Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison study of thickness swell performance of commercial oriented strandboard flooring products

The multiple layer structure of oriented strandboard (OSB) has a significant influence on its performance, including thickness swell (TS). TS is recognized as an important performance property for OSB products. Optimization ofTS through layer property manipulation to achieve the lowest total TS while maintaining acceptable mechanical properties is attainable if the influence of OSB panel parameters on layer TS is known. In this study, the effect of wood species, resin type, and vertical density profile (VDP) on the total and layer TS were examined. Results from a small sample of commercial OSB panels indicated that aspen OSB exhibited the lowest total TS among the three commonly used materials for OSB panels (southern yellow pine, aspen, and yellow-poplar) in North America. Comparison of the product's VDP indicated the panel characterized with a flat density in the face and core regions and an abrupt drop in density from face to core forming a u-shaped profile may provide good dimensional stability (layer TS) due to the structural uniformity in each region. The high-density surface layers placed a significant effect on the panel's total TS. Seventy-three, 70,65, and 55 percent of the total TS occurred in the top and bottom face regions, which accounted for less than 50 percent of the panel thickness, at 2-, 8-, 24-, and 96-hour water exposure times. With the increase of water exposure time, face dominating TS decreased. Statistically significant linear relationships were found between the edge TS and TS at 1 inch inside from the edge, which is the standard TS for panel products in ASTM D 1037 at each water exposure time. The difference between the two TSs decreased with the time ofwater exposure. The trends demonstrated by this research, while not inclusive of all commercial OSB, may be useful for assessing manufacturing process changes to improve TS performance.
Cost-Related Nonadherence in the Medicare Program: The Impact of Part D

BackgroundCost-related nonadherence (CRN) among Medicare beneficiaries declined after the implementation of the Part D program, but it is unknown whether CRN changes varied on the basis of beneficiaries' change in drug coverage. ObjectiveTo determine how CRN changed with the introduction of Part D, and whether CRN changes from 2005 to 2006 varied between newly insured beneficiaries, continuously insured beneficiaries, and continuously uninsured beneficiaries. MethodsCRN, drug coverage, and beneficiary characteristics in 2005 and 2006 were constructed from merged Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey Access to Care files (sample, n=8935). Change in CRN was modeled using multinomial logistic regression to identify predictors of resolved CRN (reported in 2005 but not in 2006), unresolved CRN (reported in 2005 and 2006), and new CRN (reported in 2006 but not in 2005), relative to no CRN (not reported in 2005 or 2006). ResultsRates of CRN declined from 2005 to 2006 for all beneficiaries, with the greatest reductions (from 22.1% in 2005 to 14.3% in 2006) for newly insured beneficiaries who gained drug coverage through Part D. In adjusted analyses, newly insured beneficiaries were more likely to have resolved CRN (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] =1.7; 95% confidence interval, 1.3-2.2). Younger beneficiaries (under the age of 65 years) and beneficiaries with multiple chronic conditions, poor health, and depression were significantly more likely to report CRN. ConclusionsPart D coverage reduced but did not eliminate CRN for newly insured beneficiaries. Unresolved CRN persisted for newly insured and continuously uninsured beneficiaries, particularly among disabled beneficiaries.
Complete Compensation in Skilled Reaching Success with Associated Impairments in Limb Synergies, after Dorsal Column Lesion in the Rat

Each of the dorsal columns of the rat spinal cord conveys primary sensory information, by way of the medullary dorsal column nucleus, to the ventrobasal thalamus on the contralateral side; thus the dorsal columns are an important source of neural input to the sensorimotor cortex. Damage to the dorsal columns causes impairments in synergistic proximal or whole-body movements in cats and distal limb impairments in primates, particularly in multiarticulated finger movements and tactile foviation while handling objects, but the behavioral effects of afferent fiber lesions in the dorsal columns of rodents have not been described. Female Long–Evans rats were trained to reach with a forelimb for food pellets and subsequently received lesions of the dorsomedial spinal cord at the C2 level, ipsilateral to their preferred limb. Reaching success completely recovered within a few days of dorsal column lesion. Nevertheless, a detailed analysis of high-speed video recordings revealed that rotatory limb movements (aiming, pronation, supination, etc.) were irreversibly impaired. Compensation was achieved with whole-body and alternate limb movements. These results indicate the following: (1) in the absence of the dorsal columns, other sensorimotor pathways support endpoint success in reaching; (2) sensory input conveyed by the dorsal columns is important for both proximal and distal limb movements used for skilled reaching; and (3) detailed behavioral analyses in addition to endpoint measures are necessary to completely describe the effects of dorsal column lesions.
Sphingolipid Metabolism Correlates with Cerebrospinal Fluid Beta Amyloid Levels in Alzheimer’s Disease

