Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
HIIS SITES IN THE RESEARCH HISTORY OF ESTONIAN SACRED PLACES (Hiied Eesti pyhapaikade uurimisloos)

The article gives an overview of the history of research of holy places which are called hiis in Estonia from the end of the 18th to the beginning of the 21st century. The emphasis of the study is on academic treatments on the subject, and the article analyses the main research problems. The concept of hiis has been discussed to a lesser degree in the context of national ideology and identity, which nevertheless has left an important mark on academic studies.
Dynamics of a Single Air Bubble Rising in a Thin Gap Filled with Magnetic Fluids

The behavior of a single air bubble rising in magnetic fluids without magnetic fields is visualized using a mini-gap between two parallel vertical glass plates. Water-based Fe3O4 magnetic fluids with particle volume concentration of 6.33 % and density 1261.96 kgm 3 are filled in these gaps and a single air bubble is produced through the orifice at the bottom of the gap. The thicknesses of the gaps are 1 and 2 mm, respectively. Diameters of the orifices are 0.64 and 1.02 mm for 1 mm gap, and 0.64, 1.02 and 1.6 mm for 2 mm gap. In addition, four working fluids including pure water, 25% tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) aque- ous solution and mass concentration 30% and 50% sucrose solution also have been tested. The results show that the shape of the bubble in magnetic fluids initially keeps oblate ellipse like that in the water, but after the middle of the journey, it becomes as an oblate elliptical cap like that in the surfactant aqueous solution. A reasonable explanation is obtained considering the diffusion of the surfactants to the interface of the bubble. Rise velocity of the bubble in magnetic fluids increases with the width of the gap, and the rise motion of the bubble become instable in the 2 mm gap, even breakup of a bubble generated by 0.64 mm orifice occurs.
Electromagnetic scattering from layered strip geometries: the method of moments study with the sinc basis

Electromagnetic scattering from strips of layers is analyzed using the method of moments (MoM) for both polarizations in spatial domain with the sinc-type orthogonal sets as basis and testing functions. We exploited the sinc function’s properties of exponential convergence, the orthogonality, easy convolution and better handling of singular kernels in MoM procedure resulting in fast performance and reasonable accuracy even in ordinary MoM treatment. We transferred the integral of the Hankel function multiplied by sinc functions to Hankel function introducing a slight error with large band width. We proved that this relative error during the generation of the main matrix elements is smaller than that of the free space error, i.e., 1%–0.5% for considerably large matrix sizes. Our approach is readily applicable to a singular kernel problem due to properties of the sinc functions in particular 2D geometry. The procedure undertaken here is proven to be very efficient as regard to similar treatments in the literature developed mainly for regular kernels. Various numerical results are calculated such as the surface induced current and normalized far field radiation pattern. We compared them with the results available in the literature.
Contribution of hla Regulation by SaeR to Staphylococcus aureus USA300 Pathogenesis

The SaeRS two-component system in Staphylococcus aureus is critical for regulation of many virulence genes, including hla, which encodes alpha-toxin. However, the impact of regulation of alpha-toxin by Sae on S. aureus pathogenesis has not been directly addressed. Here, we mutated the SaeR-binding sequences in the hla regulatory region and determined the contribution of this mutation to hla expression and pathogenesis in strain USA300 JE2. ABSTRACT The SaeRS two-component system in Staphylococcus aureus is critical for regulation of many virulence genes, including hla, which encodes alpha-toxin. However, the impact of regulation of alpha-toxin by Sae on S. aureus pathogenesis has not been directly addressed. Here, we mutated the SaeR-binding sequences in the hla regulatory region and determined the contribution of this mutation to hla expression and pathogenesis in strain USA300 JE2. Western blot analyses revealed drastic reduction of alpha-toxin levels in the culture supernatants of SaeR-binding mutant in contrast to the marked alpha-toxin production in the wild type. The SaeR-binding mutation had no significant effect on alpha-toxin regulation by Agr, MgrA, and CcpA. In animal studies, we found that the SaeR-binding mutation did not contribute to USA300 JE2 pathogenesis using a rat infective endocarditis model. However, in a rat skin and soft tissue infection model, the abscesses on rats infected with the mutant were significantly smaller than the abscesses on those infected with the wild type but similar to the abscesses on those infected with a saeR mutant. These studies indicated that there is a direct effect of hla regulation by SaeR on pathogenesis but that the effect depends on the animal model used.
Association between dietary fibre intake and fruits , vegetables or whole grain consumption and the risk of cardiovascular disease . Results from the PREDIMED trial

