Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Learning and Equilibrium Selection in a Monetary Overlapping Generations Model with Sticky Prices

We study adaptive learning in a monetary overlapping generations model with sticky prices and monopolistic competition for the case where learning agents observe current endogenous variables. Observability of current variables is essential for informational consistency of the learning setup with the model setup but generates multiple temporary equilibria when prices are flexible and prevents a straightforward construction of the learning dynamics. Sticky prices overcome this problem by avoiding simultaneity between prices and price expectations. Adaptive learning then robustly selects the determinate (monetary) steady state independent from the degree of imperfect competition. The indeterminate (non-monetary) steady state and non-stationary equilibria are never stable. Stability in a deterministic version of the model may differ because perfect foresight equilibria can be the limit of restricted perceptions equilibria of the stochastic economy with vanishing noise and thereby inherit different stability properties. This discontinuity at the zero variance of shocks suggests to analyze learning in stochastic models.
Trends and Drivers of Agricultural Productivity in Nigeria

IFPRI-Abuja International Food Policy Research Institute c/o International Center for Soil Fertility and Agriculture Development Plot 18A Colorado Close Maitama, Abuja Nigeria Tel: +234 (9) 413-5960 Fax: +234 (9) 4130873 E-mail: ifpri-nigeria@cgiar.org www.ifpri. org IFPRI HEADQUARTERS International Food Policy Research Institute 2033 K Street NW Washington, DC 20006-1002 USA Tel. +1-202-862-5600 Fax +1-202-467-4439 E-mail ifpri@cgiar.org www.ifpri. org NSSP Report 1
Acute human brain responses to intracortical microelectrode arrays: challenges and future prospects

The emerging field of neuroprosthetics is focused on the development of new therapeutic interventions that will be able to restore some lost neural function by selective electrical stimulation or by harnessing activity recorded from populations of neurons. As more and more patients benefit from these approaches, the interest in neural interfaces has grown significantly and a new generation of penetrating microelectrode arrays are providing unprecedented access to the neurons of the central nervous system (CNS). These microelectrodes have active tip dimensions that are similar in size to neurons and because they penetrate the nervous system, they provide selective access to these cells (within a few microns). However, the very long-term viability of chronically implanted microelectrodes and the capability of recording the same spiking activity over long time periods still remain to be established and confirmed in human studies. Here we review the main responses to acute implantation of microelectrode arrays, and emphasize that it will become essential to control the neural tissue damage induced by these intracortical microelectrodes in order to achieve the high clinical potentials accompanying this technology.
Wiring requirement and three-dimensional integration of field-programmable gate arrays

In this paper analytical models for predicting interconnect requireðments in field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are presented, and opportunities for 3-D implementation of FPGAs are examined. The analytical models for 2-D FPGAs are calibrated by routing and placement experiments with benchmark circuits and extended to 3-D FPGAs. Based on system-level modeling, we find that in FPGAs with 20K 4-input look-up tables, the reduction in channel width, interconnect delay, and power dissipation can be over 50% by 3-D implementation.
Understanding the Role of Argininosuccinate Lyase Transcript Variants in the Clinical and Biochemical Variability of the Urea Cycle Disorder Argininosuccinic Aciduria*

