Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Soft-error resilient 3D Network-on-Chip router

Three-Dimensional Networks-on-Chips (3D-NoCs) have been proposed as an auspicious solution, merging the high parallelism of the Network-on-Chip (NoC) paradigm with the high-performance and low-power of 3D-ICs. However, as feature sizes and power supply voltages continually decrease, the devices and interconnects have become more vulnerable to transient errors. Transient errors, or soft errors, have severe consequences on chip performance, such as deadlock, data corruption, packet loss and increased packet latency. In this paper, we propose a soft-error resilient 3D-NoC router (SER-3DR) architecture for highly-reliable many-core Systems-on-Chips. The proposed architecture is able to recover from transient errors occurring in different pipeline stages of the SER-3DR.We implemented the architecture in hardware with 45 nm CMOS technology. Evaluation results show that SER-3DR is able to achieve a high level of transient error protection with a latency increase of 18.16%, an additional area cost of 14.98% and a power overhead of 5.90% when compared to the baseline router architecture.
Coordinating a Semi‐Centralized Global Production Network Through Different Levels of Headquarters Involvement

Motivated by our experience with a global company, we propose and study the concept of a semi‐centralized supply chain and analyze its coordination issues. We focus on a supply chain consisting of a home plant and a foreign branch, both of which are under the same parent company but have considerable autonomy. The role of the home plant is to provide a key component to the foreign branch with guaranteed service (required by the headquarters). Because of a high fixed order cost, the branch orders the component rather infrequently, causing high expediting costs at the home plant. Our purpose is to help the headquarters to improve the supply chain efficiency. We show that under certain conditions, the headquarters can coordinate the supply chain by setting an upper bound on the expediting frequency. If these conditions fail to hold, a simple fixed cost‐sharing contract coordinates the supply chain. When centralized control is too costly or infeasible, the headquarters may delegate the contract design rights to the subunits. If the home plant receives the rights, the supply chain performance can be significantly improved (sometimes to near optimality). These results provide guidance to the headquarters on whether, when, and to whom to delegate the coordination initiatives.
Putative fusogenic activity of NSF is restricted to a lipid mixture whose coalescence is also triggered by other factors

It has recently been reported that N‐ethylmaleimide‐sensitive fusion ATPase (NSF) can fuse protein‐free liposomes containing substantial amounts of 1,2‐dioleoylphosphatidylserine (DOPS) and 1,2‐dioleoyl‐phosphatidyl‐ethanolamine (DOPE) ( Otter‐Nilsson et al., 1999 ). The authors impart physiological significance to this observation and propose to re‐conceptualize the general role of NSF in fusion processes. We can confirm that isolated NSF can fuse liposomes of the specified composition. However, this activity of NSF is resistant to inactivation by N‐ethylmaleimide and does not depend on the presence of α‐SNAP (soluble NSF‐attachment protein). Moreover, under the same conditions, either α‐SNAP, other proteins apparently unrelated to vesicular transport (glyceraldehyde‐3‐phosphate dehydrogenase or lactic dehydrogenase) or even 3 mM magnesium ions can also cause lipid mixing. In contrast, neither NSF nor the other proteins nor magnesium had any significant fusogenic activity with liposomes composed of a biologically occurring mixture of lipids. A straightforward explanation is that the lipid composition chosen as optimal for NSF favors non‐specific fusion because it is physically unstable when formed into liposomes. A variety of minor perturbations could then trigger coalescence.
Mode basis construction for open dielectric circular waveguide by integral equation method

A lot of electromagnetic problems that require application of Time Domain (TD) methods have appeared recently. Among such is the problem of pulse signals propagation in open dielectric waveguides. This problem emerges in analysis of ultrashort pulse propagation in optic and photonic waveguides (fibers), pulse radiation of dielectric rod antennas.
Accelerated neutrophil apoptosis in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Neutrophil (PMNL) function defects occur as a consequence of HIV infection. This study examined PMNL apoptosis in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) to determine if accelerated apoptosis contributes to impaired function. PMNL were isolated from 10 HIV-infected patients with CD4+ lymphocyte counts < 200/mm3 without signs of active infection and 7 healthy volunteers. PMNL were stained with acridine orange and ethidium bromide after 0, 3, 6, and 18 h in culture, and examined for the morphologic changes of apoptosis and viability by fluorescent microscopy. Apoptosis was also demonstrated by electron microscopy, flow cytometry, and DNA gel electrophoresis. Apoptosis was minimal at 0 h, but PMNL from AIDS patients exhibited significantly greater apoptosis than controls at 3 h (22.5+/-11.5 vs. 8.9+/-6.9%, P = 0.015), 6 h (38.1+/-14.2 vs. 18.1+/-4.5%, P = 0.003), and 18 h (71.3+/-19.0 vs. 38.8+/-16.7%, P = 0.002). Viabilities were > or = 88.0% for both groups from 0-6 h, but by 18 h viability was significantly decreased for the HIV group (58.8+/-12.4 vs. 83.5+/-10.4%, P = 0.001) due to an increase in non-viable apoptotic cells. Incubation with serum from AIDS patients had no effect on control PMNL, and incubation with control serum did not reduce the rate of apoptosis of PMNL from AIDS patients. Incubation with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in vitro significantly decreased apoptosis for PMNL from AIDS patients. PMNL from patients with AIDS exhibit markedly accelerated apoptosis ex vivo. In vivo, apoptosis and functional impairment of PMNL may contribute to the risk of secondary infections, and cytokine therapy may be of potential clinical benefit in this circumstance.
Integration of chemotaxis, transport and catabolism in Pseudomonas putida and identification of the aromatic acid chemoreceptor PcaY

