Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An investigation into the use of experienced utility scores to assess multi-attribute changes in environmental quality

Much contemporary socio-economic environmental policy evaluation is undertaken using decision utility based approaches such as choice modelling and contingent valuation. In this paper we describe an investigation into the use of the contrasting “experienced utility” concept to assess changes in environmental quality. The research context is the development of a spatial decision support system that discriminates between catchment development options in terms of their effects on the receiving water bodies of urban storm water. We report the outcomes of the application of an expert elicitation process from the risk assessment literature to the trial of a visual analogue method designed to elicit experienced utility scores from consultation workshops to assess the effects of multi-attribute changes to ecosystem services in urban estuaries.
Experimental study of a decomposition approach for sequencing and lot-sizing under uncertainties

We consider a stochastic multi-product sequencing and lot-sizing problem. The two following types of uncertainties are taken into account: random lead time due to machine breakdowns and random yield because of rejects. It is assumed that there is a sequence dependent setup time between lots of different products. The goal is to maximize the probability of satisfying given demands for all products. A decomposition approach is used to separate sequencing and lot-sizing sub-problems. Previous works have focused on the lot-sizing part of this problem. A dynamic programming and a memetic algorithm were proposed. The objective of this new paper is to integrate an integer program for the sequencing sub-problem into this decomposition framework, and to evaluate the performance of the overall approach via computational tests.
Essential Impact of NF-κB Signaling on the H5N1 Influenza A Virus-Induced Transcriptome1

Systemic infections of humans and birds with highly pathogenic avian influenza A viruses of the H5N1 subtype are characterized by inner bleedings and a massive overproduction of cytokines known as cytokine storm. Growing evidence supports the role of endothelial cells in these processes. The aim of this study was to elucidate determinants of this strong response in endothelial cells with a focus on the transcription factor NF-κB. This factor is known as a major regulator of inflammatory response; however, its role in influenza virus replication and virus-induced immune responses is controversially discussed. By global mRNA profiling of infected cells in the presence or absence of a dominant negative mutant of IκB kinase 2 that specifically blocks the pathway, we could show that almost all H5N1 virus-induced genes depend on functional NF-κB signaling. In particular, activation of NF-κB is a bottleneck for the expression of IFN-β and thus influences the expression of IFN-dependent genes indirectly in the primary innate immune response against H5N1 influenza virus. Control experiments with a low pathogenic influenza strain revealed a much weaker and less NF-κB-dependent host cell response.
Digital image processing, 3rd Edition

amazon com digital image processing 3rd edition, digital image processing 3rd edition pdf, digital image processing 3rd edition 9780131687288, een iust ac ir, download digital image processing 3rd edition pdf ebook, digital image processing gonzalez ebay, digital image processing 3rd edition, digital image processing 3rd edition free ebooks download, ece 643 digital image processing i chapter 5, gonzfm i xxii 5 1
Ultrastructure of Measles Virus in Cultures of Hamster Cerebellum

Replication of Edmonston strain of measles virus in cultures of hamster central nervous system tissue was studied by electron microscopy of ultrathin sections. Infected cultures were fixed from 3 hr to 39 days postinoculation (PI). Measles nucleocapsid was first seen within the cytoplasm of giant cells, the latter appearing 5 to 6 days PI. Measles virus particles were most abundant at 10 days PI and appeared to bud off from areas of the cell membrane along which nucleocapsid was aligned. Intranuclear nucleocapsid was more abundant at later stages, and by 39 days PI entire nuclei were seen to be occupied. By this time, the cytoplasmic formations, which had been sequestered by membranes, appeared to lose their regular structure. Budding viral particles at 39 days PI were of a much simplified structure and did not involve the alignment of nucleocapsid about their periphery.
Characterisation and applications of synthesised cation exchanger guar gum sulphonic acid (GSA) resin for removal and recovery of toxic metal ions from industrial wastewater

