Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Early history and distribution of trade ceramics in Southeast Asia

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the history and distribution of trade ceramics in Southeast Asia over a thousand-year period stretching from the ninth to the early nineteenth century CE. Design/methodology/approach The study takes a material culture approach to the writing of marketing history by researching the ceramics trade from the starting point of artifacts and their social context. It draws from literatures on Chinese and Southeast Asian ceramics art history and archaeology. It also is informed by first-hand experience inspecting surviving artifacts in shops, talking to dealers and taking in museum displays. Findings After a brief historical overview of the ceramics trade in Southeast Asia, the research further explores topics in physical distribution (transportation routes, hubs and local marketplaces and ships, cargo and packing) and product assortments, adaptation and globalization of consumer culture. Research limitations/implications The art history and archaeological literatures provide a good overview of the ceramics trade and analysis of surviving material artifacts, but only limited information about distribution and consumption. Many questions remain unanswered. Originality/value This study contributes to international business and marketing history by documenting a thousand years of trade among China, mainland and insular Southeast Asia, and a long-standing cultural exchange facilitated by seaborne commerce. It also shares a marketing perspective with the fields of Southeast Asian art history and archaeology. Research in marketing history has neglected this region. To fully understand the development of marketing in the pre-industrial era, accounts from civilizations outside the West must be included.
Transmission Planning - Load Flows and Beyond

Modern transmission planning is not simply confined to load flow, contingency analysis and stability analysis. With multiple transmission owners whose assets are operated by an ISO/RTO, the traditional function of transmission planning is being subjected to a new dichotomy. Should it take a "top-down" or "bottom-up" approach? while the top-down approach enables the effective use of resources globally, the bottom-up approach makes implementation easier. Consequently, transmission owners are being driven by the "plan global, act local" adage. In this paper, the authors explore the consequences of this paradigm. The paper reviews the traditional transmission planning process and highlights its new needs and implementation models. The paper shows the need for software simulation tools to address these issues and identifies typical requirements for such tools. The paper concludes with a simple three-step approach for its use in integrated transmission planning
Detecting Noisy Instances with the Ensemble Filter: a Study in Software Quality Estimation

The performance of a classification model is invariably affected by the characteristics of the measurement data it is built upon. If the quality of the data is generally poor, then the classification model will demonstrate poor performance. The detection and removal of noisy instances will improve quality of the data, and consequently, the performance of the classification model. We investigate a noise handling technique that attempts to improve the quality of datasets for classification purposes by eliminating instances that are likely to be noise. Our approach uses twenty five different classification techniques to create an ensemble filter for eliminating likely noise. The basic assumption is that if a given majority of classifiers in the ensemble misclassify an instance, then it is likely to be a noisy instance. Using a relatively large number of base-level classifiers in the ensemble filter facilitates in achieving the desired level of noise removal conservativeness with several possible levels of filtering. It also provides a higher degree of confidence in the noise elimination procedure as the results are less likely to get influenced by (possibly) inappropriate learning bias of a few algorithms with twenty five base-level classifiers than with relatively smaller number of base-level classifiers. Empirical case studies of two high assurance software projects demonstrates the effectiveness of our noise elimination approach by the significant improvement achieved in classification accuracies at various levels of noise filtering.
Secretion and mesoderm‐inducing activity of the TGF‐beta‐related domain of Xenopus Vg1.

Vg1 is a maternal mRNA localized to the vegetal hemisphere of Xenopus embryos during blastula stages, a region responsible for the induction of mesoderm in the adjacent marginal zone. Its homology to the transforming growth factor‐beta family, which includes several proteins with mesoderm‐inducing activity, suggests a role for Vg1 as an endogenous mesoderm‐inducing factor. However, expression of Vg1 protein in the animal hemisphere, following injection of synthetic mRNA, has no effect on development, and isolated animal caps are not mesodermalized. It is shown that Vg1 protein fails to form dimers and is not processed to release the putative bioactive domain. Furthermore it is shown that the N‐terminal signal peptide of Vg1 is not cleaved following translocation into the ER, which may explain the failure of this protein to dimerize. To explore the role of Vg1 in amphibian development, a fusion protein has been made of the preproregion of Xenopus bone morphogenetic protein‐4 and the putative bioactive C‐terminal domain of Vg1. This fusion protein forms dimers and the C‐terminal domain of Vg1 is secreted. Injection of this construct into Xenopus embryos induces the formation of a second dorsal axis and isolated animal caps are mesodermalized. The results are consistent with a role for Vg1 in mesoderm induction during Xenopus development.
In vivo regulatory responses of four Escherichia coli operons which encode leucyl-tRNAs

