Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The stochastic based model of monolithic active inductor

In this research, the model which describes the stochastic effect of the bias current to the inductance of the monolithic active inductor has been proposed. The model can accurately capture the stochastic behavior of the resulting inductance with sufficient confidence. This research has been performed based upon the up to dated CMOS technology. The proposed model is applicable to any CMOS monolithic active inductor. Hence, it has been found to be a convenience tool for the design of various active inductor based applications.
N=2 extremal black holes.

It is shown that extremal magnetic black hole solutions of N=2 supergravity coupled to vector multiplets ${\mathit{X}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}}$ with a generic holomorphic prepotential F(${\mathit{X}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}}$) can be described as supersymmetric solitons which interpolate between maximally symmetric limiting solutions at spatial infinity and the horizon. A simple exact solution is found for the special case that the ratios of the ${\mathit{X}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}}$ are real, and it is seen that the logarithm of the conformal factor of the spatial metric equals the K\"ahler potential on the vector multiplet moduli space. Several examples are discussed in detail.
Conditional Stat1 Ablation Reveals the Importance of Interferon Signaling for Immunity to Listeria monocytogenes Infection

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (Stat1) is a key player in responses to interferons (IFN). Mutations of Stat1 cause severe immune deficiencies in humans and mice. Here we investigate the importance of Stat1 signaling for the innate and secondary immune response to the intracellular bacterial pathogen Listeria monocytogenes (Lm). Cell type-restricted ablation of the Stat1 gene in naïve animals revealed unique roles in three cell types: macrophage Stat1 signaling protected against lethal Lm infection, whereas Stat1 ablation in dendritic cells (DC) did not affect survival. T lymphocyte Stat1 reduced survival. Type I IFN (IFN-I) signaling in T lymphocytes reportedly weakens innate resistance to Lm. Surprisingly, the effect of Stat1 signaling was much more pronounced, indicating a contribution of Stat1 to pathways other than the IFN-I pathway. In stark contrast, Stat1 activity in both DC and T cells contributed positively to secondary immune responses against Lm in immunized animals, while macrophage Stat1 was dispensable. Our findings provide the first genetic evidence that Stat1 signaling in different cell types produces antagonistic effects on innate protection against Lm that are obscured in mice with complete Stat1 deficiency. They further demonstrate a drastic change in the cell type-dependent Stat1 requirement for memory responses to Lm infection.
Comparative Genomics of DNA Recombination and Repair in Cyanobacteria: Biotechnological Implications

Cyanobacteria are fascinating photosynthetic prokaryotes that are regarded as the ancestors of the plant chloroplast; the purveyors of oxygen and biomass for the food chain; and promising cell factories for an environmentally friendly production of chemicals. In colonizing most waters and soils of our planet, cyanobacteria are inevitably challenged by environmental stresses that generate DNA damages. Furthermore, many strains engineered for biotechnological purposes can use DNA recombination to stop synthesizing the biotechnological product. Hence, it is important to study DNA recombination and repair in cyanobacteria for both basic and applied research. This review reports what is known in a few widely studied model cyanobacteria and what can be inferred by mining the sequenced genomes of morphologically and physiologically diverse strains. We show that cyanobacteria possess many E. coli-like DNA recombination and repair genes, and possibly other genes not yet identified. E. coli-homolog genes are unevenly distributed in cyanobacteria, in agreement with their wide genome diversity. Many genes are extremely well conserved in cyanobacteria (mutMS, radA, recA, recFO, recG, recN, ruvABC, ssb, and uvrABCD), even in small genomes, suggesting that they encode the core DNA repair process. In addition to these core genes, the marine Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus strains harbor recBCD (DNA recombination), umuCD (mutational DNA replication), as well as the key SOS genes lexA (regulation of the SOS system) and sulA (postponing of cell division until completion of DNA reparation). Hence, these strains could possess an E. coli-type SOS system. In contrast, several cyanobacteria endowed with larger genomes lack typical SOS genes. For examples, the two studied Gloeobacter strains lack alkB, lexA, and sulA; and Synechococcus PCC7942 has neither lexA nor recCD. Furthermore, the Synechocystis PCC6803 lexA product does not regulate DNA repair genes. Collectively, these findings indicate that not all cyanobacteria have an E. coli-type SOS system. Also interestingly, several cyanobacteria possess multiple copies of E. coli-like DNA repair genes, such as Acaryochloris marina MBIC11017 (2 alkB, 3 ogt, 7 recA, 3 recD, 2 ssb, 3 umuC, 4 umuD, and 8 xerC), Cyanothece ATCC51142 (2 lexA and 4 ruvC), and Nostoc PCC7120 (2 ssb and 3 xerC).
Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Growth in the GCC Countries: A Causality Investigation Using Heterogeneous Panel Analysis

