Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The End of Sprawl? Not so Fast

Abstract This article takes a careful look at the recent state of sprawl among America’s 178 largest metropolitan areas through the lens of four sets of questions: (a) Measured at the metropolitan level, is sprawl really declining? Is it declining everywhere, or just in selected metropolitan areas? (b) If sprawl is indeed declining, are more compact growth forms on the rise? (c) If sprawl is indeed declining, is it the result of antisprawl land use and development policies? (d) Which metropolitan-level land market, demographic, and economic factors are most associated with changes in sprawl? It concludes that sprawl is indeed declining when measured by average population densities, but that the decline has been much less widespread if measured in terms of population growth in core-area neighborhoods, changing density gradient intercept and slope estimates, and increased employment clustering. In terms of policy, it finds no evidence that local regulatory regimes or growth management programs have had any effect on sprawl, but finds that the consistent administration of local regulatory programs in ways that incentivize infill development and send consistent signals to developers does contribute to reduced sprawl.
Automated modelling of the transmembrane region of G-protein coupled receptor by Swiss-model.

Molecular modelling of the transmembrane helices of G-protein coupled receptors is an increasingly used method to identify the possible three-dimensional environment of key residues. Thereby site-directed mutagenesis experiments, aimed at the understanding of the receptor-ligand interactions, can be designed in a rational way. The modelling methods are however not generally available to experimentalists, and often require expensive software and hardware. To overcome these limitations, we have constructed a World Wide Web server for the automated protein modelling of user-defined transmembrane helices. The service is freely available at this address: http:/(/)expasy.hcuge. ch/swissmod/SWISS-MODEL. ++ +html.
Integrating the Front End: A Highly Integrated RF Front End for High-SHF Wide-Band Massive MIMO in 5G

Fifth-generation (5G) mobile communications will need to accommodate huge traffic demands in the near future. Massive multipleinput/multiple-output (MIMO) technology utilizing hundreds of antenna elements has drawn attention as a key antenna configuration for envisioned 5G applications. Realizing the massive MIMO concept of active phased-array antennas (APAAs) for 5G will require small-size, low-power-consumption, and highly accurate phase control over the wide-band frequency range, which poses significant challenges for the RF front end. This article describes prototyped highly integrated RF front ends for high super-high-frequency (SHF) wide-band massive MIMO in 5G.
The Affordable Care Act as retiree health insurance: implications for retirement and Social Security claiming

This paper investigates the effects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on retirement. The first part of the paper is a difference-in-difference analysis of changes in retirement (and retirement expectations) before and after adoption of the ACA. We find no statistically significant evidence that ACA increased the propensity to retire or changed retirement expectations. The second part of the analysis is based on a structural retirement model. For those age 50 at the time ACA was introduced, the overall reduction in full-time work over the age span 54–65 is simulated to be about 0.1 percentage points. Data are from the Health and Retirement Study.
Radially Polarized Annular-Slot Leaky-Wave Antenna for Three-Dimensional Near-Field Microwave Focusing

Microwave three-dimensional near-field focusing with radial polarization using a holographic annular-slot antenna is demonstrated in this letter. This radial polarization can generate axially polarized focused fields in the near-field regime, which complements the more conventional synthesis of transversally polarized near-field focusing patterns. Moreover, it is shown that more symmetrical focal region is obtained thanks to the radial polarization for similar Fresnel number N and operation frequency. The theory is demonstrated with experiments for a design operating at 10 GHz, with aperture diameter D=6λ and a Fresnel number N=4.
Diverse mitogenic agents induce the phosphorylation of two related 42,000-dalton proteins on tyrosine in quiescent chick cells

