Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Grid FriendlyTM Appliances - Load-side Solution for Congestion Management

This paper discusses the effectiveness of deploying grid friendlytrade appliances (GFAs) as a load-side solution for congestion management in a competitive electricity market, with a residential house ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) load as an example. A GFA can have a sensor and a controller installed to detect price, voltage, or frequency signals and then adjust its thermostat setpoint or turn on/off according to certain control logics. By using the congestion price as a signal to shift GFA power consumption from high-price periods to low-price periods to reduce load in load pocket areas, transmission line congestion can be successfully mitigated. The magnitude of GFA load reduction and the location of the GFA resources are critical to alleviating congestion on targeted transmission lines while not causing other lines to congest. Simulation results are presented, and the impact of implementing price-responsive GFAs on the power grid is also studied
EVIDENCE BASED PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY AND PRACTICE Effect of area poverty rate on cancer screening across US communities

Study objective: To analyse the contextual effect of area poverty rate on never having been screened for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer by (1) describing the extent of the variation in screening behaviours among 98 US metropolitan areas; (2) determining if the variation in lack of screening can be explained by differences in the characteristics of the persons who resided in these areas; and (3) determining if living in a metropolitan area with a higher poverty rate increased the likelihood of never having been screened for cancer over and above individual characteristics. Design: Cross sectional survey using data from the 2002 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Multilevel logistic regression included both individual level factors as well as area poverty rate. Setting: Ninety eight areas across the USA. Participants: Over 118 000 persons residing in 98 areas; a sample aimed at estimating 48.3% of the US population age 18 or older. Main results: After adjustment for individual level factors, increasing area level poverty rate (per 5%) remained associated with never having had a mammogram (odds ratio (OR) = 1.28, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03 to 1.37); clinical breast examination (OR = 1.28, 95% CI: 1.11 to 1.48), colonoscopy/ sigmoidoscopy (OR = 1.10, 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.19), and a faecal occult blood test (OR = 1.19, 95% CI: 1.12 to 1.27). Poverty rate was not independently associated with never having had a Pap smear (OR = 1.12; 95% CI: 0.90 to 1.41). The size of the variance among metropolitan or micropolitan statistical areas (MMSAs) varied by type of screening test, with intraclass correlation coefficients ranging from 4.9% (never having had a Pap smear) to 1.2% (never having had a colonoscopy/sigmoidoscopy). Conclusions: Area poverty rate was independently associated with never having been screened for breast and colorectal cancer, but not cervical cancer. The size of the variance among MMSAs was modest at best.
An assessment of relevant methodological elements and criteria for surveying sustainable agricultural and forestry biomass byproducts for energy purposes

Resource assessment is a necessary step for any project, plan, or future energy prospectus involving renewable energy sources. The assessment of biomass and, in particular, the so-called forest and agricultural field residues, faces particular methodological difficulties due to the scarcity and heterogeneity of the data sources. For agricultural residues such as cereal straw, bagasses, etc., the residue to product ratios (RPR) are the key data needed for the estimations. In the present work the values of these product ratios reported in the literature are surveyed and are seen to vary greatly, depending on the reporting source. Some methodological procedures for obtaining RPR values are considered, and guidelines for conducting the resource evaluation are indicated. For the estimation of forest field biomass resources a methodological procedure based on the different stand stages along a forest rotation is presented. The main steps of this methodology are based on the availability of basic quantitative data from forest stands and the assumption of different silvicultural operations during the stand rotations. Environmental constraints should be observed in biomass resource assessments. However, the lack of clear recommendations concerning biomass removal in different forest soil and climate conditions suggest that more research is required to assess the sustainability of biomass harvest. Chemical characterization of some of the most representative biomass materials is also presented.
Lay Understanding of Synergistic Risk: The Case of Radon and Cigarette Smoking