Background: The role of argininosuccinate lyase (ASL) transcripts in disease variability is unclear. Results: The most common ASL transcript variants decrease the functional enzymatic activity after co-expression with wild type or mutant ASL. Conclusion: ASL transcripts expressed at high levels can contribute to the variable phenotype in ASL-deficient patients. Significance: A new explanation of the molecular basis adds to our understanding of the clinical variability in patients. Argininosuccinic aciduria (ASA) is an autosomal recessive urea cycle disorder caused by deficiency of argininosuccinate lyase (ASL) with a wide clinical spectrum from asymptomatic to severe hyperammonemic neonatal onset life-threatening courses. We investigated the role of ASL transcript variants in the clinical and biochemical variability of ASA. Recombinant proteins for ASL wild type, mutant p.E189G, and the frequently occurring transcript variants with exon 2 or 7 deletions were (co-)expressed in human embryonic kidney 293T cells. We found that exon 2-deleted ASL forms a stable truncated protein with no relevant activity but a dose-dependent dominant negative effect on enzymatic activity after co-expression with wild type or mutant ASL, whereas exon 7-deleted ASL is unstable but seems to have, nevertheless, a dominant negative effect on mutant ASL. These findings were supported by structural modeling predictions for ASL heterotetramer/homotetramer formation. Illustrating the physiological relevance, the predominant occurrence of exon 7-deleted ASL was found in two patients who were both heterozygous for the ASL mutant p.E189G. Our results suggest that ASL transcripts can contribute to the highly variable phenotype in ASA patients if expressed at high levels. Especially, the exon 2-deleted ASL variant may form a heterotetramer with wild type or mutant ASL, causing markedly reduced ASL activity.
Theory of Mind Indexes the Broader Autism Phenotype in Siblings of Children with Autism at School Age

Subclinical variants of the social-communicative challenges and rigidity that define autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are known as the broader autism phenotype (BAP). The BAP has been conceptualized categorically (as specific to a subset of relatives of individuals with ASD) and dimensionally (as continuously distributed within the general population). The current study examined the compatibility of these two approaches by assessing associations among autism symptoms and social-communicative skills in young school-age children with ASD, children who have a sibling with ASD, and children without a sibling with ASD. Autism symptoms were associated with reduced Theory of Mind (ToM), adaptive skills, cognitive empathy, and language skills across the full sample. Reduced ToM was a core aspect of the BAP in the current sample regardless of whether the BAP was defined categorically (in terms of siblings of children with ASD who exhibited atypical developmental) or dimensionally (in terms of associations with autism symptoms across the entire sample). Early language skills predicted school-age ToM. Findings support the compatibility of categorical and dimensional approaches to the BAP, highlight reduced ToM as a core aspect of the school-age BAP, and suggest that narrative-based approaches to promoting ToM may be beneficial for siblings of children with ASD.
Quorum-Sensing Regulation of Adhesion in Serratia marcescens MG1 Is Surface Dependent

ABSTRACT Serratia marcescens is an opportunistic pathogen and a major cause of ocular infections. In previous studies of S. marcescens MG1, we showed that biofilm maturation and sloughing were regulated by N-acyl homoserine lactone (AHL)-based quorum sensing (QS). Because of the importance of adhesion in initiating biofilm formation and infection, the primary goal of this study was to determine whether QS is important in adhesion to both abiotic and biotic surfaces, as assessed by determining the degree of attachment to hydrophilic tissue culture plates and human corneal epithelial (HCE) cells. Our results demonstrate that while adhesion to the abiotic surface was AHL regulated, adhesion to the HCE cell biotic surface was not. Type I fimbriae were identified as the critical adhesin for non-QS-mediated attachment to the biotic HCE cell surface but played no role in adhesion to the abiotic surface. While we were not able to identify a single QS-regulated adhesin essential for attachment to the abiotic surface, four AHL-regulated genes involved in adhesion to the abiotic surface were identified. Interestingly, two of these genes, bsmA and bsmB, were also shown to be involved in adhesion to the biotic surface in a non-QS-controlled fashion. Therefore, the expression of these two genes appears to be cocontrolled by regulators other than the QS system for mediation of attachment to HCE cells. We also found that QS in S. marcescens regulates other potential cell surface adhesins, including exopolysaccharide and the outer membrane protein OmpX. We concluded that S. marcescens MG1 utilizes different regulatory systems and adhesins in attachment to biotic and abiotic surfaces and that QS is a main regulatory pathway in adhesion to an abiotic surface but not in adhesion to a biotic surface.
A Robust Mechanism for Defending Distributed Denial OF Service Attacks on Web Servers

