Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Heat shock factor 1‐deficient mice exhibit decreased recovery of hearing following noise overstimulation

Heat shock proteins (Hsps) can enhance cell survival in response to stress. Heat shock factor 1 (Hsf1) is the major transcription factor that regulates stress‐inducible Hsp expression. We previously demonstrated the presence of Hsf1 in the rodent cochlea and also demonstrated that a heat shock known to precondition the cochlea against noise trauma results in Hsf1 activation in the rodent cochlea. In the present study, we used an Hsf1‐deficient (Hsf1–/–) mouse model to determine whether eliminating the Hsf1‐dependent stress pathway would influence hearing loss and/or recovery from a moderate‐intensity noise. Hsf1–/– mice and their normal littermates (Hsf1+/+) were exposed to a 98‐dB, broadband (2–20 kHz) noise for 2 hr, and auditory brainstem response thresholds were measured at three frequencies (4, 12, and 20 kHz) 3 hr, 3 days, and 2 weeks after noise. Hsf1–/– mice had greater hearing loss than Hsf1+/+ mice, with significant differences in recovery observed at all frequencies tested by 2 weeks after noise. Increased outer hair cell loss was also observed in Hsf1–/– mice following noise. These studies provide evidence for the importance of Hsf1 in cochlear protection, recovery, and/or repair following noise overstimulation. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Solder-Assembled MEMS Flaps to Enhance Fluid Mixing

Thermal actuator-based MEMS flaps with a length scale of 1,000 μm were developed for the enhancement of fluid mixing. These flaps were much larger than typical MEMS devices, and the experiment required an array of 10 flaps to be soldered onto a ceramic substrate with precision assembly. As a result, in the initial fabrication it was difficult to achieve good assembly yields capable of providing large deflections. To improve the yields and deflections, we have modified the flap design by reducing the size of solder pads, removing sharp corners, changing the number and the width of the actuator’s hot arms, and strengthening the support beams. In addition, we have developed a controllable process to reflow tin/lead solder on gold pads. Numerical simulations were used in the design process to assist in improving performance. The deflection was increased from 6.4 to 11.1 μm under a 5-V apply and the maximum von Mises stress reduced from 2000 to 500 Mpa. The simulated deflection-vs.-voltage relationship was verified by experimental characterizations.
Coping with Demand Shocks: A Distribution-Free Algorithm for Solving Newsvendor Problems with Limited Demand Information

We present a new, robust, and e ective algorithm for the multiple-period newsvendor problem when there is little demand information available. In today's competitive market, demand volume and even distribution can change quickly. The algorithm needs only a rough estimate of the lower and upper bounds of demand range; no other knowledge such as the demand mean, variance, or distribution type is necessary. Through simulations we show that our algorithm performs well compared to four other standard newsvendor problem solutions in a variety of situations, except when salvage values are high.
Business Process Outsourcing and Market Value of firms

A profound change that has occurred over the last two decades has been the tendency of firms to increasingly outsource tasks and functions that were traditionally done in-house. Business process outsourcing which involves the management and execution of the processes and functions of a firm by an external service provider (Michell and Fitzgerald 1997) first attempted in the mid 90s has become popular more recently with the growth of the Internet and with the recognition that non-core but yet critical processes can be handled offsite by external providers. The potential for cost reduction and the increased flexibility that comes with outsourcing explains why outsourcing is favorably viewed by business leaders. While these benefits are important motivations for firms to outsource, the current trends in outsourcing also reflects the bandwagon effects common when new paradigms come into vogue (Swanson & Ramilier, 2004). The decision to outsource business processes might not always be for reasons of cost reduction but could be driven by pressures to be isomorphic to the environment. Thus it remains to be seen if and whether outsourcing pays off for many of these firms.
Automatic generation of head models and facial animations considering personal characteristics

We propose a new automatic head modeling system to generate individualized head models which can express person-specific facial expressions. The head modeling system consists of two core processes. The head modeling process with the proposed automatic mesh completion generates a whole head model only from facial range scan data. The key shape generation process generates key shapes for the generated head model based on physics-based facial muscle simulation with an individual muscle layout estimated from subject's facial expression videos. Facial animations considering personal characteristics can be synthesized using the individualized head model and key shapes. Experimental results show that the proposed system can generate head models where 84% of subjects can identify themselves. Therefore, we conclude that our head modeling system is effective to games and entertainment systems like a Future Cast System.
On posterior probability and significance level: application to the power spectrum of HD 49 933 observed by CoRoT

