effect of inlet angle with air entering from sub-slot to radial ducts, the number of radial ducts distributed along the rotor straight segment, and another geometry configuration on air mass flow rate distribution along radial ducts was analyzed. The results illustrate that the inlet angle and the quantity of the duct exist optimization value as for the uniform distribution of air mass flow rate. The conclusion is helpful for rotor duct design of larger turbo generator.
The Effective Pore Diameter of a Three-Dimensional Numerical Model for Estimating Heat and Fluid Flow Characteristics in Metal Foams

A three-dimensional numerical model is proposed to determine heat and fluid flow characteristics in metal foams. A series of full three-dimensional numerical calculations was performed to reveal complex three-dimensional ve- locity, pressure and temperature fields within three-dimensional porous structures of the metal foams. These numerical re- sults are processed to obtain the macroscopic characteristics such as the permeability, inertia, dispersion and interstitial heat transfer coefficients. An effective pore diameter concept has been proposed to correlate the resulting heat and fluid flow characteristics with available empirical correlations. In this study, we shall conduct a numerical study on heat and fluid flow in metal foam using a three-dimensional nu- merical model of periodical structure. In order to capture irregularities in real foams, quantities calculated at specific flow angles are ensemble-averaged over the flow angle. A rational way to evaluate the effective pore diameter, which is used as the characteristic length of present three-dimensional numerical model, is proposed. Permeability, Forchheimer coefficient, thermal dispersion and volumetric heat transfer coefficient are determined by spatially averaging micro- scopic numerical results. The validity of the present numeri- cal model and the effective pore diameter are examined by comparing the numerical results with available empirical correlations. Furthermore, an interesting relationship be- tween the thermal dispersion conductivity and the volumet- ric heat transfer coefficient is elucidated.
A three degree of freedom micro-motion in-parallel actuated manipulator

The development is described of a three-degree-of-freedom (DOF) micro-motion in-parallel actuated manipulator, which has one translation and two orientation degrees of freedom. The micro-motion manipulation is achieved by piezoelectric effects, due to their fast response and high resolution. In particular, a closed-form solution and an experimental verification of the forward kinematics are given. In addition, the dynamic model of the piezoelectrically-actuated link was determined experimentally, providing rational basis for the design and prismatic-joint force control of the high-speed micro-motion manipulator. A special configuration which approaches an optimal design in terms of working range, rigidity, and bandwidth is highlighted. <<ETX>>