Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Higher-order sliding mode observer for estimation of tyre friction in ground vehicles

The estimation of friction coefficient for a vehicle when it traverses on different surfaces has been an important issue. In this work, the longitudinal vehicle dynamics, the torsional tyre dynamics and the non-linear LuGre friction dynamics are integrated to model the quarter vehicle dynamics. The road adhesion coefficient in the vehicle dynamics is unknown and varies with the contact surface. To address this issue, the authors consider a class of non-linear uncertain systems that covers the vehicle dynamics and develop a higher-order sliding mode observer based on supertwisting algorithm for state and unknown input estimations. Under Lipschitz conditions for the non-linear functions, the convergence of the estimation error is established. By estimating the road adhesion coefficient, the coefficient of friction can be estimated. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed observer for state and unknown input estimation.
Stereotactic radiosurgery for brain metastasis from renal cell carcinoma

Representing a busy flow cytometry laboratory with an annual workload of approximately 1400 acute leukemia and malignant lymphoma cases, we read the article by Naughton et al. with considerable interest. The authors concluded that “flow cytometry of bone marrow aspirates has a limited role in the routine staging and follow-up of patients with an established diagnosis of [non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma] NHL. ” However, this conclusion must be challenged because a number of methodologic flaws and inadequacies in the process, analysis, and interpretation are evident in this study. The authors used Ficoll-Paque (Pharmacia Biotech, Piscataway, NJ) processed specimens rather than recommended erythrocyte lysis. Ficoll-Paque centrifugation of bone marrow aspirates is known to result in the selective loss of some cell populations. This phenomenon is related to the fact that neoplastic lymphoid cells may have a different buoyant density from normal lymphocytes and may not be found where anticipated in the gradient. The authors, possibly unknowingly, thus may have reduced the number of potentially analyzable malignant lymphoid cells in their samples, which may explain a portion of their staged cases with a negative flow result. Single color flow cytometry was used on 81 specimens and two color flow cytometry on the remaining 192 specimens. It currently is widely accepted that even two color flow cytometric analysis is inadequate for an appropriate characterization of hematologic neoplasia and virtually precludes an accurate assessment of minimal residual disease. Five parameter analysis including forward and side scatters accompanied by at least three color analysis should constitute the minimal standard for immunophenotypic analysis of lymphoproliferative diseases, with a sensitivity approaching detection of one malignant cell in 100,000 reactive lymphocytes. The authors make no mention of attempted blockade of cellular Fc receptors. This step is to eliminate the common error of spuriously detecting light chain restriction while in fact observing a phenomenon of passive cytophilic immunoglobulin absorbed onto nonlymphoid B cells. In contrast, failed blockade of Fc receptors on lymphoid cells may lead to false-negative results. Apparently no specific gating strategies were utilized. For increased sensitivity, the routine use of a B-cell gate (CD19 1 lineage gate) is recommended. In addition, application of other unique markers known to be present on subsets of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) and chronic leukemia cells provides added resolution for the assessment of bone marrow involvement. Unique gating strategies should differ based on the type of NHL present at diagnosis (i.e., follicular lymphoma (CD191/CD101), small lymphocytic leukemia/ lymphoma and mantle cell lymphoma (CD191/CD51), etc). This 240
Substituted Cysteine Accessibility of the Third Transmembrane Domain of the Creatine Transporter