The chemically modified guar gum sulphonic acid (GSA) resin was used for removal and pre-concentration of Zn2+, Cd2+, Fe2+, Pb2+ and Cu2+ ions in aqueous solutions and steel industry effluent from Jodhpur, India. This type of ion exchange resin represents a new class of hybrid ion exchangers with higher stability, reproducibility and selectivity for toxic metal ions. The characterisation of the resin was carried out by determining the ion exchange capacity, elemental analysis, FT-IR spectra and thermal analysis (TGA). The distribution coefficients (Kd) of toxic metal ions were determined for different pH values. The adsorption of different metal ions on GSA resin follows the order: Cu2+ > Fe2+ > Zn2+ > Cd2+ > Pb2+. The adsorbency of different metal ions on the GSA resin was studied for up to 10 cycles.
Roscovitine blocks leukocyte extravasation by inhibition of cyclin‐dependent kinases 5 and 9

Roscovitine, a cyclin‐dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor that induces tumour cell death, is under evaluation as an anti‐cancer drug. By triggering leukocyte apoptosis, roscovitine can also enhance the resolution of inflammation. Beyond death‐inducing properties, we tested whether roscovitine affects leukocyte‐endothelial cell interaction, a vital step in the onset of inflammation.
A Study of Planar Inverted F Antenna (PIFA) for Wireless Applications

The use of wireless handheld devices and mobiles is increasing day by day and more functions and standards are integrated to a single platform that allows maximum connectivity. The planar inverted-F antenna as a low profile antenna is widely used in several application areas due to several advantages. This paper deals with a comprehensive survey of various planar inverted F Antenna. Research and experiments done on PIFA structures are discussed and categorized in the paper. The conventional PIFA has an inherent narrowband that is not desirable in most modern handheld devices. Various methods used to improve its bandwidth; efficiency and reducing the dimensions of the PIFA are also discussed. These results will be useful for guiding PIFA design in practical applications.
Early social experience affects behavioral and physiological responsiveness to stressful conditions in infant rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)

Studies on early development have demonstrated the profound effects of early social experience on the behavioral development and physiology of young rhesus macaques. Given these relationships, we hypothesized that rhesus macaques exposed to different nursery‐rearing conditions may develop unique biobehavioral profiles. If this is true, the assessment of temperament may allow us to pinpoint successful rearing environments, thus improving the overall health of nonhuman primates that are raised in captive environments. We conducted biobehavioral assessments in order to examine differences in the development of infants raised under four different peer‐rearing conditions (continuous pairing (CP), intermittent pairing, CP with partner rotation, and intermittent rotational pairing) and compared these animals with data from a mother‐reared control group. Overall, continuous rotationally paired animals were most similar to mother‐reared controls on most behavioral and temperament measures, suggesting that more socially complex rearing environments (greater number of social partners) favor a more active behavioral style. Cortisol profiles of mother‐reared controls were similar to both CP groups, and these three groups had higher cortisol concentrations than the intermittent rotational‐pairing group. In addition, intermittently paired infants displayed a significantly higher frequency of self‐stroke behavior during a human intruder challenge, an abnormal behavior also known as floating limb which has been shown to be a precursor of self‐biting. Overall, the data are consistent with the idea that social complexity in the nursery, as operationalized in our continuous rotational pairing, leads to a biobehavioral profile that is most similar to that of infants raised by their mothers in large, socially complex, cages. Am. J. Primatol. 73:692–701, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
High-salt-induced increase in blood pressure: role of capsaicin-sensitive sensory nerves