This paper uses recent growth theories and econometric techniques to empirically test for the association between foreign direct investment and economic growth in the six countries comprising the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Theoretically, recent endogenous growth models identify FDI as one of the determinants of growth through its role in technological diffusion. However, the endogeneity of FDI makes it possible that economic growth affects the flow of FDI. Results obtained from a heterogeneous panel analysis indicate a bi-directional causality between FDI and GDP in the panel of the GCC. This result supports the endogenous growth hypothesis, at least for this group of countries.
Simple evolutionary pathways to complex proteins

A recent paper in this journal has challenged the idea that complex adaptive features of proteins can be explained by known molecular, genetic, and evolutionary mechanisms. It is shown here that the conclusions of this prior work are an artifact of unwarranted biological assumptions, inappropriate mathematical modeling, and faulty logic. Numerous simple pathways exist by which adaptive multi‐residue functions can evolve on time scales of a million years (or much less) in populations of only moderate size. Thus, the classical evolutionary trajectory of descent with modification is adequate to explain the diversification of protein functions.
Implementing the Riparian Nitrogen Model to assess the role of riparian buffers in the Maroochy Catchment

Riparian zones can provide a protective buffer between streams and adjacent land-based activities by removing nitrate from shallow groundwater flowing through them. Catchment-scale waterquality models are useful tools for predicting catchment behaviour under various climatic conditions and land-use scenarios. In this paper, we use the Riparian Nitrate Model (RNM) to investigate the potential role for riparian zones in the Maroochy catchment to reduce nitrate loads to streams. The RNM operates as a filter (plug-in) module within E2; the latter is a node-link catchment-scale model capable of predicting the hydrologic behaviour of catchments.
The attitudes of rural population with uncertain income on the labour market

The article discusses the attitudes of rural population with uncertain income on the labour market. It pays attention to the main source of income in the group under investigation and the influence of education on the occupational activity. The respondents were observed to exhibit mostly passive and conservative attitudes, which were manifested with their poor engagement in searching for employment and with their lack of willingness, skills and ideas for their own business. The authors also observed the growth of unfavourable attitudes among the population without permanent employment, such as the demanding attitude and withdrawal. The article presents the reasons why the people do not look for a job and their attitudes on the labour market. An important element of the article is the perception of the respondents’ existence in comparison with members of other households and the methods of coping with the unfavourable living situation.
Controlling the hydration of the skin though the application of occluding barrier creams

The skin is a barrier membrane that separates environments with profoundly different water contents. The barrier properties are assured by the outer layer of the skin, the stratum corneum (SC), which controls the transepidermal water loss. The SC acts as a responding membrane, since its hydration and permeability vary with the boundary condition, which is the activity of water at the outer surface of the skin. We show how this boundary condition can be changed by the application of a barrier cream that makes a film with a high resistance to the transport of water. We present a quantitative model that predicts hydration and water transport in SC that is covered by such a film. We also develop an experimental method for measuring the specific resistance to water transport of films made of occluding barrier creams. Finally, we combine the theoretical model with the measured properties of the barrier creams to predict how a film of cream changes the activity of water at the outer surface of the SC. Using the known variations of SC permeability and hydration with the water activity in its environment (i.e. the relative humidity), we can thus predict how a film of barrier cream changes SC hydration.
A cryptanalytic attack on the knapsack cryptosystem using binary Firefly algorithm

