Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Developmental aspects of complement components in the newborn. The presence of complement components and C3 proactivator (properdin factor B) in human colostrum.

A deficiency of all nine complement (C) components in cord sera relative to maternal serum levels was demonstrated. At 4 days of age, C1q (measured immunochemically), C1, C2, C4 and C7 levels were increased markedly to maternal levels. C3 was the only C component which exhibited no significant change between birth and at 4 days of age. A marked deficiency of serum levels of C8 and particularly of C9 was evident at birth. No haemolytic C was demonstrable in the colostrum from which lipids were previously removed. Functional C3 was measurable by immune adherence with EAC142 intermediate sheep cells. Functional C3PA using cobra venom-induced lysis of unsensitized guinea-pig erythrocytes was also present. Substantial amounts of C3, C4 and C3PA determined immunochemically were found at 24 hr after birth with rapidly decreasing levels at 48 and 72 hr. C1q and C5 were absent. No differences of C components were evident in sera between bottle and breast-fed infants for any of the nine components studied.
THE DETERMINANTS OF INTRA-INDUSTRY SPECIALIZATION IN UNITED STATES TRADE

This paper attempts to explain the determinants of intra-industry specialization in the United States by reference to industry as well as country characteristics. It is shown that the extent of intra-industry trade is positively correlated with product differentiation, marketing costs, the variability of profit rates, and offshore procurement, and it is negatively correlated with economies of scale, industrial concentration, foreign direct investment, and transportation costs. It is further shown that intra-industry specialization in U.S. trade with individual countries is positively correlated with the extent of trade orientation in these countries, and it is negatively correlated with inequalities in per capita incomes and total GNP and with distance between the U.S. and the individual countries.
CDM wind-energy projects: exploring small capacity thresholds and low performances

Abstract This article analyses existing small-scale wind farms located in India as hypothetical projects implemented under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). It addresses them from three different viewpoints (sustainable development, financial feasibility and institutional conditions), focusing mostly on identifying the smallest capacities and lowest performances at which these cases may become attractive for CDM investors. Although the case studies exhibit the potential to achieve the dual objective of the CDM; based on our estimates of related transaction costs we find that small-scale CDM wind farms that generate a minimum of 3,500–5,000 certified emission reductions (CERs) per year may start to attract the attention of CDM investors, as long as a minimum of just US$5 per CER is obtained and supportive strategies such as project bundling and unilateral implementation model are in place. Lessons from the Indian wind-energy experience indicate that non-Annex I countries interested in attracting the attention of CDM investors for wind-energy projects should undertake domestic efforts to build institutional and human competences capable of supporting both their domestic windenergy markets and the development of CDM wind-energy projects in general. Some policy recommendations are drawn.
Tenant Level Checkpointing of Meta-data for Multi-tenancy SaaS

Traditional checkpointing techniques are facing a grave challenge when applied to multi-tenancy software-as-a-service (SaaS) systems due to the huge scale of the system state and the diversity of users' requirements on the quality of services. This paper proposes the notion of tenant level checkpointing and an algorithm that exploits Big Data techniques to checkpoint tenant's meta-data, which are widely used in configuring SaaS for tenant-specific features. The paper presents a prototype implementation of the proposed technique using NoSQL database Couchbase and reports the experiments that compare it with traditional implementation of checkpointing using file systems. Experiments show that the Big Data approach has a significantly lower latency in comparison with the traditional approach.
Retrospective voting in American national elections

