Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Linking metabolic and contractile dysfunction in aged cardiac myocytes

Aging is associated with declining cardiac contractile function as well as changes in metabolism and mitochondrial function. The relationship between age‐related changes in cardiac metabolism and declining cardiac contractile function has not been determined. In order to define the role energetics play in changes in contractile function, we measured mitochondrial NADH, [NADH]m, during continuous contractions of isolated left ventricular myocytes from young (Y) and old (O) FBN rats. Second, we explored the role of metabolic disruption with rotenone and increased workload with isoproterenol (ISO) had on age‐related changes in myocytes shortening. Single, intact myocytes were stimulated for 10 min of continuous contraction at either 2 Hz or 4 Hz while being perfused with Ringer's solution. Properties of shortening (peak shortening and rate of shortening) were measured at the onset (T0) and after 10 min (T10) of continuous contraction, and the decline in shortening over time (T10/T0) was determined. Although young and old myocytes had similar contractile function under resting conditions, old myocytes demonstrated decrements in [NADH]m during continuous stimulation, while young myocytes maintained constant [NADH]m over this time. In addition, old myocytes exhibited impaired contractile function to a workload (ISO) and metabolic (rotenone) stress compared to young myocytes. Taken together, these results demonstrated that old myocytes are susceptible to stress‐induced contractile dysfunction which may be related to altered cellular energetics.
Effects of Adamantyl Derivatives on Pharmacokinetic Behavior of Paclitaxel in Rats

Paclitaxel (PTX) is one of the most frequently used anticancer agent for treating refractory ovarian cancer, metastatic breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. However, its oral administration is impeded by very low bioavailability (<5%) due to the Pglycopprotein (P-gp) efflux pump effect. This study investigated in vitro and in vivo P-gp inhibitory effects of adamantyl derivatives AC-603 and AC-786 in rats. Two adamantyl derivatives tested in this study increased the cytotoxicity of daunomycin (DNM) in P-gp overexpressed cell line by inhibiting P-gp efflux function. Pharmacokinetics of PTX with orally co-administered P-gp inhibitors were assessed in rats to improve PTX absorption. The pharmacokinetic parameters of PTX were determined in rats after intravenous (2 mg/kg) or oral (25 mg/kg) administration in the presence or absence of verapamil (a positive control), AC-603 or AC-786 (0.5 mg/kg or 5 mg/kg). Compared to control group (PTX alone), experimental groups (PTX with AC-603 or AC-786) significantly increased the area under the plasma concentration-time curve of PTX following oral administration by 1.7–2.2 fold. The volume of distribution and total clearance of PTX were decreased, while other parameters were not significantly changed. In conclusion, co-administration of AC-603 or AC-786 enhanced the relative bioavailability of orally administered PTX as compared to control.
A Look at Satisfaction with Ethnic Diversity of the Student Body for White, Black, Latino/a, and Asian American Students

Using a national longitudinal dataset of college students, this study examines satisfaction with diversity of the student body and identifies predictors of White, Black, Latino/a, and Asian American student satisfaction at Predominantly White Institutions. Across races, students at more diverse institutions were the most likely to be satisfied or very satisfied with student body diversity. The strongest predictor of diversity satisfaction for White and Asian American students was the percent of students of color enrolled; the strongest predictor for Black and Latino/a students was contentment with community, peer interactions, and the overall college experience. Additionally, students of all races attending college on the West Coast were significantly less likely to be satisfied with the diversity of the student body. The findings suggest that while increasing the number of students of color is an essential component of nurturing a positive campus racial climate, so is supporting positive peer interactions and a sense of community.
Quantile-Based Empirical Mode Decomposition: An Efficient Way to Decompose Noisy Signals

