Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Surface-Grating-Coupled Low-Loss Ge-on-Si Rib Waveguides and Multimode Interferometers

Germanium-on-silicon is a highly promising platform for planar photonics for the midinfrared, due to germanium's wide transparency range. In this letter, we report Ge-on-Si waveguides with record low losses of only 0.6 dB/cm, which is achieved using a 2.9-μm thick germanium layer, thus minimizing mode interaction with dislocations at the germanium/silicon interface. Using these waveguides, multimode interferometers with insertion losses of only 0.21 ± 0.02 dB are also demonstrated.
Comparison of magnetic resonance imaging with standing cervical radiographs for evaluation of vertebral canal stenosis in equine cervical stenotic myelopathy.

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY The sensitivity and specificity of lateral cervical radiographs to evaluate horses suspected of cervical stenotic myelopathy (CSM) are limited by the assessment being restricted to the sagittal plane. OBJECTIVE To determine whether magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows for a more accurate identification of stenosis than lateral cervical radiographs in horses with CSM. STUDY DESIGN Case control study. METHODS Nineteen Thoroughbred horses with CSM (17 males, 2 females, age 6-50 months) were compared to 9 control Thoroughbreds (6 males, 3 females, age 9-67 months). Ante mortem, the subjects had neurological examinations and standing cervical radiographs with sagittal ratios calculated from C3 to C7. Intact cervical column MRI scans and histological examinations of the spinal cord were performed post mortem. Morphometric parameters were measured on the vertebral canal, spinal cord and intervertebral foramen. RESULTS Radiographic cervical canal height measurements categorised by standard minimal sagittal diameter intravertebral and intervertebral ratios produced several false positive and false negative determinations of canal stenosis as defined by spinal cord histopathology. Post mortem MRI measurements of canal area and cord canal area ratio more accurately predicted sites of cord compression in CSM cases. No differences in spinal cord measurements were observed when comparing CSM to control horses, but each of the vertebral canal parameters achieved significance at multiple sites. CONCLUSIONS Vertebral canal area and cord canal area ratio are better parameters to predict the location of cervical canal stenosis compared to only the sagittal plane of canal height. Additional visual planes and measurements obtained by MRI, specifically vertebral canal area and the cord canal area ratio, will provide a more accurate method to identify regions of canal stenosis than lateral cervical radiographs. The development of MRI or computed tomography equipment capable of evaluating the cervical column of mature horses may substantially enhance evaluation of CSM patients. The Summary is available in Chinese - see Supporting information.
Moment Balancing Templates for  $(d,k)$-Constrained Codes and Run-Length Limited Sequences

The first-order moment of (d, k)-constrained codes is investigated in this paper. A generalized moment balancing template is proposed to encode a (d, k) sequence into a single insertion or deletion correcting codeword without losing the constraint property. By relocating 0's in moment balancing runs, which appear in a pairwise manner of a (d, k) sequence, the first-order moment of this sequence can be modified to satisfy the Varshamov-Tenengolts construction. With a reasonably large base in the modulo system introduced by the Varshamov-Tenengolts construction, this generalized moment balancing template can be applied to run-length limited sequences. The asymptotic bound of the redundancy introduced by the template for (d, k) sequences is of the same order as the universal template for random sequences and, therefore, the redundancy is small and suitable for long sequences of practical interest.
Appetite and inflammation, nutrition, anemia, and clinical outcome in hemodialysis patients.

