Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Experimental investigation of the effect of occupant characteristics on contemporary seat belt payout behavior in frontal impacts

ABSTRACT Objective: The goal of this study was to investigate the influence of the occupant characteristics on seat belt force vs. payout behavior based on experiment data from different configurations in frontal impacts. Methods: The data set reviewed consists of 58 frontal sled tests using several anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs) and postmortem human subjects (PMHS), restrained by different belt systems (standard belt, SB; force-limiting belt, FLB) at 2 impact severities (48 and 29 km/h). The seat belt behavior was characterized in terms of the shoulder belt force vs. belt payout behavior. A univariate linear regression was used to assess the factor significance of the occupant body mass or stature on the peak tension force and gross belt payout. Results: With the SB, the seat belt behavior obtained by the ATDs exhibited similar force slopes regardless of the occupant size and impact severities, whereas those obtained by the PMHS were varied. Under the 48 km/h impact, the peak tension force and gross belt payout obtained by ATDs was highly correlated to the occupant stature (P =.03, P =.02) and body mass (P =.05, P =.04), though no statistical difference with the stature or body mass were noticed for the PMHS (peak force: P =.09, P =.42; gross payout: P =.40, P =.48). With the FLB under the 48 km/h impact, highly linear relationships were noticed between the occupant body mass and the peak tension force (R2 = 0.9782) and between the gross payout and stature (R2 = 0.9232) regardless of the occupant types. Conclusions: The analysis indicated that the PMHS characteristics showed a significant influence on the belt response, whereas the belt response obtained with the ATDs was more reproducible. The potential cause included the occupant anthropometry, body mass distribution, and relative motion among body segments specific to the population variance. This study provided a primary data source to understand the biomechanical interaction of the occupant with the restraint system. Further research is necessary to consider these effects in the computational studies and optimized design of the restraint system in a more realistic manner.
Making Sense of Globalization: A Guide to the Economic Issues

Globalization is, in some respects, a centuries-old phenomenon. Only now, however, are we examining which aspects of the current wave are old and which are new and the effects of these on poverty and inequality in the world. Furthermore, it is difficult to be sure whether the poor economic performance of some countries (notably in sub-Saharan Africa) is due to their having been insufficiently open to the world economy, or whether they lacked the institutions and capacities (such as in human capital) that would have enabled them to benefit from such opportunities and embrace globalization successfully. CEPR’s new Policy Paper analyses how various institutions, including corporations, national governments and the many institutions of civil society, have responded or potentially could respond to these developments.
Testing the Independence of Multiple Personality Factors in Relation to Health Among Community-Dwelling Older Men

Objective: We assessed associations between specific personality factors and health, and tested whether specific personality factors were related to health outcomes independent of each other. Method: We performed cross-sectional analyses of personality and health among a sample of community-dwelling older men (n = 613, M age = 81.4, SD = 5.04 years) living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Results: Personality factors (dispositional optimism, conscientiousness, and goal adjustment) were crudely related to both physical and mental health, but adjusting for other personality factors completely attenuated several of these associations. Conscientiousness remained uniquely related to every physical and mental health outcome. Optimism remained uniquely related to all health outcomes, except physical activity (which was more highly related to conscientiousness and goal adjustment). Associations between goal adjustment and probable depression appeared to be explained by conscientiousness and optimism. Discussion: Correlations among multiple aspects of personality may mask unique associations of specific personality aspects with successful aging.
Asian Pacific Stock Market Volatility Modeling and Value at Risk Analysis

