Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis and Design of Wide-Scan Angle Wide-Band Phased Arrays of Substrate-Integrated Cavity-Backed Patches

A class of wide-scan angle wide-band microstrip patch phased arrays is proposed. The proposed phased arrays are composed of probe-fed microstrip patches backed by substrate-integrated cavities. First, a simplified 2-D numerical analysis based on Floquet's theorem is presented to qualitatively demonstrate the E-plane scan performance of the cavity-backed structure compared to that of the conventional microstrip patch phased array. Second, the 3-D scan performance of the proposed phased arrays is thoroughly investigated varying both the substrate thickness and dielectric constant using commercially available EM simulation tools, which is followed by presenting simple design guidelines for the cavity, patch and substrate. A 7 × 7 prototype phased array of the proposed SIW cavity-backed patch structure was fabricated and its measured results agree well with our theoretical prediction and indicate a relatively wide-scan performance when compared to the corresponding microstrip patch phased array without cavities.
[The prevalence of active infection with viruses from the family Herpesviridae among members of families with children].

INTRODUCTION Cytomegalovirus infection (CMV) is one of the most common viral infections during pregnancy and one of the most common causes of birth defects in newborns. CMV infection occurs mostly through close contact with small children who can secrete the virus in saliva and urine. Children, especially in preschool and early school can also be a source of infection with other herpesviruses. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of active infections caused by viruses from the family Herpesviridae (CMV, EBV, VZV) among members of families with children. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study included 24 families raising children aged from 2 to 18 years. From all members of the families (46 adults and 39 children) saliva samples were collected from which DNA was extracted. The isolated DNA samples were tested for the presence of CMV, EBV, VZV genetic material by nested PCR. In addition, each family carried out a survey. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS The presence of CMV DNA in saliva samples were detected in members of 7 families and the presence of EBV DNA were detected in members of 11 families. Total DNA of CMV was detected in 8/85 samples of saliva (9.41%), of which 1/46 adults (2.17%) and 7/39 children (17.95%) and EBV DNA was detected in 18/85 tested saliva samples (21,18%) - 13/46 samples from adults (28,26%) and 5/39 samples from children (12,82%). VZV DNA was not detected in any of the tested saliva samples. The obtained results indicate that the active, asymptomatic infections with lymphotropic herpesviruses are common and affect more than 10% (CMV) and 20% (EBV) subjects.
Relative cheek-tooth size in Australopithecus.

Until the discovery of Australopithecus afarensis, cheek-tooth megadontia was unequivocally one of the defining characteristics of the australopithecine grade in human evolution along with bipedalism and small brains. This species, however, has an average postcanine area of 757 mm2, which is more like Homo habilis (759 mm2) than A. africanus (856 mm2). But what is its relative cheek-tooth size in comparison to body size? One approach to this question is to compare postcanine tooth area to estimated body weight. By this method all Australopithecus species are megadont: they have cheek teeth 1.7 to 2.3 times larger than modern hominoids of similar body size. The series from A. afarensis to A. africanus to A. robustus to A. boisei shows strong positive allometry indicating increasing megadontia through time. The series from H. habilis to H. erectus to H. sapiens shows strong negative allometry which implies a sharp reduction in the relative size of the posterior teeth. Postcanine megadontia in Australopithecus species can also be demonstrated by comparing tooth size and body size in associated skeletons: A. afarensis (represented by A.L. 288-1) has a cheek-tooth size 2.8 times larger than expected from modern hominoids; A. africanus (Sts 7) and A. robustus (TM 1517) are over twice the expected size. The evolutionary transition from the megadont condition of Australopithecus to the trend of decreasing megadontia seen in the Homo lineage may have occurred between 3.0 and 2.5 m.y. from A. afarensis to H.habilis but other evidence indicates that it is more likely to have occurred between 2.5 to 2.0 m.y. from an A. africanus-like form to H. habilis.
Unsupervised object discovery and localization in the wild: Part-based matching with bottom-up region proposals