This paper presents a binary Firefly Algorithm (FA), for cryptanalysis of knapsack cipher algorithm so as to deduce the meaning of an encrypted message (i.e. to determine a plaintext from the cipher text). The implemented algorithm has been characterized, in this paper, by a number of properties and operations that build up and evolve the fireflies' positions. These include light intensity, distances, attractiveness, and position updating, fitness evaluation. The results of the Firefly algorithm are compared with the results shown by Genetic Algorithm (GA), to discover the plaintext from the cipher text. Experimental results show that binary firefly algorithm is capable of finding correct results more efficiently than GA.
A Primary Survey on Bryophyte Species Reveals Two Novel Classes of Nucleotide-Binding Site (NBS) Genes

Due to their potential roles in pathogen defense, genes encoding nucleotide-binding site (NBS) domain have been particularly surveyed in many angiosperm genomes. Two typical classes were found: one is the TIR-NBS-LRR (TNL) class and the other is the CC-NBS-LRR (CNL) class. It is seldom known, however, what kind of NBS-encoding genes are mainly present in other plant groups, especially the most ancient groups of land plants, that is, bryophytes. To fill this gap of knowledge, in this study, we mainly focused on two bryophyte species: the moss Physcomitrella patens and the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, to survey their NBS-encoding genes. Surprisingly, two novel classes of NBS-encoding genes were discovered. The first novel class is identified from the P. patens genome and a typical member of this class has a protein kinase (PK) domain at the N-terminus and a LRR domain at the C-terminus, forming a complete structure of PK-NBS-LRR (PNL), reminiscent of TNL and CNL classes in angiosperms. The second class is found from the liverwort genome and a typical member of this class possesses an α/β-hydrolase domain at the N-terminus and also a LRR domain at the C-terminus (Hydrolase-NBS-LRR, HNL). Analysis on intron positions and phases also confirmed the novelty of HNL and PNL classes, as reflected by their specific intron locations or phase characteristics. Phylogenetic analysis covering all four classes of NBS-encoding genes revealed a closer relationship among the HNL, PNL and TNL classes, suggesting the CNL class having a more divergent status from the others. The presence of specific introns highlights the chimerical structures of HNL, PNL and TNL genes, and implies their possible origin via exon-shuffling during the quick lineage separation processes of early land plants.
Towards a Deeper Comprehension of Relationships among Cognitive, Behavioral and Psychiatric Symptoms in Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is nowadays considered as a complex clinical condition in which motor symptoms coexist with several non-motor symptoms. A growing body of literature has addressed non-motor symptoms in PD [1], that are progressively being recognized as a potential source of distress for patients and their families, even greater than that imposed by the well-known motor impairments [2–4]. The aim of this special issue was to gather together studies providing new findings about a specific subset of non-motor symptoms in PD: cognitive, behavioural and psychological disturbances, that are likely those with the highest impact on patient’s daily life [5,6]. Within this framework we collected papers addressing neuropsychological defects (particularly frontal dysfunctions and dysexecutive syndromes) and neuropsychiatric disorders (such as hallucinations, depression and apathy, compulsive behavior), and highlighting the possible relationships of these symptoms with pharmacological treatment, and, above all, with each other. In the present issue a review by Friedman et al. [7] addressed occurrence of psychosis and hallucinations in PD. Psychotic symptoms are common in drug treated PD patients: visual hallucinations (VH) have been reported to occur in about 30%, whereas delusions, typically paranoid in nature, occur in about 5%. These
The Thai Currency Crisis: Financing Constraints, High Fixed Costs, and Corporate Governance