The potential for stock market growth in Asian Pacific countries has attracted foreign investors. However, higher growth rates come with higher risk. We apply value at risk (VaR) analysis to measure and analyze stock market index risks in Asian Pacific countries, exposing and detailing both the unique risks and system risks embedded in those markets. To implement the VaR measure, it is necessary to perform "volatility modeling" by mixture switch, exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA), or generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) models. After estimating the volatility parameters, we can calibrate the VaR values of individual and system risks. Empirically, we find that, on average, Indonesia and Korea exhibit the highest VaRs and VaR sensitivity, and currently, Australia exhibits relatively low values. Taiwan is liable to be in high-state volatility. In addition, the Kupiec test indicates that the mixture switch VaR is superior to delta normal VaR; the quadratic probability score (QPS) shows that the EWMA is inclined to underestimate the VaR for a single series, and GARCH shows no difference from GARCH t and GARCH generalized error distribution (GED) for a multivariate VaR estimate with more assets.
Use of 18S rRNA Gene-Based PCR Assay for Diagnosis of Acanthamoeba Keratitis in Non-Contact Lens Wearers in India

ABSTRACT Identification of Acanthamoeba cysts and trophozoites in ocular tissues requires considerable expertise and is often time-consuming. An 18S rRNA gene-based PCR test, highly specific for the genus Acanthamoeba, has recently been reported in the molecular diagnosis of Acanthamoeba keratitis. This PCR assay was compared with conventional microbiological tests for the diagnosis of Acanthamoeba keratitis. In a pilot study, the PCR conditions with modifications were first tested on corneal scrapings from patients with culture-proven non-contact lens-related Acanthamoeba, bacterial, and fungal keratitis. This was followed by testing of corneal scrapings from 53 consecutive cases of microbial keratitis to determine sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of the assay. All corneal scrapings from patients with proven Acanthamoeba keratitis showed a 463-bp amplicon, while no amplicon was obtained from patients with bacterial or fungal keratitis. Some of these amplified products were sequenced and compared with EMBL database reference sequences to validate these to be of Acanthamoeba origin. Out of 53 consecutive cases of microbial keratitis included for evaluating the PCR, 10 (18.9%) cases were diagnosed as Acanthamoeba keratitis on the basis of combined results of culture, smear, and PCR of corneal scrapings. Based on culture results as the “gold standard,” the sensitivity of PCR was the same as that of the smear (87.5%); however, the specificity and the positive and negative predictive values of PCR were marginally higher than the smear examination (97.8 versus 95.6%, 87.5 versus 77.8%, and 97.8 versus 97.7%) although the difference was not significant. This study confirms the efficacy of the PCR assay and is the first study to evaluate a PCR-based assay against conventional methods of diagnosis in a clinical setting.
Concerted stimulation and deactivation of pertussis toxin‐sensitive G proteins by chimeric G protein‐coupled receptor‐regulator of G protein signaling 4 fusion proteins: analysis of the contribution of palmitoylated cysteine residues to the GAP activity of RGS4

Agonists stimulated high‐affinity GTPase activity in membranes of HEK293 cells following coexpression of the α2A‐adrenoceptor and a pertussis toxin‐resistant mutant of Go1α. Enzyme kinetic analysis of Vmax and Km failed to detect regulation of the effect of agonist by a GTPase activating protein. This did occur, however, when cells were also transfected to express RGS4. Both elements of a fusion protein in which the N‐terminus of RGS4 was linked to the C‐terminal tail of the α2A‐adrenoceptor were functional, as it was able to provide concerted stimulation and deactivation of the G protein. By contrast, the α2A‐adrenoceptor‐RGS4 fusion protein stimulated but did not enhance deactivation of a form of Go1α that is resistant to the effects of regulator of G protein signaling (RGS) proteins. Employing this model system, mutation of Asn128 but not Asn88 eliminated detectable GTPase activating protein activity of RGS4 against Go1α. Mutation of all three cysteine residues that are sites of post‐translational acylation in RGS4 also eliminated GTPase activating protein activity but this was not achieved by less concerted mutation of these sites. These studies demonstrate that a fusion protein between a G protein‐coupled receptor and an RGS protein is fully functional in providing both enhanced guanine nucleotide exchange and GTP hydrolysis of a coexpressed G protein. They also provide a direct means to assess, in mammalian cells, the effects of mutation of the RGS protein on function in circumstances in which the spatial relationship and orientation of the RGS to its target G protein is defined and maintained.
Facile Control of the Porous Structure of Larch-Derived Mesoporous Carbons via Self-Assembly for Supercapacitors