Twenty-two amino acid residues from transmembrane domain 3 of the creatine transporter were replaced, one at a time, with cysteine. The background for mutagenesis was a C144S mutant retaining ∼75% of wild-type transport activity but resistant to methanethiosulfonate (MTS) reagents. Each substitution mutant was tested for creatine transport activity and sensitivity to the following MTS reagents: 2-aminoethyl methanethiosulfonate (MTSEA), 2-(trimethylammonium) ethyl methanethiosulfonate (MTSET), and 2-sulfonatoethyl methanethiosulfonate (MTSES). Two mutants (G134C and Y148C) were inactive, but most mutants showed significant levels of creatine transport. Treatment with MTSEA inhibited the activity of the W154C, Y147C, and I140C mutants. Creatine partially protected I140C from inactivation, and this residue, like Cys-144 in the wild-type CreaT, is predicted to be close to a creatine binding site. MTSEA inactivation of Y147C was dependent on Na+ and Cl- suggesting that solvent accessibility was ion-dependent. Helical wheel and helical net projections indicate that the three MTSEA-sensitive mutants (W154C, Y147C, and I140C) and two inactive mutants (V151C and Y148C) are aligned on a face of an α-helix, suggesting that they form part of a substrate pathway. The W154C mutant, located near the external face of the membrane, was accessible to the larger MTS reagents, whereas those implicated in creatine binding were only accessible to the smaller MTSEA. Consideration of our data, together with a study on the serotonin transporter (Chen, J. G., Sachpatzidis, A., and Rudnick, G. (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 28321–28327), suggests that involvement of residues from transmembrane domain 3 is a common feature of the substrate pathway of Na+- and Cl--dependent neurotransmitter transporters.
Borders and Nominal Exchange Rates in Risk-Sharing

Models of risk-sharing predict that relative consumption growth rates are positively related to changes in real exchange rates. We investigate this hypothesis using a new multicountry and multiregional data set. Within countries, we find evidence for risk-sharing: episodes of high relative regional consumption growth are associated with regional real exchange rate depreciation. Across countries, however, the association is reversed: relative consumption and real exchange rates are negatively correlated. We define this reversal as a “border” effect. We find the border effect and show that it accounts for over half of the deviations from full risk-sharing. Since cross–border real exchange rates involve different currencies, it is natural to ask how much of the border effect is accounted for by movements in exchange rates. Our measures indicate that a large part of the border effect comes from nominal exchange rate fluctuations. We develop a simple open economy model that is consistent with the importance of nominal exchange rate variability in accounting for deviations from cross–country risk-sharing.
Improving the User Experience during Cold Start through Choice-Based Preference Elicitation

We studied an alternative choice-based interface for preference elicitation during the cold start phase and compared it directly with a standard rating-based interface. In this alternative interface users started from a diverse set covering all movies and iteratively narrowed down through a matrix factorization latent feature space to smaller sets of items based on their choices. The results show that compared to a rating-based interface, the choice-based interface requires less effort and results in more satisfying recommendations, showing that it might be a promising candidate for alleviating the cold start problem of new users.
Enregisterment and appropriation in Javanese-Indonesian bilingual talk

This article examines how portrayals of Javanese and Indonesian in language policy, the media, and educational settings might lead to enregisterment. This process of association of context to language over time and across space represents knowledge that Indonesians can appropriate in talk. A multidisciplinary approach is used to examine audio and video recordings of Javanese-Indonesian bilingual talk conducted in meetings held in a government office in Central Java, Indonesia. Although the findings are contrary in some ways to earlier descriptions of Javanese and Indonesian usage – for example, in talk containing code alternation there is no one-to-one relationship between hierarchical social relations and code – nevertheless such contradictions can be accounted for by viewing the enregisterment process as merely providing “constituting possibilities” to speakers in situated interaction.I would like to thank the Faculty of Letters, Diponegoro University and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences for help in gaining permission to conduct research in Indonesia. I would also like to thank the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University (LTU), and the Wodonga campus of LTU for the sabbatical leave to conduct this research and for three grants that supported fieldwork in Indonesia. Most important, I would also like to thank the participants in this research, who cannot be named here. Finally, I would like to thank Cecep Wihandi and Junaeni Goebel for their help with initial transcriptions, and Paul Black, Pauline Savy, Peter Burns, two anonymous reviewers, and Barbara Johnstone for their valuable feedback on this work, although all errors remain mine.
Mucosal Adjuvant Potential of Quillaja saponins and Cross-linked Dextran Microspheres, Co-administered with Liposomes Encapsulated with Tetanus Toxoid

