Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
3-D Printed Horn Antennas and Components Performance for Space and Telecommunications

In this work, a study of the performance of several antennas and components, manufactured using an accurate stereolithography three-dimensional printer and resin for maximum accuracy and detail, is carried out. Electroless plating of the components to cover the pieces with a thick copper layer to improve their mechanical resistance is undertaken. Several SatCom horn antennas and components are designed, manufactured, and tested. A detailed study of a spline horn antenna and a filter is covered. These results are compared to the metallic lathe manufactured versions. Conclusions are derived from these tests, which are useful to improve additive manufactured components in future versions.
Worlds of Compliance : Why Leading Approaches to EU Implementation Are Only “ Sometimes-True Theories ”

This paper summarises the main theoretical findings of a large-scale qualitative project on the implementation of six EU labour law Directives in fifteen member states. Our argument starts from a theoretical puzzle: When confronting the empirical results from our 91 cases with the diverse hypotheses that we derived from the literature, it turns out that many of the causal conditions suggested by existing theories have some explanatory power, but none of them is able to explain the range of observed implementation patterns to a satisfactory extent. We discuss in detail that even the two theoretically best-established hypotheses (on misfit and veto players) fall short of solving the puzzle. As a solution, we offer a typology of three worlds of compliance within the fifteen EU member states covered by our study, each of which is characterised by an ideal-typical implementation style: a “world of law observance”, a “world of domestic politics”, and a “world of neglect”. Our typology can explain patterns of implementation processes better than earlier approaches and provides the key to understanding when and where individual theoretical propositions (such as the veto player approach) are more or less powerful.
Estimation of canopy drying time after rainfall using sap flow measurements in an emergent tree in a lowland mixed‐dipterocarp forest in Sarawak, Malaysia

This study emphasizes the importance of canopy drying time (CDT) after rainfall in a lowland tropical rain forest. In this study, we estimate CDT using sap flow velocities measured by a heat‐pulse method in an emergent tree in a lowland mixed‐dipterocarp forest. Estimated CDT (ECDT) for each rain event has been defined as the time from rainfall cessation to the specific time derived from the difference between diurnal courses of sap flow velocities on a rainy day versus bright days. ECDT could be derived for 22 rain events that were grouped into two types, depending on whether rainfall ceased before or after noon. The ECDTs were distributed more widely and with greater values when rainfall ceased before noon (Type 1) than after noon (Type 2). The ECDTs of both Type 1 and Type 2 decreased with increases in net radiation (Rn) and vapour pressure deficit (VPD) after rainfall. This result shows that ECDT is determined mainly by post‐rainfall evaporation rates. The sap flow velocity as a detector of canopy wetness worked out well because of the specific rainfall characteristics at this site. The practical limitations of the method using sap flow velocities are discussed in relation to rainfall characteristics and time lags between transpirations and sap flow velocities. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Rare-earth Elements in Apatite from Layered Norites and Iron-Titanium Oxide Ore-bodies Related to Anorthosites ( Rogaland

Rare-earth elements (REE) were investigated by neutron-activation analysis in nine apatites and seven coexisting plagioclase cumulate minerals at three different levels of the Bjerkrem-Sogndal layered lopolith (Rogaland, S.W. Norway), a massif which displays the complete andesine anorthosite-charnockite series of rocks. The REE (except Eu) behave as hygromagmatophile elements (as defined by Treuil) in the course of the fractional crystallization process which has given rise to the massif. The concentration is indeed inversely proportional to F, the fraction of residual liquid. This characteristic permits placing an upper limit to the value of the partition coefficients of REE between apatite and magma. They must approximately be equal or less than 5. The apatite-plagioclase distribution coefficients show little variation during differentiation. This can be explained by an open system crystallization of the intercumulus liquid and permits calculating the plagioclasemagma partition coefficients. Values similar to those of Paster et al. (1974) are obtained. A range of possible D apat Eu is calculated, together with the corresponding D plag Eu at three different levels of the intrusion. Drake's (1975) geobarometer based on Eu in plagioclase is used to estimate the fugacity of oxygen. There is good agreement with the values obtained with the Buddington and Lindsley geobarometer. A continuous decrease of fO2 throughout the whole sequence cannot be invalidated. REE were also determined in apatite from five Fe-Ti oxide ore-bodies occurring in the same magmatic province. The consistency between the trace element behaviour in the oxides and the REE in the apatite permits identifying fractional crystallization as controlling the generation of the ore-bodies.
Survival of Wheat Curl Mites on Different Sources of Resistance in Wheat