Sphingolipids are important in many brain functions but their role in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is not completely defined. A major limit is availability of fresh brain tissue with defined AD pathology. The discovery that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) contains abundant nanoparticles that include synaptic vesicles and large dense core vesicles offer an accessible sample to study these organelles, while the supernatant fluid allows study of brain interstitial metabolism. Our objective was to characterize sphingolipids in nanoparticles representative of membrane vesicle metabolism, and in supernatant fluid representative of interstitial metabolism from study participants with varying levels of cognitive dysfunction. We recently described the recruitment, diagnosis, and CSF collection from cognitively normal or impaired study participants. Using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, we report that cognitively normal participants had measureable levels of sphingomyelin, ceramide, and dihydroceramide species, but that their distribution differed between nanoparticles and supernatant fluid, and further differed in those with cognitive impairment. In CSF from AD compared with cognitively normal participants: a) total sphingomyelin levels were lower in nanoparticles and supernatant fluid; b) levels of ceramide species were lower in nanoparticles and higher in supernatant fluid; c) three sphingomyelin species were reduced in the nanoparticle fraction. Moreover, three sphingomyelin species in the nanoparticle fraction were lower in mild cognitive impairment compared with cognitively normal participants. The activity of acid, but not neutral sphingomyelinase was significantly reduced in the CSF from AD participants. The reduction in acid sphingomylinase in CSF from AD participants was independent of depression and psychotropic medications. Acid sphingomyelinase activity positively correlated with amyloid β42 concentration in CSF from cognitively normal but not impaired participants. In dementia, altered sphingolipid metabolism, decreased acid sphingomyelinase activity and its lost association with CSF amyloid β42 concentration, underscores the potential of sphingolipids as disease biomarkers, and acid sphingomyelinase as a target for AD diagnosis and/or treatment.
Melting of Peridotite to 140 Gigapascals

Under Pressure In order to understand the behavior of materials in the solid deep Earth, it is important to be able to estimate how a material melts at high pressure. To this end, Fiquet et al. (p. 1516) performed experiments using a laser-heated diamond anvil cell coupled to in situ synchrotron measurements of peridotite rock—a mixture of minerals thought to represent Earth's upper mantle—across a wide pressure range. The results suggest that liquid phases may exist at very high pressure values, such that seismically anomalous zones near the boundary between the core and the mantle may result from isolated pockets of melt. Along similar lines, the base of primitive Earth's mantle may have acquired its trace element signature from partial melting of certain mineral phases higher up in the mantle. High-temperature and -pressure experiments reveal details about how and where the mantle melts. Interrogating physical processes that occur within the lowermost mantle is a key to understanding Earth’s evolution and present-day inner composition. Among such processes, partial melting has been proposed to explain mantle regions with ultralow seismic velocities near the core-mantle boundary, but experimental validation at the appropriate temperature and pressure regimes remains challenging. Using laser-heated diamond anvil cells, we constructed the solidus curve of a natural fertile peridotite between 36 and 140 gigapascals. Melting at core-mantle boundary pressures occurs at 4180 ± 150 kelvin, which is a value that matches estimated mantle geotherms. Molten regions may therefore exist at the base of the present-day mantle. Melting phase relations and element partitioning data also show that these liquids could host many incompatible elements at the base of the mantle.
Nonlinear Soil Response a Reality?

