Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Study on Durability Properties of Coconut Shell Concrete with Coconut Fiber

Coconut fiber was used in coconut shell concrete (CSC) and its durability properties were studied. The properties include: water absorption, volume of permeable pore voids, rapid chloride penetration test, sorptivity and resistance at elevated temperature. For comparison purpose, these properties were also studied on conventional concrete (CC) with coconut fibers. Three different curing conditions viz. full water immersion, site curing and air-dry conditions were employed except for temperature resistance study in which only full water immersion was used. Test results show that the durability properties were better in full water immersion condition in case of CC mixes and in site curing condition in case of CSC mixes. Temperature resistance tests gave a minimum guarantee of both CC and CSC mixes without and with coconut fibers for 2 h resistance and hence they were deemed safe for construction.
Automatic Segmentation of the Central Epithelium Imaged With Three Optical Coherence Tomography Devices

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of automatic segmentation of the central corneal thickness (CCT) and epithelial thickness (ET) of the human cornea obtained with different spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) instruments. Methods: Ten left eyes from 10 healthy subjects with a mean age of 22.5±1.5 years participated in this study. A custom-built ultra–high resolution OCT (UHR-OCT) with a 3-&mgr;m axial resolution, ultralong scan depth OCT (UL-OCT) with a 7.5-&mgr;m resolution, and commercial RTVue OCT with a 5-&mgr;m resolution were used to image the cornea. An automated segmentation algorithm was developed to process the OCT images and yield the CCT and ET. The measurement was verified by a manual measurement. Results: The automatic algorithm successfully processed the central thickness of the cornea and corneal epithelium for all images. The average CCT obtained by the automatic segmentation algorithm was 528.1±22.4 &mgr;m, 526.1±23.4 &mgr;m, and 525.2±23.7 &mgr;m for UHR-OCT, UL-OCT, and RTVue, respectively. The average ET was 53.2±2.0 &mgr;m, 54.1±3.0 &mgr;m, and 52.1±2.5 &mgr;m for UHR-OCT, UL-OCT, and RTVue, respectively. These measurements were in agreement with those of the manual method for the CCT (all r>0.997, P<0.05) and for the ET (all r>0.71, P<0.05). Conclusions: The algorithm seemed to be feasible for automatically segmenting the CCT and ET in OCT images using these tested OCT devices. The segmented results were equivalent to that obtained with the manual method.
Corporate Fraction and the Equilibrium Term Structure of Equity Risk

The recent empirical evidence of a downward-sloping term structure of equity risk is viewed as a challenge to many leading asset pricing models. This article analytically characterizes conditions under which a continuous-time long-run risk model can accommodate the stylized facts about dividend and equity risk, when dividends are a stationary stochastic fraction of aggregate consumption. Such a cointegrating relation not only makes dividends riskier in the short run than at medium horizons but also preserves the role of long-run risk: consequently, the model captures both the traditional puzzles, like the high equity premium, as well as the new evidence about the term structure of equity risk.
Functional and antigenic maps in the rat cerebellum: Zebrin compartmentation and vibrissal receptive fields in lobule IXa

The mammalian cerebellum is compartmentalized, both structurally and biochemically, into an array of parasagittal bands. In the adult rat, bands can be shown by immunocytochemical staining of a Purkinje cell subset with the monoclonal antibody antizebrin II. In contrast to the bands revealed by the zebrin II distribution, electrophysiological maps of tactile representations show an apparently quite different organization, a patchwork somatotopy of interwoven small receptive fields. We have compared zebrin II compartmentation with the distribution of vibrissal receptive fields in the dorsal face of lobule IXa. Nine adult rats were studied. Zebrin II immunocytochemistry revealed a zebrin II+ band at the midline (P1+) and three others (P2+, P3+, P4+) arrayed laterally, separated by the P1−, P2−, and P3− bands of unstained Purkinje cells. The only significant source of variability was that P3− was sometimes ill defined, making the P3+ and P4+ difficult to distinguish. Electrophysiological recording in the granular layer of lobule IXa identified two reproducible vibrissal receptive fields on each side of the midline (V1 and V2), with a third, more laterally, identified occasionally (V3). When receptive field maps were constructed and aligned with the zebrin II compartment maps from the same individuals, the V1 receptive field was centered on P1−, V2 on P2−, and V3 on P3−. However, the receptive fields typically extended beyond the P− band into the neighboring P+ to each side. Thus there is a simple, reproducible vibrissal receptive field organization in lobule IXa that bears a constant relationship to the Purkinje cell compartmentation revealed by zebrin II immunocytochemistry. The biochemical parcellation of the cortex may serve to organize the afferent and efferent projection topography and thus to align the sensory and motor maps in the cerebellum. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
De Novo Neurogenesis and Acute Stroke: Are Exogenous Stem Cells Really Necessary?