This paper addresses unsupervised discovery and localization of dominant objects from a noisy image collection with multiple object classes. The setting of this problem is fully unsupervised, without even image-level annotations or any assumption of a single dominant class. This is far more general than typical colocalization, cosegmentation, or weakly-supervised localization tasks. We tackle the discovery and localization problem using a part-based region matching approach: We use off-the-shelf region proposals to form a set of candidate bounding boxes for objects and object parts. These regions are efficiently matched across images using a probabilistic Hough transform that evaluates the confidence for each candidate correspondence considering both appearance and spatial consistency. Dominant objects are discovered and localized by comparing the scores of candidate regions and selecting those that stand out over other regions containing them. Extensive experimental evaluations on standard benchmarks demonstrate that the proposed approach significantly outperforms the current state of the art in colocalization, and achieves robust object discovery in challenging mixed-class datasets.
Iron, an essential element for biosynthesis of aromatic compounds.

Homogeneous preparations of 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate-7-phosphate synthase [7-phospho-2-keto-3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptonate D-erythrose-4-phosphate lyase (pyruvate phosphorylating), EC 4.1. 2.15] isolated as the enzyme-phosphoenolpyruvate complex from Escherichia coli are shown by atomic absorption analysis to contain approximately one mole of iron per mole of native enzyme. No cobalt was found, in contrast to suggestions of earlier workers. Pure enzyme preparations show a unique absorption maximum around 350 nm with an epsilon value of about 3500 M-1cm-1. The 350-nm band as well as the enzyme activity is lost when the enzyme is denatured with guanidine-hydrochloride, or when phosphoenolpyruvate, the first substrate to bind to the enzyme, is totally removed from the enzyme by incubation with an excess of erythrose 4-phosphate, the second substrate to bind to the enzyme. The iron remains bound to the enzyme when phosphoenolpyruvate is removed from the enzyme-phosphoenolpyruvate complex.
Mode coupling points to functionally important residues in myosin II

Relevance of mode coupling to energy/information transfer during protein function, particularly in the context of allosteric interactions is widely accepted. However, existing evidence in favor of this hypothesis comes essentially from model systems. We here report a novel formal analysis of the near‐native dynamics of myosin II, which allows us to explore the impact of the interaction between possibly non‐Gaussian vibrational modes on fluctutational dynamics. We show that an information‐theoretic measure based on mode coupling alone yields a ranking of residues with a statistically significant bias favoring the functionally critical locations identified by experiments on myosin II. Proteins 2014; 82:1777–1786. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
No evidence for an ethnic influence on basal metabolism: an examination of data from India and Australia

A lower BMR of Indians, when compared with Westerners matched for age, sex, and either surface area or body weight, has often been reported in the literature and has been interpreted to reflect an ethnic influence on BMR. To determine the contribution of body composition to these observed differences in BMR, we analysed the data on ninety-six Indians and eighty-one Caucasian Australians of both sexes, aged 18–30 years, studied in Bangalore, India and Melbourne, Australia. Absolute BMR and BMR adjusted for body weight were significantly lower in Indians when compared with Australians of the corresponding sex. However, BMR adjusted for fat-free mass (FFM) in men, and BMR adjusted for FFM and fat mass (FM) in women, were not significantly different between the two groups. Stepwise regression of FFM, FM, sex (0 = women; 1 = men) and ethnicity (0 = Indian; 1 = Australian) on BMR, resulted in the following relationship for the combined data on all subjects: BMR=88.7 × FFM (kg) + 1713 (n 177; r 0.92; r2 0.85; see 425 kJ). The Indian equations of Hayter & Henry (1994), based on body weight, resulted in a significant bias (measured – predicted BMR) of 318 (SE 54) kJ/d in Indian men and -409 (SE 70) kJ/d in Indian women. The equation of Cunningham (1991), based on FFM, accurately predicted the BMR of Indian men, Indian women and Australian men. The small but significant bias of 185 (SE 61)kJ/d in Australian women, may be explained by the significant contribution of FM to BMR in this group. The present study does not provide any evidence for an ethnic influence on basal metabolism. The results strongly support the use of FFM, rather than body weight, for the prediction of BMR in population groups of varying body size and composition. This would allow an accurate estimation of BMR and hence energy requirements in population groups worldwide.
International Union of Pharmacology. XLV. Classification of the Kinin Receptor Family: from Molecular Mechanisms to Pathophysiological Consequences

