Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trade Liberalization in China's Accession to the World Trade Organization

Before reform, China's trade was dominated by a few foreign trade corporations with monopolies on the trade of specific ranges of products. Planners could control imports through these corporations so there was little need for conventional instruments such as tariffs, quotas, and licenses. Trade reforms increased the range of enterprises eligible to trade in specific commodities and led to the development of indirect new trade instruments, such as duty exemptions. Duty exemptions almost completely liberalized the imports of intermediate inputs used to produce exports and investment goods used in joint ventures with foreign enterprises. Comprehensive liberalization measures in China's World Trade Organization (WTO) accession package will help ease this problem as tariff reduction reduces the costs of domestic inputs to exporters. WTO commitments will also lead to the abolition of most nontariff barriers and of quotas on textiles and clothing. With accession, China's share of world exports may almost double between 1995 and 2005 - an estimate that is smaller than those found in studies that do not incorporate duty exemptions. (Duty exemptions were a form of partial liberalization, so any further reduction in protection will boost trade volume less than some estimate.) With reform, labor-intensive industries are expected to grow most, especially exports of apparel. Wages of unskilled worker should rise.
Ultrasound-Assisted one-Pot Synthesis of Dispersable Nano-MnO2 in the Presence of Nanocellulose

One-step rapid synthesis of colloidal nano-MnO2 suspension from KMnO4 solution has been readily carried out in the presence of nanocellulose whiskers (NCW) upon a sonochemistry procedure at room temperature. NCW that plays a triple role of a reducing agent and a support, as well as of a stabilizer, has been introduced to obtain stable dispersions of MnO2 nanoparticles. UV-vis spectroscopy, XRD, and TEM were employed to characterize the products. Uniform α-MnO2 nanoparticles of dimensions 20–30 nm were obtained with good crystalinity and phase-purity by air- calcination treatment at 500 °C.
Evaluation of Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant Activated Sludge for Biodegradation of Propylene Glycol as an Aircraft Deicing Fluid

Abstract : Aircraft deicing fluid used at airport facilities is often collected for treatment or disposal in order to prevent serious ecological threats to nearby surface waters. This study investigated lab scale degradation of propylene glycol (PG), the active ingredient in a common aircraft deicing fluid, by way of a laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactor containing municipal waste water treatment facility activated sludge (AS) performing simultaneous organic carbon oxidation and nitrification. The ability of AS to remove PG was evaluated by studying the biodegradation and sorption characteristics of PG in an AS medium. The results indicate sorption may play a role in the fate of PG in AS, and the heterotrophic bacteria readily degrade this compound. Therefore, a field deployable SBR may be appropriate for use in flight line applications.
A survey of herbal product use in a dialysis population in Northwest Ohio.

OBJECTIVE To identify herbal product use in a dialysis population. DESIGN AND SETTING Cross-sectional survey conducted at 2 freestanding dialysis centers in Northwest Ohio. PATIENTS Two hundred and sixteen hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients who provided informed consent. INTERVENTION All patients were surveyed by personal interview regarding use of herbal products. Patients identified as current users were asked questions about specific agents. Respondents reporting past but not current use were questioned about specific agents and reasons for discontinuation. RESULTS Thirty-one patients reported taking herbal therapies. Twenty-six patients discontinued use before the survey. Sixteen different herbal products were reported being used in our study population. Those who reported ever using an herbal product were more likely to be employed or disabled and have higher education when compared with nonusers. CONCLUSION Our data suggest a lower frequency of herbal product use in the dialysis population as compared with the general population and other chronically ill populations. Education and employment are factors associated with use. Many of the herbal therapies used potentially could have significant adverse effects in dialysis patients. These include effects on blood pressure, blood glucose, coagulation parameters, and electrolyte disturbances. Dialysis patients currently taking herbal products may not be reevaluating their need for continuation and may not be informing members of the nephrology care team about their use.
Availability analysis of a Lube oil system using Generalized Stochastic Petri Net

