Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bilateral Trade Elasticities of Turkey

This paper investigates the long-run bilateral trade elasticities of Turkey and its major trading countries. In the long run, Turkish bilateral trade is inelastic (with varying sign). Thus, the devaluation or revaluation of the Turkish Lira should be expected to have only a limited impact on Turkey's trade balance. On the other hand, Turkish trade is income elastic in the long run but income inelastic in the short run. Nevertheless, the Marshall-Lerner condition is satisfied only for Canada, South Korea and the US. Furthermore, switching to the euro has reduced Turkish imports from the EU members and emerging market crises tend to increase Turkish imports.
Improving Execution Concurrency of Large-Scale Matrix Multiplication on Distributed Data-Parallel Platforms

Matrix multiplication is a dominant but very time-consuming operation in many big data analytic applications. Thus its performance optimization is an important and fundamental research issue. The performance of large-scale matrix multiplication on distributed data-parallel platforms is determined by both computation and IO costs. For existing matrix multiplication execution strategies, when the execution concurrency scales up above a threshold, their execution performance deteriorates quickly because the increase of the IO cost outweighs the decrease of the computation cost. This paper presents a novel parallel execution strategy <italic>CRMM (Concurrent Replication-based Matrix Multiplication)</italic> along with a parallel algorithm, Marlin, for large-scale matrix multiplication on data-parallel platforms. The CRMM strategy exploits higher execution concurrency for sub-block matrix multiplication with the same IO cost. To further improve the performance of Marlin, we also propose a number of novel system-level optimizations, including increasing the concurrency of local data exchange by calling native library in batch, reducing the overhead of block matrix transformation, and reducing disk heavy shuffle operations by exploiting the semantics of matrix computation. We have implemented Marlin as a library along with a set of related matrix operations on Spark and also contributed Marlin to the open-source community. For large-sized matrix multiplication, Marlin outperforms existing systems including Spark MLlib, SystemML and SciDB, with about <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$1.29\times$</tex-math><alternatives><inline-graphic xlink:href="tian-ieq1-2686384.gif"/> </alternatives></inline-formula>, <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$3.53\times$</tex-math><alternatives> <inline-graphic xlink:href="tian-ieq2-2686384.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$2.21\times$</tex-math><alternatives><inline-graphic xlink:href="tian-ieq3-2686384.gif"/> </alternatives></inline-formula> speedup on average, respectively. The evaluation upon a real-world DNN workload also indicates that Marlin outperforms above systems by about <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$12.8\times$ </tex-math><alternatives><inline-graphic xlink:href="tian-ieq4-2686384.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>, <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$5.1\times$</tex-math><alternatives> <inline-graphic xlink:href="tian-ieq5-2686384.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$27.2\times$</tex-math><alternatives><inline-graphic xlink:href="tian-ieq6-2686384.gif"/> </alternatives></inline-formula> speedup, respectively.
Patterns of drug use among college students: a preliminary report.

In a large survey of college student drug use in the Denver-Boulder metropolitan area, almost one-third of students admitted to having used illegal drugs. The most commonly used illegal drug was marijuana, which had been used by 26 percent of the students. Amphetamines had been used by 14 percent and LSD by five percent. The authors explore attitudes toward drug use and drug legislation as well as mood states and reasons for drug use. Patterns of drug use are contrasted with a variety of demographic variables and with different college and university characteristics.
In vitro antifungal evaluation and structure–activity relationship of diphenyl diselenide and synthetic analogues

We report on in vitro antifungal activity and the structure–activity relationship of diphenyl diselenide [(PhSe)2] and its synthetic analogues, (p‐Cl‐C6H4Se)2, (m‐CF3‐C6H4Se)2 and (p‐CH3O‐C6H4Se)2, against 116 strains of pathogenic fungi. (PhSe)2 showed the highest inhibitory activity against Candida albicans (minimum inhibitory concentration of 4–32 μg ml−1), Candida dubliniensis (2–16 μg ml−1), Aspergillus spp. (0.5–64 μg ml−1) and Fusarium spp. (2–16 μg ml−1). Its minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) varied among C. albicans (4–64 μg ml−1), C. dubliniensis (2–32 μg ml−1) and Fusarium spp. (4–64 μg ml−1). Antifungal activity was decreased by the introduction of functional groups to the (PhSe)2 molecule: (PhSe)2 > (p‐CH3O‐C6H4Se)2 > (m‐CF3‐C6H4Se)2 > (p‐Cl‐C6H4Se)2.
An Approach to Minimize Testability Overhead for BILBO based Built-In-Self-Test

