Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transmission/Reflection and Short-Circuit Line Methods for Measuring Permittivity and Permeability

The transmission/reflection and short-circuit line methods for measuring complex permittivity and permeability of materials in waveguides and coaxial lines are examined. Equations for complex permittivity and permeability are developed from first principles. In addition, new formulations for the determination of complex permittivity and permeability independent of reference plane position are derived. For the one-sample transmission/reflection method and two-position short-circuit line measurements, the solutions are unstable at frequencies corresponding to integral multiples of one-half wavelength in the sample. For two-sample methods ttie solutions are unstable for frequencies where both samples resonate simultaneously. Criteria are given for sample lengths to maintain stability. An optimized solution is also presented for the scattering parameters. This solution is stable over all frequencies and is capable of reducing scattering parameter data on materials with higher dielectric constant. An uncertainty analysis for the various techniques is developed and the results are compared. The errors incurred due to the uncertainty in scattering parameters, length measurement, and reference plane position are used as inputs to the uncertainty models.
Prognostic factors in extraovarian primary peritoneal carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE To determine the pathological, clinical, and therapeutic factors which had prognostic significance in women with extraovarian primary peritoneal carcinoma (EOPPC). METHODS A retrospective, clinicopathologic study was conducted of 75 women diagnosed with EOPPC. Diagnosis and assessment of prognostic pathological factors were based on the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) criteria. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to assess the following factors for their effect on overall survival: age, parity, presenting symptoms and signs, ascites, CA 125 level, history of oophorectomy, maximum ovarian dimension, histologic type, architectural and nuclear grades, number of mitosis and psammoma bodies, depth of ovarian invasion, estrogen and progesterone receptors (positive, negative), p53 overexpression (present, absent), performance status (GOG criteria), stage (FIGO criteria for ovarian cancer), debulking surgery (optimal versus suboptimal), first-line chemotherapy (platin-based without paclitaxel versus platin/paclitaxel), secondary cytoreduction, and second-line chemotherapy (paclitaxel-based versus no paclitaxel). RESULTS The median overall survival of all patients was 23.5 months (95% CI 18.6, 39.8 months). The 5-year survival was 26.5% (SE 6.7%). p53 overexpression and estrogen and progesterone receptor positivity were demonstrated in 42.4, 50.0, and 6.3%, respectively. In univariate analysis, performance status, primary debulking surgery, stage, and age were significant on overall survival (P < 0.001, <0. 001, 0.004, and 0.012, respectively). In multivariate analysis, only performance status (P < 0.001) and primary debulking surgery (P = 0. 03) were independent prognostic factors. Conclusions. Overall survival in women with EOPPC is affected significantly by performance status and primary debulking surgery as independent variables. To improve survival, efforts should be made to achieve optimal tumor cytoreduction at primary surgery.
Optimization of Polyene-Azole Combination Therapy against Aspergillosis Using an In Vitro Pharmacokinetic-Pharmacodynamic Model

ABSTRACT Although amphotericin B-azole combination therapy has traditionally been questioned due to potential antagonistic interactions, it is often used successfully to treat refractory invasive aspergillosis. So far, pharmacodynamic (PD) interactions have been assessed with conventional in vitro tests, which do not mimic human serum concentrations and animal models using limited doses. We therefore simulated the human serum concentration profiles of amphotericin B and voriconazole in an in vitro dialysis/diffusion closed pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) model and studied the pharmacodynamic interactions against an azole-resistant and an azole-susceptible Aspergillus fumigatus isolate, using Bliss independence and canonical mixture response surface analyses. Amphotericin B dosing regimens with the drug administered every 24 h (q24h) were combined with voriconazole q12h dosing regimens. In vitro PK-PD combination data were then combined with human PK data by using Monte Carlo analysis. The target attainment rate and the serum concentration/MIC ratio were calculated for isolates with different MICs. Synergy (20 to 31%) was observed at low amphotericin B-high voriconazole exposures, whereas antagonism (−6 to −16%) was found at high amphotericin B-low voriconazole exposures for both isolates. Combination therapy resulted in 17 to 48% higher target attainment rates than those of monotherapy regimens for isolates with voriconazole/amphotericin B MICs of 1 to 4 mg/liter. Optimal activity was found for combination regimens with a 1.1 total minimum concentration of drug in serum (tCmin)/MIC ratio for voriconazole and a 0.5 total maximum concentration of drug in serum (tCmax)/MIC ratio for amphotericin B, whereas the equally effective monotherapy regimens required a voriconazole tCmin/MIC ratio of 1.8 and an amphotericin B tCmax/MIC ratio of 2.8. Amphotericin B-voriconazole combination regimens were more effective than monotherapy regimens. Therapeutic drug monitoring can be employed to optimize antifungal combination therapy with low-dose (≤0.6 mg/kg) amphotericin B-based combination regimens against resistant isolates for minimal toxicity.
A global invader at home: population structure of the green crab, Carcinus maenas, in Europe

