Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fabricating optical lenses by inkjet printing and heat-assisted in situ curing of polydimethylsiloxane for smartphone microscopy

Abstract. We present a highly repeatable, lithography-free and mold-free method for fabricating flexible optical lenses by in situ curing liquid polydimethylsiloxane droplets on a preheated smooth surface with an inkjet printing process. This method enables us to fabricate lenses with a focal length as short as 5.6 mm, which can be controlled by varying the droplet volume and the temperature of the preheated surface. Furthermore, the lens can be attached to a smartphone camera without any accessories and can produce high-resolution (1 μm) images for microscopy applications.
Preprint from Proceedings of GI / ITG / GMM-Workshop ‘ ‘ Methoden und Beschreibungssprachen zur Modellierung und Verifikation von Schaltungen und Systemen ’ ’ , Kaiserslautern , Germany , February 2004 Filter Based Diagnosis for Multiple Design Errors

Both due to the increasing complexity of VLSI circuits and due to the increasin g tre d to design automation, error diagnosis of digital circuits becomes more and more imp ortant. In this paper we present a filter based approach to diagnosis of multiple design errors . Although we present an exact solution to identifying the error location, experimental results show t e efficiency of our approach. Our approach is based on the combination of structural arguments and numerous methods differing in their accuracy and complexity. We also present a nov el search strategy for error candidates based on recursive partitioning.
Comparative geometric and radiometric evaluation of mobile phone and still video cameras

This paper examines the potential of mobile phones to be used as front‐end sensors for photogrammetric procedures and applications. For this purpose, two mobile phone cameras (Sony Ericsson K750i and Nokia N93) were calibrated over an indoor 3D testfield, using a self‐calibrating bundle adjustment. Geometric accuracy tests were carried out in order to evaluate their metric performances and to compare the results with respect to two off‐the‐shelf digital still video cameras (Sony DSC W100 and Sony DSC F828). The geometric accuracy evaluation comprised an absolute accuracy test, JPEG test and temporal stability test. The radiometric capabilities of all cameras (except that the DSC W100 was replaced with a DSC T100 camera) were also evaluated and compared by carrying out modulation transfer function (MTF) analysis, image noise analysis and an operating range test. Substantial systematic errors were diagnosed in some systems. However, with proper calibration it is believed that these devices can be used for many photogrammetric tasks.
The association between self-rated health and mortality in different socioeconomic groups in the GAZEL cohort study.

OBJECTIVES Self-rated health (SRH) is considered a valid measure of health status as it has been shown to predict mortality in several studies. We examine whether SRH predicts mortality equally well in different socioeconomic groups. METHODS Data (14 879 men and 5525 women) are drawn from GAZEL, a prospective cohort study of French public utility workers. Data on SRH and the socioeconomic measures (education, occupational position and income) were taken from the baseline questionnaire (1989), when the average age of individuals was 44.2 years (SD = 3.5). Mortality follow-up was available for a mean of 17.2 years and analysed over the first 10 years and over the entire follow-up period. Associations between SRH and mortality were assessed using Cox regression models using the relative index of inequality (RII) to summarize associations. RESULTS The RII for the association between SRH and mortality over the first 10 years was 6.78 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 3.33-13.81] in the lowest occupational group and 2.10 (95% CI = 0.97-4.54) in the highest. For income, the RIIs were 8.82 (95% CI = 4.70-16.54) for the lowest and 1.80 (95% CI = 0.86-3.80) for the highest groups respectively. Findings over the full follow-up period were similar. The association between SRH and mortality was weaker in the high occupation and income groups, both in the short and the long term. The results for education were similar but generally weaker than for the other socioeconomic measures. CONCLUSIONS The predictive ability of SRH for mortality weakens with increasing socioeconomic advantage among middle-aged individuals. Thus SRH appears not to measure 'true' health status in a similar way across socioeconomic categories.
Chemical and Antimicrobial Analyses of Sideritis romana L. subsp. purpurea (Tal. ex Benth.) Heywood, an Endemic of the Western Balkan