The combination of radon and smoking produces a synergistic risk of lung cancer. Lay understanding of this risk was examined from the perspectives of mental models theory, the psychometric approach to risk perception, and optimistic bias. As assessed by interview, participants (N= 50) had more extensive mental models for the risks of smoking than for the risks of radon or the combination of radon and smoking; 32% knew little or nothing about radon. Despite reading an informational brochure, their risk‐perception ratings of the three hazards showed no perception of the synergy between smoking and radon risk, although the combined hazard was rated as less familiar but more controllable than the average of the single hazards (p < .01). No evidence of optimistic bias for the health consequences of radon, or the combination of radon and smoking was observed. Participants appeared to be combining the single‐hazard risks subadditively to arrive at their combined‐hazard risk perceptions. Further research on the integration of perceived risks would be beneficial for designing optimal communications about synergistic risk.
The Microscopic Image Registration Method Based on Parallel Logarithmic Subtraction Template Matching

The paper brings forward the parallel logarithmic subtraction template which is applicable to register microscopic images. The template is developed from the ratio template, and applying the template to image registration can reduce the computation by replacing the large number of division operations with subtraction operations. The method to automatically create and match the templates in the microscopic images is also proposed in the paper. At the end of the paper, an experiment is carried out comparing the speed of registering the images gathered by the auto-microscope with the parallel logarithmic subtraction template and with the ratio template. The result of the experiment demonstrates the efficiency improvement brought by the new template.
Stabilization of Discrete-Time Planar Switched Linear Systems with Impulse

We study the stabilization problem of discrete-time planar switched linear systems with impulse. When all subsystems are controllable, based on an explicit estimation on the state transition matrix, we establish a sufficient condition such that the switched impulsive system is stabilizable under arbitrary switching signal with given switching frequency. When there exists at least one uncontrollable subsystem, a sufficient condition is also given to guarantee the stabilization of the switched impulsive system under appropriate switching signal.
Are There Treatment Duration Differences in the Seattle and Denver Income Maintenance Experiments?

Abstract This paper re-examines the labor supply responses in the Seattle and Denver Income Maintenance Experiments (SIME/DIME). Specifically, the original experimental results show a significantly larger labor supply response for men and women from dual-headed households in the five-year Negative Income Tax (NIT) treatment relative to those in the three-year NIT treatment. Although typically thought of only as an NIT experiment, the SIME/DIME also included a job training experiment that enrolled roughly 60 percent of households, including both NIT treatment and control households. The original empirical specification imposed strong assumptions on the treatment response to the job training experiment in order to increase the precision of the estimated parameters. Once these assumptions are relaxed, the labor supply differences between men in the three- and five-year NIT treatments fall by over 50 percent in magnitude and become statistically insignificant. The analogous differences for women are almost entirely explained by these specification changes. Whereas the original findings of the SIME/DIME were inconsistent with the standard life-cycle labor supply model, the results of the re-analysis are mostly consistent with the model.
Electrophysiological and Behavioral Responses of Microplitis mediator (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) to Caterpillar-Induced Volatiles from Cotton

ABSTRACT Microplitis mediator Haliday (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is an important larval endoparasitoid of various lepidopteran pests, including Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner). In China, H. armigera is a key pest of cotton and is currently the focus of several biological control efforts that use M. mediator as principal natural enemy of this pest. To improve the success of biological control efforts, behavioral studies are needed that shed light on the interaction between M. mediator and H. armigera. In this study, we determined M. mediator response to volatile compounds from undamaged, mechanically injured, or H. armigera--damaged plants and identified attractive volatiles. In Y-tube olfactometer assays, we found that mechanically damaged plants and/or plants treated with H. armigera oral secretions did not attract wasps. However, volatiles from H. armigera—damaged plants elicited a strong attraction of both M. mediator sexes. Headspace extracts from H. armigera—damaged cotton were analyzed by coupled gas chromatography—electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD), and a total of seven different compounds were found to elicit electroantennogram (EAG) responses, including an unknown compound. Six different EAD-active volatiles were identified from caterpillar-damaged cotton plants, of which 3, 7-dimethyl-1, 3, 6-octatriene and (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate were the principal compounds. Olfactometer assays indicated that individual synthetic compounds of 3, 7-dimethyl-1, 3, 6-octatriene, (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, and nonanal were attractive to M. mediator. Field cage studies showed that parasitism of H. armigera larvae by M. mediator was higher on cotton plants to which 3, 7-dimethyl-1, 3, 6-octatriene was applied. Our results show that the combination of terpenoids and green leaf volatiles may not only facilitate host, mate, or food location but may also increase H. armigera parasitism by M. mediator.
Randomized trial on the effect of radiotherapy in addition to 6 cycles CMF in node‐positive breast‐cancer patients