Incubation of quiescent chicken embryo cells with platelet-derived growth factor, epidermal growth factor, or serum was found to stimulate phosphorylation of two proteins of ca. 42,000 daltons on tyrosine. These proteins are structurally related to each other and to two proteins phosphorylated on tyrosine under similar conditions in mitogen-treated mouse fibroblasts. Three other very different mitogenic agents, the protease trypsin and the chemically unrelated tumor promoters 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate and teleocidin, stimulated phosphorylation of the same proteins. In all cases, phosphotyrosine was detected in these phosphoproteins. Although additional changes in protein phosphorylation were evident, no other proteins were observed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis which contained increased amounts of phosphotyrosine in mitogen-treated chicken embryo cells. One of these 42,000-dalton proteins was shown previously to be phosphorylated on tyrosine in chicken embryo cells transformed with various retroviruses whose transforming proteins possess tyrosine protein kinase activity. Phosphorylation of the 42,000-dalton proteins could be important in the regulation of cell division.
MMB4 DMS

The objectives of these studies were to determine the cardiopulmonary effects of a single intramuscular administration of 1,1′-methylenebis[4-[(hydroxyimino)methyl]-pyridinium] dimethanesulfonate (MMB4 DMS) on dogs and on the central nervous system in rats. On days 1, 8, 15, and 22, male and female dogs received either vehicle (water for injection/0.5% benzyl alcohol/methane sulfonic acid) or MMB4 DMS (20, 50, or 100 mg/kg). Pulmonary function was evaluated for the first 5 hours after concurrent dosing with cardiovascular monitoring; then cardiovascular monitoring continued for 72 hours after dosing. Rats were dosed once by intramuscular injection with vehicle (water for injection/0.5% benzyl alcohol/methane sulfonic acid) or MMB4 DMS (60, 170, or 340 mg/kg). In dogs, 100 mg/kg MMB4 DMS resulted in increased blood pressure, slightly increased heart rate, slightly prolonged corrected QT, and moderately increased respiratory rate. There were no toxicological effects of MMB4 DMS on neurobehavioral function in rats administered up to 340 mg/kg MMB4 DMS.
Development of a snake-like robot

This paper presents the development of a robot that mimics the movement of a live snake. A prototype robot comprising six links was constructed. Torque actuators between the links modify the robot's shape. Anisotropic friction between the links and the ground generates the force that propels the robot. A control variable that determines actuator angles is used to achieve a wave-like body motion. The corresponding signal is transmitted over a radio link. Two versions of the controller were made: in the first version, the control signal is transmitted from the controller to the robot with no feedback, while the second version includes a feedback connection. Measurements of average velocity and trajectory of the robot were performed with different control parameters. Basic properties of the robot's movement are presented here
A simple capacitor voltage balancing method for nested neutral point clamped inverter

A simple flying-capacitor voltage balancing method for nested neutral point clamped (NNPC) inverter is proposed in this paper. The NNPC inverter is a newly developed four-level voltage source inverter (VSI) with new topology. There are two flying-capacitors in series in each leg in the NNPC inverter. The voltage across each capacitor should be controlled to balance at one-third of DC bus voltage to make the inverter operate normally and all switching devices share the same voltage stress. The proposed capacitor voltage balancing method, which employs proper redundant phase switching states to control capacitor voltages and uses simple control tables to implement the procedure, requiring very few computations, is simple, effective and easy to integrate with any PWM schemes. The proposed method is verified by simulation results.
Mapping amorphous calcium phosphate transformation into crystalline mineral from the cell to the bone in zebrafish fin rays

The continuously forming fin bony rays of zebrafish represent a simple bone model system in which mineralization is temporally and spatially resolved. The mineralized collagen fibrils of the fin bones are identical in structure to those found in all known bone materials. We study the continuous mineralization process within the tissue by using synchrotron microbeam x-ray diffraction and small-angle scattering, combined with cryo-scanning electron microscopy. The former provides information on the mineral phase and the mineral particles size and shape, whereas the latter allows high-resolution imaging of native hydrated tissues. The integration of the two techniques demonstrates that new mineral is delivered and deposited as packages of amorphous calcium phosphate nanospheres, which transform into platelets of crystalline apatite within the collagen matrix.
Integrated detection of both 5-mC and 5-hmC by high-throughput tag sequencing technology highlights methylation reprogramming of bivalent genes during cellular differentiation

