Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Seismic Soil-Structure Interaction in Buildings. I: Analytical Methods; Seismic Soil-Structure Interaction in Buildings. II: Empirical Findings

The two papers describe trends of the apparent system periods, , and damping factors, , in recorded response of 56 ˜˜ T z0 buildings (A1 to A45, and B1 to B14 in Table 1 of part II) to 15 California earthquakes. The building, foundation, and soil are viewed as an equivalent linear system, excited by horizontal ground motion. Only inertial interaction is considered as ‘‘the more important effect for foundations without large, rigid base slabs or deep embedment’’ (by allowing one translation and rocking of the foundation). The kinematic interaction (modification of the free-field motion by the foundation in absence of inertial forces) is neglected as ‘‘second order. ’’ Rocking and torsional excitation components of the incident motion, differential motions of extended foundations, warping of flexible foundations, and nonlinear soil response due to soilstructure interaction (SSI) are not mentioned. The papers aim to verify the ‘‘simplified analytical procedures similar to those in the BSSC and ATC codes. ’’ This discussion (1) requests some clarifications; (2) suggests that time-dependent changes in (caused by nonlinear response of soil during SSI) should ˜ T have been included in the analysis; and (3) comments on the conditions when kinematic SSI should not be neglected. In view of the bold simplifications adopted in parts I and II, one would expect at least fair to good agreement of the predicted trends with the data, as a proof (albeit qualitative and rough) that the assumptions are justified. However, as the authors admit, there is ‘‘significant scatter in the data. ’’ Table 1 in part II lists the confidence (A-acceptable; L-low) characterizing the quality of the available geotechnical data and the accuracy of identification. An L was assigned 15% of the 44 cases with base acceleration 0.25g. Does the proposed simplified analysis break down for progressively larger strains in the soil, e.g., base accelerations >0.15g?
Effect and therapeutic mechanisms of tonsillectomy for childhood IgA nephropathy

Aim: We investigated efficacy and therapeutic mechanisms of tonsillectomy for intractable childhood IgA nephropathy. Five patients refused tonsillectomy. Among 25 patients, 19 patients were able to evaluate histological findings before and after surgery. Patients with poor (n = 7) or relatively poor (n = 18) histologically determined prognosis and an age of at least 7 years, together with proteinuria of at least 0.3 g/day or severe persisting despite ongoing drug treatment, are candidates for surgery. Patients were grouped by interval between diagnosis of IgA nephropathy and tonsillectomy (within 3 years; early group vs 3 years or later; later group). Patients underwent kidney biopsy shortly before and 1 to 2 years after tonsillectomy.
Domestication as a Novel Approach for Improving the Cultivation of Calanoid Copepods: A Case Study with Parvocalanus crassirostris

Calanoid copepods are an important food source for most fish larvae. Their role as a natural prey item means that it is important to develop culture technology for copepods to meet the requirements of larvae culture in aquaculture hatcheries. Copepods have been cultured successfully for some time; however, the implications of long-term cultivation or domestication on copepod life history traits have not yet been assessed. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine if the domesticated and wild populations of Parvocalanus crassirostris are phenotypically or physiologically different. Wild-caught P. crassirostris were compared to a long-held domesticated strain (>2 years) for size of developmental stage, fecundity and lifespan of adult females, culture density, ingestion rates, faecal pellet production and fatty acid profiles. The domesticated strain was significantly different from the wild strain in size (eggs, nauplii, copepodites and adults were larger in the domesticated strain), egg production (112.3 ± 1.8 eggs female-1 vs. 64.6 ± 3.3 eggs female-1) and adult female lifespan (8.8 ± 0.1 days vs., 7.5 ± 0.1 days). At 1, 3 and 5 adults mL-1, the domesticated strain performed significantly better than the wild strain in egg production (4189.8 ± 61.2, 11224.0 ± 71.7 and 21860.6 ± 103.6 eggs vs. 1319.5 ± 54.3, 2374.5 ± 80.9 and 4933.8 ± 269.5 eggs, respectively) and mean daily mortality rate (5.6% across all densities vs. 22.9 ± 1.6, 29.8 ± 1.2 and 31.3 ± 1.3%, respectively). The domesticated strain had significantly higher ingestion rates than the wild stain (888.4 ± 9.9 ng C l-1 and 775.3 ± 11.2 ng C l-1, respectively), while faecal pellet production was not significantly different between strains. Fatty acid profiles indicated higher levels (as % of total fatty acid) of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in the domesticated strain (36.2±0.4%) than the wild strain (16.1±0.1%). Overall, this study found that the reproductive capacity and tolerance to the culture environment of the calanoid P. crassirostris have improved significantly due to domestication.
Development of a Highly Sensitive Method Using Liquid Chromatography-Multiple Reaction Monitoring to Quantify Membrane P-Glycoprotein in Biological Matrices and Relationship to Transport Function