Four Escherichia coli operons, the leuV operon which encodes tRNA(1Leu), the leuX operon which encodes tRNA(6Leu), the metT operon which encodes tRNA(3Leu), and the argT operon which encodes tRNA(1Leu), were examined for the stringent response induced by serine hydroxamate and for growth rate-dependent regulation. In nuclease protection assays, the leuV operon displayed the stringent response in response to leucine starvation, analog inhibition, and growth of a temperature-sensitive leucyl-tRNA synthetase mutant at nonpermissive temperatures. The leuV operon also exhibited the stringent response in multicopy plasmids. The promoters of all four leucyl operons were fused to the gene for beta-galactosidase and inserted into the chromosome by using bacteriophage lambda. All except the leuX promoter displayed growth rate-dependent regulation, consistent with the recent report that the concentration of tRNA(6Leu) actually decreases as growth rate increases. The leuV promoter fused to the beta-galactosidase gene showed a decrease in efficiency in the presence of extrachromosomal copies of rRNA genes. All chromosomal tRNA genes examined showed decreased transcriptional activity following a stringent response, but the leuX gene responded to a lesser extent (3-fold versus 10-fold or more) than the others. Primer extension analysis of this promoter showed little if any response to serine hydroxamate treatment, suggesting that multiple levels of control may exist or that promoter context effects are important in regulation.
Surgery for Locally Advanced Recurrent Colorectal Cancer Involving the Aortoiliac Axis: Can We Achieve R0 Resection and Long-term Survival?

BACKGROUND: Locally advanced, recurrent colorectal cancer involving the aortoiliac axis may be considered a contraindication for curative surgery because of the technical challenges of achieving a negative margin resection and an assumed poor prognosis. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess oncologic outcomes and the ability to achieve an R0 resection in these patients. DESIGN: A retrospective review of a prospectively maintained colorectal cancer database identified 406 consecutive patients who underwent surgery for locally recurrent colorectal cancer between 1997 and 2007. SETTING: This study was conducted at an academic multidisciplinary tertiary center. PATIENTS: The demographic and clinicopathological features of patients undergoing resection for locally advanced disease involving the aortoiliac axis at our institution were reviewed. RESULTS: Twelve patients (7 women, median age 51 years) were identified. Major vessel involvement included internal iliac artery (n = 7), common iliac artery (n = 5), external iliac artery (n = 3), aorta (n = 3), internal iliac vein (n = 2), and external iliac vein (n = 1). R0 resection was achieved in 7 patients, and R1 resection in 5. Eleven patients received intraoperative radiation therapy. Vascular reconstruction (3 aorta, 5 common iliac, 3 external iliac) included synthetic interposition grafts, femoral-femoral bypasses, or primary anastomosis. One patient underwent venous reconstruction of the external iliac vein. No graft complications were encountered, and graft patency at 4 years was 100%. Thirty-day morbidity was seen in 9 patients, 8 of whom had Clavien grade <3. Thirty-day mortality was nil. Overall and disease-free survival at 4 years was 55% and 45%. LIMITATIONS: This study was limited by its sample size, retrospective design, and the number of outcome events. CONCLUSION: R0 resection of locally advanced recurrent colorectal cancer involving the aortoiliac axis was achieved in over 50% of patients. Overall and disease-free survival was comparable to outcomes seen with locally advanced disease to nonvascular structures.
Zoledronic acid versus pamidronate in the treatment of skeletal metastases in patients with breast cancer or osteolytic lesions of multiple myeloma: a phase III, double-blind, comparative trial.