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks have emerged as a popular means of causing mass targeted service disruptions, often for extended periods of time. The relative ease and low costs of launching such attacks, supplemented by the current inadequate sate of any viable defense mechanism, have made them one of the top threats to the Internet community today. Since the increasing popularity of web-based applications has led to several critical services being provided over the Internet, it is imperative to monitor the network traffic so as to prevent malicious attackers from depleting the resources of the network and denying services to legitimate users. This paper first presents a brief discussion on some of the important types of DDoS attacks that currently exist and some existing mechanisms to combat these attacks. It then points out the major drawbacks of the currently existing defense mechanisms and proposes a new mechanism for protecting a web-server against a DDoS attack. In the proposed mechanism, incoming traffic to the server is continuously monitored and any abnormal rise in the inbound traffic is immediately detected. The detection algorithm is based on a statistical analysis of the inbound traffic on the server and a robust hypothesis testing framework. While the detection process is on, the sessions from the legitimate sources are not disrupted and the load on the server is restored to the normal level by blocking the traffic from the attacking sources. To cater to different scenarios, the detection algorithm has various modules with varying level of computational and memory overheads for their execution. While the approximate modules are fast in detection and involve less overhead, they provide lower level of detection accuracy. The accurate modules employ complex detection logic and hence involve more overhead for their execution. However, they have very high detection accuracy. Simulations carried out on the proposed mechanism have produced results that demonstrate effectiveness of the proposed defense mechanism against DDoS attacks.
Enhanced utilization of grid-connected inverter

Smooth mode transfer of voltage source inverter (VSI) between grid-connected and stand-alone modes is achieved by operating the inverter in voltage control mode (VCM). However, this operation produces some adverse practical issues such as requirement of large rating VSI, limited real power injection by VSI, negligible operational capability in strong grid, frequent mode transfer, and reactive power exchange with the grid even at nominal grid voltage. This paper proposes a grid-connected inverter to address these issues. An external inductor, satisfying several constraints, is proposed between the load and grid points to enhance the capability of inverter to operate in VCM during voltage disturbances as well as in adverse grid conditions. Also, an improved control algorithm is proposed for reference load voltage generation. This algorithm enables inverter to provide advantages of current control mode (CCM) during normal operation such that grid exchanges only real power; and VCM during grid disturbances by maintaining constant voltage at the load terminal. Moreover, inverter continues to inject DG power for the entire operation. Grid-connected inverter becomes multifunctional with these features resulting in enhanced utilization. This is validated by simulation results.
Adherence to antipsychotics among Latinos and Asians with schizophrenia and limited English proficiency.

OBJECTIVES The authors examined data for 7,784 Latino, Asian, and non-Latino white Medi-Cal beneficiaries with schizophrenia to determine the relationship between patients' preferred language for mental health services--English, Spanish, or an Asian language--and their adherence to treatment with antipsychotic medications. METHODS Data reflected 31,560 person-years from 1999 to 2004. Pharmacy records were analyzed to assess medication adherence by use of the medication possession ratio (MPR). Clients were defined as nonadherent (MPR<.5), partially adherent (MPR=.5-<.8), or adherent (MPR=.8-1.1) or as an excess filler of prescriptions (MPR<1.1). Regression models were used to examine adherence, hospitalization, and costs by race-ethnicity and language status. RESULTS Latinos with limited English proficiency were more likely than English-proficient Latinos to be medication adherent (41% versus 36%; p<.001) and less likely to be excess fillers (15% versus 20%; p<.001). Asians with limited English proficiency were less likely than English-proficient Asians to be adherent (40% versus 45%; p=.034), more likely to be nonadherent (29% versus 22%; p<.001), and less likely to be excess fillers (13% versus 17%; p=.004). When analyses controlled for adherence and comorbidities, clients with limited English proficiency had lower rates of hospitalization and lower health care costs than English-proficient and white clients. CONCLUSIONS Adherence to antipsychotic medications varied by English proficiency among and within ethnic groups. Policies supporting the training of bilingual and multicultural providers from ethnic minority groups and interventions that capitalize on patients' existing social support networks may improve adherence to treatment in linguistically diverse populations.
Chaos in protein dynamics

