Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Protein Concentration Measurement System Using a Flexural Plate-Wave Frequency-Shift Readout Technique

A protein concentration measurement system with two-port flexural plate-wave (FPW) biosensors using a frequency-shift readout technique is presented in this paper. The proposed frequency-shift readout method employs a peak detecting scheme to measure the amount of resonant frequency shift. The proposed system is composed of a linear frequency generator, a pair of peak detectors, two registers, and a subtractor. The frequency sweep range of the linear frequency generator is limited to 2 MHz to 10 MHz according to the characteristics of the FPW biosensors. The proposed frequency-shift readout circuit is carried out on silicon using a standard 0.18 μm CMOS technology. The sensitivity of the peak detectors is measured to be 10 mV. The power consumption of the proposed protein concentration measurement system is 48 mW given a 0.1 MHz system clock.
Testicular torsion does not cause autoimmunization in man

Forty‐seven patients have been reviewed 2–10 years after torsion of the testicle. Thirty‐six (77 per cent) were found to have abnormalities of exocrine or endocrine gonadal function. None showed evidence of testicular autoimmunization using standard assays of sperm agglutination and immobilization by serum or seminal plasma, and the serum mixed agglutination reaction (MAR) test. In addition, 11 cases of acute torsion were followed at intervals for 3–6 months after surgery, but no evidence was observed of the transient development of sperm antibodies. Our findings confirm poor gonadal function after torsion, but do not support the recent suggestion that it is caused by autoimmunization.
Asymmetric Double‐Gate β‐Ga2O3 Nanomembrane Field‐Effect Transistor for Energy‐Efficient Power Devices

The ultra‐wide bandgap and cost‐effective melt‐growth of β‐Ga2O3 ensure its advantages over other wide bandgap materials, and competitive electrical performance has been demonstrated in various device structures. In this paper, an asymmetric double‐gate (ADG) β‐Ga2O3 nanomembrane field‐effect transistor (FET) comprised of a bottom‐gate (BG) metal‐oxide field‐effect transistor and a top‐gate (TG) metal‐semiconductor field‐effect transistor (MESFET) is demonstrated. Schottky contact properties are validated by characterizing the lateral Schottky barrier diode (SBD), which exhibits high rectification ratio and low ideality factor. The top‐gate β‐Ga2O3 MESFET shows reasonable electrical performance with a high breakdown voltage, as anticipated by three terminal off‐state breakdown measurement. These properties are further enhanced by double‐gate operation, and superior device performance is demonstrated; positive‐shifted threshold voltage and reduced subthreshold slope enable the asymmetric double‐gate β‐Ga2O3 FET to operate at low power, and almost twice as much transconductance is demonstrated for high‐frequency operation. These results show the great potential of asymmetric double‐gate β‐Ga2O3 FETs for energy‐efficient high‐voltage and ‐frequency devices with optimal material and structure co‐designs.
A process-based review of mouse models of pulmonary hypertension

Genetically modified mouse models have unparalleled power to determine the mechanisms behind different processes involved in the molecular and physiologic etiology of various classes of human pulmonary hypertension (PH). Processes known to be involved in PH for which there are extensive mouse models available include the following: (1) Regulation of vascular tone through secreted vasoactive factors; (2) regulation of vascular tone through potassium and calcium channels; (3) regulation of vascular remodeling through alteration in metabolic processes, either through alteration in substrate usage or through circulating factors; (4) spontaneous vascular remodeling either before or after development of elevated pulmonary pressures; and (5) models in which changes in tone and remodeling are primarily driven by inflammation. PH development in mice is of necessity faster and with different physiologic ramifications than found in human disease, and so mice make poor models of natural history of PH. However, transgenic mouse models are a perfect tool for studying the processes involved in pulmonary vascular function and disease, and can effectively be used to test interventions designed against particular molecular pathways and processes involved in disease.
Neuropsychological assessment of geriatric driving competence

Primary objective: To review of studies that focus on the assessment of driving competence among the elderly who are at increased risk of being involved in automobile crashes. The current status of neuropsychological testing as a predictor of driving safety in this population is critically evaluated. Main outcomes and results: Several domains of neuropsychological assessment have been shown to be related to safe driving in older age groups, including vision-based testing, attention-based testing, and testing of executive functions. Use of a driving simulator to investigate crash risk has been particularly effective. Conclusions: The argument is made that a combination of test approaches be used to develop an algorithm for efficient screening of elderly drivers on a regular basis and that use of a driving simulator to measure driving performance under challenge should be incorporated as part of this evaluation.
Preserving Neural Function under Extreme Scaling