Kinins are proinflammatory peptides that mediate numerous vascular and pain responses to tissue injury. Two pharmacologically distinct kinin receptor subtypes have been identified and characterized for these peptides, which are named B1 and B2 and belong to the rhodopsin family of G protein-coupled receptors. The B2 receptor mediates the action of bradykinin (BK) and lysyl-bradykinin (Lys-BK), the first set of bioactive kinins formed in response to injury from kininogen precursors through the actions of plasma and tissue kallikreins, whereas the B1 receptor mediates the action of des-Arg9-BK and Lys-des-Arg9-BK, the second set of bioactive kinins formed through the actions of carboxypeptidases on BK and Lys-BK, respectively. The B2 receptor is ubiquitous and constitutively expressed, whereas the B1 receptor is expressed at a very low level in healthy tissues but induced following injury by various proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1β. Both receptors act through Gαq to stimulate phospholipase Cβ followed by phosphoinositide hydrolysis and intracellular free Ca2+ mobilization and through Gαi to inhibit adenylate cyclase and stimulate the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. The use of mice lacking each receptor gene and various specific peptidic and nonpeptidic antagonists have implicated both B1 and B2 receptors as potential therapeutic targets in several pathophysiological events related to inflammation such as pain, sepsis, allergic asthma, rhinitis, and edema, as well as diabetes and cancer. This review is a comprehensive presentation of our current understanding of these receptors in terms of molecular and cell biology, physiology, pharmacology, and involvement in human disease and drug development.
Voltage-Sensitive K+ Channels Inhibit Parasympathetic Ganglion Transmission and Vagal Control of Heart Rate in Hypertensive Rats

Parasympathetic withdrawal plays an important role in the autonomic dysfunctions in hypertension. Since hyperpolarizing, voltage-sensitive K+ channels (KV) hamper transmitter release, elevated KV-activity may explain the disturbed vagal control of heart rate (HR) in hypertension. Here, the KV inhibitor 3,4-diaminopyridine was used to demonstrate the impact of KV on autonomic HR control. Cardiac output and HR were recorded by a flow probe on the ascending aorta in anesthetized, normotensive (WKY), and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), and blood pressure by a femoral artery catheter. 3,4-diaminopyridine induced an initial bradycardia, which was greater in SHR than in WKY, followed by sustained tachycardia in both strains. The initial bradycardia was eliminated by acetylcholine synthesis inhibitor (hemicholinium-3) and nicotinic receptor antagonist/ganglion blocker (hexamethonium), and reversed to tachycardia by muscarinic receptor (mAchR) antagonist (atropine). The latter was abolished by sympatho-inhibition (reserpine). Reserpine also eliminated the late, 3,4-diaminopyridine-induced tachycardia in WKY, but induced a sustained atropine-sensitive bradycardia in SHR. Inhibition of the parasympathetic component with hemicholinium-3, hexamethonium, or atropine enhanced the late tachycardia in SHR, whereas hexamethonium reduced the tachycardia in WKY. In conclusion, 3,4-diaminopyridine-induced acetylcholine release, and thus enhanced parasympathetic ganglion transmission, with subsequent mAchR activation and bradycardia. 3,4-diaminopyridine also activated tachycardia, initially by enhancing sympathetic ganglion transmission, subsequently by activation of norepinephrine release from sympathetic nerve terminals. The 3,4-diaminopyridine-induced parasympathetic activation was stronger and more sustained in SHR, demonstrating an enhanced inhibitory control of KV on parasympathetic ganglion transmission. This enhanced KV activity may explain the dysfunctional vagal HR control in SHR.
Radiographic parameters of segmental instability in lumbar spine using kinetic MRI.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effectiveness of radiographic parameters on segmental instability in the lumbar spine using Kinetic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHODS Segmental motion, defined as excessive (more than 3 mm) translational motion from flexion to extension, was investigated in 309 subjects (927 segments) using Kinetic MRI. Radiographic parameters which can help indicate segmental instability include disc degeneration (DD), facet joint osteoarthritis (FJO), and ligament flavum hypertrophy (LFH). These three radiographic parameters were simultaneously evaluated, and the combinations corresponding to significant segmental instability at each level were determined. RESULTS The overall incidence of segmental instability was 10.5% at L3-L4, 16.5% at L4-L5, and 7.3% at L5-S1. DD and LFH at L3-L4 and FJO and LFH at L4-L5 were individually associated with segmental instability (p<0.05). At L4-L5, the following combinations had a higher incidence of segmental instability (p<0.05) when compared to other segments : (1) Grade IV DD with grade 3 FJO, (2) Grade 2 or 3 FJO with the presence of LFH, and (3) Grade IV DD with the presence of LFH. At L5-S1, the group with Grade III disc and Grade 3 FJO had a higher incidence of segmental instability than the group with Grade I or II DD and Grade 1 FJO. CONCLUSION This study showed that the presences of either Grade IV DD or grade 3 FJO with LFH at L4-L5 were good indicators for segmental instability. Therefore, using these parameters simultaneously in patients with segmental instability would be useful for determining candidacy for surgical treatment.
A Distributed Coverage Adjustment Algorithm for Femtocell Networks

