Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Leaf morphology and photosynthetic adjustments among deciduous broad-leaved trees within the vertical canopy profile.

Photosynthetic acclimation of deciduous broad-leaved tree species was studied along a vertical gradient within the canopy of a multi-species deciduous forest in northern Japan. We investigated variations in (1) local light regime and CO2 concentration ([CO2]), and (2) morphological (area, thickness and area per mass), biochemical (nitrogen and chlorophyll concentrations) and physiological (light-saturated photosynthetic rate) attributes of leaves of seven major species on three occasions (June, August and October). We studied early successional species, alder (Alnus hirsuta (Spach) Rupr. ) and birch (Betula platyphylla var. japonica (Miq.) Hara); gap phase species, walnut (Juglans ailanthifolia Carrière) and ash (Fraxinus mandshurica var. japonica Rupr.); mid-successional species, basswood (Tilia japonica (Miq.) Simonk. ) and elm (Ulmus davidiana var. japonica (Rehd.) Nakai); and the late-successional species, maple (Acer mono Bunge). All but maple initiated leaf unfolding from the lower part of the crown. The [CO2] within the vertical profile ranged from 320-350 ppm in the upper canopy to 405-560 ppm near the ground. The lowest and highest ambient [CO2] occurred during the day and during the night, respectively. This trend was observed consistently during the summer, but not when trees were leafless. Chlorophyll concentration was positively related to maximum photosynthetic rate within, but not among, species. Leaf senescence started from the inner part of the crown in alder and birch, but started either in the outer or top portion of the canopy of ash, basswood and maple. Chlorophyll (Chl) to nitrogen ratio in leaves increased with decreasing photon flux density. However, Chl b concentration in all species remained stable until the beginning of leaf senescence. Maximum photosynthetic rates observed in sun leaves of early successional species, gap phase or mid-successional species, and late successional species were 12.5-14.8 micromol m(-2) s(-1), 4.1-7.8 micromol m(-2) s(-1) and 3.1 micromol m(-2) s(-1), respectively.
Monocyclic and tricyclic analogs of quinolones: mechanism of action

The mode of action of Ro 13-5478 and Ro 14-9578, monocyclic and tricyclic quinolone analogs, respectively, was examined for Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The compounds showed antibacterial activity and effects on cell morphology, replicative DNA biosynthesis, and gyrase-catalyzed DNA supercoiling that were comparable to those shown by nalidixic acid and by oxolinic acid compounds. The results suggest that their site of action is DNA gyrase and that a bicyclic quinolone nucleus is not essential for activity.
Projections in Weakly Compactly Generated Banach Spaces and Chang's Conjecture

Abstract Classical results on weakly compactly generated (WCG) Banach spaces imply the existence of projectional resolutions of identity (PRI) and the existence of many projections on separable subspaces (SCP). We address the questions if these can be the only projections in a nonseparable WCG space, in the sense that there is a PRI (Pα : ω ≤ α ≤ λ) such that any projection is the sum of an operator in the closure of the linear span of countably many Pα 's (in the strong operator topology) and a separable range operator. Wark's modification of Shelah's and Steprāns' construction provides an unconditional example for λ = ω 1. We note that it is impossible for λ > ω 2.
A Body Bias Generator with Low Supply Voltage for Within-Die Variability Compensation

SUMMARY A body bias generator (BBG) for fine-grained body biasing (FGBB) is proposed. The FGBB is effective to reduce variability and power consumption in a system-on-chip (SoC). Since FGBB needs a number of BBGs, the BBG is preferred to be implemented in cell-based design procedure. In the cell-based design, it is inefficient to provide an extra supply voltage for BBGs. We invented a BBG with switched capacitor configuration and it enables BBG to operate with wide range of the supply voltage from 0. 6V to 1.2 V. We fabricated the BBG in a 65 nm CMOS process to control 0. 1m m 2 of core circuit with the area overhead of 1.4%
Regulation of Cyclooxygenases by Protein Kinase C

