Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reproducibility of a titanium plasma vacuum spark discharge

The results of an extensive operation of a vacuum spark plasma using Titanium electrodes in a 120-ns 150-kA discharge are presented. The hot spots are found to form with a regular spacing in a zippering Z-pinch plasma, which forms close to the cathode and extends to approximately two thirds of the anode separation over a period of a few nanoseconds. The axis of the discharge is well defined by an initial plasma from a Nd:YAG laser focussed onto the cathode electrode surface. The statistics of the formation of the hot spots are given for the life of one anode electrode. Between one and three hot spots form and the favored positions are at 1.5 and 3.0 mm from the cathode and the strongest emission, as observed in a filtered X-ray pinhole camera, comes from the hot spot closest to the cathode. The emission spectra resolved between 5 and 35 nm shows a wide range of Ti ionization which allows the temperatures of the anode blow off plasma, the Z-pinch and the hot spot plasma to be distinguished. These results are compared with filtered PIN diode signals and filtered pinhole images. The emission spectrum and the statistics of the axial localization of the hot spots are discussed in the context of potential applications to extreme-ultraviolet lithography.
Reduction of salivary arginine catabolic activity through periodontal therapy.

OBJECTIVE Salivary enzymes may be used to diagnose periodontal conditions. Salivary arginase activity (SAA) is related to susceptibility to bacterial infection. Therefore, the aim of this controlled interventional study was to determine the SAA before and after non-surgical periodontal therapy. METHOD AND MATERIALS Eighty-nine subjects were selected: 31 periodontally healthy patients (controls), 27 gingivitis patients, and 31 chronic periodontitis patients. Plaque and Gingival Indices, probing depth, and clinical attachment level were monitored. The presence of Campylobacter rectus, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, Treponema denticola, and Prevotella intermedia was evaluated by polymerase chain reaction. Salivary total protein level and SAA were also established by spectrophotometry. Clinical and arginase data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon, Mann-Withney, and Kruskal-Wallis tests (P < .05). For microbial data, the chi-square test was used. The Pearson correlation test was also used between each parameter evaluated. RESULTS After therapy, due to a significant reduction in SAA, the values observed for the gingivitis and periodontitis groups were similar to those found in the healthy group. Interestingly, after therapy, SAA followed the same positive pattern showed by the overall improvement of clinical parameters (gingivitis and periodontitis groups mean values, pre- > posttherapy) and by the reduction of target pathogens (gingivitis group T forsythia, pre- > posttherapy; periodontitis group P. gingivalis, T. denticola, P. intermedia, and T. forsythia, pre- > posttherapy). CONCLUSION Based on the reduction of SAA after therapy, in accordance with the expected reduction in clinical and microbiologic parameters, it was concluded that SAA has the potential to serve as a reliable method to access to the therapeutic response of chronic periodontitis subjects treated with nonsurgical periodontal therapy.
AN ANALYTIC PARAMETERIZATION OF SELF-GRAVITY WAKES IN SATURN'S RINGS, WITH APPLICATION TO OCCULTATIONS AND PROPELLERS

We have developed a semianalytic method of parameterizing N-body simulations of self-gravity wakes in Saturn's rings, describing their photometric properties by means of only six numbers: three optical depths and three weighting factors. These numbers are obtained by fitting a sum of three Gaussians to the results of a density-estimation procedure that finds the frequencies of various values of local density within a simulated ring patch. Application of our parameterization to a suite of N-body simulations implies that rings dominated by self-gravity wakes appear to be mostly empty space, with more than half of their surface area taken up by local optical depths around 0.01. Such regions will be photometrically inactive for all viewing geometries. While this result might be affected by our use of identically sized particles, we believe the general result that the distribution of local optical depths is trimodal, rather than bimodal as previous authors have assumed, is robust. The implications of this result for the analysis of occultation data are more conceptual than practical, as we find that occultations can only distinguish between bimodal and trimodal models at very low opening angles. Thus, the only adjustment needed in existing analyses of occultation data is that the model parameter τgap should be interpreted as representing the area-weighted average optical depth within the gaps (or inter-wake regions), keeping in mind the possibility that the optical depth within those inter-wake regions may vary significantly. The most significant consequence of our results applies to the question of why “propeller” structures observed in the mid-A ring are seen as relative-bright features, even though the most prominent features of simulated propellers are regions of relatively low density. Our parameterization of self-gravity wakes lends preliminary quantitative support to the hypothesis that propellers would be bright if they involve a local and temporary disruption of self-gravity wakes. Even though the overall local density is lower within the propeller-shaped structure surrounding an embedded central moonlet, disruption of the wakes would flood these same regions with more “photometrically active” material (i.e., material that can contribute to the rings' local optical depth), raising their apparent brightnesses in agreement with observations. We find for a wide range of input parameters that this mechanism indeed can plausibly make propellers brighter than the wake-dominated background, though it is also possible for propellers to blend in with the background or even to remain dark. We suggest that this mechanism be tested by future detailed numerical models.
Comparing Kalman Filters and Observers for Dynamic State Estimation with Model Uncertainty and Malicious Cyber Attacks

