Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Integrated Reliability Estimation Approach With Stochastic Filtering and Degradation Modeling for Phased-Mission Systems

Reliability estimation is central to enhance safety, availability, and effectiveness of phased-mission systems (PMSs). With the development of information and sensing technologies, condition monitoring (CM) data are now available in many real-world PMSs, and then a more interesting question: how can we dynamically estimate the reliability of PMSs using the in-situ CM data, is of considerable significance to industrial practitioners. In this paper, using the CM data and degradation data of PMS, we present a novel condition-based approach to resolve this question under dynamic operating scenarios. This paper differs from most existing methods which only consider the static scenario without using real-time information, and estimate the reliability only for a population of PMSs but not for an individual PMS in service. To establish a linkage between the historical data and real-time data of the individual PMS, a stochastic filtering model is first utilized to model the phase duration. As such, the updated estimation of the mission time can be obtained by Bayesian law at each phase. To account for the dependency of the degradation progression of PMS on the mission process, the degradation process of PMS is modeled by a Brownian motion with a mission phase-dependent drift coefficient. The corresponding lifetime is derived and the lifetime distribution of PMS can be updated under Bayesian framework once new information is available. Unique to this paper is the union of the CM data and degradation data of PMS to real-time estimate the mission reliability through the estimated distribution of the mission time in conjunction with the estimated lifetime distribution, in which the estimated lifetime considers the dependency of the degradation rate of PMS on mission phase. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is verified by a numerical simulation and a case study.
Women’s Career Advancement

This study assessed if human capital is more related to women’s advancement to low levels (i. e., supervisory and junior management) and if social capital is more related to their advancement to high levels (i. e., middle and senior management) in Australian banks. The results do not support differential prediction hypotheses. Overall, human capital explained most of women’s advancement at all levels in Australian banks. The contribution of social capital to that explanation was, generally, negligible. The study also included qualitative data. The qualitative results appeared to support the view that social capital is more important to women’s advancement to high managerial levels than to low managerial levels. Of particular concern is that the women reported gender discrimination as the most frequent barrier to their advancement at all managerial levels. Implications for banks and for women’s career management are discussed.
Congo: From state collapseto ‘absolutism’, to state failure

Abstract The present-day Democratic Republic of Congo is regarded as a paradigmatic case of state failure. This was not always so. During the 1960s and 1970s arch-dictator Mobutu Sese Seko was regarded as a fairly successful state builder. From the time that he seized power outright in 1965 he welded together a huge and diverse territory that had been Africa's first example of state collapse shortly after independence from Belgium in 1960. Academic literature in the 1970s commented on Mobutu's ‘absolutist’ strategies, which combined patronage politics with more formal state-building projects: these strategies were often examined through the lens of state-building efforts in 18th century France. While pre-revolutionary France was not regarded as an ideal state-building model, Mobutu was praised for adapting this model to Congo's difficult circumstances. Against the backdrop of the Cold War and Congo's geopolitical significance, Mobutu's ‘absolutism’ received significant external support, particularly from the USA. This support also reflected the acceptance of then-current models of state-led development. This article emphasises the extent to which this global context, which was very different from more recent pressures for economic and political liberalisation, allowed figures such as Mobutu to follow state-building strategies that more closely resembled early modern European efforts toward the same goal than most scholars would now admit. African patrimonialism seen in this light is less idiosyncratic than most contemporary analyses allow, and its failure has (in part) been hastened by recent changes in the global context that faces state-builders.
[Autologous tumor specific immunotherapy of refractory cancers with ex vivo-generated T cells stimulated by autologous tumor cell].