Aromatic and hydroaromatic compounds that are metabolized through the β‐ketoadipate catabolic pathway serve as chemoattractants for Pseudomonas putida F1. A screen of P. putida F1 mutants, each lacking one of the genes encoding the 18 putative methyl‐accepting chemotaxis proteins (MCPs), revealed that pcaY encodes the MCP required for metabolism–independent chemotaxis to vanillate, vanillin, 4‐hydroxybenzoate, benzoate, protocatechuate, quinate, shikimate, as well as 10 substituted benzoates that do not serve as growth substrates for P. putida F1. Chemotaxis was induced during growth on aromatic compounds, and an analysis of a pcaY‐lacZ fusion revealed that pcaY is expressed in the presence of β‐ketoadipate, a common intermediate in the pathway. pcaY expression also required the transcriptional activator PcaR, indicating that pcaY is a member of the pca regulon, which includes three unlinked gene clusters that encode five enzymes required for the conversion of 4‐hydroxybenzoate to tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates as well as the major facilitator superfamily transport protein PcaK. The 4‐hydroxybenzoate permease PcaK was shown to modulate the chemotactic response by facilitating the uptake of 4‐hydroxybenzoate, which leads to the accumulation of β‐ketoadipate, thereby increasing pcaY expression. The results show that chemotaxis, transport and metabolism of aromatic compounds are intimately linked in P. putida.
Antecedents and Consequences of User Coproduction in Information System Development Projects

Based on a coproduction concept highlighted by service-dominant logic, this study attempts to understand the antecedents and consequences of user coproduction in information system development projects. As a key contribution, we posit that user coproduction is influenced by social capital between users and developers; we then postulate that user coproduction determines the project outcomes. Paired data collected from both user representatives and developers by using a survey approach was used to test proposed hypotheses. The results showed that user coproduction has a positively significant influence on project outcomes, and social capital between user representatives and developers is also associated with user coproduction.
Representing Earth Science Concepts through Slowmation: Influences on Conceptual Change

It is well known that students arrive in science classrooms with pre-instructional ideas about science phenomena, and that often students’ ideas are not scientifically accurate representations of these phenomena. This research project will engage Year 9 Science students in the creation of a slowmation to represent an Earth Science concept that has been misrepresented in popular culture, in an effort to support their conceptual change towards an accepted scientific understanding. A slowmation representation is a form of stop-motion animation. During the process of creating a slowmation representation, students will manipulate and photograph a range of materials to represent an Earth Science concept, and display the photographs in quick succession to create an animation. Students will then add their own narration that explains the concept. This research aims to determine: (1) Does the process of creating a slowmation representation have a significant effect on students’ conceptual development in Earth Science? (2) How does the process of creating a slowmation representation influence students’ conceptual development? and (3) To what extent does students’ interest generated by the project influence their conceptual development? The project responds to calls for more in-depth research into the value of student-generated animation in science education (Hoban, Loughran, & Nielsen, 2011; Hoban & Nielsen, 2012), and contributes to the few studies that investigate the relationship between interest and conceptual change (Sinatra & Mason, 2013; Treagust & Duit, 2008).
Development and implementation of guidelines for family practice: lessons from The Netherlands.

The development of practice policies or clinical guidelines has recently met with great popularity in many coun­ tries. 1-4 National consensus development, modeled after the original National Institutes o f Health procedure, can be seen in Canada, Scandinavian countries, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and elsewhere. A more recent initiative is the clinical guideline develop­ ment by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) in the United States,5 Guidelines are also de­ veloped on a large scale by professional bodies and by regional or local groups o f care providers and other organ­ izations.2 Guideline setting is now considered by most policymakers and professional organizations o f care pro­ viders to be a priority, and essential for the improvement of the quality and efficiency in health care. A crucial question in this development is: how effec­ tive are all these different approaches for setting guide­ lines? This paper outlines a m ethod for national guideline development for family practice in the Netherlands and provides a comparison o f this m ethod with that of the AHCPR in the United States.6-*9 In the Netherlands, na­ tional guidelines for family practice care have been devel­ oped and disseminated in a rigorous, structured manner since 1987.10-12 More than 45 o f these guidelines cover­ ing a wide range o f topics have been disseminated among more than 80% o f all Dutch family physicians. Using a systematic updating program, which was started in 1991, eight to ten new topics are addressed each year. The guidelines are developed by the Dutch College of General Practitioners (N H G ), the scientific organization o f family physicians, while the National Association of Family Phy­ sicians (LHV, the “ union” ) is responsible for their imple­
Discrimination of Human Pathogenic Subspecies of Francisella tularensis by Using Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism

