Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multiferroic BaTiO3-CoFe2O4 Nanostructures

We report on the coupling between ferroelectric and magnetic order parameters in a nanostructured BaTiO3-CoFe2O4 ferroelectromagnet. This facilitates the interconversion of energies stored in electric and magnetic fields and plays an important role in many devices, including transducers, field sensors, etc. Such nanostructures were deposited on single-crystal SrTiO3 (001) substrates by pulsed laser deposition from a single Ba-Ti-Co-Fe-oxide target. The films are epitaxial in-plane as well as out-of-plane with self-assembled hexagonal arrays of CoFe2O4 nanopillars embedded in a BaTiO3 matrix. The CoFe2O4 nanopillars have uniform size and average spacing of 20 to 30 nanometers. Temperature-dependent magnetic measurements illustrate the coupling between the two order parameters, which is manifested as a change in magnetization at the ferroelectric Curie temperature. Thermodynamic analyses show that the magnetoelectric coupling in such a nanostructure can be understood on the basis of the strong elastic interactions between the two phases.
Risk factors for feline infectious peritonitis among cats in multiple-cat environments with endemic feline enteric coronavirus.

OBJECTIVE To determine what risk factors, other than genetic predisposition, contribute to the incidence of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) in private breeding catteries and animal shelters. DESIGN Cats from 7 catteries and a shelter were observed monthly for 1 year. At each visit, cats were examined, fecal samples were collected for determination of feline coronavirus shedding, and blood samples were collected for determination of coronavirus antibody titers. Diagnostic tests were performed on all cats that died of FIP. ANIMALS 275 purebred or random-bred cats that were kept by private breeder-owners in homes. RESULTS 24 cats died of FIP during the study. Development of FIP was not associated with cattery, mean cat number, mean age, sex, cattery median coronavirus antibody titer, husbandry and quarantine practices, caging and breeding practices, or prevalence of concurrent diseases. However, risk factors for FIP included individual cat age individual cat coronavirus titer, overall frequency of fecal coronarvirus shedding, and the proportion of cats in the cattery that were chronic coronavirus shedders. Deaths from FIP were more frequent in fall and winter, and on the basis of analysis of cattery records, the number of deaths varied yearly. Epidemics (> 10% mortality rate) were reported at least once in 5 years in 4 catteries. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS Elimination of FIP from a cattery is only possible by total elimination of endemic feline enteric coronavirus (FECV) infection. The most important procedure to reduce FECV from catteries is elimination of chronic FECV shedders.
Alternatively Activated Macrophages Boost Induced Regulatory T and Th17 Cell Responses during Immunotherapy for Colitis

Induced regulatory T (iTreg) and Th17 cells promote mucosal homeostasis. We used a T cell transfer model of colitis to compare the capacity of iTreg and Th17 cells to develop in situ following the transfer of naive CD4+CD45RBhi T cells into Rag1−/− C57BL/6 or BALB/c mice, the prototypical Th1/M1- and Th2/M2-prone strains. We found that the frequency and number of Foxp3+ iTreg cells and Th17 cells were significantly reduced in C57BL/6 mice compared with the BALB/c strain. C57BL/6 mice with colitis were also resistant to natural Treg cell immunotherapy. Pretreatment of C57BL/6 Rag1−/− mice with IL-4 plus IL-13, or with M2a but not M1 macrophages, dramatically increased the generation of iTreg and Th17 cells. Importantly, M2a transfers, either as a pretreatment or in mice with established colitis, allowed successful immunotherapy with natural Treg cells. M2a macrophages also reduced the generation of pathogenic iTreg cells that lost Foxp3 expression, suggesting that they stabilize the expression of Foxp3. Thus, polarized M2a macrophages drive a directionally concordant expansion of the iTreg–Th17 cell axis and can be exploited as a therapeutic adjuvant in cell-transfer immunotherapy to re-establish mucosal tolerance.
Vesicular transmitter release from astrocytes

