Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Challenges of permitting ballast water discharges from commercial vessels in U.S. waters

CHALLENGES OF PERMITTING BALLAST WATER DISCHARGES FROM COMMERCIAL VESSELS IN U.S. WATERS by Paul Rodriguez On February 5, 2009, the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) issued the Vessel General Permit (VGP), under the Clean Water Act (CWA), for discharges incidental to the normal operation of vessels, including ballast water discharges. This set forth permit requirements for most commercial vessel discharges within 3 nautical miles of U.S. shore. Since it will expire in December 2013, the US EPA recently issued a draft 2013 VGP. One of the significant changes is the proposal of numerical ballast water discharge standards requiring most commercial vessels to install ballast water treatment systems onboard. The objective of this thesis is to review, analyze and present the impacts of the VGP ballast water regulations. An overview of the concerns of ballast water discharge, the VGP and other related ballast water regulations, and classes of vessels affected is exhibited. Using the US EPA VGP Notice of Intent (NOI) database, this study presents the challenges of the upcoming 2013 VGP ballast water regulations. The challenges discussed are organized into five aspects: ballast water treatment system (BWTS) manufacturers, vessels requiring BWTSs, impact on foreign and domestic vessels, additional state regulations, and government agencies’ involvement. Finally, conclusions and recommendations are made with regard to such challenges. CHALLENGES OF PERMITTING BALLAST WATER DISCHARGES FROM COMMERCIAL VESSELS IN U.S. WATERS
Comparison of Physiological Parameters and Anaesthesia Specific Observations during Isoflurane, Ketamine-Xylazine or Medetomidine-Midazolam-Fentanyl Anaesthesia in Male Guinea Pigs

Guinea pigs (GPs) are difficult to anaesthetize successfully, the choices for anaesthesia are limited and physiological parameters are likely to be influenced substantially under anaesthesia. We implanted blood pressure radio-telemetry devices into 16 male GPs and subjected them to anaesthesia with ketamine-xylazine (KX), medetomidine-midazolam-fentanyl (MMF) or isoflurane (Iso, plus atropine premedication) in a randomized order with a 7 day interval between anaesthesias. Each anaesthesia lasted 40min, after which Iso was discontinued, MMF was fully antagonized with atipamezole-flumazenil-naloxone and KX was partially antagonized with atipamezole. Hemodynamics were recorded continuously for at least 240min after induction and the GPs were monitored for respiratory rate, reflex responses and specific observations until regaining of their righting reflex (RR). Blood for glucose testing was taken from the ear at 7.5, 20 and 40min during anaesthesia. Recovery time was short with MMF and Iso but long for KX. MMF induced only a transient blood pressure drop after antagonization, whereas Iso caused a marked hypotension during maintenance and KX led to moderate hypotension after antagonization. MMF and Iso produced tolerable heart rate changes, but KX led to long term post-anaesthetic bradycardia. Hypothermia occurred with all anaesthesias, but the GPs returned to normothermia the fastest under MMF, followed shortly by Iso. KX, however, caused a profound and prolonged hypothermia. The respiration was depressed with all anaesthesias, substantially with MMF (-41%) and KX (-52%) and severe during Iso maintenance (-71%). Blood glucose with MMF and KX increased throughout the anaesthesia, but the values remained within reference values with all anaesthetics. The reflex responses character and strength varied between the anaesthetics. In conclusion, MMF is the anaesthetic of choice and Iso may be used for short, non-painful procedures. We advise against the use of KX in GPs.
Causality-based Abstraction of Multiplicity in Security Protocols

This paper presents a novel technique for analyzing security protocols based on an abstraction of the program semantics. This technique is based on a novel structure called causal graph which captures the causality among program events within a finite graph. A core property of causal graphs is that they abstract away from the multiplicity of protocol sessions, hence constituting a concise tool for reasoning about an even infinite number of concurrent protocol sessions; deciding security only requires a traversal of the causal graph, thus yielding a decidable, and typically very efficient, approach for security protocol analysis. Additionally, causal graphs allow for dealing with different security properties such as secrecy and authenticity in a uniform manner. Both the construction of the causal graph from a given protocol description and the analysis have been fully automated and tested on several example protocols from the literature.
Diversity of water level fluctuations in degraded Baltic raised bogs

