Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multiple Choices, Strategic Interactions, and Market Effects in Livestock Disease Risk Management

One of the main challenges in livestock production is to manage disease risks. Producers can implement preventive measures to reduce the likelihood of becoming infected; however, such efforts exhibit positive spillover effects that generate strategic behaviors. In this setting, prior work has shown that multiple equilibria could arise, particularly when one’s risk management choices and neighbors’ choices are strategic complements. We expand on prior work to examine how the availability of multiple risk management choices, as well as the role of market price responses, may affect the uniqueness and stability of strategic outcomes. We find that modeling multiple choices is important because the presence of these choices can significantly alter the predicted strategic interactions and outcomes; for instance, we can identify conditions under which having multiple choices is more likely to yield unique and stable Nash equilibria. We have found that appropriate policies are able to improve social welfare and to reduce the risk of coordination failure. In addition, our results show the importance of considering the role of market price responses, which can also facilitate risk management to promote stability and uniqueness.
Blood coagulation and fibrinolysis in relation to degree of physical activity during work and leisure time. A study based on a random sample of 54-year-old men.

In a population sample of 722 men, aged 54 years, blood coagulation and fibrinolysis have been studied in the afternoon, and later in a subsample of 76 men in the morning. Recalcification times of citrated plasma and PTT in silicone tubes were shorter and the fibrinolytic activity higher when examined in the afternoon than in the morning. The samples were subdivided into groups according to degree of physical activity during work and leisure time. Men with a high degree of physical activity during work had shorter clotting times in the afternoon and tended to have shorter clotting times also in the morning. There was no difference in fibrinolytic activity between the groups. The conclusions are that there exists a diurnal rhythm of fibrinolysis which is not linked to physical activity and that physically active men have shorter clotting times of plasma than less active men. No differences in other variables of blood clotting and fibrinolysis were found between morning and afternoon samples or between the groups with different physical activity.
Slot Spiral Silicon Photonic Crystal Fiber With Property of Both High Birefringence and High Nonlinearity

A photonic crystal fiber (PCF) made of silicon is proposed and numerically optimized with both ultrahigh birefringence and nonlinearity. By introducing an elliptical low-index slot in the core region, one of the orthogonally polarized fundamental modes can be confined in the low-index region due to the discontinuity of its electric field at the interface of the slot and the surrounding material, while the other fundamental mode is dominated by the modified total internal reflection (MTIR) induced by air holes of the cladding, leading to a birefringence as high as 10-1 order. On the other hand, benefiting from the tight field confinement and highly nonlinear material, nonlinear coefficients up to 1068 W-1 · m-1 and 162 W-1 · m-1 can be achieved for the slot mode and the MTIR mode, respectively.
A conceptual model for knowledge flow in supply chain

In this paper we consider the knowledge flow in supply chain instead of material, money and information flows. The purpose of the paper is to suggest a conceptual model about knowledge flow in supply chain. We shows in this paper how KM activities create value in supply chain. In our perspective supply chains are competing to capture knowledge from environment and use it to gain competitiveness. Different partners in supply chain collaborate in knowledge creation; share and use and compete with others in the rate of externalization of the knowledge in their organization.
Hole-istic Medicine

