Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interaction of Hardened Cement Paste and Water

ADSORPTION OF WATER VAPOR ON A CLEAN SURFACE CHANGES THE SURFACE FREE ENERGY. IT IS SHOWN THAT, USING THE GRIFFITH CRITERION, THE CHANGE OF STRENGTH AS FUNCTION OF MOISTURE CONTENT CAN BE EXPLAINED BY ASSUMING A CHANGE OF SURFACE ENERGY. IN COLLOIDAL PARTICLES SURFACE ENERGY CREATES CONSIDERABLE HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE. A CHANGE IN ELASTIC MODULUS AND SHRINKAGE AS WELL AS SWELLING CAN BE RELATED TO A CHANGE IN HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE IN INDIVIDUAL GEL PARTICLES. CREEP IS AFFECTED PRIMARILY AT THE HIGHER RELATIVE HUMIDITIES. THE MAIN PARAMETERS OF A PROPOSED MODEL FOR HYDRATED PORTLAND CEMENT ARE SURFACE FREE ENERGY AND DISJOINING PRESSURE. ON THIS BASIS THE MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF HARDENED CEMENT PASTE IS DISCUSSED. A PHASE TRANSITION OF ADSORBED WATER NEAR 90 DEGREES C IS DISCUSSED. THE INFLUENCE OF THIS EFFECT ON THE MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF HARDENED CEMENT PASTE CAN BE UNDERSTOOD WHEN A CHANGE IN INTERFACIAL ENERGY IS TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION. /AUTHOR/
Interactions of lipoprotein(a) with diabetes mellitus, apolipoprotein B and cholesterol enhance the prognostic values for coronary artery disease

Abstract Background: Synergistic interactions between elevated serum lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] and other unfavorable risk factors have been proposed to cause very high risk for coronary artery disease (CAD). The aim of this study was to examine the potential interactions between Lp(a) and other risk factors. Methods: The profiles of serum (apo)(lipo)proteins, markers of inflammation, indicators of hemoconcentration as well as classical risk factors were determined in 264 clinically stable angiographically documented subjects. Correlation, linear and logistic regression and stratification analyses were performed. Results: The frequency and severity of CAD and the prevalence of diabetes mellitus were significantly higher in the 3rd relative to 1st tertile of Lp(a). Subjects with Lp(a) levels in the upper tertile had significantly higher levels of serum glucose, total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), apolipoprotein B (apoB), calcium, phosphate and their ion product. Bivariate correlation analysis indicated that serum Lp(a) was associated positively with the occurrence and severity of CAD, diabetes mellitus and the levels of serum glucose, cholesterol, LDL-C, apoB, calcium, phosphate and inversely to physical inactivity. In linear regression analysis, LDL-C (or apoB), diabetes, physical inactivity and phosphate were the major independent determinants of Lp(a) values. In multiple logistic regression analysis, after adjusting for major risk factors, Lp(a) showed a significant and independent association with the prevalence of CAD. By constructing dummy combined variables, elevated Lp(a) accompanied with diabetes or high levels of serum glucose, apoB and cholesterol exhibited an amplified high risk for CAD. Conclusions: The results indicate that serum Lp(a) does interact multiplicatively with diabetes, apoB and cholesterol. The simultaneous assessment of Lp(a) and interactive risk factors enhances the discriminating value for CAD. Clin Chem Lab Med 2008;46:667–73.
The Evaluation of Saliva Flow Rate, pH, Buffer Capacity, Microbiological Content and Indice of Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth in Behçet's Patients.