4 Prospective studies assessing the association between fibre intake or fibre-rich foods consumption 5 and the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) have often been limited by baseline assessment of 6 diet. No study used yearly repeated measurements of dietary changes during follow-up. 7 Moreover, previous studies included healthy and selected participants who do did not represent 8 subjects at high cardiovascular risk. We used yearly repeated measurements of diet to investigate 9 the association between fibre intake and CVD in a Mediterranean cohort of elderly adults at high 10 cardiovascular risk. We followed 7216 men (55-80 y) and women (60-80 y) initially free of CVD for 11 up to seven years in the PREDIMED study (registered as ISRCTN35739639). A 137-item validated 12 food-frequency questionnaire was yearly repeated to assess diet. The primary end-point, 13 confirmed by a blinded ad-hoc Event Adjudication Committee, was a composite of cardiovascular 14 death, myocardial infarction and stroke. Time-dependent Cox regression models were used to 15 estimate the risk of CVD according to baseline dietary exposures and to their yearly updated 16 changes. We found a significant inverse association for fibre (p for trend= 0.020) and fruit (p for 17 trend=0.024) in age-sex adjusted models, but the statistical significance was lost in fully-adjusted 18 models. However, we found a significant inverse association with CVD incidence for the sum of 19 fruit and vegetable consumption. Participants who consumed in total 9 or more servings/d of 20 fruits plus vegetables had a HR=0.60 (95% CI 0.40 to 0.96) of CVD in comparison with those 21 consuming <5 servings/d. 22
Prevalence and Pattern of Potential Drug-Drug Interactions in the Critical Care Units of a Tertiary Hospital in Alexandria, Egypt

he complexity of the pharmacotherapy involved in the simultaneous use of several drugs and various therapeutic classes makes critically ill patients at an increased risk for potential DDIs. The objectives were to estimate the prevalence of potential DDIs in the critical care units (CCUs) at a main trtiary hospital, to analyze their clinical significance, onset, documentation and severity and to identify their possible determinants. prescriptions contain 4 or more drugs were included. A pre-designed structured questionnaire and a record review sheet were used to collect the following data: sociodemographic, smoking habits, medical history, long term used medications, the presence of hospital aquired infections, APAHE II score, length of stay, organ impairment, number of drugs per prescription and the number of prescribing physicians. Calculating the number of interactions for each patient was performed. The list of prescribed drugs for patient was analyzed using different software. interactions occurred per patient was 2.98 ± 1.91. The highest proportion of interactions had a significance number 1.0, possible and suspected documentation, delayed onset and moderate severity. Age of the patient and the number of prescribed drugs were the two independent factors found to be significantly affecting the prevalence of potential DDIs. increases this possibilit
Forecasting of lentil pulse production: An econometric analysis

The paper describes an empirical study of modeling and forecasting time series data of lentil pulse production in Bangladesh. The Box Jenkins ARIMA methodology has been used for forecasting.The diagnostic checking has shown that ARIMA (0, 1, 9) is appropriate.The forecasts from 2011-12 to 2015-16 are calculated based on the selected model.These forecasts would be helpful for the policy makers to foresee ahead of time the future requirements of grain storage import and/or export and adopt appropriate measures in this regard.
Theories of Corporate Debt Policy: A Synthesis

