Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Study on self-collimated light-focusing device using the 2-D photonic crystal with a parallelogram lattice

This paper investigates the optical characteristics of a light-focusing device (LFD) consisting of two-dimensional (2-D) photonic crystals (PCs) configured in a parallelogram lattice structure. The LFD is composed of two jointed symmetric PCs that have a strong self-collimation effect. This self-collimation effect focuses the incident light wave. For a square lattice, however, in which the equi-frequency contours have fourfold symmetry (/spl pi//2 rotation symmetry), the band structure needed to realize an LFD was not obtained. The proposed solution was to consider the parallelogram lattice arrangement since its equi-frequency contours do not have /spl pi//2 rotation symmetry; a prototype LFD composed of 2-D PCs with parallelogram lattice structure exhibits desirable focusing performance. The authors also investigate the asymmetry of light wave transmission through the LFD. Finite-division time-domain (FDTD) simulations of the optical property of the LFD show that the LFD has distinct transmission asymmetry.
Ensemble learning method for the prediction of new bioactive molecules

Pharmacologically active molecules can provide remedies for a range of different illnesses and infections. Therefore, the search for such bioactive molecules has been an enduring mission. As such, there is a need to employ a more suitable, reliable, and robust classification method for enhancing the prediction of the existence of new bioactive molecules. In this paper, we adopt a recently developed combination of different boosting methods (Adaboost) for the prediction of new bioactive molecules. We conducted the research experiments utilizing the widely used MDL Drug Data Report (MDDR) database. The proposed boosting method generated better results than other machine learning methods. This finding suggests that the method is suitable for inclusion among the in silico tools for use in cheminformatics, computational chemistry and molecular biology.
From Causes to Reasons: The Human Dimension of Agricultural Sustainability

The point of departure of this paper is the familiar instrumental perspective that focuses on causes and effects and on actions to do something about them. This perspective is appealing and familiar and exemplified here by the Pressure, State, Response (PSR) Model used by the OECD to analyse environmental issues. After presenting the details of this approach, the paper then presents the other side of the coin: an approach based not on causes but on human reasons. In trying to explain sustainability, it does not look for causes and effects in the physical world, but for human reasons in terms of people's ‘gets’, ‘wants’, ‘knowing’ and ‘doing’. This translates as an exercise in interpreting the perfectly valid instrumental discourse about agricultural sustainability into a totally different discourse based on cognition and learning. This translation seems to add something that is worth taking into account. The ‘pressure’ in OECD's PSR model takes on a new appearance. After providing examples on how the new perspective can be applied, the paper draws implications for the combination of the domains of knowledge we need to look at agricultural sustainability. It concludes with an example based on research of a social learning approach in a Dutch water catchment.
International trade, domestic market potential and income in developing Asia

We derive a Frankel–Romer instrument from a global trade matrix of 157 countries over the period 1990–2007, and deploy it to assess the relationship between international trade, domestic market potential and income for the case of developing Asia, compared to the world average. The findings from panel instrumental variable regression confirm international trade to have caused income to rise on average across all the trading nations, but particularly so for countries of developing Asia, where this effect appears to be strongest. By contrast, domestic trade potential as explained by country size is found to be less relevant a factor explaining the rise in income of developing Asia. In light of a likely softening of external demand for Asian exports, as global rebalancing will take hold, Asia's underexploited domestic market potential represents considerable scope for the region to step up its efforts to gradually reinforce the domestic and regional dimensions as an additional engine of growth.
Distributed resilient architecture for Ethernet networks

The authors proposed an enhanced resilient Ethernet architecture that is based on multiple pre-established spanning trees to connect a set of edge nodes. Fast failover is achieved so that edge nodes switch to a non-affected tree after a link or node failure. A fast and robust procedure was also proposed for edge nodes to detect failures and notify other edge nodes. The other contribution of the paper is an algorithm that calculates multiple spanning trees for input topologies so that at least one tree provides connectivity after a node or a link failure. The algorithm provides minimal number of spanning trees to make input networks fault tolerant. The performance of the algorithm was tested via simulations.
Glycolytic metabolite methylglyoxal inhibits cold and menthol activation of the transient receptor potential melastatin type 8 channel

