Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multiscale Experimental Mechanics of Hierarchical Carbon‐Based Materials

Investigation of the mechanics of natural materials, such as spider silk, abalone shells, and bone, has provided great insight into the design of materials that can simultaneously achieve high specific strength and toughness. Research has shown that their emergent mechanical properties are owed in part to their specific self‐organization in hierarchical molecular structures, from nanoscale to macroscale, as well as their mixing and bonding. To apply these findings to manmade materials, researchers have devoted significant efforts in developing a fundamental understanding of multiscale mechanics of materials and its application to the design of novel materials with superior mechanical performance. These efforts included the utilization of some of the most promising carbon‐based nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibers, and graphene, together with a variety of matrix materials. At the core of these efforts lies the need to characterize material mechanical behavior across multiple length scales starting from nanoscale characterization of constituents and their interactions to emerging micro‐ and macroscale properties. In this report, progress made in experimental tools and methods currently used for material characterization across multiple length scales is reviewed, as well as a discussion of how they have impacted our current understanding of the mechanics of hierarchical carbon‐based materials. In addition, insight is provided into strategies for bridging experiments across length scales, which are essential in establishing a multiscale characterization approach. While the focus of this progress report is in experimental methods, their concerted use with theoretical‐computational approaches towards the establishment of a robust material by design methodology is also discussed, which can pave the way for the development of novel materials possessing unprecedented mechanical properties.
Comparing Australia : international GDP rankings and revealed preference

Data on volumes and prices of consumption and investment are u s e d to compare Australian real GDP for 1990 with the other OECD countries. Australian consumption patterns, including leisure, a n d price structure are very different from most other countries a n d especially from Japan's. The Australian bundle of consumption, investment and leisure is revealed preferred to that of Japan and a number of other countries which are conventionally ranked above Australia in comparisons of real GDP per capita at international prices.
Lactate Stimulates Vasculogenic Stem Cells via the Thioredoxin System and Engages an Autocrine Activation Loop Involving Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1

ABSTRACT The recruitment and differentiation of circulating stem/progenitor cells (SPCs) in subcutaneous Matrigel in mice was assessed. There were over one million CD34+ SPCs per Matrigel plug 18 h after Matrigel implantation, and including a polymer to elevate the lactate concentration increased the number of SPCs by 3.6-fold. Intricate CD34+ cell-lined channels were linked to the systemic circulation, and lactate accelerated cell differentiation as evaluated based on surface marker expression and cell cycle entry. CD34+ SPCs from lactate-supplemented Matrigel exhibited significantly higher concentrations of thioredoxin 1 (Trx1) and hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) than cells from unsupplemented Matrigel, whereas Trx1 and HIF-1 in CD45+ leukocytes were not elevated by lactate. Results obtained using small inhibitory RNA (siRNA) specific to HIF-1 and mice with conditionally HIF-1 null myeloid cells indicated that SPC recruitment and lactate-mediated effects were dependent on HIF-1. Cells from lactate-supplemented Matrigel had higher concentrations of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2, Trx1, Trx reductase (TrxR), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1) than cells from unsupplemented Matrigel. SPC recruitment and protein changes were inhibited by siRNA specific to lactate dehydrogenase, TrxR, or HIF-1 and by oxamate, apocynin, U0126, N-acetylcysteine, dithioerythritol, and antibodies to VEGF or SDF-1. Oxidative stress from lactate metabolism by SPCs accelerated further SPC recruitment and differentiation through Trx1-mediated elevations in HIF-1 levels and the subsequent synthesis of HIF-1-dependent growth factors.
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ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristic) Analysis is extremely useful to discard bad classifiers before knowing the actual misclassification costs and class distribution. Generally, the ROC curve is covered by repeatedly changing the distribution of classes, usually through the use of stratifying methods (either over-sampling or under-sampling). In this work we analyse several techniques intended to making decision trees cost-sensitive. The experiments corroborate, however, the cost insensitivity of decision tree learning. The best technique, then, seems to be to build a decision tree, and then assign the classes to the leaves depending on the cost context. This may suggest that ROC analysis is useless for decision trees. More on the contrary, we face again the problem of knowing how a decision tree will behave for different cost matrices. In order to solve this conundrum, we present a method that allows the generation of the optimal ROC curve for one decision tree. In the bidimensional case, we even show that we do not need to compute the convex hull, because we prove that a subset of n assignments from the total 2n is sufficient to evaluate the area under the ROC curve and estimate the quality of a decision tree for different environments. This allows the comparison of different decision trees, understood as a set of classifiers, and their combination, comparing curves instead of points, moving ROC analysis a step beyond. Moreover, these results are also applicable to other machine learning techniques that generate non-overlapping rules, such as some ILP or rule learning systems.
Cycling Progressive Resistance Training for People with Multiple Sclerosis: A Randomized Controlled Study