OBJECTIVES Autologous tumor-cell stimulated cytotoxic T lymphocytes (AuTLs) were prepared from peripheral blood T cells and the T cells were activated ex vivo over a 2-week culturing process in the presence of IL-2 and autologous biopsied tumor-cells from advanced cancer patients. These AuTLs may have potential for efficacy as a locoregional therapy in patients with refractory cancer. METHODS Twenty-nine of 35 cancer patients (13 esophagus, 5 lung, 3 stomach, 4 breast, 1 melanoma) were enrolled in an early Phase II clinical trial. The patients received direct locoregional intratumoral injection of AuTLs biweekly through medical endoscope or intraarterial infusion reservoir system. Mean 0.25 x 10(9) AuTLs were injected 1 x /2 weeks for 6 weeks. RESULTS Adverse events related to AuTL were minimal. AuTLs specific for autologous tumor cells were observed in 12 of 29 patients. Seven of these 12 patients (58.3%) had partial response (PR) or stable disease (SD). In contrast, 8 of 23 (34.8%) remaining patients treated by non-specific AuTLs had SD. Infiltration of T effector cells was significantly increased on the biopsied tumor specimens in the immunohistological studies. Furthermore, 11 patients receiving systemic infusion of non-specific LAK/NK T cells without autologous tumor-cell stimulation only had 2 SDs (18.2%). CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrated the clinical potential of intra-peritumoral administration of AuTLs. Thus, locoregional immunotherapy with autologous tumor specific AuTLs may be more effective than systemic adoptive immunotherapy using intravenous infusion of autologous tumor non-specific LAK/NK T cells for the treatment of solid cancers.
Long-term community reintegration: concepts, outcomes and dilemmas in the case of a military service member with a spinal cord injury

Abstract Purpose: Despite growing knowledge about medical and functional recovery in clinical settings, the long-term issue of community reintegration with a spinal cord injury (SCI) in the military context remains virtually unexamined. Thus, the U.S. Department of Defense created the SCI Qualitative Research Program to advance knowledge about service members’ reintegration into civilian life. The purpose of this paper is to better characterize the long-term outcomes related to the community participation experienced and desired vis-à-vis a case study of a military veteran who suffered a service-related traumatic SCI. Methods: An in-depth anthropological interview was used with Jake, a 28-year old marine with a service-related C5/C6 SCI. Data were analyzed using content analysis. Findings: Three significant themes were identified: opportunities for better engaging socially meaningful others may not be adequately included in so-called “client-centered” interventions; how management of the social self in inter-personal interactions and public spaces is critical to gaining broader societal acceptance; and how meaningful age normative relationships and activities are essential to establish lasting inclusive social connections. Conclusions: Jake’s case challenges existing models of rehabilitation predominantly focused on physical capacity building. Study findings point to the need for rehabilitation to invest more resources in efforts to address the existential and social elements of long-term social reintegration. Implications for Rehabilitation Both the veteran with SCI and their meaningful support network face challenges socially reintegrating after injury and rehabilitation. Empowering clients to envision future possibilities in terms of family, intimate relationships, and meaningful work are important to successful long-term social reintegration. Addressing the existential desires and social capacities of the individual may be as important as addressing physical functioning skills after SCI.
Fathers' Child Care and Children's Behavior Problems

Fathers' primary family role is usually seen in terms of breadwinning, but with a majority of mothers of school-age and younger children holding jobs, there is increasing pressure on coresidential fathers to take on child care responsibilities. A seldom-asked question is whether fathers' greater child care actually makes a difference in children's outcomes. This longitudinal study addressed that issue by seeing how variation in fathers' reported child care of preschool children and of these same children when they were 5 years older was related to the number of older children's behavior problems. It appeared that among the 600 White, non-Hispanic, two-parent families that remained in the NSFH over two waves, fathers' active care of difficult-to-raise preschoolers was related to the children's having fewer problems as grade-schoolers, independently of mothers' care. The discussion covers these and other findings that go against conventional thinking.
THE SIMPLIFIED DYNAMIC MODEL OF A ROBOT MANIPULATOR

