Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Purified retinal ganglion cells cultured in serum-free neurobasal medium

Objective To establish a purified model of rat retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) cultured by serum-free medium,and provide a good cell model to investigate the damage of RGCs in glaucoma,retinal ischemia,and degenerative retinopathy. Methods Two monoclonal antibodies,anti-rat SIRP (OX-41) against rat macrophage and antibody against rat Thy-1 (OX-7),were used to purify and characterize RGCs from 1-3-day old Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats by means of two-step filtration.Purified RGCs were cultured in serum-free neurobasal medium containing B27 and ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) meeting the neuronal cell's special requirements.Photomicrographs illustration,immunfluorescence staining of Thy-1,calcein-acetoxymethyl ester (calcein-AM) fluorescence images were used to observe and identify cultured retinal cells and purified RGCs. Results Among the primary cultured rat retinal cells,91% were retinal neurons.Protuberances of RGCs were seen after cultured for 24 hours.At the4th to 8th day,many cells had uniform configuration,large body,and long protuberances. At the 14th day,over 60% cells maintained viability.Immunoflurescence staining of Thy-1 showed the purity of RGCs was about 90%. The results of calcein-AM staining,which stained the living cells only,showed large cell body of RGCs and most of RGCs had a protuberance whose length was twice longer than the diameter of the cells. Conclusion RGCs cultured by serum-free medium has uniform size,good configuration,and high purity,which is adapt to the research of damage of RGCs caused by various factors and to evaluate the protective effects of neuroprotective agents.
Long term fertilizer impact on crop biomass, microbial biomass carbon, microbial biomass nitrogen and nutrient uptake of swell - shrink soil in maize under finger millet - maize cropping sequence

Cereal based cropping sequences are major cropping systems in India. Maize - finger millet cropping system is being followed by 44 years of continuous and long term fertilization and also it has a significant impact on yield and soil health. This investigation evaluated the effect of long term fertilizer application and intensive cropping on yield, biomass, soil organic carbon, soil microbial biomass carbon, soil microbial biomass nitrogen, and nutrient uptake of maize in sandy clay loam (Vertic Ustropept) soil. Application of inorganic NPK fertilizers at graded levels from 50 to 150% NPK increased the yield (Grain, Stover & Shell) root biomass, soil available major (N, P & K) and micro nutrients (Zn, Cu, Mn & Fe) SOC, SMBC and SMBN in maize. Under the integrated nutrient management practice (100% NPK+FYM), the percent increased grain yield was 15.66 in maize over 100 % NPK indicating that INM is the best way of maximize the yield continuously in intensive cropping systems. NPK + FYM (INM) treatment might have contributed directly in appreciable amounts of major and micronutrient to the soil and it would increase the growth and yield of maize. Continuous addition of N alone did not influence the soil available N and other nutrients instead reduced available N when compared to NPK treatments. Addition of fertilizer P in progressive levels such as 50, 100 and 150% NPK levels has increased the soil available P (21.02 % in maize) over 100 per cent NPK. Also, addition of different levels of K has improved the soil available K (14.13 % in maize) when compared to 100 % NPK. Addition of Zn along with NPK treatments alone showed the higher Zn and other treatments has deficient of Zn including Mn, Cu and Fe but slightly higher in INM plot in maize. SOC, SMBC and SMBN were higher in NPK + FYM treatments than other inorganic fertilized plots.
Real Estate at Airports

Real estate development still is a rather neglected issue at the majority of airports. Vienna International Airport’s Skylink-Terminal expansion program was used as the background and motivation for this paper. Does non-aviation related airport development generate positive economic effects for both the airport and the adjacent business environment? In addition to that, does the organizational composition of the airport authority have an impact on entrepreneurial behavior in terms of real estate development? Three US airports (Raleigh-Durham, Charlotte, and Washington Dulles) have been selected as case studies to research these hypotheses.
Clinical Possibilities of the Use of Stem Cells in Parodoncium Regeneration