Abstract The aim of paper is to present the diversity of water level fluctuations in degraded Baltic raised bogs. An attempt was made to answer the question how strong the diversity of fluctuations is both within each object and between two objects situated close to each other. Moreover, speed and value of the response of water level to atmospheric precipitation were analysed. The spatial scope of the paper covers two Baltic raised bogs in the lower part of the Łeba river valley: Czarne Bagno and Łebskie Bagno. The time scope covers years 2012-2014. The study found that both analysed bogs were a high dynamic in variation of groundwater level. Annual amplitudes of fluctuations in the water table was in the range of 28.4 to 77.9 cm (Łebskie Bagno) and of 45.6 to 105.0 cm (Czarne Bagno). It has been observed that lowering the water level on both peatlands always been recorded in the summer months, whilst the increase in the autumn, which lasted until spring. Retention and the water level on peatlands influenced primarily precipitation. Extreme meteorological conditions that make it less conspicuous is the variation resulting from factors such as location in different parts of the bog or type of degradation.
International Journal of Nanomedicine Dovepress Protein Kinase Cα Downregulation via Sirna-pkcα Released from Foldable Capsular Vitreous Body in Cultured Human Retinal Pigment Epithelium Cells

We previously found that downregulation of protein kinase Cα (PKCα) can inhibit retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cell proliferation involved in the development of proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR). In this study, we tested whether PKCα could be downregulated via small interfering RNA (siRNA)-PKCα released from foldable capsular vitreous body (FCVB) in cultured human RPE cells. SiRNA-PKCα content, determined by ultraviolet (UV) spec-trophotometer, was released from FCVB containing 200, 300, 400, 500, and 600 nm siRNA-PKCα in a time-dependent manner from 1 to 96 hours and a dose-dependent manner at five concentrations. The content (y) had a good linear relationship with time (x), especially in the 600 nm siRNA-PKCα group (y = 16.214x, R 2 = 0.9809). After treatment with siRNA-PKCα released from FCVBs, the PKCα was significantly decreased by RT-PCR, Western blot, and immunofluorescence analysis in RPE cells. These results indicate that PKCα was significantly downregulated by siRNA-PKCα released from FCVB in human RPE cells and provide us with a new avenue to prevent PVR.
The Analysis of Galois Substitution Counter Mode (GSCM)

In [9], GSCM mode of operation for authenticated encryption was presented. GSCM is based on the Galois/Counter Mode (GCM). GSCM is an enhancement of GCM, which is characterized by its high throughput and low memory consumption in network applications. In this paper, we propose some enhancements to GSCM and compare it with the different implementations of GCM. We present stability, performance, memory and security analyses of different implementations of GSCM and GCM.
A Study on the Effects of Openings on Seismic Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Shear Walls

x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1 Background of the Study . 1 1.2 Objectives of the Study . 2 1.2.1 General Objective . 2 1.2.2 Specific Objectives . 2 1.3 Statement of the Problem . 3 1.4 Significance of the Study. 3 1.5 Scope and Limitation of the Research . 3 1.6 Thesis Organization . 4 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW . 5 2.1 General . 5 2.2 Earthquake Loads . 5 2.3 Lateral Load Resisting Systems . 5 2.4 Reinforced Concrete Shear Walls. 6 2.5 Shear Wall-Frame Interaction . 7 2.5. 1 General . 7 2.5. 2 Curtailed or Interrupted Shear Walls . 7 2.6 Shear Walls with Different Types of Openings . 8 2.7 Coupled Shear Wall Structures . 11 2.8 Coupling Beams . 13 2.8. 1 A Review on Effective Stiffness of Coupling Beams . 14 2.9 Modelling and Analysis of Shear Walls with Openings . 19 2.9. 1 Modelling of Shear Walls with Openings . 19 2.9. 2 Methods of Analysis . 20
Measuring Conformity to Discourse Routines in Decision-Making Interactions

In an effort to develop measures of discourse level management strategies, this study examines a measure of the degree to which decision-making interactions consist of sequences of utterance functions that are linked in a decision-making routine. The measure is applied to 100 dyadic interactions elicited in both face-to-face and computer-mediated environments with systematic variation of task complexity and message-window size. Every utterance in the interactions is coded according to a system that identifies decision-making functions and other routine functions of utterances. Markov analyses of the coded utterances make it possible to measure the relative frequencies with which sequences of 2 and 3 utterances trace a path in a Markov model of the decision routine. These proportions suggest that interactions in all conditions adhere to the model, although we find greater conformity in the computer-mediated environments, which is probably due to increased processing and attentional demands for greater efficiency. The results suggest that measures based on Markov analyses of coded interactions can provide useful measures for comparing discourse level properties, for correlating discourse features with other textual features, and for analyses of discourse management strategies.
Influence of Micro-Cantilever Geometry and Gap on Pull-in Voltage

In this paper, we study the behaviour of a microcantilever beam under electrostatic actuation using finite difference method. This problem has a lot of applications in MEMS based devices like accelerometers, switches and others. In this paper, we formulated the problem of a cantilever beam with proof mass at its end and carried out the finite difference solution. we studied the effects of length, width, and the gap size on the pull-in voltage using data that are available in the literature. Also, the stability limit is compared with the single degree of freedom commonly used in the earlier literature as an approximation to calculate the pull-in voltage.
Models for the a subunits of the Thermus thermophilus V/A-ATPase and Saccharomyces cerevisiae V-ATPase enzymes by cryo-EM and evolutionary covariance