This paper deals with the availability analysis of a Lube oil system used in a combined cycle power plant. The system is modeled as a Generalized Stochastic Petri Net (GSPN) and analyzed using Monte Carlo Simulation method. The superiority of this approach over others is demonstrated. The proposed GSPN is a promising tool that can be conveniently used to model and analyze any complex systems.
Serum- and Glucocorticoid-Inducible Kinase-1 (SGK-1) Plays a Role in Membrane Trafficking in Caenorhabditis elegans

The mammalian serum- and glucocorticoid-inducible kinase SGK1 regulates the endocytosis of ion channels. Here we report that in C. elegans sgk-1 null mutants, GFP-tagged MIG-14/Wntless, the sorting receptor of Wnt, failed to localize to the basolateral membrane of intestinal cells; instead, it was mis-sorted to lysosomes. This effect can be explained in part by altered sphingolipid levels, because reducing glucosylceramide biosynthesis restored the localization of MIG-14::GFP. Membrane traffic was not perturbed in general, as no obvious morphological defects were detected for early endosomes, the Golgi apparatus, and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in sgk-1 null animals. The recycling of MIG-14/Wntless through the Golgi might be partially responsible for the observed phenotype because the subcellular distribution of two plasma membrane cargoes that do not recycle through the trans-Golgi network (TGN) was affected to a lesser degree. Consistently, knockdown of the ArfGEF gbf-1 altered the distribution of SGK-1 at the basolateral membrane of intestinal cells. In addition, we found that sgk-1(RNAi) induced unfolded protein response in the ER, suggesting at least an indirect role of SGK-1 early in the secretory pathway. We propose that SGK-1 function is required for lipid homeostasis and that it acts at different intracellular trafficking steps.
Soluble TRAIL concentrations are raised in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Background: Increased apoptosis may induce autoimmune conditions. Apoptosis is induced by binding of death receptor ligands, members of the tumour necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily, to their cognate receptors. The Fas–Fas ligand pathway has been studied extensively in relation to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, other death pathways are also considered important. TNF related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL), another ligand of the TNF superfamily, induces apoptosis in sensitive cells. Objective: To assess soluble (s) TRAIL concentrations in sera of SLE patients. Methods: 40 SLE patients were studied (20 with active and 20 with inactive disease). Serum sTRAIL concentrations were measured by a solid phase sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Levels in SLE patients were compared with those in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (n = 20), Wegener’s granulomatosis (n = 20), and healthy controls (n = 20). Results: Mean (SEM) serum sTRAIL concentration in SLE patients (936.0 (108.2) pg/ml) was higher than in healthy controls (509.4 (33.8) pg/ml; p<0.01) or in disease control patients with rheumatoid arthritis (443.8 (36.1) pg/ml, p<0.001) or Wegener’s granulomatosis (357.1 (32.2) pg/ml; p<0.001). The mean serum sTRAIL concentration was 1010.2 (168.0) pg/ml for patients with inactive disease and 861.8 (138.7) pg/ml for those with active disease. sTRAIL values were not correlated with specific manifestations of the disease, such as leucopenia or lymphopenia, or with SLE disease activity index. Conclusions: Serum sTRAIL concentrations are increased SLE patients. This seems to be disease specific and could indicate a role for TRAIL in SLE pathophysiology.
Effect of electrode configurations and gap spacings on partial discharge characteristics of oil-pressboard insulation system