The quantification of P-glycoprotein [P-gp, ABCB1, multidrug resistance 1 (MDR1)] protein in biological matrices is considered a key factor missing for useful translation of in vitro functional data to the in vivo situation and for comparison of transporter data among different in vitro models. In the present study a liquid chromatography (LC)-mass spectrometry method was developed to quantify P-gp membrane protein levels in different biological matrices. The amount of P-gp transporter protein was measured in Caco-2 cell monolayers and in inside-out human embryonic kidney (HEK)-MDR1 vesicles. From both in vitro systems, two preparations with different functionality were used. Transporter function was determined as digoxin efflux in Caco-2 cell monolayers and N-methylquinidine (NMQ) uptake in membrane vesicles, and, in addition, mRNA expression in the Caco-2 monolayers was measured. The results showed an excellent relationship between NMQ uptake functionality in inside-out HEK-MDR1 vesicles and protein contents. Similar concordance between the digoxin efflux and P-gp content in different Caco-2 cell cultures was observed, whereas mRNA levels are indicative of increased P-gp content and activity in older Caco-2 cultures, however, not yielding the same quantitative relationship. The results from both Caco-2 and HEK-MDR1 membrane vesicles confirm that the protein content is directly related to the level of activity in the respective system. The method presented here to quantify P-gp protein by LC-multiple reaction monitoring will facilitate the development of future methodologies to bridge between expression systems and cell/tissue models and to scale from in vitro models to whole organs.
Theta map: Edge detection in magnetic data

The 3D analytic signal amplitude of a total magnetic intensity (TMI) map, introduced by Roest et al. (1992), is widely used in magnetic interpretation as a means of positioning anomalies directly over their sources. This technique is most important at low magnetic latitudes, where reduction to the pole distorts anomalies to the point where they often become uninterpretable: the reduction operator does not converge if the magnetization and regional field are truly horizontal (Baranov, 1957). Methods have been devised to suppress the artifacts appearing in low-latitude reduction to the pole, but no method can reduce such data without distortion (e.g., Silva, 1986; Hansen and Pawlowski, 1989), which becomes severe for inclinations less than 20°. The amplitude of the analytic signal, denoted by | A |, has the added advantage of being independent of the orientation of magnetization of the source bodies. It reaches a maximum over magnetic contacts, and thus, in theory, can be used to trace the outline of magnetic bodies. In practice, especially in the case of aeromagnetic data at high instrument-source separation, | A | is high over magnetic bodies, but is not sufficient to resolve body edges. This appears to be true even with higher-order analytic signal derivatives (Debeglia and Corpel, 1997, their Figure 11).
Autumn leaves seen through herbivore eyes