Minimitataon ofthe total testing time of a chip and the extra overhead involved form two key aspects in design for testability. This paper presents an integrated approach for selecting the test plans with the objective of minimizing the combined testability overhead (area and tame). The results of applicataon of the proposed technique on presynthesized datapaths are presented. Two major considerations involved with the incorporation of Built-in-Self-Test (BIST) are increase in chip area and the total test time. Attempts to reduce the area overhead amount to sharing of the hardware elements. Consequently, the scope of overlapping different tests in time is reduced. Thus, reduction of area overhead and testing time turn out to be conflicting objectives. Several algorithms exist which address the issue of scheduling the tests concurrently to minimize the total testing time [l-21. Kim et al, have addressed the issue of area optimization using the minimal set cover technique [3]. Their approach chooses a minimal set of registers to be converted to BILBO elements. The area optimization, thus obtained, is followed by the determination ofa test schedule using the approach proposed in [l]. This paper presents an integrated approach to the area/time trade-off problem, in the context of BILBO methodology. In this approach, the problem is formulated as an integer linear program (ILP) as well as a graph search problem with a heuristic cost function. The proposed cost function is used in conjunction with the well known A* algorithm [4] to obtain a solution. This heuristic approach yields “near optimal” solutions when applied to a few presynthesized circuits used as test cases. Let tij denote the j-th test plan for functional unit i. We assume that a fixed number, P, of test patterns is applied to each functional unit in the circuit. As shown in [5], the total test time Ti, required by test plan t. ;j is given by Tj = Sij + (P - 1) * dij , where Sij is the number of steps in tjj and djj is the delay between two consecutive iterations of the test
Factor Structure of the New Environmental Paradigm Scale: Evidence from an Urban Sample in Southern California

This study examined the factor structure of the New Environmental Paradigm Scale using responses from 261 urban subjects from southern California. The analysis yielded findings inconsistent with many previous studies of the original scale. This study supported an 8-item two-factor model of the scale rather than the one-factor and three-factor models proposed earlier. A subsequent validation study provides evidence for this short form's validity, as the two factors were predictive of commitment to preservation of nature.
Sensitivity and specificity of western blot testing of cerebrospinal fluid and serum for diagnosis of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis in horses with and without neurologic abnormalities.

OBJECTIVE To determine sensitivity and specificity of western blot testing (WBT) of CSF and serum for diagnosis of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) in horses with and without neurologic abnormalities. DESIGN Prospective investigation. ANIMALS 65 horses with and 169 horses without neurologic abnormalities. PROCEDURE CSF and serum from horses submitted for necropsy were tested for Sarcocystis neurona-specific antibody with a WBT. Results of postmortem examination were used as the gold standard against which results of the WBT were compared. RESULTS Sensitivity of WBT of CSF was 87% for horses with and 88% for horses without neurologic abnormalities. Specificity of WBT of CSF was 44% for horses with and 60% for horses without neurologic abnormalities. Regardless of whether horses did or did not have neurologic abnormalities, sensitivity and specificity of WBT of serum were not significantly different from values for WBT of CSF. Ninety-four horses without EPM had histologic evidence of slight CNS inflammation. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE The low specificity of WBT of CSF indicated that it is inappropriate to diagnose EPM on the basis of a positive test result alone because of the possibility of false-positive test results. The high sensitivity, however, means that a negative result is useful in ruling out EPM. There was no advantage in testing CSF versus serum in horses without neurologic abnormalities. Slight CNS inflammation was common in horses with and without S neurona-specific antibodies in the CSF and should not be considered an indication of CNS infection with S neurona.
Antinociceptive Effect of Bupivacaine Encapsulated in Poly(D,L)-Lactide-Co-Glycolide Microspheres in the Acute Inflammatory Pain Model of Carrageenin-Injected Rats