Intranasal vaccination is particularly a striking route for mucosal immunization, due to the ease of administration and the induction of both mucosal and humoral immunity. However, soluble antigens (Ag) are not sufficiently taken up after the nasal administration and need to be co-administered with adjuvants, penetration enhancers or encapsulated in particles. So, in this study, tetanus toxoid (TT) as a model Ag was entrapped in nonionic liposomes. The effect of the co-administration of Quillaja saponin (QS) as an adjuvant and cross-linked dextran microspheres (CDM) as penetration enhancer on immune responses was also studied. TT or TT + QS loaded liposomes were prepared by dehydration-rehydration method (DRV), followed by the extrusion through 400 nm filters. Some formulations were mixed with CDM. Liposomes were first characterized for their size range, mean diameter and morphology using particle size analyzer, optical and transmission electron microscopes. The volume mean diameter of liposomes was determined as 3836 ± 179 and 624 ± 114 nm before and after the extrusion, respectively. Structural efficiency of TT extracted from liposomes was confirmed by SDS-PAGE method. Encapsulation efficiencies of TT and QS were 44 ± 8.50% and 60 ± 6.02%, respectively. Rabbits were nasally immunized with various formulations and serum IgG titers and nasal lavage sIgA titers were determined by an ELISA method. TT + QS liposomes induced higher sIgA levels in comparison with TT liposomes (p < 0.05), but the difference in serum IgG levels was not significant. Results indicated that neutral liposomes administered nasally, have a good potential for induction of mucosal immunity and co-encapsulation of QS and TT in liposomes improved the systemic and mucosal immune responses.
Understanding the Impact of Online Reviews on Customer Choice: A Probability Discounting Approach

This study uses the concept of probability discounting to understand the impact of online customer reviews on consumer choice. Probability discounting describes how the subjective value of an outcome alters when its delivery shifts from certain to uncertain. An experimental study with 29 participants was conducted. Participants were run through an online shopping scenario where they had to choose whether to buy a product from a Web shop with customer reviews on reliability or from a Web shop without reviews but with a lower product price. A titration procedure over sales price for the Web shop without reviews was run over seven probability conditions. The mean switching points where participants chose where to buy the product were extracted from the experimental data, and probability discounting factors were calculated. The results supported the assumption that online reviews indicate the probability of a successful transaction online and function as a guide to choices. Implications for marketers as well as suggestions for future research are discussed.
Photoacoustic imaging of nanoparticle- containing cells using single-element focused transducer: a simulation study

A new theoretical approach for photoacoustic (PA) image simulation of an ensemble of cells with endocytosed gold nanoparticles is presented. Each cell was approximated as a fluid sphere and suspended in a nonabsorbing fluid medium. It was assumed that the cellular optical absorption coefficient changed greatly because of endocytosis of nanoparticles; however, thermophysical parameters remained unchanged because nanoparticles occupied negligible intracellular volume. A frequency-domain method was used to obtain a PA signal from a single cell and resultant signal detected by a focused single-element transducer was evaluated by convolving signals from many cells with the spatial impulse response function of the receiver. The proposed model was explored to simulate PA images of numerical phantoms. It was observed that features of the phantoms are retained precisely in those simulated images. Also, speckles in PA images are significantly suppressed because of strong boundary buildup when cells are bounded to a region. Nevertheless, speckle visibility increases when cells are not bounded to a region. This approach may be developed as a realistic simulation tool for PA imaging of tissue medium utilizing its cellular feature.
Electrophoresis of tear proteins as a new diagnostic tool for two high risk groups for dry eye: computer users and contact lens wearers