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield is limited by wheat streak mosaic virus which is vectored by the wheat curl mite (WCM) Aceria tosicheilla (Keifer). Host resistance to WCM has reduced losses. This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of resistance in wheat to WCM collected from various locations in the Great Plains. Collections of WCM from Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Texas, Alberta, Canada, and eight locations in Kansas were compared for their ability to survive and reproduce in the greenhouse on seven lines of wheat and wheat relatives previously identified as resistant. The lines and their sources of resistance were: AC PGR16635 (Aegilops tauschii Coss., Cmc1), PI525452 (Thinopyrum ponticum (Podp.) Liu and Wang, Cmc2), KS96WGRC40 (Ae. tauschii and Secale cereale L.), TA920 (Triticum timopheevii (Zhuk.) Zhuk spp. armenidcum), PI 475772 (S. cereale), TAM 107' (S. cereale), PI 222655 (T. aestivum). KS96WGRC40 and TA920 were the only entries that were resistant to all WCM collections. Other sources of resistance were effective against WCMs from some but not all locations. PI 222655 was resistant to WCMs from Nebraska and central Kansas but not to mites from most other locations. WCMs that were virulent to TAM 107 generally were also virulent to PIs 222655 and 475772 but avirulent to Cmc2. The WCMs from western Kansas, where TAM 107 is widely grown, were generally more virulent to that cultivar than WCM from central Kansas where the hectarage of TAM 107 is smaller. WCMs collected at different times or locations may vary in their responses to different sources of resistance; therefore, testing mites for their response to resistance genes advanced in breeding programs may be needed before resistant cultivars are deployed in the field.
Effect of Linezolid on Human Phagocytic Cell Functions in Response to Gram-Negative Pathogens : In vitro and Ex vivo Studies

Linezolid has a wide spectrum of activity against gram-positive organisms, but no clinical activity against gram-negative organisms. In a phase 3 study comparing linezolid with vancomycin in patients with intravascular catheter-related infections, a mortality imbalance occurred in patients with gram-negative bacterial infections. The hypothesis that this imbalance might be related to immunosuppressive effects of linezolid (impeding the ability of phagocytic cells to respond to gram-negative infections) was tested using in vitro and ex vivo approaches. Human whole blood was incubated with linezolid in vitro. Phagocytosis of Escherichia coli (E.coli) particles, cytokine (interleukin-1 receptor antagonist [IL-1ra], IL-8) secretion and mRNA synthesis by neutrophils in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation, were measured. Subsequently, in an ex vivo study, linezolid or placebo was administered to healthy subjects before measurements of phagocytosis of E. coli particles by neutrophils and monocytes, and cytokine (IL-1ra, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor-α) secretion by total white blood cells in response to LPS stimulation. Linezolid and placebo group comparisons were based on individual baseline-corrected values. Linezolid had no effect on phagocytosis of E.coli particles by neutrophils or monocytes in vitro or ex vivo. Small to moderate decreases in IL-1ra and IL-8 secretions from neutrophils were observed at high linezolid concentrations (≥16.5 μg/mL) in vitro, but cytokine gene expression was not affected. Linezolid had no significant effect on secretion of 5 cytokines evaluated ex vivo. There is no strong evidence suggesting that linezolid inhibits phagocytic cell functions in response to gram-negative pathogensat clinically relevant concentrations.
Effects of phosphorus enrichment and grazing snails on modern stromatolitic microbial communities

