Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adaptation to Climate Change: Evidence from US Agriculture

Understanding the potential impacts of climate change on economic outcomes requires knowing how agents might adapt to a changing climate. We exploit large variation in recent temperature and precipitation trends to identify adaptation to climate change in US agriculture, and use this information to generate new estimates of the potential impact of future climate change on agricultural outcomes. Longer run adaptations appear to have mitigated less than half--and more likely none--of the large negative short-run impacts of extreme heat on productivity. Limited recent adaptation implies substantial losses under future climate change in the absence of countervailing investments.
Normal and neurotic perfectionism in eating disorders: an interactive model.

OBJECTIVE Previous nonclinical research found that both normal (or adaptive) and neurotic (or maladaptive) perfectionism were related, in the positive direction, to attitudes and behaviors associated with eating disorders. However, based on a related body of research, it was hypothesized that these two aspects of perfectionism would relate to body esteem in an interactive rather than an additive fashion. METHOD Anorexic and bulimic patients (n = 123) were assessed on multidimensional aspects of perfectionism, neuroticism, and body esteem. RESULTS Predictions were confirmed. Normal perfectionism was positively associated with body esteem, but only when levels of neurotic perfectionism were low. Conversely, body-image disparagement was most pronounced when normal and neurotic perfectionism were both elevated. DISCUSSION These findings demonstrate that the interpretation of simple relationships among personality variables--at least in the area of body image and eating disorder research--may provide a misleading picture.
Modulatory Effect of an Urera Aurantiaca Extract on Immune and Tumoral Cells During Inflammation

There is a well known link between inflammation and cancer during initiation, propagation and metastasis. Urera aurantiaca (UA) Wedd. (Urticaceae) is a medicinal plant used in traditional medicine to treat inflammatory processes with proven in vivo antiinflammatory and antinociceptive effects. The effects of a methanolic extract (UA) and a purified fraction (PF) on the proliferation of normal and tumoral lymphocytes under the effect of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and on nitric oxide production by lipopolysaccharide‐stimulated macrophages was evaluated. Both UA and PF stimulated normal lymphocytes but, in presence of PGE2, a modulatory effect was observed. The normal lymphocyte proliferation induced by PGE2 was driven by pathways involving both PKC and H2O2. In macrophages, UA and PF did not modify cell viability and abrogated the synthesis of nitric oxide induced by lipopolysaccharide. In tumoral lymphocytes, the UA exerted a biphasic effect: at low concentrations it increased cell proliferation, while at high concentrations, it displayed an antiproliferative effect. UA and PF were capable of reverting the proliferative action of PGE2. The tumoral cell proliferation induced by PGE2 is related to PKC, ERK 1/2 and MAP Kinase P38 pathways. The observed effects could be attributed to polyphenols, flavonoids and tannins. This work demonstrates the modulatory effects of the UA on different cell types during inflammatory conditions, which reinforces its antiinflammatory action. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A Toolchain for Open-Loop Compensation of Hysteresis and Creep in Atomic Force Microscopes

Any Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) scanner based on piezoelectric ceramics is affected by nonlinear distortions, mainly due to rate-independent hysteresis and rate-dependent creep, two different phenomena often referred to, collectively, as rate-dependent hysteresis. To compensate for these distortions, especially in old or cheap instruments, empirical open-loop compensation techniques are frequently adopted. In this paper, a complete hardware/software toolchain is proposed, for data acquisition, identification of hysteresis and creep models, and real-time open-loop compensation of rate-dependent hysteresis in AFM scanners.
Sequence-based masquerade detection for different user groups