Cyclooxygenases (COXs) are key prostaglandin biosynthetic enzymes. While COX-1 expression is largely constitutive, COX-2 is highly regulated by cytokines, growth factors, and tumor promoters, such as the protein kinase C (PKC) activator, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA). While phosphorylation of transcription factors may regulate COX transcription, the existence of PKC consensus sequences suggests that direct enzyme phosphorylation might also regulate differential expression of the enzymes. Nevertheless, phosphorylation of both human recombinant COX-1 and COX-2 by rat brain PKC in vitro was minimal, as was phosphorylation of peptides based on PKC consensus sequences in COX-1 (less than 4% of the phosphorylation of the PKC-α pseudosubstrate peptide). Similarly, phosphorylation of the corresponding COX-2 peptides was not observed using either the phosphocellulose paper absorption method or electrospray mass spectrometry. MEG-01 and NIH 3T3 cells were labeled with [32P]orthophosphate to investigate COX phosphorylation in vivo. COX-2 synthesis was induced by PMA (100 nM) or serum stimulation in NIH 3T3 cells. COX-1 was expressed constitutively in MEG-01 cells. Specific polyclonal antibodies raised against sequences of human COX-1 (Ala24-Cys35) and COX-2 (Asn580-Lys598) were used for immunoprecipitation. Neither COX-1 nor COX-2 was phosphorylated in vivo, irrespective of the presence of a phosphatase inhibitor (1 μM okadaic acid). Although COX-1 and COX-2 are differentially regulated, no differences were observed in terms of susceptibility to phosphorylation by PKC either in vitro or in vivo. Despite regulated expression of COX-2 by PMA and the existence of consensus sequences for PKC phosphorylation, it appears that it is an unfavorable substrate for this enzyme.
Het Rijnland praktijkboekje : hoe maak je een Rijnlandse organisatie?

Het Rijnland-model is volop in het nieuws. Zeker nu de kritiek op het Amerikaanse (Angelsaksische) kapitalistische systeem dagelijks de voorpagina’s haalt, wordt de roep om een andere wijze van besturen en bedrijfsvoering sterker. Maar wat betekent dat nu, ‘Rijnlands’? De term is al lang geleden geintroduceerd, en heeft door de jaren heen in de praktijk een specifieke invulling gekregen. Jaap Peters en Mathieu Weggeman leggen in dit boekje op een overzichtelijke en inzichtelijke manier de kernpunten uit van wat zij de ‘Rijnlandse stijl’ noemen. Het is namelijk meer dan een model: het is een manier van organiseren, een bedrijfsmodel en een manier van met elkaar omgaan. Met respect en oog voor wederzijdse belangen, zonder daarbij de doelmatigheid en de winstgevendheid uit het oog te verliezen.
A matrix based method for determining depth from focus

The authors reveal some fundamental problems with inverse filtering: inaccuracies in finding the frequency-domain representation, windowing effects, and border effects. A general, matrix-based method using regularization that eliminates these problems is presented. The method is confirmed experimentally, with the results showing an RMS (root mean square) error of 1.3%. <<ETX>>
PrefRank: Quantification and Aggregation of Subjective User Preferences

User-contributed content on the Internet has been growing at an extraordinary pace. Ranking vast amounts of such content, such as digital photographs, is handled well through user-driven ranking. It helps speeding up the ranking process while reflecting the opinions of the community. However, user-driven ranking can be often subjective and difficult to compare. We solve this using a well-known mathematical technique called the analytic hierarchy process. Due to the massive size of the user-contributed content, it is often not possible for all users to rank all items. Thus, finding a global ranking is a problem of rank aggregation of partially ranked lists. In this position paper, we propose a solution – PrefRank – based on eigenvector centrality that helps aggregating partially ranked lists. Our proposed approach can be used in other application scenarios involving qualitative judgement and ranking, such as reviewing academic papers for a conference.
Apprentissage et Factorisation pour la Recommandation

