Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multiple Time-Domain Diffraction for UWB Signals

The time-domain (TD) solution of the two-dimensional multiple-diffraction case is investigated. The proposed TD solution is based on the representation of the inverse Fourier transform of the corresponding frequency-domain (FD) solution in closed form, as it is given by the uniform theory of diffraction (UTD), and it incorporates the TD representation of the higher-order diffraction coefficients. An algorithm to predict the TD diffracted field after an arbitrary number of objects is also presented. In the proposed algorithm, different types of objects along the propagation path can be applied as well, such as absorbing knife-edges and metallic or nonperfectly conducting wedges. The comparison between the TD solution and the numerical inverse fast Fourier transform of the FD solution proves the validity of the proposed solution.
The Determinants of Inflation in Sri Lanka

A high and sustained economic growth in conjunction with low inflation is the central objective of macroeconomic policy formulation in both developed and developing countries. Further, studying inflationary processes is an important issue in the current scenario as it allows policy-makers to achieve monetary and economic targets. However, it is not an easy task, especially in developing coun-tries, where economic processes are highly unstable and volatile. The situation in Sri Lanka is not exceptional. Therefore, understanding the behaviour of inflation is vital for the policy-makers in macroeconomic management as Sri Lanka is currently moving into new era of economic development. This article investigates the determinants of inflation in Sri Lanka during 1993–2008, a period which was characterized by upward and downward trends in the economy. Vector auto-regressive (VAR) models were used to find out appropriate explanations for inflation with accompanied application of Granger Causality Tests. The overall findings of estimated VAR models imply that the money supply, exchange rate and the GDP have information which helps in exploring the behaviour of the inflation in Sri Lanka.
The Measles Virus Fusion Protein Transmembrane Region Modulates Availability of an Active Glycoprotein Complex and Fusion Efficiency

ABSTRACT The glycoprotein complex of paramyxoviruses mediates receptor binding and membrane fusion. In particular, the measles virus (MV) fusion (F) protein executes membrane fusion, after receptor binding by the hemagglutinin (H) protein. Structures and single amino acids influencing fusion function have been identified in the F-protein ectodomain and cytoplasmic tail, but not in its transmembrane (TM) region. Since this region influences function of the envelope proteins of other viruses, we examined its role in the MV F protein. Alanine-scanning mutagenesis revealed that an F protein with a single mutation of a central TM region leucine (L507A) was more fusogenic than the unmodified F protein while retaining similar kinetics of proteolytic processing. In contrast, substitution of residues located near the edges of the lipid bilayer reduced fusion activity. This was true not only when the mutated F proteins were coexpressed with H but also in the context of infections with recombinant viruses. Analysis of the H-F complexes with reduced fusion activities revealed that more precursor (F0) than activated (F1+2) protein coprecipitated with H. In contrast, in complexes with enhanced fusion activity, including H-FL507A, the F0/F1+2 ratio shifted toward F1+2. Thus, fusion activity correlated with an active F-H protein complex, and the MV F protein TM region modulated availability of this complex.
Biological Ground Recultivation and Increase of Soil Fertility

Biogene methods of fertility increase in restored technogenic territories are analyzed in article. Use of sapropel, biologically active foams, a biohumus belong to such directions. These technological decisions are developed on experimental base of National mineral-resources university, Saint-Petersburg, and introduced on open cast mine complexes on northwest part of the Russian Federation. The considerable attention is given to a worm technology. It is the progressive biotechnology directed on processing of an organic waste by means of rain kopost worms Eisenia Foetida. As a result of its application highly effective fertilizer a biohumus is formed. Within researches it is established that the biohumus when mixing with sodium salt carboxymethylcellulose in a proportion 125:1 can create ecologically active mix. This mix is put on raising dust technogenic territorial surfaces. It possesses high bioefficiency. As a result dust pollution essentially decreases. The fulfilled technogenic territories turns into a secondary ecosystem. Worm technology division into Russian districts became research result. Such division into districts allows to allocate zones in which it is necessary to use the various technological directions of a worm technology.
Morphologic and immunohistochemical organization of the human habenular complex

