Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis on Overhead Shielded Coupling Effectiveness of Ring Seam by Matlab

it was important to study the shielded effectiveness to reduce the electromagnetic interference and to protect electronic components. in this paper, the boundary element equation of linear segment was derived from the two-dimension boundary integral equation and linear interpolating function, and the formulas of potential and electric field intensity were also given. To demonstrate the accuracy and flexibility of the LBEM (linear boundary element method), the influence of the deformation degree of shielded deformed coaxial cable compared with the multipole theory on the results were discussed. Taking the overhead shielded coaxial cable and the overhead shielded two-core cable of ring seam as the research objects. The influences of ring seam in shielded effectiveness were analyzed by applying the LBEM with Matlab. The engineering example results showed that for overhead shield two-core cable, the change of coupling capacitance was related with the ring seam in deep layer of overhead shield two-core cable at the location of parallel core distance; and the change tendency of coupling capacitor with the ring seam at the vertical core distance was almost the same as the ring seam at the parallel core distance. But, when the ring seam depth was quite deep, very likely one core was exposed, and then the coupling capacitor decreased rapidly. Therefore the study of coupling effectiveness was instructive for more effective to defense EMI and will improve the overhead shielded cable electromagnetic compatibility.
Production of Aerial Conidia of Lecanicillium lecanii 41185 by Solid-State Fermentation for Use as a Mycoinsecticide

The production of aerial conidia of Lecanicillium lecanii 41185, a highly virulent fungus, by solid-state fermentation was studied for use as a biocontrol agent against aphids. Among several agro-industrial solid media, steamed polished rice was found to produce the highest amount of aerial conidia. The optimal conditions for aerial conidia production were determined to be a 28.5% moisture content in the rice, 25°C culture temperature, rice pH of 6.0, 75% ambient relative humidity, 4-dold seeding culture, 0.6% KNO3, and 12 d of culture time. The conidia yield increased from 5.7 × 109 conidia/g polished rice to 18.2 × 109 conidia/g polished rice following application of these optimized conditions.
Sekiguchi Lesion Gene Encodes a Cytochrome P450 Monooxygenase That Catalyzes Conversion of Tryptamine to Serotonin in Rice*

Serotonin is a well known neurotransmitter in mammals and plays an important role in various mental functions in humans. In plants, the serotonin biosynthesis pathway and its function are not well understood. The rice sekiguchi lesion (sl) mutants accumulate tryptamine, a candidate substrate for serotonin biosynthesis. We isolated the SL gene by map-based cloning and found that it encodes CYP71P1 in a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase family. A recombinant SL protein exhibited tryptamine 5-hydroxylase enzyme activity and catalyzed the conversion of tryptamine to serotonin. This pathway is novel and has not been reported in mammals. Expression of SL was induced by the N-acetylchitooligosaccharide (chitin) elicitor and by infection with Magnaporthe grisea, a causal agent for rice blast disease. Exogenously applied serotonin induced defense gene expression and cell death in rice suspension cultures and increased resistance to rice blast infection in plants. We also found that serotonin-induced defense gene expression is mediated by the RacGTPase pathway and by the Gα subunit of the heterotrimeric G protein. These results suggest that serotonin plays an important role in rice innate immunity.
The gender sensitivity of Zimbabwean secondary school textbooks

This article examines the extent to which four O-level English textbooks currently used in Zimbabwean schools are gender sensitive. The article begins with a review of the literature on the different manifestations of gender stereotypes as exhibited by the representation of female characters in texts. Using feminist theory and content analysis of four textbooks, the article shows that women are largely invisible in the texts, as manifested by the titles of passages, pictures and illustrations, extracts of passages and poems, in all of which a male perspective was dominant. Where women featured, they were, in most cases, portrayed negatively.
Investigating the Impact of Diffuse Axonal Injury on Working Memory Performance following Traumatic Brain Injury Using Functional and Diffusion Neuroimaging Methods