Important brain functions need to be conserved throughout organisms of extremely varying sizes. Here we study the scaling properties of an essential component of computation in the brain: the single neuron. We compare morphology and signal propagation of a uniquely identifiable interneuron, the HS cell, in the blowfly (Calliphora) with its exact counterpart in the fruit fly (Drosophila) which is about four times smaller in each dimension. Anatomical features of the HS cell scale isometrically and minimise wiring costs but, by themselves, do not scale to preserve the electrotonic behaviour. However, the membrane properties are set to conserve dendritic as well as axonal delays and attenuation as well as dendritic integration of visual information. In conclusion, the electrotonic structure of a neuron, the HS cell in this case, is surprisingly stable over a wide range of morphological scales.
Raising anti de Sitter vacua to de Sitter vacua in heterotic M theory

We explore the possibility of obtaining de Sitter vacua in strongly coupled heterotic models by adding various corrections to the supergravity potential energy. We show that, in a generic compactification scenario, Fayet-Iliopoulos terms can generate a de Sitter vacuum. The cosmological constant in this vacuum can be fine tuned to be consistent with observation. We also study moduli potentials in nonsupersymmetric compactifications of E{sub 8}xE{sub 8} theory with anti five-branes and E{sub 8}xE{sub 8} theory. We argue that they can be used to create a de Sitter vacuum only if some of the Kahler structure moduli are stabilized at values much less than the Calabi-Yau scale.
An abrupt transition in colony founding behaviour in the ant
 Messor pergandei
 


Transitions in behaviour across a continuous distribution of organisms can provide valuable information on how variation in behaviour is maintained. We used analyses developed for interspecific hybrid zones to examine geographic variation in colony founding strategy in the desert seed-harvester ant, Messor pergandei. Newly mated females initiate new colonies either alone (haplometrosis) or cooperatively with other foundresses (pleometrosis). The incidence of these founding strategies were surveyed across the species' range and found to occur in geographically distinct regions joined by a narrow transition zone. Foundresses collected from haplometrotic sites were more likely to display aggression and found solitary nests than foundresses from pleometrotic sites, suggesting that geographical variation in metrosis is due to genotypic divergence. Foundresses from transitional sites were generally not aggressive and tended to co-found nests in the laboratory, yet rarely formed associations in the field. Such an abrupt shift in behaviour indicates that variation in colony founding strategy is maintained by selection rather than the result of secondary contact of neutral characters. Level of aggression displays a wider cline than founding strategy and is likely under selection only when accompanied by active strategy preference. Copyright 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Copyright 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.
A no-reference metric for perceived ringing

A novel no-reference metric to quantify ringing annoyance in compressed images is presented. It makes use of a recently proposed method to detect regions with perceived ringing. In this paper that method is expanded with the estimation of the visibility of ringing artifacts in the detected regions. A psychovisual experiment is carried out to validate the proposed metric. Its performance is compared to existing alternatives in literature and shows to be highly consistent with subjective data
Is the pan-genome also a pan-selectome?

The comparative genomics of prokaryotes has shown the presence of conserved regions containing highly similar genes (the 'core genome') and other regions that vary in gene content (the ‘flexible’ regions). A significant part of the latter is involved in surface structures that are phage recognition targets. Another sizeable part provides for differences in niche exploitation. Metagenomic data indicates that natural populations of prokaryotes are composed of assemblages of clonal lineages or "meta-clones" that share a core of genes but contain a high diversity by varying the flexible component. This meta-clonal diversity is maintained by a collection of phages that equalize the populations by preventing any individual clonal lineage from hoarding common resources. Thus, this polyclonal assemblage and the phages preying upon them constitute natural selection units.
Asset Prices in a Flexible Inflation Targeting Framework

We argue that there are sound theoretical reasons for believing that an inflation targeting central bank might improve macroeconomic performance by reacting to asset price misalignments over and above the deviation of, say, a two-year ahead inflation forecast from target. In this paper, we first summarize the arguments for our basic proposition. We then discuss some of the counter-arguments. Specifically, we counter those who argue that reacting to asset prices does not improve macroeconomic performance by claiming that they are attacking the 'straw man' under which central bankers react in the same way to all asset price changes. We continue to emphasize that policy reactions to asset price misalignments must be qualitatively different from reactions to asset prices changes driven by fundamentals. Hence, we stand by our earlier results and conclusions. In practice, we do believe that central bankers can detect large misalignments (e.g. the Nikkei in 1989 or the NASDAQ in early 2000), and that they might be in a better position to react to long-lived bubbles than many market participants. However, we recognize that our proposal may present communication challenges, and it is critically important that policy set to react to asset price misalignments both be explained well and that it be based on a broad consensus. It is also important to emphasize that our proposal is wholly consistent with the remit of most inflation-targeting central banks, as we are recommending that while they might react to asset price misalignments, they must not target them.
Higher Prehospital Priority Level of Stroke Improves Thrombolysis Frequency and Time to Stroke Unit: The Hyper Acute STroke Alarm (HASTA) Study