In 1984 the GBSG started a multicenter randomized trial to compare the effectiveness of 6 cycles of cyclophosphamide, methotrexate and fluorouracil (CMF) with or without radiotherapy (RT) as adjuvant treatment in node‐positive breast‐cancer patients treated by mastectomy. During 5 years, 199 patients were randomized. After a median follow‐up of about 9 years, the treatment groups 6 × CMF and 6 × CMF + RT were compared regarding time to recurrence and death. As the first event of failure, we observed locoregional recurrence in 22 patients, distant metastases in 66 patients, a secondary malignancy in 9 patients and death without previous event in 5 patients. For event‐free survival (EFS), no significant difference was observed [relative risk (RR) 6 × CMF + RT vs. 6 × CMF 0.82, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.55–1.21]. Event‐specific analysis showed a significant decreased risk after radiotherapy for locoregional recurrence. The risk for distant metastases was estimated as slightly decreased and the risk for secondary malignancy and for death without previous event was estimated as increased in treatment group 6 × CMF + RT in comparison with treatment group 6 × CMF, but these effects were not significant. For overall survival (OS) and breast‐cancer‐specific survival (BCS), no significant treatment effect could be demonstrated. There is a beneficial effect of radiotherapy on locoregional recurrence. For EFS and BCS, a tendency in favour of radiotherapy is observed, but this is not significant; for OS, no difference can be demonstrated, but the power of the study is too low to detect small treatment effects. Int. J. Cancer 86:408–415, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The cel3 gene of Agaricus bisporus codes for a modular cellulase and is transcriptionally regulated by the carbon source

A 52-kDa protein, CEL3, has been separated from the culture filtrate of Agaricus bisporus during growth on cellulose. A PCR-derived probe was made, with a degenerate oligodeoxynucleotide derived from the amino acid sequence of a CEL3 CNBr cleavage product and was used to select cel3 cDNA clones from an A. bisporus cDNA library. Two allelic cDNAs were isolated. They showed 98.8% identity of their nucleotide sequences. The deduced amino acid sequence and domain architecture of CEL3 showed a high degree of similarity to those of cellobiohydrolase II of Trichoderma reesei. Functional expression of cel3 cDNA in Saccharomyces cerevisiae was achieved by placing it under the control of a constitutive promoter and fusing it to the yeast invertase signal sequence. Recombinant CEL3 secreted by yeast showed enzymatic activity towards crystalline cellulose. At long reaction times, CEL3 was also able to degrade carboxymethyl cellulose. Northern (RNA) analysis showed that cel3 gene expression was induced by cellulose and repressed by glucose, fructose, 2-deoxyglucose, and lactose. Glycerol, mannitol, sorbitol, and maltose were neutral carbon sources. Nuclear run-on analysis showed that the rate of synthesis of cel3 mRNA in cellulose-grown cultures was 13 times higher than that in glucose-grown cultures. A low basal rate of cel3 mRNA synthesis was observed in the nuclei isolated from glucose-grown mycelia.
Solution Structure of μ-Conotoxin PIIIA , a Selective Inhibitor of Persistent TTX-Sensitive Sodium Channels