In two-tier femtocell networks, adjusting the transmission power values of femtocell base stations (BSs) such that indoor users receive high signal quality while limiting leakage to outdoor users is an important problem. This paper proposes a novel distributed and self-optimized power adjustment algorithm for two-tier femtocell networks, in which a BS adjusts the transmission power based on the signal quality of neighboring BSs. Achieving fairness among users with minimal information exchange is desired. There are no predefined target parameters used to adjust transmission power, contrary to existing approaches in the literature. The convergence properties of the algorithm under fixed and time-varying communication infrastructures are investigated. The performance is further verified by simulations and comparisons with other algorithms for the coverage problem.
Fatty Acid Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Tea (Camellia sinensis L.) Seed Oil Extracted by Optimized Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

Seeds are another product in addition to leaves (raw materials for teas) of tea (Camellia sinensis L.) plant. The great increase of tea consumption in recent years raises the challenge of finding commercial applications for tea seeds. In the present study, supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction edible oil from tea seed was carried out, response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize processing parameters including time (20–90 min), temperature (35–45 °C) and pressure (50–90 MPa). The fatty acid composition and antioxidant activity of the extracted oil was also investigated. The highest yield of oil (29.2 ± 0.6%) was obtained under optimal SC-CO2 extraction conditions (45 °C, 89.7 min and 32 MPa, respectively), which was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that (25.3 ± 1.0%) given by Soxhlet extraction. Meanwhile, tea seed oil extracted by SC-CO2 contained approximately 80% unsaturated fatty acids and showed a much stronger scavenging ability on the DPPH radical than that extracted by Soxhlet. SC-CO2 is a promising alternative for efficient extraction of edible oil from tea seed. Moreover, tea seed oil extracted by SC-CO2 is highly edible and has good antioxidant activity, and therefore may play a potential role as a health-promoting food resource in human diets.
Driver behavior profiling: An investigation with different smartphone sensors and machine learning

Driver behavior impacts traffic safety, fuel/energy consumption and gas emissions. Driver behavior profiling tries to understand and positively impact driver behavior. Usually driver behavior profiling tasks involve automated collection of driving data and application of computer models to generate a classification that characterizes the driver aggressiveness profile. Different sensors and classification methods have been employed in this task, however, low-cost solutions and high performance are still research targets. This paper presents an investigation with different Android smartphone sensors, and classification algorithms in order to assess which sensor/method assembly enables classification with higher performance. The results show that specific combinations of sensors and intelligent methods allow classification performance improvement.
Five‐year‐survey of invasive aspergillosis in a paediatric cancer centre. Epidemiology, management and long‐term survival