RECENT STUDIES DOCUMENTING the phenomenon of de novo neurogenesis within the adult brain have propelled this area of research to the forefront of neuroscience investigations and stroke pathogenesis and treatment. Traditional theories have suggested that the central nervous system is incapable of neural regeneration; hence the emergence of the field of stem cell biology as a discipline devoted to uncovering novel forms of neural repair. However, several recent experimental observations have shown that the adult brain is capable of ongoing neurogenesis in discrete regions of the uninjured brain and additional forms of endogenous neural regeneration in the presence of an inciting event (induction neurogenesis). Induction neurogenesis has the potential for providing new insights into the cause and treatment of acute stroke syndromes.
Molecular markers distinguishing supragranular and infragranular layers in the human prefrontal cortex

The human neocortex is organized into six layers that are differentiated by the size and packing density of their constituent neurons. The gene products that guide the establishment of this lamination have been studied extensively, but the gene expression gradients present across the layers of the adult human neocortex are mostly unknown. As the supragranular (SG) and infragranular (IG) layers of the human prefrontal cortex (PFC) differ in their connectivity and developmental time course, we hypothesized that the SG and IG layers will show distinct differences in their transcriptomes. To test this prediction, we used laser capture microdissection coupled with DNA microarray transcriptome profiling. Sixty‐nine genes exhibited robust and highly consistent expression differences between the SG and IG layers. For six selected markers, in addition to validating the microarray findings, in situ hybridization revealed a complex, subpopulation‐specific neuronal distribution. The markers we identified are likely to be related to the functional differences between the SG and IG layers of the human PFC and can be used for assessing alterations in structure and function of this cortical region in human brain disorders.
VARIATIONS IN CUTANEOUS AND VISCERAL PAIN SENSITIVITY IN NORMAL SUBJECTS.

A striking variation in the intensity of pain, experienced in diseases with apparently similar lesions, is a common observationi. This fact may indicate a variation in pain sensitivity in different individuals, or a variation in pain sensitivity in a given person because of different environmental or physiological conditions. The amount of pain arising from lesions cannot be quantitatively measured. One must, therefore, employ the alternative of introducing a measured stimulus and, by the artificial production of pain, study individual responses under varying conditions. By such studies, one may hope to obtain an explanation of clinical variations in pain. Numerous studies on pain sensitivity have been made (1 to 6). Prior to 1940, attempts to quantitate cutaneous pain sensitivity were limited chiefly by the technical difficulties of creating a stimulus which could be accurately measured and which produced a readily appreciated end-point of pain. The cutaneous heat-radiation apparatus, developed by Hardy, Wolff, and Goodell (6), overcame both of these difficulties. Visceral pain also has been studied experimentally by many investigators (7 to 9), but, so far as is known, no satisfactory quantitative measurements of visceral pain sensitivity have been made. The present study constitutes an attempt to measure pain sensitivity in 200 normal subjects. They were considered to be normal in that they showed no evidence of physical or mental disease, either by examination or by history. Their ages ranged from 10 to 85 years. A majority of the group were of Northern European stock; the remainder included 25 Southern Negroes, 15 Ukrainians, and 30 of Jewish and other Mediterranean races. Various economic, occupational,
Sensitivity correction for the influence of the fat layer on muscle oxygenation and estimation of fat thickness by time-resolved spectroscopy

Abstract. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has been used for noninvasive assessment of oxygenation in living tissue. For muscle measurements by NIRS, the measurement sensitivity to muscle (SM) is strongly influenced by fat thickness (FT). In this study, we investigated the influence of FT and developed a correction curve for SM with an optode distance (3 cm) sufficiently large to probe the muscle. First, we measured the hemoglobin concentration in the forearm (n=36) and thigh (n=6) during arterial occlusion using a time-resolved spectroscopy (TRS) system, and then FT was measured by ultrasound. The correction curve was derived from the ratio of partial mean optical path length of the muscle layer 〈LM〉 to observed mean optical path length 〈L〉. There was good correlation between FT and 〈L〉 at rest, and 〈L〉 could be used to estimate FT. The estimated FT was used to validate the correction curve by measuring the forearm blood flow (FBF) by strain-gauge plethysmography (SGP_FBF) and TRS (TRS_FBF) simultaneously during a reactive hyperemia test with 16 volunteers. The corrected TRS_FBF results were similar to the SGP_FBF results. This is a simple method for sensitivity correction that does not require use of ultrasound.
Antiserum specific for the carboxy terminus of the transforming protein of Rous sarcoma virus

