Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spectral balance: a frequency domain framework for analysis of nonlinear dynamical systems

A frequency-domain framework for analysis, computations, and uncertainty propagation in nonlinear systems driven by broad-band disturbances is introduced and illustrated in a simple example of a nonlinear system that exhibits noise-induced transitions between two stable equilibria. The spectral balance framework generalizes the standard harmonic and Gaussian signal balance in feedback systems. The application example presented is a scalar model with cubic nonlinearity after pitchfork bifurcation driven by a broad-band disturbance. An approximate and iterative spectral balance (including determination of equilibria) is solved. The solution of the approximate spectral balance is used to reformulate the original model using a loop transformation so that an iterative procedure for finding the spectrum of the output converges to the true spectrum of the solution.
Argatroban and Inhibition of the Vasomotor Actions of Thrombin

We investigated the effects of the thrombin inhibitor, argatroban ((2R,4R)-4-methyl-1-[N2-(3-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-8-quinolinesulfonyl)-L-arginyl]-2-piperidinecarboxylic acid) on the endothelium-derived relaxing factor-nitric oxide (EDRF-NO)-dependent relaxant, and the endothelial cell-independent constrictor actions of thrombin. Experiments were performed in isolated rings of canine coronary arteries. Argatroban inhibited thrombin-induced relaxation (range of thrombin activity 0.003–0.3 U/ml), with an ED50 of 0.3 μM. The ED50 value was not different from inhibition of thrombin ami-dolytic cleavage of the chromogenic substrate N-p-tosylgly-pro-arg-p-nitroanilide acetate (TOGSPAN 0.28 μM), but inhibition was highly selective. Argatroban did not block EDRF-NO-dependent relaxations to trypsin (0.003–0.3 U/ml; Emax −88.7 + 2.0% without vs. −88.1 ± 2.7% with argatroban), acetylcholine (ACh 1 nM to 1 μM Emax −90.5 ± 4.7% and −88.6 ± 3.1%, with and without argatroban, respectively), or the calcium ionophore A23187 (1 nM to 1 μM; Emax −98.5 ± 1.2 vs. −99.4 ± 0.6%). The inhibitory effects of argatroban on thrombin-induced constriction were then compared with those of the irreversible thrombin inhibitor D-phenylala-nyl-L-prolyl L-arginine chloromethyl ketone (PPACK). The highest concentration of argatroban (10 μM) inhibited the vasoconstrictor effects of thrombin but did not completely block the effects (Emax 21.4 ± 8.1% of KC1 constriction without argatroban and Emax 14.0 ± 5.2% of KCl-induced constriction with argatroban). In contrast, both a 10− and a 100-fold lower concentration of PPACK (0.1–1 μM) prevented the thrombin-induced increase in tension. Thrombin-induced constriction therefore appeared to disclose mechanistic differences between the two thrombin inhibitors. Thrombin vasomotor actions were inhibited by argatroban, however, and this may contribute significantly to the therapeutic effect of argatroban.
People Recommendation Tutorial

People recommenders have become a rich research area within the broad recommender systems community and social recommender systems in particular. From "people you may know" and "who to follow" widgets, through people introduction at conferences, job recommendations and job-candidate search, to dating partner matchmakers, people recommendations proliferate. This tutorial will present an overview of the people recommender systems domain. We will present the different types and use cases of people recommendations, the special techniques used to recommend people to themselves, key research work, and open challenges.
Identification of the Mammalian Na,K-ATPase β3 Subunit*

We have isolated and characterized cDNA clones encoding the human and rat Na,K-ATPase β3 subunit isoform. The human cDNA encodes a polypeptide of 279 amino acids that exhibits primary sequence and secondary structure similarities to Na,K-ATPase β subunit isoforms. Sequence comparisons showed that the human β3 subunit closely resembles the β3 subunit of Xenopus laevis (59% amino acid identity) and is less similar to the human Na,K-ATPase β1 and β2 subunits (38% and 48% amino acid identity, respectively). By analyzing the segregation of restriction fragment length polymorphisms among recombinant inbred strains of mice, we localized the β3 subunit gene to murine chromosome 7. Northern blot analysis revealed that the β3 subunit gene encodes two transcripts that are expressed in a variety of rat tissues including testis, brain, kidney, lung, stomach, small intestine, colon, spleen, and liver. Identification of the mammalian β3 subunit suggests an even greater potential for Na,K-ATPase isoenzyme diversity than previously realized.
FACTORS AFFECTING CONTRACT MANAGEMENT IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT SECTOR IN KENYA: A CASE OF KENYA LITERATURE BUREAU