The analytical model of a robot dynamics represents an important tool for both the analysis and the synthesis of robot control algorithms. Based on the Euler-Lagrange formalism, the contribution presents a MATLAB-SIMULINK dynamic model of the 3-DOF anthropomorphic robot manipulator with revolute joints. A significant simplification of the model has been accomplished via the concentration of the mass of each link into its centre of gravity.
Should Government Subsidize Caregiver Wages? Some Evidence on Worker Turnover and the Cost of Long-Term Care in Group Homes for Persons With Developmental Disabilities

High rates of worker turnover have been a persistent problem in the long-term care industry. Spending on individuals with developmental disabilities represents 20 percent of all long-term care spending and 40 percent of Medicaid spending on long-term care. Using detailed data on the providers of long-term community-based residential services for persons with developmental disabilities, this research examined the consequences of high worker turnover for long-term care costs and whether a wage-subsidy policy to reduce worker turnover would have been cost-effective in this sector. Higher turnover increased state-reimbursed training expenditures, the share of workers engaged in training, and workers’ compensation costs. Turnover had no effect on training expenditures that were not reimbursed by the state, nor did it affect residential vacancies. The findings indicated that providers were unlikely to reduce turnover on their own, since its associated costs were either tolerably small or borne by others. An analysis indicated that it was likely socially beneficial for the government to reduce turnover through wage subsidization in this sector.
Effects of extensor and flexor group I afferent volleys on the excitability of individual soleus motoneurones in man

The contour of the postsynaptic potential (PSP) produced in a neurone by an afferent volley can be derived from the contour of the post-stimulus time histogram (PSTH) of that neurone when it is discharging rhythmically. In the present study the PSTH of the firing of individual soleus motor units after stimulation of the popliteal or peroneal nerve was used to explore the effects of extensor and flexor group I afferent volleys on the excitability of single soleus motoneurones in man. Extensor group I volleys resulted in an early peak of increased impulse density in the PSTH of 75% of soleus motoneurones. The latency suggests an analogy with the Ia EPSP. The mean duration of the peak of increased impulse density, equivalent to the rise time of the EPSP, was 3.6 ms. Flexor group I volleys result in a period of reduced impulse density in the PSTH of five out of nine soleus motoneurones. The latency suggests an analogy with the Ia IPSP. We conclude that this method could be used to explore the afferent connections to single motoneurones in man and to derive some of the characteristics of the postsynaptic potentials from a variety of afferent nerve fibres in single human motoneurones.
Exploiting a Thesaurus-Based Semantic Net for Knowledge-Based Search

With the growth of on-line information, the need for better resource location services is growing rapidly. A popular goal is to conduct search in terms of concepts, rather than words; however, this approach is frequently thwarted by the high up-front cost of building an adequate ontology (conceptual vocabulary) in the first place. In this paper we describe a knowledge-based Expert Locator application (for identifying human experts relevant to a particular problem or interest), which addresses this issue by using a large, pre-built, technical thesaurus as an initial ontology, combined with simple AI techniques of search, subsumption computation, and language processing. The application has been deployed and in use in our local organization since June, 1999, and a second, larger application was deployed in March 2000. We present the Expert Locator and the AI techniques it uses, and then we evaluate and discuss the application. The significance of this work is that it demonstrates how years of work by library science in thesaurus-building can be leveraged using AI methods, to construct a practical resource location service in a short period of time.
Identification of Luteolin as Enterovirus 71 and Coxsackievirus A16 Inhibitors through Reporter Viruses and Cell Viability-Based Screening

Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common pediatric illness mainly caused by infection with enterovirus 71 (EV71) and coxsackievirus A16 (CA16). The frequent HFMD outbreaks have become a serious public health problem. Currently, no vaccine or antiviral drug for EV71/CA16 infections has been approved. In this study, a two-step screening platform consisting of reporter virus-based assays and cell viability‑based assays was developed to identify potential inhibitors of EV71/CA16 infection. Two types of reporter viruses, a pseudovirus containing luciferase-encoding RNA replicons encapsidated by viral capsid proteins and a full-length reporter virus containing enhanced green fluorescent protein, were used for primary screening of 400 highly purified natural compounds. Thereafter, a cell viability-based secondary screen was performed for the identified hits to confirm their antiviral activities. Three compounds (luteolin, galangin, and quercetin) were identified, among which luteolin exhibited the most potent inhibition of viral infection. In the cell viability assay and plaque reduction assay, luteolin showed similar 50% effective concentration (EC50) values of about 10 μM. Luteolin targeted the post-attachment stage of EV71 and CA16 infection by inhibiting viral RNA replication. This study suggests that luteolin may serve as a lead compound to develop potent anti-EV71 and CA16 drugs.
Urban Leadership in German Local Politics: The Rise, Role and Performance of the Directly Elected (Chief Executive) Mayor

In the post-1945 rebuilding of local democracy and local government in West Germany the local government statutes enacted by each of the regions ("Lander") created a conspicuous variety of local governments that ranged from the council/directly elected (chief executive) mayor form (installed in the South German Lander of Baden-Wurttemberg and Bayern) to that of the (British local government-derived) council/council-elected mayor, and the city director form (introduced in the Land of Nordrhein-Westfalen). This made almost for a natural experiment with different local government models. Since the early 1990s, in a striking sequence of legislative moves, all Lander have adopted the ('South German') directly elected (chief executive) variant. The legislative motives behind this shift were twofold: first, to strengthen the direct democratic rights of citizens ('local democracy'); and, second, to improve the capacity of local leadership in running and managing the city ('governability'). The article argues that - as evidenced by the 50 year-long practice in the South German Lander - the directly elected (chief executive) mayor form seems capable of fulfilling the double goal of strengthening the administrative leadership in local government and of enhancing its political accountability to the citizens. Furthermore, experience indicates that the potentially 'over-powerful' position of the directly elected mayor (as political "and" administrative leader) has been counterbalanced and held in check by an active local council and by vigorous local political parties. Copyright Joint Editors and Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2004.
What does motion reveal about transparency?

The perception of transparent objects from images is known to be a very hard problem in vision. Given a single image, it is difficult to even detect the presence of transparent objects in the scene. In this paper, we explore what can be said about transparent objects by a moving observer. We show how features that are imaged through a transparent object behave differently from those that are rigidly attached to the scene. We present a novel model-based approach to recover the shapes and the poses of transparent objects from known motion. The objects can be complex in that they may be composed of multiple layers with different refractive indices. We have conducted numerous simulations to verify the practical feasibility of our algorithm. We have applied it to real scenes that include transparent objects and recovered the shapes of the objects with high accuracy.
The Photosystem II Light-Harvesting Protein Lhcb3 Affects the Macrostructure of Photosystem II and the Rate of State Transitions in Arabidopsis[W][OA]

The main trimeric light-harvesting complex of higher plants (LHCII) consists of three different Lhcb proteins (Lhcb1-3). We show that Arabidopsis thaliana T-DNA knockout plants lacking Lhcb3 (koLhcb3) compensate for the lack of Lhcb3 by producing increased amounts of Lhcb1 and Lhcb2. As in wild-type plants, LHCII-photosystem II (PSII) supercomplexes were present in Lhcb3 knockout plants (koLhcb3), and preservation of the LHCII trimers (M trimers) indicates that the Lhcb3 in M trimers has been replaced by Lhcb1 and/or Lhcb2. However, the rotational position of the M LHCII trimer was altered, suggesting that the Lhcb3 subunit affects the macrostructural arrangement of the LHCII antenna. The absence of Lhcb3 did not result in any significant alteration in PSII efficiency or qE type of nonphotochemical quenching, but the rate of transition from State 1 to State 2 was increased in koLhcb3, although the final extent of state transition was unchanged. The level of phosphorylation of LHCII was increased in the koLhcb3 plants compared with wild-type plants in both State 1 and State 2. The relative increase in phosphorylation upon transition from State 1 to State 2 was also significantly higher in koLhcb3. It is suggested that the main function of Lhcb3 is to modulate the rate of state transitions.
A framework for conceptualizing reporting bias and its antecedents in interviews assessing human sexuality

