Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differences in Decision Making Factors and Process in Residential Choice Focusing on Planned Residential Duration

This study analyzes both the strategies residents implement, and the factors they consider when planning residential choice. In addition, it aims to suggest how policy can improve the social capital of communities through residential derivation or relocation of public facilities. The data for this analysis was collected via a questionnaire, targeting apartment dwellers in the inner-city areas of Sendai, Japan. The questionnaire was distributed by hand, and collected by mail. The respondents were classified into two groups based on Planned Residential Duration (PRD): the Long PRD group and the Short PRD group. After examining the data, statistical analyses revealed the following findings: 1) that the importance of factors for residential choice could vary depending on planned residential duration, 2) and that decision making strategy could also vary contingent on planned residential duration. Finally, some implications for the formation of wealthy communities and the distribution of educational facilities were discussed.
Effect of complete sulfation of bile acids on bile formation in rats

The effect of sulfation of common bile acids on the formation of bile was investigated in male rats by infusing them with the sulfate esters of cholic, chenodeoxycholic, deoxycholic, lithocholic or dehydrocholic acid in four step‐wise, increasing doses. Each dose was infused for 30 min and bile collected every 10 min. Control studies were performed by using either albumin solution (the bile acid carrier) or corresponding nonsulfated bile acids at concentrations similar to those of the sulfated products. The secretion of sulfated bile acids was slower and less than that of nonsulfated bile acids, demonstrating transport maximum kinetics rather than the secretory rate maximum characteristic of nonsulfated bile acids. Sulfation significantly increased bile salt‐independent bile flow and the choleretic potency of the bile acids tested. With the exception of deoxycholic acid, which had a slight stimulatory effect, bile acid sulfation generally prevented a rise in bile acid‐dependent phospholipid and cholesterol secretion. In fact, it reduced biliary phospholipid and cholesterol secretion associated with the secretion of endogenous bile acids. These data are in agreement with the physicochemical properties of sulfated bile acids. They indicate that sulfation prevents the cholestatic action of nonsulfated bile acids, perhaps by increasing bile flow via a high choleretic potential and/or by stimulating bile acid‐independent bile flow. The effect of sulfated bile acids on the secretion of biliary phospholipids may protect the canalicular membrane from the detergent properties of bile acids and may thus block the cholestasis which results from high, nonsulfated bile acid concentrations.
General Public Acceptance of Forest Risk Management Strategies in Sweden: Comparing Three Approaches to Acceptability

Global change calls for more active approaches to forest risk management. To avoid unforeseen backlashes, it is necessary to examine the general public’s acceptance of the risk management strategies. By drawing on different theoretical approaches (threat and prevention, performance evaluations, and forest cognitions), the present study examines predictors of acceptability in the general public in three counties in Sweden (N = 1,026). As expected, appraisals of threat mediated the effect of threat awareness on belief in risk prevention, and when examining performance evaluations, trust in responsible actors influenced acceptability via procedural satisfaction. However, the threat and prevention approach and the performance evaluation approach only explained low levels of the variance in acceptability of the examined strategies. Nevertheless, stronger ecological forest values, and favoring broadleaved forests, were found to be important to the acceptability of proactively implementing a more diverse forest to meet the expected challenges associated with global climate change.
High-isolation WLAN MIMO laptop computer antenna array

An isolation technique for two small-size WLAN MIMO laptop computer antennas covering the 2.4/5.2/5.8 GHz bands is presented. The WLAN MIMO antennas show measured isolation of better than 21 dB in the 2.4 GHz band and 32 dB in the 5.2/5.8 GHz bands. In addition to enhanced isolation, good antenna efficiencies of better than about 70% and 90% respectively in the 2.4 GHz and 5.2/5.8 GHz bands are obtained for the two antennas. The two antennas are of a simple structure comprising a driven strip and a shorted strip, which provides two wide operating bands to cover the 2.4 and 5.2/5.8 GHz bands. Between the two antennas, there is an isolation element formed by a protruded ground plane and a spiral open slot embedded therein. The isolation element leads to enhanced isolation and good antenna efficiencies for the antennas.
Temporal and Spatial Evolution through Images

Image matching algorithms are used in image search, classification and retrieval but are also useful to show how urban structures evolve over time. Images have the power to illustrate and evoke past events and can be used to show the evolution of structures such as buildings and other elements present in the urban landscape. The paper describes a process and a tool to provide a chronological journey through time, given a set of photographs from different time periods. The developed tool provides the ability to generate visualizations of a geographic location, given a set of related images, taken at different periods in time. It automatically processes comparisons of images and establishes relationships between them. It also offers a semi-automated method to define relationships between parts of images.
Characterizing complex phenotypes in metabolism : an "omics"-driven systems approach