A comprehensive study on essential oil and different solvent extracts of Sideritis romana L. subsp. purpurea (Tal. ex Benth.) Heywood (Lamiaceae) from Montenegro is reported. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of the essential oil revealed a total of 43 components with bicyclogermacrene (23.8%), germacrene D (8%), (E)-caryophyllene (7.9%) and spathulenol (5.5%) as the major ones. Sesquiterpenoid group was found to be the most dominant one (64.8%), with 19.9% of the oxygenated forms. In the crude methanol extract of the investigated plant, obtained by Sohhlet exraction, the total phenol content was 14.7 ± 0.4 mg of GA/g, the total flavonoids were 0.29 ± 0.03% expressed as hyperoside percentage, whereas the total tannins content was 0.22 ± 0.04% expressed as pyrogallol percentage. For the antimicrobial activity determination, the following microorganisms have been used: methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA (American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) 29213)) and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA (clinical strain)), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), carbapenem-susceptible Klebsiella pneumoniae (clinical strain), carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae (clinical strain) and Candida albicans (ATCC 14053). The essential oil showed high potency against MSSA and MRSA, both at high (~5 × 105 CFU/mL) and low (~5 × 103 CFU/mL) inoculum. With respect to MSSA, the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) value was 0.307 mg/mL, with bactericidal activity obtained at 0.615 mg/mL, while, in the case of MRSA, the MIC and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) values were 0.076 and 0.153 mg/mL, respectively. Regarding anti-Candida albicans activity, the MIC value was 2.46 mg/mL without reaching fungicidal activity. In addition to the observed essential oil efficacy, different solvent extracts were analyzed for their antimicrobial activity. Similarly to the essential oil, thehighest efficacy was observed against both MSSA and MRSA strains, at high and low inoculums, in the case of the 1,2-dichloroethane and methanol extracts. A potent fungicidal activity has been also found for the n-hexane and 1,2-dichloroethane extracts. It can be concluded that Sideritis romana L. subsp. purpurea (Tal. ex Benth.) Heywood provides a wide range of application in different fields such as phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology or pharmacognosy.
Climate Change: Space Technology and Climate-Resilient Development in Nigeria

Nigeria, like other Sub-Saharan African countries contribute less to climate change but the country is vulnerable to climate change-induced dangers of desertification, corrasion, flooding and other bionomic complication. This paper appraises the use of space technology as an instrument in climate change tracking system in the effort to mitigate disaster in Nigeria to ensure sustainable development. The paper observed that if Nigeria had properly utilized its space resources, the effect of the natural disasters that ravaged the country in 2012 would have been significantly reduced. Also, lack of coordination impedes relief efforts in areas stricken by disasters and this is where the stupendous challenge of disaster preparedness reclines in Nigeria in defiance of all official planning and programming. In the light of the impediments in obtaining data in the right quality for disaster management in Nigeria, the National Geospatial Database Infrastructure (NGDI), as a data clearing house domesticated at NASRDA should be made utilitarian by relevant national legislation and support among others. Conversely, NASRDA should focus on acquisition of facilities and provision of services to aggrandize its capabilities.
PKA knockdown enhances cell killing in response to radiation and androgen deprivation

The therapeutic efficacy of Gem®231, a second generation antisense molecule targeted to the RIα subunit of PKARIα (AS‐PKA), administered in combination with androgen deprivation (AD) and radiation therapy (RT), was examined in androgen sensitive (LNCaP) and insensitive (PC3) cell lines. Apoptosis was assayed by Caspase 3 + 7 activity and Annexin V binding. AS‐PKA significantly increased apoptosis in vitro from RT (both lines), with further increases in LNCaP cells grown in AD medium. In LNCaP cells, AD increased phosphorylated mitogen activated protein‐kinase (pMAPK), which was reduced by AS‐PKA relative to the mismatch (MM) controls. AS‐PKA also reduced pMAPK levels in PC3 cells. Cell death was measured by clonogenic survival assays. In vivo, LNCaP cells were grown orthotopically in nude mice. Tumor kinetics were measured by magnetic resonance imaging and serum prostate‐specific antigen. PC3 cells were grown subcutaneously and tumor volume assessed by caliper measurements. In PC3 xenografts, AS‐PKA caused a significant increase in tumor doubling time relative to MM controls as a monotherapy or in combination with RT. In orthotopic LNCaP tumors, AS‐PKA was ineffective as a monotherapy; however, it caused a statistically significant increase in tumor doubling time relative to MM controls when used in combination with AD, with or without RT. PKARIα levels in tumors were quantified via immunohistochemical (IHC) staining and image analysis. IHC measurements in LNCaP cells exhibited that AS‐PKA reduced PKARIα levels in vivo. We demonstrate for the first time that AS‐PKA enhances cell killing androgen sensitive prostate cancer cells to AD ± RT and androgen insensitive cells to RT.
Enhancing Social Interaction in Computer-Mediated Distance Education