Partial Discharge (PD) activity at the interface of oil pressboard begins before full surface discharge. It is visualized as white marks or tree like structures on the surface of aged pressboards. The PD activity can cause irreversible damage to the insulation material due to its thermal and chemical actions. Thus, extensive study is necessary to classify the PD patterns within oil, inside the pressboard as well as at the interface. The nature of PD characteristics depend on various parameters such as type of oil, pressboard material, electrode configuration, gap spacing, etc. In this work, PD characteristics of oil-pressboard interface are studied using mineral oil (Nytro 10XN), synthetic ester (MIDEL 7131) and natural ester (FR3) with different electrode configurations and gap spacing. The experiments were conducted according to the standard IEC 60641-2 and the PD patterns were recorded with the help of Omicron PD detector (MPD-600). Care was taken while preparing the pressboard samples and their impregnation process. In order to compare the PD characteristics, Partial Discharge Inception Voltage (PDIV) and Phase Resolved Partial Discharge (PRPD) patterns were recorded. Initially, the effects of gap electrode configurations and gap spacing were studied with mineral oil- pressboard interface with the help of recorded PDIV magnitude and PRPD patterns. Secondly, the investigations were carried out for different types of transformer oils. The PRPD patterns were analyzed using the characteristics such as apparent charge and repetition rates. It was observed that pressboard material immersed in mineral oil and natural esters has lower apparent charge and repetition rates as compared to synthetic ester at the same voltage levels.
Class-E resonant regulated DC/DC power converters: analysis of operation, and experimental results at 1.5 MHZ

We present analytical results, design considerations and experimental results at 1.5 MHZ, for a novel, resonant, high-frequency de/de converter. The circuit works virtually without dynamic losses at several-MHz switching frequency. The analysis gives the permissible area of the equivalent load impedance for lossless operation, presents a model for regulation by narrow-band frequency control, and characterizes the output full-wave rectifier. Experimental data from a 1.5-MHz, 40-W converter verify the results of the theoretical analysis. The measured efficiency was 85%.
Parallel RNA interference screens identify EGFR activation as an escape mechanism in FGFR3-mutant cancer.

UNLABELLED Activation of fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFR) is a common oncogenic event. Little is known about the determinants of sensitivity to FGFR inhibition and how these may vary between different oncogenic FGFRs. Using parallel RNA interference (RNAi) genetic screens, we show that the EGF receptor (EGFR) limits sensitivity to FGFR inhibition in FGFR3-mutant and -translocated cell lines, but not in other FGFR-driven cell lines. We also identify two distinct mechanisms through which EGFR limits sensitivity. In partially FGFR3-dependent lines, inhibition of FGFR3 results in transient downregulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling that is rescued by rapid upregulation of EGFR signaling. In cell lines that are intrinsically resistant to FGFR inhibition, EGFR dominates signaling via repression of FGFR3, with EGFR inhibition rescued by delayed upregulation of FGFR3 expression. Importantly, combinations of FGFR and EGFR inhibitors overcome these resistance mechanisms in vitro and in vivo. Our results illustrate the power of parallel RNAi screens in identifying common resistance mechanisms to targeted therapies. SIGNIFICANCE Our data identify a novel therapeutic approach to the treatment of FGFR3-mutant cancer, emphasizing the potential of combination approaches targeting both FGFR3 and EGFR. Our data extend the role of EGFR in mediating resistance to inhibitors targeting a mutant oncogene, showing that EGFR signaling can repress mutant FGFR3 to induce intrinsic resistance to FGFR targeting.
Edinburgh Research Explorer Membrane Systems with Peripheral Proteins: Transport and Evolution

Transport of substances and communication between compartments are fundamental biological processes, often mediated by the presence of complementary proteins attached to the surfaces of membranes. Within compartments, substances are acted upon by local biochemical rules. Inspired by this behaviour we present a model based on membrane systems, with objects attached to the sides of the membranes and ﬂoating objects that can move between the regions of the system. Moreover, in each region there are evolution rules that rewrite the transported objects, mimicking chemical reactions. We ﬁrst analyse the system, showing that interesting qualitative properties can be decided (like reachability of conﬁgurations) and then present a simulator based on a stochastic version of the introduced model and show how it can be used to simulate relevant quantitative biological processes.
A Novel Multi-planar Homography Constraint Algorithm for Robust Multi-people Location with Severe Occlusion