Rationale: Dry eye is the most prevalent condition seen by the ophthalmologist, in particular in elderly. The identification of new common risk factors (computer use and contact lens wear) extends the disease among the young people. The early diagnosis of dry eye is essential, but difficult, because the biochemical changes in tear film usually occur before any detectable signs. Due its advantages, electrophoresis of tear proteins could be an important tool for diagnosis of tear film impairment in high risk groups for dry eye. Objective: The role of tear proteins electrophoresis in early diagnosis of dry eye related to computer use and contact lens wear, as well as the biochemical changes in these high risk groups are presented. Methods: This review will summarize the actual data concerning the electrophoretic changes of tear proteins in computer users and contact lens wearers, two common high risk groups for dry eye. Discussion: Electrophoresis of tear proteins using automated system Hyrys–Hydrasys SEBIA France is an important tool for early diagnosis of tear film alterations and monitoring of therapy. The quantification of many proteins in a single analysis using a small quantity of unconcentrated reflex tears is the main advantage of this technique. Electrophoresis of tear proteins should became a prerequisite, in particular for computer users less than 3h/day, as well as at prescribing contact lenses. Abbreviations: DED– dry eye disease, EGF–epidermal growth factor, IL interleukins, MMP–metalloproteinase, ELISA– Enzyme–linked immunosorbent assay, SDS– sodium dodecyl sulfate, CVS– computer vision syndrome, CLRDE– contact lens– related dry eye
Support for the Survey Sponsor and Nonresponse Bias

Abstract in an experiment designed to examine nonresponse bias, either the March of Dimes or the university of Michigan was identified as the sponsor of a survey mailed to individuals whose level of sup-port for the March of Dimes was known. The response rate was higher to the university survey, but support for the March of Dimes increased survey participation to the same extent in both conditions. As a result of the overrepresentation of supporters of the organization, both sur-veys showed nonresponse bias for variables linked to support. The bias was greater, however, when the sponsor was identified as the March of Dimes. Thus, the university sponsor brought in not only more of the Robert M. Groves is Director of the Census Bureau, Washington, DC, uSA. Stanley presser is professor in the Sociology Department and the Joint program in Survey Methodology at the university of Maryland, College park, MD, uSA. Roger Tourangeau is vice president at Westat, Rockville, MD, uSA. Brady T. West is Research Assistant professor at the institute for Social Research, university of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mi, uSA. Mick p. Couper is Research professor at the institute for Social Research, university of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mi, uSA. eleanor Singer is Research professor emerita at the institute for Social Research, university of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mi, uSA. Christopher Toppe is Senior Social Scientist at the Department of State, Washington, DC, uSA. This article is a revision of a paper presented at the 2008 Workshop on household Survey Nonresponse, ljubljana, Slovenia, and the 2009 American Association for public Opinion Research Annual Conference, hollywood, Fl, uSA. The authors are indebted to the uS National Science Foundation for grant support [SeS-0207435 to R.M. G. , M.C. , e.S. , and S.p.]; to the March of Dimes for access to its database; to John lafrance, Courtney kennedy, emilia peytcheva, and haley Gu for assistance on various aspects of the project; and to the anony-mous referees for helpful comments. The views expressed in this article are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations with which they are affiliated. *Address correspondence to Stanley presser, university of Maryland, Sociology Department, 2112 Arts-Sociology Building, College park, MD, 20742-1315, uSA; e-mail: spresser@survey.umd. edu.
Connections between the Musical and Life Experiences of Young Composers and Their Compositions

The case-study records of six sixth-grade composers were examined for evidence of connections between the music and life experiences of the students and compositions they wrote. Analysis revealed rich and varied connections between the students' contexts and their music. Idiomatic writing related to instrumental and ensemble experiences was present in their works, and links between instrumental fluency and fluency in composing became evident. Familiar melodies from instrumental experiences, films, and television served as starting points for compositions. Social and cultural cues related to other media as well as to school and home life were also evident in compositions. Findings suggest that young composers draw on their sociocultural milieu and personal experiences to create music that is relevant and meaningful to them.
The Relationship between Writing Self-efficacy Beliefs and Final Examination Scores in a Writing Course Among a Group of Arab EFL Trainee-teachers