SUMMARY 1. The effects of phosphorus enrichment and grazing snails on a benthic microbial community that builds stromatolic oncolites were examined in an experiment at Rio Mesquites, Cuatro Cienegas, Mexico. Chemical analyses of stream water samples indicated that overall atomic ratios of total nitrogen (N) to total phosphorus (P) were approximately 110, indicating a strong potential for P-limitation of microbial growth. 2. Phosphorus enrichment involved addition of 5 lmol Na2HPO4 L )1 to streamside microcosms receiving intermittent inputs of stream water while grazer manipulation involved removal of the dominant grazer, the snail Mexithauma quadripaludium. After 7 weeks, we examined responses in organic matter content, C : N : P ratios, metabolism (P removal, primary production, dark respiration, and calcification), and microbial commu- nity structure using molecular fingerprinting of 16S rRNA genes. 3. Manipulation of snails did not affect response variables measured in these treatments (organic matter, C : P ratio, P removal rate). However, P enrichment significantly decreased the C : P and N : P ratios of surficial materials in the oncolites (organic matter content was unchanged), increased net and gross photosynthesis (oxygen consumption in the dark was unchanged), increased rates of calcification, and increased diatoms relative to cyanobacteria. Heterotrophic Eubacteria and Archaea were only modestly affected. Thus, our results indicate weak grazing effects but strong impacts of P in this benthic system. 4. We hypothesise that a state of severe P-limitation is imposed on autotrophic production in this food web due, at least in part, to co-precipitation of phosphate during calcite deposition. This produces severe P-limitation of the benthic algae and cyanobacteria, resulting in high C : P ratio of microbial mats relative to the biomass of photoautotrophs (phytoplankton, terrestrial foliage) in other ecosystems. In turn, this high C : P ratio is likely to generate severe stoichiometric constraints on the herbivores, thus limiting their populations and resulting in weak overall grazing impacts.
High Fidelity Drug Repurposing, Molecular Profiling, and Cell Reprogramming

Abstract : To provide successful immediate-term treatment of PCa, and to prolong or prevent the need for androgen deprivation therapy and its lethal corollary, castrate resistant prostate cancer. We will integrate two paradigm-shifting Georgetown-Lombardi technologies (TMFS/network pharmacology and CRCs) to discover and test repurposed drugs that target PCa on an individual patient basis. Objective 1: We will enrich the FDA-approved drug database to include world-wide approved and experimental drugs and add new target structures as needed. Objective 2: TMFS will be applied to the molecular profiles derived from a series of pten mutant tumors from engineered mice and predicted drugs will be tested on conditionally reprogrammed cultures of these cells in vitro as well as in vivo as allografts. Objective 3: We will also complete the characterization of 10 human normal and prostate cancer CRC lines by Illumina bead array and RNAseq. Objective 4: These datasets will be interrogated for potential targets and repurposable drugs identified using TMFS. The drugs will be tested on prostate cells growth in vitro to calculate the LD50 in preparation for future studies in vivo.
The Clinical Utility and Safety of Radiofrequency Ablation for Malignant Lung Tumors : Preliminary Results 1 )

Purpose: We evaluated the clinical usefulness and safety of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for the treatment of lung tumors. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included patients who underwent RFA for the treatment of lung tumors at our institution from March 2006 to April 2015. Technical success, safety, local tumor progression, and survival were evaluated. Results: In total, 41 patients (28 men and 13 women; median age, 69 years; range 37-88 years) with 51 malignant lung tumors measuring 0.6-6.8 cm (mean, 1.7 ± 1.2 cm) completed 46 planned RFA sessions. Lung tumors were primary in 22 patients and metastatic in 19 patients. Four tumors were not completely surrounded by an ablation zone on computed tomography immediately after RFA (technical success rate; 91.3%, 42/46). One of 41 patients (2.4%) died of pneumonia in the contralateral lung 26 days after RFA. Grade 2 symptomatic pneumothorax (n = 5) and hemothorax (n = 1) and grade 1 asymptomatic pneumothorax (n = 9) occurred during the procedure. Grade 3 pneumonia (n = 1) and grade 2 fever (n = 2) occurred within 30 days of follow-up. During a mean follow-up period of 20.3 ± 19.1 months, local tumor progression developed in 8 of 51 tumors (15.7%). Eleven patients (26.8%) died of cancer progression (n = 9) or pneumonia (n = 2). The 5-year overall survival rate was 53.5% (95% confidence interval, 31.1-75.9%). Tumor size was a significant prognostic factor on Cox proportional hazards analysis. Conclusion: RFA was a safe and useful treatment option for malignant lung tumors.
Cancelable Biometric Recognition With ECGs: Subspace-Based Approaches