The advent of high-throughput technologies has resulted in an explosion of molecular data. A major challenge is found in interpreting and understanding these different types of data sets at a phenotypic level. Systems biology has capitalized on these technologies by consolidating various types of biological information into structured networks for their analysis and computation. The bottom-up systems biology approach, in particular, has been crucial in providing mechanistic foundations for systems-level modeling in microorganisms, and its extension to eukaryotic metabolism has made it possible to elucidate complex phenotypes in a systematic manner. The work presented in this dissertation describes the integrative use of high-throughput data and genome-scale network reconstructions to characterize complex phenotypes of eukaryotic metabolism. First, the genome-scale reconstructions of yeast and human metabolism are discussed, which provide the contextual basis in which omics data is analyzed. Previously developed constraint- based modeling approaches were refined to analyze omics data sets, in particular for transcriptomic and metabolomic data. Finally, example applications are presented in the evaluation of physiological and perturbed metabolic states of yeast and human cellular systems. The studies discussed herein are: (1) analyzing drug response phenotypes of human metabolism; (2) evaluating genetic and environmentally perturbed processes in yeast ammonium assimilation; and (3) characterizing the pluripotent phenotype of embryonic stem cell metabolism. The work described in these studies represents advancement towards integrating bottom-up and data-driven approaches to understanding broader omics -to-phenotype relationships
A statistical model for grammar mapping

Abstract The two main classes of grammars are (a) hand-crafted grammars, which are developed by language experts, and (b) data-driven grammars, which are extracted from annotated corpora. This paper introduces a statistical method for mapping the elementary structures of a data-driven grammar onto the elementary structures of a hand-crafted grammar in order to combine their advantages. The idea is employed in the context of Lexicalized Tree-Adjoining Grammars (LTAG) and tested on two LTAGs of English: the hand-crafted LTAG developed in the XTAG project, and the data-driven LTAG, which is automatically extracted from the Penn Treebank and used by the MICA parser. We propose a statistical model for mapping any elementary tree sequence of the MICA grammar onto a proper elementary tree sequence of the XTAG grammar. The model has been tested on three subsets of the WSJ corpus that have average lengths of 10, 16, and 18 words, respectively. The experimental results show that full-parse trees with average F1-scores of 72.49, 64.80, and 62.30 points could be built from 94.97%, 96.01%, and 90.25% of the XTAG elementary tree sequences assigned to the subsets, respectively. Moreover, by reducing the amount of syntactic lexical ambiguity of sentences, the proposed model significantly improves the efficiency of parsing in the XTAG system.
Blessed Mary, Forgive Us Our Deficits

Many studies have explored the medium-term determinants of current account balances. This paper contributes to the existing literature by introducing religious variables that until now have been omitted. We propose that Catholic countries tend to run current account deficits. This result remains robust even if we include both the official financial flows and the variables measuring the quality of institutions. In total we control for close to all of the variables that have been included in previous studies. To rationalize our result we consulted the World Values Survey and discovered that Roman Catholics do not consider thrift as important as other religious groups.
How anatomy can guide ablation in isthmic atrial flutter.

Creation of a complete bidirectional conduction block across the inferior right atrial cavo-tricuspid isthmus is the accepted marker for long-term success in patients with isthmus-dependent atrial flutter.1,2 However, it may be extremely difficult to achieve or its effect is temporary in some patients.3–5 Histopathologic findings have demonstrated that transmural ablation of the atrial wall is a prerequisite for success.6–8 Factors making it difficult to obtain a complete, transmural, and permanent ablation line across the inferior isthmus may be haemodynamic but also anatomical owing to the variable and complex endocardial geometry of the isthmic region, and the unpredictable content of atrial myocardium and fibro-fatty tissues at different locations of this atrial territory. The cavo-tricuspid isthmus is limited posteriorly by the Eustachian valve/ridge and anteriorly by the annular insertion of the septal leaflet of the triscuspid valve. Post-mortem and in vivo imaging examination in normal hearts and in patients with atrial flutter have pointed to the anatomic variability of the dimensions, endocardial geometry, and muscular architecture across the anatomic landmarks of the inferior right atrium and its impact as anatomic determinant for catheter ablation.9–17 As displayed in attitudinally orientation, the isthmus shows on its endocardial surface an irregular quadrilateral shape. The superior border of the quadrilateral is the paraseptal isthmus (so-called septal isthmus) extending between the septal insertion of the Eustachian valve just above or posterior to the orifice of the coronary sinus, and the most inferior paraseptal insertion of the tricuspid valve. The inferolateral border of the quadrilateral area contained pectinate muscles … *Corresponding author. Tel: +34 91 902151016; fax: +34 915183232. E-mail address : jacabrera.mad{at}quiron.es or jac11339{at}yahoo.co.uk
PREVALENCE AND DIVERSITY OF BARTONELLA SPECIES IN WILD SMALL MAMMALS IN ASIA