Parodontopathy is a chronic inflammatory disease of periodontium which can result in irreversible damage to the tissue, resulting in loss of contact between the tooth and its supporting device. Periodontal disease is the response of the immune system to the accumulation of plaque and oral microorganisms, which leads to a progressive loss of gingival tissue, periodontal ligament and alveolar bone. If it is not treated it can lead to premature loss of teeth. Parodontopathy is also associated with many systemic disorders such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular complications, and its development is associated with a negative outcome of pregnancy. Due to all of this, periodontal disease significantly affects the patient’s quality of life and has a significant financial impact on both the patient and the public health system. The ultimate goal of periodontal therapy is to achieve periodontal regeneration with the reconstruction of all parodontium components including periodontal ligament, connective gingival tissue, cement and alveolar bone. The treatments currently in use in the world and in our country can’t completely reconstruct all of this tissues and relationships damaged by periodontal disease [1].
Organizational Threat Appraisal by Publics: The Effects of Perceived Temporal Distance on Health Crisis Outcomes

The current study advances understanding of how organizational threat affects the way publics respond to a health crisis. To this end, we investigated the influence of perceived temporal distance from organizational threat on crisis outcomes (i.e., organizational reputation, crisis emotions, and supportive behavioral intention) and the role of perceived health threat in this relationship. The findings of an experimental study ( N = 239) indicate that perceived temporal distance from organizational threat is negatively associated with crisis emotions and positively related to supportive behavioral intention. In addition, mediation analysis revealed indirect effects of perceived temporal distance on supportive behavioral intention via crisis emotions. The indirect effects through crisis emotions and the direct effect of temporal distance on supportive behavioral intention are also contingent on perceived health threat. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Multi-Pitch Estimation and Tracking Using Bayesian Inference in Block Sparsity

In this paper, we consider the problem of multi-pitch estimation and tracking of an unknown number of harmonic audio sources. The regularized least-squares is a solution for simultaneous sparse source selection and parameter estimation. Exploiting block sparsity, the method allows for reliable tracking of the found sources, without posing detailed a priori assumptions of the number of harmonics for each source. The method incorporates a Bayesian prior and assigns data-dependent regularization coefﬁcients to efﬁciently incorporate both earlier and future data blocks in the tracking of estimates. In comparison with ﬁx regularization coefﬁcients, the simulation re-sults, using both real and synthetic audio signals, conﬁrm the performance of the proposed method.
A study of Architectural Practice in Singapore

Architectural Practices exist in a professional-service, project-based environment where every product or service is supplied against a bespoke design. Architectural Practices, therefore, require an approach to its management which addresses the unique, novel and transient nature of its work; that invariably would be guided by the norms and controls of its professional institution. In this paper, we describe our understanding of knowledge management policies in Architectural firms from a Human Resource Management perspective. We hypothesize that communicative practices are the dominant means of knowledge capture and transfer in these Professional Service Organizations. The individual member’s participation, social structures and interactions, therefore, play a major role in the operational success of any strategy for knowledge capture and transfer. The paper describes a range of social mechanisms managers should pay attention to, and suggests that spatial design plays an important role in enabling and encouraging the level of communication required for knowledge sharing.
BOOTSTRAPPING AND GUMBEL LIMIT LAWS

We provide a rather general asymptotic scheme for combinatorial parameters that asymptotically follow a Gumbel distribution. It is based on analysing generating functions Gh(z) whose dominant singularities converge to a certain value at an exponential rate. This behaviour is typically found by means of a bootstrapping approach. Our scheme is illustrated by a number of classical and new examples, such as the longest run in words or compositions, patterns in Dyck and Motzkin paths, or the maximum degree in plane trees.
Submerged Pressure Differential Plate Wave Energy Converter with Variable Geometry: Preprint