BACKGROUND Malnutrition-inflammation complex syndrome, an outcome predictor in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients, may be related to anorexia. OBJECTIVES We examined whether subjectively reported appetite is associated with adverse conditions and increased morbidity and mortality in MHD patients. DESIGN A cohort of 331 MHD outpatients was asked to rate their recent appetite status on a scale from 1 to 4 (very good, good, fair, and poor appetite, respectively). Anemia indexes and nutritional and inflammatory markers-including serum concentrations of C-reactive protein, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and interleukin 6-were measured. The malnutrition-inflammation score was used to evaluate the malnutrition-inflammation complex syndrome, and the SF36 questionnaire was used to assess quality of life (QoL). Mortality and hospitalization were followed prospectively for up to 12 mo. RESULTS Patients were aged 54.5 +/- 14.4 y. Diminished appetite (fair to poor) was reported by 124 patients (38%). Hemoglobin, protein intake, and QoL scores were progressively lower, whereas markers of inflammation, malnutrition-inflammation scores, and the required erythropoietin dose were higher across the worsening categories of appetite. The adjusted odds ratios of diminished versus normal appetite for increased serum tumor necrosis factor alpha and C-reactive protein concentrations were significant. Significant associations between a poor appetite and an increased rate of hospitalization and mortality were observed. The hazard ratio of death for diminished appetite was 4.74 (95% CI: 1.85, 12.16; P = 0.001). CONCLUSION Diminished appetite (anorexia) is associated with higher concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines and higher levels of erythropoietin hyporesponsiveness and poor clinical outcome, including a 4-fold increase in mortality, greater hospitalization rates, and a poor QoL in MHD patients. Appetite status may yield significant insight into the clinical status of dialysis patients.
Increased Frequency of Pink Bollworm Resistance to Bt Toxin Cry1Ac in China

Transgenic crops producing insecticidal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) kill some key insect pests, but evolution of resistance by pests can reduce their efficacy. The main approach for delaying pest adaptation to Bt crops uses non-Bt host plants as “refuges” to increase survival of susceptible pests. To delay evolution of pest resistance to transgenic cotton producing Bt toxin Cry1Ac, the United States and some other countries have required refuges of non-Bt cotton, while farmers in China have relied on “natural” refuges of non-Bt host plants other than cotton. The “natural” refuge strategy focuses on cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera), the primary target of Bt cotton in China that attacks many crops, but it does not apply to another major pest, pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella), which feeds almost entirely on cotton in China. Here we report data showing field-evolved resistance to Cry1Ac by pink bollworm in the Yangtze River Valley of China. Laboratory bioassay data from 51 field-derived strains show that the susceptibility to Cry1Ac was significantly lower during 2008 to 2010 than 2005 to 2007. The percentage of field populations yielding one or more survivors at a diagnostic concentration of Cry1Ac increased from 0% in 2005–2007 to 56% in 2008–2010. However, the median survival at the diagnostic concentration was only 1.6% from 2008 to 2010 and failure of Bt cotton to control pink bollworm has not been reported in China. The early detection of resistance reported here may promote proactive countermeasures, such as a switch to transgenic cotton producing toxins distinct from Cry1A toxins, increased planting of non-Bt cotton, and integration of other management tactics together with Bt cotton.
Adaptive Security Framework for Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless Sensor Networks are used in a large number of tracking and monitoring applications. The level of security required by an application depends on the threat level, available resources, and security requirements. In this paper, we present a modular and extensible framework, called Adaptive Security Framework (ASF) that adjusts security to the detected threats, available energy and memory, and application requirements. The framework includes three types of components: the Context modules, the Security Adaptation module, and the Security layer. The security level is modified according to the output of the Context modules, and it is then used to enable the appropriate security primitives available in the Security layer. We evaluate our solution in multiple attack scenarios, we determine its resource consumption and we compare it to other State of the Art solutions. Our framework has the following advantages: it takes into consideration the context, but also allows for manual reconfiguration, it has a global, aggregated view of the context, it provides different authentication and encryption algorithms associated to each security level, it is extensible and modular.
Reliability of concussion history in former professional football players.