5-methylcytosine (5-mC) can be oxidized to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC). Genome-wide profiling of 5-hmC thus far indicates 5-hmC may not only be an intermediate form of DNA demethylation but could also constitute an epigenetic mark per se. Here we describe a cost-effective and selective method to detect both the hydroxymethylation and methylation status of cytosines in a subset of cytosines in the human genome. This method involves the selective glucosylation of 5-hmC residues, short-Sequence tag generation and high-throughput sequencing. We tested this method by screening H9 human embryonic stem cells and their differentiated embroid body cells, and found that differential hydroxymethylation preferentially occurs in bivalent genes during cellular differentiation. Especially, our results support hydroxymethylation can regulate key transcription regulators with bivalent marks through demethylation and affect cellular decision on choosing active or inactive state of these genes upon cellular differentiation. Future application of this technology would enable us to uncover the status of methylation and hydroxymethylation in dynamic biological processes and disease development in multiple biological samples.
The innate immune system in demyelinating disease

Summary: Demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis are chronic inflammatory autoimmune diseases with a heterogeneous clinical presentation and course. Both the adaptive and the innate immune systems have been suggested to contribute to their pathogenesis and recovery. In this review, we discuss the role of the innate immune system in mediating demyelinating diseases. In particular, we provide an overview of the anti‐inflammatory or pro‐inflammatory functions of dendritic cells, mast cells, natural killer (NK) cells, NK‐T cells, γδ T cells, microglial cells, and astrocytes. We emphasize the interaction of astroctyes with the immune system and how this interaction relates to the demyelinating pathologies. Given the pivotal role of the innate immune system, it is possible that targeting these cells may provide an effective therapeutic approach for demyelinating diseases.
Structural and functional characterization of CFE88: Evidence that a conserved and essential bacterial protein is a methyltransferase

CFE88 is a conserved essential gene product from Streptococcus pneumoniae. This 227‐residue protein has minimal sequence similarity to proteins of known 3Dstructure. Sequence alignment models and computational protein threading studies suggest that CFE88 is a methyltransferase. Characterization of the conformation and function of CFE88 has been performed by using several techniques. Backbone atom and limited side‐chain atom NMR resonance assignments have been obtained. The data indicate that CFE88 has two domains: an N‐terminal domain with 163 residues and a C‐terminal domain with 64 residues. The C‐terminal domain is primarily helical, while the N‐terminal domain has a mixed helical/extended (Rossmann) fold. By aligning the experimentally observed elements of secondary structure, an initial unrefined model of CFE88 has been constructed based on the X‐ray structure of ErmC′ methyltransferase (Protein Data Bank entry 1QAN). NMR and biophysical studies demonstrate binding of S‐adenosyl‐L‐homocysteine (SAH) to CFE88; these interactions have been localized by NMR to the predicted active site in the N‐terminal domain. Mutants that target this predicted active site (H26W, E46R, and E46W) have been constructed and characterized. Overall, our results both indicate that CFE88 is a methyltransferase and further suggest that the methyltransferase activity is essential for bacterial survival.
An Ontology-based Public Transport Query System

As the most important technology in the development of semantic Web, ontology can help computers not only to understand each other but also to share information on the web. Therefore more and more researchers begin to realize that how important to have their domain ontology supporting for reason within the domain knowledge. In this paper, urban public transport ontology is proposed with the key concepts and relations in transportation system, and established by Protege and Jena software, to help solving some problems existing in transportation system, such as differentiating the same station names and querying with more semantic information. Also, we adopt an improved public transport transfer query algorithm which considers both road conditions and costumer's various needs, including transfer times, walking distance, and price etc. Finally, based on the proposed ontology and the improved query algorithm, we implement a public transport query system, and also do our preliminary experimental verification with six roads, 14 stations and 5 offices. And the experimental results show that our query system has good performance.
The effects of post-adoption beliefs on the expectation–confirmation model in an electronics retail setting