Mesoporous carbons have been successfully synthesized via self-assembly using larch-based resins as precursors and triblock copolymers as soft templates. The porous structure of mesoporous carbons can be tailored by adjusting the ratio of hydrophilic/hydrophobic (EO/PO) units owing to interfacial curvature. Interestingly, the porous structures show a distinct change from vortex-like to worm-like pores, to stripe-like pores, and to ordered two-dimensional hexagonal pores as the ratio of hydrophilic/hydrophobic units increases, indicating the significant effect of EO/PO ratio on the porous structure. The mesoporous carbons as supercapacitor electrodes exhibit superior electrochemical capacitive performance and a high degree of reversibility after 2000 cycles for supercapacitors due to the well-defined mesoporosity of the carbon materials. Meanwhile, the superior carbon has a high specific capacitance of 107 F·g−1 in 6 M KOH at a current density of 10 A·g−1.
Non-Ergodicity of Nosé-Hoover Chain Dynamics

Ergodicity of the dynamics is a prerequisite for obtaining ensemble averaged results from a single time trajectory, making it a key requirement for calculating statistical mechanical properties through molecular dynamics simulations. Nose-Hoover chain (NHC) thermostat is a popular way of constraining temperature in molecular dynamics simulations. Previously, it was thought that NHC imparts ergodicity to the dynamics, thereby removing the deficiencies of several other thermostats. However, very recently, doubt has been casted on the ergodic nature of dynamics due to a two-chain NHC thermostat. In this work, we build upon this doubt and show, with the help of a single harmonic oscillator, that even after long time duration, the conditional univariate distribution functions of position and velocity do not reach a Gaussian distribution in several Poincare sections. The deviations from the Gaussian distribution are computed using the symmetric form of Kullback-Leibler divergence, Hellinger distance and by analysing the moments. The significant deviation of the conditional univariate distribution functions from a Gaussian distribution suggests that the dynamics due to NHC thermostat is non-ergodic although it constrains the temperature of the single harmonic oscillator to a desired value in a long time averaged sense.
Securities Class Actions: A Helping Hand for Bank Regulators in Trouble?

By comparing the behavior of those US banks which faced Securities Class Actions (SCAs) in the 2000-2008 period with a control group of non-sued banks, we investigate the regulatory effects of this collective litigation procedure. The paper improves upon previous research by accounting for the endogenous nature of SCAs with respect to bank performance. This issue is addressed using an instrumental variable related to court severity. Two-Stage Least Squares estimates provide evidence that SCAs can stimulate more cautious attitudes towards risk, prompting the accumulation of reserves and recapitalization. We also find they are likely to enhance bank efficiency. However, our results also suggest that SCAs significantly increase dividend payouts while inducing a contraction of bank assets. SCAs are also likely to represent a warning signal of insolvency, as it emerges from the higher probability of being sued in case of high incidence of non-performing loans. We add an extension to the main analysis considering the probability of bank failures as a function of SCA occurrence. Results indicate that the latter is not likely to accelerate the former.
Associations of mitochondrial haplogroups and mitochondrial DNA copy numbers with end-stage renal disease in a Han population

Abstract Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is closely related to mitochondrion function, and variations have been suggested to be involved in pathogenesis of complex diseases. The present study sought to elucidate mitochondrial haplogroups and mtDNA copy number in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in a Han population. First, the mitochondrial haplogroups of 37 ESRD patients were clustered into several haplogroups, and haplogroup A & D were taken as the candidate risk haplogroups for ESRD. Second, the frequencies of A and D were assessed in 344 ESRD patients and 438 healthy controls, respectively. Haplogroup D was found to be risk maker for ESRD in young subjects (<30 years) with an OR of 2.274. Finally, intracellular and cell-free mtDNA copy numbers were evaluated with quantitative-PCR. The ESRD patients exhibited greater cell-free mtDNA contents than the healthy controls but less intracellular mtDNA. Haplogroup D exhibited a further increase in cell-free mtDNA content and a decrease in intracellular mtDNA content among the ESRDs patients. Our findings suggest that mtNDA haplogroup D may contributes to pathogenesis of early-onset ESRD through alterations of mtDNA copy numbers.
The Relation between Arterial Viscoelasticity and Wave Propagation in the Canine Femoral Artery in Vivo