Multi-view approach has been proposed to solve occlusion and lack of visibility in crowded scenes. However, the problem is that too much redundancy information might bring about false alarm. Although researchers have done many efforts on how to use the multi-view information to track people accurately, it is particularly hard to wipe off the false alarm. Our approach is to use multiple views cooperatively to detect objects and use objects silhouette on planes of different height to remove false alarm. To achieve this we adopt a novel multi-planar homography constraint to resolve occlusions and false alarm. Experimental results show that our algorithm is able to accurately locate people in crowded scene maintaining correct correspondences across views. Moreover, the false alarm rate is obviously reduced.
Compensating Thermoset Composite Panel Deformation using Corrective Molding

Open mold composite (OMC) body panels, comprising three thermosetting layers, warp significantly after removal from the mold. Due to an asymmetric layup of these laminates, a residual stress develops due to chemical shrinkage of the gel coat resin during cure. The resulting bending moment distorts the panel. This work first develops a finite element model (FEM) to calculate panel deformation based on the chemical shrinkage and mechanical properties of the laminated panel. The FEM is then validated by a direct comparison with the measured distortion of door-outer panels produced using a conventional panel-shaped mold. This FEM is then integrated into an algorithm to calculate a mold shape that corrects for this distortion. Starting with a mold duplicating the desired panel shape, the initial panel deformation is calculated using the FEM. Trial molds are then generated by partial inversion of the deformed panel's deviation from the desired shape. The algorithm is iterated until it converges to a corrective mesh that deforms to the mesh of the desired shape of the panel. A corrective mold for a door-outer panel is fabricated and the effectiveness of the corrective mold is evaluated by measuring the distortion of the door-outer panels it produces. Compared to the panels produced by the conventional mold, the corrective mold reduces panel distortion by 45%.
Using Discovered, Polyphonic Patterns to Filter Computer-generated Music

A metric for evaluating the creativity of a music-generating system is presented, the objective being to generate mazurka-style music that inherits salient patterns from an original excerpt by FrA©dA©ric Chopin. The metric acts as a filter within our overall system, causing rejection of generated passages that do not inherit salient patterns, until a generated passage survives. Over fifty iterations, the mean number of generations required until survival was 12.7, with standard deviation 13.2. In the interests of clarity and replicability, the system is described with reference to specific excerpts of music. Four concepts–Markov modelling for generation, pattern discovery, pattern quantification, and statistical testing–are presented quite distinctly, so that the reader might adopt (or ignore) each concept as they wish.
Strabismus genetics across a spectrum of eye misalignment disorders

Eye misalignment, called strabismus, is amongst the most common phenotypes observed, occurring in up to 5% of individuals in a studied population. While misalignment is frequently observed in rare complex syndromes, the majority of strabismus cases are non‐syndromic. Over the past decade, genes and pathways associated with syndromic forms of strabismus have emerged, but the genes contributing to non‐syndromic strabismus remain elusive. Genetic testing for strabismus risk may allow for earlier diagnosis and treatment, as well as decreased frequency of surgery. We review human and model organism literature describing non‐syndromic strabismus, including family, twin, linkage, and gene expression studies. Recent advances in the genetics of Duane retraction syndrome are considered, as relatives of those impacted show elevated familial rates of non‐syndromic strabismus. As whole genome sequencing efforts are advancing for the discovery of the elusive strabismus genes, this overview is intended to support the interpretation of the new findings.
Performance Evaluation of Connection Admission Control for IEEE 802.16 Networks

Quality of Service (QoS) provisioning to the various kinds of network traffic is one of the major design criteria of IEEE 802.16 WiMAX standard. The MAC and physical layers of 802.16 standards are designed to support different types of real time application by providing QoS. Scheduling, Connection Admission Control (CAC) and traffic policing are the major issues to ensure QoS. In standard, scheduling and admission control are kept as open issues. Admission control is the ability of a network to control admission of new traffic based on the availability of resources. As per the specification the CAC considers minimum reserved rate of a connection as an admission criterion, in which the system can admit more connections, but packets of admitted connection may encounter large delays. In this paper average data rate (avg-rate CAC) and maximum sustained rate (max-rate CAC) of the connections are considered as admission criteria in CAC, along with minimum reserved rate (min-rate CAC). The performance of the WiMAX network is evaluated and compared for min-rate, avg-rate and max-rate CAC by considering the performance metrics such as number of connections admitted, throughput and delay using QualNet simulation tool.
Transmission of Buruli disease.