a useful introduction for an American audience to European historical social research. Most of the papers focus on technical problems of data availability and archiving, measurement and computerization. Three chapters are directly concerned with problems such as the generation of complex data files, preservation, storage and access, and new data bases. Five of the remaining 6 chapters are organized around the technical problems of dealing with themes such as time series, document content, personal networks, life histories, and administrative and census data. In their introduction the editors recognize this limited and initial character of European historical social research by pointing out that the papers do not represent more mature fields of inquiry. Yet one cannot remain wholly satisfied with these recognized limitations. There seems to be no inherent reason why historical empirical research utilizing quantitative data and social categories needs to be organized in so mechanical a fashion, shaped by the nature of the data and the technical problems of organizing it. It could be shaped equally well, although not as easily, around problems of conceptualization, in which choices of data to be examined and methods of juxtaposing it for analysis could be determined more by the substance of historical problems themselves. Only one of the topics presented here approaches this mode of research, an analysis by Heinrich Best of the petitions to the Frankfurt National Assembly in 1848 and 1849. Best makes clear that he seeks to use his data to test previous theories about the course of political relationships among varied economic groups as the events of those two years unfolded. And his data provide an opportunity to go even further to sort out leading and lagging sectors of economy and politics in mid-nineteenth-century Germany. But few of the projects reported here seem to have such conceptual potential. American historical social research has experienced some severe limitations in conceptual relevance because of the very high degree to which its inquiries have been shaped by preoccupation with the technical aspects of making quantitative data manageable. As of yet, therefore, it has had only minor impact on larger analyses of American history. If organized around well-defined problems of historical conceptualization, it could play a far more significant role. From this volume one wonders if the same limitations cannot be predicted for historical social research in Europe as well.
The Impact of Firm and Managerial Characteristics on Small and Medium-Sized Greek Firms' Export Performance

Abstract In recent years small and medium-sized firms have taken their first steps towards internationalization. Exporting, the preferred mode of internationalization of smaller firms, has become more important and increasingly more difficult due to increased global competition. Thus, it is important to understand all the factors that make a small firm a successful exporter. This article reports on the findings of a study of small and medium-sized Greek firms. The relationships between managerial and firm characteristics and their relationship to export performance are investigated. Some of the managerial and firm-characteristics examined are: age of the decision maker, fluency in foreign languages, age and size of the firm.
The impact of monetary policy on bond prices: a new statistical approach.

Dynamical term structure models are traditionally used in finance as statistical tools for bond portfolio hedging and immunization and, more recently, to modelize the stochastic response of the term structure to shocks on the economic factors. Here we analyze the Balduzzi, Das, Foresi and Sundaram (1996) term structure model and show that the Impulse Response function and the duration measure are closely related. Moreover, we quantify the market value of an anticipation on the monetary authority decisions. This value is uniquely determined by the no arbitrage hypothesis and by the optimality of agent trading decisions with respect to the anticipation.
Competition and Two-Part Tariffs

Monopoly power-of some sort-is thought to have viewed two-part . ~~~~~~~~~tariffs as price-discrimibe a necessary condition for a firm to have the nation devices, empower to price discriminate. For example, a firm ployed exclusively by prefers to use a two-part tariff (see Oi 1971) firms with market rather than charge a single price for output. power. This paper ofHowever, a competing firm could always charge fers an explanation for the use of such price a single price that consumers would prefer and schedules by firms in earn nonnegative profits. Thus it seems that the highly competitive marexistence of competition in a market would result kets, such as health in the elimination of any two-part tariff. Howclubs. It is argued that, ever, the existence of two-part tariffs in many in a world with buyer markets that are (or appear to be) competitive uncertainty about future demands, they can belies this standard assumption. This paper exprovide insurance for plains why monopoly power is not required for risk-averse buyers. The the existence of a two-part tariff. I show circumfixed entry fee finances stances in which price discrimination using a a marginal price below marginal cost. It is two-part tariff is preferred by consumers to a sinshown that the benefits gle price and therefore why this pricing method from this lower price will be found in competitive markets. Such pricwill, under certain ing occurs in environments with uncertainty bespecified conditions, cause two-part tariffs act as a form of insurance. outweigh the costs of Ex ante consumers plan consumption; however, the entry fee. there is a random component to their consump-
Development of larval muscle properties in the embryonic myotubes of Drosophila melanogaster