Background and Purpose— Early initiated treatment of stroke increases the chances of a good recovery. This randomized controlled study evaluates how an increased priority level for patients with stroke, from level 2 to 1, from the Emergency Medical Communication Center influences thrombolysis frequency, time to stroke unit, and whether other medical emergencies reported negative consequences. Methods— Patients aged 18 to 85 years in Stockholm, Sweden, with symptoms of stroke within 6 hours were randomized from the Emergency Medical Communication Center or emergency medical services to an intervention group, priority level 1, immediate call of an ambulance, or to a control group with standard priority level, that is, priority level 2 (within 30 minutes). Before study start, an educational program on identification of stroke and importance of early initiated treatment was directed to all medical dispatchers and ambulance and emergency department personnel. Results— During 2008, 942 patients were randomized of which 53% (n=496) had a final stroke/transient ischemic attack diagnosis. Patients in the Emergency Medical Communication Center randomized intervention group reached the stroke unit 26 minutes earlier than the control group (P<0.001) after the emergency call. Thrombolysis was given to 24% of the patients in the intervention group compared with 10% of the control subjects (P<0.001). The higher priority level showed no negative effect on other critical ill patients requiring priority level 1 prehospital attention. Conclusion— This randomized study shows negligible harm to other medical emergencies, a significant increase in thrombolysis frequency, and a shorter time to the stroke unit for patients with stroke upgraded to priority level 1 from the Emergency Medical Communication Center and through the acute chain of stroke care.
Neurovirulent simian immunodeficiency virus replicates productively in endothelial cells of the central nervous system in vivo and in vitro

The perivascular location of human immunodeficiency virus-infected cells suggests that the virus enters the central nervous system (CNS) by traversing the blood-brain barrier (BBB). In this study, the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) macaque model was used to determine whether SIV infects CNS endothelial cells. SIV RNA was detected in capillary endothelial cells in brain sections from animals parenterally inoculated with a neurovirulent strain of SIV by double immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization and by reverse transcriptase-in situ PCR. These in vivo observations were extended by examining whether SIV replicated productively in cultured macaque brain endothelial cells (MBEC). A neurovirulent strain, SIVmac239/17E-Br, replicated productively in MBEC as determined by the presence of viral cytopathic effect (syncytia), viral DNA by PCR, viral RNA by in situ hybridization, and viral antigen by immunohistochemistry and by the production of high titers of cell-free virus. Virus replication was confirmed by electron microscopy. In contrast, a nonneurovirulent strain, SIVmac239, did not infect MBEC. Infection of the endothelial cells was not blocked by soluble CD4. Thus, endothelial cells may provide a CD4-independent pathway of virus entry to the CNS. In addition, damage to the BBB as a result of endothelial cell infection may provide a mechanism for amplification of viral load in the CNS and may contribute to the CNS dysfunction that characterizes AIDS dementia and SIV encephalitis. These data suggest that MBEC may serve a selective role in determining virus entry to the CNS.
Social Integration and Reduced Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Women: The Role of Lifestyle Behaviors

Rationale: Higher social integration is associated with lower cardiovascular mortality; however, whether it is associated with incident coronary heart disease (CHD), especially in women, and whether associations differ by case fatality are unclear. Objectives: This study sought to examine the associations between social integration and risk of incident CHD in a large female prospective cohort. Methods and Results: Seventy-six thousand three hundred and sixty-two women in the Nurses’ Health Study, free of CHD and stroke at baseline (1992), were followed until 2014. Social integration was assessed by a simplified Berkman–Syme Social Network Index every 4 years. End points included nonfatal myocardial infarction and fatal CHD. Two thousand three hundred and seventy-two incident CHD events occurred throughout follow-up. Adjusting for demographic, health/medical risk factors, and depressive symptoms, being socially integrated was significantly associated with lower CHD risk, particularly fatal CHD. The most socially integrated women had a hazard ratio of 0.55 (95% confidence interval, 0.41–0.73) of developing fatal CHD compared with those least socially integrated (P for trend <0.0001). When additionally adjusting for lifestyle behaviors, findings for fatal CHD were maintained but attenuated (P for trend =0.02), whereas the significant associations no longer remained for nonfatal myocardial infarction. The inverse associations between social integration and nonfatal myocardial infarction risk were largely explained by health-promoting behaviors, particularly through differences in cigarette smoking; however, the association with fatal CHD risk remained after accounting for these behaviors and, thus, may involve more direct biological mechanisms. Conclusions: Social integration is inversely associated with CHD incidence in women, but is largely explained by lifestyle/behavioral pathways.
Variations in the Desire to Begin a Leisure Activity: Evidence of Antecedent Constraints?