Context. The CoRoT mission provides asteroseismic data of very high quality allowing one to adopt new statistical approaches for mode detection in power spectra, especially with respect to testing the null hypothesis (H0, which assumes that what is observed is pure noise). Aims. We emphasize that the significance level when rejecting the null hypothesis can lead to the incorrect conclusion that the H0 hypothesis is unlikely to occur at that significance level. We demonstrate that the significance level is unrelated to the posterior probability of H0, given the observed data set, and that this posterior probability is very much higher than implied by the significance level. Methods. We use Bayes theorem to derive the posterior probability of that H0 is true assuming an alternative hypothesis H1 that a mode is present, taking some prior for the mode height, mode amplitude and linewidth. Results. We compute the posterior probability of H0 for the p modes detected on HD 49 933 by CoRoT. Conclusions. We conclude that the posterior probability of H0 provide a much more conservative quantification of the mode detection than the significance level. This framework can be applied to any similar stellar power spectra obtained to complete asteroseismology.
The Spreading of an Insoluble Surfactant on a Thin Non-Newtonian Fluid

In this paper, we explore fluid flow caused by the presence of an insoluble surfactant on a thin, incompressible power-law fluid over a horizontal substrate. The gradient in surface tension caused by the surfactant results in fluid flow away from the region where the surfactant was deposited. Work has been conducted with Newtonian fluids and surfactants; however, the extensive effect surfactants have on non-Newtonian fluids has not been studied as thoroughly. Using the lubrication approximation, we derive a system of coupled nonlinear partial differential equations (PDE) governing the evolution of the height of the fluid and the spreading of the surfactant. We also numerically simulate our system with a finite difference method and vary the power-law index to explore differences in profiles of shear-thickening and shear-thinning fluids. Next, we find significant agreement between our results and previous studies involving Newtonian fluids with power-law relations. Finally, we determine similarity scalings and solutions around the leading edge of the surfactant, which describe the behavior of the fluid and surfactant towards the region of the fluid where the surfactant ends.
Testing Metallic Iron Filtration Systems for Decentralized Water Treatment at Pilot Scale

There are many factors to consider for the design of appropriate water treatment systems including: cost, the concentration and type of biological and/or chemical contamination, concentration limits at which contaminant(s) are required to be removed, required flow rate, level of local expertise for on-going maintenance, and social acceptance. An ideal technology should be effective at producing clean, potable water; however it must also be low-cost, low-energy (ideally energy-free) and require low-maintenance. The use of packed beds containing metallic iron (Fe 0 filters) has the potential to become a cheap widespread technology for both safe drinking water provision and wastewater treatment. Fe 0 filters have been intensively investigated over the past two decades, however, sound design criteria are still lacking. This article presents an overview of the design of Fe 0 filters
Exploring Antenatal Education: An Interpretive Description

Antenatal education has been normalised in Australian maternity services and is currently delivered within antenatal care services or as formal standalone educational experience for women and their partner or support person. Antenatal education has evolved little over the years. Despite many changes in childbirth and parenting practices, this education still hopes to prepare women for birth and achieve optimal physical health during pregnancy. Despite these developments and the value placed on antenatal education, little is known about the way in which antenatal education activities are developed, implemented or evaluated. The aim of the research was to explore the key factors that influence pedagogy and practice of antenatal education in a range of contexts; and to examine to what extent current antenatal education provides meaningful and effective learning experiences from the perspectives of both the educators and the consumers (class participants). A research methodology of Interpretive Description guided this research study. The methodology produced a qualitative description of experiences from a sample of antenatal educators and consumers of antenatal education. Data were collected through individual in-depth interviews with antenatal educators and antenatal class participants. Perspectives and experiences of 18 participants were explored in a total of 25 interviews. In addition to the interviews, educators were asked to discuss an example of a learning activity or learning material that they had used during their class. The researcher included other processes to enhance reflexivity, including learning materials that antenatal educators brought to the interview to discuss, and field notes taken directly after each interview. Interpretive Description was used to gain insight into participants’ perceptions and experiences. It provided the researcher with an opportunity to generate knowledge about antenatal education practice and understand the experiences of the participants involved in the study. ; Submitted in the fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University of the Sunshine Coast, 2019.
Indirect effects of habitat disturbance on invasion: nutritious litter from a grazing resistant plant favors alien over native Collembola