Abstract We collected 641 small mammals belonging to 17 species of Rodentia and four species of Soricomorpha in Japan, Korea, Russia, Taiwan, and Thailand and investigated the prevalence and genetic diversity of Bartonella species. Apodemus (field mice) and Rattus (rats) were the most-common genera captured, making up 56.0% and 23.1% of the total specimens, respectively. Bartonellae were isolated from 54.6% of the collected animals, and the prevalence varied depending on the host species and the country of origin. The isolates were identified to the species level based on gltA and rpoB sequences. Although most Bartonella species were shared by more than two host species, the distribution patterns of Bartonella species clearly differed among the four most-common host genera: Apodemus, Rattus, Myodes (voles), and Suncus (shrews). The predominant Bartonella species were Bartonella grahamii in Apodemus, Bartonella tribocorum in Rattus, B. grahamii and Bartonella taylorii in Myodes, and an unclassified Bartonella sp. in Suncus.
Threshold effects in the relationship between oil revenues and growth in oil exporting countries

While there is much evidence to support the resource curse hypothesis for resource abundant countries, some studies have found that oil booms raise the economic growth of oil exporting countries. This paper examines the issue of the existence of the threshold effects in the relationship between oil revenues and output growth in oil-exporting countries, applying panel regressions. The empirical results strongly suggest the existence of a threshold beyond which oil revenues growth exerts a negative effect on output. The results indicate that the threshold of growth rate of oil revenues above which oil revenues significantly slows growth is around 18–19 percent for oil exporting countries. In contrast, linear estimation without any allowance for threshold effects would misleadingly have us believe that an increase in the oil revenues increase the growth rate. Failure to account for nonlinearities conceal the resource curse in these countries particularly during extreme oil booms as suggested in previous studies.
Genetic Variation among Hospital Isolates of Methicillin-Sensitive Staphylococcus aureus: Evidence for Horizontal Transfer of Virulence Genes

ABSTRACT Staphylococcus aureus strains often carry in their genomes virulence genes that are not found in all strains and that may be carried on discrete genetic elements. Strains also differ in that they carry one of four classes of an accessory gene regulator (agr) locus, an operon that regulates virulence factor expression and that has been proposed to be a therapeutic target. To look at their distribution among hospital strains, we investigated 38 methicillin-sensitive S. aureus isolates, classifying the isolates by agr class and screening them for the presence and restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) of 12 core and 14 accessory virulence genes. Twenty-three (61%) wereagr class I, 10 (26%) were agr class II, and 5 (13%) were agr class III. None were agr class IV. The S. aureus strains had distinguishable RFLP profiles, although clusters of isolates with clearly related core gene profiles were found among our strains, including all fiveagr class III strains, two sets of six strains withinagr class I, and six strains within agr class II. Within these clusters there was evidence of horizontal acquisition and/or loss of multiple accessory virulence genes. Furthermore, two isolates from the same patient were identical except for the presence of the sea gene, indicating that movement of mobile elements may occur in vivo. Several strong correlations with the carriage of virulence genes between strains were seen, including a positive correlation between tst and agr class III and negative correlations between tst andlukE-splB and between lukE-splB andseg-sei. This suggests that the core genome or the presence of accessory genetic elements within a strain may influence acquisition and loss of other elements encoding virulence genes.
Central bank indepedence and inflation performance in transition economies: new evidence from a primary data approach

In this paper we investigate the impact of Central Bank Independence (CBI) on average inflation and inflation variability for 22 transition economies over the time period of 1991-2003. We devise a new index to represent actual CBI rather then legislative independence. The empirical evidence suggests that Central Bank Independence lowers both average inflation and inflation variability.
Basic studies of optical nanoantennas

A shunt stub is employed to match the antenna impedance of a nanodipole to that of a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) waveguide. A rectangular spiral fed by the MIM wave-guide radiates a circularly polarized wave, with a high radiation efficiency of 0.95 being retained.
Potential functions of LEA proteins from the brine shrimp Artemia franciscana – anhydrobiosis meets bioinformatics

Late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins are a large group of anhydrobiosis-associated intrinsically disordered proteins, which are commonly found in plants and some animals. The brine shrimp Artemia franciscana is the only known animal that expresses LEA proteins from three, and not only one, different groups in its anhydrobiotic life stage. The reason for the higher complexity in the A. franciscana LEA proteome (LEAome), compared with other anhydrobiotic animals, remains mostly unknown. To address this issue, we have employed a suite of bioinformatics tools to evaluate the disorder status of the Artemia LEAome and to analyze the roles of intrinsic disorder in functioning of brine shrimp LEA proteins. We show here that A. franciscana LEA proteins from different groups are more similar to each other than one originally expected, while functional differences among members of group three are possibly larger than commonly anticipated. Our data show that although these proteins are characterized by a large variety of forms and possible functions, as a general strategy, A. franciscana utilizes glassy matrix forming LEAs concurrently with proteins that more readily interact with binding partners. It is likely that the function(s) of both types, the matrix-forming and partner-binding LEA proteins, are regulated by changing water availability during desiccation.
Taking "All Men Are Created Equal" Seriously: Toward a Metric for the Intergroup Comparison of Utility Functions Through Life Values