The purpose of the study was to establish factors affecting contract management in public procurement sector. The specific objectives of the study were; to establish the effect of technology, management styles, relationship management, and employee competence on contract management in the public procurement sector in Kenya. The beneficiaries were the management of Kenya literature bureau, other government institutions, government of Kenya and other researchers. From the research, Kenya Literature Bureau should be able to enter into contracts with their partners and carry on with the research that is cost effective and efficient as possible. This was able to help the organization and the country as a whole minimize time wastage as put taxpayer’s money into meaningful and fruitful use. The study adopted a descriptive research design which sought to establish factors associated with certain occurrences, outcomes, conditions or types of behavior. It also enabled the researcher to answer the questions of how, who, where, why, what and which. The target population was 220 and stratified random technique was used to arrive at a sample size of 130. Questionnaires were used to collect Data which was analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The research may able to help in establishing strategies, directions and action plans that government organization should adopt for them to initiate contracts and manage to termination positively. By the end of the research work, I should be able to initiate and manage a contract within the specified period and effectively and efficiently. The findings showed that information technology, management styles, management styles and employee competence influences contract management in public procurement.
Account Based Mobile Payment by Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange Protocol

With the development on techniques of mobile communication, the daily activities benefit from these techniques more than ever. In order to make living more convenient, the mobile payment has been brought up in recent years. The consideration for carrying out the mobile payment is very difference from that in the wired electronics payment scheme because of the characteristics of mobile device. In this article we develop a mobile payment scheme that is based on reducing the operation of the device, and furthermore achieves the demands of security. It can create the session key for each transaction by means of using the "Diffie-Hellman key exchange" protocol. The use of the Message Authentication Code (MAC) can achieve the integrity of electronic commerce. Both of them do not need a large number of operations and complex algorithm so it can achieve the purposes of this investigation: a secure, convenient and light-computation scheme for mobile payment.
Improving the Competitiveness of North Carolina Textile Manufacturers with E-business Initiatives

CAGLE, CHRISTINE MICHELLE. IMPROVING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF NORTH CAROLINA TEXTILE MANUFACTURERS WITH E-BUSINESS INITIATIVES. (Under the direction of Dr. George Hodge). The purpose of this research was to improve the decision making process of textile manufacturers by providing information on how the North Carolina textile manufacturing industry is using e-business. This study reveals what e-business initiatives North Carolina textile manufacturers are currently using, the initiatives that they are planning to invest in next, the benefits experienced, the challenges faced, and in what business areas they expect to see the greatest future benefits from e-business for the textile industry. It is important to note that the focus of this study is on business-tobusiness e-business in textile mills and does not include textile product mills or apparel manufacturers. The methodology used in this study consisted of two phases. Phase I was an analysis of secondary sources. A database of textile manufacturing companies in North Carolina with a primary NAICS code of 313 was compiled. The resultant database was used to develop the sample for Phase II-A, the questionnaire. The questionnaire was developed by the researcher based on information collected from the literature review and the analysis of similar studies performed abroad. Phase II of the study consisted of two parts. Phase II-A was the distribution and analysis of the questionnaire. The resulting response rate was 38.1%, with 117 total usable responses. Phase II-B utilized case study methodology and built on the results of the questionnaire to gain a more in-depth understanding of the subject. The sample for the case studies consisted of 7 companies in North Carolina and 2 companies in South Carolina. The results indicate a limited degree of implementation of e-business in the textile mill sector of the North Carolina textile industry. While websites were used by 67% of the survey respondents, few are using e-business to its full potential. Telephone, fax, and email still seem to be the prevalent methods of communication with business partners, especially for small and medium sized firms. A conceptual model was developed indicating the current and potential implementation of e-business in the textile industry. IMPROVING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF NORTH CAROLINA TEXTILE MANUFACTURERS WITH E-BUSINESS INITIATIVES by CHRISTINE MICHELLE CAGLE A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of North Carolina State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy TEXTILE TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT
Short-Term Visual Memory: The Importance of the Spatial and Temporal Separation of Successive Stimuli

When two successively presented letters are visually identical (for example, AA) rather than identical in name only (for example, aA) subjects can more quickly name the second letter and can more quickly decide if the two letters have the same name. For both tasks the maximum interstimulus interval (ISI) over which this visual priming effect is observed depends upon the relative spatial positioning of the two stimuli. When they are superimposed the effect can survive an ISI of between 6 and 15 s, but when they appear in increasingly different spatial locations the maximum ISI is reduced to between 0.5 and I. O. S. With successive letters spatially separated in the naming task the visual priming effect is replaced by a comparable name priming effect as the ISI is extended beyond 0.5-1.0 s. Previous studies of letter matching (for example, Posner and Keele, 1967) have underestimated the durability of visual memory, a fact that is difficult to reconcile with the “levels of analysis” approach to visual memory.
Applications of Virtual Power Plants approaches