Astrocytes can release a variety of transmitters, including glutamate and ATP, in response to stimuli that induce increases in intracellular Ca2+ levels. This release occurs via a regulated, exocytotic pathway. As evidence of this, astrocytes express protein components of the vesicular secretory apparatus, including synaptobrevin 2, syntaxin, and SNAP‐23. Additionally, astrocytes possess vesicular organelles, the essential morphological elements required for regulated Ca2+‐dependent transmitter release. The location of specific exocytotic sites on these cells, however, remains to be unequivocally determined. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Analysis of Operational Comfort in Manual Tasks Using Human Force Manipulability Measure

This paper proposes a scheme for human force manipulability (HFM) based on the use of isometric joint torque properties to simulate the spatial characteristics of human operation forces at an end-point of a limb with feasible magnitudes for a specified limb posture. This is also applied to the evaluation/prediction of operational comfort (OC) when manually operating a human-machine interface. The effectiveness of HFM is investigated through two experiments and computer simulations of humans generating forces by using their upper extremities. Operation force generation with maximum isometric effort can be roughly estimated with an HFM measure computed from information on the arm posture during a maintained posture. The layout of a human-machine interface is then discussed based on the results of operational experiments using an electric gear-shifting system originally developed for robotic devices. The results indicate a strong relationship between the spatial characteristics of the HFM and OC levels when shifting, and the OC is predicted by using a multiple regression model with HFM measures.
Thrombotic Risks in Red Blood Cell Transfusions

Abstract Red blood cells play a key role in normal hemostasis and thrombosis. Their ability to affect coagulation is multifactorial and depends on their mechanical properties affecting viscosity and blood flow, ability to aggregate and adhere to each other and potentially to vascular endothelium, molecular signaling via microvesicles and surface proteins, including blood group antigens, and participation in nitric oxide metabolism. Transfused red blood cells suffer from a storage lesion that damages the cells leading to changes in shape, function, and intracellular communication. In this article, we review if and how transfused red blood cells may lead to both increased hemorrhage and increased thrombosis.
Estimating the Effect of Job-Training Programs, Using Longitudinal Data: Ashenfelter's Findings Reconsidered.

This paper is an examination of how autoregressive earnings models commonly used to evaluate job-training programs can produce badly biased estimates of both the magnitude and the temporal pattern of program impacts. Ashenfelter's results are used to illustrate this point, and a new, more appropriate model is used to reanalyze his data. Of particular importance is the finding that the decay in Ashenfelter's estimated training effect for men was produced by a time-varying bias in his model.
Prokaryotic taxonomic and metabolic diversity of an intermediate salinity hypersaline habitat assessed by metagenomics.

A metagenome was obtained by pyrosequencing the total prokaryotic DNA from the water of a pond with intermediate salinity (13% salts) from a saltern located in Santa Pola, Spain. We analyzed and compared the phylogenomic and metabolic diversity of this saltern pond with respect to other two metagenomes obtained previously from the same saltern (ponds with 19% and 37% salts, respectively) and two reference metagenomes from marine and coastal lagoon habitats. A large microbial diversity, representing seven major higher taxa (Euryarchaeota, Gammaproteobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Verrucomicrobia and Betaproteobacteria), was found. However, most sequences (57%) were not assigned to any previously described genus. Principal component analysis of tetranucleotide frequencies of assembled contigs showed the presence of new groups of Euryarchaeota, different from those previously described but related to Haloquadratum walsbyi and other members of the Halobacteriaceae. Besides, some new Gammaproteobacteria, several closely related to the recently isolated bacterium 'Spiribacter salinus' were observed. Metabolically, the nitrogen and carbon cycles appear to be very simplified in this extreme habitat. Light is extensively used as energy source by bacteriorhodopsins and other rhodopsins. Microorganisms known to use the 'salt-in' strategy are probably able to combine the accumulation of potassium ions and of compatible solutes.
Adoption, Firm Size And Risk Of Implementation