The present paper reviews conceptual models of self‐presentation bias in interview situations that focus on assessments of human sexuality. An heuristic framework is developed that synthesizes these models to focus on self‐presentation/self‐disclosure bias as a function of emotional distress and threat to self‐esteem, both intermediate outcomes that are influenced by four general factors: Respondent, Interviewer, Task, and Contextual. Empirical research within each of these four general factors is discussed, and areas for further research are outlined.
Yeast HXK2 gene reverts glucose regulation mutation of penicillin biosynthesis in P. chrysogenum

The mutant Penicillium chrysogenum strain dogR5, derived from strain AS-P-78, does not respond to glucose regulation of penicillin biosynthesis and β-galactosidase, and is partially deficient in D-glucose phosphorilating activity. We have transformed strain dogR5 with the (hexokinase) hxk2 gene from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Transformants recovered glucose control of penicillin biosynthesis in different degrees, and acquired a hexokinase (fructose phosphorylating) activity absent in strains AS- P-78 and dogR5. Interestingly, they also recovered glucose regulation of β-galactosidase. On the other hand, glucokinase activity was affected in different ways in the transformants; one of which showed a lower activity than the parental dogR5, but normal glucose regulation of penicillin biosynthesis. Our results show that Penicillium chrysogenum AS-P-78 and dogR5 strains lack hexokinase, and suggest that an enzyme with glucokinase activity is involved in glucose regulation of penicillin biosynthesis and β-galactosidase, thus signaling glucose in both primary and secondary metabolism; however, catalytic and signaling activities seem to be independent.
Using Teacher-Written Praise Notes to Promote a Positive Environment in a Middle School

ABSTRACT Teachers in 1 middle school learned about the positive effects of writing praise notes to students, which is 1 component of a positive behavior support. The authors intended for this procedure to promote a positive school environment and reinforce the appropriate use of social skills. Also, the authors instructed the teachers to use a direct instruction model to teach social skills lessons during 1st-period classes and praise students when they effectively demonstrated these skills. The authors analyzed the data to determine whether students receiving praise notes were less likely to receive an office discipline referral (ODR). The data revealed a significant negative correlation between the number of praise notes and number of ODRs that students received, indicating that as praise notes increased, the rate of ODRs decreased. The authors provide several hypotheses for this relation.
Viral interference with antibody and complement

Abstract Viruses have evolved strategies to evade immunity mediated by antibody and complement. Herpesviruses and coronaviruses encode IgG Fc binding proteins that inhibit IgG activity, enabling the virus or infected cell to escape antibody attack. Herpesviruses, vaccinia virus and HIV-1 have the capacity to interfere with complement, either by incorporation of cellular complement regulatory proteins into the virion envelope or cell membrane, or by expression of viral molecules that mimic functions of complement regulatory proteins. The structure and biological activities of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) glycoproteins gE, gI and gC are described. These glycoproteins protect HSV from immune attack; HSV-1 gE/gI form a complex that binds the Fc domain of IgG while gC is a C3b binding complement regulatory protein, providing a survival advantage to the virusin vitroandin vivoby inhibiting immune functions.
Calcineurin Promotes Infection of the Cornea by Candida albicans and Can Be Targeted To Enhance Fluconazole Therapy

ABSTRACT In an established Candida albicans murine keratitis model, combination therapy with ophthalmic preparations of fluconazole and cyclosporine A (CsA) demonstrated in vivo drug synergy and effectively resolved wild-type C. albicans infection more rapidly than monotherapy with either drug. Calcineurin, the target of CsA, was also found to contribute to pathogenicity.