Çakıt BD, Nacir B, Genç H, Saraçoğlu M, Karagöz A, Erdem HR, Ergün U: Cycling progressive resistance training for people with multiple sclerosis: A randomized controlled study. Objective:To evaluate the effects of cycling progressive resistance training combined with balance exercises on walking speed, balance, fatigue, fear of falling, depression, and quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis. Design:In this prospective randomized controlled trial, 45 patients were randomized into two exercise training (n = 30) groups and one control (n = 15) group. The patients in training group 1 (n = 15) underwent progressive resistance training on a bicycle ergometer and balance exercise, whereas group 2 (n = 15) patients received a home-based lower-limb strengthening and balance exercise. Outcome measures, including the duration of exercise, tolerated maximum workload, timed up and go test, Dynamic Gait Index, functional reach, Falls Efficacy scale, 10-m walk test, Fatigue Severity Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, and Short Form 36 scores, were assessed initially and at 8 wks. Results:After dropouts, the whole study group consisted of 20 women and 13 men (mean age, 37.9 ± 10.43 yrs). In training group 1, duration of exercise, tolerated maximum workload, timed up and go test, Dynamic Gait Index, functional reach, falls efficacy scale, 10-m walk test, Fatigue Severity scale, and Beck Depression Inventory scores, and in group 2, the mean duration of exercise, tolerated maximum workload, and Falls Efficacy scale scores were significantly improved after the training program (P < 0.05). There were no significant improvements in any of the outcome measurements in the control group (P > 0.05). In between-group comparisons, improvements in outcome measures of group 1 patients were significantly higher than those in other groups, except for 10-m walking test. Group 1 patients showed statistically significant improvement in physical functioning and role-physical functioning scales of the Short Form 36 (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively), and group 2 patients showed statistically significant improvement in only physical functioning scale of Short Form 36 (P < 0.05) after 8 wks. Conclusions:Specific exercise programs, including cycling progressive resistance training, may improve balance, fatigue, and depression and reduce fear of falling in patients with multiple sclerosis without worsening multiple sclerosis signs and symptoms.
A New Approach for Harmonic Distortion Minimization in Power Systems Supplying Nonlinear Loads

In view of many problems associated with harmonics pollution within industrial firms, the development of new passive and/or hybrid filtering techniques of higher quality, higher efficiency, and lower cost is a necessity for the forthcoming power quality age. This article suggests a hybrid passive filter, which consists of a certain combination of a shunt passive filter (SPF) with a series passive portion as a substitute to overcome the shortcomings of conventional shunt passive filtering techniques. Constrained optimization is used to find the optimal sizing of parameters of the hybrid passive filter in order to reduce both harmonic voltages and harmonic currents in the power system to an acceptable level, as well as to improve the load power factor. The optimal design of the hybrid passive filter and its feasibility are compared with those of the C-type passive filter and the conventional SPF by means of four study cases taken from existing publications. Several simulation results are shown in order to highlight the viability of the proposed filter.
Lone parents, employment and social policy: Cross-national comparisons

Contents: Foreword: Lone parents: the UK policy context Ruth Lister Comparing employment policies for lone parents cross-nationally: an introduction Jane Millar and Karen Rowlingson Part One: Policies within specific countries: Helping British lone parents get and keep paid work Alan Marsh Welfare reform and lone mothers' employment in the US Jane Waldfogel, Sandra K. Danziger, Sheldon Danziger and Kristin S. Seefeldt Lone parents and employment in Australia Peter Whiteford Lone parents and employment in Norway Anne Skevik Does it work? Employment policies for lone parents in the Netherlands Trudie Knijn and Frits van Wel Lone parents, employment and social policy in France: lessons from a family friendly policy Christine Chambaz and Claude Martin Part Two: Cross-cutting themes: Orientations to work and the issue of care Jane Lewis The social, economic and demographic profile of lone parents Karen Rowlingson Work-related activity requirements and labour market programmes for lone parents Jane Millar Making work pay policies for lone parents Majella Kilkey and Jonathan Bradshaw Lone mothers, employment and childcare Hilary Land Conclusions: Supporting employment: emerging policy and practice Karen Rowlingson and Jane Millar.
Young Adult Literature and the New Literary Theories: Developing Critical Readers in Middle School

This text is specifically designed to introduce a range of literary critical theories for secondary pupils. Written in language accessible to adolescents and using examples of literature relevant to their age and interests, it explains various theoretical approaches through the discussion of specific young adult novels. It aims to enable pupils to be critics as well as respondents, as they become more engaged readers.
Detection of Cerebral Reorganization Induced by Real-Time fMRI Feedback Training of Insula Activation