Objective To test the hypothesis that sensory afferents are significant functional components in preventing salt-induced increases in blood pressure. Design and methods Neonatal Wistar rats were subcutaneously injected with 50 mg/kg capsaicin or vehicle on the first and second days of life. After weaning, male rats were divided into three groups and treated for 4 weeks with: control plus normal (0.5%, CON-NS) or high (4%, CON-HS) sodium diet, and capsaicin pretreatment plus HS diet (CAP-HS). Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and its response to bolus injection of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and its antagonist, CGRP8−37, were measured by carotid arterial catheterization. Radioimmunoassay was used to measure CGRP levels in plasma and dorsal root ganglia (DRG). Expression of components of the CGRP receptor, calcitonin receptor-like receptor (CRLR) and receptor activity modifying protein 1 (RAMP1), was determined by the use of Western blot analysis. Results Baseline MAP was increased in CAP-HS compared with CON-HS and CON-NS rats, and it was higher in CON-HS than in CON-NS rats. MAP response to exogenous CGRP was enhanced in CAP-HS and CON-HS than in CON-NS rats, but MAP response to CGRP8−37 was increased only in CON-HS rats. Plasma CGRP levels were not different among three groups, but CGRP content in DRG was decreased in CAP-HS compared with CON-HS and CON-NS rats. CRLR expression in mesenteric resistance arteries was upregulated in CAP-HS and CON-HS compared with CON-NS rats, but RAMP1 content was not different among these groups. Conclusion Chronic high-salt intake upregulates expression of mesenteric CGRP receptors without altering CGRP levels in plasma and DRG. Increased expression of mesenteric CGRP receptors may play a counter regulatory role in attenuating salt-induced increases in blood pressure.
DNA damage and p53 induction do not cause ZD1694-induced cell cycle arrest in human colon carcinoma cells.

Using four complementary approaches, ie. , cell synchronization, bromodeoxyuridine labeling, and DNA and Western blot analyses, we investigated the underlying mechanism of cell cycle perturbation in response to ZD1694, a quinazoline-based antifolate thymidylate synthase inhibitor. With a single exposure at a concentration of 1 microM for 2 h, ZD1694 completely inhibits thymidylate synthase over 72 h and causes a sustained growth for at least 120 h, DNA damage, and p53 induction in human carcinoma cells. Although these cells displayed an S-phase block with the precise terminal arrest point depending on the timing of drug treatment in the cell cycle, their DNA-replicating machinery associated with polymerase alpha was preserved intact. When supplemented with exogenous dThd, these cells resumed an apparently normal S-phase progression for at least 4 h. Kinetic analyses based on synchronized cells indicate that S-phase arrest occurs first, preceding the induction of DNA double strand breaks and p53/p21. SW480 cells, in which p53mu failed to transduce p21, also exhibited the mode of S-phase arrest, essentially indistinguishable from that displayed by HCT-8 cells expressing the functional p53 (p53wt). That the DNA replication process is prerequisite for DNA double strand breaks was indicated by the following: (a) DNA damage occurred only when cells treated with ZD1694 progressed through S phase; and (b) the inhibition of DNA polymerase alpha by aphidicolin-blocked DNA damage. Based on the above, we conclude that S-phase arrest by ZD1694, with a subsequent damage of DNA double strands, is caused by the block of DNA synthesis in the middle of replication due to dTTP depletion and not by p53-mediated G1-G2 checkpoint mechanisms or p21-induced inactivation of the DNA-replicating machinery.
China's provincial industrial pollution: the role of technical efficiency, pollution levy and pollution quantity control

Abstract Using China's provincial economic and pollution data from 1992 to 2008, we employ data envelope analysis and econometric analyses to explicitly estimate technical efficiency and examine the role of technical efficiency, pollution control instruments (pollution levy and pollution quantity control) and prices of production inputs on pollution intensity. We find that an increase of labor wage and a decrease of capital cost are associated with an improvement in technical efficiency. The levy rates of air pollution improve technical efficiency but pollution quantity control targets have no statistically significant effect on technical efficiency. On the other hand, technical efficiency, the effective levy rates, pollution quantity control targets and capital cost have a negative effect but wage has a positive effect on pollution intensity. The importance of production input prices in pollution intensity and technical efficiency suggests alternative channels for industrial pollution control as well as cautions for the unintended consequence on the environment if any policy changes are made relating to labor and capital costs.
Performance of helical magnets for RHIC