ABSTRACT We describe the use of two insertion sequence elements (ISFtu1 and ISFtu2) in Francisella tularensis to type strains by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). The RFLP profiles of 17 epidemiologically unrelated isolates were determined and compared. Our results showed that RFLP profiles can be used to assign F. tularensis strains into five main groups corresponding to strains of F. tularensis subsp. tularensis, F. tularensis strain ATCC 6223, strains of F. tularensis subsp. holarctica, strains of F. tularensis subsp. holarctica from Japan, and F. tularensis subsp. mediaasiatica. The results confirm the genetic identities of these subspecies and also support the suggestion that strains of F. tularensis subsp. holarctica from Japan should be considered members of a separate biovar. These findings should support future studies to determine the genetic differences between strains of F. tularensis at the whole-genome level.
SHORTER SPERM CONFER HIGHER COMPETITIVE FERTILIZATION SUCCESS

Abstract Spermatozoa exhibit taxonomically widespread patterns of divergent morphological evolution. However, the adaptive significance of variation in sperm morphology remains unclear. In this study we examine the role of natural variation in sperm length on fertilization success in the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus. We conducted sperm competition trials between males that differed in the length of their sperm and determined the paternity of resulting offspring using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. We also quantified variation in the size and shape of the female's sperm storage organ to determine whether female morphology influenced the competitiveness of different sperm morphologies. We found that fertilization success was biased toward males with relatively shorter sperm, but that selection on sperm length was dependent on female tract morphology; selection was directional for reduced sperm length across most of the spermathecal size range, but stabilizing in females with the smallest spermathecae. Our data provide empirical support for the theory that sperm competition should favor the evolution of numerous tiny sperm. Moreover, because sperm length is both heritable and genetically correlated with condition, our results are consistent with a process by which females can accrue genetic benefits for their offspring from the incitement of sperm competition and/or cryptic female choice, as proposed by the “sexy sperm” and “good sperm” models for the evolution of polyandry.
Influence of the Blood Meal Source on the Development of Triatoma infestans, Triatoma brasiliensis, Triatoma sordida, and Triatoma pseudomaculata (Heteroptera, Reduviidae)

Abstract The objective of this study was to determine the influence of the blood meal source on the life cycle and reproductive development of female Triatoma infestans (Klug, 1834), Triatoma brasiliensis Neiva, 1911, Triatoma sordida (Stal, 1859), and Triatoma pseudomaculata Corrêa & Espínola, 1964. In all triatomine species studied the life cycle was shorter for the groups fed on mice than for those fed on pigeons, the range of differences being between 1.5 times (T. pseudomaculata and T. infestans) and 2.4 times (T. brasiliensis). The mortality rate of nymphs during the life cycle tended to be greater in insects fed on pigeons than in those fed on mice, the differences for T. brasiliensis being statistically significant. Females of T. sordida and T. pseudomaculata had a greater fecundity than those of T. infestans and T. brasiliensis independently of the blood meal source. The differences of fecundity observed probably reflect differences in the availability of blood in the silvatic ecotopes of these species, meals being more frequent for T. infestans and T. brasiliensis, which live at high densities in association with rodents in highly stable ecotopes. Because T. sordida and T. pseudomaculata live in more unstable ecotopes with fewer sources of blood they form small sparse colonies and invest more energy in reproduction than maintenance.
Trading Volume and Different Aspects of Disagreement Coincident with Earnings Announcements