The influence of arterial dimensions and viscoelasticity on pulse wave propagation has been expressed in many theoretical models of blood flow in arteries, but few experimental tests of these theories in vivo have been reported. The measurements required for such tests include not only the arterial viscoelasticity, diameter, and wall thickness, but also the true propagation coefficients and impedances, for comparison with the values ‘predicted’ by solution of the model equations. We made such measurements in 16 experiments on the femoral artery in nine anesthetized dogs. A two-point pressure and flow technique was used to measure wave propagation, and an ultrasonic micrometer was used to measure vessel diameter as a function of time and pressure. Measured attenuation constants ranged from 0.010 at 1.3 Hz to 0.075 at 12.7 Hz, and were more than twice as large as those predicted by two representative linear models. True phase velocity, which increased from 6.71 m/sec at 1.3 Hz to 10.54 m/sec at 12.7 Hz, agreed closely with the values computed by the Cox model but were lower than those given by the Jager model. The resistive, but not the reactive, component of longitudinal impedance was significantly greater than predicted by the models at all frequencies. The experiments do not identify the source of these discrepancies. The use of linear models to calculate pulsatile blood flow from pressure gradients in relatively small vessels, or to calculate attenuation and characteristic impedance from arterial viscoelasticity in vessels of any size, produces significant errors.
Long‐term persistence of clonally expanded T cells in patients with polymyositis

Polymyositis is a CD8+ T‐cell–mediated disease. T‐cell clonal expansions are observed at disease onset, but little is known about their persistence over time. Qualitative and quantitative spectratyping demonstrated that PM relapse features dramatically perturbed blood T‐cell repertoires but is not associated with the emergence of new T‐cell clones. It is striking that patients in remission also maintained all their T‐cell repertoire abnormalities. The clonally expanded T‐cells displayed a memory phenotype, expressed intracellular perforin, and dramatically responded to IL‐2, showing a potential to be reactivated upon appropriate conditions. These results indicate that persistent T‐cell clonal expansion is an important feature of polymyositis. Ann Neurol 2004
The Mcm2–7-interacting domain of human mini-chromosome maintenance 10 (Mcm10) protein is important for stable chromatin association and origin firing

The protein mini-chromosome maintenance 10 (Mcm10) was originally identified as an essential yeast protein in the maintenance of mini-chromosome plasmids. Subsequently, Mcm10 has been shown to be required for both initiation and elongation during chromosomal DNA replication. However, it is not fully understood how the multiple functions of Mcm10 are coordinated or how Mcm10 interacts with other factors at replication forks. Here, we identified and characterized the Mcm2–7-interacting domain in human Mcm10. The interaction with Mcm2–7 required the Mcm10 domain that contained amino acids 530–655, which overlapped with the domain required for the stable retention of Mcm10 on chromatin. Expression of truncated Mcm10 in HeLa cells depleted of endogenous Mcm10 via siRNA revealed that the Mcm10 conserved domain (amino acids 200–482) is essential for DNA replication, whereas both the conserved and the Mcm2–7-binding domains were required for its full activity. Mcm10 depletion reduced the initiation frequency of DNA replication and interfered with chromatin loading of replication protein A, DNA polymerase (Pol) α, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen, whereas the chromatin loading of Cdc45 and Pol ϵ was unaffected. These results suggest that human Mcm10 is bound to chromatin through the interaction with Mcm2–7 and is primarily involved in the initiation of DNA replication after loading of Cdc45 and Pol ϵ.
Computer-assisted instruction and its use in occupational therapy education.