PURPOSE The reliability of athletes to recall and self-report a concussion history has never been quantified. This study examined the reliability of the self-report concussion history measure and explored determinants of recall in the number of self-reported concussions in a group of retired professional football players. METHODS In 2001, a short questionnaire was administered to a cohort of former professional football players to ascertain the number of self-reported concussions they sustained during their professional playing careers. In 2010, the same instrument was readministered to a subset (n = 899) of the original cohort to assess reliability. RESULTS Overall reliability was moderate (weighted Cohen κ = 0.48). The majority (62.1%) reported the same number of concussions in both administrations (2001 and 2010); 31.4% reported more concussions in the second administration. Compared with the "same number reported" group, the "greater number reported" group had more deficits in the second administration in their Short Form 36 physical health (composite score combining physical functioning, role physical, bodily pain, general health) and mental health (e.g., composite score combining vitality, social functioning, role emotional) scales. CONCLUSIONS The self-reported concussion history had moderate reliability in former professional football players, on the basis of two administrations of the same instrument, 9 yr apart. However, changes in health status may be differentially associated with recall of concussions.
MicroRNA-124 regulates STAT3 expression and is down-regulated in colon tissues of pediatric patients with ulcerative colitis.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Altered levels and functions of microRNAs (miRs) have been associated with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), although little is known about their roles in pediatric IBD. We investigated whether colonic mucosal miRs are altered in children with ulcerative colitis (UC). METHODS We used a library of 316 miRs to identify those that regulate phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) in NCM460 human colonocytes incubated with interleukin-6. Levels of miR-124 were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis of colon biopsies from pediatric and adult patients with UC and patients without IBD (controls), and of HCT-116 colonocytes incubated with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-AZA). Methylation of the MIR124 promoter was measured by quantitative methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS Levels of phosphorylated STAT3 and the genes it regulates (encoding vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), BCL2, BCLXL, and matrix metallopeptidase 9 [MMP9]) were increased in pediatric patients with UC compared with control tissues. Overexpression of miR-124, let-7, miR-125, miR-26, or miR-101 reduced STAT3 phosphorylation by ≥ 75% in NCM460 cells; miR-124 had the greatest effect. miR-124 was down-regulated specifically in colon tissues from pediatric patients with UC and directly targeted STAT3 messenger RNA (mRNA). Levels of miR-124 were decreased, whereas levels of STAT3 phosphorylation increased in colon tissues from pediatric patients with active UC compared with those with inactive disease. In addition, levels of miR-124 and STAT3 were inversely correlated in mice with experimental colitis. Down-regulation of miR-124 in tissues from children with UC was attributed to hypermethylation of its promoter region. Incubation of HCT-116 colonocytes with 5-AZA up-regulated miR-124 and reduced levels of STAT3 mRNA. CONCLUSIONS miR-124 appears to regulate the expression of STAT3. Reduced levels of miR-124 in colon tissues of children with active UC appear to increase expression and activity of STAT3, which could promote inflammation and the pathogenesis of UC in children.
Design of a parallel AES for graphics hardware using the CUDA framework

Web servers often need to manage encrypted transfers of data. The encryption activity is computationally intensive, and exposes a significant degree of parallelism. At the same time, cheap multicore processors are readily available on graphics hardware, and toolchains for development of general purpose programs are being released by the vendors. In this paper, we propose an effective implementation of the AES-CTR symmetric cryptographic primitive using the CUDA framework. We provide quantitative data for different implementation choices and compare them with the common CPU-based OpenSSL implementation on a performance-cost basis. With respect to previous works, we focus on optimizing the implementation for practical application scenarios, and we provide a throughput improvement of over 14 times. We also provide insights on the programming knowledge required to efficiently exploit the hardware resources by exposing the different kinds of parallelism built in the AES-CTR cryptographic primitive.
Poor Decision Making Is a Consequence of Cognitive Decline among Older Persons without Alzheimer’s Disease or Mild Cognitive Impairment