PURPOSE Zoledronic acid, a new and more potent bisphosphonate, was compared with pamidronate, the current standard treatment for patients with osteolytic or mixed bone metastases/lesions. PATIENTS AND METHODS A total of 1,648 patients with either Durie-Salmon stage III multiple myeloma or advanced breast cancer and at least one bone lesion were randomly assigned to treatment with either 4 or 8 mg of zoledronic acid via 15-minute intravenous infusion or 90 mg of pamidronate via 2-hour intravenous infusion every 3 to 4 weeks for 12 months. The primary efficacy endpoint was the proportion of patients experiencing at least one skeletal-related event over 13 months. RESULTS The proportion of patients with at least one skeletal-related event was similar in all treatment groups. Median time to the first skeletal-related eventwas approximately 1 year in each treatment group. The skeletal morbidity rate was slightly lower in patients treated with zoledronic acid than in those treated with pamidronate, and zoledronic acid (4 mg) significantly decreased the incidence and event rate for radiation therapy to bone, both overall and in breast cancer patients receiving hormonal therapy. Pain scores decreased in all treatment groups in the presence of stable or decreased analgesic use. Zoledronic acid (4 mg) and pamidronate were equally well tolerated; the most common adverse events were bone pain, nausea, fatigue, and fever and < 5% of serious adverse events were related to the study drug. The incidence of renal impairment among patients treated with 4 mg of zoledronic acid via 15-minute infusion was similar to that among patients treated with pamidronate. CONCLUSIONS Zoledronic acid (4 mg) via 15-minute intravenous infusion was as effective and well tolerated as 90 mg of pamidronate in the treatment of osteolytic and mixed bone metastases/lesions in patients with advanced breast cancer or multiple myeloma. (Can-
Positive and negative autoregulation of the adeno-associated virus type 2 genome

The defective human parvovirus, adeno-associated virus (AAV), requires multiple functions provided by a coinfecting helper virus for viral replication. In addition, it has recently been shown that at least one AAV gene is also required for AAV DNA replication. In this paper, we investigate the autoregulation of the AAV genome by analyzing the expression of mutant AAV genomes upon transfection into adenovirus-infected human cells. Evidence is presented which indicates that the AAV genome regulates its own gene expression in at least two ways. First, either the AAV p5 gene or both the p5 and p19 genes appear to encode a trans activator of AAV transcription. Frameshift mutations within the p5 or p19 gene severely inhibited the synthesis and accumulation of all AAV transcripts. The defective accumulation of transcripts could be complemented in trans, in a manner independent of DNA replication, by cotransfection with a capsid deletion mutant. Second, evidence is presented which suggests that the p5 and p19 genes contain negative cis-active regulatory elements. Deletion of sequences within the p5 and p19 genes enhanced the accumulation of the p5 transcript in cis upon complementation with an AAV capsid deletion mutant, whereas certain deletions enhanced p40 RNA accumulation in the absence of trans activation by the p5 gene.
CONCEPTION,THEORY AND MECHANISM OF ECO-COMPENSATION

Eco compensation is an environmental economics instrument for internalization of external cost. Three core aspects of eco compensation issues are: who compensation whom; how much to compensate, and, what is the appropriate compensation mechanism. The implementation of eco compensation must be based on property right clarification, and the compensation quantum must cover the opportunity cost of ownership transaction. Moreover, compensation mechanisms are discussed briefly.
Inhibition of N6‐[3H]Cyclohexyladenosine Binding by Carbamazepine