Insider threats are one of the biggest threats that organizations are confronted with today. A masquerader who impersonates another user for his malicious activities has been studied extensively in the literature. The approaches proposed on masquerade detection mainly assume that masquerader behavior will deviate from the typical behavior of the victim. This research presents a rigorous evaluation of sequence-based approaches based on this assumption. The main idea underlying sequence-based approaches is that users type similar commands, in a similar order, every time to do a specific job and, these similarities could distinguish users from others. Sequence-based approaches in the literature only consider commands typed in a specific order, at all times. In this research, we also take into account typing similar commands in a command sequence, but in an unordered way, in the newly proposed method, Matching of Unordered Command Sequences. We compare this new technique with another sequence-based approach called Matching of Ordered Command Sequences, and a command-based approach called Matching of Commands. These techniques are evaluated with varying parameters in order to explore how the order of commands, the variations in a command sequence, and the variety of commands affect masquerade detection. Furthermore, the performance of these methods on different types of users and masqueraders is analyzed. We explore what kind of users are easily distinguishable from others, and what kind of masqueraders are difficult to detect. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A Pattern Diversity Antenna with Parasitic Switching Elements for Wireless LAN Communications

In this paper, a pattern diversity antenna with switched parasitic elements is presented for wireless LAN application. A wire meander-line antenna on top of a circular metallic ground plane is designed and used as the main radiator. Some conductive rods are installed on the ground plane, around the antenna. Connecting and disconnecting of the rods to the ground plane stirrers the antenna farfield radiation pattern. Two optimized switching categories are used in rods selection. A good impedance matching and low correlated radiation patterns are generated which results to an efficient diversity antenna system. The diversity signals correlation, in a uniform field scattering environment and Rayleigh multipath fading channel, is computed from the complex 3D radiation patterns. It is verified with the measurements accomplished inside a mode stirrer reverberation chamber (MSRC). The received signals correlation coefficient and the diversity gain for selection combining are provided
What’s So Special about the Developing Immune System?

The evolution of the subdiscipline of developmental immunotoxicology (DIT) as it exists today has been shaped by significant regulatory pressures as well as key scientific advances. This review considers the role played by legislation to protect children’s health, and on the emergence of immunotoxcity and developmental immunotoxicity guidelines, as well as providing some context to the need for special attention on DIT by considering the evidence that the developing immune system may have unique susceptibilities when compared to the adult immune system. Understanding the full extent of this potential has been complicated by a paucity of data detailing the development of the immune system during critical life stages as well as by the complexities of comparisons across species. Notably, there are differences between humans and nonhuman species used in toxicity testing that include specific differences relative to the timing of the development of the immune system as well as more general anatomic differences, and these differences must be factored into the interpretation of DIT studies. Likewise, understanding how the timing of the immune development impacts on various immune parameters is critical to the design of DIT studies, parameters most extensively characterized to date in young adult animals. Other factors important to DIT, which are considered in this review, are the recognition that effects other than suppression (e.g., allergy and autoimmunity) are important; the need to improve our understanding of how to assess the potential for DIT in humans; and the role that pathology has played in DIT studies in test animals. The latter point receives special emphasis in this review because pathology evaluations have been a major component of standard nonclinical toxicology studies, and could serve an important role in studies to evaluate DIT. This possibility is very consistent with recommendations to incorporate a DIT evaluation into standard developmental and reproductive toxicology (DART) protocols. The overall objective of this review is to provide a ‘snapshot’ of the current state-of-the-science of DIT. Despite significant progress, DIT is still evolving and it is our hope that this review will advance the science.
Stability improvement of wind farms using shunt and series compensation

This paper presents a comparison of the performance of series and shunt compensation in stability improvement of wind farms. Static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) and static synchronous series compensator (SSSC) are used as shunt and series compensator respectively in order to enhance the system stability. The effect of control parameter tuning is also analysed. A comparison is also made between the required ratings of STATCOM and SSSC. To maintain permissible voltage at the point of common coupling (PCC) SSSC can perform well as STATCOM with lower voltage rating if it is placed at suitable position in the network. Effects of load variation and fault duration are investigated through nonlinear simulations. Constant power load is considered and varied with time to investigate the load changing effect. Simulations are carried out in Matlab/Simulink environment on a test system. It is found that both STATCOM and SSSC can enhance the performance of wind farms, however, they can be selected for a system depending on the system structure and operating conditions.
Predictive factors for pure steatosis in alcoholic patients.

