Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Iterative algorithms for no-wait flowshop problems with sequence-dependent setup times

In this paper, the m-machine no-wait flowshop scheduling problem with sequence-dependent setup times is considered to minimize the makespan. According to the problem characteristics, the increment properties of some fundamental operators of algorithms are analyzed. Two increment-based methods FSP (fittest swap points) and FMP (fittest move points) are constructed for fast evaluation on all algorithms. Four iterative algorithms on the basis of job insert, move and swap operators are proposed for the considered problem. In IMS (heuristic with insert, move and swap operators) algorithm, the current solution is constructed step by step by inserting a job at a time and is improved by conducting jobs move within a certain range. FR-IMS (full-range IMS) algorithm is a full-range IMS algorithm. Both IA (iterative algorithm) and IALS (iterative algorithm with local search) algorithms consist of two phases: solution initialization according to a certain rule and solution enhancement by iteratively conducting perturbation and move-based techniques. The main difference between IA and IALS lies in the fact that, instead of using FMP method in the enhancement phase like IA, a local search process which is based on moves under a first-improvement type of pivoting rule as well as a restart mechanism is adopted in IALS. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithms outperform the best existing approaches, among which IALS is the most effective one.
Promotion of B Cell Immune Responses via an Alum-Induced Myeloid Cell Population

Exposure of naïve B cells to the cytokine interleukin-4 (IL-4) and/or antigen leads to a state of “priming,” in which subsequent aggregation of major histocompatibility complex class II molecules induces the mobilization of calcium ions and cell proliferation. However, it is not clear how critical this priming is for immune responses or how it is normally induced in vivo. Injection of mice with the commonly used adjuvant alum led to priming of splenic B cells and to the accumulation in the spleen of a previously unknown population of IL-4–producing, Gr1+ cells. These cells and IL-4 were both required for in vivo priming and expansion of antigen-specific B cells, as well as for optimal production of antibody. These studies reveal a key role for a previously unknown accessory myeloid cell population in the generation of humoral immune responses.
The iron-regulated surface proteins IsdA, IsdB, and IsdH are not required for heme iron utilization in Staphylococcus aureus.

The iron-regulated surface determinant proteins (Isd) of Staphylococcus aureus are expressed during iron limitation and have been proposed to be involved in the scavenging of iron from heme. In this study, the genes encoding the surface proteins IsdA, IsdB, and IsdH were inactivated in order to determine their combined role. The triple mutant was found to have no defect in growth under any conditions of iron limitation tested. Also using a mouse septic arthritis model of S. aureus systemic disease, no significant difference in bacterial load was observed for the triple mutant, compared with its otherwise isogenic parent.
A Fading Factor Unscented Particle Filter and Its Application in INS/GPS Integrated Navigation

The tracking ability and robustness of the Unscented Particle filter based on the minimum variance estimation principle are weakened when the actual data is abruptly changed. A fading factor unscented particle filter (FFUPF) algorithm is proposed in this paper, which can improve the accuracy of the unscented particle filtering and increase the tracking ability and robustness. The proposed fading factor is used to adaptively adapt the time-varying system noise. And the proposed algorithm infuses the latest observation data in the prior distribution update phase, designs the importance density function by fading factor, and makes it more close to the system status posterior probability density. Simulation has been performed by using an illustrative example and results have been provided to demonstrate the validity of the proposed algorithm as well as its improved performance over the conventional one.
Calmodulin kinase II accelerates L‐type Ca2+ current recovery from inactivation and compensates for the direct inhibitory effect of [Ca2+]i in rat ventricular myocytes

Some studies report that the positive relationship between L‐type Ca2+ current (ICa−L) and frequency in cardiac myocytes is mainly due to a direct negative feedback of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ release on ICa−L inactivation while others provide evidence for activation of calmodulin kinase II (CaMKII). To further elucidate the role of endogenous CaMKII activity, the CaMKII inhibitory peptides, autocamtide‐2 relating inhibitory peptide (AIP) and myristoylated AIP were applied using conventional and perforated patch‐clamp methods. AIP inhibited the normal adaptive increase in ICa−L in response to abrupt increase in pacing frequency from 0.05 to 2 Hz. The positive ICa−L–frequency relationship was reversed by AIP and the inhibitory effect of AIP was significantly exaggerated at fast pacing rates. The onset of inactivation of ICa−L was not altered by AIP. After thapsigargin treatment, AIP slowed recovery from inactivation of ICa−L and this effect was exaggerated during fast pacing. Buffering of [Ca2+]i by BAPTA and EGTA accelerated recovery of ICa−L from inactivation, and BAPTA partly eliminated the effect of AIP on the recovery. We conclude that: (1) [Ca2+]i directly slows ICa−L recovery from inactivation; and (2) Ca2+‐dependent endogenous CaMKII activity accelerates the ICa−L recovery. Thus, at fast heart rates, elevated [Ca2+]i activates endogenous CaMKII and compensates for its direct inhibitory effect on ICa−L recovery from inactivation. Dynamic activity of endogenous CaMKII enhances the positive ICa−L–frequency relationship.
IDIOPATHIC INTRACRANIAL HYPERTENSION