The paper highlights the main characteristics of Virtual Power Plants (VPP). A Virtual Power Plant is a cluster of distributed generation units (such as photovoltaic power plants, wind turbines or small hydro) and any other sources of power that can cooperate together in the local area, and are controlled by a central control entity. An analysis of a VPP that is used to cover the load is performed for the whole day. The distributed generators from the VPP have different merit orders and outputs. Another analysis is performed for a power system in which a VPP is added. The analysis compares the power flow for the situations with and without the VPP.
Rho-associated Kinase Directly Induces Smooth Muscle Contraction through Myosin Light Chain Phosphorylation*

Small GTPase Rho plays pivotal roles in the Ca2+ sensitization of smooth muscle. However, the GTP-bound active form of Rho failed to exert Ca2+-sensitizing effects in extensively Triton X-100-permeabilized smooth muscle preparations, due to the loss of the important diffusible cofactor (Gong, M. C., Iizuka, K., Nixon, G., Browne, J. P., Hall, A., Eccleston, J. F., Sugai, M., Kobayashi, S., Somlyo, A. V., and Somlyo, A. P. (1996) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 93, 1340–1345). Here we demonstrate the contractile effects of Rho-associated kinase (Rho-kinase), recently identified as a putative target of Rho, on the Triton X-100-permeabilized smooth muscle of rabbit portal vein. Introduction of the constitutively active form of Rho-kinase into the cytosol of Triton X-100-permeabilized smooth muscle provoked a contraction and a proportional increase in levels of monophosphorylation of myosin light chain in both the presence and the absence of cytosolic Ca2+. These effects of constitutively active Rho-kinase were wortmannin (a potent myosin light chain kinase inhibitor)-insensitive. Immunoblot analysis revealed that the amount of native Rho-kinase was markedly lower in Triton X-100-permeabilized tissue than in intact tissue. Our results demonstrate that Rho-kinase directly modulates smooth muscle contraction through myosin light chain phosphorylation, independently of the Ca2+-calmodulin-dependent myosin light chain kinase pathway.
Rat eggs cannot wait: Spontaneous exit from meiotic metaphase‐II arrest

Mammalian eggs await fertilisation while arrested at the second metaphase stage of meiotic division. A network of signalling pathways enables the establishment and maintenance of this metaphase‐II arrest. In the absence of fertilisation, mammalian eggs can spontaneously exit metaphase II when parthenogenetically stimulated, or sometimes without any obvious stimulation. Ovulated rat eggs abortively release from metaphase‐II arrest once removed from egg donors. Spontaneously activated rat eggs extrude the second polar body and proceed to the so‐called metaphase III‐‘like’ stage, with clumps of condensed chromatin scattered in the egg cytoplasm. It is still unclear what makes rat eggs susceptible to spontaneous activation; however, a vague picture of the signalling pathways involved in the process of spontaneous activation is beginning to emerge. Such cell cycle instability is one of the major reasons why it is more difficult to establish nuclear transfer in the rat. This review examines the known predisposing factors and biochemical mechanisms involved in spontaneous activation. The strategies used to prevent spontaneous metaphase‐II release in rat eggs will also be discussed. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 78:795–807, 2011. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Microbial quality of drinking water from groundtanks and tankers at source and point-of-use in eThekwini Municipality, South Africa, and its relationship to health outcomes

Drinking water quality was investigated at source and corresponding point-of-use in 2 peri-urban areas receiving drinking water either by communal water tanker or by delivery directly from the distribution system to household-based groundtanks with taps. Water quality variables measured were heterotrophic bacteria, total coliforms, E. coli , conductivity, turbidity, pH, and total and residual chlorine. Water quality data were analysed together with an existing epidemiological database to investigate links between microbial quality of drinking water, household demographics, health outcomes, socio-economic status, hygiene and sanitation practices. Groundtank households had better quality drinking water than households using storage containers filled from communal tankers. Uncovered storage containers had the poorest microbial water quality among all storage containers. All stored water did not meet drinking water standards, although mains water did. Households with children under 5 years and using open-topped containers had the poorest water quality overall. Households with groundtanks had the best water quality at point-of-use, but did not have the lowest occurrence of health effects. Although groundtanks were supplied together with urine diversion (UD) toilets and hygiene education, groundtank households showed overall poorer hygiene practices than tanker-supplied households, and some groundtank households with UD toilets preferred to continue using open defecation. Households that practised open defecation had higher levels of E. coli in their drinking water and higher rates of adverse health outcomes. Poorer socio-economic standing and lower educational standard were associated with poorer water quality, poorer hygiene practices and higher rates of diarrhoea and vomiting. Keywords: drinking water; point of use; water quality; water quantity; hygiene; sanitation
Imposed power of breathing associated with use of an impedance threshold device.