Geotechnical models consistently indicate that the stress-strain relationship of soils is nonlinear and hysteretic, especially at shear strains larger than-10-5 to 10 . 4. Nonlinear effects, such as an increase in damping and reduction in shear-wave velocity as excitation strength increases, are commonly recognized in the dynamic loading of soils. On the other hand, these effects are usually ignored in seis-mological models of ground-motion prediction because of the lack of compelling corroborative evidence from strong-motion observations. The situation is being changed by recently obtained data. Explicit evidence of strong-motion deamplifica-tion, accompanied by changes in resonant frequencies, are found in the data from the 1985 Michoacan, Mexico, and the 1989 Loma Prieta, California, earthquakes, the events recorded by the vertical and surface accelerograph arrays in Taiwan, as well as a number of other events throughout the world. Evidence of nonlinear behavior becomes apparent beyond a threshold acceleration of-100 to 200 gal. Non-linearity is considerable in cohesionless soil but may be negligible in stiff soils. The findings of recent years indicate that nonlinear site effects are more common than previously recognized in strong-motion seismology.
How to Get More Mileage from Randomness Extractors

Let C be a class of distributions over {0, 1}n. A deterministic randomness extractor for C is a function E : {0, 1}n rarr {0, 1}m such that for any X in C the distribution E(X) is statistically close to the uniform distribution. A long line of research deals with explicit constructions of such extractors for various classes C while trying to maximize m. In this paper we give a general transformation that transforms a deterministic extractor E that extracts "few" bits into an extractor E' that extracts "almost all the bits present in the source distribution". More precisely, we prove a general theorem saying that if E and C satisfy certain properties, then we can transform E into an extractor E'. Our methods build on (and generalize) a technique of Gabizon, Raz and Shaltiel (FOCS 2004) that present such a transformation for the very restricted class C of "oblivious bit-fixing sources". Loosely speaking the high level idea is to find properties of E and C which allow "recycling" the output of E so that it can be "reused" to operate on the source distribution. An obvious obstacle is that the output of E is correlated with the source distribution. Using our transformation we give an explicit construction of a two-source extractor E : {0, 1}n times {0, 1}n rarr {0, 1}m such that for every two independent distributions X1 and X2 over {0, 1}n with min-entropy at least k = (1/2 + delta)n, E(X1, X2) is epsi-close to the uniform distribution on m = 2k - Cdeltalog(1/epsi) bits. This result is optimal except for the precise constant Cdelta and improves previous results by Chor and Goldreich (SICOMP 1988), Vazirani (Combinatorica 1987) and Dodis et al. (RANDOM 2004). We also give explicit constructions of extractors for samplable distributions that extract many bits even out of "low-entropy" samplable distributions. This improves some previous results by Trevisan and Vadhan (FOCS 2000)
Intracellular cAMP: the "switch" that triggers on "spontaneous transient outward currents" generation in freshly isolated myocytes from thoracic aorta.

Spontaneous transient outward currents (STOCs) have been reported in resistance and small arteries but have not yet been found in thoracic aorta. Do thoracic aorta myocytes possess cellular machinery that generates STOCs? It was found that the majority of aortic myocytes do not generate STOCs. STOCs were generated in 8.7% of freshly isolated aortic myocytes. Myocytes that did not generate STOCs we have called "silent" myocytes and myocytes with STOCs have been called "active. " STOCs recorded in active myocytes were voltage dependent and were inhibited by ryanodine, caffeine, and charybdotoxin. Forskolin was reported to increase STOCs frequency in myocytes isolated from resistance arteries. Forskolin (10 microM) triggered STOCs generation in 35.1% of silent aortic myocytes. In 36.8% percent of silent myocytes, forskolin did not trigger STOCs but increased the amplitude of charybdotoxin-sensitive outward net current to 136.1 +/- 8.5% at 0 mV. Membrane-permeable 8BrcAMP triggered STOCs generation in 38.7% of silent myocytes. Forskolin- or 8BrcAMP-triggered STOCs were inhibited by charybdotoxin. 8BrcAMP also increased open probability of BK(Ca) channels in BAPTA-AM-pretreated cells. Our data demonstrate that, in contrast to resistance arteries, STOCs are present just in the minority of myocytes in the thoracic aorta. However, cellular machinery that generates STOCs can be "switched" on by cAMP. Such an inactive cellular mechanism could modulate the contractility of the thoracic aorta in response to physiological demand.
A medium access control protocol for voice and data integration in receiver-oriented DS-CDMA PCNs