MD simulations, currently the most detailed description of the dynamic evolution of proteins, are based on the repeated solution of a set of differential equations implementing Newton's second law. Many such systems are known to exhibit chaotic behavior, i.e., very small changes in initial conditions are amplified exponentially and lead to vastly different, inherently unpredictable behavior. We have investigated the response of a protein fragment in an explicit solvent environment to very small perturbations of the atomic positions (10−3–10−9 Å). Independent of the starting conformation (native‐like, compact, extended), perturbed dynamics trajectories deviated rapidly, leading to conformations that differ by approximately 1 Å RMSD within 1–2 ps. Furthermore, introducing the perturbation more than 1–2 ps before a significant conformational transition leads to a loss of the transition in the perturbed trajectories. We present evidence that the observed chaotic behavior reflects physical properties of the system rather than numerical instabilities of the calculation and discuss the implications for models of protein folding and the use of MD as a tool to analyze protein folding pathways. Proteins 29:417–425, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Voltage unbalance mitigation by using the three-phase damping control strategy in active rectification mode

—The constantly increasing interest towards the elec- tric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles will increase the voltage unbalance and overvoltages in the distribution grids and therefore, the power quality of the grid voltage might be put in a danger. To overcome this issue more sophisticated control strategies for the battery chargers must be used that are able to improve the power quality in the low voltage grid. In this paper, a solution based on the three-phase damping control strategy is proposed that can be used to control the power electronic rectiﬁers in the battery chargers such that asymmetrical phase currents are drawn and thus the voltage unbalance at the point of common coupling is mitigated.
Arboreality, terrestriality and bipedalism

The full publication of Ardipithecus ramidus has particular importance for the origins of hominin bipedality, and strengthens the growing case for an arboreal origin. Palaeontological techniques however inevitably concentrate on details of fragmentary postcranial bones and can benefit from a whole-animal perspective. This can be provided by field studies of locomotor behaviour, which provide a real-world perspective of adaptive context, against which conclusions drawn from palaeontology and comparative osteology may be assessed and honed. Increasingly sophisticated dynamic modelling techniques, validated against experimental data for living animals, offer a different perspective where evolutionary and virtual ablation experiments, impossible for living mammals, may be run in silico, and these can analyse not only the interactions and behaviour of rigid segments but increasingly the effects of compliance, which are of crucial importance in guiding the evolution of an arboreally derived lineage.
Landing method for a one-legged robot with artificial muscles and an MR brake

Bipedal robots capable of various dynamic motions - such as walking, running, and jumping - have been developed in recent years. In particular, these dynamic motions require high power for short durations of time when the robot kicks off the ground. Furthermore, it is necessary to reduce the impact force that a robot is subjected to when landing during these motions. When humans perform similar motions, they generate an instantaneous high-power force using an elastic element and dampen the impact force using a viscous element in their muscles. Therefore, a robotic leg designed for jumping that relies on these elements has been developed. It uses a straight-fiber-type artificial muscle and a magnetorheological (MR) brake. A previously designed one-legged robot was able to jump 82.5 mm using a sliding rail and counter weights; however, it shook upon landing due to an elastic element in its artificial muscles. Here, therefore, an MR brake to dissipate energy is applied to the robotic leg in order to suppress vibration. Landing experiments performed with the newly designed one-legged robot confirm that the proposed method (i.e., using the MR brake) is able to suppress vibrations.
C1-esterase inhibitor treatment: preclinical safety aspects on the potential prothrombotic risk