This work presents a novel wave energy converter device concept that combines a submerged pressure differential plate with variable geometry modules. The two variable geometry sections, placed at the fore and aft locations on the plate, consist of five identical flaps that are opened in ascending order starting with the flaps closest to the edges of the plate and moving inward. The variable geometry modules act as control surfaces that allow for the hull geometry to be adjusted, leading to changes in the hydrodynamics. The device geometry is controlled in a quasi-static fashion while the power take-off (PTO) unit would be controlled on a wave-to-wave timescale. The submerged plate is tethered directly to the seabed by integrated mooring and PTO lines, eliminating the need for a second reaction body. A linear frequency domain analysis is used to evaluate device performance in terms of absorbed power, PTO force, and absorber body motion. The frequency domain analysis required the linearization of the PTO dynamics to couple the fore and aft PTOs to the motion of the absorber body. The inclusion of the variable geometry modules was shown to be effective at altering the device geometry to provide changes in the absorber hydrodynamics to produce measurable reductions in structural and PTO loading.
REMOVAL OF THE REACTIVE REMAZOL BLACK B AND REMAZOL RED FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS BY ADSORPTION ONTO TREATED RESIDUE FROM THE ALUMINUM INDUSTRY

 In this paper, the use of a clay residue as an adsorbent of the Remazol Black B (RB) and Remazol Red RB133 (RR) is studied. The residue is generated in a large amount on the Alluminum industry, especially the Arconic Alumínio S/A, Itapissuma, Pernambuco State. The thermally treated residue behavior was studied by performing a kinetic and equilibrium experiments. The variables evaluated in all experiments were the adsorption capacity (q) and adsorption efficiency (%). Adsorption experiments were performed at environmental conditions, with 50 mL of dye solution, with controlled steering speed, solution pH and adsorbent amount. In the kinetic studies was verified that for RB and RR, the system achieves the equilibrium state after 5 min. In the equilibrium, both reactive dyes obtained their maximum adsorption capacity (qm) with 1.0g of adsorbent and pH 4.0 and 6.5; with qm 0.98 mg·g and 6.88 mg·g for the RB and RR, respectively. Keywords Adsorption, Residue, Treatment,
Market design for system security in low carbon electricity grids

System security is a critical component of power system operation. The objective of operational security is to manage grid stability and to limit the interruption to customer service following a disturbance. The integration of inverter-based renewable generation technologies such as solar and wind in the generation mix has introduced new challenges for managing operational security. First, the intermittency inherent in renewable resources can impact on key power system parameters such as frequency and voltage. Second, renewables interface with the grid through power electronics rather than turbines, which means that the physical characteristics of turbine generation that have historically supported the stability of the grid are becoming scarce as the power system transitions away from fossil-fuel based thermal generation. In this paper, using public good theory, we provide an economic characterisation of the system services necessary for power system security. The analysis illustrates that, as opposed to a standard ‘public goods’ characterisation, system security products are better viewed as a basket of goods with differing economic characteristics that can also vary over space and time. The implications of these classifications for market design is analysed, including the inseparability of certain products, the binary or unit-commitment based nature of certain products, and the interactions between procurement mechanisms, network access rights and investment. Finally, we highlight five emerging models of market design for system security that reflect the nuances of economic characterization while respecting the physical characteristics of the grid.
FLAIR vascular hyperintensity: an unfavorable marker of early neurological deterioration and short-term prognosis in acute ischemic stroke patients.