This paper examines three assumptions in previous leisure constraints research: (1) that only two meaningful groups of non-participants exist (those who do not wish to participate, and those who do wish to participate, but for whom a constraint or combination of constaints precludes participation); (2) that lack of interest is the only factor which explains the lack of desire among the former group; and (3) that the only role played by constraints on leisure is negatively to affect participation, by intervening between preferences and participation. Using data from a public questionnaire study conducted in Alberta, Canada, the focus of the paper is on a group of non-participants who apparently did not wish to begin participating in a new activity. Based on innovative concepts recently proposed by Crawford and Godbey (1987) and by Henderson, Stalnaker & Taylor (1988), the findings are interpreted as evidence of “antecedent” barriers to participation, i.e., constraints which negatively affect leisure prefer.
Information systems security and privacy

Abstract : The author clarifies the relationship between security and privacy in information systems. Record-keeping privacy concerns personal information kept in computer-based systems, and the essence of it is protecting such information and controlling its use for authorized purposes. In contrast, computer security is that body of technology, techniques, procedures, and practices that provides the protective mechanisms to assure the safety of both the computer systems themselves and the information and the information within them; and, in addition, limits access to such information solely to authorized users. Computer security is of importance whether the information to be protected is personal in nature and therefore relative to privacy; whether it is defense in nature and therefore related to the security of the country; or whether it is sensitive in nature and therefore relevant to corporate welfare in the private sector. The important point to be noted is that a comprehensive set of security safeguards within and around a computer-based information system is an essential prerequisite for assuring personal privacy. To operate such a system without relevant safeguards is a sham against privacy assurance. The computer security issue must be seen as analogous to the classical offense/defense situation. As computer security safeguards become stronger, the offenses against them will become more sophisticated and the cycle will repeat. Therefore, no organization or Congress can assume that the computer security issue is one that can be looked at and forgotten.
Better reporting of interventions: template for intervention description and replication (TIDieR) checklist and guide

Without a complete published description of interventions, clinicians and patients cannot reliably implement interventions that are shown to be useful, and other researchers cannot replicate or build on research findings. The quality of description of interventions in publications, however, is remarkably poor. To improve the completeness of reporting, and ultimately the replicability, of interventions, an international group of experts and stakeholders developed the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) checklist and guide. The process involved a literature review for relevant checklists and research, a Delphi survey of an international panel of experts to guide item selection, and a face to face panel meeting. The resultant 12 item TIDieR checklist (brief name, why, what (materials), what (procedure), who provided, how, where, when and how much, tailoring, modifications, how well (planned), how well (actual)) is an extension of the CONSORT 2010 statement (item 5) and the SPIRIT 2013 statement (item 11). While the emphasis of the checklist is on trials, the guidance is intended to apply across all evaluative study designs. This paper presents the TIDieR checklist and guide, with an explanation and elaboration for each item, and examples of good reporting. The TIDieR checklist and guide should improve the reporting of interventions and make it easier for authors to structure accounts of their interventions, reviewers and editors to assess the descriptions, and readers to use the information.
Nutrition and lung health

Should people at risk of chronic obstructive lung disease eat more fruit and vegetables? In striking contrast to the relation between diet and cardiovascular disease, the relation between diet and lung disease has not received much attention. Standard texts on nutrition make little or no reference to the respiratory system.1 Two reasons help to explain this relative neglect. Firstly, the most common fatal diseases of the respiratory system—lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease—are so clearly related to tobacco smoking that other factors have had little scrutiny. Secondly, even in those respiratory diseases in which nutrition is believed to play an important part (for example, cystic fibrosis and emphysema), the relation between nutrition and the disease is not directly causal. This has made investigation of the place of nutrition in the pathological process unattractive. Interesting new evidence is, however, beginning to emerge from sources as varied as molecular biology laboratories and epidemiological units. This suggests that a relation may exist between intake of certain dietary elements and lung disease—and that the links may have a practical importance. In 1990 an analysis of data from a representative sample of adults in the United States suggested that a high dietary intake and a raised serum concentration of vitamin C had a protective effect …
The Effects of Different Types of Information Messages on Perceptions of Price and Stated Willingness-to-Pay

The analyses reported here were undertaken on three data sets derived from surveys commissioned to identify likely visitor reaction to proposed large price increases in Texas state parks. One of the goals in each study was to assess the influence of alternate information messages on perceptions of price and stated willingness to pay. The messages used in each study were different, but there were some common themes among them. In two of the three data sets meaningful significant differences were found among responses to the information messages. Results supported, in part, the growing literature confirming the positive impact of cost of service information on raising stated willingness to pay. There was also some support for suggesting that messages relating to reduction of services, and subsidization of one park by visitors to other parks were effective in ameliorating resistance to price.