Methylglyoxal (MG) is a reactive dicarbonyl compound involved in protein modifications linked to diabetes mellitus. The plasma level of MG is elevated in diabetic patients, particularly those with painful diabetic neuropathy. Diabetic neuropathy is often associated with spontaneous pain and altered thermal perception. This study assesses effects of MG on TRPM8, an ion channel involved in innocuous cold sensing and cold allodynia and also in cold‐mediated analgesia. Acute treatment with MG inhibited the activation of recombinant rat and human transient receptor potential melastatin type 8 (TRPM8) by cold and chemical agonists. A similar effect was observed when native TRPM8 was investigated in cultured rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. DRG neurons treated with MG for 16–24 hr displayed a significant reduction in the fraction of cold‐ and menthol‐sensitive neurons, most likely expressing TRPM8. The fraction of allyl isothiocyanate‐sensitive neurons was also reduced, and the coexpression among different neuronal populations was affected. The same prolonged exposure to MG significantly reduced the expression of TRPM8 at the mRNA level. Overall, our data provide evidence for decreased activity and expression level of TRPM8 in the presence of MG, which may be linked to some of the alterations in pain and temperature sensing reported by diabetic patients. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
An Examination of Event Dependency and Structural Change in Security Pricing Models

Abstract This paper considers two aspects of the tendency for systematic risk to change during the period surrounding a firm-specific event. First, a statistic allowing for heteroskedasticity is presented as a means of more precisely testing for the incidence of structural change in the market model. Secondly, the bias resulting from the imposition of a single, arbitrary event period on every firm in a market efficiency study is formally demonstrated. Using a sample based upon stock splits, the switching regression technique of Quandt is then adapted to show that event intervals are more appropriately considered on a case-by-case basis. A comparison of alternative residual measures illustrates these procedures.
PENGARUH INDEPENDENSI DAN EFEKTIVITAS KOMITE AUDIT TERHADAP MANAJEMEN LABA

Tujuan dari penelitian ini untuk menguji hubungan antara perilaku-perilaku para komite audit (independency, financial expertise, activity, and time commitment) dan earnings management. Penelitian ini menggunakan data 56 perusahaan manufaktur yang tercatat dalam IDX mulai tahun 2005-2007, data komite audit dikumpulkan dari laporan tahunan. Data tersebut dianalisis de-ngan menggunakan multiple regression analysis. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa perilaku komite audit tidak berdampak secara signnifikan pada earnings management. Hal tersebut juga tidak mendukung peraturan yang dibuat BAPEPAM. Dan hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa formasi komite audit dengan perilakunya hanya menggambarkan suatu kewajiban yang suah diatur. Abstract The purpose for conducting this study is to examine the correlation between the characteristics of audit committees (which covers independency, financial expertise, activity, and time commitmen) and earnings management. 56 manufacturing companies listed in IDX, started from 2005 up to 2007 and audit commitees were the data being analyzed. The data analysis employed was multiple regression analysis. The findings for this analysis is the characteristics of audit committees does not influence significantly to the earnings management. Moreover, it does not also support the rules issued by BAPEPAM. Finally, the formation of audit committees and the characteristics of audit committees are obligatory rules only. Keywords : audit committees; corporate governance; earnings management
‘Jugglers’, ‘copers’ and ‘strugglers’: academics' perceptions of being a head of department in a post-1992 UK university and how it influences their future careers

This study investigates the experiences of academics who became department heads in a post-1992 UK university and explores the influence that being in the position has on their planned future academic career. Drawing on life history interviews undertaken with 17 male and female heads of department, the paper constitutes an in-depth study of their careers in the same university. The findings suggest that academics who become department heads not only need the capacity to assume a range of personal and professional identities, but need flexibility to regularly adopt and switch between them. Whether individuals can successfully balance and manage such multiple identities, or whether they experience major conflicts within or between them, greatly affects their experiences of being a head of department and seems to influence their subsequent career decisions. The paper concludes by proposing a conceptual framework and typology to interpret the career trajectories of academics that became department heads in the case university.
Psychological contract violations during corporate restructuring

The authors examine the nature, extent, and consequences of psychological contract violations which occur in restructuring firms. Managers in restructuring firms were significantly more likely to perceive psychological contract violations in the areas of job security, input into decision making, opportunities for advancement, and amount of responsibility. Managers in restructuring firms were also significantly more likely to be looking for new jobs and were significantly less likely to be loyal to their employers. Several situational factors mitigated against managerss strong negative reactions to psychological contract violations: procedural justice in how layoffs are handled, low likelihood of future violations, and positive working relationships with colleagues. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
New algorithm to get the initial centroids of clusters on multidimensional data

Cluster analysis is one of the efficient techniques in the field of data mining and k-means is one of the most well known familiars and partitioned based clustering algorithms. K-means clustering algorithm is widely used in clustering. The performance of k-means algorithm will affect when clustering the multidimensional data. In this paper, a heuristic approach for performing k-means clustering on multidimensional data based on attribute (column) with maximum range is proposed. It also proposes an improvement on the classic k-means algorithm to produce more accurate clusters. The proposed algorithm comprises of a O(n(kt+ logn)) heuristic method, based on sorting and partitioning the input data, for finding the initial centroids in accordance with the data distribution.
Are We Addicted to Oil? Lessons from Mental Health