BACKGROUND To investigate the value of fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) Vascular Hyperintensity (FVH) in predicting early neurological deterioration (END) and short-term prognosis in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients who beyond the time window for recanalization therapy. METHODS We retrospectively analyzed the AIS patients from 24 to 72 hours after symptom onset, who received dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT). The patients were divided into the END and no early neurological deterioration (NEND) group according to the change of the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score. The patients were also divided into the favorable and unfavorable prognosis group according to the 90 day modified Rankin Scale (mRS). The Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) was used to assess the scope of infarction on DWI; the modified ASPECTS was used to assess the presence of FVH on FLAIR and multiple hypointense vessels (MHV) on SWI. We performed binary stepwise regression analysis with END and short-term prognosis as dependent variables to evaluate the odds ratio (OR) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) of primary outcomes. Next, we sequentially excluded nonsignificant variables from the last model to determine the risk factors of END. RESULTS Two-hundred sixty-seven patients were included in this study. The median NIHSS score at admission was 6 [interquartile range (IQR) 5, 9], the median DWI-ASPECTS at admission was 8 (IQR 6, 9), the median FVH score was 7 (IQR 3, 7), and the median MHV-ASPECTS was 8 (IQR 6, 8). The NIHSS score at admission was higher in the END group. The MHV-ASPECTS, DWI-ASPECTS, and FVH-ASPECTS were lower in the END group. Binary stepwise regression analysis showed that the FVHASPECTS (OR =0.39, 95% CI: 0.174-0.872) and vascular stenosis/occlusion (OR =0.015, 95% CI: 0.000- 0.943) were independent risk factors of END. CONCLUSIONS For AIS patients beyond the time window for recanalization therapy who are receiving DAPT, a low FVH-ASPECTS is associated with a higher risk of END. In patients with vascular occlusion/ stenosis, FVH may be used as a predictor of END and an unfavorable 90-day prognosis in patients beyond the time window for recanalization therapy who are receiving DAPT.
Capital Account Openess and Unemployment (Preliminary and Incomplete)

We investigate how capital account openness affect a country’s unemployment in this paper. In theory, using a standard labor search and match model, we find that, in the steady state, a rise in capital account openness will lead to a lower unemployment when the labor market is flexible. However, a rise in capital account openness can yield a higher unemployment when labor market becomes sufficiently rigid. We also provide suggestive empirical evidence to support our theoretical predictions. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of Monash University, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, and the Asian Development Bank or its Board of Governors or the governments they represents. Department of Economics, Monash University, qingyuan.du@monash.edu Research Department, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Jun.Nie@kc.frb. org Asian Development Bank, swei@adb.org
Factors associated with functional loss among community-dwelling Mexican older adults

Abstract Introduction: Functional status decline is related to many negative outcomes. Objective: To explore the relationship of sociodemographic, medical, and psychological factors with the incidence of functional status decline in Mexican older adults. Materials and methods: Data from the 2012 and 2015 waves of the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS) survey were analyzed. Participants with previous functional status decline at baseline were excluded. We assessed functional status decline individually with activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental ADL (IADLs) in an individual way. Results: Age was associated with functional limitations in ADL. Being male had an association with limitations for IADL. A poor financial situation and lower education related to higher limitations for ADL. Furthermore, pain, comorbidities, and depression were found to be independently associated with limitations in ADL. IADL limitation was associated with age, poor education, comorbidities, and depression, as well as cognitive impairment. Conclusions: We found that factors such as age, financial status, educational level, pain, and the number of comorbidities were associated with the incidence of functional status decline. Pain had a greater association in the 3-year functional ADL decline incidence when compared with cognitive impairment. Studying functional decline by domains allowed us to find more detailed information to identify factors susceptible to intervention with the aim to reduce the incidence of functional status decline and dependence.
On the energy self-sustainability of IoT via distributed compressed sensing

This paper advocates the use of the distributed compressed sensing (DCS) paradigm to deploy energy harvesting (EH) Internet of Thing (IoT) devices for energy self-sustainability. We consider networks with signal/energy models that capture the fact that both the collected signals and the harvested energy of different devices can exhibit correlation. We provide theoretical analysis on the performance of both the classical compressive sensing (CS) approach and the proposed distributed CS (DCS)-based approach to data acquisition for EH IoT. Moreover, we perform an in-depth comparison of the proposed DCS- based approach against the distributed source coding (DSC) system. These performance characterizations and comparisons embody the effect of various system phenomena and parameters including signal correlation, EH correlation, network size, and energy availability level. Our results unveil that, the proposed approach offers significant increase in data gathering capability with respect to the CS-based approach, and offers a substantial reduction of the mean-squared error distortion with respect to the DSC system.
Vegetation Analysis of Mt. Maculot, Cuenca, Batangas, Philippines