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of disability globally. Cognitive deficits represent the primary source of on-going disability in this population, yet the mechanisms of these deficits remain poorly understood. Here functional and diffusion-weighted imaging techniques were employed to characterize the mechanisms of neurofunctional change following TBI and their relationship to cognitive function. TBI subjects who had sustained moderate to severe brain injury, demonstrated good functional and neuropsychological recovery, and screened positive for diffuse axonal injury but negative for focal brain lesions were recruited for the project. TBI subjects and matched controls underwent structural, diffusion-weighted and functional MRI. The functional scanning paradigm consisted of a complex working memory task with both load and executive control manipulations. Study one demonstrated augmented functional engagement for TBI subjects relative to healthy controls associated with executive control processing but not maintenance operations within working memory. In study two, multivariate neuroimaging analyses demonstrated that activity within a network of bilateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) and posterior parietal regions was compensatory for task performance in the TBI sample. Functional connectivity analyses revealed that a common network of bilateral PFC regions was active in both groups during working memory performance, although this activity was behaviourally relevant at lower
Medical Students' Attitudes in a PBL Curriculum: Trust, Altruism, and Cynicism

Purpose Studies have shown that medical students become more cynical and less altruistic as they advance in training. However, these studies were conducted in traditional medical schools, and many used unvalidated tools. This study examined students' attitudes in a problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum using reliable and valid measures. Method Medical students and PGY-1 residents at Mercer University School of Medicine in Macon, Georgia, completed Wrightsman's Philosophies of Human Natures Scale (PHNS) in 1999 and 2000. Chronbach's alpha assessed internal reliability among subscales, and test–retest reliability coefficients confirmed acceptable reliability. For 114 students who completed both surveys, changes in PHNS scores were analyzed, with particular attention to the subscales of trustworthiness, altruism, and cynicism. Results Students assessed at the beginning of their second year increased the extent to which they believed people are trustworthy and increased their beliefs in how altruistic people are. They also showed a significant decrease in cynicism. There was not a significant change in trustworthiness, altruism, or cynicism among the participants beyond first year. In general, female students held less cynical views about others and believed people to be more trustworthy. Conclusions Contrary to prior reports, this study found that more advanced trainees were not more cynical or less altruistic than their more junior counterparts. Indeed, a significant and positive change of attitudes among the participants during their first year of medical school refuted earlier reports. Thus, results of earlier studies and the effect of a PBL curriculum on attitudes of medical students need to be re-examined.
Slow deactivation of ribulose 1,5‐bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase elucidated by mathematical models

Ribulose 1,5‐bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO) is the key enzyme of the Calvin cycle, catalyzing the fixation of inorganic carbon dioxide to organic sugars. Unlike most enzymes, RuBisCO is extremely slow, substrate unspecific, and catalyzes undesired side‐reactions, which are considered to be responsible for the slow deactivation observed in vitro, a phenomenon known as fallover. Despite the fact that amino acid sequences and the 3D structures of RuBisCO from a variety of species are known, the precise molecular mechanisms for the various side reactions are still unclear. In the present study, we investigate the kinetic properties of RuBisCO using mathematical models. Initially, we formulate a minimal model that quantitatively reflects the kinetic behavior of RuBisCOs from different organisms. By relating rate parameters for single molecular steps to experimentally determined Km and Vmax values, we can examine mechanistic differences among species. The minimal model further demonstrates that two inhibitor producing side reactions are sufficient to describe experimentally determined fallover kinetics. To explain the observed kinetics of the limited capacity of RuBisCO to accept xylulose 1,5‐bisphosphate as substrate, the inclusion of other side reactions is necessary. Our model results suggest a yet undescribed alternative enolization mechanism that is supported by the molecular structure. Taken together, the presented models serve as a theoretical framework to explain a wide range of observed kinetic properties of RuBisCOs derived from a variety of species. Thus, we can support hypotheses about molecular mechanisms and can systematically compare enzymes from different origins.
Decision-Making in Research Tasks with Sequential Testing