Encapsulating bupivacaine in poly(D,L)-lactidecoglycolide microspheres may prolong analgesia and diminish systemic toxicity. The antinociceptive effect of bupivacaine-loaded microspheres (1, 2.5, and 5 mg) and plain bupivacaine solutions (1, 2.5, and 5 mg) were compared using the vocalization threshold to paw pressure test (VTPP) in rats. Local anesthetic solutions were injected subcutaneously in the plantar hindpaw. First, the biological inactivity of the vehicle and drug-free microspheres (DFM) was evaluated in normal (n = 8) or carrageenin-injected rats (n = 24). Second, onset of antinociception was evaluated in normal rats (n = 16). We then evaluated the duration of antinociception induced by the different local anesthetic solutions in carrageenin-injected rats (n = 56). Neither the vehicle nor the DFM induced any modification of the VTPP. Onset of antinociception was 5 min for all local anesthetic solutions. Duration of antinociception was 60 min with plain bupivacaine (1 mg) and increased to 90, 120, and 180 min, respectively, for the different doses of bupivacaine-loaded microspheres (1, 2.5, and 5 mg). Larger doses of plain bupivacaine (2.5 and 5 mg) induced systemic toxicity. The encapsulation of bupivacaine in microspheres induced a dose-dependent increase in duration of antinociception as compared with plain bupivacaine. (Anesth Analg 1997;84:90-4)
Dual-Band Substrate Integrated Waveguide Resonator Based on Sierpinski Carpet

In this paper, a dual-band Substrate Integrated Waveguide (SIW) resonator with Sierpinski fractal geometry is proposed. The space-filling property of the employed fractal shape allows to reduce the resonator size. The bandwidth, the minimum insertion loss, the maximum return loss and the stop band rejection are considered for evaluating the effect of the fractal geometry on the resonator characteristics. An accurate electromagnetic investigation is made using a full wave finite element method solver (Ansoft HFSS). Simulated and measured results are in good agreement. The second iteration fractal resonator exhibits two simulated bands centered at the frequencies f1 =1 1.57 GHz and f2 =2 5.7 GHz, while the measured frequencies are f1 =1 1.33 GHz, f2 =2 3.67 GHz. The measured bandwidths are BW = 1.15 GHz and BW = 2 GHz and the minimum insertion losses are close to −1.36 dB and −1.97 dB, respectively. The prototypes of the square resonator without, with first and with second iteration fractal geometry are fabricated via standard printed circuit board process (PCB). A Rogers Duroid 5880 substrate with thickness t =0 . 381 mm is employed.
Critical evaluation of the postmortem factors influencing neurochemical analyses of brain autopsies

The effect of autolysis in both human and animal brain material was studied experimentally stored at different conditions. Four cell injury enzymes: acid proteinase, acid phosphatase, β‐glucuronidase and leucine aminopeptidase; four neurotransmitter synthesizing and metabolizing enzymes: tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), dopa decarboxylase (DDC), glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and the concentration of one neurotransmitter, gamma‐aminobutyric acid (GABA), were studied.
Assessment of reflex human papillomavirus DNA testing in patients with atypical endocervical cells on cervical cytology

Reflex human papillomavirus (HPV) testing for atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC‐US) has improved the sensitivity and specificity in detecting high‐grade squamous dysplasia (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia [CIN]2+). However, to the authors' knowledge there are no guidelines for performing reflex HPV testing in women with atypical endocervical cells (AEC) before colposcopy. This report is of a 5‐year experience with reflex HPV testing in women with AEC and assessment of the potential role of reflex HPV testing in guiding subsequent colposcopy‐directed cervical biopsy/curettage in a large tertiary care hospital setting.
Effect of several Chinese natural health products of human cytochrome P450 metabolism.

PURPOSE Traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) are believed by many to be safe and used for self-medication without supervision. Although the risk appears to be low, certain TCM have been associated with a number of serious adverse reactions. A preliminary study was undertaken with 12 products using a human cytochrome P450 (CYP450) isozyme assay to determine if these products could affect human drug metabolism. METHODS Aliquots of samples were analyzed directly or as extracts for their potential to affect CYP450 2C9, 2C19, 2D6, and 3A4 mediated-metabolism of marker substrates using an in vitro fluorometric microtiter plate assay. RESULTS One product was found to be a Chinese Proprietary Medicine (CPM). Most aqueous extracts inhibited CYP450 mediated-metabolism of at least 3 isozymes (ranging from 25-100%). All liquid samples markedly inhibited the metabolism of all 4 isozymes. De le ke chuan kang and Rensheng dao were the strongest CYP450 inhibitors. CONCLUSIONS Our in vitro findings demonstrate that TCM can inhibit CYP450 2C9, 2C19, 2D6 and 3A4 mediated-metabolism. TCM need to be examined further under clinical settings to determine if potential interactions will occur that affect the safety and efficacy of conventional therapeutic products.
Expression of mannose 6-phosphate receptor messenger ribonucleic acids in mouse spermatogenic and Sertoli cells.