conclude that the situation is one of compensated respiratory alkalosis. Surely these patients have a ventilation-perfusion imbalance, with a shunting effect in the collapsed areas. Consequent hypoxaemia has led to hyperventilation in unaffected lung with resulting hypocapnoea and alkalosis. It is clear that is is unwise to make assumptions about acid/base status on the basis of bicarbonate values alone. Less than one third of the patients studied had pH values performed, and those were in the latter portion of the study when the stimulus to ective reappraisal of the initial preli. e canno wAve been strong. If the lowered Bicarbonate is a compensatf; range, then to infuse alkaline fluids is no. a logical treatment. The apparent improvement in the treated group must be viewed with caution as radiography of lung bain supine patients with raised diaphlgirgms is not, alone, sufficiently accurate to assess the presence or absence of atelectasis. Further, for the comparison to be valid the untreated group should have had injections of an equivalent amount of similarly hypertonic saline (perhaps on a double-blind schedule)-the author ignores the effect of 3-,mEq of sodium on the extracellular fluid which must be augmented in volume significantly with some change in pulmonary and systemic haemodynamics. I hope these observations will prevent any premature use of bicarbonate in postoperative patients until the findings are checked in more detailed and objective studies. In a proportion of patients with . schaemic heart disease, often undiagnosed, the mo,7ements of body potassium induced by the recommended regimen must predispose to dangerous arrhythmias. -I am, etc., R. S. MAcDONALD.
Cytosolic phospholipase A2 regulation in the hibernating thirteen-lined ground squirrel

Cytosolic calcium-dependent phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) has multiple roles including production of arachidonic acid (a key player in cellular signaling pathways) and membrane remodeling. Additionally, since catabolism of arachidonic acid generates free radicals, the enzyme is also implicated in ischemic injury to mammalian organs. Regulation of cPLA2 could be important in the suppression and prioritization of cellular pathways in animals that undergo reversible transitions into hypometabolic states. The present study examines the responses and regulation of cPLA2 in skeletal muscle and liver of hibernating thirteen-lined ground squirrels, Spermophilus tridecemlineatus. cPLA2 activity decreased significantly by 43% in liver during hibernation, compared with euthermic controls, and Km values for arachidonoyl thio-PC substrate fell in both organs during hibernation to 61% in liver and 28% in muscle of the corresponding euthermic value. To determine whether these responses were due to a change in the phosphorylation state of the enzyme, Western blotting was employed using antibodies recognizing phospho-Ser505 on α-cPLA2. The amount of phosphorylated α-cPLA2 in hibernator liver was just 38% of the value in euthermic liver. Furthermore, incubation of liver extracts under conditions that enhanced protein phosphatase action caused a greater reduction in the detectable amount of phospho-Ser505 enzyme content in euthermic, versus hibernator, extracts. The data are consistent with a suppression of cPLA2 function during torpor via enzyme dephosphorylation, an action that may contribute to the well-developed ischemia tolerance and lack of oxidative damage found in hibernating species over cycles of torpor and arousal.
Bmc Musculoskeletal Disorders Hallux Valgus Angle as Main Predictor for Correction of Hallux Valgus

Background: It is recognized that different types of hallux valgus exist. Classification occurs with radiographic and clinical parameters. Severity of different parameters is used in algorithms to choose between different surgical procedures. Because there is no consensus about each parameter nor their cutoff point we conducted this study to analyze the influence of these variables on the postoperative hallux valgus angle.