Contemporary distance education schools are striving to have the most effective educational programs that encourage a dynamic combination of being flexible, individualized, personally and professionally challenging. As distance education schools grow in popularity, distance educators and their learners are raising important instructional questions about the quality of these computer mediated educational programs. A vital academic question involves the social interaction that occurs during online class work. Educators are wondering whether the online format will provide adequate opportunities for genuine dialogue and social interaction that are vital elements in the learning process (Hobaugh, 1997).
Gαq-Mediated Regulation of TASK3 Two-Pore Domain Potassium Channels: The Role of Protein Kinase C

The TASK subfamily of two pore domain potassium channels (K2P) gives rise to leak potassium currents, which contribute to the resting membrane potential of many neurons and regulate their excitability. K2P channels are highly regulated by phosphorylation and by G protein-mediated pathways. In this study, we show that protein kinase C (PKC) inhibits recombinant TASK3 channels. Inhibition by PKC is blocked by the PKC inhibitors bisindolylmaleimide 1 hydrochloride (BIM) and 12-(2-cyanoethyl)-6,7,12,13-tetrahydro-13-methyl-5-oxo-5H-indolo(2,3-a)pyrrolo(3,4-c)-carbazole (Gö6976). Gene-silencing experiments with a validated small interfering RNA sequence against PKCα ablates the effect of PKC. PKC acts directly on hTASK3 channels to phosphorylate an identified amino acid in the C terminus region (Thr341), thereby reducing channel current. PKC also inhibits mTASK3 channels despite their having a quite different C-terminal structure to hTASK3 channels. Activation of M3 muscarinic receptors inhibits both hTASK3 channels expressed in tsA-201 cells and standing outward potassium current (IKSO) in mouse cerebellar granule neurons through the activation of the G protein Gαq, because both effects are abolished by the selective Gαq antagonist YM-254890 (J Biol Chem 279:47438–47445, 2004). This inhibition is not directly transduced through activation of PKC because inhibition persists in mutated PKC-insensitive hTASK3 channels. Instead, inhibition seems to occur through a direct action of Gαq on the channel. Nevertheless, preactivation of PKC blocks muscarinic inhibition of both TASK3 channels and IKSO. Our results suggest that activation of PKC (via phospholipase C) has a role in opposing inhibition after M3 receptor activation rather than transducing it and may act as a negative regulator of G protein modulation to prevent prolonged current inhibition.
Do Savings Constraints Lead to Indebtedness? Experimental Evidence from Access to Formal Savings Accounts in Chile

