Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The in vivo effect of Echinacea purpurea succus on various functions of human blood leukocytes

healthy human volunteers were treated for 7 days with 6 ml of Echinacea purpurea succus daily (IMMUNAL drops, LEK Slovenia) or placebo. Blood from cubital vein was collected twice- before and after treatment. The following parameters were evaluated: (1) release of growth factors by mononuclear leukocytes (human leukocyte-induced angiogenesis, H LIA test); (2) in vitro mononuclear leukocytes response to mitogen PHA, (3H thymidine); (3) chemiluminescent activity of granulocytes, (4) CD4 and CD8 lymphocyte markers. Echinacea administration resulted in stimulation of proliferative and angiogenic activity of blood mononuclear leukocytes, stimulation of blood granulocytes activity and increase of CD4/CD8 ratio.
Does the midnight sun increase the feeding rate and hence the growth rate of early juvenile Arcto-Norwegian cod Gadus morhua in the Barents Sea?

The growth rate of Arcto-Norwegian cod juveniles in the Barents Sea during their first 4 mo of life is about twice that of cod juveniles in areas farther south, such as Georges Bank and the Flemish cap. Cod larvae and juveniles in the Barents Sea experience 24 h of daylight and thus the larvae and juveniles may continuously search for and capture prey. The stomach contents of cod juveniles caught in July 1989 were examined to determine if there were any diurnal patterns in stomach fullness or degree of digestion. No significant diurnal trends were detected. This suggests that feeding is continuous throughout the day, which enables the Barents Sea cod larvae and juveniles to grow more quickly than do cod juveniles farther south.
Forest Fragmentation of the Conterminous United States: Assessing Forest Intactness through Road Density and Spatial Characteristics

O the past few centuries,widespread disturbance of native forests of the conterminous United States has dramatically altered the composition, structure, extent, and spatial pattern of forestlands (Curtis 1956, Whitney 1994). These forests have been either permanently replaced by other land uses or degraded to varying degrees by unsustainable forestry practices, forest fragmentation, exotic species introduction, or alteration of natural disturbance regimes. Habitat fragmentation is generally defined as the process of subdividing a continuous habitat type into smaller patches, which results in the loss of original habitat, reduction in patch size, and increasing isolation of patches (Andrén 1994). Habitat fragmentation is considered to be one of the single most important factors leading to loss of native species (especially in forested landscapes) and one of the primary causes of the present extinction crisis (Wilcox and Murphy 1985). Although it is true that natural disturbances such as fire and disease fragment native forests, human activities are by far the most extensive agents of forest fragmentation (Burgess and Sharpe 1981). For example, during a 20-year period in the Klamath–Siskiyou ecoregion, fire was responsible for 6% of forest loss, while clear-cut logging was responsible for 94% (Staus et al. 2001). Depending on the severity of the fragmentation process and sensitivity of the ecosystems affected, native plants, animals, and many natural ecosystem processes (e.g., nutrient cycling, pollination, predator–prey interactions, and natural disturbance regimes) are compromised or fundamentally altered. For many species, migration between suitable habitat patches becomes more difficult, leading to smaller population sizes, decreased gene flow, and possible local extinctions (Wilcove 1987, Vermeulen 1993). As native forests become increasingly fragmented, ecosystem dynamics switch from being predominantly internally driven to being predominantly externally driven (Saunders et al. 1991). Simultaneously, remnant patches become altered by changes within the patches themselves (Chen et al. 1995, Woodroffe and Ginsberg 1998) as the remnants become more and more isolated, thereby resulting in further ecological degradation across the landscape. Declines in forest species as a result of fragmentation have been documented for numerous taxa, including neotropical migrant songbirds
Any modification of the Born rule leads to a violation of the purification and local tomography principles