The vegetation type of Mt. Maculot, Cuenca, Batangas, Philippines was investigated by determining the tree species composition, abundance and dominance using Point Center-Quarter Method (PCQM). This study also focused on the ecologically important species necessary for identifying appropriate measures for biodiversity conservation. Five 100-m transect lines were established along the selected areas of the mountain based on altitudinal range at 100-m interval. Trees were encountered along the transects were tagged, the distance from the center and the diameter at breast height (dbh) were measured individually. Voucher specimens for each tree were collected for proper identification. The data were then analyzed and the Shannon’s and Simpson’s indices were computed. Results showed that 61 species belonging to 51 genera and 28 families were encountered. The tree species with highest importance value index (IVI) were: Canarium asperum Benth (Burseraceae), Diplodiscus paniculatus Turcz. (Malvaceae), Bischoffia javanica Bl. (Phyllanthaceae), and Palaquium philippinense (Perr.) C.B. Rob. (Sapotaceae). They were also recognized as the dominant species in the area. The area had 22.97% endemicity which is considered high. Based on the data, it is suggested that the mountain should be conserved and long-term ecological research should be conducted.
Exploring the Possibility of Liquid Immiscibility in the Ste. Dorothée Sill near Montréal, Québec

Philpotts (1972) suggests the presence of an immiscible liquid (ocelli) crystallized within the Sté Dorothée Sill near Montréal, Canada. To test this hypothesis, I use the alphaMELTS program (Antoshechkina et al., 2012) which combines thermodynamic data and bulk compositional data to mimic natural magmas as they crystallize in the crust. Isobaric and isentropic models are used to simulate both the emplacement conditions and the source conditions of the parent magma that formed the Sté Dorothée Sill. The isobaric model uses temperature constraints that are unrealistic for emplacement, however ensure the composition is entirely liquid upon emplacement in order to compare the modal minerology of the sill. The mineral groups that crystallize from the isobaric trials are largely similar to the mineral groups observed in the Sté Dorothée Sill. Isentropic trials present a more realistic representation of the sill’s emplacement. Upon ascent from 1 GPa to 300 bars, the minerology of the crystallized portion of the melt in both trials suggest a mineralogy similar to the host fourchite which surrounds the ocelli. The remaining liquid upon reaching the suggested emplacement depth closely resembles the chemical composition of the hypothesized immiscible liquid. This evidence suggests that the liquid, which was previously thought to be of immiscible origin, was instead the result of fractional crystallization.
Generating High-Fidelity Images with Disentangled Adversarial VAEs and Structure-Aware Loss

While variational autoencoders (VAE) provide the theoretical basis for deep generative models, they often produce "blurry" images which is linked to their training objective. In this paper, we propose the "Sharpened Adversarial Variational Auto-Encoder" (AVAE-S) which uses an adversarial training mechanism to fine-tune the learned latent code vector of the VAE with a specialized objective function. The loss function is designed to uncover global structure as well as the local and high frequency features in VAE and leading to the smaller variance in the aggregated posterior and hence, reducing the blurriness of their generated samples. AVAE-S leverages the learned representations to the meaningful latent features by enforcing feature consistency between the model distribution and the target distribution leading to the sharpened output with better perceptual quality. Then, AVAE-S starts training a GAN network, which generator has been collapsed on the VAE’s decoder, upon that learned latent code vector. Moreover, we augment the standard VAE’s evidence lower bound objective function with other element-wise similarity measures. Our experiments show that AVAE-S achieves the state-of-the-art sample quality in the common MNIST and CelebA datasets. AVAE-S shares many of the good properties of the VAE (stable training, encoder-decoder architecture, nice latent manifold structure) while generating more realistic images, as measured by the sharpness score.