Spermatogenic and Sertoli cells isolated from the mouse synthesize different proportions of the two mannose 6-phosphate receptors (MPR) during overnight culture periods (O'Brien et al., Endocrinology 1989; 125:2973). To determine the relative expression of MPR mRNAs in these cells, poly(A)+ RNAs were examined by Northern blot analysis using cDNA probes specific for the cation-independent (CI) and cation-dependent (CD) MPRs. A single CI-MPR transcript, approximately 10 kb in size, was present in all tissues and cell types examined. Like the CI-MPR protein, this transcript was more abundant in Sertoli cells than in spermatogenic cells isolated from adult testes. The CD-MPR is the predominant MPR synthesized by pachytene spermatocytes or round spermatids. Multiple CD-MPR transcripts were detected in these cells, including a 2.4-kb CD-MPR mRNA that was indistinguishable from CD-MPR transcripts in somatic tissues and Sertoli cells. Smaller CD-MPR mRNAs of approximately 1.4 and 1.6 kb were prominent in pachytene spermatocytes and round spermatids, respectively, but were faint or undetectable in somatic tissues. These smaller CD-MPR mRNAs did not hybridize with an 0.9-kb restriction fragment derived from the CD-MPR 3' untranslated region (UTR), suggesting that alternate polyadenylation signals are used to produce multiple CD-MPR transcripts in spermatogenic cells. When poly(A) tracts were selectively removed from germ cell RNAs by ribonuclease H treatment, identical 1.3-kb CD-MPR mRNAs were detected in pachytene spermatocytes and round spermatids, indicating that the size difference between the 1.4- and 1.6-kb transcripts is due to variations in poly(A) tail length. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Tone neutralization and tone spreading in the verb system of Samue ( Niger-Congo , Gur )

This paper provides a presentation of tones in the verb system of Samue, a previously undocumented Gur language spoken in Burkina Faso. Our research shows that in Samue three lexical tones are contrastive: high (H), mid (M) and low (L). In the simplest morphological form of the verb, four tonal melodies are attested: H, M, L and MH. In the verb system, the lexical tone opposition is neutralized in the imperfective aspect and future tense, while the imperative mood and perfective aspect both bear the lexical tone. Our study further shows that tone spreading in Samue is regressive, although progressive spread is more common in tone languages. The process of regressive spreading of mid tone is a particularity of the Samue verbal tone system. Spreading occurs when some mid toned verbal particles are in direct contact with the preceding verb; the mid tone spreads to the verb. Spreading can be bounded concerning only one Tone Bearing Unit (TBU) leftwards, or unbounded concerning the whole verb. This depends on the verbal particle that triggers the spreading. Interestingly, our research also shows that in the case of different particles, the spreading concerns only high or only low toned verbs.
Intravenous versus Oral Corticosteroids for Treatment of Acute Asthma Exacerbations

OBJECTIVE: To compare the duration of hospitalization of patients treated with either oral or intravenous corticosteroids for an acute asthma exacerbation. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed on a random sample of inpatients. Patients were included with the following: a discharge diagnosis of an acute asthma exacerbation, a past medical history significant for asthma, age between 16 and 60 years, and treatment with either oral or intravenous corticosteroids at the time of admission. Exclusion criteria included: patients receiving chronic prednisone therapy, a past medical history significant for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, an admission to the intensive care unit, or a consistent smoking habit of at least 1 pack daily. Length of hospitalization was the primary outcome measured. Secondary outcomes included 24-hour peak expiratory flow rate, 24-hour pulse oximetry (pO2), and amount of β-agonist and ipratropium used. RESULTS: Fifty-three patients were included in the final data analysis. Patients were grouped by route of corticosteroid administration (intravenous or oral). No significant differences were noted between the 2 groups for race, gender, age, height, weight, admission peak expiratory flow rate, admission pO2, or types of asthma medications used prior to admission. No significant differences were demonstrated in any of the outcome measures. CONCLUSIONS: Both the intravenous and oral corticosteroid groups demonstrated similar clinical outcomes and lengths of hospitalization in the treatment of acute asthma exacerbations. These results support the initial use of oral corticosteroids for the treatment of acute asthma exacerbations in adult patients admitted to a general medical service.
Caractericação da microestrutura de solidificação de ligas Al-Fe e correlação com propriedades mecânicas