Why leaves of some trees turn red in autumn has puzzled biologists for decades, as just before leaf fall the pigments causing red coloration are newly synthesized. One idea to explain this apparently untimely investment is that red colour signals the tree's quality to herbivorous insects, particularly aphids. However, it is unclear whether red leaves are indeed less attractive to aphids than green leaves. Because aphids lack a red photoreceptor, it was conjectured that red leaves could even be indiscernable from green ones for these insects. Here we show, however, that the colour of autumnal tree leaves that appear red to humans are on average much less attractive to aphids than green leaves, whereas yellow leaves are much more attractive. We conclude that, while active avoidance of red leaves by aphids is unlikely, red coloration in autumn could still be a signal of the tree's quality, or alternatively serve to mask the over-attractive yellow that is unveiled when the green chlorophyll is recovered from senescing leaves. Our study shows that in sensory ecology, receiver physiology alone is not sufficient to reveal the whole picture. Instead, the combined analysis of behaviour and a large set of natural stimuli unexpectedly shows that animals lacking a red photoreceptor may be able to differentiate between red and green leaves.
Modal control in semiconductor optical waveguides with uniaxially patterned layers

Uniaxially patterned (UAP) dielectric layers have an optical anisotropy that can be externally controlled. This paper examines the effects of patterning the cladding or the core layer of a three-layer optical waveguide on the polarization properties of propagating radiation. Particular attention is paid to the case when the core material is a semiconductor with optical gain. A number of devices are discussed based on incorporating a UAP layer in the structure design, such as a polarization-insensitive amplifier, a polarizer, an optically controlled polarization switch, and an optically controlled modal coupler
Zonal‐mean temperature variations inferred from SABER measurements on TIMED compared with UARS observations

[1] In the zonal mean meridional winds of the upper mesosphere, oscillations with periods between 1 and 4 months have been inferred from UARS measurements and independently predicted with the Numerical Spectral Model (NSM). The wind oscillations tend to be confined to low latitudes and appear to be driven, at least in part, by wave-mean-flow interactions. Winds across the equator should generate, due to dynamical heating and cooling, temperature oscillations with opposite phase in the two hemispheres. Investigating this phenomenon, we have analyzed SABER temperatures from TIMED in the altitude range between 55 and 95 km to delineate with an empirical model, the year-long variability of the migrating tides and zonal mean components. The inferred seasonal variations of the diurnal tide, characterized by amplitude maxima near equinox, are in substantial agreement with UARS observations and results from the NSM. For the zonal mean, the dominant seasonal variations in the SABER temperatures, with annual (12 months) and semiannual (6 months) periodicities, agree well with those derived from UARS measurements. The intraseasonal variations with periods between 2 and 4 months have amplitudes close to 2 K, almost half as large as those for the dominant seasonal variations. Their amplitudes are in qualitative agreement with the corresponding values inferred from UARS during different years. The SABER and UARS temperature variations reveal pronounced hemispherical asymmetries, consistent with meridional wind oscillations across the equator. The phase of the semiannual temperature oscillations from the NSM agrees with the observations from UARS and SABER. However, the amplitudes are systematically smaller, which may indicate that planetary waves are more important than is allowed for in the model. For the shorter-period intraseasonal variations, which can be generated by gravity wave drag, the model results are generally in better agreement with the observations.
Refining Chronological Resolution in Iron Age Scotland: Excavations at Dorman's Island Crannog, Dumfries and Galloway

Abstract Excavations were carried out at the crannog known as Dorman's Island, Whitefield Loch in Wigtownshire, SW Scotland as part of the Scottish Wetland Archaeology Programme. Although limited in extent, the excavation has uncovered dating evidence for multiple phases of construction and use of the crannog, including secondary activity in the post-medieval period, with finds including a range of coarse stone tools as well as fragments of glass bracelet and shard from a Roman drinking vessel. Perhaps most significantly, in situ oak timbers have yielded the first prehistoric dendrochronological dates in Scotland, indicating a phase of construction in the earlier second century BC. This initial evidence correlates with evidence from the Irish dendrochronological record that suggests construction on lochs may have occurred in irregular 'pulses' of activity – one of which was in the second century BC. The significance and potential of these results in the context of the northern British Iron Age are discussed.
Evaluation of Serologic and Antigenic Relationships Between Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus and Other Coronaviruses to Develop Vaccine Platforms for the Rapid Response to Emerging Coronaviruses