Résumé. De nombreux sites de l’internet proposent aujourd’hui des conseils personnalisés élaborés par un système de recommandation, un ensemble de logiciels et de méthodes permettant de suggérer automatiquement des articles pouvant être utiles à un utilisateur. L’arrivée des réseaux sociaux en ligne a ajouté une nouvelle dimension à la recommandation, dans laquelle la structure du graphe social peut être utilisée comme source d’informations. Cet article constitue un état de l’art de méthodes de recommandation orientées modèle, que sont les méthodes de factorisation dont l’intérêt a été démontré lors du challenge Netflix. Il présente également un travail montrant une approche qui prend en compte le réseau social et qui réalise de la prédiction sur des données d’appréciation implicite (implicit feedback). Nous avons testé ce modèle sur des données réelles volumineuses et observé l’amélioration des performances obtenues par d’autres méthodes de l’état de l’art.
On renewal input state dependent working vacations queue with impatient customers

This paper studies the effect of balking and reneging in a finite buffer renewal input queue with multiple working vacations. Arriving customers balk with a probability and renege according to exponential distribution. As soon as the system becomes empty, the server leaves for a working vacation. During working vacations the server works at a different rate rather than completely stopping service. Service times during a service period, during a working vacation period and vacation times are assumed to be exponentially distributed with state dependent rates. Employing the supplementary variable and recursive techniques, the steady-state system length distributions at pre-arrival and arbitrary epochs have been derived. Some performance measures of the model and cost analysis through simulated annealing have been discussed. Finally, sensitivity analysis is carried out through some numerical experiments.
Universality of deconfining phase transition in (3+1)-dimensional SU(2) lattice gauge theory.

The (3+1)-dimensional SU(2) lattice gauge theory at finite temperature is studied by Monte Carlo renormalization-group methods on a 32/sup 3/ x N/sub t/ lattice with N/sub t/ = 2 and 4. It is shown that the effective theory of the Polyakov loop has only short-range couplings and that the deconfining phase transition is governed by the same fixed point and critical indices as the three-dimensional Ising model, thus proving that the two theories belong to the same universality class.
Does tooth brushing influence the development and progression of non-inflammatory gingival recession? A systematic review.

AIM The aim of this systematic review was to produce the best available evidence and pool appropriate data to evaluate the effect of tooth brushing on the initiation and progression of non-inflammatory gingival recession. MATERIAL AND METHODS A protocol was developed a priori for the question: "Do factors associated with tooth brushing predict the development and progression of non-inflammatory gingival recession in adults? " The search covered six electronic databases between January 1966 and July 2005. Hand searching included searches of the Journal of Clinical Periodontology, Journal of Periodontal Research and the Journal of Periodontology. Bibliographies of narrative reviews, conference proceedings and relevant texts known to the authors were also searched. Inclusion of titles, abstracts and ultimately full texts was based on consensus between three reviewers. RESULTS The full texts of 29 papers were read and 18 texts were eligible for inclusion. One abstract from EuroPerio 5 reported a randomized-controlled clinical trial [Level I evidence] in which the authors concluded that the toothbrushes significantly reduced recessions on buccal tooth surfaces over 18 months. Of the remaining 17 observational studies, two concluded that there appeared to be no relationship between tooth brushing frequency and gingival recession. Eight studies reported a positive association between tooth brushing frequency and recession. Other potential risk factors were duration of tooth brushing, brushing force, frequency of changing the toothbrush, brush (bristle) hardness and tooth brushing technique. None of the observational studies satisfied all the specified criteria for quality appraisal and a valid appraisal of the quality of the randomized-controlled trial was not possible. CONCLUSION The data to support or refute the association between tooth brushing and gingival recession are inconclusive.
Differentiation of convulsive syncope and epilepsy with head-up tilt testing.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the usefulness of head-upright tilt table testing in the differential diagnosis of convulsive syncope from epileptic seizures in patients with recurrent idiopathic seizure-like episodes. DESIGN Prospective, nonrandomized study. SETTING Electrophysiology laboratory of a university hospital. PATIENTS Fifteen patients (8 men and 7 women patients; mean age, 29 +/- 20 years) with recurrent unexplained seizure-like episodes, unresponsive to antiseizure medication. MEASUREMENTS Head-upright tilt table testing with or without isoproterenol infusion. Five patients who were initially tilt positive had a second tilt test with continuous electroencephalographic (EEG) recording. MAIN RESULTS Syncope associated with tonic-clonic seizure-like activity occurred in six patients (40%) during the baseline tilt and in four patients (27%) during isoproterenol infusion (total positive tests, 67%). The EEG showed diffuse brain wave slowing (not typical of epileptic seizures) in five of five patients during the convulsive episode. All patients who had positive test results eventually become tilt table negative after therapy, and over a mean follow-up period of 21 +/- 2 months, no further seizure-like episodes have occurred. CONCLUSION Upright tilt table testing combined with isoproterenol infusion may be useful to distinguish convulsive syncope from epileptic seizures.
Group B Streptococcus Early-Onset Disease in Emilia-Romagna: Review After Introduction of a Screening-Based Approach