A model is developed of the relation between adoption of an innovation by firms and firm size. Decision making is represented as a group assessment of the perceived ratio between expected returns after succesful introduction, and the risk that implementation will fail or will last too long to makc adoption worth while. In view of differences in thc assessment of uncertainty and corresponding demands on the perceived return-to-risk ratio, among influencers of decisions in the firm, decision making is taken as stochastic, with a probability of adoption related to (objective) net benefits, and probability of non-adoption related to risk. The model gives a new way of looking at the fact that small firms lag behind in the adoption of new technology. In contrast with previous models proposed by David and Davies the explanation has nothing to do with there being some critical size below which adoption is not profitable. The present model explains the adoption lag for smaller firms as the result of expected retur.
Earnings Prediction and the Role of Accural‐Related Disclosure: International Evidence

Accounting accruals are at the heart of most accounting systems. A basic premise of accrual accounting is that it provides a more timely and relevant performance measure than cash flows through a better matching of revenues and expenses. While some prior studies suggest that managers use individual accrual‐related disclosure items in an opportunistic manner, hindering market participants’ ability to predict future firm performance, the market’s expectation about future firm performance will become more accurate and consistent under accrual accounting if the market properly uses such information to set expectations about future firm performance. Consistent with this idea, our evidence shows that the frequency of accrual‐related disclosure is positively (negatively) associated with analysts’ forecast accuracy (dispersion). We interpret this finding as the presence of more detailed accrual‐related disclosure requirements enhancing the market participants’ ability to predict earnings.
Did liberal eonomic regime contribute to the growth performance of the manufacturing sector in India

This paper attempts to verify whether liberal economic measures introduced in India since 1991/92 has brought any statistically significant growth difference in the growth performance of the manufacturing sector in India. It used the time series data from 1973/74 to 2007/08. Periodised it based on both the exogenously and endogenously determined breaks for cross verification of the growth results and arrived at the conclusion that the liberal economic regime failed to contribute to the growth performance of the manufacturing sector in India
The impact of regulatory reforms on the earnings forecasting behaviour of IPO firms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to jointly assess the impact of regulatory reform for corporate fundraising in Australia (CLERP Act 1999) and the relaxation of ASX admission rules in 1999, on the accuracy of management earnings forecasts in initial public offer (IPO) prospectuses. The relaxation of ASX listing rules permitted a new category of new economy firms (commitments test entities (CTEs)) to list without a prior history of profitability, while the CLERP Act (introduced in 2000) was accompanied by tighter disclosure obligations and stronger enforcement action by the corporate regulator (ASIC). Design/methodology/approach – All IPO earnings forecasts in prospectuses lodged between 1998 and 2003 are examined to assess the pre‐ and post‐CLERP Act impact. Based on active ASIC enforcement action in the post‐reform period, IPO firms are hypothesised to provide more accurate forecasts, particularly CTE firms, which are less likely to have a reasonable basis for forecasting. Research models are develo.
Speech reinforcement based on partial specific loudness

In the presence of background noise, the perceptual loudness of speech signal signiﬁcantly decreases resulting in the deterioration of intelligibility and clarity. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to enhance the quality of speech signal when the additive noise cannot be directly controlled. Speciﬁcally, we propose an approach which reinforces the speech signal so that the partial loudness in each band can be maintained to the level almost the same to that measured without the effect of background noise. To ﬁnd a suitable reinforcement rule, the loudness perception model proposed by Moore et al. [1] is adopted. Experimental results show that the loudness of the original noise-free speech can be restored by the proposed re-inforcement algorithm and the proposed algorithm can enhance the perceived quality of speech signal under various noise environments.
Behavior of HV cable of power supply at short circuit and related phenomena