It is a mystery how some viruses are able to replicate inside the host cell, producing progeny that escape without damaging the host's plasma membrane. In a Perspective, [Joshua Zimmerberg][1] describes new research ([ Marciano et al .][2]) demonstrating that the f1 phage (a virus that infects bacteria) is able to export new progeny out of the bacterial host using a phage-encoded pIV protein, which forms a gated channel in the bacterial outer membrane. Zimmerberg compares this mechanism of export to that of other viruses and discusses what these new findings teach us about protein translocation in eukaryotic cells. [1]: http://www.sciencemag. org/cgi/content/full/284/5419/1475 [2]: http://www.sciencemag. org/cgi/content/short/284/5419/1516
Pediatric discharge content: a multisite assessment of physician preferences and experiences.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Professional medical societies endorse prompt, consistent discharge communication to primary care providers (PCPs) on discharge. However, evidence is limited about what clinical elements to communicate. Our main goal was to identify and compare the clinical elements considered by PCPs and pediatric hospitalists to be essential to communicate to PCPs within 2 days of pediatric hospital discharge. A secondary goal was to describe experiences of the PCPs and pediatric hospitalists regarding sending and receiving discharge information. METHODS A survey of physician preferences and experiences regarding discharge communication was sent to 320 PCPs who refer patients to 16 hospitals, with an analogous survey sent to 147 hospitalists. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and χ² analyses were performed. RESULTS A total of 201 PCPs (63%) and 71 hospitalists (48%) responded to the survey. Seven clinical elements were reported as essential by >75% of both PCPs and hospitalists: dates of admission and discharge; discharge diagnoses; brief hospital course; discharge medications; immunizations given during hospitalization; pending laboratory or test results; and follow-up appointments. PCPs reported reliably receiving discharge communication significantly less often than hospitalists reported sending it (71.8% vs 85.1%; P < .01), and PCPs considered this communication to be complete significantly less often than hospitalists did (64.9% vs 79.1%; P < .01). CONCLUSIONS We identified 7 core clinical elements that PCPs and hospitalists consider essential in discharge communication. Consistently and promptly communicating at least these core elements after discharge may enhance PCP satisfaction and patient-level outcomes. Reported rates of transmission and receipt of this information were suboptimal and should be targeted for improvement.
Measurement matrix optimization schemes for DLSLA 3-D SAR cross-track reconstruction based on mutual coherence criterions

Downward looking sparse linear array three-dimensional synthetic aperture radar (DLSLA 3-D SAR) can obtain the 3-D image of the true scene, and compressive sensing (CS) provide the solution for cross-track super-resolution reconstruction. This paper concerns the issue of optimizing the measurement matrix, which affects the reconstruction performance. Two mutual coherence based criteria are proposed to optimize the measurement matrix, and the experiments verify the proposed algorithms.
Effects of insulin on muscle tissue

Abstract The anabolic nature of insulin on muscle protein has been recognized since the initial clinical use of insulin therapy in type 1 diabetes abouty sixty years ago, but the exact mechanism whereby insulin effects muscle protein metabolism in human subjects remains unclear. In particular, the effect of insulin on muscle protein synthesis has been debated. In vitro studies document a stimulatory effect of insulin on muscle protein synthesis, but in vivo results are conflicting. Everything from decreased muscle protein synthesis to increased muscle protein synthesis in response to insulin has been reported. A recent publication suggests that the response of muscle protein synthesis to insulin is dose dependent, and that only supra‐physiological dose of insulin stimulate muscle protein synthesis. On the other hand, some studies show a stimulatory effect of insulin in low doses. It is possible to form a more coherent picture of the effect of insulin if the results from various experiments are expressed in the context of the availability of amino acids. In general, insulin stimulated muscle protein synthesis in studies in which intramuscular amino acid availability was maintained or increased regardless of the dose of insulin. In contrast, insulin was ineffective in stimulating muscle protein synthesis when amino acid availability was allowed to drop, irrespective of the dose of insulin. Thus, whereas insulin has a potential stimulatory effect on human muscle protein synthesis, an adequate availability of amino acids is required for that potential to be expressed in an actual increase in the synthetic rate.
Zero-Voltage-Switching Synchronous Buck Converter With a Coupled Inductor

A zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) synchronous buck converter with a coupled inductor is proposed. An auxiliary circuit which is incorporated in the conventional synchronous buck converter allows power switches to operate with ZVS. Moreover, the reverse recovery problem associated with the body diode of the synchronous switch is solved. The operating principle and a steady-state analysis of the proposed ZVS synchronous buck converter are presented. Experimental results based on a 115-W prototype are provided to verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed converter.
Bangla handwritten digit classification and recognition using SVM algorithm with HOG features