The entire developmental history of muscle membrane electrogenesis can be observed in the embryonic myotubes of Drosophila. We have examined the development of ionic currents and muscle properties using whole- cell patch-clamp techniques throughout embryonic myogenesis. In the early stages of myogenesis, from myoblast fusion through to establishing epidermal insertions, the myotubes are electrically inert and are electrically and dye coupled to adjacent myotubes. Membrane electrogenesis begins in the mid-embryonic stages (early stage 16), when the myotubes abruptly uncouple, revealing the first of five prominent extrajunctional currents: a small, inward, voltage-gated calcium current (ICa). The uncoupling of the embryonic myotubes heralds the onset of extremely rapid electrogenesis; within several minutes both the fast, inactivating (IA; Shaker) and delayed, noninactivating (IK) outward potassium currents, the stretch-activated outward potassium current, and the junctional glutamate-gated inward current all appear and begin to develop in a current-specific manner. Very late in embryogenesis (late stage 17), the calcium-dependent, outward potassium currents [rapid, inactivating (ICF; slowpoke) then delayed, noninactivating (ICS)] develop, completing the complement of macroscopic currents in the mature larval muscle. Hence, the voltage- gated currents (ICa, IA, and IK, respectively) appear relatively early, and the calcium-dependent currents (ICF, ICS) appear only very late during myogenesis. This developmental progression of current maturation is reflected in dynamic changes in the voltage responses of the embryonic membrane, from wholly passive response to current injection in the early, coupled myotubes to regenerating, overshooting action potentials in the mature embryonic muscle. The earliest embryonic IA current has a midpoint of inactivation 40 mV more negative than the IA current in the mature embryo. As myogenesis proceeds, the inactivation curve develops a biphasic character, suggesting that a low-inactivation IA channel is present in early development and progressively replaced by the mature form as development proceeds. The current at all stages can be completely eliminated in Shaker mutants (ShKS133). These findings suggest that an embryonic form of the Shaker IA channel is present during early myogenesis. The prominent IA current present in early development is almost entirely inactivated at the physiological resting potential; the significance and mechanism of this developmental shift are unclear.
Binge Drinking and the Young Brain: A Mini Review of the Neurobiological Underpinnings of Alcohol-Induced Blackout

Binge drinking has significant effects on memory, particularly with regards to the transfer of information to long-term storage. Partial or complete blocking of memory formation is known as blackout. Youth represents a critical period in brain development that is particularly vulnerable to alcohol misuse. Animal models show that the adolescent brain is more vulnerable to the acute and chronic effects of alcohol compared with the adult brain. This mini-review addresses the neurobiological underpinnings of binge drinking and associated memory loss (blackout) in the adolescent and young adult period. Although the extent to which there are pre-existing versus alcohol-induced neurobiological changes remains unclear, it is likely that repetitive binge drinking in youth has detrimental effects on cognitive and social functioning. Given its role in learning and memory, the hippocampus is a critical region with neuroimaging research showing notable changes in this structure associated with alcohol misuse in young people. There is a great need for earlier identification of biological markers associated with alcohol-related brain damage. As a means to assess in vivo neurochemistry, magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) has emerged as a particularly promising technique since changes in neurometabolites often precede gross structural changes. Thus, the current paper addresses how MRS biomarkers of neurotransmission (glutamate, GABA) and oxidative stress (indexed by depleted glutathione) in the hippocampal region of young binge drinkers may underlie propensity for blackouts and other memory impairments. MRS biomarkers may have particular utility in determining the acute versus longer-term effects of binge drinking in young people.
DksA-Dependent Resistance of Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium against the Antimicrobial Activity of Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase

ABSTRACT In coordination with the ppGpp alarmone, the RNA polymerase regulatory protein DksA controls the stringent response of eubacteria, negatively regulating transcription of translational machinery and directly activating amino acid promoters and de novo amino acid biosynthesis. Given the effects of nitric oxide (NO) on amino acid biosynthetic pathways and the intimate relationship of DksA with amino acid synthesis and transport, we tested whether DksA contributes to the resistance of Salmonella to reactive nitrogen species (RNS). Our studies show that the zinc finger predicted to position DksA in the secondary channel of the RNA polymerase is essential for the resistance of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium to RNS in a murine model of systemic salmonellosis. Despite exhibiting auxotrophies for various amino acids, ΔdksA mutant Salmonella strains regain virulence in mice lacking inducible NO synthase (iNOS). DksA is also important for growth of this intracellular pathogen in the presence of NO congeners generated by iNOS during the innate response of murine macrophages. Accordingly, dksA mutant Salmonella strains are hypersusceptible to chemically generated NO, a phenotype that can be prevented by adding amino acids. The DksA-dependent antinitrosative defenses do not rely on the Hmp flavohemoprotein that detoxifies NO to NO3 − and appear to operate independently of the ppGpp alarmone. Our investigations are consistent with a model by which NO produced in the innate response to Salmonella exerts considerable pressure on amino acid biosynthesis. The cytotoxicity of NO against Salmonella amino acid biosynthetic pathways is antagonized in great part by the DksA-dependent regulation of amino acid biosynthesis and transport.
Communication Security of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Communication security is critically important for the success of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). With the increasing use of UAVs in military and civilian applications, they often carry sensitive information that adversaries might try to get hold of. While UAVs consist of various modules to enable them to function properly, potential security vulnerabilities may also exist in those modules. For example, by launching a GPS spoofing attack or WiFi attack, adversaries can capture the targeted UAV and access the sought after information. In fact, it has become easy to launch such attacks. In this article, we report our low-cost implementation of these attacks and suggest solutions to them.
Effects of nifedipine in achalasia and patients with high-amplitude peristaltic esophageal contractions.

To the Editor. — In the Oct 5 issue ofThe Journal, Traube et al 1 reported the effects of nifedipine on esophageal motility in achalasia and in nutcracker esophagus. A decrease in lower esophageal sphincter (LES) pressure was noted in both disorders. However, nifedipine also decreased contraction amplitude of the esophageal body in nutcracker esophagus, but not in achalasia. We have recently evaluated 14 patients with classic achalasia before and after the administration of nifedipine (20 mg, sublingually). We observed a decrease in LES pressure (basal pressure, 26.5 ±8.7 mm Hg) of 16%, 35%, and 40% at 15, 30, and 45 minutes, respectively, after the administration of the drug. There were no significant changes in contraction amplitude in the body of the esophagus. These observations are similar to those reported by Traube et al. Why did nifedipine decrease the body contractions in nutcracker esophagus but not in achalasia? In achalasia,
A RABBIT FAMILY OF RESTRICTED HIGH RESPONDERS TO THE STREPTOCOCCAL GROUP A-VARIANT POLYSACCHARIDE

Immunization of rabbits from a closed colony with streptococcal Group A-variant vaccines identified about two-thirds of them as low and heterogeneous responders. One-third of the rabbits showed a restriction of the response independent from the magnitude. Selective breeding from one monoclonal high-responder male and two restricted high-responder female rabbits succeeded in segregation of high-responder progeny after two generations. Their antibody levels were on the average 2.5 times higher than those of the random group of rabbits and a small group of low-responder offspring. Immunization of 13 offspring originating from rabbits bred for restricted high response to the streptococcal Group C polysaccharide revealed that 11 progeny were restricted high responders and 2 progeny monoclonal high responders. This finding suggests that high responsiveness to the Groups A-variant and C polysaccharides is inherited as genetically linked traits. Selective breeding combinations between restricted and monoclonal high-responder rabbits by brother-sister matings succeeded in narrowing the isoelectric focusing spectra of Group A-variant-specific antibodies in the offspring. It furthermore revealed a preferential expression of monoclonal antibodies after three generations with a similar net charge as those identified first in the original monoclonal paternal parent. These data suggest that similar copies of structural genes for the variable regions are transmitted from the parent to the progeny.
Circulating levels of erythropoietin and its relation to arterial stiffness in patients with hypertension.

