Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intra-VTA deltorphin, but not DPDPE, induces place preference in ethanol-drinking rats: distinct DOR-1 and DOR-2 mechanisms control ethanol consumption and reward.

BACKGROUND While there is a growing body of evidence that the delta opioid receptor (DOR) modulates ethanol (EtOH) consumption, development of DOR-based medications is limited in part because there are 2 pharmacologically distinct DOR subtypes (DOR-1 and DOR-2) that can have opposing actions on behavior. METHODS We studied the behavioral influence of the DOR-1-selective agonist [D-Pen(2) ,D-Pen(5) ]-Enkephalin (DPDPE) and the DOR-2-selective agonist deltorphin microinjected into the ventral tegmental area (VTA) on EtOH consumption and conditioned place preference (CPP) and the physiological effects of these 2 DOR agonists on GABAergic synaptic transmission in VTA-containing brain slices from Lewis rats. RESULTS Neither deltorphin nor DPDPE induced a significant place preference in EtOH-naïve Lewis rats. However, deltorphin (but not DPDPE) induced a significant CPP in EtOH-drinking rats. In contrast to the previous finding that intra-VTA DOR-1 activity inhibits EtOH consumption and that this inhibition correlates with a DPDPE-induced inhibition of GABA release, here we found no effect of DOR-2 activity on EtOH consumption nor was there a correlation between level of drinking and deltorphin-induced change in GABAergic synaptic transmission. CONCLUSIONS These data indicate that the therapeutic potential of DOR agonists for alcohol abuse is through a selective action at the DOR-1 form of the receptor.
Pneumatically Actuated Tunable Terahertz Metamaterial Absorber With Dual-Side Tuning Capability

Aiming to achieve dual-side postfabrication performance tuning capability, a new tunable terahertz metamaterial absorber design with built-in pneumatic actuation mechanism was proposed, in which a circular split ring resonator with double-slit was adopted. Using multiphysics simulation, including electromagnetic and mechanical, the desired dual-side tuning on absorption peak has been successfully demonstrated by simply changing the direction as well as the amplitude of the applied pressure, agreeing well with theoretical expectation. In addition, detailed discussion about the design optimization strategy for the radius of the split ring resonator from the consideration on improving tuning range was also provided.
Novel parallel ZVS converters with shared power switches for medium power applications

A new DC/DC converter with parallel circuits is presented for medium voltage and power applications. There are five pulse-width modulation (PWM) circuits in the proposed converter to reduce current stress at low voltage side for high output current. These five circuits have the same power switches so that the switch counts are reduced compared with the conventional parallel converters. In order to reduce the converter size, conduction loss and voltage stress of power semiconductors, the series connections of power MOSFETs with high switching frequency instead of IGBTs with low switching frequency are adopted. Thus, the voltage stress of MOSFETs is clamped at half of input voltage. The switched capacitor circuit is adopted to balance input split capacitor voltages. Asymmetric PWM scheme is adopted to generate the necessary switching signals of MOSFETs and regulate output voltage. Based on the resonant behavior at the transition interval of power switches, all MOSFETs are turned on under zero voltage switching (ZVS) from 50% load to 100% load. The circuit configuration, operation principle, converter performance and design example are discussed in detail. Finally, experimental verifications with a 1.92kW prototype are provided to verify the performance of the proposed converter.
The evolution of cuckoo parasitism: a comparative analysis

Cuckoos (family Cuculidae) show the highest diversity of breeding strategies within one bird family (parental care, facultative and obligate brood parasites). We used independent contrasts from two phylogenies to examine how this variation was related to 13 ecological and life–history variables. The ancestral state was probably tropical, resident, forest cuckoos with parental care. The evolution of brood parasitism was correlated with a shift to more open habitats, a change in diet, increases in species breeding–range size and migration, and a decrease in egg size. Once parasitism had evolved, more elaborate parasitic strategies (more harmful to host fitness) were correlated with decreased egg size, a change in diet, increased breeding–range size and migration, a shortened breeding season and a decrease in local abundance. Establishing the most probable evolutionary pathways, using the method of Pagel, shows that changes in ecological variables (such as migration, range size and diet type) preceded the evolution of brood parasitism, which is likely to be a later adaptation to reduce the cost of reproduction. By contrast, brood parasitism evolved before changes in egg size occurred, indicating that egg size is an adaptive trait in host–parasite coevolution. Our results suggest that the evolution of cuckoo brood parasitism reflects selection from both ecological pressures and host defences.
Adaptive semiactive suspension system by linearly parameterized controller