Poverty is often characterized not only by low and unstable income, but also by heavy debt burdens. We find that the inability to save contributes to this indebtedness. Access to free savings accounts substantially decreases participants’ propensity to use short-term credit. In addition, participants who experience an economic shock have less need to reduce consumption, and subjective well-being improves significantly. Precautionary savings and credit therefore act as substitutes in providing self-insurance, and participants prefer saving more when given the choice. Take-up patterns suggest that requests by others for participants to share their resources are a key obstacle to saving. JEL classification: D14, D91, G22, O16 ∗We are grateful to Fondo Esperanza, Banco Credichile and Microdatos for outstanding collaboration in the implementation process. We thank Ronald Abraham, Samuel Asher, Lorenzo Casaburi, David Clingingsmith, Shawn Cole, David Cutler, Edward Glaeser, Jessica Goldberg, Johannes Haushofer, Daniel Hojman, Lakshmi Iyer, Sarah Janzen, Sandy Jencks, Dean Karlan, Lawrence Katz, Michael Kremer, David Laibson, Dan Levy, Jeffrey Liebman, Stephan Meier, Sendhil Mullainathan, Karthik Muralidharan, Joana Naritomi, Oyebola Olabisi, Owen Ozier, Rohini Pande, Silvia Prina, Simon Quinn, David Roodman, Nicola Fuchs-Schuendeln, Richard Zeckhauser and participants of various conferences and seminars for helpful comments and discussions. This project would not have been possible without the generous support by the following institutions: the Ford Foundation, the Lab for Economic Applications and Policy at Harvard University, the Women and Public Policy Program at the Harvard Kennedy School, the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, and the Russell Sage Foundation Small Grants Program. The experiment was carried out in accordance with Harvard GSAS IRB approval. †Harvard University and NBER, dpomeranz@hbs.edu.
Clinical prodromes of neurodegeneration in Anderson-Fabry disease

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of prodromal clinical features of neurodegeneration in patients with Anderson-Fabry disease (AFD) in comparison to age-matched controls. Methods: This is a single-center, prospective, cross-sectional study in 167 participants (60 heterozygous females and 50 hemizygous males with genetically confirmed AFD, 57 age-matched controls) using a clinical screening program consisting of structured interview, quantitative tests of motor function, and assessments of cognition, depression, olfaction, orthostatic intolerance, pain, REM sleep behavior disorder, and daytime sleepiness. Results: In comparison to age-matched controls (mean age 48.3 years), patients with AFD (mean age 49.0 years) showed slower gait and transfer speed, poorer fine manual dexterity, and lower hand speed, which was independent of focal symptoms due to cerebrovascular disease. Patients with AFD were more severely affected by depression, pain, and daytime sleepiness and had a lower quality of life. These motor and nonmotor manifestations significantly correlated with clinical disease severity. However, patients with AFD did not reveal extrapyramidal motor features or signs of significant cognitive impairment, hyposmia, orthostatic intolerance, or REM sleep behavior disorder, which commonly precede later neurodegenerative disease. In our cohort, there were no differences in neurologic manifestations of AFD between heterozygous females and hemizygous males. Conclusions: Aside from cerebrovascular manifestations and small fiber neuropathy, AFD results in a distinct neurologic phenotype comprising poorer motor performance and specific nonmotor features. In contrast to functional loss of glucocerebrosidase in Gaucher disease, α-galactosidase deficiency in AFD is not associated with a typical cluster of clinical features prodromal for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson disease.
Mortality and cancer incidence in Ontario glass fiber workers.

BACKGROUND In a previous cohort study of glass fiber manufacturing, we found a significant increase in lung cancer. This study extends the follow-up period. METHODS We conducted a historical prospective study of 2557 men employed in producing glass wool. We obtained work histories, causes and dates of death, and date and site of cancer diagnoses. We computed standardized mortality and incidence ratios (SMR, SIR). RESULTS The overall SMR for lung cancer was 163 (95% CI = 118-221). The SMR did not vary consistently by duration of employment and time since first employment. However, plant workers with >20 years' employment and >40 years since first exposure had an SMR for lung cancer of 282 (95% CI = 113-582). The SMR dropped with later date of first exposure, but the trend was non-significant. There was an unexpected overall increase in kidney cancer incidence. DISCUSSION The increase in lung cancer is greater than in other cohorts of glass fiber workers. Since exposure data are lacking from the early years of the plant, we cannot state if the excess was due to glass fibers, other work exposures or other reasons.
Multi-task policy search for robotics

Learning policies that generalize across multiple tasks is an important and challenging research topic in reinforcement learning and robotics. Training individual policies for every single potential task is often impractical, especially for continuous task variations, requiring more principled approaches to share and transfer knowledge among similar tasks. We present a novel approach for learning a nonlinear feedback policy that generalizes across multiple tasks. The key idea is to define a parametrized policy as a function of both the state and the task, which allows learning a single policy that generalizes across multiple known and unknown tasks. Applications of our novel approach to reinforcement and imitation learning in real-robot experiments are shown.
Occurrence of Yersinia enterocolitica in wild animals