The main goal of this paper is to propose a new approach of empirical mode decomposition (EMD) that analyzes noisy signals efficiently. The EMD has been widely used to decompose nonlinear and nonstationary signals into some components according to intrinsic frequency called intrinsic mode functions. However, the conventional EMD may not be efficient in decomposing signals that are contaminated by noninformative noises or outliers. This paper presents a new EMD procedure that analyzes noisy signals effectively and is robust to outliers with holding the merits of the conventional EMD. The key ingredient of the proposed method is to apply a quantile smoothing method to a noisy signal itself instead of interpolating local extrema of the signal when constructing its mean envelope. Through simulation studies and texture image analysis, it is demonstrated that the proposed method produces substantially effective results.
Econometric Analysisof Collusive Behaviorin a Soft‐Drink Market

This paper proposes an empirical methodology for studying various (implicit or explicit) collusive behavior on two strategic variables, which are price and advertising, in a differentiated market dominated by a duopoly. In addition to Nash or Stackelberg behaviors, we consider collusion on both variables, collusion on one variable and competition on the other, etc. Using data on the Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola markets from 1968 to 1986, full information maximum likelihood estimation of cost and demand functions are obtained allowing for various collusive behaviors. The collusive hypothesis is not rejected, and the best form of collusive behavior is selected via nonnested testing procedures. Using the best model, Lerner indices are computed for both duopolists to provide summary measures of market power. Finally, our approach is contrasted with the conjectural variation approach and is shown to give superior results. Copyright 1992 by MIT Press.
Effect of Post-Migration Detention on Mental Health Among Afghan Asylum Seekers in Japan

Objectives: Afghan asylum seekers in Japan were increasingly subject to detention following the terrorist attack in New York in September 2001, yet little is reported about the net impact of the detention on their mental health. We examined this by comparing asylum seekers who had once been detained in post-migration and their non-detained counterparts. Method: We conducted a cross-sectional survey in 2002/03 among asylum seekers from Afghanistan who were in the process of refugee application in Japan. We contacted them through their lawyers or non-governmental organizations. Of 73 contacted, 55 agreed to participate. Anxiety and depression were measured using the Hopkins Symptom Checklist 25, and posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSD) and past traumatic experiences were studied with the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire. These mental disorders were scored on a 4-point scale; the average symptom score of 4 indicates the worst mental health status. Results: Respondents reported a mean (SD) of 10 (4.0) pre-migration traumas. Since their arrival in Japan, 18 (33%) had once been detained. Trauma exposures and other characteristics of those detained were not significantly different from those not detained, whereas the symptom scores of anxiety (2.91), depression (2.75) and PTSD (2.90) among those detained were higher than among those not detained (2.30, 2.41, 2.34 respectively). Multiple regression analyses revealed independent adverse effects of post-migration detention, alongside exposure to greater trauma and living alone, and the effects were comparable between these variables. Conclusion: The post-migration detention of Afghan asylum seekers in Japan was independently related to their worsened mental health.
Explaining Private Provision of Public Goods by Conditional Cooperation: An Indirect Evolutionary Approach

We adopt an indirect evolutionary approach to investigate whether and when conditional cooperation can explain the voluntary contribution phenomenon often observed in public goods experiments and in real life. Formally, conditional cooperation is captured by a guilt parameter describing how much an individual feels guilty about contributing less than the average. We find that the evolutionary stability of conditional cooperation depends on what is known about the (individual) guilt parameter of other group members.
Model-Based Quantitative Cross-Borehole GPR Imaging via Virtual Experiments

In this paper, we present a new model-based linear inversion approach for cross-borehole ground penetrating radar quantitative imaging. The approach is reliable and computationally effective as it consists of the cascade solution of two linear inverse problems. The first problem yields a qualitative image of the targets (i.e., their location and approximate shape) and the information needed to cast a set of virtual experiments wherein a linear scattering model that implicitly depends on unknown targets holds true. By relying on such a model, it is possible to achieve, via linear inversion, a quantitative estimate of the targets' electric permittivity and conductivity in a much broader range of cases as compared with traditional approximations, such as the Born approximation. The quantitative imaging capabilities of the proposed method are enhanced by means of an original strategy, in which the features of virtual experiments are exploited to counteract the data reduction caused by the aspect limitation of the measurement configuration. Results against simulated data are reported to show the capability to successfully image nonweak scatters.
Heed, a missing link between trust, monitoring and performance in knowledge intensive teams