The paper is concerned with adaptive semi-active control approaches which can deal with uncertainties in both models of MR damper and suspension mechanism. The proposed control schemes consist of two controllers: One is an adaptive damper controller for compensating the nonlinear hysteresis dynamics of the MR damper, which can be realized by identifying a forward model of MR damper or an inverse modeling directly. The other is a reference feedback controller which gives a desired damping force to be generated by the MR damper. Effectiveness of the proposed algorithms is examined in numerical simulations.
Migration of bone marrow‐derived mesenchymal stem cells induced by tumor necrosis factor‐α and its possible role in wound healing

We aimed to investigate the effect of tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) on the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule‐1 (ICAM‐1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule‐1 (VCAM‐1) in the migration ability of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in the context of wound healing. We also explored the role of p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinase and extracellular signal‐regulated kinase (ERK) signaling pathways in the migration of MSCs. MSCs were isolated from the bone marrow and cultured. Immunocytochemistry, Western blotting, and reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction were used to observe the effect of TNF‐α on the expression of ICAM‐1 and VCAM‐1 in MSCs. The chemotaxis effect of TNF‐α on MSCs was investigated by the trans‐well system and the inhibition effect of TNF‐α using its antibody. Western blotting analysis was used to observe the activation of JAK‐STAT and mitogen‐activated protein kinase signaling pathways, and ERK was inhibited with PD98059 and p38 with SB203580 to observe the effect of TNF‐α on MSC migration and ICAM‐1 expression. The expression of ICAM‐1 could be up‐regulated by 50 μg/L TNF‐α (p<0.05), whereas that of VCAM‐1 remained unchanged (p>0.05). Also, TNF‐α showed a chemotaxis effect by enhancing the migration ability of MSCs (p<0.05). TNF‐α at 50 μg/L increased the expression of phospho‐ERK and phospho‐p38, and SB203580, but not PD98059, could suppress the chemotaxis effect and up‐regulation of ICAM‐1 induced by TNF‐α in MSCs (p<0.05). Thus, TNF‐α could up‐regulate the expression of ICAM‐1 in MSCs and enhance the cells' migration ability, and the p38 signaling pathway might be involved in the TNF‐α–induced migration ability for a role in wound repair and regeneration.
Ara6, a plant‐unique novel type Rab GTPase, functions in the endocytic pathway of Arabidopsis thaliana

Ara6 of Arabidopsis thaliana is a novel member of the Rab/Ypt GTPase family with unique structural features. It resembles Rab5 GTPases best, but lacks a large part of the C‐terminal hypervariable region and the cysteine motif, and instead harbors an extra stretch of amino acid residues containing myristoylation and palmitoylation sites at the N‐terminus. Ara6 is tightly associated with membranes and is expressed constitutively. In contrast, the conventional Rab5 ortholog, Ara7, is highly expressed only in actively dividing cells. Examination of green fluorescent protein (GFP)‐tagged proteins indicates that both Ara6 and Ara7 are distributed on a subpopulation of endosomes and suggests their roles in endosomal fusion. The endosomal localization of Ara6 requires N‐terminal fatty acylation, nucleotide binding and the C‐terminal amino acid sequence coordinately. Proteins similar to Ara6 are found only in higher plants and thus represent a novel class of Rab GTPases regulating endocytic function in a plant‐ specific manner.
Noise robust speech recognition system using Mel cepstral and genetic algorithm