BACKGROUND Bearing in mind the mechanisms involved in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, this study aims to verify whether metabolic syndrome or its various individual components are independent predictive factors for steatosis > or =10% in alcoholic patients. METHODS This study included 281 consecutive alcoholic patients with abnormal liver tests and either normal liver histology or steatosis <10% (n = 119) or steatosis > or =10% (n = 162). Logistic regression analysis was used to study the relationship between metabolic syndrome components and various risk factors and the presence of steatosis > or =10%. We assessed apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA-1) levels, a major protein component of plasma high-density lipoprotein (HDL), rather than HDL-cholesterol levels. RESULTS Plasma ApoA-1 levels (p < 0.01), body mass index (BMI) (p < 0.01), and waist circumference (p < 0.05) were significantly higher in patients with steatosis > or =10% than in patients with normal liver histology or steatosis <10%. A higher percentage of patients with steatosis > or =10% had high blood pressure (p = 0.003) than patients with normal liver histology or steatosis <10%. In the logistic regression, ApoA-1 [odds ratio (OR) = 1.57 (1.10-2.22)], BMI [OR = 1.10 (1.01-1.23)], and high blood pressure [OR = 1.84 (1.10-3.06)] were positively and independently correlated with the presence of steatosis > or =10%. In the multivariate regression high blood pressure was independently and positively correlated with steatosis score (r = 0.55 +/- 0.26; p < 0.05). On the other hand, when the presence of high blood pressure was the dependent variable, the presence of steatosis > or =10% positively and independently correlated with it [OR = 1.82 (1.05-3.15)]. CONCLUSION In alcoholic patients without fibrosis, ApoA-1, BMI, and high blood pressure on the next morning after the admission were predictive of steatosis > or =10%. High blood pressure was the only metabolic syndrome component associated with the presence of alcoholic steatosis >/=10% and was not correlated with other metabolic syndrome components. These findings suggest that steatosis mechanisms are different in alcoholic and nonalcoholic fatty liver.
Cloning and identification of the Escherichia coli murB DNA sequence, which encodes UDP-N-acetylenolpyruvoylglucosamine reductase

The murB gene, which complemented the UDP-N-acetylenolpyruvoylglucosamine reductase (EC 1.1.1.158) mutation in Escherichia coli ST5, was cloned from an E. coli chromosomal library. murB was subcloned on a 2.8-kb PvuII fragment into pUC19 and sequenced. A 1,029-bp open reading frame encoded a 342-amino-acid polypeptide of 37,859 Da. A DNA sequence homology search revealed that murB had almost 100% homology with a previously reported unidentified open reading frame, ORFII, at 89.9 min. Physical and genetic mapping results were consistent with this map position, and minicell analyses of murB subclones showed a plasmid-encoded protein of approximately 37,000 Da, which closely matched the calculated size of the murB protein.
A 0.3V-to-1.1V standard cell library in 40nm CMOS

Processor operating over a wide voltage range achieves better possible energy efficiency while satisfying varying performance demands of the applications. To enable such a processor that can operate correctly and efficiently, a standard cell library specific for wide voltage operation is necessary. This paper describes a 40nm 0.3V-1.1V CMOS standard cell library by using sizing method to optimize the original one provided by foundry. By detailed sizing constraint, individual cells show better noise margin under process variation at 0.3 V and 0.6V, faster speed at 0.6V and 1.1V. Evaluation with benchmark circuits form ISCAS'89 and ITC'99 show 4.5%-6.9% speed improvement and 6.7%-22.3% less power comsumption synthesized at 0.6V compared with the foundry-provided one.
Process for the integrated extraction, identification and quantification of metabolites, proteins and RNA to reveal their co‐regulation in biochemical networks