Summary: The mechanism of action of carbamazepine (CBZ) (Tegretol), despite widespread use in the management of partial and tonic‐clonic seizures in adults, is not completely understood‐ In animals, adenosine and adenosine analogues have anticonvulsant effects that may be due to interactions with central A, adenosine receptors. CBZ (at therapeutically relevant concentrations) inhibits the binding of agonists and antagonists to brain A1 adenosine receptors, but whether as an agonist/antagonist is not clear. The adenosine agonist, N6‐[3H]cyclohexyladenosine ([3H]CHA), binds to membranes from rat cortex and hippocampus at two nanomolar binding sites or states. To clarify the actions of carbamazepine at the A, adenosine receptor, its inhibitory actions were compared with those of known adenosine agonists and xanthine antagonists using 0.1 nM[3H]CHA, in which almost all binding is to the higher affinity state, or 10 nM [3H]CHA, in which there is a substantial contribution of binding from both states. The ratios of the IC50 values (concentration that inhibits specific binding by 50%) at 10 nM [3H]CHA to the IC50 values at 0.1 nM [3H]CHA were 18–31 for the agonists and 4–10 for the xanthine antagonists. CBZ had a ratio of 3. The inhibitory effects of GTP on [3H]CHA binding were less in the presence of the adenosine agonist, 2‐chloroadenosine than were inhibitory effects in the presence of the xanthine antagonist theophylline or CBZ in both cortex and hippocampus. These in vitro studies indicate that CBZ is an antagonist at A, adenosine receptors in cerebral cortical and hippocampal membranes from rat brain. Agonist activity at A1 adenosine receptors would have been compatible with the sedative anticonvulsant effects of CBZ, but these data do not support a role of the anticonvulsant action of carbamazepine on A1 adenosine receptors in cerebral cortex or hippocampus.
Nonlinear modeling and test of inverter based on FPGA

A inverter system nonlinear model based on FPGA for hardware in the loop (HIL) real-time simulation has been proposed in this thesis. Not only the switch voltage drop of IGBT and diode voltage drop, but also the IGBT transient process achieved by a linear approximation is considered in the inverter model, which ensures it's more advanced than those before in HIL realtime simulation. The simplified nonlinear model has been built and tested in the HIL real-time simulation in the thesis. The test result shows that the nonlinear inverter model presented in this thesis can improve the previous inverter models in the real time simulation. Its system delay is only 140ns, and it can effectively reflect the turn on process and turn off process, dead time effects, the IGBT transient process and the diode voltage drop of inverter, as well as the feasibility and advantages of the HIL semi-physical real-time simulation.
Intracoronary Delivery of Bone Marrow Cells to the Acutely Infarcted Myocardium

Objectives: Intracoronary cell transplantation during catheter balloon inflations may be associated with adverse events. We studied the effectiveness of an alternative transplantation technique – intracoronary cell infusion. Methods: Fourteen pigs, which had survived acute myocardial infarction, were randomized into 2 treatment groups and 2 controls. Three days after infarction, 12 pigs underwent allogeneic intracoronary mononuclear bone marrow cell transplantation using either the standard technique (short-term cell injections during repeat balloon inflations, technique A, n = 6) or continuous intracoronary cell infusion without balloon inflations (technique B, n = 6). Implanted cells were stained with fluorescent dye. After transplantation, the pigs were euthanized and myocardial samples were analyzed by fluorescent microscopy. Results: The mean numbers of fluorescently labeled bone marrow cells in the infarction border zone, in the infarction mid-area and in the center of myocardial infarction were 84, 72 and 55 using technique A, and 29, 57 and 46 using technique B, respectively. The mean cell retention in the infarction border zone of 84 cells for technique A and 29 cells for technique B differed significantly (p = 0.034, two-tailed t test). Conclusion: The continuous intracoronary cell infusion technique is a less efficient cell delivery technique as compared with the standard technique using repeat intracoronary balloon inflations.
Hypoxanthine (HX) inhibition of in vitro meiotic resumption in goat oocytes