BACKGROUND Several lines of evidence indicate that oral microbial flora play a critical role in the pathogenesis of Behçet disease. Saliva flow rate, buffer capacity and microorganism content are very important in the maintenance of oral health. AIMS We aimed to evaluate saliva flow rate, pH, buffer capacity and Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacilli content along with the decayed, missing, and filled tooth index in Behçet's patients. STUDY DESIGN Case-control study. METHODS Forty patients with active Behçet disease [female:male (F/M) 21/19, mean age 31.05±11.08 years] and forty healthy persons (F/M 21/19, mean age 31.03±9.14 years) were included in the study. The oral region was first examined, and the decayed, missing, and filled tooth index was calculated for each person. Stimulated saliva was collected and divided into two separate millimetric tubes to calculate the buffer capacity of the saliva, determine Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacilli levels and measure the pH of the saliva. A Caries Risk Test buffer strip was used to calculate the buffer capacity. Caries Risk Test bacterial kit was used to determine Streptococcus mutans and lactobacilli levels. A pH meter was used to measure the pH of the saliva. RESULTS The mean saliva pH of the patients was higher than the controls (7.76±0.51, 7.18±0.46, respectively) (p<0.001). The mean level of Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacilli in patients was higher than controls (p<0.05). The mean decayed, missing, and filled tooth index of patients was 9.82±6.59 (range 1-28), while the mean decayed, missing, and filled tooth index of the controls was 6.05±3.35 (range 1-16) (p<0.01). There were no significant differences between the patients and the controls with respect to saliva flow rate and saliva buffer capacity (p>0.05). CONCLUSION We think that the maintenance of oral health by effective, regular tooth brushing, regular dental check-ups and dental treatment for Behçet patients is very important for the prevention and therapy of Behçet disease.
Terrorism's Fear : Perceived Personal and National Threats

— Terrorism represents an unexpected and unwanted change which challenges one’s social identity. We carried out a study to explore the demographic variables’ role on the perception of personal and national threat, and to investigate the effects of perceived terrorist threat on people’s ways of life, moods, opinions and hopes. 313 residents of Palermo (Italy) were interviewed. The results pointed out that the fear of terrorism affects three areas: the cognitive, the emotional and the behavioural one.
Beneficial Endocrine but Adverse Exocrine Effects of Sitagliptin in the Human Islet Amyloid Polypeptide Transgenic Rat Model of Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE We sought to establish the extent and mechanisms by which sitagliptin and metformin singly and in combination modify islet disease progression in human islet amyloid polypeptide transgenic (HIP) rats, a model for type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS HIP rats were treated with sitagliptin, metformin, sitagliptin plus metformin, or no drug as controls for 12 weeks. Fasting blood glucose, insulin sensitivity, and β-cell mass, function, and turnover were measured in each group. RESULTS Sitagliptin plus metformin had synergistic effects to preserve β-cell mass in HIP rats. Metformin more than sitagliptin inhibited β-cell apoptosis. Metformin enhanced hepatic insulin sensitivity; sitagliptin enhanced extrahepatic insulin sensitivity with a synergistic effect in combination. β-Cell function was partially preserved by sitagliptin plus metformin. However, sitagliptin treatment was associated with increased pancreatic ductal turnover, ductal metaplasia, and, in one rat, pancreatitis. CONCLUSIONS The combination of metformin and sitagliptin had synergistic actions to preserve β-cell mass and function and enhance insulin sensitivity in the HIP rat model of type 2 diabetes. However, adverse actions of sitagliptin treatment on exocrine pancreas raise concerns that require further evaluation.
Finding complex concurrency bugs in large multi-threaded applications

Parallel software is increasingly necessary to take advantage of multi-core architectures, but it is also prone to concurrency bugs which are particularly hard to avoid, find, and fix, since their occurrence depends on specific thread interleavings. In this paper we propose a concurrency bug detector that automatically identifies when an execution of a program triggers a concurrency bug. Unlike previous concurrency bug detectors, we are able to find two particularly hard classes of bugs. The first are bugs that manifest themselves by subtle violation of application semantics, such as returning an incorrect result. The second are latent bugs, which silently corrupt internal data structures, and are especially hard to detect because when these bugs are triggered they do not become immediately visible. Pike detects these concurrency bugs by checking both the output and the internal state of the application for linearizability at the level of user requests. This paper presents this technique for finding concurrency bugs, its application in the context of a testing tool that systematically searches for such problems, and our experience in applying our approach to MySQL, a large-scale complex multi-threaded application. We were able to find several concurrency bugs in a stable version of the application, including subtle violations of application semantics, latent bugs, and incorrect error replies.
Macroscale hydrologic modeling of ecologically relevant flow metrics