Helical magnets are being built for the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) to act as Snakes and Rotators in a planned program of polarized colliding beam experiments. After a successful R&D program, production is underway to build the needed magnets. They are constructed as superconducting, 10 cm coil aperture units in which a 4 T dipole field rotates through 360 degrees in a length of 2.4 m Measurements have been made on the initial production magnets, including training, magnetic fields, and quench propagation characteristics.
Na+ Dependence of Tyrosine Transport Across the Synaptosomal Membrane Reflects Changes in the Morphology of Synaptosomes

Abstract: The Na+ dependence of tyrosine uptake into rat brain synaptosomes and synaptosomal plasma membrane vesicles (SPMV) was examined in the present study. At low tyrosine concentrations, the isoosmotic substitution of Na+ by sucrose in the incubation medium led to an increase of tyrosine uptake in synaptosomes and to a decrease in SPMV. The removal of extracellular Ca2+ and Mg2+ and addition of isoosmotic sucrose completely prevented the augmented tyrosine uptake in Na+‐free incubated synaptosomes. Morphological differences were found at the electron‐microscopic level when synaptosomes were incubated in Na+‐free and Na+‐containing media. The internal volume measured for synaptosomes incubated in a Na+‐free medium was almost half of that obtained in a Na+‐containing medium, in good agreement with the observations made with the electron microscope. Also, the omission of Ca2+ and Mg2+ resulted in a specific swelling of only the synaptosomes incubated in Na+‐free medium. When synaptosomes and SPMV were preloaded with several neutral amino acids, the tyrosine uptake rate was greatly increased, indicating fully operational exchange mechanisms for these amino acids. We propose that the enhancement of high‐affinity synaptosomal tyrosine uptake observed in Na+‐free medium is a consequence of a specific shrinkage of the synaptosomes and a parallel increase of the exchange rate with endogenous neutral amino acids.
DRAFT Comments welcome Districts , Spillovers , and Government Overspending

This paper considers the over-spending bias in legislatures when benefits of public policies are concentrated in particular districts but the costs of financing them are spread over the entire political jurisdiction. A simple theoretical framework formalizes this idea in the context of externalities between districts. The main prediction is that greater districting leads to bigger government but the effects are mitigated if there are positive spillovers of government spending between districts. Institutional forms of government which concentrate decision-making power can curtail the overspending bias. I present evidence on these predictions from a cross-section of city governments in the United States. The main findings are that (i) if we take an average city, keep its population and other characteristics constant but divide it into a greater number of political districts we get substantially greater government spending per capita; (ii) greater jurisdictional heterogeneity and income inequality is associated with bigger government, (iii) atlarge electoral systems are not less sensitive to overspending compared to district electoral systems, and (iv) strong-mayor forms of city government, particularly those where mayors have veto powers, can curtail the overspending bias. The findings are robust to controlling for socioeconomic characteristics of cities and to alternative measures of government size. * I am grateful to Alberto Alesina, Jim Alt, Barry Eichengreen, David Romer, and Pablo Spiller for helpful discussions and valuable comments. This research was supported in part by a grant from the MacArthur Foundation’s program on the Politics of Cultural Identity.
Modeling and control of 4-DOF powered upper limb exoskeleton

The exoskeleton robots because of its potential applications in rehabilitation engineering, assistive robotics, and power augmentation are getting more attention in the field of robotics. Besides kinematics model and dynamic model, three type controllers are applied in position control mode, PID control, computed torque control and time delay control, respectively. For the sake of the difficulty in tuning the PID parameters and compensating the uncertainties of the dynamic model used in the computed torque control, time delay control is employed to reduce or cancel the effect of the uncertainties and is characterized by relatively simple gain selection procedure simultaneously. Simulation results show the feasibility of the proposed exoskeleton in supplement or reinforce the wearer's muscular strength.
Physical and Electrical Performance Limits of High-Speed Si GeC HBTs—Part II: Lateral Scaling