BACKGROUND Emerging experimental and clinical data indicates that erythropoietin (EPO) have significant roles in the cardiovascular system. But the relationship between endogenous EPO levels and arterial stiffness remains unknown. We investigated the EPO levels in relation to arterial stiffness parameters in patients with never treated newly diagnosed hypertension (HT). METHODS We studied 42 (47.8 ± 10 years) never treated HT patients and age and gender-matched 40 (47 ± 8.6 years) normotensive individuals. Serum EPO levels were determined in all subjects using the chemiluminescence immunoassay kit. We evaluated heart rate-corrected augmentation index (AIx@75), a marker of wave reflections and aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) as indices of elastic-type aortic stiffness using applanation tonometry (Sphygmocor). RESULTS The levels of EPO were not significantly different in hypertensive patients and the controls (10.6 ± 5 vs. 11.6 ± 9, mIU/mL, p = 0.5). Aortic PWV (10.3 ± 2.3 vs. 8.7 ± 1.6 m/s, p = 0.0001) and AIx@75 (22.7 ± 10 vs. 15 ± 11, %, p = 0.002) were significantly higher in hypertensive patients than the controls. EPO levels were not correlated with brachial and central pressures. Also EPO level was not significantly correlated with AIx@75 (r = -0.15, p = 0.17) and aortic PWV (r = -0.16, p = 0.13). CONCLUSION Results from this study indicate that endogenous EPO levels may not be a factor in development of increased arterial stiffness.
A Broadband Circularly Polarized Printed Monopole Antenna With Parasitic Strips

A novel printed monopole antenna is presented for circular polarization (CP) operation with broad axial-ratio (AR) bandwidth. The antenna is composed of a monopole, a ground plane, and two parasitic strips. By utilizing two spiral strips coupled by the monopole, broadband CP radiation is achieved. The measured results show the 10-dB impedance bandwidth is 2.75 GHz (1.75–4.5 GHz) and the antenna also has a 3-dB AR bandwidth of 64.7% (2.2 GHz, 2.3–4.5 GHz). The proposed antenna features simple structure and broad AR bandwidth, which is desirable for various wireless communication systems.
Finding Optimal (s, S) Policies Is About As Simple As Evaluating a Single Policy

In this paper, a new algorithm for computing optimal ( s , S ) policies is derived based upon a number of new properties of the infinite horizon cost function c ( s , S ) as well as a new upper bound for optimal order-up-to levels S * and a new lower bound for optimal reorder levels s *. The algorithm is simple and easy to understand. Its computational complexity is only 2.4 times that required to evaluate a (specific) single ( s , S ) policy. The algorithm applies to both periodic review and continuous review inventory systems.
Public understanding of carbon sequestration in Australia: socio-demographic predictors of knowledge, engagement and trust

This article explores the extent to which socio-demographic characteristics influence knowledge, trust, risk perception and acceptance of an emerging scientific technology, geosequestration or carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) in geological formations, which is positioned as a possible response to the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. An online survey of 1273 Australian adults highlighted the general public’s lack of knowledge about CCS yet willingness to engage and learn about this technology. Compared to men, women were less accepting of CCS and more concerned about safety, risk and effectiveness. Those with a higher education were more aware of the greenhouse gas debate and supportive of CCS, whilst younger Australians were more trusting of information providers to “tell the truth” about CCS. By identifying key attitudes, expectations and fears of specific sub-groups towards CCS, this research provides an initial basis for developing effective public policy and community engagement, risk communication and education strategies for this emerging technology in Australia.