Stream hydrology strongly affects the structure of aquatic communities. Changes to air temperature and precipitation driven by increased greenhouse gas concentrations are shifting timing and volume of streamflows potentially affecting these communities. The variable infiltration capacity (VIC) macroscale hydrologic model has been employed at regional scales to describe and forecast hydrologic changes but has been calibrated and applied mainly to large rivers. An important question is how well VIC runoff simulations serve to answer questions about hydrologic changes in smaller streams, which are important habitat for many fish species. To answer this question, we aggregated gridded VIC outputs within the drainage basins of 55 streamflow gages in the Pacific Northwest United States and compared modeled hydrographs and summary metrics to observations. For most streams, several ecologically relevant aspects of the hydrologic regime were accurately modeled, including center of flow timing, mean annual and summer flows and frequency of winter floods. Frequencies of high and low flows in the summer were not well predicted, however. Predictions were worse for sites with strong groundwater influence, and some sites showed errors that may result from limitations in the forcing climate data. Higher resolution (1/16th degree) modeling provided small improvements over lower resolution (1/8th degree). Despite some limitations, the VIC model appears capable of representing several ecologically relevant hydrologic characteristics in streams, making it a useful tool for understanding the effects of hydrology in delimiting species distributions and predicting the potential effects of climate shifts on aquatic organisms.
The Nature and Organization of Individual Differences in Executive Functions

Executive functions (EFs)—a set of general-purpose control processes that regulate one’s thoughts and behaviors—have become a popular research topic lately and have been studied in many subdisciplines of psychological science. This article summarizes the EF research that our group has conducted to understand the nature of individual differences in EFs and their cognitive and biological underpinnings. In the context of a new theoretical framework that we have been developing (the unity/diversity framework), we describe four general conclusions that have emerged. Specifically, we argue that individual differences in EFs, as measured with simple laboratory tasks, (a) show both unity and diversity (different EFs are correlated yet separable), (b) reflect substantial genetic contributions, (c) are related to various clinically and societally important phenomena, and (d) show some developmental stability.
Temporal Trends in Peritonitis Rates, Microbiology and Outcomes: The Major Clinical Complication of Peritoneal Dialysis

Peritonitis remains a common complication of peritoneal dialysis (PD). The aim of this study was to analyze, in a PD center, long-term temporal trends in peritonitis rates, microbiology and outcomes. We treated 588 cases of peritonitis that occurred during 11,833.6 months at risk. Y-set and twin-bag disconnecting systems were introduced in 1990, mupirocin at the exit site in 2000 and fluconazole prophylaxis in 2005. Vancomycin and ceftazidime were the empiric protocol. Global and 5-year cohort rates were expressed as episodes/patient-year (ep/p-y). A global peritonitis rate reduction was found from 1.02 to 0.47 ep/p-y (p = 0.008). Poisson analyses performed in each of the subgroups of Gram-positive and Gram-negative peritonitis revealed no significant changes over time. No case of vancomycin resistance was identified. There was a downward trend in peritonitis-related hospitalization over time to 0.11 ep/p-y (p ≤ 0.001). Trend analysis showed a favorable, but changing evolution, highlighting the importance of accurate longitudinal PD center registry data and quality control.
Two-way factorial study of alcohol and salt restriction in treated hypertensive men.

The aim of this study was to determine whether moderate restriction of dietary salt intake leads to an additional fall in blood pressure in treated hypertensive men who are asked to simultaneously reduce their usual alcohol intake. Sixty-three subjects entered an initial 2-week familiarization period during which they continued their usual alcohol intake and commenced a "low sodium" diet (less than 60 mmol/day) supplemented with 100 mmol sodium chloride per day as enteric-coated tablets. Subjects were then randomly assigned to either drink a low alcohol beer alone for a 4-week period (reducing their self-reported alcohol consumption from 537 to 57 ml/week) or to continue their usual alcohol intake (543 versus 557 ml/week). Within the low and normal alcohol intake groups, subjects were assigned to either a low or normal sodium intake. The low sodium groups continued the sodium-restricted diet but were switched to placebo sodium chloride tablets for the 4 weeks. This resulted in a fall in the 24-hour urinary sodium excretion from 144 to 69 mmol/day. The normal sodium groups continued the low sodium diet but kept taking 100 mmol/day of the sodium chloride tablets, and their urinary sodium excretion remained unchanged (125 versus 142 mmol/day). Regular antihypertensive therapy was continued throughout. Fifty-nine subjects completed the trial. In those who reduced their alcohol intake there was a fall in both systolic blood pressure (-5.4 mm Hg supine, p less than 0.01) and diastolic blood pressure (-3.2 mm Hg supine, p less than 0.01). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Toxoplasmosis in Captive Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus)