Theories of Corporate Debt Policy: A SynthesisAuthor(s): Andrew H. Chen and E. Han KimSource: The Journal of Finance, Vol. 34, No. 2, Papers and Proceedings, Thirty-SeventhAnnual Meeting, American Finance Association, Chicago, Illinois, August 29-31, 1978 (May,1979), pp. 371-384Published by: Blackwell Publishing for the American Finance AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor. org/stable/2326975Accessed: 22/01/2009 14:20
Hydrocarbon emissions during biomass combustion

Wood combustion on a local scale may cause the emissions of more than 100 different toxic and carcinogenic substances. Therefore, it appears that biomass combustion paradoxically involves the risk of environmental contamination and poses a threat to human health. This occurs under unfavorable conditions or due to the use of combustion technology unsuitable for a given fuel. Fuel combustion in low power boilers is carried out with the use of fuels with highly diversified technical and elementary parameters, and the economic aspect is for households ever more frequently to be a determinant of the form and quality of the combusted fuel, regardless of the boilers within which the fuel undergoes thermal conversion. The aim of the research was to determine the concentration of contaminations emitted during the combustion of pellets made of Virginia mallow biomass in a 32 kW boiler with automatic fuel loading adapted for wood pellet combustion on a test bench. The concentrations of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon PAHs and benzo(a)pyrene B(a)P was determined, the indicators of emitted contaminations were specified, and the concentration of VOC (methane, ethane, ethylene, propane, propylene, n-butane, and pentane) in flue gases was defined. The determined indicators of emission for 16 PAHs equaled: 2.9 mg·kg, i.e. 170.0 mg·GJ, and for B(a)P 0.03 mg·kg, i.e. 1.8
A new spectroscopic calibration to determine Teff and [Fe/H] of FGK dwarfs and giants

We present a new spectroscopic calibration for a fast estimate of T eff and [Fe/H] for FGK dwarfs and GK giant stars. We used spectra from a joint sample of 708 stars, composed by 451 FGK dwarfs and 257 GK-giant stars with homogeneously determined spectroscopic stellar parameters. We have derived 322 EW line-ratios and 100 FeI lines that can be used to compute T eff and [Fe/H], respectively. We show that these calibrations are effective for FGK dwarfs and GK-giant stars in the following ranges: 4500 K eff , 2.5 , and –0.8 ] . The new calibration has a standard deviation of 74 K for T eff and 0.07 dex for [Fe/H]. We use four independent samples of stars to test and verify the new calibration, a sample of giant stars, a sample composed of Gaia FGK benchmark stars, a sample of GK-giant stars from the DR1 of the Gaia-ESO survey, and a sample of FGK-dwarf stars. We present a new computer code, GeTCal, for automatically producing new calibration files based on any new sample of stars.
Structural and biochemical characterization of 20β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase from Bifidobacterium adolescentis strain L2-32

Anaerobic bacteria inhabiting the human gastrointestinal tract have evolved various enzymes that modify host-derived steroids. The bacterial steroid-17,20-desmolase pathway cleaves the cortisol side chain, forming pro-androgens predicted to impact host physiology. Bacterial 20β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (20β-HSDH) regulates cortisol side-chain cleavage by reducing the C-20 carboxyl group on cortisol, yielding 20β-dihydrocortisol. Recently, the gene encoding 20β-HSDH in Butyricicoccus desmolans ATCC 43058 was reported, and a nonredundant protein search yielded a candidate 20β-HSDH gene in Bifidobacterium adolescentis strain L2-32. B. adolescentis 20β-HSDH could regulate cortisol side-chain cleavage by limiting pro-androgen formation in bacteria such as Clostridium scindens and 21-dehydroxylation by Eggerthella lenta. Here, the putative B. adolescentis 20β-HSDH was cloned, overexpressed, and purified. 20β-HSDH activity was confirmed through whole-cell and pure enzymatic assays, and it is specific for cortisol. Next, we solved the structures of recombinant 20β-HSDH in both the apo- and holo-forms at 2.0–2.2 Å resolutions, revealing close overlap except for rearrangements near the active site. Interestingly, the structures contain a large, flexible N-terminal region that was investigated by gel-filtration chromatography and CD spectroscopy. This extended N terminus is important for protein stability because deletions of varying lengths caused structural changes and reduced enzymatic activity. A nonconserved extended N terminus was also observed in several short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase family members. B. adolescentis strains capable of 20β-HSDH activity could alter glucocorticoid metabolism in the gut and thereby serve as potential probiotics for the management of androgen-dependent diseases.
Analysis and Simulation of Transverse Random Fracture of Long Fibre Reinforced Composites