Background In a recent controversial essay, published by JPA Ioannidis in PLoS Medicine, it has been argued that in some research fields, most of the published findings are false. Based on theoretical reasoning it can be shown that small effect sizes, error-prone tests, low priors of the tested hypotheses and biases in the evaluation and publication of research findings increase the fraction of false positives. These findings raise concerns about the reliability of research. However, they are based on a very simple scenario of scientific research, where single tests are used to evaluate independent hypotheses. Methodology/Principal Findings In this study, we present computer simulations and experimental approaches for analyzing more realistic scenarios. In these scenarios, research tasks are solved sequentially, i.e. subsequent tests can be chosen depending on previous results. We investigate simple sequential testing and scenarios where only a selected subset of results can be published and used for future rounds of test choice. Results from computer simulations indicate that for the tasks analyzed in this study, the fraction of false among the positive findings declines over several rounds of testing if the most informative tests are performed. Our experiments show that human subjects frequently perform the most informative tests, leading to a decline of false positives as expected from the simulations. Conclusions/Significance For the research tasks studied here, findings tend to become more reliable over time. We also find that the performance in those experimental settings where not all performed tests could be published turned out to be surprisingly inefficient. Our results may help optimize existing procedures used in the practice of scientific research and provide guidance for the development of novel forms of scholarly communication.
An age- and sex-structured assessment model for American eels (Anguilla rostrata) in the Potomac River, Maryland

American eel (Anguilla rostrata) and European eel (Anguilla anguilla) populations have declined since the 1980s prompting concern about their status and the causes of decline, but stock assessment approaches to estimate effects of fishing on these populations are lacking. Since 1964, 16% of United States commercial American eel harvest came from the Potomac River, yet American eel abundance, production, and fishing mortality is poorly understood in this system. We developed an age- and sex-structured assessment model for 1980–2008 and compared results with the F50% biological reference point (BRP). The model included natural mortality, fishing mortality, and sex- and age-specific maturation mortality and selectivity. Between 1980 and 2008 estimated recruitment, biomass, and abundance decreased 82%–89%. In all years since 1993, the exploitation rate exceeded the F50% BRP. The model was moderately sensitive to changes in natural mortality, standard deviation for fishery and recruitment catch-per-unit-effort.
Induction of angiogenesis by implantation of encapsulated primary myoblasts expressing vascular endothelial growth factor

We previously demonstrated that intramuscular implantation of primary myoblasts engineered to express vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) constitutively resulted in hemangioma formation and the appearance of VEGF in the circulation. To investigate the potential for using allogeneic myoblasts and the effects of delivery of VEGF‐expressing myoblasts to non‐muscle sites, we have enclosed them in microcapsules that protect allogeneic cells from rejection, yet allow the secretion of proteins produced by the cells.
CHARIOT

An emerging trend in Internet of Things (IoT) applications is to move the computation (cyber) closer to the source of the data (physical). This paradigm is often referred to as edge computing. If edge resources are pooled together, they can be used as decentralized shared resources for IoT applications, providing increased capacity to scale up computations and minimize end-to-end latency. Managing applications on these edge resources is hard, however, due to their remote, distributed, and (possibly) dynamic nature, which necessitates autonomous management mechanisms that facilitate application deployment, failure avoidance, failure management, and incremental updates. To address these needs, we present CHARIOT, which is orchestration middleware capable of autonomously managing IoT systems consisting of edge resources and applications. CHARIOT implements a three-layer architecture. The topmost layer comprises a system description language, the middle layer comprises a persistent data storage layer and the corresponding schema to store system information, and the bottom layer comprises a management engine that uses information stored persistently to formulate constraints that encode system properties and requirements, thereby enabling the use of satisfiability modulo theory solvers to compute optimal system (re)configurations dynamically at runtime. This article describes the structure and functionality of CHARIOT and evaluates its efficacy as the basis for a smart parking system case study that uses sensors to manage parking spaces.
Psilocybin and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Abstract Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric disorder with considerable morbidity and mortality. This condition disables many individuals and is often refractory to treatment. Research suggests that serotonin plays a role in OCD symptom reduction. We present a case of an individual who successfully used psilocybin, a serotonergic agent, to reduce the core symptoms of OCD for several years. Although not endorsing this form of treatment, we feel that the successful use of this agent highlights the role of serotonergic factors in OCD and the need for further, legitimate research into the value of psilocybin in the treatment of anxiety disorders.
Virus‐specific antibody production and polyclonal B‐cell activation in the intestinal mucosa of HIV‐infected individuals