This paper presents the basic approach of multiclass classification for handwritten digit recognition using Support Vector Machine and a comparative accuracy analysis for three well known kernel functions (linear, RBF and polynomial) and feature vectors corresponding to different cell sizes. However, the process of digit recognition includes several basic steps such as preprocessing, feature extraction and classification. Among them, feature extraction is the fundamental step for digit classification and recognition as accurate and distinguishable feature plays an important role to enhance the performance of a classifier. Histogram of Oriented Gradient (HOG) feature extraction technique has been used here. Therefore, for various cell sizes, the experimental results show around 98–100% accuracy for trained data and 91–97% accuracy for test set data according to various kernel functions. The target of this paper is to select a kernel function best suited for a particular resolution of image.
C-terminal p73 Isoforms Repress Transcriptional Activity of the Human Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase (hTERT) Promoter*

Activation of telomerase is linked to tumorigenesis and has been observed in a variety of human tumors. Previous reports demonstrated that p53 represses human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), a key component for telomerase activity. The p73 protein displays a tumor suppressor activity similar to p53. In the present study, we examined the effect of transactivation competent p73 isoforms on hTERT expression in p53-negative human H1299 cells. Overexpression of C-terminal p73 isoforms (α, β, γ, δ) resulted in a clear down-regulation of hTERT promoter activity. The strongest inhibitory effect, comparable with p53, was observed for p73β. Moreover, suppression of hTERT expression was also mediated by endogenous p73 after activation of E2F1 in H1299ER-E2F1 cells. Mutations in the Sp1 transcription factor-binding sites of the proximal core promoter region significantly abolished p73-induced repression, suggesting that the effect is mediated by Sp1. Finally, we demonstrate that p73 directly interacts with Sp1, suggesting that formation of a p73-Sp1 complex is the underlying mechanism for p73-triggered inhibition of hTERT expression. Our findings provide additional evidence that p73 mimics p53 in many aspects in cells lacking functional p53, thereby contributing to tumor surveillance.
Endothelin-1 in pulmonary hypertension associated with high-altitude exposure.

BACKGROUND Endothelin-1 is involved in chronic pulmonary hypertension. Its role in acute pulmonary hypertension due to hypoxia in humans is not clear. We therefore studied the influence of hypoxia caused by exposure to high altitude on plasma endothelin-1 levels, arterial blood gases, and pulmonary arterial pressure in subjects taking nifedipine or placebo. METHODS AND RESULTS Twenty-two healthy volunteers were investigated at low altitude (490 m) and high altitude (4559 m). Arterial blood gases were analyzed immediately, endothelin-1 was measured by radioimmunoassay, and pulmonary artery pressure was assessed by Doppler echocardiography. After baseline investigations, the mountaineers were allocated in a randomized double-blind fashion to receive either placebo or nifedipine (20 mg TID) during rapid ascent to high altitude within 22 hours. Tests were repeated at the high-altitude research laboratories located in the Capanna "Regina Margherita" (Italy, 4559 m). Plasma endothelin-1 was increased twofold at high altitude (5.9 +/- 2.2 pg/mL compared with 2.9 +/- 1.1 pg/mL, P < .05), was inversely related to arterial PO2 (r = -.46, P < .001), and correlated with pulmonary artery pressure (r = .52, P < .002). At high altitude, arterial endothelin-1 was lower (4.3 +/- 1.6 pg/mL) than venous endothelin-1 (5.9 +/= 2.2 pg/mL, P < .001), indicating either predominant production in the venous vasculature or pronounced clearance in the pulmonary circulation. The calcium antagonist nifedipine, which lowered pulmonary artery pressure at high altitude (32 +/- 5 versus 42 +/- 11 mm Hg, P < .05), had no influence on plasma endothelin-1 levels. The administration of 35% O2 at high altitude normalized arterial PO2, tended to decrease endothelin-1, and decreased pulmonary artery pressure accordingly. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that plasma endothelin-1 is increased at high altitude, but whether or not it represents an important pathogenetic factor for pulmonary hypertension remains to be investigated.
Printable Planar Dielectric Antennas