Primarily used in military communications in the past, code division multiple access (CDMA) has become attractive for personal communications. As a large number of mobile hosts are supported and a wide range of services are provided, one important issues in a CDMA personal communication network is the control of the uplink access to the wireless spectrum. In this paper, we address it in a realistic situation where the receiver-oriented transmission protocol is employed and multiple access interference (MAI) cannot be ignored. A medium access control protocol for voice and data integration is proposed. It solves the problems of code assignment and MAI control at the same time. A Markov chain model is used to analyze the protocol. Based on the modeling, the effectiveness of the protocol's MAI control is demonstrated and some system design issues are investigated.
Delayed Afterdepolarizations and Triggered Activit in Ventricular Muscle from Rats with Streptozotocin‐Induced Diabetes

Previous studies have shown that myocardium of the diabetic rat has impaired myoplasmic calcium metabolism. Delayed afterdepolarizations and triggered activity are potentiated by conditions believed to increase intracellular calcium concentration therefore, we performed this study to investigate the possibility that myocardium of the diabetic rat is more susceptible than normal tissue to develop afterdepolarizations and triggered activity. We used standard microelectrode techniques to record the electrical activity of papillary muscles from hearts of control rats and rats made diabetic with streptozotocin. We compared the response of control and diabetic preparations to conditions presumed to create progressively more severe degrees of myoplasmic calcium loading viz. perfusion with solutions containing ouabain (5 |Mx 10−5 M) and increasing concentrations of calcium (2.4, 4.8, 7.2, and 9.6 mM). Our results showed the following. (1) Ventricular muscle from diabetic rats was more prone than normal myocardium to develop delayed afterdepolarizations and triggered activity under conditions believed to cause myoplasmic calcium overload. (2) The external calcium concentration correlated with the incidence but not the magnitude or coupling interval of the delayed afterdepolarizations in fibers of diabetic rats. (3) The action potentials in fibers of diabetic rats decreased markedly in duration after exposure to ouabain, whereas normal action potentials were not affected significantly; as external calcium was increased with ouabain still present, the action potential duration in diabetic fibers decreased slightly more, whereas the action potential duration in normal fibers did not change significantly. These results suggest that normal rat myocardium is resistant to developing myoplasmic calcium overload, whereas myocardium from the diabetic rat is susceptible to calcium loading, at least as measured by development of after depolarizations.
PDK1 signaling toward PLK1-MYC activation confers oncogenic transformation, tumor-initiating cell activation, and resistance to mTOR-targeted therapy.

UNLABELLED Although 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1 (PDK1) has been predominately linked to the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)-AKT pathway, it may also evoke additional signaling outputs to promote tumorigenesis. Here, we report that PDK1 directly induces phosphorylation of Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1), which in turn induces MYC phosphorylation and protein accumulation. We show that PDK1-PLK1-MYC signaling is critical for cancer cell growth and survival, and small-molecule inhibition of PDK1/PLK1 provides an effective approach for therapeutic targeting of MYC dependency. Intriguingly, PDK1-PLK1-MYC signaling induces an embryonic stem cell-like gene signature associated with aggressive tumor behaviors and is a robust signaling axis driving cancer stem cell (CSC) self-renewal. Finally, we show that a PLK1 inhibitor synergizes with an mTOR inhibitor to induce synergistic antitumor effects in colorectal cancer by antagonizing compensatory MYC induction. These findings identify a novel pathway in human cancer and CSC activation and provide a therapeutic strategy for targeting MYC-associated tumorigenesis and therapeutic resistance. SIGNIFICANCE This work identifies PDK1–PLK1-MYC signaling as a new oncogenic pathway driving oncogenic transformation and CSC self-renewal. Targeted inhibition of PDK1/PLK1 is robust in targeting MYC dependency in cancer cells. Thus, our findings provide important insights into cancer and CSC biology and have significant therapeutic implications.
Not All Fairness Is Created Equal: Fairness Perceptions of Group vs. Individual Decision Makers