Relying on physiological or behavioral traits for identity recognition, biometric technologies offer several advantages over conventional possession- and knowledge-based approaches and are now widely used in diverse applications. However, as most biometrics (e.g., fingerprints, irises, etc.) in use are extrinsic, susceptible to replay attacks, and could result in the disclosure of individuals’ physiological and pathological conditions, security and privacy concerns must be considered. In this paper, several electrocardiogram (ECG)-based cancelable biometric schemes are proposed to mitigate such concerns. The intrinsic and dynamic nature of ECGs and their inherent indication of life make them extremely difficult to steal or counterfeit. Using the concept of “signal subspace collapsing,” distinct biometric templates associated with an individual’s ECGs can be constructed such that it is possible to revoke a compromised template like a password. By incorporating different strategies for common subspace suppression, the well-known multiple signal classification method can effectively determine the identity of any individual just via his/her ECGs. Unlike existing cancelable biometrics, the recognition can be accomplished without knowledge of the distortion transformation, which further increases the difficulty of recovering the original ECGs from their templates. Various experiments with real ECGs from 285 subjects are conducted to illustrate the efficacy of the proposed schemes.
A RIFFLE STABILITY INDEX TO EVALUATE SEDIMENT LOADING TO STREAMS 1

ABSTRACT: Riffles in moderately entrenched stream reaches with gradients of 2 percent to 4 percent that have received excessive sediment from upstream have a distinctly different and higher proportion of smaller mobile particles than riffles in systems that are in dynamic equilibrium. The mobile fraction on the riffle can be estimated by comparing the relative abundance of various particle sizes present on the riffle with the dominant large particles on an adjacent bar. Riffle particles smaller than the dominant large particles on the bar are interpreted as mobile. The mobile percentile of particles on the riffle is termed “Riffle Stability Index” (RSI) and provides a useful estimate of the degree of increased sediment supply to riffles in mountain streams. The RSI addresses situations in which increases in gravel bedload from headwaters activities is depositing material on riffles and filling pools, and it reflects qualitative differences between reference and managed watersheds. The RSI correlates well with other measures of stream channel physical condition, such as V and the results of fish habitat surveys. Thus, it can be used as an indicator of stream reach and watershed condition and also of aquatic habitat quality.
MINERAL MICRONUTRIENTS COMPOSITION OF BEE ’ S POLLEN

It were analyzed the total metals contents for some bee’s pollen samples collected from Berini, Banat County. Thirteen metals were quantified for each pollen samples. The analysed minerals are: Na, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Cd, Ni, Co, Pb and Cr. Mineral contents were determinated by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (F-AAS) with high-resolution continuum source ContrAA 300 spectrometer. The results were statistically interpreted using multivariate analyses.
Development of Acuity in o Primote Model of Humon Infontile Uniloterol Aphokio

1. Harding JJ and Crabbe MJC: The lens: Development, proteins, metabolism and cataract. In The Eye, Davson H, editor. New York, Academic Press, 1984, pp. 207-492. 2. Spector A, Freund T, Li LK, and Augusteyn RC: Age-dependent changes in the structure of a-crystallin. Invest Ophthalmol 10;677, 1971. 3. Spector A: The search for a solution to senile cataracts. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 25:130, 1984. 4. Horwitz J: Some properties of the low molecular weight acrystallin from normal human lens: Comparison with bovine lens. Exp Eye Res 23:471, 1976. 5. Chiou SH, Azari P, Himmel ME, and Squire PG: Isolation and physical characterization of bovine lens crystallins. Int J Pept Protein Res 13:409, 1979. 6. Kramps HA, Stols ACH, Hoenders HJ, and de Groot K: On the quaternary structure of high-molecular weight protein from bovine eye lens. Eur J Biochem 50:503, 1975. 7. Tinoco Jr I, Mickols W, and Maestre MF: Absorption, scattering and imaging of biomolecular structures with polarized light. Annu Rev Biophys Biophys Chem 16:319, 1987. 8. Schneider AS and Harmatz D: An experimental method correcting for absorption flatting and scattering in suspension of absorbing particles: Circular dichroism and absorption spectra of hemoglobin in situ in red blood cells. Biochemistry 15:4158, 1976. 9. Liang JN, Bose SK, and Chakrabarti B: Age-related changes in protein conformation in bovine lens crystallins. Exp Eye Res 40:461, 1985. 10. Benedek GB: Theory of transparency of the eye. Applied Optics 10:459, 1971.
Cross-Country Co-Movement in Long-Term Interest Rates: A DSGE Approach