This paper suggested a technique based on MFCC analysis for audio signals with speech classification application. The proposed work used multi-resolution (wavelet) analysis and spectral analysis based features for feature extraction. The proposed approach uses a no. of features like Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficient (MFCC), and FFT Coefficients combined with wavelet based features. In addition, accuracy of 99% using the proposed work is claimed.
Limitations for Interpreting Failure on Individual Subtests of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment

Background: The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is sensitive to mild forms of cognitive impairment in geriatric populations and asks questions under the subheadings visuospatial/executive, naming, attention, language, abstraction, delayed recall, and orientation. This study examined the extent to which these subsets of MoCA items evaluate their intended cognitive domains. Methods: Clinical data from 185 geriatric memory clinic outpatients who underwent cognitive screening and subsequent neuropsychological assessment were analyzed. Factor analysis of their neuropsychological test scores identified 5 cognitive domains memory, language, visuospatial ability, attention/processing speed, and cognitive control. Scores on MoCA subtests were examined for their correlations with individual factor scores and for their sensitivity and specificity in predicting impairment within each domain. Results: The MoCA subtest scores correlated significantly but modestly with neuropsychological test factor scores in their corresponding domains, for example, the correlation between 5-word recall and the memory factor was 0.46. However, subtest scores were poor predictors of impaired performance on the tests contributing to each cognitive domain. The best predictive accuracy was seen for the visuospatial/executive subtest that showed fair accuracy at predicting impairment on tests in the visuospatial domain. Other subtests showed unacceptably poor levels of accuracy when predicting impaired scores in their respective domains (60%-67%). Conclusions: In a sample of geriatric outpatients referred for cognitive assessment, performance on individual items and subtests of the MoCA yields insufficient information to draw conclusions about impairment in specific cognitive domains as determined by neuropsychological testing.
Institutional effects of empowerment: a comparison between the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian contexts

Many empowerment studies focus on issues at organisational and individual levels. However, few empirical investigations have been placed at a more macro level looking at the social environmental forces of empowerment. To contribute to this gap, this study investigates the existence of institutional effects on empowerment practices. The study is based on a secondary analysis of data from the 2005 European Working Conditions Survey. It compares an Anglo-Saxon and a Scandinavian context due to their distinct historical empowerment movements. The findings indicate that Scandinavian countries possess a higher institutional context for empowerment practices. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed in the present study.
Linking corporate social responsibility with admiration through organizational outcomes

Purpose - From the decision-maker's viewpoint, the success of a social responsibility program rests heavily on a corporation's ability to create links in the public consciousness between the CSR activities of an organization and its performance to different stakeholders. However, thinking broadly about CSR outcomes often results in a list that is much too long to be of any practical use. The purpose of this paper is to provide an empirical study to provide understanding as to why business organizations are increasingly engaging in corporate social responsibility issues. Design/methodology/approach - The paper investigates whether CSR initiatives have any impact on six organizational outcomes through an empirical investigation of 100 large firms in the Spanish MERCO (Monitor Espanol de Reputacion Corporativa) using repeated ANOVA measures. Findings - The results indicate that the benefits of CSR issues fall within five major categories; namely: quality of products and services, global business, innovativeness, corporate culture, and ethical obligations. However, it is surprising to find that CSR had no significant effect on financial soundness. Research limitations/implications - The use of admiration can enable stakeholders to develop consensus and creative processes relating to the design of new requirements where CSR activities are incorporated into business activities. Practical implications - The implication for management practice is that CSR activities represent a long-term programme to change, and a proactive way to improve admiration. Originality/value - The paper shows that social responsibility is not always detrimental to company goals and performance
Solving constrained multi-objective problems by objective space analysis