The rise of e-retailing has brought great challenges for bricks-and-mortar retail stores. To avoid the fate of closure, entity stores have adopted various ways of retaining their customers. This study proposes a modified expectation–confirmation model to examine the impact of service quality and store image on customer satisfaction and continuance intention in renovated electronics retail stores. A total of 274 usable questionnaires were collected during business hours after the chain store had been remodelled. The findings suggest that customer satisfaction significantly influences their continuance intention. The expectation and confirmation of store image positively influence customer satisfaction. Moreover, customer satisfaction can be determined by customers’ confirmation rather than by their expectation of service quality.
Immunohistochemical Detection of the BRAF V600E-mutated Protein in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

The V600E mutation of the B-type Raf kinase (BRAF) gene is a common event in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and seems to play a key role in the development and progression of this disease. We evaluated the expression of the mutated BRAF V600E protein in 144 cases of PTC using a novel mutation-specific antibody. Seventy-six PTCs (52.8%) showed unequivocal diffuse cytoplasmic expression of the mutated BRAF protein, and the T1799A point mutation was confirmed by sequencing analysis in selected cases. No statistical difference in V600E BRAF protein expression was seen between microcarcinomas and macrocarcinomas. Further, no significant correlation of V600E expression with clinicopathologic parameters of aggressiveness such as lymph node metastasis, peritumoral infiltration, or perithyroidal infiltration was found. BRAF V600E protein expression was significantly more common in tumors with tall cell or oncocytic features but was less common in tumors with follicular growth pattern. Diffuse sclerosing, solid and follicular variants did not show the mutated BRAF protein. Immunohistochemical detection of the mutated V600E BRAF protein in PTC may facilitate mutational analysis in the clinical setting. Our data show that the expression of the mutated BRAF V600 protein and thus the corresponding BRAF mutation seems not to be per se a marker of aggressiveness but is already seen in clinically indolent microcarcinomas. Nevertheless, the investigation of BRAF V600E protein expression might be of clinical interest especially in therapy-resistant disease, as new therapeutics inhibiting the mutated protein are clinically available.
High efficiency wireless power transmission system against misalignment between coils

We propose a wireless power transfer (WPT) system for application to an unmanned conveyor while driving. The proposed system has rectangular coils intersected to avoid degrading the transmission efficiency owing to axial misalignment. The coupling coefficient k and the matching efficiency are evaluated using electromagnetic and circuit analysis, and it is shown that a rectangular coil is superior to a square coil. Furthermore, we fabricate the proposed WPT system and evaluated its performance. It is confirmed that the characteristics obtained from the experiment are consistent with simulation.
Correlation of cytopathic effect, fluorescent-antibody microneutralization, and plaque reduction test results for determining avian infectious bronchitis virus antibodies

A microneutralization fluorescent-antibody (MFA) test was effective in determining the level of antibodies to avian infectious bronchitis virus. A comparison of the MFA test with the cytopathic effect microneutralization (MNT) test and 50% plaque reduction (PR) test resulted in positive correlations that were significant (P less than 0.001). The PR test was more sensitive than either the MFA or the MNT test, but there was no significant difference between the sensitivities of the MFA and MNT tests. The MFA test has advantages over the PR test in the capacity to test large numbers of sera in a shorter period of time. The MFA test also can be completed in one-half the time required for the MNT test.
Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3β Facilitates Staurosporine- and Heat Shock-induced Apoptosis

