Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Electric field mitigation under extra high voltage power lines

This paper deals with the mitigation of electric fields under extra high voltage transmission lines using active and passive shield wires. Two extra high voltage alternating current transmission lines are modeled and analyzed. One line is operating at 220 kV and the other is at 500 kV. The electric field is calculated at one meter above the ground level for the two transmission lines with and without active and passive shield wires using the charge simulation method (CSM). The effect of different shielding parameters on the ground level field is studied. These parameters include the spacing between shield wires and their number of these wires, and their height above ground as well as the value of the voltage applied to the shield wires. Also, the effects of passive and active shield wires on the magnetic field underneath the lines and the electric field on the conductor's surface are highlighted.
Identification of an origin of bidirectional DNA replication in the ubiquitously expressed mammalian CAD gene

Most DNA replication origins in eukaryotes localize to nontranscribed regions, and there are no reports of origins within constitutively expressed genes. This observation has led to the proposal that there may be an incompatibility between origin function and location within a ubiquitously expressed gene. The biochemical and functional evidence presented here demonstrates that an origin of bidirectional replication (OBR) resides within the constitutively expressed housekeeping gene CAD, which encodes the first three reactions of de novo uridine biosynthesis (carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase, aspartate carbamoyltransferase, and dihydroorotase). The OBR was localized to a 5-kb region near the center of the Syrian hamster CAD transcriptional unit. DNA replication initiates within this region in the single-copy CAD gene in Syrian baby hamster kidney cells and in the large chromosomal amplicons that were generated after selection with N-phosphonacetyl-L-aspartate, a specific inhibitor of CAD. DNA synthesis also initiates within this OBR in autonomously replicating extrachromosomal amplicons (CAD episomes) located in an N-phosphonacetyl-L-aspartate-resistant clone (5P20) of CHOK1 cells. CAD episomes consist entirely of a multimer of Syrian hamster CAD cosmid sequences (cCAD1). These data limit the functional unit of replication initiation and timing control to the 42 kb of Syrian hamster sequences contained in cCAD1. In addition, the data indicate that the origin recognition machinery is conserved across species, since the same OBR region functions in both Syrian and Chinese hamster cells. Importantly, while cCAD1 exhibits characteristics of a complete replicon, we have not detected autonomous replication directly following transfection. Since the CAD episome was generated after excision of chromosomally integrated transfected cCAD1 sequences, we propose that prior localization within a chromosome may be necessary to "license" some biochemically defined OBRs to render them functional.
Lithium-associated cognitive and functional deficits reduced by a switch to divalproex sodium: a case series.

BACKGROUND Lithium remains a first-line treatment for the acute and maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder. Although much has been written about the management of the more common adverse effects of lithium, such as polyuria and tremor, more subtle lithium side effects such as cognitive deficits, loss of creativity, and functional impairments remain understudied. This report summarizes our experience in switching bipolar patients from lithium to divalproex sodium to alleviate such cognitive and functional impairments. METHOD Open, case series design. RESULTS We report seven cases where substitution of lithium, either fully or partially, with divalproex sodium was extremely helpful in reducing the cognitive, motivational, or creative deficits attributed to lithium in our bipolar patients. CONCLUSION In this preliminary report, divalproex sodium was a superior alternative to lithium in bipolar patients experiencing cognitive deficits, loss of creativity, and functional impairments.
Determinants of dividend policy

Pakistan’s capital market and economy have significant features for examining the dynamics of the dividend policy. The agency conflicts between the management and the investors of the firms are main barriers to the success of the firm. The shareholder is generally taking away all the rights and similarly has a control on the decision concerning the dividend policy. The dividends are conveying better information than any other source regarding the firm’s prospects. The aim of this research is to identify and analyze the influence of shareholder preference and dividend signaling on the dividend policy of the corporations in Pakistan. The respective study presents the analysis of top financial management beliefs by taking eighty listed corporations on Pakistani stock exchanges during 2017–2018. Pearson correlation and multiple regressions are applied on responses to explore whether there is an influence regarding the shareholder preferences and the signaling mechanism on the dividend policy of the listed firms in Pakistan. Through statistical techniques the findings proved that shareholder preferences and dividend signaling have a positive and significant relationship with the dividend policy of listed corporations. Dividend policy is the response of investor preferences and signaling aspect of dividends.
Do Bubbles Alter Contributions to Price Discovery? Evidence from the Chinese Soybean Futures and Spot Markets