Drawing on fairness heuristic theory and literature on negative group schemas, we develop and empirically test the idea that, given the exact same decision outcome, people perceive groups to be less fair than individuals when they receive a decision outcome that is unfavorable, but not when they receive one that is favorable or neutral Studies 1 and 2. To account for this difference in fairness perceptions following an unfavorable outcome, we show that the mere presence of a group as a decision-making body serves as a cue that increases the accessibility of negative group-related associations in a perceiver's mind Study 3. Moreover, in a sample of recently laid-off workers-representing a broad range of organizations and demographic characteristics-we demonstrate that those who received a layoff decision made by a group of decision makers versus an individual are marginally more likely to perceive the decision as unfair and are marginally less likely to endorse the organization Study 4. Taken together, the results of all four studies suggest that, in response to the same unfavorable decision outcome, a group of decision makers is often perceived to be less fair than an individual.
Large Deviations for random power moment problem

We consider the set Mn of all n-truncated power moment sequences of probability measures on [0,1]. We endow this set with the uniform probability. Picking randomly a point in Mn, we show that the upper canonical measure associated with this point satisfies a large deviation principle. Moderate deviation are also studied completing earlier results on asymptotic normality given by Chang, Kemperman and Studden [Ann. Probab. 21 (1993) 1295–1309]. Surprisingly, our large deviations results allow us to compute explicitly the (n+1)th moment range size of the set of all probability measures having the same n first moments. The main tool to obtain these results is the representation of Mn on canonical moments [see the book of Dette and Studden].
Secret message capacity of erasure broadcast channels with feedback

We characterize the secret message capacity of a wiretapped erasure channel where causal channel state information of the honest nodes is publicly available. In doing so, we establish an intimate connection between message secrecy and secret key generation for the same channel setup. We propose a linear coding scheme that has polynomial encoding/decoding complexity, and prove a converse that shows the optimality of our scheme. Our work also demonstrates the value of causal public feedback, which has previously been shown for the secret key generation problem.
Magnetization Transfer Imaging Shows Tissue Abnormalities in the Reversible Penumbra

Background and Purpose— In the concept of ischemic penumbra, the volume of salvaged penumbra is considered as the volume of FLAIR normalization on follow-up MRI compared with early diffusion and perfusion abnormalities. Using magnetization transfer imaging, very sensitive to macromolecular disruption, we investigated whether FLAIR normalization was a good marker for tissue full recovery. Methods— We prospectively included 30 patients with acute middle cerebral artery stroke. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and perfusion-weighted imaging were performed within 12 hours after onset (MRI.1), and the final infarct was documented by MRI with FLAIR and magnetization transfer at 1-month follow-up (MRI.2). We compared magnetic transfer ratio of a normal region with values measured at 1 month (MRI.2) in 4 regions of interest: (1) the initial DWI hypersignal (CORE=DWI_MRI.1); (2) the infarct growth area (infarct growth=FLAIR_MRI.2−DWI_MRI.1); (3) the hypoperfused area that normalized (reversible perfusion abnormalities=perfusion-weighted imaging_MRI.1−FLAIR_ MRI.2); and (4) the early DWI abnormalities that normalized (reversible diffusion abnormalities=DWI_MRI.1− FLAIR_MRI.2). Results— In comparison with values obtained in normal tissue (magnetic transfer ratio=49.8%, SD=1.9), magnetic transfer ratio at 1 month was significantly decreased in reversible perfusion abnormalities (45.2%, SD=2.5; P<0.0001) and reversible diffusion abnormalities (43.2%, SD=2.8; P=0.0156). It was also markedly reduced, as expected, in the CORE (40.9%, SD=5.2) and infarct growth regions (43.1%, SD=2.0). Conclusions— Magnetic transfer ratio assessed presence of microstructural damages in the MRI-defined salvaged penumbra. This may imply cellular loss and partial infarction. Evaluation of the efficacy of therapies that promote reperfusion or neuroprotection may benefit from this additional information.