Biological invasions are major threats to biodiversity, with impacts that may be compounded by other forms of environmental change. Observations of high density of the invasive springtail (Collembola), Hypogastrura manubrialis in heavily grazed renosterveld vegetation in the Western Cape, South Africa, raised the question of whether the invasion was favored by changes in plant litter quality associated with habitat disturbance in this vegetation type. To examine the likely mechanisms underlying the high abundance of H. manubrialis, cages with three types of naturally occurring litter with different nutrient content were placed out in the area and collected after different periods of time. Hypogastrura manubrialis was mainly found in the nutrient-rich litter of the yellowbush (Galenia africana), which responds positively to disturbance in the form of overgrazing. This suggests that invasion may have been facilitated by a positive interaction with this grazing resistant plant. By contrast, indigenous Collembola were least abundant in yellowbush litter. Negative correlations between high abundance of H. manubrialis and the abundance and diversity of other species suggest that competitive interactions might underlie low abundance of these other species at the patch level. Group behavior enables H. manubrialis to utilize efficiently this ephemeral, high quality resource, and might improve its competitive ability. The results suggest that interactions among environmental change drivers may lead to unforeseen invasion effects. H. manubrialis is not likely to be very successful in un-grazed renosterveld, but in combination with grazing, favoring the nutrient-rich yellowbush, it may become highly invasive. Field manipulations are required to fully verify these conclusions.
Phelogenetic Tree Construction using Self adaptive Ant Colony Algorithm

A new phylogenetic tree construction method from a given set of objects (proteins, species, etc) is presented. As an extension of ant colony optimization, this method proposes an adaptive heuristic phylogenetic clustering algorithm based on a digraph to find a tree-like structure that defines certain ancestral relationships between the given objects. In our method, the given objects are clustered by the ant colony, and these clusters are used to construct phylogenetic trees progressively. In the end of the algorithm, these phylogenetic trees are optimized by the ant colony to get the fittest to the given objects. Our phylogenetic tree constructing method is tested to compare its results with that of the GA method. Experimental results show that our algorithm is easier to implement and more efficient. It can convergence faster and obtain higher quality results than GA
Automatic confidence adjustment of visual cues in model‐based camera tracking

Model‐based camera tracking is a technology that estimates a precise camera pose based on visual cues (e.g., feature points, edges) extracted from camera images given a 3D scene model and a rough camera pose. This paper proposes an automatic method for flexibly adjusting the confidence of visual cues in model‐based camera tracking. The adjustment is based on the conditions of the target object/scene and the reliability of the initial or previous camera pose. Under uncontrolled or less‐controlled working environments, the proposed object‐adaptive tracking method works flexibly at 20 frames per second on an ultra mobile personal computer (UMPC) with an average tracking error within 3 pixels when the camera image resolution is 320 by 240 pixels. This capability enabled the proposed method to be successfully applied to a mobile augmented reality (AR) guidance system for a museum. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Disaccharide Synthesis by Enzymatic Condensation of Glucose: Glycoside Linkage Patterns for Different Fungal Species

Four enzyme preparations produced by fungal species belonging to different genera (Aspergillus niger, Cory- nascus sp., Penicillium verruculosum, Trichoderma reesei) were used for synthesis of disaccharides by D-glucose (60% w/v) condensation catalyzed by ￻ -glucosidase. Effects of pH and temperature on the disaccharide synthesis were studied, and glycoside linkage patterns for enzymes from different sources were determined. The highest concentration of disac- charides (114 and 118 g/l) was achieved in the case of A. niger and Corynascus sp. enzymes after 48 h of the condensa- tion reaction carried out at 70 o C and optimal pH; the P. verruculosum sample slightly conceded them in the yield of products (96 g/l), while the T. reesei preparation displayed the lowest synthetic activity (35 g/l). Gentiobiose was pre- dominantly formed in the reaction catalyzed by the first three enzyme samples, while in the case of T. reesei laminaribiose was the main condensation product.
Immunocytochemical localization of the guanine nucleotide-binding protein Go in primary cultures of neuronal and glial cells

We have localized the guanine nucleotide-binding protein, Go, in primary cultures of pure neuronal and glial cells prepared from different mouse brain areas. Immunoblotting experiments with selective affinity-purified polyclonal rabbit antibodies to the 39 kDa alpha subunit of Go (Go alpha) indicated that Go is distributed in both neurons and glial cells. Go alpha accounts for 0.3% of total membrane proteins in striatal neurons. High specific Go immunoreactivity was also detected in cortical neurons and cerebellar granule cells. Similarly, striatal glial cells contain large amounts of Go (0.2% of total membrane proteins), as do glial cells from cerebral cortex and colliculi. Surprisingly, Go was barely detectable in cerebellar glial cells. 32P-ADP-ribosylation of the same neuronal and glial cell membranes with pertussis toxin indicated the presence of at least 3 substrates related to Go alpha, Gi alpha (41 kDa), and a 40 kDa protein. This 40 kDa protein is the major pertussis toxin substrate in glial cells, while Go alpha is predominant in neuronal membranes. Confirming immunoblotting, no labeled band was detected at 39 kDa in cerebellar glial cells with pertussis toxin. Indirect immunofluorescence staining of cerebellar granule cells and striatal neurons with purified Go alpha antibodies was pronounced at the plasma membrane level, particularly at cell-cell contact areas, and in neurite arborization. More discrete staining was also apparent in the cytoplasm, whereas nuclei remained unstained. In striatal glial cells, specific immunolabeling was more diffused over the whole cell, and dense around the nucleus. The localization of Go suggests that this protein must perform important functions in both the neuronal and glial cells that are discussed.
Intrasexual Competition as a Predictor of Women’s Judgments of Revenge Pornography Offending