The epidemiology, management, and long‐term survival of invasive aspergillosis was assessed in a prospective, 5‐year observational study in 346 unselected paediatric cancer patients receiving dose‐intensive chemotherapy for newly diagnosed or recurrent malignancies. Invasive aspergillosis occurred exclusively in the context of haematological malignancies, where it accounted for an incidence of 6.8% (n=13 of 189). The lung was the primary site in 12 cases, and dissemination was present in three of those. Prior to diagnosis, the overwhelming majority of patients had been profoundly neutropenic for at least 14 days (n=11 of 13) and were receiving systemic antifungal agents (n=10 of 13). Clinical signs and symptoms were nonspecific but always included fever. All 11 patients who were diagnosed and treated during lifetime for a minimum of 10 days responded to either medical or combined medical and surgical treatment, and seven were cured (64%). Nevertheless, the overall long‐term survival was merely 31% after a median follow‐up of 5.68 years after diagnosis. Apart from refractory or recurrent cancer, the main obstacles to successful outcome were failure to diagnose IA during lifetime and bleeding complications in patients with established diagnosis. The frequency of invasive aspergillosis of greater than 15% in paediatric patients with acute myeloblastic leukaemia and recurrent leukaemias warrants the systematic investigation of preventive strategies in these highly vulnerable subgroups.
Geographic Information System‐Based Analysis of the Spatial and Spatio‐Temporal Distribution of Zoonotic Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Golestan Province, North‐East of Iran

Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL), a vector‐borne disease, poses serious psychological as well as social and economic burden to many rural areas of Iran. The main objectives of this study were to analyse yearly spatial distribution and the possible spatial and spatio‐temporal clusters of the disease to better understand spatio‐temporal epidemiological aspects of ZCL in rural areas of an endemic province, located in north‐east of Iran. Cross‐sectional survey was performed on 2983 recorded cases during the period of 2010–2012 at village level throughout the study area. Global clustering methods including the average nearest‐neighbour distance, Moran's I, general G indices and Ripley's K‐function were applied to investigate the annual spatial distribution of the existing point patterns. Presence of spatial and spatio‐temporal clusters was investigated using the spatial and space–time scan statistics. For each year, semivariogram analysis and all global clustering methods indicated meaningful persistent spatial autocorrelation and highly clustered distribution of ZCL, respectively. Eight significant spatial clusters, mainly located in north and northeast of the province, and one space–time cluster, observed in northern part of the province and during the period of September 2010–November 2010, were detected. Comparison of the location of ZCL clusters with environmental conditions of the study area showed that 97.8% of cases in clusters were located at low altitudes below 725 m above sea level with predominantly arid and semi‐arid climates and poor socio‐economic conditions. The identified clusters highlight high‐risk areas requiring special plans and resources for more close monitoring and control of the disease.
Effect of Postnatal Intermittent Hypoxia on Growth and Cardiovascular Regulation of Rat Pups

Background: Intermittent hypoxic episodes are common among preterm infants, although longer term consequences on growth pattern and cardiovascular regulation are unclear. Furthermore, the effects of intermittent hypoxia (IH) may depend on the pattern of hypoxia-reoxygenation. Objectives: We tested the hypothesis that a clustered versus dispersed pattern of repetitive IH during early postnatal life would induce differential long-term alteration in growth and cardiovascular regulation. Methods: Sprague-Dawley rat pups were exposed to room air or to one of two patterns of IH (clustered vs. dispersed) from 1 to 7 days of life. Body weight was measured daily for the first 8 days and weekly from weeks 2 to 8. Blood pressure (BP) and heart rate were measured weekly from weeks 4 to 8 using a noninvasive tail-cuff method for awake, nonanesthetized animals. Results: Exposure to both patterns of repetitive IH induced early growth restriction followed by later catch-up of growth to controls 3 weeks after completion of IH exposures. IH-exposed rats exhibited a sustained decrease in heart rate regardless of the hypoxic exposure paradigm employed. In contrast, a differential response was seen for arterial pressure; the clustered paradigm was associated with a significantly lower BP versus controls, while the pups exposed to the dispersed paradigm showed no effect on BP. Conclusion: We speculate that repetitive IH during a critical developmental window and regardless of IH exposure paradigm contributes to prolonged changes in sympathovagal balance of cardiovascular regulation.