The overall purpose of this paper is the prediction of the ultimate electrical high-frequency performance potential for SiGeC HBTs under the constraints of practical applications. This goal is achieved by utilizing advanced device simulation tools with parameters calibrated to experimental results of most advanced existing technologies. In addition, detailed electrostatic and electrothermal simulations are performed for determining the parasitic capacitances, temperature increase, and safe operating area of aggressively scaled devices. The important figures of merit are then determined from circuit simulation employing an accurate compact model incorporating all relevant physical effects. Based on the vertical profile found in Part I, this paper focuses on achieving a balanced device design by lateral scaling. It is shown that the peak values of (fT, fmax) around (1, 1.5) THz may be achievable. Such a performance limit provides still significant headroom for further developing existing processes and makes SiGeC HBTs well-suitable for highly integrated millimeter-wave applications operating within the low-end of the terahertz gap.
Neuroprotective effect of aspirin by inhibition of glutamate release after permanent focal cerebral ischaemia in rats

Aspirin reduces the size of infarcts after ischaemic stroke. Although this fact has been attributed to its anti‐platelet actions, direct neuroprotective effects have also been reported. We have recently demonstrated that aspirin is neuroprotective by inhibiting glutamate release in ‘in vitro’ models of brain ischaemia, via an increase in ATP production. The present study was designed to determine whether the inhibition of glutamate release induced by aspirin might be protective in a whole‐animal model of permanent focal brain ischaemia. Focal brain ischaemia was produced in male adult Fischer rats by occluding both the common carotid and middle cerebral arteries. Central and serum glutamate levels were determined at fixed intervals after occlusion. The animals were then killed and infarct volume was measured. Aspirin (30 mg/kg i.p. administered 2 h before the occlusion) produced a significant reduction in infarct volume, an effect that correlated with the inhibition caused by aspirin on ischaemia‐induced increase in brain and serum glutamate concentrations after the onset of the ischaemia. Aspirin also inhibited ischaemia‐induced decrease in brain ATP levels. Our present findings show a novel mechanism for the neuroprotective effects of aspirin, which takes place at concentrations in the anti‐aggregant–analgesic range, useful in the management of patients with risk of ischaemic events.
Practical Aspects of Dissolution Instrument Qualification—a European Perspective

INTRODUCTION Dissolution testing is an important tool to characterize the in vitro performance of dosage forms. It is not an absolute method; strictly speaking, equipment cannot be calibrated. Instead, from the perspective of a quality control (QC) laboratory, reliable instrument qualification is one of the most important requirements of cGMP. While harmonization efforts for qualification strategies of standard laboratory equipment lead, in most cases, to clear and undisputed approaches, the standardization of dissolution apparatus qualification procedures is still ongoing. The most common USP Apparatus 1 and 2 are used in pharmaceutical laboratories worldwide to perform quality control analyses either during the manufacturing process (PAT) or as part of release testing. Moreover, they are used to monitor formulations throughout pharmaceutical development. Drug candidate selection for clinical studies is based on differences attributed to manufacturing variables during a Quality by Design (QbD) oriented development, whereas the release of marketed products relies on the dissolution similarity of manufactured batches in comparison to the models described in the dossiers for registration. This underlines the need for reliable dissolution data. A study of the relevant rules and procedures reveals that dissolution apparatus qualification consists of two parts: a mechanical qualification and a performance test with a reference standard. In detail, the leading documents concerning dissolution apparatus qualification [e.g., United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) and the European Pharmacopoeia (EP) on the one hand and ASTM E2503-07 and FDA Guidance for Industry (1) on the other hand] do not advise identical procedures and specifications. Proposals were made for procedures to match the so-called “chemical” and “mechanical” qualification (2) but are still leaving some uncertainty at QC testing labs. In the past, harmonization efforts like ICH Q4B took effect and harmonized the respective chapters of the USP and the EP. One remaining difference is the EP nonmandatory recommendation of the use of a reference product that is sensitive to hydrodynamic conditions for performance testing, while USP requires the use of its reference tablet. This article describes the authors’ strategy and observations when performing “mechanical” and “chemical” qualification of dissolution Apparatus 1 und 2 in a typical QC laboratory that has to follow both United States and European requirements.