Using the existing classification of all alternatives to the measurement postulates of quantum theory we study the properties of bi-partite systems in these alternative theories. We prove that in all these theories the purification principle is violated, meaning that some mixed states are not the reduction of a pure state in a larger system. This allows us to derive the measurement postulates of quantum theory from the structure of pure states and reversible dynamics, and the requirement that the purification principle holds. The violation of the purification principle implies that there is some irreducible classicality in these theories, which appears like an important clue for the problem of deriving the Born rule within the many-worlds interpretation. We also prove that in all such modifications the task of state tomography with local measurements is impossible, and present a simple toy theory displaying all these exotic non-quantum phenomena. This toy model shows that, contrarily to previous claims, it is possible to modify the Born rule without violating the no-signalling principle. Finally, we argue that the quantum measurement postulates are the most non-classical amongst all alternatives.
Experimental immunology Protective effect of dendritic cells in mice infected by Klebsiella pneumoniae

Protective effect of dendritic cells (DC) was studied in CBA mice infected by K. pneumoniae K2. Lipopolysaccharide K. pneumoniae, K. pneumoniae K2 lysate and polycomponent vaccine Immunovak- VP-4 of conditionally pathogenic microorganisms were used as maturation inductors for DCs generated from murine bone marrow. Immature DCs, as well as mature cells, regardless the type of stimulating agent injected intraperitoneally demonstrated protective effect of 83.3 up to 100% in mice infected by K. pneumoniae (100LD50). DCs generate a range of cytokines that might activate complex mechanisms of inter-cellular relations. Immature protective DC activity against K. pneumoniae may be associated with the following induction of cytokine synthesis in vivo stimulated both by DCs and microorganism cells. The results of the study lead to a conclusion that DCs can have additional functions besides their high ability to stimulate proliferation of syngeneic mononuclear leukocytes that is due to DC involvement in reactions of inter-cellular interaction while non-specific immune response is being formed. Development of DC-based vaccines for adoptive immunotherapy suggests perspective way for prophylactics and therapy of infectious diseases.
Share Repurchases as a Potential Tool to Mislead Investors

A rich literature argues that stock repurchases often serve as positive economic signals beneficial to investors. Yet due to their inherent flexibility, open-market repurchase programs have long been criticized as weak signals lacking commitment. We evaluate whether some managers potentially use buyback announcements to mislead investors. We focus on cases where managers were seemingly under heavy pressure to boost stock prices and might have announced a repurchase only to convey a false signal. For suspect cases, the immediate market reaction to a buyback announcement does not differ from that generally observed. However over longer horizons, suspect firms do not enjoy the improvement in economic performance otherwise observed. Suspect firms repurchase less stock. Further, managers in suspect firms have comparatively higher exposure to stock options, a potentially endogenous result suggesting greater sensitivity to both stock valuation and to future equity dilution. Overall, the results suggest only a limited number of managers may have used buybacks in a misleading way as "cheap talk. " Yet as theory also suggests, we find no long-run economic benefit to this behavior.
Statistics of microstructure patches in a sheared , strongly stratified metalimnion of Lake

[1] Statistics of microstructure patches in a sheared, strongly stratified metalimnion of Lake Banyoles (Catalonia, Spain), which occupied ∼40% of the total lake depth of 12 m, are analyzed. Light winds (<3 m s) dominated the periods of observation in late June and early July of 2009. The patch sizes hp and the corresponding patch Thorpe scales LTp were identified using profiling measurements of temperature microstructure and small‐scale shear. The distribution of hp was found to be lognormal with mean and median values of 0.69 m and 0.50 m respectively. The distribution of LTp within the patches was also fitted to a lognormal model and the mean and median values found to be close to 0.1 m. The probability distribution of the ratio LTp/hp was approximated by the Weibull probability model with a shape parameter cw ≈ 2, and also by beta probability distribution. For hp > 0.25 m, the ratio LTp/hp depends on the patch Richardson and mixing Reynolds numbers following the parameterization of Lozovatsky and Fernando (2002). Analysis of the dynamics of mixing reveals that averaged vertical diffusivities ranged between ∼1 × 10 m s and ∼5 × 10 m s, depending on the phase of the internal waves. Episodic wind gusts (wind speed above 6 m s) transfer ∼1.6% of the wind energy to the metalimnion and ∼0.7% to the hypolimnion, generating large microstructure patches with hp of several meters.
Regularized estimation of cepstrum envelope from discrete frequency points