Background. Studies with real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) demonstrate that humans volitionally regulate hemodynamic signals from circumscribed regions of the brain, leading to area-specific behavioral consequences. Methods to better determine the nature of dynamic functional interactions between different brain regions and plasticity due to self-regulation training are still in development. Objective. The authors investigated changes in brain states while training 6 healthy participants to self-regulate insular cortex by real-time fMRI feedback. Methods. The authors used multivariate pattern analysis to observe spatial pattern changes and a multivariate Granger causality model to show changes in temporal interactions in multiple brain areas over the course of 5 repeated scans per subject during positive and negative emotional imagery with feedback about the level of insular activation. Results. Feedback training leads to more spatially focused recruitment of areas relevant for learning and emotion. Effective connectivity analysis reveals that initial training is associated with an increase in network density; further training “prunes” presumably redundant connections and “strengthens” relevant connections. Conclusions. The authors demonstrate the application of multivariate methods for assessing cerebral reorganization during the learning of volitional control of local brain activity. The findings provide insight into mechanisms of training-induced learning techniques for rehabilitation. The authors anticipate that future studies, specifically designed with this hypothesis in mind, may be able to construct a universal index of cerebral reorganization during skill learning based on multiple similar criteria across various skilled tasks. These techniques may be able to discern recovery from compensation, dose–response curves related to training, and ways to determine whether rehabilitation training is actively engaging necessary networks.
Immigration and Politics in the New Europe: Reinventing Borders

List of figures and tables Preface and acknowledgements 1. Introduction 2. Toward a People's Europe: an institutional analysis of immigration policy in the European Union 3. An attitudinal portrait of a People's Europe: a comparative overview of public opinion and elite preferences 4. Immigration politics and the New Europe: organizing competing interests 5. The 'European Factor': institutional and psychological constraints on immigration attitudes 6. Conclusions: the construction of a European immigration regime? Appendices Bibliography Index.
Multi Relational Rules Mining in Data Warehouse

Multi relational rules mining is a new area of data mining research. There three kinds of algorithm currently. One is ILP approach, the second is AVL upgrading approach, and the last is mould a relational database into a single table to mine with traditionally single table technology. Due to the drawback of these methods, a new ideal to mine rules in data warehouse is proposed. The data schema constructing, primitive language and mining algorithm are analysis. The algorithm concerns the rules from one table to another only, but considers the single table’s rules. The experiments show it has a good accuracy due to utilize the relational information in data warehouse.
Autonomy and Independence in Language Learning

Contributors General Editor's Preface 1. Introduction: autonomy and independence in language learning, Phil Benson and Peter Voller Part I: Philosophy and practice 2. The philosophy and politics of learner autonomy, Phil Benson 3. Cultural alternatives and autonomy, Alastair Pennycook 4. An exploration of the relationship between self-access and independent learning, Susan Sheerin 5. Teaching and language learning in self-access centres: changing roles? , Gill Sturtridge 6. Self-access: why do we want t and what can it do? , William Littlewood Part II: Roles and relationships 7. Does the teacher have a role in autonomous leanguage learning? , Peter Voller 8. The guru and the conjurer: aspects of counselling for self-access, Philip Riley 9. Shooting arrows at the sun: perspectives on a pedagogy for autonomy, Michael P. Breen and Sarah J. Mann 10. Confidence building for classroom teachers, Felicity O'Dell 11. Learner training for autonomous language learning, Edith M. Esch Part III: Methods and materials 12. Self-access work and curriculum ideologies, Andrew Littlejohn 13. Designing and adapting materials to encourage learner autonomy, David Nunan 14. Involving learners in developing learning methods: exploiting text corpora in self-access, Guy Aston 15. Preparing learners for independence: resources beyond the classroom, Stephen M. Ryan 16. Responding authentically to authentic texts: a problem for self-access language learning? , David Little 17. Providing computerized self-access opportunities for the development of writing skills, John Milton References. Index.
fleN, a Gene That Regulates Flagellar Number in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