Foram realizados estudos em estruturas de solidificacao de tres ligas hipoeuteticas Al-Fe, as quais foram solidificadas direcionalmente sob condicoes transitorias de extracao de calor. Durante a solidificacao fora do equilibrio de fundidos, uma gama de taxas de resfriamento pode ocorrer da superficie ao centro da peca, o que pode causar a formacao de fases intermetalicas metaestaveis alem da fase estavel Al3Fe. Uma abordagem teorico-experimental foi desenvolvida para determinar quantitativamente as variaveis termicas de solidificacao, tais como velocidades de deslocamento da isoterma liquidus e taxas de resfriamento ao longo da peca fundida. Os resultados termicos experimentais tambem incluem o coeficiente de transferencia de calor na interface metal/molde, hg, determinado atraves da comparacao entre os perfis termicos experimentais no fundido e simulacoes da solidificacao obtidas por um programa de diferencas finitas. Estruturas celulares prevaleceram para todas as ligas Al-Fe analisadas. Os espacamentos celulares (? 1), medidos ao longo do comprimento dos fundidos, foram comparados com as previsoes teoricas fornecidas por modelos de crescimento celular. De modo a investigar a natureza dos intermetalicos Al-Fe presentes na microestrutura, estas fases foram extraidas da matriz rica em aluminio utilizando-se de uma tecnica de dissolucao. Estas fases foram entao analisadas utilizando-se Raios-X e MEV. Resultados obtidos atraves de ensaios de tracao foram correlacionados com o espacamento celular. Verificou-se que o limite de resistencia a tracao, o limite de escoamento e o alongamento especifico aumentam com o decrescimo do espacamento celular. Os maiores valores para o limite de resistencia a tracao, foram obtidos para os corpos de prova com estruturas mais refinadas da liga Al-1,5%Fe onde uma maior densidade de fibras e encontrada e sua distribuicao e mais homogenea devido a espacamentos celulares menores. Por outro lado, o alongamento especifico diminuiu com o aumento do teor de soluto da liga Abstract
Guinea pig horizontal cells express GABA, the GABA‐synthesizing enzyme GAD65, and the GABA vesicular transporter

γ‐Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is likely expressed in horizontal cells of all species, although conflicting physiological findings have led to considerable controversy regarding its role as a transmitter in the outer retina. This study has evaluated key components of the GABA system in the outer retina of guinea pig, an emerging retinal model system. The presence of GABA, its rate‐limiting synthetic enzyme glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65 and GAD67 isoforms), the plasma membrane GABA transporters (GAT‐1 and GAT‐3), and the vesicular GABA transporter (VGAT) was evaluated by using immunohistochemistry with well‐characterized antibodies. The presence of GAD65 mRNA was also evaluated by using laser capture microdissection and reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction. Specific GABA, GAD65, and VGAT immunostaining was localized to horizontal cell bodies, as well as to their processes and tips in the outer plexiform layer. Furthermore, immunostaining of retinal whole mounts and acutely dissociated retinas showed GAD65 and VGAT immunoreactivity in both A‐type and B‐type horizontal cells. However, these cells did not contain GAD67, GAT‐1, or GAT‐3 immunoreactivity. GAD65 mRNA was detected in horizontal cells, and sequencing of the amplified GAD65 fragment showed approximately 85% identity with other mammalian GAD65 mRNAs. These studies demonstrate the presence of GABA, GAD65, and VGAT in horizontal cells of the guinea pig retina, and support the idea that GABA is synthesized from GAD65, taken up into synaptic vesicles by VGAT, and likely released by a vesicular mechanism from horizontal cells. J. Comp. Neurol. 518:1647–1669, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.