Management of patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) should be based on the presence and progression of visual loss. To characterize the clinical course of IIH more completely, we monitored the clinical status, especially visual function, in 50 consecutive newly-diagnosed patients over a period of 2 to 39 months (average follow-up 12.4 months). The mean age at onset of symptoms was 31 (range 11–58) yrs; 46 (92%) were women and 47 (94%) were obese (mean weight 90 kg). Common symptoms were headache (92%), transient visual obscurations (72%) and intracranial noises (60%); 13 of the patients (26%) initially had complaints of sustained visual loss. There was visual loss as determined by Goldmann perimetry in 96% and by automated perimetry in 92%. Contrast sensitivity testing was abnormal in 50% and Snellen acuity in 22%. Two patients (4%) became blind in both eyes. The Goldmann visual field grade improved in 60% of patients but visual function deteriorated in 5 (10%). Deterioration of visual field grade was significantly associated only with weight gain during the year before diagnosis. Visual loss in patients with IIH is common and is often reversible. Patients should be evaluated by perimetry using an appropriate strategy and contrast sensitivity testing, along with careful examination of the optic discs.
Government Debt Spillovers - A Panel Data Analysis in Industrialized Countries

Usually the higher Government Debt country borrows money from other countries having lower Government Debt. This will end up with a higher lending rate in all countries. So, the spillover of a high debt problem in one country will cause pressures for higher interest rates in all remaining countries. This consequently could trigger inflationary pressures in all countries. Further, unemployment will rise and recession will come up in all other countries. Hence, a "financial problem" in one country in debt trouble could spread into the "financially healthy" countries. Thus, the larger the number the borrowing countries the more severe the repercussions. The sample covers most industrialized world. Data are taken from World Bank. The elaboration of these panel data is made feasible by means of the Eviews software package.
France's Codevelopment Program: Financial and Fiscal Incentives to Promote Diaspora Entrepreneurship and Transfers

One of Europe's longest-standing conceptualizations of the migration-and-development-nexus, France's co-development program associates the French government to a migrant diaspora's transnational engagements in view to reduce migratory pressure. According to this partnership paradigm, France co-funds remittances, skills and knowledge transfers in view to stimulate source country development. This article explains the multi-level structure of co-development policy and traces its complex trajectory over time and space from a financial to a fiscal instrument. Facing diaspora criticism, co-development's migration control and security policy rationales were replaced by strategies to help source countries adjust to a globalizing economy. This article focuses on how France invests into de-fiscalizing migrants' revenue and what effects this shift from financial to fiscal measures may have on migratory flows. We identify five benefits of the tax break: non-discriminatory application in terms of nationality, engaging the financial sector in migration policy formulation, lowering government expenditure, promoting the bancarization of savings and enhancing migrants' trust in the use of savings. While the final verdict on co-development tax breaks for revenue-collection is still outstanding, France's migration-fiscal policy nexus may be an experiment worth replicating on a more global scale.
Urinary free cortisol: an intermediate phenotype and a potential genetic marker for a salt-resistant subset of essential hypertension.

CONTEXT Emerging evidence suggests a role for cortisol in essential hypertension, and preliminary reports indicate that urinary free cortisol (UFC) may be an intermediate phenotype. OBJECTIVES The objectives of this study were: 1) confirm bimodality of UFC, 2) assess whether UFC variations aggregate in hypertensive families, and 3) compare low-mode and high-mode UFC groups for distinguishing features. SUBJECTS/SETTING Subjects included 390 hypertensives and 166 normotensives from the general community. DESIGN/INTERVENTIONS Subjects had blood pressure and laboratory measurements on high- and low-salt diets. Familial aggregation was evaluated in 250 hypertensive siblings from 117 families. RESULTS Hypertensives had higher UFC than normotensives (P<0.001) and bimodal distribution of UFC (P<0.0001). Analyses were controlled for gender and dietary sodium, which are confounding determinants of UFC. Mean low-mode UFC (33.8+/-10.6 microg per 24 h) was similar to that of normotensives. The high mode, comprising 31.3% of hypertensives, had less change in mean arterial pressure between diets than the low mode (P=0.01) without any other significant differences. Observed proportions of concordance and discordance for UFC mode differed significantly from that expected (P<0.001). Observed concordance for the high mode was twice that expected, whereas for the low mode, it was similar to that expected by chance. Family membership explained a significant proportion of variance in UFC classification (P=0.027). UFC mode of one sibling was a significant predictor of the UFC mode of the other sibling [odds ratio 6.6, 95% confidence interval (2.4-18.0), P<0.001]. CONCLUSION High-mode UFC is an intermediate phenotype of hypertension associated with salt resistance and a strong familial component supporting heritability.
Quantitative analysis of hypertrophic myocardium using diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging