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to investigate whether bubbles have significantly influenced the performance of price discovery in Chinese soybean futures markets. To evaluate the performance of price discovery, we employ forecast error variance decomposition based on structural vector autoregression and directed acyclic graphs, using daily data from six price series of futures contracts expiring at different months and one spot soybean price for the past 13 years. Then, the full-period data are divided into bubble and non-bubble periods via the supremum augmented Dickey–Fuller test. The methods utilized on the full sample for price discovery are conducted again on two subperiods. Our empirical results show that price discovery in the Chinese soybean futures market performs much better in bubble periods and worse in non-bubble period compared to the full period, indicating that bubbles have significantly influenced the performance of price discovery in Chinese soybean futures markets.
Why Reflective Equilibrium? III: Reflective Equilibrium as a Heuristic Tool

In A Theory of Justice (1971), John Rawls introduces the concept of “reflective equilibrium. ” Although there are innumerable references to and discussions of this concept in the literature, there is, to the present author's knowledge, no discussion of the most important question: Why reflective equilibrium? In particular, the question arises: Is the method of reflective equilibrium applicable to the choice of this method itself? Rawls's drawing of parallels between Kant's moral theory and his own suggests that his concept of “reflective equilibrium” is on a par with Kant's concept of “transcendental deduction. ” Treating these two approaches to justification as paradigmatic, I consider their respective merits in meeting the reflexive challenge, i.e., in offering a justification for choice of mode of justification. In the first part of this enquiry (Eng 2014a), I raised the issue of the reflexivity of justification and questioned whether the reflexive challenge can be met within the framework of A Theory of Justice. In the second part (Eng 2014b), I outlined a Kantian approach that represents a paradigmatic alternative to Rawls. In this third and final part, I shall argue that Rawls's reflective equilibrium cannot justify the choice of itself and that in the broader perspective thus necessitated, we cannot escape the metaphysical issues integral to the Kantian approach.
High frequency and clinical prognostic value of MYD88 L265P mutation in primary cutaneous diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, leg-type.

IMPORTANCE The activating mutation of MYD88 L265P is a frequent feature of primary cutaneous diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, leg-type (PCLBCL-LT), reported in up to 69% of the cases. Whether patients with MYD88 mutation display specific clinical and evolutive features has not been evaluated. OBJECTIVE To identify the clinical characteristics associated with MYD88 mutation, confirm its high prevalence, and evaluate its effect on prognosis in patients with PCLBCL-LT. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS A retrospective multicenter study was conducted using the medical records of patients from dermatology departments belonging to the French Study Group for Cutaneous Lymphomas. Sixty-one patients with a diagnosis of PCLBCL-LT made between 1988 and 2010 who were available for molecular study were included. Of these, 58 patients displaying interpretable results constituted the study group. Median follow-up was 33 months, and 39 patients (67%) were monitored until death. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Clinical features (age, sex, number of skin lesions, tumor stage, and location as leg vs elsewhere), MYD88 mutation (allele-specific TaqMan polymerase chain reaction assay), treatment regimen, and outcome were recorded. Baseline characteristics and outcome were compared according to the status of MYD88. RESULTS The median age of the patients was 79 years, and 59% were female. Skin lesions were located on the leg in 76% of the cases. Thirty-four of 58 patients (59%) harbored the MYD88 L265P mutation. Patients had similar clinical characteristics at presentation regardless of their MYD88 status, except that those harboring the MYD88 mutation were older (P = .006) and had more frequent involvement of the leg (P = .008). Patients harboring the MYD88 mutation had 3- and 5-year-specific survival rates of 65.7% and 60.2% vs 85.4% and 71.7% in patients with the wild-type allele. The MYD88 mutation was significantly associated with shorter disease-specific survival in univariate (P = .03) and multivariate (odds ratio, 3.01; 95% CI, 1.03-8.78; P = .04) analysis. There was no significant difference between the groups in their treatment regimens. Considering overall survival, in univariate (P = .002) and multivariate (odds ratio, 2.94; 95% CI, 1.18-7.30; P = .02) analysis, MYD88 L265P mutation was an independent adverse prognostic factor. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This study confirms the high prevalence of MYD88 L265P mutation in PCLBCL-LT and shows its association with shorter survival. The clinical effect of MYD88 mutation activating the nuclear factor-κB pathway supports the use of targeted therapies at the time of relapse after conventional therapies.
Toxic and enzymatic activities of Vibrio vulnificus biotype 2 with respect to host specificity