An antiserum specific for the carboxy terminus of p60src, the transforming protein of Rous sarcoma virus, was produced by immunization of rabbits with a conjugate of bovine serum albumin and the synthetic peptide NH2-Tyr-Val-Leu-Glu-Val-Ala-Glu-COOH. The carboxy-terminal six amino acids of this peptide correspond in sequence to that deduced for the carboxy terminus of the p60src of the Schmidt-Ruppin strain of Rous sarcoma virus of subgroup A. The p60src proteins of the several strains of Rous sarcoma virus and the cellular homolog of the viral transforming protein, p60c-src, comprise a polymorphic family of polypeptides. The anticarboxy-terminal serum reacted readily with the p60src proteins of three different strains of Rous sarcoma virus. In contrast, no precipitation of cellular p60c-src could be detected with this serum. This suggests that the viral p60src proteins have identical carboxy termini and that the carboxy terminus of cellular p60c-src may be different from that of viral p60src. The anticarboxy-terminal serum reacted poorly with the subpopulation of viral p60src which is present in a complex with two cellular phosphoproteins. Apparently, the presence of the two cellular proteins interferes with the recognition of p60src by the anticarboxy-terminal serum. It seems likely, therefore, that these two cellular proteins bind to the carboxy-terminal domain of p60src.
Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Mass Trapping with BG-Sentinel Traps for Dengue Vector Control: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial in Manaus, Brazil

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of BG-Sentinel (BGS) traps for mass trapping at the household level to control the dengue vector, Aedes aegypti (L.), in Manaus (Brazil) by performing a cluster randomized controlled trial. After an initial questionnaire and baseline monitoring, 6 out of 12 clusters were randomly allocated to the intervention arm, where participating premises received one BGS trap for mass trapping. The other six clusters did not receive traps and were considered as the control arm. Biweekly monitoring with BGS in both arms assessed the impact of mass trapping. At the end of the study, a serological survey was conducted and a second questionnaire was conducted in the intervention arm. Entomological monitoring indicated that mass trapping with BGS traps significantly reduced the abundance of adult female Ae. aegypti during the first five rainy months. In the subsequent dry season when the mosquito population was lower, no effect of mass trapping was observed. Fewer Ae. aegypti females were measured in the intervention arm during the next rainy period, but no significant difference between arms was observed. The serological survey revealed that in participating houses of mass trapping areas recent dengue infections were less common than in control areas, although this effect was not statistically significant. The majority of participants responded positively to questions concerning user satisfaction. Our results suggest that BGS traps are a promising tool which might be deployed as part of dengue control programs; however, further investigations and larger scale studies are necessary.
Correction factors of the Mindlin plate equations for vibrations of SC-cut quartz crystal plates

The Mindlin plate equations have been the primary choice for the analysis of high frequency vibrations of AT- and SC-cut quartz crystal plates in the design of resonators for predictions of vibration frequency, mode couplings, and bias effects. However, the plate equations have to be modified to yield exact solutions in certain frequency range and correction factors are chosen in a systematic manner with validation from three-dimensional solutions. We have obtained correction factors up to the fifth-order plate equations in terms of electrode mass ratio as polynomials up to cubic terms through curve fitting for SC-cut quartz crystal. For partially electroded quartz plates, capacitance ratios have also been compared with that from the Lee plate equations in good agreement. We conclude that the procedure have been established to take the advantage of simplicity and elegance of the corrected Mindlin plate equations for analytical and numerical solutions.
To See or Not to See: Prestimulus α Phase Predicts Visual Awareness

We often fail to see something that at other times is readily detectable. Because the visual stimulus itself is unchanged, this variability in conscious awareness is likely related to changes in the brain. Here we show that the phase of EEG α rhythm measured over posterior brain regions can reliably predict both subsequent visual detection and stimulus-elicited cortical activation levels in a metacontrast masking paradigm. When a visual target presentation coincides with the trough of an α wave, cortical activation is suppressed as early as 100 ms after stimulus onset, and observers are less likely to detect the target. Thus, during one α cycle lasting 100 ms, the human brain goes through a rapid oscillation in excitability, which directly influences the probability that an environmental stimulus will reach conscious awareness. Moreover, ERPs to the appearance of a fixation cross before the target predict its detection, further suggesting that cortical excitability level may mediate target detection. A novel theory of cortical inhibition is proposed in which increased α power represents a “pulsed inhibition” of cortical activity that affects visual awareness.
The development of a non‐invasive model to predict the presence of non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis in patients with non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease

Non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is an advanced and aggressive form of non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which remains difficult to diagnose without a liver biopsy. Hyperferritinemia has increasingly been associated with the presence of NASH. Hence, we sought to explore the relationship between ferritin and NASH and to develop a composite model based on ferritin to predict the presence of NASH.
Mentorship Defined by Alternative Teacher Certification Candidates: A Phenomenological Inquiry.