A novel extraction protocol is described with which metabolites, proteins and RNA are sequentially extracted from the same sample, thereby providing a convenient procedure for the analysis of replicates as well as exploiting the inherent biological variation of independent samples for multivariate data analysis. A detection of 652 metabolites, 297 proteins and clear RNA bands in a single Arabidopsis thaliana leaf sample was validated by analysis with gas chromatography coupled to a time of flight mass spectrometer for metabolites, two‐dimensional liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry for proteins, and Northern blot analysis for RNA. A subset of the most abundant proteins and metabolites from replicate analysis of different Arabidopsis accessions was merged to form an integrative dataset allowing both classification of different genotypes and the unbiased analysis of the hierarchical organization of proteins and metabolites within a real biochemical network.
A very thin coating for capillary zone electrophoresis of proteins based on a tri(ethylene glycol)‐terminated alkyltrichlorosilane

We describe the use of a tri(ethylene glycol)‐terminated alkyltrichlorosilane to create a very thin, protein‐resistant “self‐assembled monolayer” coating on the inner surface of a fused‐silica capillary. The same compound has been demonstrated previously on flat silica substrates to resist adsorption of many proteins. As a covalently bound capillary coating, it displays good resistance to the adsorption of cationic proteins, providing clean separations of a mixture of lysozyme, cytochrome c, ribonuclease A, and myoglobin for more than 200 consecutive runs. Electroosmotic flow (EOF) was measured as a function of pH; the coated capillary retains significant cathodal EOF, with roughly 50% of the EOF of an uncoated capillary at neutral pH, making this coating promising for applications requiring some EOF. The EOF was reasonably stable, with a 2.9% relative standard deviation during a 24 h period consisting of 72 consecutive separations of cationic proteins. Efficiencies for cationic protein separations were moderate, in the range of 190 000–290 000 theoretical plates per meter. The coating procedure was simple, requiring only a standard cleaning procedure followed by a rinse with the silane reagent at room temperature. No buffer additives are required to maintain the stability of the coating, making it flexible for a range of applications, potentially including capillary electrophoresis‐mass spectrometry (CE‐MS).
Wsp1 Is Downstream of Cin1 and Regulates Vesicle Transport and Actin Cytoskeleton as an Effector of Cdc42 and Rac1 in Cryptococcus neoformans

ABSTRACT Human Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP) is a scaffold linking upstream signals to the actin cytoskeleton. In response to intersectin ITSN1 and Rho GTPase Cdc42, WASP activates the Arp2/3 complex to promote actin polymerization. The human pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans contains the ITSN1 homolog Cin1 and the WASP homolog Wsp1, which share more homology with human proteins than those of other fungi. Here we demonstrate that Cin1, Cdc42/Rac1, and Wsp1 function in an effector pathway similar to that of mammalian models. In the cin1 mutant, expression of the autoactivated Wsp1-B-GBD allele partially suppressed the mutant defect in endocytosis, and expression of the constitutively active CDC42Q61L allele restored normal actin cytoskeleton structures. Similar phenotypic suppression can be obtained by the expression of a Cdc42-green fluorescent protein (GFP)-Wsp1 fusion protein. In addition, Rac1, which was found to exhibit a role in early endocytosis, activates Wsp1 to regulate vacuole fusion. Rac1 interacted with Wsp1 and depended on Wsp1 for its vacuolar membrane localization. Expression of the Wsp1-B-GBD allele restored vacuolar membrane fusion in the rac1 mutant. Collectively, our studies suggest novel ways in which this pathogenic fungus has adapted conserved signaling pathways to control vesicle transport and actin organization, likely benefiting survival within infected hosts.
Gemcitabine hydrochloride-loaded liposomes and nanoparticles: comparison of encapsulation efficiency, drug release, particle size, and cytotoxicity