A computer-assisted instruction system is described in this paper, and the rationale for integrating this system mto an occupational therapy course is discussed. Student performance in this course is apparently enhanced by using computer-assisted instruction. Attitudes of both students and faculty concerning the use of a computer for instruction are also discussed. T he computer has entered nearly every phase of our society. It has found its way inLO business, research, home management, play, and education. In 1975, C.B. English (I) noted that occupational therapy could use the computer most often as a professional LOol for a data bank of patient information, vocational aspirations of disabled clients, research data, and educational resources and instruction. Since (hen, Morris and BrO\vn (2), and DiSante (3), reported on deVIces for physically disabled patients that were either a result of development in or a direct application of computer technology. Hawkinsand Hawkins (4) later described
Long range, high sensitivity, low noise capacitive sensor for tagless indoor human localization

Capacitive sensors have important advantages and are widely used, but typically up to sensing distances comparable to sensor size. We present the design and experimental results of a self-contained long range capacitive sensor that is suitable for indoor human localization. We make differential measurements of the reactance effects of sensor plate capacitance using a constant excitation frequency, which is both less prone to noise and easier to filter. The experimental results show good sensor sensitivity up to 200 cm for a 16 cm square sensor plate, low noise and good measurement stability.
International Business Taxation: A Study in the Internationalization of Business Regulation

This student text was previously published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson. The taxation of international business is a vital political and social issue, as well as raising many important legal, political and economic questions. Surveying the operation of international business taxation this book is sufficiently detailed to clarify its complexities, yet analytical enough to bring out all the key policy issues.
Chromosome mapping in Abracris flavolineata (De Geer, 1773) (Orthoptera) from the Iguaçu National Park – Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná, Brazil

Abstract In this paper, we present the cytomolecular analysis of a population of Abracris flavolineata collected in the largest fragment of the Brazilian Atlantic forest, the Iguaçu National Park. The diploid number in males was 23 (22+X0), with two large pairs (1–2), 7 medium (3–9), 2 small (10–11) and the X chromosome of medium size. Heterochromatic blocks were evident in the pericentromeric regions of all chromosomes. Heterogeneity in the distribution of heterochromatin was observed, with a predominance of DAPI+ blocks. However, some chromosomes showed CMA3+ blocks and other DAPI+/CMA3+ blocks. The 18S rDNA sites were distributed on the short arms of 5 pairs. In two of these pairs, such sites were in the same chromosome bearing 5S rDNA, and one of the bivalents, they were co-located. Histone H3 genes were found on one bivalent. The results added to the existing cytogenetic studies provided evidence of great karyotypic plasticity in the species. This pliancy may be the result of vicariant events related to the geographical distribution of different populations of A. flavolineata.
Exchange market pressure in a small Pacific Island country: a study of Fiji: 1975-2005

Purpose - Under the fixed exchange rate regime Fiji's currency, which is pegged to a basket of currencies of its major trading partners, has been experiencing severe pressures. The purpose of this paper is to study annual exchange market pressure (EMP) over a 31-year (1975-2005) period and attempt to determine the factors behind EMP. Design/methodology/approach - The paper employs the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing procedure, which is applied to a multivariate model covering four variables, namely EMP in index numbers, and budget deficit, domestic credit to private sector and external debt, all the three expressed as percentages of gross domestic product. Additionally, an uncertainty variable is added to the regression analysis with a view to finding out whether political uncertainty has been responsible for speculative attacks on currency. Existence of a cointegration vector is then investigated. It is then followed by Granger-causality tests in an error-correction model with view to exploring the short- and long-term relationships between the variables. Findings - The study findings are: there existed a long-run relationship between EMP and budget deficit, domestic credit to private sector, external debt and political uncertainty; and EMP was positively related to budget deficit, domestic credit to private sector and external debt as well as speculative pressures exercised by political uncertainty. Originality/value - The empirical study on EMP in the South Pacific Island countries and in Fiji in particular is the first of its kind. The paper is expected to promote further interest in the studies of currencies of small island countries.