Abstract Background. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) emerged in 2012, causing severe acute respiratory disease and pneumonia, with 44% mortality among 136 cases to date. Design of vaccines to limit the virus spread or diagnostic tests to track newly emerging strains requires knowledge of antigenic and serologic relationships between MERS-CoV and other CoVs. Methods. Using synthetic genomics and Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus replicons (VRPs) expressing spike and nucleocapsid proteins from MERS-CoV and other human and bat CoVs, we characterize the antigenic responses (using Western blot and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) and serologic responses (using neutralization assays) against 2 MERS-CoV isolates in comparison with those of other human and bat CoVs. Results. Serologic and neutralization responses against the spike glycoprotein were primarily strain specific, with a very low level of cross-reactivity within or across subgroups. CoV N proteins within but not across subgroups share cross-reactive epitopes with MERS-CoV isolates. Our findings were validated using a convalescent-phase serum specimen from a patient infected with MERS-CoV (NA 01) and human antiserum against SARS-CoV, human CoV NL63, and human CoV OC43. Conclusions. Vaccine design for emerging CoVs should involve chimeric spike protein containing neutralizing epitopes from multiple virus strains across subgroups to reduce immune pathology, and a diagnostic platform should include a panel of nucleocapsid and spike proteins from phylogenetically distinct CoVs.
A Network- and Performance-based Zonal Configuration Algorithm for Electricity Systems

Keywords: European electricity market ; capacity allocation ; congestion management ; zonal configuration ; coherence between institutions and technology These Ecole polytechnique federale de Lausanne EPFL, n° 5387 (2012)Programme doctoral Management de la technologieCollege du management de la technologieInstitut de management de la technologie et entrepreneuriatChaire La Poste en management des industries de reseau Reference doi:10.5075/epfl-thesis-5387Print copy in library catalog Record created on 2012-07-23, modified on 2017-09-01
Thorium resources of selected regions in the United States

Introduction . Summary . Florida Beach Placers . Idaho Stream Placers . General . l.A>ng Valley . Bear Valley . Burgdorf-Warren Area . Boise Basin . Elk City-Newsome Area . Veins and Pipes in the Bokan Mountain District, Alaska . CONTENTS
Use of AFLP and PFGE to discriminate between Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium DT126 isolates from separate food-related outbreaks in Australia

In 2001 Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium definitive phage-type (DT) 126 was isolated at higher frequency in Australia compared to other S. Typhimurium phage types and in comparison to previous years. Associated with this increase was the implication of this phage type in a number of food-related outbreaks. We compared fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphism (FAFLP) to pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), the current ‘gold standard’ for molecular typing of Salmonella for the discrimination between outbreak-associated isolates and epidemiologically unrelated DT126 strains. FAFLP showed a greater ability to discriminate between isolates than PFGE, with 16 groups of clusters or individual isolates with <90% similarity to each other compared to three groups as determined by PFGE. Both methods were able to discriminate between isolates from two separate outbreaks in South Australia and isolates associated with an outbreak at a restaurant in New South Wales. The resolving power of both methods was not sufficient to separate all epidemiologically unrelated DT126 isolates from the outbreak isolates. We conclude that amplified fragment length polymorphism is a useful tool to assist in the discrimination of S. Typhimurium DT126 isolates.
A re-examination of text categorization methods

This paper reports a controlled study with statistical signi cance tests on ve text categorization methods: the Support Vector Machines (SVM), a k-Nearest Neighbor (kNN) classi er, a neural network (NNet) approach, the Linear Leastsquares Fit (LLSF) mapping and a Naive Bayes (NB) classier. We focus on the robustness of these methods in dealing with a skewed category distribution, and their performance as function of the training-set category frequency. Our results show that SVM, kNN and LLSF signi cantly outperform NNet and NB when the number of positive training instances per category are small (less than ten), and that all the methods perform comparably when the categories are su ciently common (over 300 instances).
Use of Accelerometers to Measure Stress Levels in Shelter Dogs