This longitudinal study aimed to explain performance differences of knowledge intensive project teams. Team level data gathered at three measurement moments were used. Antecedents of performance studied were: trust in team members, trust in supervisors, monitoring by team members and monitoring by supervisors. Heedful interrelating, a concept developed by Weick and Roberts (1993) was expected to mediate between trust in team members, monitoring by team members and team performance. Correlation analysis and structural equation modelling were employed to analyse the data. The results show that heedful interrelating of team members, built on a combination of trust and monitoring by team members and trust in supervisors is an important factor in promoting team performance.
Secret-Focus : A Practical Secret Communication System by Perturbing Focused Phases Among Distributed Transmitters Paper ID : 1570388076

Ensuring confidentiality of communication is fundamental to securing the operation of a wireless system, where eavesdropping is easily facilitated by the broadcast nature of the wireless medium. By applying distributed phase alignment among distributed transmitters, we show that a new approach for assuring physical layer secrecy, without requiring any knowledge about the eavesdropper or injecting any additional cover noise, is possible if the transmitters frequently perturb their phases around the proper alignment phase while transmitting messages. This approach is readily applied to amplitude-based modulation schemes, such as PAM or QAM. We present our secrecy mechanisms, prove several important secrecy properties, and develop a practical secret communication system design. We further implement and deploy a prototype that consists of 16 distributed transmitters using USRP N210s in a 20× 20× 3 m area. By sending more than 160M bits over our system to the receiver, we measure that the eavesdroppers failed to decode over 32% of the bits cross multiple locations while the intended receiver has an estimated bit error ratio of 3× 10−6.
T1-weighted cine FLASH is superior to IR imaging of post-infarction myocardial viability at 4.7T.

PURPOSE Data are unavailable for rational selection of pulse sequences to assess postinfarction myocardial viability in rodents at high field strength. We implemented a widely used clinical inversion recovery (IR) sequence at 4.7T and compared the results to a heavily T1-weighted cine FLASH sequence (T1-CF) for assessment of infarction size. MATERIALS AND METHODS Eleven infarcted rats were examined within 24 h of infarction after injection of Gadophrin-3 contrast agent. Images were acquired using both pulse sequences and a standard cine (SC) sequence. Estimates of infarct size were compared to TTC. Global LV function was compared between the T1-CF and SC sequences. RESULTS SNR, relative SNR, and CNR for the infarcted and normal myocardium were significantly greater for the IR sequence. Infarction size was overestimated by both sequences, but correlated highly and showed very close agreement with TTC. Global function revealed no significant differences between T1-CF and SC. CONCLUSION Both IR and T1-CF produced reliable results for assessment of infarction size at 4.7T. While the IR sequence delivers better overall SNR and CNR, the T1-CF allows concomitant assessment of global cardiac function with a much shorter acquisition time.
Option Pricing when the Variance Changes Randomly: Theory, Estimation, and an Application

Abstract In this paper, we examine the pricing of European call options on stocks that have variance rates that change randomly. We study continuous time diffusion processes for the stock return and the standard deviation parameter, and we find that one must use the stock and two options to form a riskless hedge. The riskless hedge does not lead to a unique option pricing function because the random standard deviation is not a traded security. One must appeal to an equilibrium asset pricing model to derive a unique option pricing function. In general, the option price depends on the risk premium associated with the random standard deviation. We find that the problem can be simplified by assuming that volatility risk can be diversified away and that changes in volatility are uncorrelated with the stock return. The resulting solution is an integral of the Black-Scholes formula and the distribution function for the variance of the stock price. We show that accurate option prices can be computed via Monte Carlo simulations and we apply the model to a set of actual prices.
Teaching Points Identified by Preceptors Observing One-Minute Preceptor and Traditional Preceptor Encounters