Recent legislative developments have led to a marked increase in the empirical investigation of motivations and judgments of so-called acts of “revenge pornography” offending. In two independently sampled studies, we used moderation analyses to investigate whether higher levels of intrasexual competition predicted more lenient judgments of revenge pornography offenses as a function of sex (Study 1, N = 241), and whether such relationships would be further moderated by physical attractiveness (Study 2, N = 402). Potential covariates of callous-unemotional traits, empathy, and victimization history were controlled for. Opposing our hypotheses, we consistently observed a trend for higher levels of intrasexual competition being associated with more lenient judgments of revenge pornography offenses involving male victims by female participants. The results are discussed in terms of intrasexual competition potentially sharing variance with unobserved constructs in the wider sexological literature, and of the key relevance of these findings for future empirical investigation into judgments of nonconsensual image–based offending.
Renormalization of Critical Gaussian Multiplicative Chaos and KPZ formula

Gaussian Multiplicative Chaos is a way to produce a measure on $\R^d$ (or subdomain of $\R^d$) of the form $e^{\gamma X(x)} dx$, where $X$ is a log-correlated Gaussian field and $\gamma \in [0,\sqrt{2d})$ is a fixed constant. A renormalization procedure is needed to make this precise, since $X$ oscillates between $-\infty$ and $\infty$ and is not a function in the usual sense. This procedure yields the zero measure when $\gamma=\sqrt{2d}$. Two methods have been proposed to produce a non-trivial measure when $\gamma=\sqrt{2d}$. The first involves taking a derivative at $\gamma=\sqrt{2d}$ (and was studied in an earlier paper by the current authors), while the second involves a modified renormalization scheme. We show here that the two constructions are equivalent and use this fact to deduce several quantitative properties of the random measure. In particular, we complete the study of the moments of the derivative multiplicative chaos, which allows us to establish the KPZ formula at criticality. The case of two-dimensional (massless or massive) Gaussian free fields is also covered.
Probabilistic SINR constrained robust transmit beamforming: A Bernstein-type inequality based conservative approach

Recently, robust transmit beamforming has drawn considerable attention because it can provide guaranteed receiver performance in the presence of channel state information (CSI) errors. Assuming complex Gaussian distributed CSI errors, this paper investigates the robust beamforming design problem that minimizes the transmission power subject to probabilistic signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) constraints. The probabilistic SINR constraints in general have no closed-form expression and are difficult to handle. Based on a Bernstein-type inequality for quadratic forms of complex Gaussian random variables, we propose a conservative formulation to the robust single-cell beamforming design problem. The semidefinite relaxation technique can be applied to efficiently handle the proposed conservative formulation. Simulation results show that, in comparison with existing methods, the proposed method is more power efficient and is able to support higher target SINR values for receivers.
Media pessimism and stock returns: a time-varying analysis at the firm level

The literature on textual analysis of media articles shows that at the aggregate level, negative sentiment leads to a reduction in next-day stock market returns. In the first time-series study of media-expressed sentiment at the firm level, we extract a negative sentiment measure from over five million news articles for the 20 largest nonfinancial US firms over the 10-year period from January 2001 to December 2010. When the firm-level data are aggregated, we find that, consistent with prior studies at the market level, an increase in negative media sentiment (or media pessimism) leads to lower next-day returns. In contrast to prior research, however, we show that this is not reversed over the subsequent few days. This suggests that at the firm level, media pessimism can have permanent effects and can therefore potentially contain information relating to fundamental firm value. When we conduct vector autoregressions on each firm individually over the full 10-year period, this permanent effect is observed in only a few firms. Using a series of rolling regressions, we show that this is because the relation is episodic in nature. These episodes are dominated by periods during which the effects of media pessimism are transitory, but most firms experience at least one period during which media pessimism has permanent effects.