The potential role of glycogen synthase kinase-3β in modulating apoptosis was examined in human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. Staurosporine treatment caused time- and concentration-dependent increases in the activities of caspase-3 and caspase-9 but not caspase-1, increased proteolysis of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, and induced morphological changes consistent with apoptosis. Overexpression of glycogen synthase kinase-3β to levels 3.5 times that in control cells did not alter basal indices of apoptosis but potentiated staurosporine-induced activation of caspase-3, caspase-9, proteolysis of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, and morphological changes indicative of apoptosis. Inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase-3β by lithium attenuated the enhanced staurosporine-induced activation of caspase-3 in cells overexpressing glycogen synthase kinase-3β. In cells subjected to heat shock, caspase-3 activity was more than three times greater in glycogen synthase kinase-3β-transfected than control cells, and this potentiated response was inhibited by lithium treatment. Thus, glycogen synthase kinase-3β facilitated apoptosis induced by two experimental paradigms. These findings indicate that glycogen synthase kinase-3β may contribute to pro-apoptotic-signaling activity, that inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase-3β can contribute to anti-apoptotic-signaling mechanisms, and that the neuroprotective actions of lithium may be due in part to its inhibitory modulation of glycogen synthase kinase-3β.
The Influence of Technology on Inclusive Growth through Poverty Reduction

In line with recent growth strategies as well as the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals, countries are faced with achieving sustainable and inclusive growth. While inclusive growth is imposed as important task for countries to accomplish, its conceptualization is rather puzzling and demands more attention. There is no consensus on the concept of inclusiveness and its major determinants let alone on how to operationalise it. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to provide theoretical clarification of the concept and to investigate the influence of technology on inclusive growth, through the process of poverty reduction. In the first part of the thesis a discussion of the literature on inclusive growth is provided together with analysis of the different approaches used in the different definitions of the concept. This part finishes with overview on the empirical attempts to measuring inclusive growth. The second part of the thesis analyses the influence of technology access on inclusive growth, where the poverty reduction is the variable in focus. Regression analysis based on a cross-country data set including more then 100 developing countries indicates that technology access help to reduce poverty. The results show that economic infrastructure have negative correlation with poverty, although the explanatory variables are not robust to changes in poverty measures and changes in specifications.
Effects of a low-volume aerobic-type interval exercise on VO2max and cardiac mass.

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to compare the effects of time-efficient, low-volume interval exercises on cardiorespiratory capacity and left ventricular (LV) mass with traditional continuous exercise in sedentary adults. METHODS Forty-two healthy but sedentary male subjects (age 26.5 ± 6.2 yr) participated in an 8-wk, five times per week, supervised exercise intervention. They were randomly assigned to one of three exercise protocols: sprint interval training (SIT, 5 min, 100 kcal), high-intensity interval aerobic training (HIAT, 13 min, 180 kcal), and continuous aerobic training (CAT, 40 min, 360 kcal). Cardiorespiratory capacity (V˙O2max) and LV mass (3T-MRI) were measured preintervention and postintervention. RESULTS We observed significant (P < 0.01) increases in V˙O2max in all three groups, and the effect of the HIAT was the greatest of the three (SIT, 16.7% ± 11.6%; HIAT, 22.5% ± 12.2%; CAT, 10.0% ± 8.9%; P = 0.01). There were significant changes in LV mass, stroke volume (SV), and resting HR in both the SIT (LV mass, 6.5% ± 8.3%; SV, 5.3% ± 8.3%; HR, -7.3% ± 11.1%; all P < 0.05) and HIAT (LV mass, 8.0% ± 8.3%; SV, 12.1% ± 9.8%; HR, -12.7% ± 12.2%; all P < 0.01) but not in the CAT (LV mass, 2.5% ± 10.1%; SV, 3.6% ± 6.6%; HR, -2.2% ± 13.3%; all P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Our study revealed that V˙O2max improvement with the HIAT was greater than with the CAT despite the HIAT being performed with a far lower volume and in far less time than the CAT. This suggests that the HIAT has potential as a time-efficient training mode to improve V˙O2max in sedentary adults.