Purpose This study examined the teaching points made by preceptors in response to two videotaped teaching encounters to determine if (1) different preceptors use similar teaching points in response to the same case, (2) preceptors’ teaching points vary by case, and (3) preceptors’ teaching points vary by teaching model (One-Minute Preceptor and traditional preceptor models). Method Preceptors (n = 116) at seven universities participated in a within-groups experimental design study in 2000. The preceptors viewed videotaped encounters depicting two cases and two precepting models. They were asked to list two teaching points after viewing the initial case presentations and after the teaching encounters were completed. Frequency of teaching points listed by preceptors was examined for each case and teaching model. Teaching points were coded using qualitative methods and then analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance. Results Of the 843 total teaching points identified by preceptors, 63 were discrete teaching points that were aggregated into 15 categories. Most preceptors (82%) listed three to five separate teaching points, which varied significantly by case and model. Those observing the traditional precepting model were more likely to teach generic skills such as history-taking skills, presentation skills, and risk factors, and those observing the One-Minute Preceptor were more likely to teach about the illness focusing on a broader differential diagnosis, further diagnostic tests, and the natural presentation of disease. Conclusions Preceptors use three to five common teaching points that vary by case and teaching model. The One-Minute Preceptor model shifted teaching points away from generic clinical skills toward disease-specific teaching.
Analysis and operation of modular multilevel converters with phase-shifted carrier PWM

The modular multilevel converter is a suitable topology for high-voltage high-power applications since the cascaded submodules can generate high-voltage waveforms with excellent harmonic performance at low switching frequencies. Many publications have been presented on the modulation and control of this converter type, some of which are based on phase-shifted carrier modulation. This paper presents an analysis of how the switching frequency affects the capacitor voltages, circulating current and alternating voltage at phase-shifted carrier modulation. It is found that integer multiples of the fundamental frequency should be avoided as they can cause the capacitor voltages to diverge. Suitable switching frequencies are then defined for which the arm and line quantities will be periodic and symmetric in the upper and lower arms. The theoretical results are then validated by both simulations and experimental results.
Aligning Stakeholders' Preferences with Public Trust in Managing In-stream Flow: The Case of Hawai'i

Water plays a key role in the maintenance of energy, agriculture, biodiversity, ecosystems, cultural practices and human health. As a common-pool resource with rivalries, the multiple competing uses of water are often in conflict. Water allocation decisions in Hawai'i today are not based on people's preferences. The objective of this paper is to identify and quantify stakeholder preferences pertaining to water management programmes in order to improve water policy design. This is accomplished through the use of conjoint choice experiment surveys. The survey data were analyzed using Latent Class Analysis to determine latent heterogeneity in respondents' preferences. The relative importance of water management attributes was evaluated and willingness-to-pay values were estimated. Results showed that the majority of respondents weighed preserving stream health and Hawaiian cultural practices in water allocation decisions and were willing to pay $4.53 per month per household to improve stream health to an excellent condition. These results highlight the need to strongly align watershed-level preferences to better balance in-stream and offstream demands to help guide water managers to make more effective water allocation decisions.
Legal Design and the Evolution of Commercial Norms

The Uniform Commercial Code determines the content of most commercial law default rules by incorporating common merchant practices. The success of this incorporation strategy depends on the likely efficiency of evolved commercial practices. In this Article, I use the best available theory of cultural evolution to analyze how and why commercial practices evolve. This analysis confirms that the incorporation strategy is far superior to a system in which lawmakers rely predominantly on individual analysis and experimentation to design commercial law. But the analysis also demonstrates that common commercial practices, and the laws incorporating them, are unlikely to be optimal, in the sense that they cannot be improved at any cost. There is good reason, then, to explore supplemental strategies for enhancing the efficiency of individual commercial practices on a selected basis. The viability of such strategies will depend on their costs and likely success in improving on commercial practice.
QSAR modelling of bioconcentration factor using hydrophobicity, hydrogen bonding and topological descriptors