In this work, the enzymatic activities of selected strains of biotypes 1 and 2 of Vabrio vulnificus were analyzed by using conventional methods and the API ZYM system. The toxic activities of extracellular products (ECPs) were further evaluated by in vitro and in vivo experiments. The ECPs of both biotypes (i) showed high-level hydrolytic activities, (ii) displayed cytotoxicity for fish cell lines, and (iii) were lethal for eels. Exotoxins seem to be proteinaceous since heat treatment of ECP samples destroyed their toxicity. Only biotype 2 strains were virulent for cels, suggesting that host specificity must be related to differences in cell surface properties. Infectivity trials with other fish species also revealed that only biotype 2 strains were virulent.
Tumor Necrosis Factor‐Alpha in Plasma During Cardiopulmonary Bypass in a Pig Model Correlation With Marginated Neutrophils and Cerebral Edema by Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Tumor necrosis factor (TNFα) initiates the cytokine cascade via the nuclear factor (NFkPB), increasing vascular permeability, inflammation, and edema during and after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Cerebral edema before and after thoracotomy and CPB was evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging. TNF-α in plasma was measured in 12 Yorkshire pigs with an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay technique using a monoclonal antibody made against porcine TNF-α. Blood samples were taken 30 min before and 1, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, and 180 min after initiation of CPB. Plasma was separated from packed cells after centrifugation, and frozen at —80°. The level of TNFα, measured by color intensity, was read with a 96 well microtiter plate reader. Normal values in plasma were low (range, 0–17 pg/ml; mean, 4.7 pg/ml). In sham control pigs undergoing sternotomy, and pigs that had undergone CBP, TNFα reached a peak value at 120–150 min, and subsequently declined. TNFα in plasma increased in pigs that underwent thoracotomy and CPB. The increase was significantly higher in pigs that underwent CPB. Neutrophil mapping in the pig brain with 111In-labeled autologous neutrophils 180 min after CPB, suggested almost uniform distribution and accounted for the 0.02% of total circulating neutrophils in the brain, corresponding to a total of 8 x 105 neutrophils. Magnetic resonance imaging of the pig brain indicated the presence of cerebral edema after CPB, as depicted by the loss of structural details of the sulci, gyri, and ventricles. Activated neutrophils, monocytes, and other inflammatory cells may induce multi-organ edema and injury via TNFα and other regional cytokines. ASAIO Journal 1998; 44:212–218.
High genetic variability revealed by allozymic loci in the narrow endemic fern Polystichum otomasui (Dryopteridaceae)

Genetic variability was examined at 16 putative allozymic loci in the narrow endemic fern Polystichum otomasui. Although this species is distributed in only a few valleys within an approximately 10 km×6 km area on the Kyusyu Island of Japan, there are a relatively large number of individuals in this area. The percentage of polymorphic loci (P), the number of alleles per locus (A), the observed heterozygosity (HO) and the expected heterozygosity (HE) were 61.9, 1.93, 0.166 and 0.177, respectively, at the population level, and P, A and HE were 81.3, 2.69 and 0.199, respectively, at the species level, indicating that P. otomasui has extremely high allozymic variation for a fern species. The GST value among the 10 populations examined within the range was 0.108, suggesting that the interpopulation gene flow is high enough to impede genetic structuring. The mating system estimates, Wright's fixation index and the intragametophytic selfing rate, indicate that the species is outcrossing. High genetic variability, in spite of narrowness of the distribution, may have resulted from a recent rapid decline in the population and/or the large effective population size resulting from the extensive gene flow among the populations.
Quantifying Disruptive Trade Policies

Mainstream economic wisdom favoring cooperative free trade is challenged by a wave of disruptive trade policies. In this paper, we provide quantitative evidence concerning the economic impacts of tariffs implemented by the United States in 2018 and the subsequent retaliations by partner countries. Our analysis builds on a multi-region multi-sector general-equilibrium simulation model of the global economy that includes an innovative monopolistic-competition structure of bilateral representative firms.
Engagement recognition using easily detectable behavioral cues

This paper discusses an approach to monitor the level of engagement of video game players based on the theory of ﬂow in the gaming experience. Starting from the ﬂow framework, we developed a non-obtrusive system that estimates the player’s state of engagement by analysing non-verbal behavioral cues that are easily detected with simple hardware, such as a webcam and a traditional keyboard and mouse setup. We present the design and the results of an empirical study aimed at gathering data and model the player’s engagement. Facial expressions, head movements, keyboard and mouse activities were recorded while participants played a ﬁrst-person shooter video game. We used an adapted version of the Experience Sampling Methodology to gather the ground truth and trained a Support Vector Machine classiﬁer that recognizes the affective states, reaching an accuracy of 73%. The results showed that the level of engagement is reasonably predicted by considering the head movements and facial expressions only. The ﬁndings could aid in developing digital games able to use the information about the player’s affective state to adapt their content and support the game experience.
Quality of life, burnout, educational debt, and medical knowledge among internal medicine residents.