OBJECTIVE To measure the imposed power of breathing (imposed work of breathing per minute) associated with spontaneous breathing through an active impedance threshold device and a sham impedance threshold device. DESIGN Prospective randomized blinded protocol. SETTING University medical center. PATIENTS Nineteen healthy, normotensive volunteers (10 males, 9 females, age range 20-56 y, mean +/- SD weight 54.8 +/- 7.7 kg for females, 84 +/- 8 kg for males). METHODS The volunteers completed 2 trials of breathing through a face mask fitted with an active impedance threshold device set to open at -7 cm H(2)O pressure, or with a sham impedance threshold device, which was identical to the active device except that it did not contain an inspiratory threshold pressure valve diaphragm. Spontaneous breathing frequency (f), tidal volume (V(T)), exhaled minute ventilation, inspiratory pressure, and inspiratory time were measured with a respiratory monitor, and the data were directed to a laptop computer for real-time calculation of the imposed power of breathing. RESULTS There were no significant differences in heart rate, respiratory rate, tidal volume, and minute ventilation, with and without inspiratory impedance. For the sham and active impedance threshold device groups, respectively, the mean +/- SD imposed power of breathing values were 0.92 +/- 0.63 J/min and 8.18 +/- 4.52 J/min (p < 0.001), the mean +/- SD inspiratory times were 1.98 +/- 0.86 s and 2.97 +/- 1.1 s (p = 0.001), and the mean +/- SD inspiratory airway/mouth pressures were -1.1 +/- 0.6 cm H(2)O and -11.7 +/- 2.4 cm H(2)O (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Breathing through an active impedance threshold device requires significantly more power than breathing through a sham device. All subjects tolerated the respiratory work load and were able to complete the study protocol.
Small cis-Acting Sequences That Specify Secondary Structures in a Chloroplast mRNA Are Essential for RNA Stability and Translation

ABSTRACT Nucleus-encoded proteins interact with cis-acting elements in chloroplast transcripts to promote RNA stability and translation. We have analyzed the structure and function of three such elements within the Chlamydomonas petD 5′ untranslated region; petD encodes subunit IV of the cytochromeb 6/f complex. These elements were delineated by linker-scanning mutagenesis, and RNA secondary structures were investigated by mapping nuclease-sensitive sites in vitro and by in vivo dimethyl sulfate RNA modification. Element I spans a maximum of 8 nucleotides (nt) at the 5′ end of the mRNA; it is essential for RNA stability and plays a role in translation. This element appears to form a small stem-loop that may interact with a previously described nucleus-encoded factor to block 5′→3′ exoribonucleolytic degradation. Elements II and III, located in the center and near the 3′ end of the 5′ untranslated region, respectively, are essential for translation, but mutations in these elements do not affect mRNA stability. Element II is a maximum of 16 nt in length, does not form an obvious secondary structure, and appears to bind proteins that protect it from dimethyl sulfate modification. Element III spans a maximum of 14 nt and appears to form a stem-loop in vivo, based on dimethyl sulfate modification and the sequences of intragenic suppressors of element III mutations. Furthermore, mutations in element II result in changes in the RNA structure near element III, consistent with a long-range interaction that may promote translation.
Foreign Direct Investment and the Development of Neo-Colonial Economies: A Survey Approach

In their search for sustainable development and endurable development strategies, neo-colonial economies of the Third World and Africa in particular gloss over massive corruption in public office and sit-tight syndrome of leaders. Rather, since attaining independence in the 1950s and 60s, their leaders have tinkered with several development strategies drawn from both the capitalists and socialist models. In all of these, development has remained a far cry as a result of many challenges faced by these economies. Strategies ranging from indigenization to export promotion and import substitution of the 1960s, to privatization and structural adjustment of the 1980s and Foreign Direct Investment of the 1990s have been experimented with varying degrees of success. Little has been done in the area of checking financial corruption and abuse of office by public office holders, building of strong institutions from which economic oriented strategies can be rooted and checking tenure elongation by leaders of states. The results have been huge failures and frustration on the part of development partners. This paper has attempted a survey approach to Foreign Direct Investment as a way out of structural imbalances of neo-colonial economies. Basing this examination on Nigeria, findings have shown that Foreign Direct Investment can work for development only if host government regulate the activities of foreign investors and also create enabling environment for investment to yield expected results.
Molecular Size of Collagen Peptide Reverses the Permeability of Caco-2 Cells

Intestinal permeability to size-classified fish collagen peptides (FCPs) was examined using Caco-2 monolayers. Minimum-sized FCPs were most efficiently transported across the Caco-2 monolayers. Permeability depended on peptide size. It was independent of the H+-coupled peptide transport system but was associated with tight junction permeability, suggesting that the paracellular pathway is responsible for transepithelial transport of collagen peptides.