In this paper a new approach to solve constrained multi-objective problems by way of evolutionary multi-objective optimization is introduced. In contrast to former evolutionary approaches, which amalgamate objective space dominance relations with feasibility of solutions considered in the design spaces, the hereby suggested approach relies solely on objective space based analysis. It is shown in this paper that considering the violation of constraints within the design space is problematic as it may lead to misleading conclusions. Moreover, the current approach is inherently capable of dealing with constraints that are imposed directly in the objective space.
Determination of Beryllium in Solid Samples by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry after Preconcentration on Activated Carbon

It is generally supposed that the preconcentration procedure is used for the determination of metal concentrations under the sensitivity of the measurement method. This study showed that preconcentration is also need for the beryllium (Be) concentration over the sensitivity of atomic absorption spectrometry. For this purpose, a simple and selective method for the determination of Be in solid samples is modified. The method is based on the preconcentration of the complexes of beryllium-acetylacetone plus morin, oxine, PAN and PAR on activated carbon at different pH values. The adsorbed beryllium was eluted with aqua regia and measured by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). Recoveries of up to 85% were achieved. For removing chemical interferences and applying the method to Be determination in solid samples, the masking studies and reproducibility were examined. The detection limit was found to be 0.12 ng mL^−1. The relative sandard deviations (RSD) were found to be 8% for 60 mL of 10.0 ng mL^−1 using 10 replicate enrichment procedures. Beryllium concentrations in the studied solid samples were found in the range of 0.28-3.95 mg kg^−1.
The Missing Equilibria in Hotelling's Location Game

We study the location equilibrium in Hotelling's model of spatial competition. As d'Aspremont et al. (1979) have shown, with quadratic consumer transportation cost the two sellers will seek to move as far away from each other as possible. This generates a coordination problem which the literature typically ignores by restricting firm 1 to locate in the first half and firm 2 in the second half of market. We study the non-cooperative outcome in the absence of such a coordination device and find that the location game possesses an infinity of mixed strategy Nash equilibria. in these equilibria coordination failure invalidates the principle of 'maximum differentiation' and firms may even locate at the same point.
Discovering Implicit Criteria Preferences Reflected in Tourism Journal Ranking Lists using the Choquet Integral

Variations between journal rankings may cause confusion. As such, prior attempts were made to compare and evaluate journal ranking criteria for obtaining insightful knowledge on how different research communities have ranked journals. However, existing approaches are unable to model the journal ranking process closely enough as they are incapable of considering the relationship between multiple criteria simultaneously. In this paper, we address the challenges by introducing the Choquet Integral (CI) for evaluating journal ranking criteria. The new approach is able to account for interactions between criteria in relation to overall ranking score, using a fuzzy measure in its computation. Its properties, the Shapley value and the Interaction index, allow for good representations of importance and interactions between criteria. We demonstrate the efficiency of the CI through a case study of journal ranking lists in tourism and service journals.
A mapping method tolerant to calibration and localization errors based on tilting 2D laser scanner

Autonomous mobile machines use onboard sensors for navigation and obstacle avoidance. The accuracy of the sensor data in global frame is however dependent on the localization accuracy of the machine. Simultaneous localization and mapping algorithms (SLAM) are widely used with 3D laser scanners for mapping the world. They use scan matching algorithms to solve the accuracy problem by matching prior sensor data of the environment with the newly acquired data. However matching scans is not always possible. Insufficient amount of prior data or too few features in the scan can prevent the scan matching algorithm from finding a match. Thus it is important that also the mapping algorithm is tolerant to some degree of error in localization and calibration. We present a method for generating obstacle maps from smaller data segments at a time, thus making the mapping system more tolerant to navigation and calibration errors. The obstacle mapping method is tested with modified Avant multipurpose loader.
Characterization of a Mouse Factor IX cDNA and Developmental Regulation of the Factor IX Gene Expression in Liver