Abstract Toxoplasma gondii infection in marine mammals is intriguing and indicative of contamination of the ocean environment and coastal waters with oocysts. Toxoplasma gondii infection was detected in captive marine mammals at a sea aquarium in Canada. Antibodies to T. gondii were found in all 7 bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) tested. Two of these dolphins, as well as a walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) at the facility, died. Encephalitis and T. gondii tissue cysts were identified in histological sections of the brain of 1 dolphin (dolphin no. 1). Another dolphin (dolphin no. 2) had mild focal encephalitis without visible organisms, but viable T. gondii was isolated by bioassay in mice and cats from its brain and skeletal muscle; this strain was designated TgDoCA1. The PCR-RFLP typing using 11 markers (B1, SAG1, SAG2, SAG3, BTUB, GRA6, c22-8, c29-2, L358, PK1, and Apico) identified a Type II strain. The DNA sequencing of B1 and SAG1 alleles amplified from TgDoCA1 and directly from the brains of dolphin no. 1 and the walrus showed archetypal alleles consistent with infection by a Type II strain. No unique polymorphisms were detected. This is apparently the first report of isolation of T. gondii from a marine mammal in Canada.
Outage probability for optimum combining of arbitrarily faded signals in the presence of correlated Rayleigh interferers

Exact outage-probability analysis for optimum combining of arbitrarily faded signals in the presence of correlated Rayleigh-faded interferers is not available in the literature. In this paper, we show that the conditional probability density of the reciprocal of the instantaneous signal-to-interference ratio (SIR), given the signal vector, can be represented as the higher order derivative of a simple exponential function in signal power whereby generic formulas for the outage probability and probability density function related to SIR can be determined. The new formulas take simple closed form in terms of the characteristic function of the signal vector. They are, therefore, widely applicable, leading to various results for correlated Rayleigh-, Rician-, and Nakagami-faded signals. Numerical examples are also presented for illustration.
Hypoglossal Neuropathology and Respiratory Activity in Pompe Mice

Pompe disease is a lysosomal storage disorder associated with systemic deficiency of acid α-glucosidase (GAA). Respiratory-related problems in Pompe disease include hypoventilation and upper airway dysfunction. Although these problems have generally been attributed to muscular pathology, recent work has highlighted the potential role of central nervous system (CNS) neuropathology in Pompe motor deficiencies. We used a murine model of Pompe disease to test the hypothesis that systemic GAA deficiency is associated with hypoglossal (XII) motoneuron pathology and altered XII motor output during breathing. Brainstem tissue was harvested from adult Gaa−/− mice and the periodic acid Schiff method was used to examine neuronal glycogen accumulation. Semi-thin (2 μm) plastic sections showed widespread medullary neuropathology with extensive cytoplasmic glycogen accumulation in XII motoneuron soma. We next recorded efferent XII bursting in anesthetized and ventilated Gaa−/− and B6/129 mice both before and after bilateral vagotomy. The coefficient of variation of respiratory cycle duration was greater in Gaa−/− compared to B6/129 mice (p < 0.01). Vagotomy caused a robust increase in XII inspiratory burst amplitude in B6/129 mice (239 ± 44% baseline; p < 0.01) but had little impact on burst amplitude in Gaa−/− mice (130 ± 23% baseline; p > 0.05). We conclude that CNS GAA deficiency results in substantial glycogen accumulation in XII motoneuron cell bodies and altered XII motor output. Therapeutic strategies targeting the CNS may be required to fully correct respiratory-related deficits in Pompe disease.
65-nm CMOS Dual-Gate Device for  $Ka$-Band Broadband Low-Noise Amplifier and High-Accuracy Quadrature Voltage-Controlled Oscillator