National teacher shortages have driven the market for alternative means of teacher certification. This study sought to understand what mentorship means to 27 beginning teachers in a university-district partnership Alternative Certification Program (ACP) in an effort to understand the participants’ perceptions. The process included administering and coding self report questionnaires, random selection and focus group interviews, data triangulation, and intense interaction over a 10 month period. Principles of phenomenology guided researchers to realize four interrelated essential core themes exploring the meaning of mentorship (a) school politics, (b) proximity (c) relationship, and (d) classroom management.
Flood Area Detection Using PALSAR-2 Amplitude and Coherence Data: The Case of the 2015 Heavy Rainfall in Japan

Rapid detection of flood areas in all weather conditions is needed for monitoring and mitigating flood disasters. In this paper, we investigated flood area detection using L-band synthetic aperture radar data acquired by the Phased-Array-type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar-2 (PALSAR-2) aboard the Advanced Land Observing Satellite-2 during the 2015 heavy rainfall disaster in Kanto and Tohoku areas of Japan. This paper comprehensively compared various observation conditions of PALSAR-2, such as incidence angles, resolutions, and polarizations. We successfully detected open-water flood and built-up area flood by thresholding amplitude and interferometric coherence images. On the basis of our results, we conclude that incidence angles of approximately 20–40°, linear polarization or surface scattering component (HH, VV, and HH + VV), and high resolution are the preferable conditions for flood area detection by PALSAR-2. The optimum threshold resulted in the following flood area detection accuracies: Kappa coefficient (κ) = 0.583 in open water and κ = 0.429 in built-up area. These results successfully demonstrate the feasibility of rapid flood monitoring using PALSAR-2 data.
Regulation of CDP-diacylglycerol synthesis and utilization by inositol and choline in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

CDP-diacylglycerol (CDP-DG) is an important branchpoint intermediate in eucaryotic phospholipid biosynthesis and could be a key regulatory site in phospholipid metabolism. Therefore, we examined the effects of growth phase, phospholipid precursors, and the disruption of phosphatidylcholine (PC) synthesis on the membrane-associated phospholipid biosynthetic enzymes CDP-DG synthase, phosphatidylglycerolphosphate (PGP) synthase, phosphatidylinositol (PI) synthase, and phosphatidylserine (PS) synthase in cell extracts of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. In complete synthetic medium containing inositol, maximal expression of CDP-DG synthase, PGP synthase, PI synthase, and PS synthase in wild-type cells occurred in the exponential phase of growth and decreased two- to fourfold in the stationary phase of growth. In cells starved for inositol, this decrease in PGP synthase, PI synthase, and PS synthase expression was not observed. Starvation for inositol resulted in a twofold derepression of PGP synthase and PS synthase expression, while PI synthase expression decreased initially and then remained constant. Upon the addition of inositol to inositol-starved cells, there was a rapid and continued increase in PI synthase expression. We examined expression of these enzymes in cho2 and cho1 mutants, which are blocked in the methylation pathway for synthesis of PC. Choline starvation resulted in a decrease in PS synthase and CDP-DG synthase expression in cho1 but not cho2 cells. Expression of PGP synthase and PI synthase was not affected by choline starvation. Inositol starvation resulted in a 1.7-fold derepression of PGP synthase expression in cho2 but not cho1 cells when PC was synthesized. PS synthase expression was not depressed, while CDP-DG synthase and PI synthase expression decreased in cho2 and cho1 cells in the absence of inositol. These results demonstrate that (i) CDP-DG synthase, PGP synthase, PI synthase, and PS synthase are similarly regulated by growth phase; (ii) inositol affects the expression of PGP synthase, PI synthase, and PS synthase; (iii) disruption of the methylation pathway results in aberrant patterns of regulation of growth phase and phospholipid precursors. Important differences between S. pombe and Saccharomyces cerevisiae with regard to regulation of these enzymes are discussed.
Teichuronic acid operon of Bacillus subtilis 168

Sequence analysis reveals that the Bacillus subtilis 168 tuaABCDEFGH operon encodes enzymes required for the polymerization of teichuronic acid as well as for the synthesis of one of its precursors, the UDP‐glucuronate. Mutants deficient in any of the tua genes, grown in batch cultures under conditions of phosphate limitation, were characterized by reduced amounts of uronate in their cell walls. The teichuronic acid operon belongs to the Pho regulon, as phosphate limitation induces its transcription. Placing the tuaABCDEFGH operon under the control of the inducible Pspac promoter allowed its constitutive expression independently of the phosphate concentration in the medium; the level of uronic acid in cell walls was dependent on the concentration of the inducer. Apparently, owing to an interdependence between teichoic and teichuronic acid incorporation into the cell wall, in examined growth conditions, the balance between the two polymers is maintained in order to insure a constant level of the wall negative charge.