Abstract. Systemic hypertension is a causative factor in left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). This study is motivated by the potential to reverse or manage the dysfunction associated with structural remodeling of the myocardium in this pathology. Using diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging, we present an analysis of myocardial fiber and laminar sheet orientation in ex vivo hypertrophic (6 SHR) and normal (5 WKY) rat hearts using the covariance of the diffusion tensor. First, an atlas of normal cardiac microstructure was formed using the WKY b0 images. Then, the SHR and WKY b0 hearts were registered to the atlas. The acquired deformation fields were applied to the SHR and WKY heart tensor fields followed by the preservation of principal direction (PPD) reorientation strategy. A mean tensor field was then formed from the registered WKY tensor images. Calculating the covariance of the registered tensor images about this mean for each heart, the hypertrophic myocardium exhibited significantly increased myocardial fiber derangement (p=0.017) with a mean dispersion of 38.7 deg, and an increased dispersion of the laminar sheet normal (p=0.030) of 54.8 deg compared with 34.8 deg and 51.8 deg, respectively, in the normal hearts. Results demonstrate significantly altered myocardial fiber and laminar sheet structure in rats with hypertensive LVH.
Post-Cognitive Structure - Its Determinants And Relationship To Perceived Information Use And Predictive Accuracy

Post-cognitive structure refers to the complexity level of an individual's cognitive structure after exposure to an information system. This research demonstrates that individuals' post-cognitive structures are related to the complexity level of their cognitive structures prior to their exposure to the information system (pre-cognitive structures), the complexity of the information system, and to both perceived weight distributions across independent factors of information and the accuracy of predictive decisions. Accounting research concerning cognitive structure has been conducted on the premise that knowledge of such structure will guide the design of information systems toward more effective user decisions. Such an approach requires the resolution of two critical issues: (1) user cognitive structures must be identified before information systems can be designed consistent with them, and (2) elements of cognitive structure must be demonstrated to be important in the decision-making process. Thus, previous research has focused on the identification of user cognitive structures and their relationship to decision making (e.g., see Dermer [1973], Driver and Mock [1975], Savich [1977], McGhee, Shields, and Birnberg [1978], Lusk [1973; 1979], and Pratt [1980]).
Ein Lösungsweg für die europäische Zahlungsbilanzkrise? Mehr Markt wagen!

Seit gut zwei Jahren haben sich die Zahlungsbilanzungleichgewichte und Staatsschulden zu einer europäischen Zahlungsbilanzkrise ausgeweitet. Darunter verstehen wir, dass sich zuvor eingegangene Zahlungsverpflichtungen, d.h. die Schulden, eines einzelnen Mitglieds bzw. einer Gruppe von Mitgliedern der Europäischen Wirtschaftsund Währungsunion (EWU) als nicht tragbar erweisen. Diese Krise hat sich nochmals im Anschluss an den Euro-Gipfel Ende Juli 2011 verschärft und harrt nach wie vor einer wirksamen und dauerhaften Lösung.
Chinese Strategies for Getting Health Care: Guanxi and its Alternatives

Chinese citizens are accustomed to dealing with risk and making choices about how to get things done. Such choices are evident in popular responses to hypothetical situations corresponding to three typical unethical practices in Chinese hospitals: overprescribing medicines not covered by insurance, encouraging patients to take unnecessary diagnostic tests, and taking bribes (“red envelopes” or hong bao) for treatment which has already formally been paid for. Using nationally representative survey data, this study examines public perceptions of the likelihood of encountering these practices in local county or district hospitals as well as preferences between different strategies for dealing with them. We develop and test hypotheses about the social structural determinants of preferred strategies: focussing on urban versus rural contexts, level of development, gender, age, education and income. The conclusion considers the implications of the findings for policies designed to mitigate unethical practices.
Molecular Mechanism of Agonism and Inverse Agonism in the Melanocortin Receptors