μ-Conotoxins are peptide inhibitors of voltage-sensitive sodium channels (VSSCs). Synthetic forms of PIIIA and PIIIA(2-22) were found to inhibit TTX-sensitive VSSC current but had little effect on TTXresistant VSSC current in peripheral ganglia. In rat brain neurons, these peptides preferentially inhibited the persistent over the transient VSSC current. Radioligand binding assays revealed that PIIIA, PIIIA(2-22) and μ-conotoxin GIIIB discriminated among TTX-sensitive VSSCs in rat brain, that these and GIIIC discriminated among the corresponding VSSCs in human brain, while GIIIA had low affinity for neuronal VSSCs. H NMR studies revealed that PIIIA adopts two conformations in solution due to cis/trans isomerisation at hydroxyproline8. The major trans conformation results in a 3D structure that is significantly different from the major conformation of other μ-conotoxins that selectively target TTX-sensitive muscle VSSCs. Comparison of the structures and activity of PIIIA to muscle-selective μ-conotoxins provides an insight into the structural requirements for inhibition of different TTX-sensitive sodium channels by μ-conotoxins.
Light-Hearted Negative Terminology Used in Computer Education and Related Skill of Noncomputer Users

Theory suggests that light-hearted but negative phrases and terminology used in computer literature and course titles may have a negative effect on noncomputer users. This study tested the effect of providing the suggestion of a negative dimension of computer ability labelled with a category of “Computer Dummy” and also the relation between computer ability and computer anxiety. The study incorporated 37 noncomputer users, 17 men and 20 women whose mean age was 52.1 yr. Scores on a self-report questionnaire indicated that 23 of the nonusers responded on the negative dimension of computer ability and included themselves in the category of “Computer Dummy. ” Also, belief about ability and belief about computer training were associated with computer anxiety for noncomputer users.
Monoclonal Antibodies Against Vasoactive Intestinal Polypeptide: Studies of Structure and Related Antigens

Abstract: Hybridomas secreting monoclonal anti‐vaso‐active intestinal polypeptide (VIP) antibodies were constructed from spleen cells sensitized to VIP in vitro. The secreted antibodies were characterized by binding to VIP in indirect radioimmunoassays and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays. Two monoclonal antibodies, characterized for their binding activities with synthetic fragments of VIP, were found to bind different sites on the VIP molecule. These monoclonal antibodies may recognize tertiary structures of the VIP. A search was conducted for antigens recognized by the monoclonal antibodies in brain: brain proteins separated on polyacrylamide gels were electroblotted onto nitrocellulose filters and were reacted first with the mouse antibody and then with goat anti‐mouse imunnoglobulin coupled to horseradish peroxidase as a means of detection. The monoclonal antibodies were found to react with a protein of molecular weight 60,000, which was also recognized by polyclonal antibodies, although the latter reacted with a number of additional proteins. The relationship of the protein of molecular weight 60,000 to VIP is discussed.
Elevation of Intracellular cAMP Inhibits RhoA Activation and Integrin-dependent Leukocyte Adhesion Induced by Chemoattractants*

Chemoattractant receptors of the serpentine, heterotrimeric Gαi protein-linked family can activate leukocyte integrins and in this role regulate leukocyte traffic and cell-cell interactions in immune and inflammatory responses. Using a mouse lymphoid cell line transfected with human formyl peptide or interleukin-8 receptors and normal human neutrophils as models, we show that cAMP functions as a gating element on the chemoattractant-induced rho-dependent signaling pathway leading to leukocyte integrin activation and adhesion. cAMP, acting through protein kinase A, inhibits chemoattractant-triggered integrin-dependent leukocyte adhesion. cAMP also prevents guanine nucleotide exchange on RhoA, a small GTP-binding protein of the rho subfamily, which is activated in seconds by chemoattractants. In contrast, chemoattractant-triggered intracellular calcium elevation is unaffected by cAMP, and cAMP has no effect on rho-dependent adhesion and RhoA guanine nucleotide exchange triggered through the independent protein kinase C pathway. These data suggest that cAMP-induced inhibition of rho activation may be responsible for the anti-adhesive effect of cAMP and may contribute to the anti-inflammatory activity of cAMP elevating agonists and drugs. Moreover, the findings extend the concept of cyclic nucleotide gating as a broadly important mechanism in the regulation of intracellular signaling pathways and the cellular activities they control.
Effects of the duration of progesterone treatment on the resolution of cerebral edema induced by cortical contusions in rats.