Discharges in many HV loads are unavoidable at voltages close to their operational limits. Such loads may be vacuum gaps, e.g., X-ray tubes. The discharge characteristics depend not only on the state of the load, but, in the case of a vacuum gap, on external circuitry. In cabled connections, the cable length is critical. Long cables may decrease the breakdown voltage, which is mostly overlooked in literature. Selected experimental data and means of improving performance are reviewed. Regarding methods of cable connections, we consider two cases. In the first, regular connection, the cable shield is connected to ground on both sides. Then the processes in the cable can be described by conventional transmission line equations. Pattern of traveling waves developing at short-circuit conditions and overvoltages (OV) at the power supply side are shown as a function of the cable parameters. In the second case, the shield at the power supply side is grounded, and at the load side it is floating (unterminated shield connection). It is shown that conventional two-wire transmission line model is no longer applicable. PSpice equivalent circuits with lumped parameters are developed and analyzed. It is shown that the cable insulation is overstressed at the load side in unterminated shield connections, and at the power supply side in regular connections. Experimental results obtained on low-voltage models are presented.
Power to the People: Electric Utility Restructuring and the Commitment to Renewable Energy

Abstract With electric generation responsible for 41 percent of U.S anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from energy use, development of clean energy sources is essential if the United States is to reduce release of greenhouse gases and slow global warming. Many proponents of sustainable energy anticipate that electric generation from renewable sources would thrive in a deregulated market, driven by consumer demand for “green” energy and the end of incentives to build large central power plants under the cost-plus profits guaranteed by state utility commissions. This paper examines the flaws in this expectation. After reviewing the highly cyclical nature of U.S. energy policy making in recent decades, the study links the ineffectiveness of policy with the institutional setting. Under electric utility market restructuring, renewable energy generation (wind, biomass, solar, geothermal, and small-scale hydro) must overcome barriers such as price distortions, lack of storage capability, discriminatory transmission system access, and the end of linked utility rate hikes guaranteed to cover the additional expense of renewable generation. In the absence of strong federal leadership, the state commitment to renewable energy has been uneven under utility restructuring. Moreover, nuclear power—the other leading alternative to fossil fuel use—is beset by serious problems. Only renewable energy options offer long-term hope for sustainability. Along these lines, green marketing, renewable portfolio standards, system benefit charges, carbon taxes, public power, “Community Choice,” and production credits—all based on recent U.S. and European experience—are critically examined and recommendations made for changing course. At present, during this highly fluid period of utility restructuring, and absent more forceful regulation and demand management, it is dubious whether U.S. electricity market reform can encourage sufficient conversion to renewable energy to stem a rising tide of greenhouse gas emissions.
A Survey on Data-Centric and Data-Aware Techniques for Large Scale Infrastructures

Large scale computing infrastructures have been widely developed with the core objective of providing a suitable platform for high-performance and high-throughput computing. These systems are designed to support resource-intensive and complex applications, which can be found in many scientific and industrial areas. Currently, large scale data-intensive applications are hindered by the high latencies that result from the access to vastly distributed data. Recent works have suggested that improving data locality is key to move towards exascale infrastructures efficiently, as solutions to this problem aim to reduce the bandwidth consumed in data transfers, and the overheads that arise from them. There are several techniques that attempt to move computations closer to the data. In this survey we analyse the different mechanisms that have been proposed to provide data locality for large scale high-performance and high-throughput systems. This survey intends to assist scientific computing community in understanding the various technical aspects and strategies that have been reported in recent literature regarding data locality. As a result, we present an overview of locality-oriented techniques, which are grouped in four main categories: application development, task scheduling, in-memory computing and storage platforms. Finally, the authors include a discussion on future research lines and synergies among the former techniques. Keywords— Co-scheduling, data-centric, data-intensive, data locality, in-memory storage, large scale.
Comparison of 3-Phase Wide Output Voltage Range PWM Rectifiers