To improve in vitro maturation and to understand the mechanism for meiotic resumption of oocytes, meiotic progression, and its control by hypoxanthine (HX) were studied in goat oocytes. Ovaries were obtained from a local abattoir, and cumulus–oocyte complexes (COCs) and follicular fluid were collected from follicles of different surface diameters (SDs). The meiotic competence and progression of oocytes were observed, and the concentration of HX in the follicular fluid and culture media was measured by high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Full meiotic competence of goat oocytes was acquired in follicles of ≥1.5 mm in SD with 90% of the oocytes developing to metaphase II (MII) stage after 24 hr in culture. The HX concentration in follicular fluid decreased with follicle development, from the highest level of 1.16 mM in ≤0.5 mm follicles to the lowest level of 0.45 mM in ≥5 mm follicles. HX inhibited meiotic resumption of goat oocytes in a concentration‐related manner but this inhibitory effect declined gradually. When we renewed the medium at 4 hr of HX‐199 (TCM‐199 supplemented with 4 mM HX) culture, the percentage of oocytes with intact germinal vesicle (GV) did not increase but decreased significantly instead. HPLC measurement of HX in the HX‐199 culture drops indicated that the HX concentration declined from 0 hr to 4 hr of culture and after medium renewal at 4 hr of culture. By adding dibutyryl cAMP (db‐cAMP) at medium renewal, we found that db‐cAMP held up the decline of GV percentages. Together, these results were consistent with the possibility that the decline of HX inhibitory effect was not due to HX depletion but rather due to the negative feedback of the metabolites on its further uptake by oocytes. Goat oocytes were capable of normal nuclear maturation and activation after temporal arrest by HX, but prolonged exposure to HX induced spontaneous activation. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 66: 306–313, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Induction of prostaglandin E(2) and interleukin-6 in gingival fibroblasts by oral biofilms.

Polymicrobial oral biofilms attaching on tooth surfaces can trigger inflammatory responses by the neighbouring tooth-supporting periodontal tissues. An excessive inflammatory response can cause destruction of the periodontal tissues, including the alveolar bone, thus resulting in periodontitis. Mediators of inflammation, such as prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2) ) and interleukin-6, are primary regulators of alveolar bone destruction in periodontitis. The present study aimed to comparatively investigate the effects of in vitro supragingival and subgingival biofilms, on the regulation of PGE(2) and interleukin-6 in human gingival fibroblasts. The cells were challenged with culture supernatants of the two biofilms for 6 h. Cyclo-oxygenase (COX)-2, an enzyme responsible for the conversion of PGE(2) , and interleukin-6 gene expression were analysed by quantitative real-time PCR. The production of PGE(2) and interleukin-6 by the cells was analysed by ELISA. While the supragingival biofilm did not induce significant changes, the subgingival biofilm caused an 8.6- and 2.9-fold enhancement of COX-2 and interleukin-6 gene expression, respectively, and a 72.5- and 1.5-fold enhancement of PGE(2) and interleukin-6 production, respectively. In conclusion, subgingival biofilms are potent inducers of PGE(2) in gingival fibroblasts, providing further mechanistic insights into the association of subgingival biofilms with bone resorption periodontitis.
Cardiovascular risk factors following orthotopic liver transplantation: predisposing factors, incidence and management

Background: Liver transplantation is the standard of care for acute and chronic causes of end‐stage liver disease. Advances in medical therapy and surgical techniques have led to improvement of patient and graft survival rates following orthotopic liver transplantation. However, the prevalence of post‐transplant cardiovascular complications has been rising with increased life expectancy after liver transplantation.
Sample Size Calculation for Estimating or Testing a Nonzero Squared Multiple Correlation Coefficient

The problems of hypothesis testing and interval estimation of the squared multiple correlation coefficient of a multivariate normal distribution are considered. It is shown that available one-sided tests are uniformly most powerful, and the one-sided confidence intervals are uniformly most accurate. An exact method of calculating sample size to carry out one-sided tests (null hypothesis may involve a nonzero value for the multiple correlation coefficient) to attain a specified power is given. Sample size calculation for computing confidence intervals for the squared multiple correlation coefficient with a specified expected width is also provided. Sample sizes for powers and confidence intervals are tabulated for a wide range of parameter configurations and dimensions. The results are illustrated using the empirical data from Timm (1975) that related scores from the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test to four proficiency measures.
Iron-Loss Modeling for Rotating Machines: Comparison Between Bertotti's Three-Term Expression and 3-D Eddy-Current Analysis

Two calculation methods for iron-loss estimation of rotating machines are investigated. One is based on the conventional three-term expression. In this case, the losses are calculated from the time variation in the flux density obtained by the finite element analysis, which approximates the stator and rotor cores as solid magnetic materials without conductivity. The other is based on the 3-D eddy current analysis in the electrical steel sheet. In this case, the excess loss is calculated with a simple approximation. It is clarified that both methods can estimate the no-load iron loss in the similar accuracy and that the method based on the eddy-current analysis is suitable for the estimation of high-order harmonic iron losses.