Yersinia species were isolated from 16 of 495 small wild animals and from 1 of 38 foxes. The animals were trapped in seven regions of Hokkaido, Japan. Of the 17 strains isolated, 9 were Yersinia enterocolitica O6; 2 were Y. enterocolitica O5A; 1 was Y. enterocolitica, O4; 1 was Y. enterocolitica O9; 1 was Yersinia pseudotuberculosis IVB; and 3 were sucrose-negative strains. Yersinia pestis was not isolated. The O6 organism was most prevalent in large red-back mice (Clethrionomys rufocanus bedfordiae) and showed significant differences in its mode of distribution according to region. Incidence of the O6 organism in the ileum of the animal was threefold that in the cecum, and the organism was recovered at approximately 10(5) cells per g of cecal contents per c. rufocanus bedfordiae animal.
How moths escape bats: predicting outcomes of predator–prey interactions

ABSTRACT What determines whether fleeing prey escape from attacking predators? To answer this question, biologists have developed mathematical models that incorporate attack geometries, pursuit and escape trajectories, and kinematics of predator and prey. These models have rarely been tested using data from actual predator–prey encounters. To address this problem, we recorded multi-camera infrared videography of bat–insect interactions in a large outdoor enclosure. We documented 235 attacks by four Myotis volans bats on a variety of moths. Bat and moth flight trajectories from 50 high-quality attacks were reconstructed in 3-D. Despite having higher maximum velocity, deceleration and overall turning ability, bats only captured evasive prey in 69 of 184 attacks (37.5%); bats captured nearly all moths not evading attack (50 of 51; 98%). Logistic regression indicated that prey radial acceleration and escape angle were the most important predictors of escape success (44 of 50 attacks correctly classified; 88%). We found partial support for the turning gambit mathematical model; however, it underestimated the escape threshold by 25% of prey velocity and did not account for prey escape angle. Whereas most prey escaping strikes flee away from predators, moths typically escaped chasing bats by turning with high radial acceleration toward ‘safety zones’ that flank the predator. This strategy may be widespread in prey engaged in chases. Based on these findings, we developed a novel geometrical model of predation. We discuss implications of this model for the co-evolution of predator and prey kinematics and pursuit and escape strategies. Summary: Three-dimensional reconstructions of bat–insect interactions reveal that prey survive chases by escaping into ‘safety zones’ that flank predators.
The Extended Littlestone's Dimension for Learning with Mistakes and Abstentions

This paper studies classification with an abstention option in the online setting. In this setting, examples arrive sequentially, the learner is given a hypothesis class $\mathcal H$, and the goal of the learner is to either predict a label on each example or abstain, while ensuring that it does not make more than a pre-specified number of mistakes when it does predict a label. Previous work on this problem has left open two main challenges. First, not much is known about the optimality of algorithms, and in particular, about what an optimal algorithmic strategy is for any individual hypothesis class. Second, while the realizable case has been studied, the more realistic non-realizable scenario is not well-understood. In this paper, we address both challenges. First, we provide a novel measure, called the Extended Littlestone's Dimension, which captures the number of abstentions needed to ensure a certain number of mistakes. Second, we explore the non-realizable case, and provide upper and lower bounds on the number of abstentions required by an algorithm to guarantee a specified number of mistakes.
DETAC: a discriminative criterion for speaker verification

This paper introduces a general criterion applicable to discriminative training of detection systems, and discusses its particular implementation in GMM-based text-independent speaker veriﬁcation. Based on an analysis of the detection error trade-off curve of a baseline system, we argue that the new criterion extends several conventional methods such as the maximum posterior training by logistic regression and the linear discriminative analysis projection, by a second aspect - “reshaping” the Bayes error area in favor of a relevant operating range. Optimization results with relative error reduction of up to 16% are presented on the cellular task of the NIST-2001 speaker recognition evaluation.