Kalman filters and observers are two main classes of dynamic state estimation (DSE) routines. Power system DSE has been implemented by various Kalman filters, such as the extended Kalman filter (EKF) and the unscented Kalman filter (UKF). In this paper, we discuss two challenges for an effective power system DSE: (a) model uncertainty and (b) potential cyber attacks. To address this, the cubature Kalman filter (CKF) and a nonlinear observer are introduced and implemented. Various Kalman filters and the observer are then tested on the 16-machine, 68-bus system given realistic scenarios under model uncertainty and different types of cyber attacks against synchrophasor measurements. It is shown that CKF and the observer are more robust to model uncertainty and cyber attacks than their counterparts. Based on the tests, a thorough qualitative comparison is also performed for Kalman filter routines and observers.
The Acid-sensitive, Anesthetic-activated Potassium Leak Channel, KCNK3, Is Regulated by 14-3-3β-dependent, Protein Kinase C (PKC)-mediated Endocytic Trafficking*

Background: KCNK3 is an anesthetic-activated K+ leak channel that sets the neuronal resting membrane potential. Results: PKC activation rapidly decreases KCNK3 surface levels, and KNCK3 surface losses require a non-classical endocytic signal and 14-3-3β. Conclusion: KNCK3 activity is acutely regulated by endocytic trafficking. Significance: This is the first demonstration that endocytosis regulates KCNK3 activity and that 14-3-3β is required for neuronal endocytic trafficking. The acid-sensitive neuronal potassium leak channel, KCNK3, is vital for setting the resting membrane potential and is the primary target for volatile anesthetics. Recent reports demonstrate that KCNK3 activity is down-regulated by PKC; however, the mechanisms responsible for PKC-induced KCNK3 down-regulation are undefined. Here, we report that endocytic trafficking dynamically regulates KCNK3 activity. Phorbol esters and Group I metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) activation acutely decreased both native and recombinant KCNK3 currents with concomitant KCNK3 surface losses in cerebellar granule neurons and cell lines. PKC-mediated KCNK3 internalization required the presence of both 14-3-3β and a novel potassium channel endocytic motif, because depleting either 14-3-3β protein levels or ablating the endocytic motif completely abrogated PKC-regulated KCNK3 trafficking. These results demonstrate that neuronal potassium leak channels are not static membrane residents but are subject to 14-3-3β-dependent regulated trafficking, providing a straightforward mechanism to modulate neuronal excitability and synaptic plasticity by Group I mGluRs.
An SNR Approximation for Distributed Massive MIMO With Zero Forcing

In this letter, we present a new theoretical analysis of the performance of a massive MIMO network with distributed receive antennas. We consider the uplink of a cooperative cellular network that jointly detects signals from multiple transmitters with a large number of distributed antennas. Applying zero-forcing (ZF) across the receivers, we present our accurate approximation for the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of an arbitrary user with Rayleigh fading, path loss and shadowing. We further derive easy-to-evaluate closed-form expressions for the symbol error probability (SEP) and the achievable rate of an arbitrary user. Numerical examples highlight that our novel results provide accurate approximations for the performance of a distributed massive MIMO network.
Neuropsychological change in patients with schizophrenia after treatment with quetiapine or haloperidol.

OBJECTIVE To assess the efficacy of quetiapine, a recently introduced second generation antipsychotic medication, in reducing cognitive impairment in patients with schizophrenia. DESIGN Prospective, randomized, double-blind clinical trial. PATIENTS 25 patients who met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, (DSM-IV) criteria for schizophrenia were recruited from 3 Canadian hospitals. INTERVENTION AND OUTCOME MEASURES After a 48-hour washout period, 25 patients with schizophrenia were randomly assigned to double-blind treatment with quetiapine or haloperidol for 6 months and evaluated with rating scales for psychotic symptoms, mood and extrapyramidal side effects, as well as standardized neuropsychological measures sensitive to 6 cognitive domains: fine motor skill, attention span, verbal reasoning and fluency, visuospatial construction and fluency, executive skills and visuomotor tracking, and immediate recall of verbal and nonverbal materials. The measures were repeated 8 weeks and 6 months after treatment was initiated. RESULTS Quetiapine improved psychosis and mood without inducing extrapyramidal symptoms. Quetiapine also had beneficial effects on cognitive skills, particularly verbal reasoning and fluency skills and immediate recall, with additional improvements on executive skills and visuomotor tracking and on the average of the 6 cognitive domains with sustained treatment. Patients taking haloperidol showed improvements in general clinical status, but no specific improvements on the positive syndrome, the negative syndrome, depression ratings or cognitive skills. CONCLUSIONS These preliminary results support the potential value of quetiapine for improving cognitive impairment in patients with schizophrenia and emphasize the importance of further research with this promising atypical antipsychotic.
Competitive Multi-scale Convolution