ObjectiveTo examine possible changes in mucosal B-cell activation status. DesignTo examine the frequency and isotype distribution of total and HIV-specific antibody-secreting cells (ASC) in the intestinal mucosa of HIV-infected individuals. MethodsMucosal lymphocytes were obtained by enzymatic treatment of duodenal pinch biopsies and the numbers of ASC were assayed with the enzyme-linked immunospot technique. ResultsHigh numbers of HIV-specific ASC were found in the intestine of all HIV-infected individuals despite low levels of HIV-specific blood ASC. All HIV-infected individuals had large numbers of intestinal immunoglobulin (Ig) A-ASC against the HIV envelope glycoprotein gp160. Eight out of nine patients also had HIV gp160-specific intestinal IgG-ASC. These HIV-specific ASC were detected irrespective of disease stage, route of infection, or levels of circulating CD4+ T cells. HIV-specific ASC were found in peripheral blood from patients with CD4+ T cells ≥100×106/l blood, but in none of three patients with low CD4+ T-cell counts. The frequencies of virus-specific ASC in the blood were on average 100-fold lower than that observed within the intestinal mucosa. Mucosal polyclonal B-cell activation was evident in HIV-infected individuals, as documented by significantly elevated numbers of Ig-secreting cells (ISC) in all three major Ig classes; on average, seven-, five- and 20-fold numbers of IgA, IgG and IgM-ISC compared with healthy controls. Furthermore, substantial numbers of ASC reacting with unrelated antigens such as dog albumin and keyhole limpet haemocyanin were detected in HIV-infected patients. Interestingly, patients with CD4+T cells < 100×106/l blood displayed large numbers of HIV-specific intestinal ASC even though total numbers of ISC, including ASC reactive to unrelated antigens, were decreased. ConclusionsThe large numbers of virus-specific ASC found in the intestine of HIV-infected individuals may be a consequence of local replication of HIV-1 resulting in a continuous antigen stimulation. The persistence of strong intestinal anti-HIV responses even at late stages of disease suggest that the mucosal B-cell responses are functionally intact throughout the disease. Furthermore, these results suggest that there is no correlation between HIV-specific ASC numbers and polyclonal B-cell activation. These observations indicate that intestinal B-cell activation is profoundly disregulated in HIV-infected individuals.
Biochemical determinants of tumor sensitivity to 5-fluorouracil: ultrasensitive methods for the determination of 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridylate, 2'-deoxyuridylate, and thymidylate synthetase.