Summary Human plasma-derived C1-esterase inhibitor (C1–INH) is an efficacious and safe treatment for hereditary angioedema. However, thrombotic events in subjects treated with C1–INH at recommended or offlabel, high doses have been reported. In this study, we addressed the potential prothrombotic risk of C1–INH treatment in high doses using a non-clinical rabbit model. Following intravenous infusion of C1–INH to rabbits at doses up to 800 IU/kg, the exposure and the pharmacodynamic efficacy of C1–INH in rabbits were confirmed by activity measurements of C1-esterase, and coagulation factors XIa and XIIa, respectively. Potential prothrombotic effects were assessed following induction of venous and arterial thrombosis using in vivo models of venous and arterial stasis, complemented by various in vitro assays of coagulation markers. Administration of C1–INH at doses up to 800 IU/ kg did not potentiate thrombus formation during venous stasis. In contrast, inhibition of arterial occlusion was observed upon C1–INH administration when compared with isotonic saline treatment, indicating antithrombotic rather than prothrombotic activity of high dose C1–INH treatment in vivo. This was further confirmed in vitro by decreased thrombin generation, increased activated partial thromboplastin time, clotting time and clot formation time, and inhibition of platelet aggregation. No relevant changes in fibrinolysis or in the levels of thrombin-antithrombin complexes, and prothrombin fragment 1+2 were observed upon high dose C1–INH treatment. The data suggest that treatment of healthy rabbits with high doses of C1–INH could potentially inhibit coagulation and thrombus formation rather than induce a prothrombotic risk.
The susceptibility of Philadelphia chromosome positive cells to FAS‐mediated apoptosis is not linked to the tyrosine kinase activity of BCR‐ABL

We investigated whether inhibition of the BCR‐ABL tyrosine kinase by the CGP57418B compound would render chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) cells susceptible to Fas (CD95, Apo‐1)‐mediated cell death. Only two (AR230 and SD1) out of 10 BCR‐ABL positive cell lines were found to express the CD95 protein. No change in Fas expression was observed in any of the 10 cell lines after 48 h exposure to CGP57418B. AR230 cells were resistant and SD1 cells were partially resistant to Fas‐mediated apoptosis induced by ligation of the Fas receptor to an anti‐Fas IgM antibody. Pre‐incubation with 1 μM CGP57418B did not change the susceptibility of these cell lines to Fas‐mediated cell death. Similar results were observed in experiments with CD34+ cells from CML patients and from normal individuals. The data suggest that, in contrast to some cytotoxic drugs, the CGP57148B tyrosine kinase inhibitor utilizes a pathway other than the CD95 system in order to induce apoptosis in CML cells.
The Effects of Modified Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy in Acute Subcortical Cerebral Infarction

Background: Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) promotes upper extremity recovery post stroke, however, it is difficult to implement clinically due to its high resource demand and safety of the restraint. Therefore, we propose that modified CIMT (mCIMT) be used to treat individuals with acute subcortical infarction. Objective: To evaluate the therapeutic effects of mCIMT in patients with acute subcortical infarction, and investigate the possible mechanisms underlying the effect. Methods: The role of mCIMT was investigated in 26 individuals experiencing subcortical infarction in the preceding 14 days. Patients were randomly assigned to either mCIMT or standard therapy. mCIMT group was treated daily for 3 h over 10 consecutive working days, using a mitt on the unaffected arm for up to 30% of waking hours. The control group was treated with an equal dose of occupational therapy and physical therapy. During the 3-month follow-up, the motor functions of the affected limb were assessed by the Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT) and Motor Activity Log (MAL). Altered cortical excitability was assessed via transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Results: Treatment significantly improved the movement in the mCIMT group compared with the control group. The mean WMF score was significantly higher in the mCIMT group compared with the control group. Further, the appearance of motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) were significantly higher in the mCIMT group compared with the baseline data. A significant change in ipsilesional silent period (SP) occurred in the mCIMT group compared with the control group. However, we found no difference between two groups in motor function or electrophysiological parameters after 3 months of follow-up. Conclusions: mCIMT resulted in significant functional changes in timed movement immediately following treatment in patients with acute subcortical infarction. Further, early mCIMT improved ipsilesional cortical excitability. However, no long-term effects were seen.