In this paper, we introduce a new deep convolutional neural network (ConvNet) module that promotes competition among a set of multi-scale convolutional filters. This new module is inspired by the inception module, where we replace the original collaborative pooling stage (consisting of a concatenation of the multi-scale filter outputs) by a competitive pooling represented by a maxout activation unit. This extension has the following two objectives: 1) the selection of the maximum response among the multi-scale filters prevents filter co-adaptation and allows the formation of multiple sub-networks within the same model, which has been shown to facilitate the training of complex learning problems; and 2) the maxout unit reduces the dimensionality of the outputs from the multi-scale filters. We show that the use of our proposed module in typical deep ConvNets produces classification results that are either better than or comparable to the state of the art on the following benchmark datasets: MNIST, CIFAR-10, CIFAR-100 and SVHN.
Countries in transition: underweight to obesity non-stop?

Abstract The rise in childhood overweight and obesity in less developed countries and those with transitional economies is widely recorded. In many cases, this increase in overweight is occurring in societies where levels of under-nutrition remain high. Overweight particularly affects children in affluent families and urban families and is usually much less in rural areas. Changes such as the availability of more Western-style foods, the prevalence of snacking, a decline in physical activity, less sleep and the inactivity associated with watching television may all be contributing to the rise of overweight. The complications of overweight/obesity are already being seen in some affected children. Efforts to treat and prevent overweight in children are needed urgently if the appalling levels of overweight currently seen in the well established market economies of Europe and North America are to be avoided by less developed and transitional economies.
An Empirical Assessment of A-Share IPO Under-Pricing in China

This paper investigates the under-pricing and long-run performance of 230 A-share IPOs issued in the Chinese markets using comparable firm * The authors wish to thank the journal Editor-in-Chief, Professor Kyung Mook Lee, and three anonymous referees for extremely valuable comments. The last author wishes to acknowledge the financial support of a Strategic Research Grant from ECU. ** Professor, Department of International Trade and Business, Kangwon National University, Korea (chsohn@kangwon.ac.kr). *** Associate Professor, Department of Economics, National University of Singapore, Singapore (ecsatsui@nus.edu.sg). **** Assistant Professor of Finance, David Eccles School of Business, University of Utah, USA (feng.zhang@business.utah.edu). ***** (Corresponding author) Associate Professor of Economics, School of Accounting, Finance and Economics, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia. Tel: +61 8 6304 5266; Fax: +61 8 6304 5271 (zhaoyong. zhang@ecu.edu.au) 26 Seoul Journal of Business multiples. We find that A-share IPOs are severely under-valued by issuers and underwriters at the offer, but over-valued by investors on the listing day. Both contribute to the severe under-pricing of IPOs in China. Our findings are robust across stock exchanges, classification of firms, criteria for choosing matching firms; absence of CSRC regulation and B-share market prices, respectively. The results also show that those over-valued IPOs by investors on the listing day under-perform those under-valued IPOs in the long-run.
Acute macular neuroretinopathy following intranasal use of cocaine

Editor, O riginally described by Bos & Deutman (1975), acute macular neuroretinopathy (AMN) is a rare condition characterized by paracentral scotomas corresponding to flat, reddish, wedge-shaped intraretinal lesions usually pointing towards the fovea. These lesions are best seen using infrared (IR) reflectance imaging and show typical optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings (Fawzi et al. 2012). We have observed two cases of bilateral AMN following intranasal cocaine insufflations in two young otherwise healthy women. A 24-year-old woman (Case 1) presented 3 days after sudden onset of paracentral scotomata in both eyes at her awakening. Her past medical history was unremarkable and she did not take any medication, including oral contraceptives. The patient admitted to intranasal cocaine use the evening before the onset of symptoms. She was an occasional user and she denied any history of alcohol abuse or other drugs
A practical decoupled stabilizer for joint-position controlled humanoid robots

Efficient methods have so far been proposed for planning dynamically stable walking pattern for humanoid robots. However, to guarantee that the reference joint trajectory will produce a safe movement despite modeling errors and perturbations, a stabilizer needs to be implemented on the robot. Though this stabilizer constitutes an essential part of the control strategy of most advanced humanoid platform, it is usually not open-source and dedicated to the own robot characteristics. The goal of this paper is to propose a general and practical strategy for designing a stabilizer for joint-position controlled humanoid robots. The proposed method is based on a double inverted pendulum model and a decoupling approach thanks to which the position of the ZMP and the center of gravity can be controlled independently through the regulation of the ankle and hip joints. The stabilizer generates the expected stabilizing torques from the admissible joint position input. The resulting control algorithm is fast and can be easily executed on the robot. This algorithm was successfully implemented as real-time plugins for the OpenHRP simulator of the HRP2. Simulations showing the efficiency of the method are presented and discussed.
(Mis)matching perceptual learning styles and practicing behavior in tertiary level Western Classical instrumentalists