Design and analysis of a two-stage low-noise amplifier (LNA) and a bottom-series coupled quadrature voltage-controlled oscillator (QVCO) using a 65-nm CMOS dual-gate device are present in this paper. By using the proposed dual-gate device, the parasitic capacitance and the effective substrate resistance can be reduced. Moreover, the 3-dB cutoff frequency can be extended due to the reduction of the Miller effect. The bandwidth of the dual-gate LNA is investigated to compare with the conventional cascode configuration. Besides, the operation principle of the quadrature signal generation using the dual-gate device is also presented for the QVCO design. The two-stage dual-gate LNA demonstrates a flat 3-dB bandwidth of 7.3 GHz from 19.4 to 26.7 GHz and a maximum gain of 18.9 dB. At 24 GHz, the measured minimum noise figure is 4.7 dB, and the measured output third-order intercept point <formula formulatype="inline"> <tex Notation="TeX">$({\rm OIP}_{3})$</tex></formula> is 11 dBm. The dual-gate QVCO exhibits an oscillation frequency of up to 25.3 GHz, a phase noise of <formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">$-$</tex></formula>109 dBc/Hz at 1-MHz offset frequency, an amplitude error of 0.16 dB, and a phase error of 0.8<formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">$^{\circ}$</tex></formula>. The proposed dual-gate CMOS device is very suitable for the linear and nonlinear circuit designs above 20 GHz, especially for millimeter-wave applications due to its high speed and compact area.
Activation of Acid Sphingomyelinase by Protein Kinase Cδ-mediated Phosphorylation*

Although important for cellular stress signaling pathways, the molecular mechanisms of acid sphingomyelinase (ASMase) activation remain poorly understood. Previous studies showed that treatment of MCF-7 mammary carcinoma cells with the potent protein kinase C (PKC) agonist, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), induces a transient drop in sphingomyelin concomitant with an increase in cellular ceramide levels (Becker, K. P., Kitatani, K., Idkowiak-Baldys, J., Bielawski, J., and Hannun, Y. A. (2005) J. Biol. Chem. 280, 2606-2612). Here we show that PMA selectively activates ASMase and that ASMase accounts for the majority of PMA-induced ceramide. Pharmacologic inhibition and RNA interference experiments indicated that the novel PKC, PKCδ, is required for ASMase activation. Immunoprecipitation experiments revealed the formation of a novel PKCδ-ASMase complex after PMA stimulation, and PKCδ was able to phosphorylate ASMase in vitro and in cells. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we identify serine 508 as the key residue phosphorylated in response to PMA. Phosphorylation of Ser508 proved to be an indispensable step for ASMase activation and membrane translocation in response to PMA. The relevance of the proposed mechanism of ASMase regulation is further validated in a model of UV radiation. UV radiation also induced phosphorylation of ASMase at serine 508. Moreover, when transiently overexpressed, ASMaseS508A blocked the ceramide formation after PMA treatment, suggesting a dominant negative function for this mutant. Taken together, these results establish a novel direct biochemical mechanism for ASMase activation in which PKCδ serves as a key upstream kinase.
Hepatitis B virus genotype A2 harbours an L217R polymorphism which may account for a lower response to adefovir.

Sir, Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major health problem worldwide. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 400 million people are affected. Chronic hepatitis B frequently leads to end-stage liver disease and is the leading cause of liver cancer worldwide. Current HBV therapies are inadequate to eradicate chronic infection. However, anti-HBV drugs may ameliorate liver disease progression in the short term (with normalization of transaminases, reduction in serum HBV-DNA levels and/or HBeAg seroreversion) and in the long term (with prevention of liver cirrhosis and/or hepatocellular carcinoma). After many years of lamivudine being the only oral drug to treat chronic hepatitis B, marketing of adefovir was very welcome. Moreover, this nucleotide analogue was shown to be also effective in lamivudine-experienced patients, with a relatively low incidence of resistance, at least within the first 2 years of therapy but increasing to � 30% at 5 years. 1 Suboptimal response to adefovir, and subsequent selection of resistance mutations, has been associated with pharmacological issues, mainly derived from the low dose (10 mg daily) approved in an attempt to minimize renal toxicity. Adefovir resistance has been classically linked to a single mutation (rtN236T) within the D domain of the HBV polymerase gene. 2 A number of other mutations, such as V84M and S85A (A domain), A181T/V (B