UNLABELLED PURPOSE. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of different durations of administration of progesterone (4 mg/kg) on the resolution of edema 6 days after medial frontal cortex contusions (MFC) in male adult rats. METHODS Animals sustaining injury were injected with progesterone or its vehicle for 3 days or for 5 days beginning the first hour after surgery. On the 6th day the rats were killed and their brain water content was measured. RESULTS We confirmed the presence of edema six days after MFC. However, both 3 and 5 days of treatment with progesterone significantly reduced edema in the injured brains but the five days of treatment were more effective. The effects of progesterone depend upon the duration of the treatment because there are two waves of edema. The first phase begins within a few hours of the injury and the second starts several days later. CONCLUSIONS Our data are consistent with earlier findings showing that longer durations of progesterone administration lead to more complete behavioral recovery as well as to an increased number of surviving neurons.
Incorporating Risk Aversion and Model Misspecification into Structural Models of Default

It is well known that purely structural models of default cannot explain short term credit spreads, while purely intensity based models of default lead to completely unpredictable default events. Neither of these features are realistic. Additionally, investor preference may play an important role in introducing correlation of defaults as well as setting spreads themselves. Leung, Sircar and Zariphopoulou (2008) recently introduced a structural model, in which default of the reference entity is triggered by a (non-traded) credit worthiness index, and utilized indifference pricing to value defaultable bonds. We build on this base structural model and add a new distressed regime which allows for unpredictable defaults, thus creating a hybrid model of default. Furthermore, in an unrelated paper, Uppal and Wang (2003) study portfolio optimization when model parameters are unknown. By combining the hybrid default model with the uncertain parameter portfolio optimization problem, we succeed in determining corporate bond spreads and CDS spreads using indifference valuation. Our framework therefore allows for risk aversion, parameter uncertainty and both structural and intensity default features.
A Bayesian semiparametric multivariate joint model for multiple longitudinal outcomes and a time‐to‐event

Motivated by a real data example on renal graft failure, we propose a new semiparametric multivariate joint model that relates multiple longitudinal outcomes to a time‐to‐event. To allow for greater flexibility, key components of the model are modelled nonparametrically. In particular, for the subject‐specific longitudinal evolutions we use a spline‐based approach, the baseline risk function is assumed piecewise constant, and the distribution of the latent terms is modelled using a Dirichlet Process prior formulation. Additionally, we discuss the choice of a suitable parameterization, from a practitioner's point of view, to relate the longitudinal process to the survival outcome. Specifically, we present three main families of parameterizations, discuss their features, and present tools to choose between them. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Speech Enhancement Using Modifie

We previously presented a single-channel speech enhancement technique called the Modified Phase Opponency (MPO) model. The MPO model is based on a neural model called the Phase Opponency (PO) model. The efficacy of the MPO model was demonstrated on speech signals corrupted by additive white noise. In the present work, we extend the MPO model to perform efficiently on speech signals corrupted by additive colored noise with time varying spectral characteristics and amplitude levels. The MPO enhancement scheme outperforms many of the statistical and signaltheoretic speech enhancement techniques when evaluated using three different objective quality measures on a subset of the Aurora database. The superiority of the MPO speech enhancement scheme in enhancing speech signals when the amplitude level and the spectral characteristics of the background noise are fluctuating is also demonstrated.