Bioconcentration factor (BCF) is an important step in the uptake of environmental pollutants in the food chain. It is expensive and time-consuming to measure, so predictive methods are of value. We have used an artificial neural network QSAR approach involving descriptors for hydrophobicity, hydrogen bonding and molecular topology, obtained from commercially available software, to predict the fish BCF values of a diverse data set of 624 chemicals. The training set statistics were: r 2 = 0.765, q 2 = 0.763, s = 0.610, and those of the external test set were: r 2 = 0.739, s = 0.627. The model complies with the OECD Principles for the Validation of (Q)SARs.
Do Control Effectiveness Disclosures Require SOX 404(b) Internal Control Audits? A Natural Experiment with Small U.S. Public Companies

We use incremental and joint implementation of multiple SOX‐based control effectiveness disclosure and audit mandates to assess relative performance of alternatives for small U.S. public companies. Using data from several low‐ and high‐effort management disclosure and audit regimes implemented from 2003 to 2008, we find substantial and statistically significant increases in material weakness disclosure rates for small firms undergoing initial SOX 404(b) internal control audits, but find quantitatively and statistically similar increases for initial management reports of small firms exempt from such audits. As to audit cost, fees more than double for initial 404(b) audits in 2004 and remain high, while 404(b)‐exempt firms’ fees grow about 10% annually. Our results support the view that, for small firms, management internal control reports and traditional financial audits may be a cost effective disclosure alternative to full application of SOX 404(b). Also, our results suggest that, even without management reports on internal control, analysis of the cause of known accounting mistakes may yield substantial material weakness disclosures.
Influence As Power: French Local Government Reconsidered

Administrative centralization has been a fact of life in France since Louis XIV. Political analysts have alternately praised the system as ‘the envy of all Europe’ and condemned it as ‘a glittering example of “blockage” in our society’. Very few of them have, however, made any serious effort to study the impact of centralized structures on local governments. The literature is remarkable for the absence of empirical research on the exercise of power by elected local officials in France.
Vitamin D deficiency and mortality risk in the general population: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.

BACKGROUND Low vitamin D status may increase mortality risk. OBJECTIVE We used nonparametric ("highest compared with lowest" categories) and parametric (>2 categories) statistical models to evaluate associations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] serum concentrations and mortality in observational studies among general populations. DESIGN We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and reference lists for relevant articles. We included studies that contained data on relative risks (RRs) for mortality for different 25(OH)D concentrations, which included a corresponding measure of uncertainty, and this yielded 14 prospective cohort studies that involved 5562 deaths out of 62,548 individuals. We applied log-transformed RRs and CIs, adjusted for the maximal number of confounding variables. In the parametric model, which is based on 11 studies and 59,231 individuals, we used the lowest quantile as the reference category. RESULTS For "highest compared with lowest" categories of 25(OH)D, the estimated summary RR of mortality was 0.71 (95% CI: 0.50, 0.91). In the parametric model, the estimated summary RRs (95% CI) of mortality were 0.86 (0.82, 0.91), 0.77 (0.70, 0.84), and 0.69 (0.60, 0.78) for individuals with an increase of 12.5, 25, and 50 nmol 25(OH)D serum values/L, respectively, from a median reference category of ∼27.5 nmol/L. There was, however, no significant decrease in mortality when an increase of ∼87.5 nmol/L above the reference category occurred. CONCLUSION Data suggest a nonlinear decrease in mortality risk as circulating 25(OH)D increases, with optimal concentrations ∼75-87.5 nmol/L.