Background: Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a leading cause of neonatal bacterial infections. Early-onset infections have decreased in recent years but, despite considerable efforts poured into prevention, cases continue to occur. Objectives: To analyze trends and identify determining factors for the persistence of the GBS infections. To evaluate the impact of antenatal screening and intrapartum chemoprophylaxis on the clinical presentation of the infection. Methods: A prospective cohort, population-based study has been ongoing in Emilia-Romagna (Italy) since 2003. Invasive GBS infections, observed between 2003 and 2008 in infants aged <7 days were analyzed. Results: Among 214,120 live births, 61 early-infections were observed. Fourteen infants (23.0%) were born preterm. Among 47 infants who were delivered at term, 28 were born to mothers who had no risk factors and 7 were born to mothers who had none other than GBS colonization. Forty-one women at term had been screened prenatally; among them, only 10 were documented as GBS culture-positive. Disease severity was highest in infants at lower gestational ages, but most meningitis cases were observed in term infants born to mothers who were GBS culture-negative at screening. Nine newborns had culture-proven infection despite having received intrapartum antibiotics. They were born to mothers with ≥1 obstetrical risk factors and 5 mothers had been treated during labor with macrolides. Conclusion: Most infections presented in infants whose mothers had been screened as GBS culture-negative. Missed opportunities for prevention contributed more than prophylaxis failures to the early-onset disease burden.
Spread of Streptococcus suis Sequence Type 7, China

Streptococcus suis sequence type (ST) 7 has been spreading throughout China. To determine events associated with its emergence, we tested 114 isolates. In all 106 ST7 strains responsible for human outbreaks and sporadic infections, the tetracycline-resistance gene, tetM, was detected on the conjugative transposon Tn916. Horizontal transmission of tetM is suspected.
Operation analysis of stress grading system in inverter-driven medium voltage motors

This paper focuses on analyzing the electric field and temperature distribution in a typical stress grading system used in medium voltage rotating machines under pulse width modulation voltage source conditions. Two analysis models for electric field and heat transfer processes are developed to take into account the nonlinear relationship between the electric field and the electrical conductivity of Silicon Carbide (SiC) semi-conductive tape. The simulation results give a fundamental background to explain the failure of the stress grading system in inverter-driven medium voltage motors.
[Changes in structure and socioeconomic position of the family as determinants of overweight in adolescents].

INTRODUCTION Previous studies on relationships between the current family structure, socioeconomic status and family members' body mass don't give unequivocal results. A life course perspective evaluates the contribution of early life factors jointly with later life factors to identify risk and protective processes. OBJECTIVES The relationship between economic status, family structure in first and thirteenth year of life, their changes in this period and overweight among 13-year olds in Poland. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS A study sample was the prospective cohort of 11 937 children enrolled in the observation in neonatal period, examined in the third year of life (questionnaire survey of 1250 mothers) and at the age of thirteen (561 children and their parents fulfilled questionnaires, children's height and weight were measured). Overweight criteria was BMI >85 percentile using WHO 2007 growth reference. RESULTS Higher prevalence of overweight was found in adolescents living in single-parent families than in 2-parent families (30.2% vs. 19.5%; p=0.049). The highest prevalence of adolescents' overweight was observed in families, whose structure changed during 13 years (in ""broken"" families - 32.7%, in reconstructed - 36.4%, p=0.033); the risk of overweight in these children increased twice compared to intact families. Adolescents from families whose reported economic status worsened during 13 years, were twice more likely to be overweight than their peers from middle and high economic status families (p=0.057). CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of overweight among adolescents in 2-parent families is significantly lower than in other family types. Unfavorable changes in family economic status and structure are the strongest redictors of overweight in 13-year-olds.
Neoliberal Utopia and Urban Realities in Delhi