A three-phase buck boost pulsewidth modulation (PWM) rectifier with a three-switch buck-type rectifier input stage and an integrated dc/dc boost converter output stage, and a three-phase boost buck PWM rectifier system formed by series connection of a boost-type rectifier input stage (Vienna Rectifier) and a dc/dc buck converter output stage are presented and comparatively evaluated. Both systems are characterized by sinusoidal input current and wide output voltage control range. The comparison is for 6 kW rated output power at 400 Vrms line-to-line input and variable output voltage 200 V 600 V and identifies the buck boost approach as significantly superior regarding the overall efficiency, the volume and weight of the passive power components, and the overall system complexity.
The sociology of disability and inclusive education : a tribute to Len Barton

1. Framing the sociology of disability and education: an introduction Madeleine Arnot, Philip Brown, Amanda Coffey, Miriam David, Lynn Davies, David James, Rajani Naidoo, Diane Reay, Ivan Reid and Carol Vincent 2. A tribute to Len Barton Sally Tomlinson 3. Disability studies, disabled people and the struggle for inclusion Mike Oliver and Colin Barnes 4. Revisiting the politics of special educational needs and disability studies in education with Len Barton Roger Slee 5. Lessons for higher education: the university as a site of activism Kathleen Lynch 6. The heterodoxy of student voice: challenges to identity in the sociology of disability and education Susan J. Peters 7. The sociology of disability and the struggle for inclusive education Julie Allan 8. A time for the universal right to education: back to basics Marcia H. Rioux and Paula C. Pinto 9. Response Len Barton
High-resolution analysis of human Y-chromosome variation shows a sharp discontinuity and limited gene flow between northwestern Africa and the Iberian Peninsula.

In the present study we have analyzed 44 Y-chromosome biallelic polymorphisms in population samples from northwestern (NW) Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, which allowed us to place each chromosome unequivocally in a phylogenetic tree based on >150 polymorphisms. The most striking results are that contemporary NW African and Iberian populations were found to have originated from distinctly different patrilineages and that the Strait of Gibraltar seems to have acted as a strong (although not complete) barrier to gene flow. In NW African populations, an Upper Paleolithic colonization that probably had its origin in eastern Africa contributed 75% of the current gene pool. In comparison, approximately 78% of contemporary Iberian Y chromosomes originated in an Upper Paleolithic expansion from western Asia, along the northern rim of the Mediterranean basin. Smaller contributions to these gene pools (constituting 13% of Y chromosomes in NW Africa and 10% of Y chromosomes in Iberia) came from the Middle East during the Neolithic and, during subsequent gene flow, from Sub-Saharan to NW Africa. Finally, bidirectional gene flow across the Strait of Gibraltar has been detected: the genetic contribution of European Y chromosomes to the NW African gene pool is estimated at 4%, and NW African populations may have contributed 7% of Iberian Y chromosomes. The Islamic rule of Spain, which began in a.d. 711 and lasted almost 8 centuries, left only a minor contribution to the current Iberian Y-chromosome pool. The high-resolution analysis of the Y chromosome allows us to separate successive migratory components and to precisely quantify each historical layer.
Aggregating Private Sparse Learning Models Using Multi-Party Computation

We consider the problem of privately learning a sparse model across multiple sensitive datasets, and propose learning individual models locally and privately aggregating them using secure multi-party computation. In this paper, we report some preliminary experiments on distributed sparse linear discriminant analysis, showing both the feasibility and effectiveness of our approach on experiments using heart disease data collected across four hospitals
How to Interpret the Growing Phenomenon of Private Tutoring: Human Capital Deepening, Inequality Increasing, or Waste of Resources?

Private tutoring is now a major component of the education sector in many developing countries, yet education policy too seldom acknowledges and makes use of it. Various criticisms have been raised against private tutoring, most notably that it exacerbates social inequalities and may even fail to improve student outcomes. This paper surveys the literature for evidence on private tutoring-the extent of the tutoring phenomenon, the factors that explain its growth, and its cost-effectiveness in improving student academic performance. It also presents a framework for assessing the efficiency and equity effects of tutoring. It concludes that tutoring can raise the effectiveness of the education system under certain reasonable assumptions, even taking into account equity concerns, and it offers guidance for attacking corruption and other problems that diminish the contributions of the tutoring sector.