Objective Decision making is an important determinant of health and well-being across the lifespan but is critical in aging, when many influential decisions are made just as cognitive function declines. Increasing evidence suggests that older adults, even those without dementia, often make poor decisions and are selectively vulnerable to scams. To date, however, the factors associated with poor decision making in old age are unknown. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that poor decision making is a consequence of cognitive decline among older persons without Alzheimer’s disease or mild cognitive impairment. Methods Participants were 420 non-demented persons from the Memory and Aging Project, a longitudinal, clinical-pathologic cohort study of aging in the Chicago metropolitan area. All underwent repeated cognitive evaluations and subsequently completed assessments of decision making and susceptibility to scams. Decision making was measured using 12 items from a previously established performance-based measure and a self-report measure of susceptibility to scams. Results Cognitive function data were collected over an average of 5.5 years prior to the decision making assessment. Regression analyses were used to examine whether the prior rate of cognitive decline predicted the level of decision making and susceptibility to scams; analyses controlled for age, sex, education, and starting level of cognition. Among 420 persons without dementia, more rapid cognitive decline predicted poorer decision making and increased susceptibility to scams (p’s<0.001). Further, the relations between cognitive decline, decision making and scams persisted in analyses restricted to persons without any cognitive impairment (i.e., no dementia or even mild cognitive impairment). Conclusions Poor decision making is a consequence of cognitive decline among older persons without Alzheimer’s disease or mild cognitive impairment, those widely considered “cognitively healthy. ” These findings suggest that even very subtle age-related changes in cognition have detrimental effects on judgment.
Bidirectional Transfer between Metaphorical Related Domains in Implicit Learning of Form-Meaning Connections

People can implicitly learn a connection between linguistic forms and meanings, for example between specific determiners (e.g. this, that…) and the type of nouns to which they apply. Li et al (2013) recently found that transfer of form-meaning connections from a concrete domain (height) to an abstract domain (power) was achieved in a metaphor-consistent way without awareness, showing that unconscious knowledge can be abstract and flexibly deployed. The current study aims to determine whether people transfer knowledge of form-meaning connections not only from a concrete domain to an abstract one, but also vice versa, consistent with metaphor representation being bi-directional. With a similar paradigm as used by Li et al, participants learnt form- meaning connections of different domains (concrete vs. abstract) and then were tested on two kinds of generalizations (same and different domain generalization). As predicted, transfer of form-meaning connections occurred bidirectionally when structural knowledge was unconscious. Moreover, the present study also revealed that more transfer occurred between metaphorically related domains when judgment knowledge was conscious (intuition) rather than unconscious (guess). Conscious and unconscious judgment knowledge may have different functional properties.
Study of Genetic Diversity of Eukaryotic Picoplankton in Different Oceanic Regions by Small-Subunit rRNA Gene Cloning and Sequencing

ABSTRACT Very small eukaryotic organisms (picoeukaryotes) are fundamental components of marine planktonic systems, often accounting for a significant fraction of the biomass and activity in a system. Their identity, however, has remained elusive, since the small cells lack morphological features for identification. We determined the diversity of marine picoeukaryotes by sequencing cloned 18S rRNA genes in five genetic libraries from North Atlantic, Southern Ocean, and Mediterranean Sea surface waters. Picoplankton were obtained by filter size fractionation, a step that excluded most large eukaryotes and recovered most picoeukaryotes. Genetic libraries of eukaryotic ribosomal DNA were screened by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, and at least one clone of each operational taxonomic unit (OTU) was partially sequenced. In general, the phylogenetic diversity in each library was rather great, and each library included many different OTUs and members of very distantly related phylogenetic groups. Of 225 eukaryotic clones, 126 were affiliated with algal classes, especially the Prasinophyceae, the Prymnesiophyceae, the Bacillariophyceae, and the Dinophyceae. A minor fraction (27 clones) was affiliated with clearly heterotrophic organisms, such as ciliates, the chrysomonad Paraphysomonas, cercomonads, and fungi. There were two relatively abundant novel lineages, novel stramenopiles (53 clones) and novel alveolates (19 clones). These lineages are very different from any organism that has been isolated, suggesting that there are previously unknown picoeukaryotes. Prasinophytes and novel stramenopile clones were very abundant in all of the libraries analyzed. These findings underscore the importance of attempts to grow the small eukaryotic plankton in pure culture.
Locomotion skills in adults with cerebral palsy