ABSTRACT The single polar flagellum of Pseudomonas aeruginosaplays an important role in the pathogenesis of infection by this organism. However, regulation of the assembly of this organelle has not been delineated. In analyzing the sequence available at thePseudomonas genome database, an open reading frame (ORF), flanked by flagellar genes flhF and fliA, that coded for a protein (280 amino acids) with an ATP-binding motif at its N terminus was found. The ORF was inactivated by inserting a gentamicin cassette in P. aeruginosa PAK and PAO1. The resulting mutants were nonmotile on motility agar plates, but under a light microscope they exhibited random movement and tumbling behavior. Electron microscopic studies of the wild-type and mutant strains revealed that the mutants were multiflagellate, with three to six polar flagella per bacterium as rather than one as in the wild type, indicating that this ORF was involved in regulating the number of flagella and chemotactic motility in P. aeruginosa. The ORF was named fleN. An intact copy of fleN on a plasmid complemented the mutant by restoring motility and monoflagellate status. The β-galactosidase activities of eight flagellar operon or gene promoters in the wild-type andfleN mutant strains revealed a direct correlation between six promoters that were upregulated in the fleN mutant (fliLMNOPQ, flgBCDE, fliEFG,fliDS orf126, fleSR, and fliC) and positive regulation by FleQ, an NtrC-like transcriptional regulator for flagellar genes. Based on these results, we propose a model where FleN influences FleQ activity (directly or indirectly) in regulating flagellar number in P. aeruginosa.
Emerging dynamics of human campylobacteriosis in Southern Ireland.

Infections with Campylobacter spp. pose a significant health burden worldwide. The significance of Campylobacter jejuni/Campylobacter coli infection is well appreciated but the contribution of non-C. jejuni/C. coli spp. to human gastroenteritis is largely unknown. In this study, we employed a two-tiered molecular study on 7194 patient faecal samples received by the Microbiology Department in Cork University Hospital during 2009. The first step, using EntericBio(®) (Serosep), a multiplex PCR system, detected Campylobacter to the genus level. The second step, utilizing Campylobacter species-specific PCR identified to the species level. A total of 340 samples were confirmed as Campylobacter genus positive, 329 of which were identified to species level with 33 samples containing mixed Campylobacter infections. Campylobacter jejuni, present in 72.4% of samples, was the most common species detected, however, 27.4% of patient samples contained non-C. jejuni/C. coli spp. ; Campylobacter fetus (2.4%), Campylobacter upsaliensis (1.2%), Campylobacter hyointestinalis (1.5%), Campylobacter lari (0.6%) and an emerging species, Campylobacter ureolyticus (24.4%). We report a prominent seasonal distribution for campylobacteriosis (Spring), with C. ureolyticus (March) preceeding slightly C. jejuni/C. coli (April/May).
Keap1‐Nrf2 activation in the presence and absence of DJ‐1

The molecular mechanisms leading to neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease remain elusive. Deletion and mutations of DJ‐1 (PARK7) have been reported to cause autosomal recessive familial Parkinson’s disease. Wildtype DJ‐1 scavenges H2O2 by cysteine oxidation in response to oxidative stress, and thus confers neuroprotection. Activation of the transcription factor NF‐E2‐related factor‐2 (Nrf2) has also been shown to be important for protection against oxidative stress in many models of neurodegenerative diseases. Previous data indicate that DJ‐1 affects the transcriptional functions and stability of Nrf2. However, this observation has not been confirmed. In the current study, the role of DJ‐1 in the regulation of Nrf2 is examined in primary cultured neurons, astrocytes and in vivo. The prototypical Nrf2 activator tBHQ protected primary cortical neurons derived from DJ‐1‐knockout (KO) as well as DJ‐1 wildtype mice by activation of Nrf2‐ARE pathway. Nrf2 nuclear translocation, robust increases in canonical Nrf2‐driven genes and proteins, and dramatic activation of the ARE reporter gene, hPAP, were observed after tBHQ treatment. These results were further confirmed by siRNA‐mediated DJ‐1 knockdown in primary cortical astrocytes from ARE‐hPAP mice and tBHQ administration into the striatum of mouse brain. In addition, overexpression of Nrf2 with adenovirus preferentially in astrocytes from DJ‐1‐KO mice enhanced survival of neurons under oxidative insults. These findings indicate that activation of the Nrf2–ARE pathway is independent of DJ‐1, and Nrf2 activation is a potential therapeutic target to prevent neurodegeneration in sporadic and DJ‐1 familial Parkinson’s disease.
Optimisation of multiple classifier systems using genetic algorithms

We introduce a novel multiple classifier system with the ability of automatic self-configuration. The system employs a genetic algorithm to optimise the configuration of the participating individual classifiers arranged in a parallel structure. Our primary interest was to study the behaviour of such an integrated system, first in the case of increasingly complex tasks and secondly when additional information is made available in the form of increasingly larger training data sets. The fact that these cases often arise in real world applications underline their special importance in developing classifier systems that can address realistic problem domains. As an example we tested the proposed system on a character recognition task using one printed, and one handwritten, character data set. Our findings strongly suggest that significant benefit can be gained from the integration of the genetic algorithm-based optimisation process into the system in both situations.