The habenular complex (HbCpx) is a phylogenetically conserved brain structure located in the epithalamus of vertebrates. Despite its fundamental role in decision‐making processes and the proposed link between habenular dysfunction and neuropsychiatric conditions, little is known about the structural and functional organization of the HbCpx in humans. The goal of this study was thus to provide a first systematic morphologic and immunohistochemical analysis of the human HbCpx to begin dissecting its nuclear and subnuclear organization. Our results confirmed that the human HbCpx is subdivided into medial (MHb) and lateral (LHb) nuclei, each showing a large degree of intranuclear morphologic heterogeneity. Analysis of serially stained sections using a combination of morphologic and immunohistochemical criteria allowed the distinction of five subnuclei in both the MHb and LHb. Overall, the observed subnuclear organization of the MHb in humans resembles the organization of subnuclei in the MHb of rats. The shape, relative size, and intranuclear organization of the LHb, however, show significant differences. The contribution of the LHb to the entire HbCpx is about five times larger in humans than in rats. Noteworthy, a dorsal domain of the LHb that contains afferent myelinated fibers from the stria medullaris and shows GABA‐B‐R1 immunoreactive cells, appears substantially enlarged in humans when compared to rats. This feature seems to account for a large part of the relative growth in size of the LHb in humans and opens the intriguing possibility of an increased influence of limbic and striatal afferents into the LHb of humans. J. Comp. Neurol. 519:3727‐3747, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Treatment of Slow Transit Constipation With Fecal Microbiota Transplantation: A Pilot Study

Background: Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has been proposed as a therapeutic approach for functional gastrointestinal disease. We launched a clinical study to examine the safety and efficacy of FMT for slow transit constipation (STC). Materials and Methods: Twenty-four patients with STC, aged from 20 to 74 were enrolled in this prospective open-label study. Patients received FMT on 3 consecutive days through nasojejunal tubes and followed up for 12 weeks after treatment. Rate of clinical improvement and remission, Wexner constipation scale, Bowel movement per week, and gastrointestinal quality-of-life index were evaluated. Results: The rate of clinical improvement and remission based on clinical activity at week 12 was 50% (12/24) and 37.5% (9/24), respectively. The patient’s stool frequency increased from a mean of 1.8 (SD 1.3) per week pre-FMT to 4.1 (SD 2.6) at week 12 post-FMT without laxative usage (P<0.01). The stool consistency showed a tendency to improve after FMT administration. Comparison of pre-FMT and post-FMT Wexner constipation scores demonstrated a significant reduction between baseline (14.1±3.3) and the first week (9.8±4.9), which was maintained up to the following 12 weeks (7.5±3.2; P<0.01). Compared with baseline, significant overall improvements were also seen in gastrointestinal quality-of-life index score at week 1, week 2, week 4, week 8, and week 12 of follow-up (P<0.01). The improvements were accompanied by the decline of colonic transit time. No severe adverse events during the whole FMT procedure follow-up except for venting (6/24), abdominal pain (3/24), bloating (2/24), and diarrhea (7/24). Conclusion: This is a pilot study demonstrating that FMT was safe and may have the potential to improve symptoms in patients with STC.
The depletion of dibenzyl disulfide from a mineral transformer insulating oil

This study examines the kinetics of the net depletion of dibenzyl disulfide (DBDS) from its solution in mineral insulating oil due to copper corrosion at elevated temperatures in power transformers. The concentration of DBDS is determined using liquid-liquid extraction followed by GC detection. Measurements, at 24 h intervals, up to 168 h, show that the depletion of DBDS from its solutions in mineral insulating oil at 150 °C and initial concentrations of 3.00, 6.00, 9.00, 12.00 and 15.00 mg L-1 is very slight compared to identical measurements in the presence of copper strips in the mineral oil. The analysis of the kinetic data reflects the complexity of the corrosion process and its occurrence at a concentration as low as 1 mg L-1 which is much lower than what has been previously believed. Measurements on solutions at initial DBDS concentrations of 150 mg L-1 indicate that even when the insulation oil matrix is in contact with copper strips the corrosion does not occur to any measurable extent below 100 °C and starts to speed up appreciably only beyond 125 °C. From data at 100, 125 and 150 °C an energy of activation equal to 123 kJ mol-1 is estimated.
Risk of acute kidney injury in patients who undergo coronary angiography and cardiac surgery in close succession.