Despite mounting evidence regarding global climate change and its associated impacts, the United States has not transitioned away from oil and other fossil fuels toward more sustainable sources of energy. This article examines a common cultural narrative regarding U.S. energy policy – the notion that we are – addicted to oil. While this phase is often used in discussions regarding energy policy in the United States, the term – addiction is a charged one, and it has potential implications worthy of examination. This article describes the criteria for addiction using the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). It then applies those criteria to our nation’s relationship to oil. Application of Prochaska and DiClemente’s Stages of Change Model (1983) then provides a basis for drawing further parallels regarding the role of addiction in diminishing human potential that may be applied on a cultural scale.
Fiber-optic sensor for monitoring respiration and cardiac activity

This article shows the design of a fiber-based sensor for living activities in human body and the results of laboratory evaluation carried out on it. The authors have developed a device that allows for monitoring the vibrations of human body evoked by living activities - breathing and cardiac rhythm. The device consists of a Bragg grating inscribed into a single-mode optical fiber and operating on a wavelength of around 1550 nm. The fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is mounted inside a pneumatic cushion to be placed between the backrest of the seat and the back of the monitored person. Deformations of the cushion, involving deformations of the FBG, are proportional to the vibrations of the body leaning on the cushion. Laboratory studies have shown that the sensor allows for obtaining dynamic strains on the sensing FBG in the range of 16.5–24.8 µstrain caused by breathing and approx. 8.3 µstrain induced by heartbeat, which are fully measurable by today's FBG interrogation systems.
Identification of Formyl Peptides from Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus as Potent Chemoattractants for Mouse Neutrophils1

The prototypic formyl peptide N-formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLF) is a major chemoattractant found in Escherichia coli culture supernatants and a potent agonist at human formyl peptide receptor (FPR) 1. Consistent with this, fMLF induces bactericidal functions in human neutrophils at nanomolar concentrations. However, it is a much less potent agonist for mouse FPR (mFPR) 1 and mouse neutrophils, requiring micromolar concentrations for cell activation. To determine whether other bacteria produce more potent agonists for mFPR1, we examined formyl peptides from Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus for their abilities to activate mouse neutrophils. A pentapeptide (N-formyl-Met-Ile-Val-Ile-Leu (fMIVIL)) from L. monocytogenes and a tetrapeptide (N-formyl-Met-Ile-Phe-Leu (fMIFL)) from S. aureus were found to induce mouse neutrophil chemotaxis at 1–10 nM and superoxide production at 10–100 nM, similar to the potency of fMLF on human neutrophils. Using transfected cell lines expressing mFPR1 and mFPR2, which are major forms of FPRs in mouse neutrophils, we found that mFPR1 is responsible for the high potency of fMIVIL and fMIFL. In comparison, activation of mFPR2 requires micromolar concentrations of the two peptides. Genetic deletion of mfpr1 resulted in abrogation of neutrophil superoxide production and degranulation in response to fMIVIL and fMIFL, further demonstrating that mFPR1 is the primary receptor for detection of these formyl peptides. In conclusion, the formyl peptides from L. monocytogenes and S. aureus are ∼100-fold more potent than fMLF in activating mouse neutrophils. The ability of mFPR1 to detect bacterially derived formyl peptides indicates that this important host defense mechanism is conserved in mice.
Urban Inequality Revisited

Urban size and growth rates have been the focus in the analysis of variation in income inequality among U.S. metropolises. Here, the author builds upon elements identified in the literature to examine 1990 census data for the total, white, and black populations. The regression results indicate that the causal structure of inequality has changed and that the determinants of intraracial inequality are different. The author argues that now the most significant determinants relate to local employment, and social and demographic conditions, reflecting a fundamental transformation from the importance of income level, industry mix, and race.
The influence of glycogen synthase kinase 3 in limiting cell addition in the mammalian ear