La present tesi proposa una metodologia per a la simulacio probabilistica de la fallada de la matriu en materials composits reforcats amb fibres de carboni, basant-se en l'analisi de la distribucio aleatoria de les fibres. En els primers capitols es revisa l'estat de l'art sobre modelitzacio matematica de materials aleatoris, calcul de propietats efectives i criteris de fallada transversal en materials composits. El primer pas en la metodologia proposada es la definicio de la determinacio del tamany minim d'un Element de Volum Representatiu Estadistic (SRVE) . Aquesta determinacio es du a terme analitzant el volum de fibra, les propietats elastiques efectives, la condicio de Hill, els estadistics de les components de tensio i defromacio, la funcio de densitat de probabilitat i les funcions estadistiques de distancia entre fibres de models d'elements de la microestructura, de diferent tamany. Un cop s'ha determinat aquest tamany minim, es comparen un model periodic i un model aleatori, per constatar la magnitud de les diferencies que s'hi observen. Es defineix, tambe, una metodologia per a l'analisi estadistic de la distribucio de la fibra en el composit, a partir d'imatges digitals de la seccio transversal. Aquest analisi s'aplica a quatre materials diferents. Finalment, es proposa un metode computacional de dues escales per a simular la fallada transversal de lamines unidireccionals, que permet obtenir funcions de densitat de probabilitat per a les variables mecaniques. Es descriuen algunes aplicacions i possibilitats d'aquest metode i es comparen els resultats obtinguts de la simulacio amb valors experimentals.
The special economic zone in the Kaliningrad region: development tool or institutional trap?

Abstract In this paper we examine the special case of the “degenerated” Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea — the Kaliningrad region. The ‘compensation Vs. development’ policy dilemma associated with the SEZ in the exclave is elaborated using modified ERP and ETR techniques. Factual results and consequences of more than 20 years of ongoing SEZ institutional instability (a transitional shift from customs tariff to profit taxation preferences) are examined. We show how transfer pricing and formation of hybrid structures reinforce the import-substitution bias of exclave economics. Some concerns about the trade-off between stimulation policies and economic efficiency in the context of the SEZ are discussed.
Constraints on dike propagation from continuous GPS measurements

The January 1997 East Rift Zone eruption on Kilauea volcano, Hawaii, occurred within a network of continuous Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers. The GPS measurements reveal the temporal history of deformation during dike intrusion, beginning ∼8 hours prior to the onset of the eruption. The dike volume as a function of time, estimated from the GPS data using elastic Green's functions for a homogeneous half-space, shows that only two thirds of the final dike volume accumulated prior to the eruption and the rate of volume change decreased with time. These observations are inconsistent with simple models of dike propagation, which predict accelerating dike volume up to the time of the eruption and little or no change thereafter. Deflationary tilt changes at Kilauea summit mirror the inferred dike volume history, suggesting that the rate of dike propagation is limited by flow of magma into the dike. A simple, lumped parameter model of a coupled dike magma chamber system shows that the tendency for a dike to end in an eruption (rather than intrusion) is favored by high initial dike pressures, compressional stress states, large, compressible magma reservoirs, and highly conductive conduits linking the dike and source reservoirs. Comparison of model predictions to the observed dike volume history, the ratio of erupted to intruded magma, and the deflationary history of the summit magma chamber suggest that most of the magma supplied to the growing dike came from sources near to the eruption through highly conductive conduits. Interpretation is complicated by the presence of multiple source reservoirs, magma vesiculation and cooling, as well as spatial variations in dike-normal stress. Reinflation of the summit magma chamber following the eruption was measured by GPS and accompanied a rise in the level of the Pu'u O'o lava lake. For a spheroidal chamber these data imply a summit magma chamber volume of ∼20 km3, consistent with recent estimates from seismic tomography. Continuous deformation measurements can be used to image the spatiotemporal evolution of propagating dikes and to reveal quantitative information about the volcanic plumbing systems.
DNA methylation variation in gametes and larvae of the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas

The roles of DNA methylation during invertebrate development remain enigmatic, especially regarding the inheritance and ontogenetic dynamics of methylation. Here, we characterized the genome-wide methylome of Crassostrea gigas sperm and larvae from two full-sib families nested within a maternal half-sib family across several developmental stages. Our data suggest that DNA methylation patterns are inherited, as methylation patterns were similar between the two sires and their offspring. Loci differing between the two paternal full-sib families (189) and among the developmental stages (160) were found throughout the genome but were concentrated in transposable elements and repeat regions. We suggest that the predominance of differentially methylated loci within transposable elements is a result of selection against changes in gene body methylation. Introduction DNA methylation is an epigenetic modification that is ubiquitous across many eukaryotes, with variable patterns and functions across taxa. This epigenetic mechanism involves the addition of a methyl group to cytosines, usually in CpG dinucleotides, catalyzed by DNA methyltransferases. Epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation can alter gene expression without modifying the underlying nucleotide sequence, and functions in mammals to suppress transcription through increased methylation in promoter regions (Bell and Felsenfeld, 2000). In mammals, DNA methylation is essential for development and differentiation of organs and tissues (Okano
Motion and evolution of oceanic rings in a numerical model and in observations

Observed properties of oceanic rings are compared to rings produced in a two-gyre wind-driven numerical ocean model and in a model of the South Atlantic/Indian Ocean. Their temporal evolution is discussed in terms of structure and translation rate. They exhibit substantial similarity in terms of thermocline depth, ring size, swirl velocities, and translations speeds. In both observations and numerical model results, the propagation speeds are 2 to 5 times faster than that of an equivalent isolated eddy (which is of the order of the long Rossby wave speed). This is attributed to advection by the mean flows. Furthermore, it is observed that the model rings have a coherent structure all the way to the bottom. There is strong evidence that this is also the case in real oceanic rings. One major difference between observed and modeled rings is in their decay rate. The temporal decay of the rings in the models and observations is therefore discussed in relation to the decay mechanisms at work and the frictional parameterization of the model.
Features of Microstructure and Percolation Behavior of Polypropylene Glycol, Filled by Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes

The research of the microstructure features, percolation behavior and impedance of systems based on polypropylene glycol and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) is conducted using the methods of optical microscopy and impedance spectroscopy. It is set that in the investigated systems the typical percolation transition is observed at some threshold MWCNTs concentration (0.45 %). The fractal behavior of those systems was revealed. Using the method of impedance spectroscopy the corresponding percolation threshold of 0.45 % was found. The critical index of conductivity t  1.3 was determined in the framework of McLachlan equation. The processes of charge transfer in the systems concerned were found to be described well by the proposed equivalent circuit.
Jurisdictional Variation in the Economic Impact of California's Proposition 36 Drug Offender Diversion Program

Objectives: To describe jurisdictional variation in the economic impact of the California Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act (SACPA; aka “Proposition 36”), a statewide diversion program that offered eligible drug offenders probation or continued parole with substance use disorder treatment in lieu of incarceration. Methods: Administrative data were used to conduct multilevel, difference-in-differences analysis examining the effect of individual- and county-level variables on total service-utilization costs across eight domains over 30 months pre- and post-conviction. Results: County-level variability in the severity of offender populations served under SACPA and in the level of collaboration between SACPA stakeholders contributed to cost variability. More severe populations and less effective stakeholder communication produced increases in costs. Conclusions: Evaluating the economic impact of broad drug-offender diversion programs requires a multilevel approach that adjusts for the severity of offenders served and the effectiveness of stakeholder interactions.