This paper presents an improved method for the estimation of a continuous frequency-envelope when the value of this envelope is specified only at discrete frequencies. It is based on the Galas/Rodet (1990) approach which consists of fitting a cepstral amplitude envelope to the specified frequency points by minimizing a frequency-domain least-squares criterion. This paper introduces a regularization technique which increases the robustness of the estimation procedure. Used in combination with a warped frequency-scale, the proposed method is shown to provide an efficient model for the frequency envelope of speech signals.
Treatment of Acquired Pendular Nystagmus from Multiple Sclerosis with Eye Muscle Surgery Followed by Oral Memantine

Purpose. We report the ocular motor and visual acuity effects of the first use of the tenotomy procedure on different types of acquired pendular nystagmus (APN) in two patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and intractable oscillopsia and of tenotomy plus memantine in one patient. Methods. (Case 1) Medial rectus muscles of both eyes were tenotomized and reattached and lateral rectus muscles recessed to correct exotropia; memantine was given following surgery. Search-coils were used to study fixation, saccades, pursuit and the OKR and VOR before and after surgery and after memantine. Nystagmus velocities, amplitudes, frequencies, and biplanar eXpanded Nystagmus Acuity Function (NAFX) values were determined. (Case 2) Pre- and post-tenotomy eye movements were studied by digitized video recordings. Horizontal rectus muscles of only the eye with APN were tenotomized and reattached. Results. (Case 1) Following surgery, APN decreased by ~50% and NAFX values increased by 34%. Measured Snellen visual acuity increased 100% from 0.125 OD and OS to 0.25. Saccades were unaffected. Memantine further damped the APN 69% and increased the NAFX by 9%. Visual acuity increased 60% to 0.4. The cumulative effects were: APN reduced by 82%; NAFX increased by 46%; acuity increased by 220%; and oscillopsia reduced by 75%. (Case 2) Two-muscle tenotomy OD reduced uniocular nystagmus by 66%. Visual acuity increased 100% from 0.2 to 0.4.
IMMIGRANT FAMILY IN DISTRESS: ASSISTING IMMIGRANT PARENTS OF JUVENILE DELINQUENTS

This exploratory and descriptive paper depicts a unique pilot program in Israel aimed at assisting and supporting immigrant families from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) whose children have been involved in criminal behavior after the immigration. The program is a joint venture of the Immigrant Parents Forum association, the Welfare Services Department at the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption (MIA), and the Juvenile Probation Service (JPS) at the Ministry of Welfare and Social Services. It provides structured help to the families of these youngsters, including mediation with the JPS and other officials and public bodies in the community, parental training, guidance, and emotional support. The program description, including case illustrations, is based on the program's internal documents and interviews with the following key figures: the chairwoman of the Immigrant Parents Forum, two program coordinators, the program supervisor, the director of the JPS, the deputy head of the regional JPS office in charge of implementing the program on a trial basis, and the regional social worker at the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption. Although the program is implemented in a particular social and political context, it may offer ideas about assisting immigrant parents regardless of origin, ethnicity, and specific social circumstances.
Curricular Tracking and Central Examinations: Counterbalancing the Impact of Social Background on Student Achievement in 36 Countries

Tracked educational systems are associated with greater social inequality in children’s educational achievement. Until now, research has assumed that the impact of tracking on the inequality of educational opportunity is independent of other educational institutional features. Using data from the 2009 PISA survey, we study how central examinations affect the association between tracking and inequality. We find that parental socioeconomic status has a larger effect on student achievement in systems without central examinations, whereas in systems with central examinations, this relationship is attenuated. We argue that central examinations help hold schools accountable for their performance, which (1) encourages schools to allocate students to tracks on the basis of more objective indicators and (2) makes it likely for schools to invest more in lower-track students. Thus, central exams attenuate the stronger impact of parental status on children’s performance in tracked educational systems.
The Merit of High-Frequency Data in Portfolio Allocation