CONTEXT Physician distress is common and has been associated with negative effects on patient care. However, factors associated with resident distress and well-being have not been well described at a national level. OBJECTIVES To measure well-being in a national sample of internal medicine residents and to evaluate relationships with demographics, educational debt, and medical knowledge. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Study of internal medicine residents using data collected on 2008 and 2009 Internal Medicine In-Training Examination (IM-ITE) scores and the 2008 IM-ITE survey. Participants were 16,394 residents, representing 74.1% of all eligible US internal medicine residents in the 2008-2009 academic year. This total included 7743 US medical graduates and 8571 international medical graduates. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Quality of life (QOL) and symptoms of burnout were assessed, as were year of training, sex, medical school location, educational debt, and IM-ITE score reported as percentage of correct responses. RESULTS Quality of life was rated "as bad as it can be" or "somewhat bad" by 2402 of 16,187 responding residents (14.8%). Overall burnout and high levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization were reported by 8343 of 16,192 (51.5%), 7394 of 16,154 (45.8%), and 4541 of 15,737 (28.9%) responding residents, respectively. In multivariable models, burnout was less common among international medical graduates than among US medical graduates (45.1% vs 58.7%; odds ratio, 0.70 [99% CI, 0.63-0.77]; P < .001). Greater educational debt was associated with the presence of at least 1 symptom of burnout (61.5% vs 43.7%; odds ratio, 1.72 [99% CI, 1.49-1.99]; P < .001 for debt >$200,000 relative to no debt). Residents reporting QOL "as bad as it can be" and emotional exhaustion symptoms daily had mean IM-ITE scores 2.7 points (99% CI, 1.2-4.3; P < .001) and 4.2 points (99% CI, 2.5-5.9; P < .001) lower than those with QOL "as good as it can be" and no emotional exhaustion symptoms, respectively. Residents reporting debt greater than $200,000 had mean IM-ITE scores 5.0 points (99% CI, 4.4-5.6; P < .001) lower than those with no debt. These differences were similar in magnitude to the 4.1-point (99% CI, 3.9-4.3) and 2.6-point (99% CI, 2.4-2.8) mean differences associated with progressing from first to second and second to third years of training, respectively. CONCLUSIONS In this national study of internal medicine residents, suboptimal QOL and symptoms of burnout were common. Symptoms of burnout were associated with higher debt and were less frequent among international medical graduates. Low QOL, emotional exhaustion, and educational debt were associated with lower IM-ITE scores.
Plasminogen Plays a Crucial Role in Bone Repair

The further development in research of bone regeneration is necessary to meet the clinical demand for bone reconstruction. Plasminogen is a critical factor of the tissue fibrinolytic system, which mediates tissue repair in the skin and liver. However, the role of the fibrinolytic system in bone regeneration remains unknown. Herein, we investigated bone repair and ectopic bone formation using plasminogen‐deficient (Plg–/–) mice. Bone repair of the femur is delayed in Plg–/– mice, unlike that in the wild‐type (Plg+/+) mice. The deposition of cartilage matrix and osteoblast formation were both decreased in Plg–/– mice. Vessel formation, macrophage accumulation, and the levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β) were decreased at the site of bone damage in Plg–/– mice. Conversely, heterotopic ossification was not significantly different between Plg+/+ and Plg–/– mice. Moreover, angiogenesis, macrophage accumulation, and the levels of VEGF and TGF‐β were comparable between Plg+/+ and Plg–/– mice in heterotopic ossification. Our data provide novel evidence that plasminogen is essential for bone repair. The present study indicates that plasminogen contributes to angiogenesis related to macrophage accumulation, TGF‐β, and VEGF, thereby leading to the enhancement of bone repair.
An Analytical Model With 2-D Effects for 4H-SiC Trenched Junction Barrier Schottky Diodes

This paper presents an analytical model with 2-D effects for 1200 V 4H-silicon carbide trenched junction barrier Schottky (TJBS) diodes. Energy band diagrams of junction barrier Schottky and TJBS diodes in reverse biases are analyzed in detail. An analytical model of potential and electric field distributions with 2-D effects is proposed. Based on the modeling results of the surface electric field, a physical model accounting for three main mechanisms, namely, thermionic emission, tunneling, and avalanche multiplication is developed for the device reverse I-V characteristics. The models are verified by experimental results. Based on the physical model, optimization of the TJBS parameters including barrier height, junction depth, and junction spacing can be carried out with the target of achieving the lowest device ON-state voltage while limiting the reverse leakage current to a reasonable level. As a result, for a given breakdown voltage, an optimum set of parameters can be obtained.