This paper investigates the association between disagreement coincident with earnings announcements and investors' trading decisions. Theory suggests that trading volume arises because of investor disagreement, but disagreement is a multi-faceted construct. We find that three distinctlydifferent aspects of disagreement each play an incremental role in explaining trading volume around earnings announcements, even after controlling for the magnitude of the contemporaneous price change. These aspects of disagreement are: dispersion in prior beliefs, divergence in beliefs, and belief jumbling. Dispersion in prior beliefs is the cross-sectional variation in expectations before the earnings announcement, divergence in beliefs is the change in the dispersion in beliefs, and belief jumbling occurs when investors' beliefs change positions relative to each other. Our results indicate that each of these three aspects of disagreement coincident with earnings announcements affects investors' real economic (i.e., trading) decisions.
SecA2 functions in the secretion of superoxide dismutase A and in the virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Tuberculosis remains a severe worldwide health threat. A thorough understanding of Mycobacterium tuberculosis pathogenesis will facilitate the development of new treatments for tuberculosis. Numerous bacterial pathogens possess specialized protein secretion systems that are dedicated to the export of virulence factors. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is part of a developing group of pathogenic bacteria that share the uncommon property of possessing two secA genes (secA1 and secA2). In mycobacteria, SecA1 is the essential ‘housekeeping’ SecA protein whereas SecA2 is an accessory secretion factor. Here we demonstrate that SecA2 contributes to the pathogenesis of M. tuberculosis. A deletion of the secA2 gene in M. tuberculosis attenuates the virulence of the organism in mice. By comparing the profile of proteins secreted by wild‐type M. tuberculosis and the ΔsecA2 mutant, we identified superoxide dismutase A (SodA) as a protein dependent on SecA2 for secretion. SodA lacks a classical signal sequence for protein export. Our data suggests that SecA2‐dependent export is a new type of secretion pathway that is part of a virulence mechanism of M. tuberculosis to elude the oxidative attack of macrophages.
An Ethiopian birth cohort study.

A one-year birth cohort was studied in Jimma town, South West Ethiopia, in 1992-93. We report here on the design and on the methods used in the study and describe the principal health outcomes. Infants were visited bimonthly until their first birthday. Background data on the physical, cultural and economic environment of the home were collected at the first visit, and data on nursing and weaning on traditional surgical and other practices, and on vaccination at the first visit and at each subsequent visit. Length, weight and mid upper arm circumference were measured, and details of the mother's handling of illness episodes recorded. Of 1563 children born, 86% were successfully followed to the end of their first year or to an earlier death. There were 141 deaths, indicating an infant mortality of 115/1000 (estimated probability of surviving to 1 year 0.8851, with s.e. 0.0101). The mean length and weight of the singleton infants at the end of their first year was -1.41 and -1.52 SD from the median of the NCHS/WHO reference population. Weights throughout the first year were analysed in more detail using a Reed model, fitted as a random coefficient regression model in ML3-E. There were clear differences in growth across the different ethnic groups, with the best growing group weighing on average about 1 kg more at the end of the first year than the groups growing least well.
Cardiopulmonary Effects of Endothelin‐1 in the Guinea Pig: Role of Thromboxane A2

Summary: The effects of endothelin-1 (ET-1) on the cardiovascular and bronchial systems were examined in a heart/lung preparation of guinea pig. The role of arachidonic acid metabolites through cyclo-oxygenase (COX) and lipoxygenase (LOX) pathways was investigated. Bolus injection of ET-1 (25–400 ng) caused dose-related bronchoconstriction, pulmonary vascular hypertension, and cardiac output reduction. When indomethacin (30 μM) or the thromboxane receptor antagonist Bay u 3405 (1 μM) were added to the perfusing blood, the cardiopulmonary effects of ET-1 were almost completely abolished. Conversely, the presence of the LOX inhibitor Bay x 1005 (10 μM) did not affect the ET-1 produced actions. We concluded that ET-1 exerts both bronchial and pulmonary vascular effects through an indirect mechanism. COX products, most likely thromboxane A2 but not arachidonic acid metabolites via the LOX pathway, make the major contribution to the bronchoconstrictor and pulmonary vascular hypertensive effects of ET-1.
Institutional dynamics and capital accumulation: Evidence from Namibia and Tanzania

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of institutions on fixed capital accumulation over time in two developing countries, both former German colonies: Namibia and Tanzania. This is motivated by two recent underpinning theories: the new institutional theory, which views institutions as fundamental determinants of economic outcomes and income variations among countries (the institutional hypothesis); and the theory of irreversible investment under uncertainty, which emphasis the impact of uncertainty on investment and capital-stock accumulation. Using the theoretical framework of irreversible investment under uncertainty, we apply the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM). The findings highlight the importance of uncertainty (political instability) in explaining capital accumulation over time in Namibia. The empirical evidence for Tanzania indicates the importance of property rights in explaining capital accumulation over time.
Influence of branch geometry on radiation field characteristics from lightning return strokes in the time domain

Due to the disappearance of the geometric symmetry produced by the branches of the lightning channel, the characteristic of the radiation field is analyzed in 3-D rectangular coordinates using the FDTD method. Generalized perfectly matched layer (GMPL) is adopted in the underground to calculate absorbing boundary region with the finite conductivity of the ground. The results show that the effect of branch is to introduce free structure into the time-domain radiation field waveform and consequently to increase the higher-frequency content. Furthermore the relationship between the fractal dimension and space orientation and relative position from the main channel and the generated EM fields in the time domain is also discussed in detail.