Thick film screen-printing technology is employed to introduce planar dielectric antennas. The micron-size-thick film is made from high-permittivity dielectric paste, which is printed on a low-loss low-permittivity microwave substrate to operate as a magnetic wall boundary. A simplified theoretical model is developed to analyze the antenna structure. The accuracy of this model is evaluated by the results of a commercial three-dimensional (3-D) electromagnetic field solver. The model works well with less than 5% deviation from time-consuming simulations, providing the permittivity contrast between the film and substrate is kept high (e.g., > 30). The impact of dielectric loss of the film in antenna performance is significantly less than that of the substrate, allowing medium-loss films (e.g., ε"= 3) results in highly efficient antennas with over 95% radiation efficiency. A prototype was made using screen printing and experimentally characterized at Ku-band. The experimental results confirm the theoretical achievements. The measured -10 dB impedance bandwidth of the printable planar dielectric antenna having dimensions of 0.2 λ0× 0.2 λ0 is over 10% with a measured gain ranging from 4.5 to 5.5 dBi. Broadside radiation patterns with cross polarization levels of lower than -20 dB are achieved. This process is compatible with low-temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC) technology where similar idea can be applied to other passive microwave components.
Characterization of Streptococcus suis Genes Encoding Proteins Homologous to Sortase of Gram-Positive Bacteria

ABSTRACT Many surface proteins which are covalently linked to the cell wall of gram-positive bacteria have a consensus C-terminal motif, Leu-Pro-X-Thr-Gly (LPXTG). This sequence is cleaved, and the processed protein is attached to an amino group of a cross-bridge in the peptideglycan by a specific enzyme called sortase. Using the type strain of Streptococcus suis, NCTC 10234, we found five genes encoding proteins that were homologous to sortases of other bacteria and determined the nucleotide sequences of the genetic regions. One gene, designated srtA, was linked to gyrA, as were the sortase and sortase-like genes of other streptococci. Three genes, designated srtB, srtC, and srtD, were tandemly clustered in a different location, where there were three segments of directly repeated sequences of approximately 110 bp in close vicinity. The remaining gene, designated srtE, was located separately on the chromosome with a pseudogene which may encode a transposase. The deduced amino acid sequences of the five Srt proteins showed 18 to 31% identity with the sortases of Streptococcus gordonii and Staphylococcus aureus, except that SrtA of S. suis had 65% identity with that of S. gordonii. Isogenic mutants deficient for srtA, srtBCD, or srtE were generated by allelic exchanges. The protein fraction which was released from partially purified cell walls by digestion with N-acetylmuramidase was profiled by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. More than 15 of the protein spots were missing in the profile of the srtA mutant compared with that of the parent strain, and this phenotype was completely complemented by srtA cloned from S. suis. Four genes encoding proteins corresponding to such spots were identified and sequenced. The deduced translational products of the four genes possessed the LPXTG motif in their C-terminal regions. On the other hand, the protein spots that were missing in the srtA mutant appeared in the profiles of the srtBCD and srtE mutants. These results provide evidence that the cell wall sorting system involving srtA is also present in S. suis.
Energy Management for Commercial Servers

Servers: high-end, multiprocessor systems running commercial workloads, have typically included extensive cooling systems and resided in custom-built rooms for high-power delivery. Recently, as transistor density and demand for computing resources have rapidly increased, even these high-end systems face energy-use constraints. Commercial-server energy management now focuses on conserving power in the memory and microprocessor subsystems. Because their workloads are typically structured as multiple application programs, system-wide approaches are more applicable to multiprocessor environments in commercial servers than techniques that primarily apply to single-application environments, such as those based on compiler optimizations.
Hypoxic neuronal necrosis: Protein synthesis-independent activation of a cell death program