Summary A mouse factor IX cDNA was isolated and characterrzed. The cDNA was 1,837 bp in length and contained the coding region as well as short 5’ and 3’ untranslated sequences. Northern blot analysis of liver RNA showed two mRNA species of 3.2 kb (major) and 2.2 kb (minor) for the mouse factor IX. An antisgnse RNA probe prepared from the mouse cDNA was employed to determine the steady state level of factor IX mRNA in mouse liver at various developmental stages. The factor IX mRNA level was very low (2–5% of the adult level) during the gestational period until day –3 (gestational day 17) followed by a rapid increase at day –2 through birth. This phase of rapid increase was followed by a gradual increase before it reached the adult level at around 20 to 24 days. At birth, the factor IX mRNA level was found to be at about 43% of that of the adult. The rnRNA levels in mouse liver agreed well with the plasma factor IX activity levels. These results indicate that reduced factor IX activity in newborns is due to the low levels of factor IX mRNA available for translation.
UK Natural Gas: Gas-Specific or Oil Driven Pricing?

In this paper we investigate the time-varying relationship between oil and natural gas in the UK. We develop a model where relative prices can move between pricing-regimes; markets switch between being decoupled and integrated. Our model endogenously accounts for periods where oil and natural gas temporarily decouple due to gas specific pricing. We show that gas-specific pricing is primarily related to fall/winter peak-load gas pricing and that mean reversion in relative prices is dependent on the time of the year. Most of the reversion back to oil occurs in spring and summer when demand for gas to heating and electricity is low and net-availability and transport capacity high. Accounting for periods of gas specific pricing is relevant when determining the long-run equilibrium value of oil relative to natural gas. Utilizing the regime where evidence is strongest for integrated markets we find that oil is historically priced at 2.3 times the value of natural gas in the UK, and that markets have been decoupled for 49% of the sample. Our results do not indicate that peak-load pricing has become more prevalent in recent years, i.e., we find no evidence of underinvestment in capacity after deregulation.
Teacher-mediated intervention after disaster: a controlled three-year follow-up of children's functioning.

BACKGROUND Child survivors of a catastrophic earthquake in Turkey were evaluated three and a half years after the event, and three years after a sub-group participated in a teacher-mediated intervention developed by the authors. The goal of this follow-up study was to determine the long-term effectiveness of the original intervention. METHODS Subjects who participated in the intervention were compared with a control group of children similar in terms of demographics, risk and exposure. All children were evaluated in terms of posttraumatic, grief and dissociative symptomatology, as well as adaptive functioning (academic performance, social behavior and general conduct). RESULTS The severity of post-traumatic, grief and dissociative symptoms of the two groups was comparable. Teachers blind to group assignment rated participating children significantly higher than the control group in terms of adaptive functioning. CONCLUSIONS Early post-disaster intervention addressing children and their educational milieu provides children with significant symptomatic reduction, allowing the mobilization of adaptive coping, thereby enhancing their overall functioning as observed in school.
The Paradox of Promoting Creativity in the Asian Classroom: An Empirical Investigation

To shed light on the paradox of promoting creativity in the Asian classroom, the authors conducted 3 studies. The 1st study found that novice teachers classified student behaviors as desirable but uncreative (DBU) versus creative but undesirable (CBU). The 2nd study found that conservative-autocratic teachers were more likely to encourage DBU behaviors in class, whereas liberal-democratic teachers were more likely to encourage CBU behaviors in class. The 3rd study found that cultural individualism—collectivism had a positive impact on liberal—democratic teaching attitude but a negative impact on conservative—autocratic teaching attitude. In turn, liberal—democratic teaching attitude had a positive impact on the tendency to promote CBU behaviors, whereas conservative—autocratic teaching attitude had a positive impact on the tendency to promote DBU behaviors.
Testing Alternative Models Of New Product Diffusion

This paper reports upon the testing of the comparative performance of eight epidemic based diffusion models on data describing the diffusion of camcorders and CD players in the UK and cars in West Germany. Standard epidemic models of new product diffusion are modified to allow for the influence of economic factors and compared to a recent model proposed by Karshenas and Stoneman. The performance of the Karshenas and Stoneman model is good, but so is that of an alternative model in the Marketing literature proposed by Easingwood, Mahajan and Muller.