Significance In cells, chemical energy is interconverted with electrochemical ion gradients across membranes for numerous processes. Three of the most significant enzymes that carry out this conversion are known as rotary ATPases because ion translocation is coupled to the synthesis or hydrolysis of ATP by rotation of part of the enzyme. These protein assemblies are the closely related eukaryotic V-ATPases and bacterial or archaeal V/A-ATPases, and the more distantly related F-type ATP synthases. Understanding of rotary ATPases has been limited by not knowing the structure of the subunit that couples ion translocation to rotation. Here, we determine the structure of this subunit for two of the three types of rotary ATPases, identifying a conserved architecture and mechanism in all three enzymes. Rotary ATPases couple ATP synthesis or hydrolysis to proton translocation across a membrane. However, understanding proton translocation has been hampered by a lack of structural information for the membrane-embedded a subunit. The V/A-ATPase from the eubacterium Thermus thermophilus is similar in structure to the eukaryotic V-ATPase but has a simpler subunit composition and functions in vivo to synthesize ATP rather than pump protons. We determined the T. thermophilus V/A-ATPase structure by cryo-EM at 6.4 Å resolution. Evolutionary covariance analysis allowed tracing of the a subunit sequence within the map, providing a complete model of the rotary ATPase. Comparing the membrane-embedded regions of the T. thermophilus V/A-ATPase and eukaryotic V-ATPase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae allowed identification of the α-helices that belong to the a subunit and revealed the existence of previously unknown subunits in the eukaryotic enzyme. Subsequent evolutionary covariance analysis enabled construction of a model of the a subunit in the S. cerevisae V-ATPase that explains numerous biochemical studies of that enzyme. Comparing the two a subunit structures determined here with a structure of the distantly related a subunit from the bovine F-type ATP synthase revealed a conserved pattern of residues, suggesting a common mechanism for proton transport in all rotary ATPases.
Best Practices for Data Sharing in Phylogenetic Research

As phylogenetic data becomes increasingly available, along with associated data on species’ genomes, traits, and geographic distributions, the need to ensure data availability and reuse become more and more acute. In this paper, we provide ten “simple rules” that we view as best practices for data sharing in phylogenetic research. These rules will help lead towards a future phylogenetics where data can easily be archived, shared, reused, and repurposed across a wide variety of projects.
miR-524-5p suppresses the growth of oncogenic BRAF melanoma by targeting BRAF and ERK2

It has been well documented that miRNAs can modulate the effectiveness of cancer-associated signaling pathways. Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK/ERK) signaling plays an essential role in the progression of many cancers, including melanoma and colon cancers. However, no single miRNA is reported to directly target multiple components of the MAPK/ERK pathway. We performed a miRNA PCR array screening with various MAPK/ERK signaling activities. The miRNA array data revealed that the expression of miR-524-5p was decreased in cells with an active MAPK/ERK pathway and confirmed that the expression of miR-524-5p is inversely associated with the activity of the MAPK/ERK pathway. We demonstrated that miR-524-5p directly binds to the 3′-untranslated regions of both BRAFandERK2 and suppresses the expression of these proteins. Because BRAF and ERK2 are the main components of MAPK signaling, the overexpression of miR-524-5p effectively inhibits MAPK/ERK signaling, tumor proliferation, and melanoma cell migration. Moreover, tumors overexpressing miR-524-5p were significantly smaller than those of the negative control mice. Our findings provide new insight into the role of miR-524-5p as an important miRNA that negatively regulates the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway, suggesting that miR-524-5p could be a potent therapeutic candidate for melanoma treatment.
Variation in Salamander Tail Regeneration Is Associated with Genetic Factors That Determine Tail Morphology

Very little is known about the factors that cause variation in regenerative potential within and between species. Here, we used a genetic approach to identify heritable genetic factors that explain variation in tail regenerative outgrowth. A hybrid ambystomatid salamander (Ambystoma mexicanum x A. andersoni) was crossed to an A. mexicanum and 217 offspring were induced to undergo metamorphosis and attain terrestrial adult morphology using thyroid hormone. Following metamorphosis, each salamander’s tail tip was amputated and allowed to regenerate, and then amputated a second time and allowed to regenerate. Also, DNA was isolated from all individuals and genotypes were determined for 187 molecular markers distributed throughout the genome. The area of tissue that regenerated after the first and second amputations was highly positively correlated across males and females. Males presented wider tails and regenerated more tail tissue during both episodes of regeneration. Approximately 66–68% of the variation in regenerative outgrowth was explained by tail width, while tail length and genetic sex did not explain a significant amount of variation. A small effect QTL was identified as having a sex-independent effect on tail regeneration, but this QTL was only identified for the first episode of regeneration. Several molecular markers significantly affected regenerative outgrowth during both episodes of regeneration, but the effect sizes were small (<4%) and correlated with tail width. The results show that ambysex and minor effect QTL explain variation in adult tail morphology and importantly, tail width. In turn, tail width at the amputation plane largely determines the rate of regenerative outgrowth. Because amputations in this study were made at approximately the same position of the tail, our results resolve an outstanding question in regenerative biology: regenerative outgrowth positively co-varies as a function of tail width at the amputation site.
A Randomized Approach for Crowdsourcing in the Presence of Multiple Views