This paper addresses the open debate about the usefulness of high-frequency (HF) data in large-scale portfolio allocation. Daily covariances are estimated based on HF data of the S&P 500 universe employing a blocked realized kernel estimator. We propose forecasting covariance matrices using a multi-scale spectral decomposition where volatilities, correlation eigenvalues and eigenvectors evolve on different frequencies. In an extensive out-of-sample forecasting study, we show that the proposed approach yields less risky and more diversified portfolio allocations as prevailing methods employing daily data. These performance gains hold over longer horizons than previous studies have shown.
Ultrasonic telemetry reveals seasonal variation in depth distribution and diel vertical migrations of sub-adult Chinook and coho salmon in Puget Sound

Many aquatic organisms display seasonal and diel vertical migration (DVM) pat- terns, which are influenced by complex combinations of biotic and abiotic factors. Here, we exam- ined the vertical distributions of sub-adult coho Oncorhynchus kisutch and Chinook salmon O. tshawytscha in Puget Sound, Washington, USA, using acoustic telemetry to (1) compare the depths occupied by each species, (2) determine whether DVM occurred, (3) ascertain if depth dis- tributions changed seasonally, and (4) consider hypotheses regarding abiotic and biotic factors that could affect these behavior patterns. We modeled the data on individual fish depths and detected significant interactions among species, diel period, and season. Coho salmon spent more time near the surface than Chinook salmon overall, and exhibited DVM during the spring, being farther below the surface at night and closer during the day. This reversal of the typical DVM pat- tern was not evident in other seasons. Chinook salmon showed no evidence of diel movement, only a seasonal shift from being closest to the surface in spring, deeper in summer, deeper yet in fall, and deepest in winter. The proximity of Chinook salmon to the surface coincided with peak productivity measured as chlorophyll a, which could affect the salmon through decreased water clarity or some ecological process. The DVM exhibited by coho salmon in spring may be related to water clarity and avoidance of predatory mammals but these hypotheses could not be tested with the available data. Our results emphasize the complexity of diel activity patterns among closely related species, and even among individuals.
Virtual Retraction Properties in Groups

If $G$ is a group, a virtual retract of $G$ is a subgroup, which is a retract of a finite index subgroup. Most of the paper focuses on two group properties: property (LR), that all finitely generated subgroups are virtual retracts; and property (VRC), that all cyclic subgroups are virtual retracts. We study the permanence of these properties under commensurability, amalgams over retracts, graph products, and wreath products. In particular, we show that (VRC) is stable under passing to finite index overgroups, while (LR) is not. The question whether all finitely generated virtually free groups satisfy (LR) motivates the remaining part of the paper, studying virtual free factors of such groups. We give a simple criterion characterizing when a finitely generated subgroup of a virtually free group is a free factor of a finite index subgroup. We apply this criterion to settle a conjecture of Brunner and Burns.
Indoor heat stress: An assessment of human bioclimate using the UTCI in different buildings in Berlin

Because humans spend most of their time indoors and can be negatively affected by unfavourable thermal environ­ments, the assessment of indoor heat stress is an important issue for public health care. To characterise indoor human bioclimate, the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) was used. UTCI values were calculated from meas­urements of air temperature and air humidity in 16 rooms in Berlin during the summer months of 2011 and 2012. A constant air velocity of approximately 0.3 m/s and a metabolic heat production of 135 W/m2 were assumed. The mean radiant temperature was set to the air temperature. Because the mean air humidity was below or slightly above 50 %, the calculated UTCI values were mostly lower than the air temperatures. In summer 2012, the mean UTCI values ranged from 22.2 °C to 27.1 °C, and the maximum UTCI values ranged from 24.7 °C to 35.6 °C. Whereas only minor differences were found between rooms located within comparable buildings in different districts of Berlin, pronounced variations of the UTCI values were detected in two adjoining buildings, with differences up to 8.6 K for the daily minimum, 9.8 K for the daily mean and 12.2 K for the daily maximum UTCI between differ­ent rooms. These variations can be explained by differences in the structures of the two buildings, floor level and aspect. The UTCI values were also used to determine the occurrence of moderate and strong heat stress. Only two rooms showed no thermal stress, while strong heat stress was detected in three rooms.
Total Temperature Measurements Using a Rearward Facing Probe in Supercool Liquid Droplet and Ice Crystal Clouds