Abstract The use of wage differential techniques to estimate the value of a statistical life (VSL) leads to the conclusion that willingness to pay for risk reduction increases with income. However, the use of this result in policy-relevant calculations, such as benefit-cost analysis, has led to criticism among ethicists and the lay public, at the same time as it has been defended in the economic literature. In this paper, we argue that differential valuation measures not a differential value that individuals place upon their own lives, but a differential value that they place upon marginal economic resources. Using two sets of VSL estimates from metastudies, we provide an initial estimate of the relative marginal value of income, allowing interpersonal comparison at the societal level. With these results, we propose an empirically determined, ethically justifiable social welfare function that can be easily incorporated into benefit-cost analysis and that has important implications for development economics, although more work is necessary to provide a robust estimate.
Design of a sustainable reverse supply chain in a remanufacturing environment: A case study of proton-exchange membrane fuel cell battery in Riyadh

This article presents the design for a sustainable reverse supply chain network for remanufacturing the proton-exchange membrane fuel cell used in hydrogen vehicles. An optimization model with multiple objectives is proposed. In this article, a multi-objective optimization model is proposed and used to design a near-optimal reverse supply chain network that satisfies economic, environmental, and societal objectives, which are combined into one multi-objective function. An end-of-life proton-exchange membrane fuel cell battery collection in Riyadh city is the subject of the designed network. This model is found to be capable of choosing collection centers (drop-off) from a set of available centers and selecting a facility location for the remanufacturing plant. The model also serves as a tool to carry out analyses under different scenarios, as well as future changes in the factors that influence the designed reverse supply chain network, such as the hydrogen tax credit and the CO2 emissions cap. The output of this research facilitates the transition from oil-dependent to renewable energy transportation by providing a solution for its end-of-life products. The output of this article is considered as preparedness plan to help countries who seek transition from oil-dependent transportation to a system that uses renewable energy.
Developmental approaches covering context area mobile applications service oriented architecture and model driven architecture

Model Driven Architecture (MDA), as we consider the growing significance and utility of modeling in the development of software and solutions, it reflects the benefits of MDA to transform one PIM into several PSMs, each for platform or technology in which the final system will be deployed, and the automatic code generation that implements the system for those platforms from the corresponding PSMs. Service-oriented architectures (SOA) are also presented as the key to business agility, especially when combined with a model-driven approach. Model-Driven Architecture (MDA) is a well-developed idea that fits well with SOA, but as of today, it has been a specialized technique that is beyond practical application scope of most enterprises. We describe the MDA and SOA abstract components to be useful in mobile business applications in the future, allowing to add the features of the two modeling architectures, concentrating on the classification of models that is embodied individually. The framework given, a unified modeling architecture, which illustrates how the two architectures can be brought together into one.
Anatomic Locking Plate for Displaced Intraarticular Calcaneal Fracture: Design and Application

ABSTRACT Calcaneal fracture can lead to long‐term disability and have a considerable economic effect. Most calcaneal fractures are intraarticular fractures involving the posterior facet of the subtalar joint. Treating displaced intraarticular calcaneal fractures is complicated because of the lack of an optimal treatment option. Internal fixation typically involves screw‐and‐plate implants, which can be unfavorable owing to the lack of an anatomic design and the intraoperative bending required for the plate to contour to the irregular surface of the calcaneus. We assessed the outcomes of 30 patients treated using innovative, anatomically designed calcaneal locking plates and the perceived advantages for surgeons. Postoperative computed tomography images of the affected feet were obtained, and the functional performance was recorded. The mean average Böhler angle had increased significantly from 16.8° ± 14.9° to 28.5° ± 9.4° (p < .001). The mean average maximal fracture gap and maximal step‐off in the posterior facet of the subtalar joint in the coronal computed tomography images also decreased significantly from 2.8 ± 3.7 mm to 0.8 ± 1.3 mm (p < .01) and from 3.3 ± 2.8 mm to 0.8 ± 1.2 mm (p < .001), respectively. The mean average American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Ankle‐Hindfoot scale score was 93.9 ± 7.1 at the final follow‐up visit. In addition, the surgical time was reduced because bending the plate was not required and the quality of reduction could be assessed easily by examining the gap between the cortex and the plate. The results were promising, revealing that the anatomic locking plate can be used effectively in the treatment of displaced intraarticular calcaneal fractures using simple reduction techniques with a potentially shortened operating time.