Driven by the dramatic growth of data both in terms of the size and sources, learning from heterogeneous data is emerging as an important research direction for many real applications. One of the biggest challenges of this type of problem is how to meaningfully integrate heterogeneous data to considerably improve the generality and quality of the learning model. In this paper, we first present a unified learning framework that aims to leverage the structural information from two types of data heterogeneity: view heterogeneity (as in multi-view learning) and worker heterogeneity (as in crowdsourcing). The objective follows the principles of view consistency and worker consensus by minimizing the loss term with a regularized prediction tensor. We then propose to relax and solve the optimization framework with an iterative updating method. We also prove that the gradient of the most time-consuming updating block is separable with respect to the workers, which leads to a randomized algorithm with faster speed and better convergence. Finally, we compare the proposed method with several state-of-the-arts and demonstrate its effectiveness on various data sets.
The capacity of Enterobacteriaceae species to produce biogenic amines in cheese

The amino acid decarboxylating activity and production of biogenic amines by 104 cheese‐associated Enterobacteriaceae species (58 Enterobacter, 18 Serratia, eight Escherichia, seven Hafnia, six Arizona, four Citrobacter and three Klebsiella) were investigated. All strains could decarboxylate at least two amino acids in Möller's broth and in Niven's medium, and the decarboxylase activity was strain specific. In a laboratory medium containing all free amino acids, all strains could produce more than 100 ppm cadaverine, putrescine was produced by 96% of strains. Tyramine and histamine were produced in the lowest concentrations. A positive correlation existed between cadaverine concentration and Enterobacteriaceae counts in cheese, that may have caused the increase in decarboxylase content. This study suggests that it is possible to limit the presence of cadaverine in cheese, thereby controlling the Enterobacteriaceae counts, a sign of contamination during cheese making and/or storage.
Optimization of Power Constrained Multi-Source Uplink Relay Networks

In this paper, we study the tradeoffs between basestation beamforming and distributed beamforming in the uplink. Here, multiple single-antenna sources access a multiple-antenna destination (basestation) through a network of single-antenna relays. In order to determine the solution, we decouple the problem into that of optimizing a linear decoder at the destination and that of optimizing relay beamforming weights. We find the optimal linear decoder at the destination and the corresponding feasible SINR feasible upperbound when the number of receive antennas at the destination is no less than the number of relays. We then apply a recently developed semidefinite relaxation technique that optimizes the relay weights. The proposed algorithm iteratively optimizes the weight matrix at the relays and the linear decoder at the destination and is able to reach a fixed point in only a few iterations. In addition, the tradeoffs between basestation and relay network complexity are investigated.
Are sexual partners met online associated with HIV/STI risk behaviours? Retrospective and daily diary data in conflict

Abstract The association between Internet sex-seeking and sexual risk-taking was explored using both retrospective and daily diary methodology. Men who have sex with men (MSM) (N=113) were recruited through a variety of Internet sites. Participants completed retrospective questionnaires on their history of Internet use to seek sexual partners and their engagement in sexual risk-taking behaviours. Participants also completed daily diaries for up to 30 days, which assessed if partners were met through the Internet and what types of sexual contact occurred. Multilevel modelling was used to analyze the daily diary data. The retrospective and daily diary data produced opposite results. In the retrospective data, a history of online sex-seeking was associated with greater numbers of sexual partners in the last year, one-time sex partners, sex without condoms and failure to discuss partners’ sexual histories. In the daily diary data, unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) was less likely to occur with partners met online than with partners met by other means. These data suggest that men who engage in high-risk sex with other men use the Internet as a tool for meeting sexual partners, not that meeting partners online causes high-risk sex.
LANGUAGE AND LEARNING DISORDERS OF OLDER BOYS WITH DUCHENNE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY

The IQs of 25 males with Duchenne muscular dystrophy were determined and the results were pooled with those for 76 others reported in the literature to examine the relationship between IQ and age. Verbal IQ was significantly lower than Performance IQ among the younger boys, but not the older. The distribution of Verbal IQ of the older boys was bimodal, suggesting that a verbal deficit persists in some cases. Detailed examination of the cognitive and reading skills of 15 older patients revealed a similar pattern of deficient phonological processing and reading skills in about half of this group.