We examine the role of financing constraints in depressing output during the Asian financial crisis, using Thai firm-level data. From an output decline of 3.7 percent in our sample in 1998, we find that tightening financing constraints contributed to lowering output by 1.7 percent. We also find evidence of high scale economies or high fixed costs in Thai industries. With high fixed costs, small changes in unit costs or financing costs can lead to large changes in output. We interpret the high fixed costs as evidence of overinvestment prior to the crisis.
Insider Trading Following Material News Events: Evidence from Earnings

Trading by corporate insiders has been a significant public policy issue in the United States for the past several decades. Despite a series of laws and prohibitions against trading by insiders on material non-public information, the academic literature unambiguously suggests that insiders earn abnormal profits on their stock transactions. In general, the literature suggests that purchases (sales) by insiders are followed by positive (negative) abnormal stock returns. Because ordinary investors may benefit from knowledge of insider trading activity, the financial press and investment analysts frequently provide information on recent insider trades.
Local Governments Supporting Local Energy Initiatives: Lessons from the Best Practices of Saerbeck (Germany) and Lochem (The Netherlands)

The social dimension of the transition to a low carbon economy is a key challenge to cities. The establishment of local energy initiatives (LEIs) has recently been attracting attention. It is of great importance to draw lessons from best practices when LEIs have been facilitated by local governments and made a substantial contribution to greening local energy systems. The main research questions in this paper are: What lessons can be drawn from successful local low carbon energy transition cases, and which strategies proved successful to support LEIs? We have used analytical notions from the Strategic Niche Management (SNM) and grassroots innovation literature to analyze two best-practice cases: Saerbeck (Germany) and Lochem (The Netherlands). Data collection involved a set of fourteen in-depth interviews and secondary data. The results show that three key factors from SNM (building networks, managing expectations, and facilitation of learning) are of great importance. However, to a great degree it is also strategic, community serving, responsive, reflexive leadership and proper process management by public officials that spurred success, which would not have been possible without close interaction and mutual trust between local government and representatives of the local communities.
Akt-dependent Pp2a activity is required for epidermal barrier formation during late embryonic development

Acquisition of epidermal barrier function occurs late in mouse gestation. Several days before birth a wave of barrier acquisition sweeps across murine fetal skin, converging on dorsal and ventral midlines. We investigated the molecular pathways active during epidermal barrier formation. Akt signaling increased as the barrier wave crossed epidermis and Jun was transiently dephosphorylated. Inhibitor experiments on embryonic explants showed that the dephosphorylation of Jun was dependent on both Akt and protein phosphatase 2A (Pp2a). Inhibition of Pp2a and Akt signaling also caused defects in epidermal barrier formation. These data are compatible with a model for developmental barrier acquisition mediated by Pp2a regulation of Jun dephosphorylation, downstream of Akt signaling. Support for this model was provided by siRNA-mediated knockdown of Ppp2r2a (Pr55α or B55α), a regulatory subunit of Pp2a expressed in an Akt-dependent manner in epidermis during barrier formation. Ppp2r2a reduction caused significant increase in Jun phosphorylation and interfered with the acquisition of barrier function, with barrier acquisition being restored by inhibition of Jun phosphorylation. Our data provide strong evidence that Ppp2r2a is a regulatory subunit of Pp2a that targets this phosphatase to Jun, and that Pp2a action is necessary for barrier formation. We therefore describe a novel Akt-dependent Pp2a activity that acts at least partly through Jun to affect initial barrier formation during late embryonic epidermal development.
Interviewing secretaries in parallel

Motivated by the parallel nature of on-line internet help-desks and human inspections, we introduce the study of interviewing secretaries in parallel, extending upon the study of the classical secretary problem. In our setting secretaries arrive into multiple queues, and are interviewed in parallel, with the aim of recruiting several secretaries in a timely manner. We consider a variety of new problems that fit this setting, and provide both upper and lower bounds on the efficiency of the corresponding interviewing policies, contrasting them with the classical single queue setting.
Analyzing Some Iranian- High School Teachers' Beliefs on Mathematics, Mathematics Learning and Mathematics Teaching