AIMS Cardiac surgery and coronary angiography are both associated with risk of acute kidney injury (AKI). We hypothesized that the risk of post-operative AKI increases when coronary angiogram and cardiac surgery are performed in close succession, without sufficient time for recovery from the adverse effects of intravenous contrast. METHODS AND RESULTS We included 2133 consecutive patients who underwent cardiac surgery at the Minneapolis Veterans Administration Medical Center from 2004 to 2010. Acute kidney injury was defined by the AKI network and the risk, injury, failure, loss, end-stage (RIFLE) criteria. Patients were 66 ± 10 years old. Mean pre-operative creatinine and estimated glomerular filtration rate were 1.1 ± 0.4 mg/dL and 75 ± 22 mL/min/1.73 m(2), respectively. Cardiac surgery was performed 14 days (range 0-235) after coronary angiography. Acute kidney injury occurred in 680 (32%) patients per AKI network, 390 (18%) patients per RIFLE risk, and 111 (5%) patients per RIFLE injury criteria. Age, body mass index, diabetes mellitus, New York Heart Association class III/IV, cardiopulmonary bypass time, and impaired pre-operative renal function were independent predictors of AKI. However, time between coronary angiogram and cardiac surgery was not a predictor (P = 0.41). AKI occurred in 35% of 433 patients operated within 3 days of coronary angiogram vs. 31% of 1700 patients operated after 3 days (P = 0.17). Results were the same in patients with impaired pre-operative renal function and those with contrast-induced nephropathy. CONCLUSION Risk of AKI after cardiac surgery is not influenced by the time between coronary angiogram and cardiac surgery. These results do not support the notion of delaying cardiac surgery for the sole purpose of renal recovery after coronary angiogram.
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Induces Endothelial Fenestrations In Vitro

Abstract. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an important regulator of vasculogenesis, angiogenesis, and vascular permeability. In contrast to its transient expression during the formation of new blood vessels, VEGF and its receptors are continuously and highly expressed in some adult tissues, such as the kidney glomerulus and choroid plexus. This suggests that VEGF produced by the epithelial cells of these tissues might be involved in the induction or maintenance of fenestrations in adjacent endothelial cells expressing the VEGF receptors. Here we describe a defined in vitro culture system where fenestrae formation was induced in adrenal cortex capillary endothelial cells by VEGF, but not by fibroblast growth factor. A strong induction of endothelial fenestrations was observed in cocultures of endothelial cells with choroid plexus epithelial cells, or mammary epithelial cells stably transfected with cDNAs for VEGF 120 or 164, but not with untransfected cells. These results demonstrate that, in these cocultures, VEGF is sufficient to induce fenestrations in vitro. Identical results were achieved when the epithelial cells were replaced by an epithelial-derived basal lamina-type extracellular matrix, but not with collagen alone. In this defined system, VEGF-mediated induction of fenestrae was always accompanied by an increase in the number of fused diaphragmed caveolae-like vesicles. Caveolae, but not fenestrae, were labeled with a caveolin-1–specific antibody both in vivo and in vitro. VEGF stimulation led to VEGF receptor tyrosine phosphorylation, but no change in the distribution, phosphorylation, or protein level of caveolin-1 was observed. We conclude that VEGF in the presence of a basal lamina-type extracellular matrix specifically induces fenestrations in endothelial cells. This defined in vitro system will allow further study of the signaling mechanisms involved in fenestrae formation, modification of caveolae, and vascular permeability.
The electoral foundations to noncompliance: addressing the puzzle of unlawful state aid in the European Union