Stress can compromise welfare in any confined group of nonhuman animals, including those in shelters. However, an objective and practical method for assessing the stress levels of individual dogs housed in a shelter does not exist. Such a method would be useful for monitoring animal welfare and would allow shelters to measure the effectiveness of specific interventions for stress reduction. In this pilot study, activity levels were studied in 13 dogs using accelerometers attached to their collars. Behavioral stress scores as well as urinary and salivary cortisol levels were measured to determine if the dogs' activity levels while confined in the kennel correlated with behavioral and physiological indicators of stress in this population. The results indicated that the accelerometer could be a useful tool to study stress-related activity levels in dogs. Specific findings included a correlation between the salivary cortisol and maximum activity level (r = .62, p = .025) and a correlation between the urine cortisol-to-creatinine ratio and average activity level (r = .61, p = .028) among the study dogs. Further research is needed to better understand the complex relationship between stress and activity level among dogs in a kennel environment.
Understanding the causes of intravenous medication administration errors in hospitals: a qualitative critical incident study

Objectives To investigate the underlying causes of intravenous medication administration errors (MAEs) in National Health Service (NHS) hospitals. Setting Two NHS teaching hospitals in the North West of England. Participants Twenty nurses working in a range of inpatient clinical environments were identified and recruited using purposive sampling at each study site. Primary outcome measures Semistructured interviews were conducted with nurse participants using the critical incident technique, where they were asked to discuss perceived causes of intravenous MAEs that they had been directly involved with. Transcribed interviews were analysed using the Framework approach and emerging themes were categorised according to Reason's model of accident causation. Results In total, 21 intravenous MAEs were discussed containing 23 individual active failures which included slips and lapses (n=11), mistakes (n=8) and deliberate violations of policy (n=4). Each active failure was associated with a range of error and violation provoking conditions. The working environment was implicated when nurses lacked healthcare team support and/or were exposed to a perceived increased workload during ward rounds, shift changes or emergencies. Nurses frequently reported that the quality of intravenous dose-checking activities was compromised due to high perceived workload and working relationships. Nurses described using approaches such as subconscious functioning and prioritising to manage their duties, which at times contributed to errors. Conclusions Complex interactions between active and latent failures can lead to intravenous MAEs in hospitals. Future interventions may need to be multimodal in design in order to mitigate these risks and reduce the burden of intravenous MAEs.
Advances in our understanding of the molecular basis of disorders of platelet function

Summary. Genetic defects of platelet function give rise to mucocutaneous bleeding of varying severity because platelets fail to fulfil their haemostatic role after vessel injury. Abnormalities of pathways involving glycoprotein (GP) mediators of adhesion (Bernard–Soulier syndrome, platelet‐type von Willebrand disease) and aggregation (Glanzmann thrombasthenia) are the most studied and affect the GPIb‐IX‐V complex and integrin αIIbβ3, respectively. Leukocyte adhesion deficiency‐III combines Glanzmann thrombasthenia with infections and defects of kindlin‐3, a mediator of integrin activation. Agonist‐specific deficiencies in platelet aggregation relate to mutations of primary receptors for ADP (P2Y12), thromboxane A2 (TXA2R) and collagen (GPVI); however, selective abnormalities of intracellular signalling pathways remain better understood in mouse models. Defects of secretion from δ‐granules are accompanied by pigment defects in the Hermansky–Pudlak and Chediak–Higashi syndromes; they concern multiple genes and protein complexes involved in secretory organelle biogenesis and function. Quebec syndrome is linked to a tandem duplication of the urokinase plasminogen activator (PLAU) gene while locus assignment to chromosome 3p has advanced the search for the gene(s) responsible for α‐granule deficiency in the gray platelet syndrome. Defects of α‐granule biosynthesis also involve germline VPS33B mutations in the ARC (arthrogryposis, renal dysfunction and cholestasis) syndrome. A mutation in transmembrane protein 16F (TMEM16F) has been linked to a defective procoagulant activity and phosphatidylserine expression in the Scott syndrome. Cytoskeletal dysfunction (with platelet anisotrophy) occurs not only in the Wiskott‐Aldrich syndrome but also in filamin A deficiency or MYH9‐related disease while GATA1 mutations or RUNX1 haploinsufficiency can affect expression of multiple platelet proteins.