Abstract: Among the rhodopsin‐like 7TM receptors, the MC receptors are functionally unique because their high constitutive signaling activity is regulated not only by endogenous peptide agonists—MSH peptides—but also by endogenous inverse agonists, namely, the proteins agouti and AGRP. Moreover, the metal‐ion Zn2+ increases the signaling activity of at least the MC1 and MC4 receptors in three distinct ways: (1) by directly functioning as an agonist; (2) by potentiating the action of the endogenous agonist; and (3) by inhibiting the binding of the endogenous inverse agonist. Structurally the MC receptors are part of a small subset of 7TM receptors in which the main ligand‐binding crevice, and especially extracellular loops 2 and 3, appear to be specially designed for easy ligand access and bias towards an active state of the receptor—i.e., constitutive activity. Thus, in the MC receptors extracellular loop 2 is ultrashort because TM‐IV basically connects directly into TM‐V, whereas extracellular loop 3 appears to be held in a particular, constrained conformation by a putative, internal disulfide bridge. The interaction mode for the small and well‐defined zinc‐ion between a third, free Cys residue in extracellular loop 3 and conceivably an Asp residue located at the inner face of TM‐III gives important information concerning the activation mechanism for the MC receptors.
A modified thrombin generation test for the measurement of factor VIII concentrates

Summary. It has been well documented that there is an uncertainty over the true factor (F)VIII level in postinfusion samples due to assay discrepancies. The thrombin generation test (TGT) was used as a potentially more physiological approach to assess and compare FVIII concentrates. FVIII concentrates were added to artificial FVIII‐deficient plasma. Thrombin generation was initiated by the addition of FIXa (14 nm), phospholipid and CaCl2. Thrombin was measured by subsampling into fibrinogen, and curves quantified as area under the curve (AUC) and time taken to half‐maximum (t½max). Addition of one plasma‐derived concentrate to as little as 0.005 IU mL−1 gave a normal AUC, but prolonged t½max. Increasing FVIII to 1 IU mL−1 had little effect on AUC, but did reduce the t½max to 64 s (normal 114 s). A range of plasma‐derived and recombinant concentrates were tested at 1 IU mL−1; results were similar, except the B‐domain deleted concentrate, which had the most rapid initial rate of thrombin generation (t½max 48 s, P < 0.05). Two hemophilic plasmas (< 0.01 IU mL−1) produced large amounts of thrombin (AUC 65% and 69%), although t½max was prolonged. Addition of a FVIII antibody abolished thrombin generation, indicating that these plasmas contained low levels of FVIII. Decreasing the FIXa concentration (0.2 nm) minimized thrombin generation in hemophilic plasma but not in normal plasma. These results indicate that FVIII < 0.01 IU mL−1 can generate significant quantities of thrombin depending upon the amount of FIXa present. The TGT could prove useful for patient monitoring in gene therapy and prophylaxis.
Competing in the Age of Digital Convergence

From the Publisher: The essays in this important collection examine the consequences of digital convergence on the participating companies and industries, their internal capabilities, the products and services they produce, and the way they compete. In the process, the authors reveal that the key to success for companies in this new environment will not be to engineer big technological breakthroughs or to execute grand acquisitions. Instead, the winners will be those companies that develop innovative products and services by creatively combining existing technologies with new managerial approaches. Timely essays place the computer industry in historical perspective; address prospects for industry convergence; identify economic, legal, and managerial obstacles to convergence; and examine the managerial challenges facing companies in rapidly changing hardware and software environments, particularly around issues of product and process development and interfirm alliances.
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF REDUCING IMPLICIT AND EXPLICIT ENERGY SUBSIDIES IN IRAN; USING A COMPUTABLE GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM MODEL BASED ON A MODIFIED MICRO CONSISTENT MATRIX

This paper identifies two types of implicit and explicit energy subsidies in Iran. Using a computable general equilibrium model, we analyze the impacts of reducing implicit and explicit energy subsidies. The model is based on a Modified Micro Consistent Matrix of MOE (the Ministry of Energy) which includes implicit subsidies. The model consists of 36 commodity groups and 18 economic activities. Our findings suggest that overall economic activity and consumer welfare will be reduced following the reduction of energy subsidies. Energy exports would increase and nonenergy exports decline. Economic activity will decline across all sectors except for upstream energy activities. Domestic energy demand by households and producers would decline as well.
Specific Absorption Rate Distributions of a Tapered Slot Antenna at 60 GHz in Personal Wireless Devices [Wireless Corner]

In the near future, new-generation wireless networks are expected to provide new paradigms over the existing networks with a wide variety of wireless broad-band applications. With this perspective, progress in computational electromagnetics (EM) and advances in utilizing millimeter-wave (mm-wave) frequency bands provide candidates for high-resolution, highspeed broad-band wireless systems/applications. With the advances in wireless technologies and from a publicsafety viewpoint, the biological and health effects induced by mm-waves should be carefully considered before their deployment in the near future. The objective of this study is to analyze the specific absorption rate (SAR) of an antipodal linear tapered slot antenna (ALTSA) operating at 60 GHz utilizing substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) technology for personal wireless devices (PWDs). For a better understanding of the interactions between the human body and antennas for wireless devices like laptops and headphones, SAR at the head and anterior thigh positions and temperature rises have been characterized numerically and computationally using EM simulation tools with phantom models.