Abstract Electoral institutions shape the incentives of governments to rely on distributive measures and to comply with international obligations because of the misalignment they may engender between the collective objectives of a government party and the individual objectives of its members in the legislature. We use this argument to explain the puzzle of unlawful state aid measures in the European Union (EU). Existing theories of EU compliance and implementation offer no convincing explanation to their persistence and patterns. Using data from 2000 to 2012, we find that an increase of district magnitude improves compliance. However, compliance decreases with higher magnitude where either party leaders have no control over the ballot rank or other electoral rules strengthen the incentives to search for a personal vote. We also provide evidence for the effects of electoral reforms on compliance. These results have implications for the broader literature on compliance with international regimes.
Hemispheric differences for enhancement and suppression mechanisms during story comprehension

Although readers are able to follow the goals of a character in a story, little is currently known about the underlying enhancement and suppression mechanisms that occur in each cerebral hemisphere. In this study, participants read texts that mentioned a goal of a character, which was later followed by information related to the original goal, a new goal, or unrelated information. Participants then performed a lexical decision task to original-goal-related targets, which were presented to either the left visual field–right hemisphere or the right visual field–left hemisphere. When the original goal was repeated, facilitation was greater in the right hemisphere than the left hemisphere. When a new goal was introduced, the left hemisphere exhibited decreased facilitation for the original goal information. The current findings suggest that two separable mechanisms (i.e., enhancement and suppression), located in different hemispheres, may be involved when readers process goals during narrative text comprehension.
On Interpixel Capacitive Coupling in Hybridized HgCdTe Arrays: Theory, Characterization and Correction

Hybridization is a process by which detector arrays and read out circuitry can be independently fabricated and then bonded together, typically using indium bumps. This technique allows for the use of exotic detector materials such as HgCdTe for the desired spectral response while benefiting from established and proven silicon CMOS readout structures. However, the introduction of an intermediate layer composed of conductors (indium) and insulators (epoxy) results in a capacitive interconnect between adjacent pixels. This interpixel capacitance (IPC) results in charge collected on one pixel, giving rise to a change in voltage on the output node of adjacent pixels. In imaging arrays, this capacitance manifests itself as a blur, attenuating high spatial frequency information and causing single pixel events to be spread over a local neighborhood. Due to the nature of the electric fields in proximity to the depletion region of the diodes in the detector array, the magnitude of this capacitance changes as the diode depletes. This change in capacitance manifests itself as a change in fractional coupling. This results in a blur kernel that is non-homogeneous both spatially across the array and temporally from exposure to exposure, varying as a function of charge collected in each pixel. This signal dependent behavior invalidates underlying assumptions key for conventional deconvolution/deblurring techniques such as Weiner filtering or Lucy-Richardson deconvolution. As such, these techniques cannot be relied upon to restore scientific accuracy and appropriately solve this inverse problem. This dissertation uses first principle physics simulations to elucidate the mechanisms of IPC, establishes a data processing technique which allows for characterization of IPC, formalizes and implements a nonlinear deconvolution method by which the effects of IPC can be mitigated, and examines the impact that IPC can have on scientific conclusions if left uncorrected.
Organizational Failure in the Hollow State: Lessons from the Milwaukee Voucher Experience

ABSTRACT In this conceptual article we use the experience of the longstanding Milwaukee private school voucher program to categorize different failure types within the hollow state. Specifically, we argue that the overall performance of the hollow state is dependent on the performance of organizations operating within the hollow state, that organizational failures are inevitable in hollow state activities, and that such failures can be categorized as marketplace failures, service failures, institutional failures, or customer service failures. We conclude that policy makers must plan for the reality of organizational failures in the hollow state if such arrangements are to be effective.
Adaptive behavior in children with CHARGE syndrome