This correlational study focused on research questions regarding (a) EFL trainee-teachers' perceptions about their own writing, (b) the possible relationship between trainee-teachers' perceived self-efficacy in writing and their achievement in a writing course, (c) the relationship between class attendance and final examination scores in a writing course, and (d) the relationship between trainee-teachers' final examination scores in writing and their GPA. The participants were forty-four female EFL trainee-teachers at Sohar University in Oman during the academic year 2009/2010. For collecting the data, four measures were used: namely, the Writer Self-Perception Scale (WSPS), the final examination scores in a writing course, attendance records and General Point Average (GPA). The results show that there is no significant relationship between the subjects' self-efficacy beliefs about themselves as writers and their performance in a writing course. Moreover, results show that students who are absent fewer times from Advanced Writing 1, scored higher final examination marks for the course. Results also indicate that students who have higher GPA scores achieve higher final examination marks for Advanced Writing 1.
Identification of PD-1 as a Unique Marker for Failing Immune Reconstitution in HIV-1–Infected Patients on Treatment

PD-1 expression on T cells correlates with T-cell exhaustion and disease progression in HIV-infected patients. Previous studies have shown that combinational antiretroviral therapy induced viral suppression results in immune restoration and reduced PD-1 expression. However, a significant number of patients fail to restore CD4 T cells despite suppression of HIV replication below limit of quantification. In this study, we have analyzed PD-1 expression on CD4 and CD8 T cells in patients with poor immune reconstitution despite successful highly active antiretroviral therapy. We found that T cells of such patients express significantly higher levels of PD-1 than patients who had normal recovery of CD4 cells after treatment. In contrast, failing immune reconstitution was not associated with the expression of activation markers, indicating that PD-1 is a unique marker for failing immune reconstitution despite viral suppression. Furthermore, we show that T cells from patients with poor immune recovery differ from T cells of elderly in respect of their marker profile. PD-1 expression negatively correlated with individual CD4 cell counts, and PD-1 expressing T cells were more prone to programmed death ligand-mediated inhibition of T-cell proliferation, indicating that PD-1-mediated T-cell suppression may have a role in impaired immune reconstitution in HIV patients.
Intraretinal oxygenation and oxygen consumption in the rabbit during systemic hyperoxia.

PURPOSE To determine the ability of the retina and choroid in the avascular region of the rabbit retina to regulate intraretinal oxygen levels during periods of acute systemic hyperoxia. METHODS Oxygen-sensitive microelectrodes were used to measure oxygen tension as a function of depth through the retina and choroid in anesthetized rabbits before and after stepwise incremental increases in inspired oxygen level. The extent of any oxygen increases throughout the retina and choroid was determined, and retinal oxygen consumption was determined by analyzing intraretinal oxygen distribution. RESULTS Increases in systemic arterial oxygen in the rabbit resulted in significant increases in oxygen tension in the choroid and in all retinal layers. There was no apparent regulation of choroidal oxygen tension, as seen in the avascular retina of the guinea pig. Neither was there any increase in oxygen consumption within the retina, which has been shown to dampen the extent of raised oxygen levels in the inner retina in other mammals. Consequently, all retinal layers in the avascular area of the rabbit retina were exposed to high oxygen levels during systemic hyperoxia. The magnitude of the oxygen changes in all retinal layers was consistent with that in the preretinal vitreous. CONCLUSIONS Unlike other mammals studied to date, the rabbit does not possess any regulatory mechanisms for controlling the intraretinal oxygen environment during acute increases in systemic arterial oxygen levels. This may well account for the reported vulnerability of the rabbit retina to toxic damage during extended periods of systemic hyperoxia.