Techniques have been developed to measure FdUMP, the active metabolite of 5-FUra; thymidylate synthetase (TMP synthase; 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate:dUMP C-methyltransferase, EC 2.1.1.45), the target enzyme for this antimetabolite; and dUMP, the substrate that competes with FdUMP for binding to TMP synthetase. As little as 0.02 pmol of FdUMP can be quantitated with a competitive ligand binding assay by using homogeneous Lactobacillus casei/MTX TMP synthetase as a binding protein. A new binding assay for TMP synthetase allows detection of 0.005 pmol of enzyme. The quantitative enzymatic conversion of dUMP to [methyl-(14)C]-TMP using 5,10-methylene[(14)C]tetrahydrofolate by pure L. casei TMP synthetase is used as an assay for dUMP with a sensitivity of 10 pmol. Cultured CCRF-CEM human lymphoblastic leukemia cells formed high levels of FdUMP (2.6 nmol per 10(9) cells) within 11 hr after exposure to 30 muM 5-FUra. Tumor cell TMP synthetase levels dropped, and then free FdUMP appeared. The intracellular dUMP pool was low (2-5 nmol per 10(9) cells) in logarithmically growing cultures of several tumor cell lines but expanded rapidly in CCRF-CEM cells on exposure to 5-FUra after enzyme levels decreased. The levels of dUMP found after exposure to 5-FUra are sufficient to severely retard inhibition of TMP synthetase by FdUMP.The methods described are sufficiently sensitive to allow these biochemical parameters of 5-FUra action to be measured in cell culture or in needle biopsy samples of human tumors.
How Do States Formulate Medicaid and SCHIP Policy? Economic and Political Determinants of State Eligibility Levels

We exploit the existence of substantial variation in state policies toward public health insurance for children between 1990 and 2002 to estimate the economic and political determinants of state eligibility levels. Controlling for state and year effects, eligibility levels are not significantly associated with either the percentage of uninsured children in the state or the eligibility policy of neighboring states; further, variation in eligibility levels within state is negatively associated with both the federal matching rate and state fiscal capacity. We also observe that state political preferences, measured by the Democrats share of seats in the lower chamber of the state legislature, are a relatively important a determinant of state eligibility levels. However, other political factors, such as party control of state government, voter turnout, legislative term limits and campaign finance regulations do not influence state eligibility levels.
Aging: Its Effects on Strength, Power, Flexibility, and Bone Density

Strength and Conditioning Journal 65 WITH THE ONSET OF THE YEAR 2000, the average American is living an extended life span of 3 decades. Are these years to be lived out in a nursing home? People generally do not end up in nursing homes because they are sick but because they are physically weak. They lack the muscular strength and motor ability to live a functional, independent life. When people reach 50, they begin to pay the price of a sedentary lifestyle. The predictable consequences are detrimental changes in body composition, including loss of lean body mass, strength, flexibility, and bone density, along with an increase in body weight and body fat. Inactivity with aging is the primary factor in these changes, because physical activity levels are one of the most important factors affecting body composition from childhood through old age. Research studies have shown that age-related changes in body composition can be retarded and even reversed through resistance training. This review of literature examines the extensive studies published over the past 2 decades pertaining to the intervention of resistance training in managing the loss of functional capacity associated with aging. The review addresses the effects of aging on strength, power, flexibility, and bone density and the controversy of machines versus free weights in training older individuals. The review provides effective guidelines for writing a strength fitness prescription for the older adult, one that will enhance his or her ability to live an independent lifestyle well into late life.
Quality of life of Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) patients: how good are physicians in assessing DNR patients' quality of life?

QUESTIONS UNDER STUDY To assess 1) the impact of quality of life evaluation on the implementation of Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) orders by physicians, 2) the accuracy of physicians' estimation of DNR patients' quality of life. METHODS A 10-month prospective clinical study in a community hospital including 255 DNR patients and 9 physicians in postgraduate training. Outcomes of interest were the influence of quality of life on the DNR decision and the assessment from patients and physicians of five different components related directly or indirectly to quality of life: mental (the Mini Mental State Examination), physical (the Activities of Daily Living) and social (Framingham Disability), degree of pain (visual analogical scale of pain) and of depression (Geriatric Depression Scale). RESULTS Quality of life intervened in more than 70% of the DNR decisions. However, physicians underestimated quality of life components of DNR patients (Kappa <0.4 for each functionality). Severe depression, social isolation and physical dependence influenced negatively patients' perception of their quality of life (p <0.01). CONCLUSION Physicians often (71%) rely on the assumed quality of life of their patients in their DNR decision but unfortunately tend to underestimate it. Greater involvement of patients in the DNR decision could improve quality of care.