This study focuses on some Iranian high school mathematics teachers' beliefs about the nature of mathematics, its teaching and learning within two theoretical frameworks, Absolutist Traditional Beliefs and Constructivist Non-Traditional Beliefs. Almost 100 of high school mathematics teachers in district 1 of education department of Tehran filled the questionnaires which were about their traditional and non- traditional beliefs. The results showed the teachers have stronger agreement with traditional beliefs than with non-traditional beliefs about the nature of mathematics, students' learning and mathematics curriculum. Some conflicting and mixed views were also observed in teachers which can mean the incomplete process of new reform movements among the mathematics teachers. On the other hand, relation between different variables shows that teachers' beliefs about the nature of mathematics, mathematics curriculum, students, students' learning and their own teaching, may affect one another.
Ambient temperature and congenital heart defects.

STUDY QUESTION Does maternal exposure during pregnancy to higher ambient temperature increase the risk of congenital heart defects (CHDs)? SUMMARY ANSWER Significant associations were found between maternal exposure during pregnancy to higher ambient temperature and CHDs risk especially during the cold season. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY From rodents to non-human primates, a teratogenic effect of hyperthermic insult has been demonstrated. There are fewer data regarding the effect on the human fetus and specifically the association between maternal exposures during pregnancy to higher ambient temperature and CHDs. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION This population registry-based cohort study included 135 527 live and stillbirths in the Tel-Aviv region of Israel in 2000-2006. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS Two clinical diagnostic groups of isolated cardiac defects (atrial septal defects and ventricular septal defects: n = 542 and 481, respectively) and one group of multiple cardiac defects (defined by the presence of two or more cardiac malformations, n = 607) were studied. Temperature measurements were constructed from ambient stations and used to assess the impact of maternal exposure to average ambient temperature and extreme heat events (daily average temperature above the 90th percentile) during Weeks 3-8 of pregnancy on risk of CHDs. Logistic models, adjusted for sociodemographic covariates, were used to evaluate the associations between temperature and CHDs. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE Overall, we found no significant associations between ambient temperature and CHDs throughout the year, with one exception for multiple CHDs. After stratifying by season of conception, continuous exposure to average ambient temperature and maximum peak temperature (1°C increase) during the cold season increased the risk for multiple CHDs [odds ratio (OR) 1.05, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00, 1.10 and OR 1.03, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.05, respectively]. A 1-day increase in extreme heat events increased the risk for multiple CHDs (OR 1.13, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.21) and also for isolated atrial septal defects (OR 1.10, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.19). LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION Information both on CHD cases and on ambient temperature was based on registries and it is possible that this may cause some misclassification. In urban areas, pregnant women may be exposed to higher temperatures than recorded by ambient monitors because of the 'heat island effect'. Furthermore, data for the amount of time spent indoors were unavailable and this could have resulted in exposure misclassification. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS The findings are important within the context of global climate change, which may have implications for public health in countries with mild winters and hot summers. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) This study was supported by the Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection (research grant-7-2-7) and by the Environment and Health Fund (PhD Fellowship Program). There are no competing interests.
Sparse scene structure recovery from atmospheric degradation

Scene structure can be recovered from images taken under different visibility conditions. We propose a new method using derivatives of images in order to accomplish this. Two images of the same scene are needed, each acquired from the same viewpoint under different conditions of visibility. Our approach was tested with images of both virtual and real scenes and results confirm its validity.
Steepest descent approximations in Banach space

Let E be a real Banach space and let A : E → E be a Lipschitzian generalized strongly accretive operator. Let z ∈ E and x0 be an arbitrary initial value in E for which the steepest descent approximation scheme is defined by xn+1 = xn − αn(Ayn − z), yn = xn − βn(Axn − z), n = 0, 1, 2 . , where the sequences {αn} and {βn} satisfy the following conditions: (i) 0 ≤ αn, βn ≤ 1, (ii) ∞