Perceptual learning style theory argues that humans have differing perceptual strengths and that instruction and learning materials should be adapted to fit their visual, auditory and/or kinesthetic preferences. The claims of various theorists that perceptual learning style theory also applies to the learning of musical material when practicing were tested using a questionnaire that draws on the formulations of these theorists. In total, 131 Western Classical instrument students in higher music education were surveyed using a paper-based questionnaire regarding the frequency with which they engaged in particular learning strategies and behaviors while practicing a large scale composition from the Classical or Romantic era. No response patterns comparable to those suggested by perceptual learning style theory could be identified through either principal components or cluster analyses. The applicability of the theory to describe individual differences in learning is questioned.
On topological properties of wireless sensor networks under the q-composite key predistribution scheme with on/off channels

The q-composite key predistribution scheme [2] is used prevalently for secure communications in large-scale wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Prior work [5], [13], [44] explores topological properties of WSNs employing the q-composite scheme for q = 1 with unreliable communication links modeled as independent on/off channels. In this paper, we investigate topological properties related to the node degree in WSNs operating under the q-composite scheme and the on/off channel model. Our results apply to general q and are stronger than those reported for the node degree in prior work even for the case of q being 1. Specifically, we show that the number of nodes with an arbitrary degree asymptotically converges to a Poisson distribution, present the asymptotic probability distribution for the minimum degree of the network, and establish the asymptotically exact probability for the property that the minimum degree is at least an arbitrary value. Numerical experiments confirm the validity of our analytical findings.
Low-intensity exercise training improves survival in Dahl salt hypertension.

PURPOSE The present study examined whether exercise training could increase survival in a rodent model of salt-sensitive hypertension. METHODS Male, inbred Dahl salt-sensitive rats arriving at 8 wk of age were randomly divided into a sedentary control group (N = 5) or an exercise-trained group (N = 8). Exercise training consisted of running 20 m.min(-1), 0% incline, 60 min.d(-1), 5 d.wk(-1) on a motorized driven treadmill. On arrival, animals were fed a low-salt diet (0.12% NaCl) during a 1-wk acclimatization period. At the end of this period, all rats were then fed a high-salt diet (7.8% NaCl) for the remainder of the study. Arterial systolic blood pressure (SBP) was measured via the tail-cuff method. RESULTS Systolic blood pressure (SBP) measured on the low salt diet was similar between groups. After 2 wk of a high-salt diet, SBP was similarly significantly elevated in both control and exercise groups relative to the low salt diet. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that exercise training increased survival (P < 0.02) with an approximate 30% increase in the mean days survived with exercise training (P < 0.02). CONCLUSION These data suggest that exercise training is an important intervention for salt-sensitive hypertension and that the enhanced survival observed with exercise training appears to be independent of training-induced SBP lowering effects.
Molecular Time-Course and the Metabolic Basis of Entry into Dauer in Caenorhabditis elegans

When Caenorhabditis elegans senses dauer pheromone (daumone), signaling inadequate growth conditions, it enters the dauer state, which is capable of long-term survival. However, the molecular pathway of dauer entry in C. elegans has remained elusive. To systematically monitor changes in gene expression in dauer paths, we used a DNA microarray containing 22,625 gene probes corresponding to 22,150 unique genes from C. elegans. We employed two different paths: direct exposure to daumone (Path 1) and normal growth media plus liquid culture (Path 2). Our data reveal that entry into dauer is accomplished through the multi-step process, which appears to be compartmentalized in time and according to metabolic flux. That is, a time-course of dauer entry in Path 1 shows that dauer larvae formation begins at post-embryonic stage S4 (48 h) and is complete at S6 (72 h). Our results also suggest the presence of a unique adaptive metabolic control mechanism that requires both stage-specific expression of specific genes and tight regulation of different modes of fuel metabolite utilization to sustain the energy balance in the context of prolonged survival under adverse growth conditions. It is apparent that worms entering dauer stage may rely heavily on carbohydrate-based energy reserves, whereas dauer larvae utilize fat or glyoxylate cycle-based energy sources. We created a comprehensive web-based dauer metabolic database for C. elegans (www.DauerDB.org) that makes it possible to search any gene and compare its relative expression at a specific stage, or evaluate overall patterns of gene expression in both paths. This database can be accessed by the research community and could be widely applicable to other related nematodes as a molecular atlas.