Hypoxic necrosis of dentate gyrus neurons in primary culture required the activation of an orderly cell death program independent of protein synthesis. Early mitochondrial swelling and loss of the mitochondrial membrane potential were accompanied by release of cytochrome c and followed by caspase-9-dependent activation of caspase-3. Caspase-3 and -9 inhibitors reduced neuronal necrosis. Calcium directly induced cytochrome c release from isolated mitochondria. Hypoxic neuronal necrosis may be an active process in which the direct effect of hypoxia on mitochondria may lead to the final common pathway of caspase-3-mediated neuronal death.
Bladder interstitial cells: an updated review of current knowledge

The field of bladder research has been energized by the study of novel interstitial cells (IC) over the last decade. Several subgroups of IC are located within the bladder wall and make structural interactions with nerves and smooth muscle, indicating integration with intercellular communication and key physiological functions. Significant progress has been made in the study of bladder ICs' cellular markers, ion channels and receptor expression, electrical and calcium signalling, yet their specific functions in normal bladder filling and emptying remain elusive. There is increasing evidence that the distribution of IC is altered in bladder pathophysiologies suggesting that changes in IC may be linked with the development of bladder dysfunction. This article summarizes the current state of the art of our knowledge of IC in normal bladder and reviews the literature on IC in dysfunctional bladder.
A Comparison of Immediate Angioplasty with Thrombolytic Therapy for Acute Myocardial Infarction

Background The success of thrombolytic therapy for acute myocardial infarction is limited by bleeding complications, the impossibility of reperfusing all occluded coronary arteries, recurrent myocardial ischemia, and the relatively small number of patients who are appropriate candidates for this therapy. We hypothesized that these problems could be overcome by the use of immediate percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), without previous thrombolytic therapy. Methods At 12 clinical centers, 395 patients who presented within 12 hours of the onset of myocardial infarction were treated with intravenous heparin and aspirin and then randomly assigned to undergo immediate PTCA (without previous thrombolytic therapy, 195 patients) or to receive intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA, 200 patients) followed by conservative care. Radionuclide ventriculography was performed to assess ventricular function within 24 hours and at six weeks. Results Among the patients randomly assigned to PTCA, 90.
A circuit model of a 5kW fuel cell

In the last few years, industrial research has been focused on renewable energy sources. Owing to combined heat-power generation option, fuel cells have attracted much interest for a wide variety of research areas. Household appliances are still the most promising applications. Fuel cell modeling is still a critical topic to focus on, affecting each stage of power system design. This paper describes an empirical method to model a proton exchange membrane fuel cell. The modeling approach is applied to a 5kW Nuvera PowerFlow fuel cell. A circuit model is proposed for further applications. PSPICE implementation is described and the parameters tuning procedure is discussed. Simulation and experimental results are compared to test the accuracy of the proposed model. As shown by experimental results, an accuracy of ±1%, corresponding to a maximum absolute error of 0.4V, is obtained.
Caudal Anaesthesia for Upper Abdominal Surgery in Infants and Children: A Simple Calculation of the Volume of Local Anaesthetic

Where the use of non‐depolarizing muscle relaxants and antagonists is undesirable in infants and children undergoing abdominal surgery, caudal anaesthesia is frequently adopted, combined with light general anaesthesia. A simple calculation has been derived to determine the volume of local anaesthetic needed to obtain a higher effective anaesthetic level (up to T4–5) for upper abdominal operations using caudal anaesthesia. Clinically, a linear correlation was found between an empirically injected volume of local anaesthetic and the distance from C7 to the sacral hiatus in 21 infants and children. A similar relationship was also demonstrated radiographically in 16 cadavers by studying the spread of radio‐opaque solution in the epidural space introduced by the caudal technique. From both statistical studies, a simple formula to determine the required volume of local anaesthetic for upper abdominal surgery was derived: V = D– 13, where V is the volume of local anaesthetic in ml and D is the distance from C7 to the sacral hiatus in cm.