This paper presents an analysis of local total temperature and humidity experimental measurement taken in atmospheric ice cloud flows. The measurements were obtained in a series of tests in NASA’s Propulsion Systems Laboratory. The probe used in the tests is referred to as the Rearward Facing Probe which was designed to mitigate the contamination effects of ice accretion and ingestion into the probe. The data provided important insights in the interaction of the ice cloud and the atmospheric flow. For the majority of the test runs, small temperature drops in the range of 0.6 to 2.8 0C and up to 1.5 g/kg of water vapor rise were found as a result of the interaction. Under certain very low temperature or high TWC conditions, the interaction with the cloud produced a warming of the airflow. A thermal model based on evaporative and convective heat transfer mechanisms between the spray droplets and the airflow showed good agreement with the experimental data. Detailed analyses of the response of the probe under various flow, thermodynamic, and cloud conditions, are provided in the paper.
Firm Dynamics in Retail Trade: The Response of Canadian Retailers to Exchange Rate Shocks

We use comprehensive firm‐level data to estimate the responses of heterogeneous Canadian retail firms to real exchange rate movements. Our analysis focuses on a period characterized by large fluctuations in the Canadian dollar, providing an opportunity to quantify both intensive and extensive margin responses in retail industries to real exchange rate shocks and to examine how those responses differ across firms, locations, and sub‐industries. Our results indicate that a real Canadian currency appreciation significantly reduces a retailer's sales, employment, and profits. The strength of this negative effect is decreasing in the distance of a retailer from the US‐Canada border. We do not find evidence of a strong relationship between real exchange rate movements and the number of operating firms nor the probability of firm survival. These findings are consistent with the view that a real Canadian dollar appreciation increases cross‐border shopping by Canadians, resulting in a negative demand shock for Canadian retailers, and the dominant response by firms to such a shock is through the intensive margin.
Temporal and Spatial Variations of Atmospheric Radiocarbon in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area

The Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) produces a complex mixture of gases and aerosols from diverse sources, including burning of fossil fuels, biomass, and wastes, with a significant biogenic contribution. We present the first results of ongoing projects to study temporal and spatial variations of 14CO2 in the area. Temporal variations reconstructed from tree rings of Taxodium mucronatum indicate a considerable radiocarbon depletion, in accordance to the vast amount of fossil fuels burnt inside Mexico Valley, with values between 62 and 246‰ lower than background values for the 1962–1968 period, and lower by 51–88‰ for the 1983–2010 period. The lower dilution found for the last decades might indicate an increase in enriched 14CO2 sources. Results from the spatial distribution, as revealed from integrated CO2 samples and grasses from six points within the MCMA collected during the 2013 dry season, show variations between sites and sample types. For integrated CO2 samples, values range from 35.6‰ to 54.0‰, and for grasses between −86.8‰ and 40.7‰. For three of the sampling points, the grasses are significantly depleted, by up to ∼133‰, as compared to the corresponding integrated CO2 sample. This may result from differences in the carbon assimilation period and exposure to different CO2 sources. Higher-than-background Δ14C values were found for all integrated CO2 samples, presumably resulting from 14C-enriched CO2 derived from forest fires in the mountains during the sampling period. Results obtained so far confirm the complexity of the 14C cycle in the MCMA.