Objectives: To investigate self-reported locomotion skills in persons with cerebral palsy (CP) and to investigate variables potentially associated with deterioration of walking skills. Design: Cross-sectional retrospective survey. Setting and subjects: A multidimensional mailed questionnaire was sent to 766 persons with CP, 18 years or over, without intellectual disabilities, living in Norway. Main outcome measures: The questionnaire consisted of demographic and diagnostic items, items on locomotion skills, and physical function (SF-36). Results: In total 406 persons, 51% males and 49% females from 18 to 72 years (mean 34 years, SD 11 years) with all categories of CP responded. Median age for reported walking debut was 3 years, with a range from 1 to 14 years. In total 216 respondents (53%) walked without support, 104 persons (25%) walked with support, 39 persons (10%) had lost their walking skills, and 47 (12%) had never been able to walk. Mean level of physical function (SF-36) was 53 out of 100. There were 97 persons (27%) who reported improvement of walking skills, mainly before 25 years, 102 (28%) reported no change, and 160 (44%) reported deterioration, mainly before 35 years of age. Deterioration was significantly associated with older age, delayed walking debut and severe neurological impairment. Self-reported causes of deterioration were pain, fatigue and lack of adapted physical activity. Conclusion: Deterioration of locomotion skills is a significant problem in persons with CP from an early age, documenting the need for life-long follow-up. The predictors above should be investigated in further clinical studies, searching for potential causal pathways.
Report CORD SERUM BILIRUBIN AND ALBUMIN IN NEONATAL HYPERBILIRUBINEMIA

The cause of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia can be ABO/ Rh incompatibility or physiological jaundice. Attempts have been taken to protect neonates from developing kernicterus by estimating cord blood bilirubin. There is lack of data about Cord serum albumin levels in predicting hyperbilirubinemia. At our hospital, we investigated cord blood for CSTB, CSUB and CSA levels at birth and incidence of hyperbilirubinemia in first seven days of neonate’s life. Frequency of hyperbilirubinemia at our center is 33.88%, male genders are found at high risk. Cord serum unconjugated bilirubin level ≥2.0 mg/dl and total cord serum bilirubin level ≥2.5mg/dl appeared as high risk indicator towards predicting neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Cord serum albumin level < 2.8 gm/dl was additional risk indicator in predicting neonatal hyperbilirubinemia.
Asymptomatic bacteriuria in diabetes mellitus patients in Southwest Cameroon.

BACKGROUND Asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) is common in diabetics and predisposes these patients to more severe urinary tract infections (UTIs). Reports on the prevalence and etiology of ASB especially in developing countries appear contradictory. OBJECTIVES To determine the prevalence and etiology of ASB and antimicrobial resistance of urinary isolates in diabetics and non-diabetics. METHODS The study involved a total of 265 participants including 154 diabetes mellitus patients and 111 non-diabetics in Southwest Cameroon. Mid-stream urine was collected from consented subjects and each sample tested using the dipstick, microscopy and culture techniques. Isolates were identified using standard biochemical tests. RESULTS ASB was detected in 33.2% of participants; 38.3% in diabetics and 26.1% in non-diabetics (P = 0.03). Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) were the predominant organisms (36.3%) isolated from urine in both diabetics and nondiabetics. Other isolates included Klebsiella sp (15.9%), Candida sp (13.7%), E. coli (10.8%) and Serratia sp (10.8%). Candida sp was isolated more from diabetics than non-diabetics (P = 0.01). There was no significant difference in resistance between diabetics and non-diabetics (P > 0.05). Most isolates showed multiple resistance and ciprofloxacin was the most active ingredient against bacterial uropathogens. CONCLUSION The study revealed a high prevalence of ASB in diabetics than in non-diabetics. A change in the aetiologic spectrum was observed with Staphylococcus sp accounting for majority of ASB. Most isolates showed multiple resistance in both diabetics and non-diabetics; therefore the need to speed up sensitization against antibiotic abuse in Southwest Cameroon.