Since 1991, the city of Delhi in India has become a focal point of economic liberalization. Economic liberalization has been accompanied by local government efforts to attract both foreign and domestic investment, particularly in the service sectors of the economy. The attraction of investment has been achieved by spatial reconfiguration, pitting the interest of global and domestic capital against the interest of deprived populations. I herein analyze the unfolding of the neoliberal economic regime in India, the production of space in Delhi, and the ways in which planning and governance in Delhi, geared to attracting foreign investment, have affected slum and industry location and public transport networks. Such spatial reconfiguration has been carried out as part of an effort to make Delhi cleaner. I argue, however, that the current environmental agenda has been co-opted by neoliberals to assert class power by militarizing space to the detriment of the poor.
Phonological Awareness, Letter Knowledge, and Literacy Development in Indonesian Beginner Readers and Spellers.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the grain size predominantly used by children learning to read and spell in Indonesian. Indonesian is an orthographically transparent language, and the syllable is a salient unit. Tasks assessing various levels of phonological awareness as well as letter knowledge, reading familiar words and nonwords, and spelling stem and affixed words were administered to children in Grade 1 and subsequently 1 year later in Grade 2. The results in general indicate that the phoneme is the prominent phonological unit in the early acquisition of reading and spelling in Indonesian, but the syllable also plays a significant role, particularly when reading long multisyllabic affixed words. This highlights the variable nature of grain size used by beginners, which is dependent on developmental stage, the demands of the task administered, and the characteristics of the language and its orthography.
Linking National Contexts with Intellectual Capital: A Comparison between Spain and Morocco

The ‘national environment’, which includes belief and value systems, shapes the way individuals, groups and organisations perceive the world around them and determines how they react to ongoing changes. This paper analyses the role of different context's effects on intellectual capital by means of an empirical investigation of 112 Small to Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the Spanish and Moroccan telecommunication industries. Within the investigation, repeated ANOVA were used, which were validated by factor analysis. Results support that Spanish SMEs are more positively associated with higher levels of human, structural and relational capital. The meaningful differences are clearly found in the ‘structural capital’. Our findings open avenues for further research to explore how governments can facilitate learning and unlearning environments in SME communities. These findings have important implications for general intellectual capital theories, as they suggest that there is no guarantee that intellectual capital theories developed within the cultural context of one particular country can be applied in another with good effect. National contexts provide the environment for learning, which in turn may have the effect of adequately improving intellectual capital. El ambiente nacional, el cual incluye las creencias y los sistemas de valores compartidos, influye de una forma clara y directa cómo las personas, los grupos y las organizaciones perciben el mundo alrededor de ellos, y determina cómo afrontan a los cambios a los que tienen que hacer frente. Este trabajo analiza el papel que los diferentes contextos nacionales ejercen sobre la creación de capital intelectual, mediante un trabajo empírico de 112 pequeñas y medianas empresas (PYMEs) del sector de las telecomunicaciones en España y Marruecos. Para ello, hemos utilizado la técnica estadística de medias repetidas apoyada con un análisis factorial confirmatorio. Los resultados sugieren que las empresas españolas se encuentran asociadas a niveles mayores de capital humano, estructural y relacional. Las mayores diferencias se encuentran en el capital estructural. Circunstancias estas que ponen en riesgo la validez de generalizar los resultados obtenidos por la nueva corriente desarrollada entorno al capital intelectual en diferentes contextos culturales. Además, dado que los resultados apoyan que el contexto nacional proporciona el ambiente necesario para aprender, y este a su vez se asocia a la creación de capital intelectual, el presenta trabajo plantea una futura línea de investigación que relaciona el contexto de aprendizaje y desaprendizaje impulsado desde los diferentes gobiernos y el capital intelectual de las PYMEs.