In the vestibular organs of the inner ear, an early postnatal decline in the capacity for cell proliferation appears to be responsible for limits to hair cell regeneration that are unique to mammals. We have investigated the time course of that decline in cell proliferation and its potential regulation by glycogen synthase kinase‐3 (GSK3). Our immunoblots have revealed that inactive GSK3β decreases postnatally in the murine utricular epithelium, as E‐cadherin and the active forms of GSK3α and GSK3β each increase. In cultured utricular epithelia, pharmacological inhibition of GSK3 by LiCl and SB‐216763 increased cell proliferation across a range of postnatal ages. LiCl treatments also led to increased levels of β‐catenin and Snail and decreased expression of E‐cadherin. Transfection with a dominant‐negative GSK3β enhanced proliferation in these epithelia in a cell‐autonomous manner, while overexpression of wild‐type GSK3β markedly reduced it. The evidence from these measurements and experimental manipulations indicates that the balance of active and inactive forms of GSK3 helps to determine whether mammalian vestibular supporting cells will proliferate; permitting proliferation during early development when inactive GSK3 predominates and progressively inhibiting proliferation, and thereby limiting the capacity for hair cell regeneration as more GSK3 becomes active during the first week of postnatal maturation. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2008.
Hygiene behaviour in university students in Turkey.

OBJECTIVE To identify university students' hygiene behaviour using a hygiene behaviour inventory in a Turkish sample. METHODS The cross-sectional study was conducted with 353 randomly selected university students aged 17-24 years in Kocaeli, Turkey. Data were collected in December 2009 using a socio-demographic form and the Turkish version of the Hygiene Behaviour Inventory-23. SPSS 15 was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS The mean score was 3.08 +/- 0.94; ranging from 1.91 +/- 0.85 to 3.77 +/- 0.52. Of the students, 290 (82.2%) always washed their hands when soap was available; 266 (75.4%) had cleaned their toilets three times or more in the preceding month; 260 (73.7%) always washed their hands after touching a pet or some animal; 260 (73.7%) always washed their hand before preparing food; 256 (72.5%) always washed fruits and vegetables before eating them; 227 (64.3%) always covered the seat with paper while using a public toilet; 244 (69.1%) had always cleaned their bathroom at home three times or more in the preceding month; and 183 (51.8%) of the students always washed their hands before eating food with their hands. CONCLUSIONS Community-based awareness and education plans must initiated to improve regular hygiene practices at the level of university students in Turkey.
Correlation between the Doppler velocimetry findings of the uterine arteries during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy.

OBJECTIVES Evaluate the feasibility of transvaginal uterine artery Doppler examination in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy, establish reference ranges in a Brazilian population and examine the correlation between these Doppler findings. METHODS Longitudinal prospective study at the antenatal clinic of a tertiary teaching hospital. Uterine artery Doppler examinations were carried out transvaginally at 11 to 14 weeks and 20 to 25 weeks of gestation. Uterine artery mean pulsatility index (PI) distributions were determined and the presence or absence of an early diastolic notch was also noted. The degree of correlation between first and second trimester Doppler findings was examined. RESULTS Three hundred and forty four women with live singleton pregnancies and normal outcome were first examined at a mean gestation of 12.7 weeks. The values corresponding to the 50th and 95th centiles of mean PI were 1.69 and 2.48. Bilateral notches were observed in 44% of cases and unilateral notches were present in 19%. Second trimester Doppler examinations were carried out at a mean gestation of 23.2 weeks and corresponding figures for the 50th and 95th centiles were 1.03 and 1.57. Bilateral notches were noted in 4.4% of the cases. First trimester impedance indices were significantly higher and positively correlated to second trimester findings (r = 0.42, p<0.0001). CONCLUSION Uterine artery Doppler examination can be successfully performed transvaginally and incorporated into scans that are routinely offered to women during their antenatal care in the first and second trimesters. Doppler indices obtained during the first trimester are significantly higher than those of the second trimester and findings at both scans are significantly correlated.
Bee Venom Reduces Neuroinflammation in the MPTP-Induced Model of Parkinson's Disease

ABSTRACT Aim: This study was designed to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of bee venom (BV) in a 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced mouse model of Parkinson's disease (PD). Method: MPTP was administered by intraperitoneal (IP) injection at 2-hr intervals over an 8-hr period. Mice were then subjected to BV subcutaneous injection and sacrificed on days 1 and 3 following the final MPTP injection. The loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) was assessed by tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunohistochemistry. Microglial activation was measured by immunohistochemistry for macrophage antigen complex-1 (MAC-1) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). The staining intensities of MAC-1 and iNOS were quantified with respect to optical density. Result: In animals treated with MPTP, the survival percentages of TH+ cells in the SNpc were 32% on day 1 and 46% on day 3 compared with normal mice. In BV-treated mice, the survival percentages of TH+ cells improved to 70% on day 1 and 78% on day 3 compared with normal mice. BV treatment also resulted in reduced expression of the inflammation markers MAC-1 and iNOS in the SNpc. Conclusion: These data suggest that BV injection may have a neuroprotective effect that attenuates the activation of the microglial response, which has implications for the treatment of PD.