Abstract The aim of this study is to formulate and compare the physicochemical properties of negatively charged liposomes and poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles loaded with gemcitabine hydrochloride. The influence of the formulation variables on the liposome and nanoparticle properties on particle size, zeta potential, encapsulation efficiency, and drug release was evaluated. Although the PEGylated nanoparticles and PEGylated liposomes were of the same size (∼200 nm), the encapsulation efficiency was 1.4 times higher for PEGylated liposomes than for PEGylated nanoparticles. The optimized formulation of PEGylated liposomes and PEGylated nanoparticles had 26.1 ± 0.18 and 18.8 ± 1.52% encapsulation efficiency, respectively. The release of drug from the PEGylated liposomes and PEGylated nanoparticles exhibited a biphasic pattern that was characterized by a fast initial release during the first 2 h followed by a slower continuous release. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images identified separate circular structures of the liposomes and nanoparticles. The in vitro cytotoxicity of the optimized formulations was assessed in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells, and the results showed that the cytotoxicity effect of the gemcitabine hydrochloride-loaded liposomes and nanoparticles was more than commercial product Gemko® and gemcitabine hydrochloride solution.
A Nonlocal Bayesian Image Denoising Algorithm

Recent state-of-the-art image denoising methods use nonparametric estimation processes for $8 \times 8$ patches and obtain surprisingly good denoising results. The mathematical and experimental evidence of two recent articles suggests that we might even be close to the best attainable performance in image denoising ever. This suspicion is supported by a remarkable convergence of all analyzed methods. Still more interestingly, most patch-based image denoising methods can be summarized in one paradigm, which unites the transform thresholding method and a Markovian Bayesian estimation. As the present paper shows, this unification is complete when the patch space is assumed to be a Gaussian mixture. Each Gaussian distribution is associated with its orthonormal basis of patch eigenvectors. Thus, transform thresholding (or a Wiener filter) is made on these local orthogonal bases. In this paper a simple patch-based Bayesian method is proposed, which on the one hand keeps most interesting features of former metho.
Tear Osmolality and Ferning Patterns in Postmenopausal Women

Purpose. To compare tear osmolality and ferning patterns in postmenopausal women (PMW) with and without dry eye symptoms. Methods. Thirty-seven healthy PMW (>50 years of age), not on hormone replacement therapy, were categorized as being symptomatic or asymptomatic of dry eye based on their responses to an Allergan “Single-Item Score Dry Eye Questionnaire” (SIDEQ). They subsequently completed the Allergan “Ocular Surface Disease Index” (OSDI) questionnaire. Tear samples were collected from participants to evaluate osmolality and ferning patterns. A novel freezing point depression osmometer (Advanced Instruments Inc., Model 3100 Tear Osmometer), was used to measure the osmolality of the tear film. The tear ferning test was performed and evaluated for the quality of ferning based on the Rolando grading system. Results. SIDEQ responses revealed 21 symptomatic and 16 asymptomatic participants. The OSDI total score was 6.5 ± 5.9 for the non–dry-eyed (NDE) group and 25.7 ± 12.4 for the dry-eyed (DE) group. The subscores for the DE group were significantly greater than the NDE group (p < 0.001). Osmolality values in DE individuals were significantly different from NDE (328.1 ± 20.8 vs. 315.1 ± 11.3 mOsm/kg; p = 0.02). Fifty percent of the DE participants showed type II ferning patterns and 29% of the DE participants showed type III ferning patterns, whereas the NDE participants showed either type I (44%) or II (66%) ferning patterns. There was a significant difference between the DE and NDE participants for the ferning patterns (p = 0.019). There was no significant correlation between tear osmolality and tear ferning (DE: r = 0.12; p > 0.05, NDE: r = −0.17; p > 0.05). Conclusions. Osmolality in mild and moderately DE PMW is higher than in NDE PMW and tear ferning is a rapid, simple, noninvasive laboratory procedure that indicates altered tear quality in PMW with symptoms of dry eye.
Reply to “A Replication of “Meta-analysis of the Effect of Fiscal Policies on Long-run Growth” (European Journal of Political Economy 2004)”

In this reply, we comment on Reed and Sidek’s replication of Nijkamp and Poot. We note that Nijkamp and Poot’s conclusions are robust to, first, trimming their sample of primary studies to improve comparability across studies and, second, greatly expanding the number of observations for meta-analysis by including multiple estimates from each of the trimmed sample of primary studies. We argue that future meta-analyses of this empirical literature would benefit from a narrower focus on specific fiscal policies and from considering institutions and cultural–attitudinal contexts within which primary studies are conducted.