Long-term interest rates in a number of small open inflation-targeting economies co-move more strongly with US long-term rates than with short-term rates in those economies. We augment a standard small open economy model with imperfectly substitutable government bonds and time-varying term premia, that captures this phenomenon. The estimated model fits a range of US and UK data remarkably well, and produces term premium estimates that are comparable to estimates from the affine term structure model literature. We find that the strong co-movement between US and UK long-term interest rates arises primarily via correlated policy rate expectations, rather than through correlated term premia. This is due to policymakers in both economies responding to foreign productivity and discount factor shocks that cause persistent changes in inflation. We also overcome the common failure of similar models to account for the large influence of foreign disturbances on domestic economies found empirically, where in our model around 40% of the variation in UK GDP can be explained by shocks originating in the US economy.
Hypocoercivity-compatible Finite Element Methods for the Long-time Computation of Kolmogorov's Equation

This work is concerned with the development of a family of Galerkin finite element methods for the classical Kolmogorov's equation. Kolmogorov's equation serves as a sufficiently rich, for our purposes, model problem for kinetic-type equations and is characterised by diffusion in one of the two (or three) spatial directions only. Nonetheless, its solution admits typically decay properties to some long time equilibrium, depending on closure by suitable boundary/decay-at-infinity conditions. A key attribute of the proposed family of methods is that they also admit similar decay properties at the (semi)discrete level for very general families of triangulations. The method construction uses ideas by the general theory of hypocoercivity developed by Villani [23], along with judicious choice of numerical flux functions. These developments turn out to be sufficient to imply that the proposed finite element methods admit a priori error bounds with constants independent of the final time, despite Kolmogorov equation's degenerate diffusion nature. Thus, the new methods provably allow for robust error analysis for final times tending to infinity. The extension to three spatial dimensions is also briefly discussed.
Rarefied Gas Flow Through an Orifice at Finite Pressure Ratio

The rarefied gas flow through a thin orifice is studied on the basis of the direct simulation Monte Carlo method. The mass flow rate and the flowfield have been calculated over the whole range of the Knudsen number for various values of the pressure ratio. It has been found that at any value of the pressure ratio a significant variation of the flow rate occurs in the transition regime. In the hydrodynamic regime the flow rate tends to a constant value. In the case of finite pressure ratio the flowfield qualitatively differs from that of the outflow into vacuum, namely, vortices appear in the down flow container by approaching to the hydrodynamic regime. Then, in the deep hydrodynamic regime the gas flow forms a strong jet. A comparison of the numerical results with experimental data available in the open literature has been performed.
Thermohaline forcing of eastern boundary currents : With application to the circulation off the west coast of Australia

The linear, viscid, continuously stratified model of McCreary (1981) is extended to allow for thermohaline forcing by a specified, longitudinally independent, surface density field ρs. When the ocean is unbounded and ρs is steady, the density field is altered throughout the water column by vertical diffusion. If ρs increases poleward, the resulting pressure field slopes downward toward the pole in the upper water column, and there is an associated eastward geostrophic current. This interior current forces downwelling at an eastern ocean boundary, and generates a poleward surface coastal current and an equatorward undercurrent. For realistic choices of model parameters the coastal circulation is as strong as, and opposite in direction to, that caused by a typical equatorward wind stress τy. When ρs oscillates at the annual cycle, the unbounded flowis confined to a surface boundary layer. The coastal circulation is qualitatively quasi-steady, but also has characteristics of a vertically propagating Kelvin wave. One solution is forced by an idealized representation of the observed ρs and τy fields off the west coast of Australia. This solution compares well with observations of the oceanic circulation there. In particular, there is a surface coastal jet (the model Leeuwin Current) that flows against the wind. This successful comparison suggests that the mean circulation in the region is significantly forced by ρs, whereas the annual variability is strongly forced by τy.