The “R” in the mnemonic “CHARGE” has historically stood for “Retardation of Growth and Development. ” Early medical reports describing mental retardation in CHARGE syndrome have not used convincing means to assess this attribute. This article investigated the range of developmental ability in individuals with CHARGE as measured through an adaptive behavior scale, the Adaptive Behavior Evaluation Scale (ABES) [Carney ( 1995 ): The Adaptive Behavior Evaluation Scale home version technical manual‐revised. 126p. ], over time. Parents of individuals with CHARGE syndrome were surveyed twice over a 4‐year time span (N = 100, 85) to obtain information about adaptive behavior and specific CHARGE characteristics. There was a significant decline in ABES scores over the 4‐year period. However, at Time two, one‐half of the children achieved a standard score above 70. Correlation and regression analyses at Time one and Time two revealed negative relationships between (a) age at walking, (b) degree of hearing impairment, (c) degree of visual impairment, and (d) medical involvement variables and the dependent variable, adaptive behavior. In both studies, age at walking was the best predictor of scores. Analysis of variance confirmed that medical involvement and degree of vision impairment were related to adaptive behavior scores because they were also related to age at walking. Age at walking and medical involvement at Time one were found to be significantly different between those who improved and declined in adaptive behavior scores over time. Adaptive behavior scores from both studies revealed a much broader and higher‐reaching range of ability for this population than has been previously reported in the literature. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Bovine Cysticercosis in Cattle Slaughtered at Awassa Municipal Abattoir, Ethiopia: Prevalence, Cyst Viability, Distribution and its Public Health Implication

A cross‐sectional study was conducted from October 2005 to April 2006 on bovine cysticercosis in cattle slaughtered at Awassa municipal abattoir with the objective of determining the prevalence of Taenia saginata cysticercosis, cyst viability, distribution and its public health implication. Questionnaire survey involving 120 respondents was also conducted on human taeniasis. A total of 400 carcasses were examined during the study period, of which 105 (26.25%) were infected with T. saginata metacestodes. From a total of 3200 samples inspected, 500 cysticerci were detected in 141 samples, of which 221 (44.2%) were alive. The anatomical distribution of cysticerci were 65 (29.2%) heart, 56 (25.3%) shoulder muscle, 59 (26.7%) masseter, 23 (10.4%) tongue, 12 (5.4%) diaphragm, three (1.4%) liver, two (0.9%) lung and one (0.5%) kidney samples. The prevalence varied significantly between local and crossbred animals (OR = 3.15, P < 0.05), but not varied between sex, age groups and origin of the animals. T. saginata taeniasis was a widespread public health problem in the town with an overall prevalence of 64.2% (77 of 120). The potential risk factors for disease contraction were raw meat consumption, religion and occupational risks. In conclusion, the study revealed high prevalence of T. saginata metacestodes throughout the edible organs together with existence of deep‐rooted tradition of raw meat consumption. This may magnify the public health hazards of T. saginata in the study area. As a result, the disease deserves due attention to safeguard the public health and further promote beef industry in the country.
Hormonal activation of let-7-C microRNAs via EcR is required for adult Drosophila melanogaster morphology and function

Steroid hormones and their nuclear receptors drive developmental transitions in diverse organisms, including mammals. In this study, we show that the Drosophila steroid hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) and its nuclear receptor directly activate transcription of the evolutionarily conserved let-7-complex (let-7-C) locus, which encodes the co-transcribed microRNAs miR-100, let-7 and miR-125. These small RNAs post-transcriptionally regulate the expression of target genes, and are required for the remodeling of the Drosophila neuromusculature during the larval-to-adult transition. Deletion of three 20E responsive elements located in the let-7-C locus results in reduced levels of let-7-C microRNAs, leading to neuromuscular and behavioral defects in adults. Given the evolutionary conservation of let-7-C microRNA sequences and temporal expression profiles, these findings indicate that steroid hormone-coupled control of let-7-C microRNAs is part of an ancestral pathway controlling the transition from larval-to-reproductive animal forms.