The European green crab, Carcinus maenas, has a native distribution that extends from Norway to Mauritania. It has attracted attention because of its recent invasions of Australia, Tasmania, South Africa, Japan and both coasts of North America. To examine the population structure of this global invader in its native range, we analysed a 502‐base‐pair fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene from 217 crabs collected in the North Atlantic and 13 specimens from the Mediterranean. A clear genetic break (11% sequence divergence) occurs between the Mediterranean and Atlantic, supporting the species‐level status of these two forms. Populations in the Faeroe Islands and Iceland were genetically distinct from continental populations (FST = 0.264–0.678), with Iceland represented by a single lineage also found in the Faeroes. This break is consistent with a deep‐water barrier to dispersal in green crabs. Although there are relatively high levels of gene flow along the Atlantic coast of Europe, slight population structure was found between the central North Sea and populations to the south. Analysis of variance, multidimensional scaling, and the distribution of private haplotypes support this break, located between Bremerhaven, Germany, and Hoek van Holland. Similar biogeographical and genetic associations for other species, such as benthic algae and freshwater eels, suggest that the marine fauna of Europe may be generally subdivided into the areas of Mediterranean, western Europe and northern Europe.
Automated atomicity-violation fixing

Fixing software bugs has always been an important and time-consuming process in software development. Fixing concurrency bugs has become especially critical in the multicore era. However, fixing concurrency bugs is challenging, in part due to non-deterministic failures and tricky parallel reasoning. Beyond correctly fixing the original problem in the software, a good patch should also avoid introducing new bugs, degrading performance unnecessarily, or damaging software readability. Existing tools cannot automate the whole fixing process and provide good-quality patches. We present AFix, a tool that automates the whole process of fixing one common type of concurrency bug: single-variable atomicity violations. AFix starts from the bug reports of existing bug-detection tools. It augments these with static analysis to construct a suitable patch for each bug report. It further tries to combine the patches of multiple bugs for better performance and code readability. Finally, AFix's run-time component provides testing customized for each patch. Our evaluation shows that patches automatically generated by AFix correctly eliminate six out of eight real-world bugs and significantly decrease the failure probability in the other two cases. AFix patches never introduce new bugs and usually have similar performance to manually-designed patches.
In vitro assessment of competency for different lingual brackets in sliding mechanics

Aim: To determine the static frictional resistance of different lingual brackets at different second order angulations when coupled with stainless steel (SS) archwire in dry and wet conditions. Materials and Methods: Using a modified jig, frictional resistance was evaluated under different conditions for a total of 270 upper premolar lingual brackets (0.018″ × 0.025″ - conventional - 7 th generation and STb, self-ligating - evolution) with no in-built tip or torque together with 0.016″ × 0.022″ straight length SS archwires. For conventional brackets, the archwire was secured with 0.008″ preformed SS short ligature ties. Statistical Analysis: One way analysis of variance with Tukey HSD as post-hoc test was applied for degree wise and bracket wise comparison within dry condition and wet condition. For pair wise comparison Student′s t-test was used. Results: Under both conditions the static frictional resistance is significantly higher for self-ligating brackets at 0°, while at 5° and 10° it is higher for 7 th generation brackets. Statistically, significant difference does not exist at 0° between conventional brackets and the same was found at 5° and 10° between STb and self-ligating brackets. With an increase in second order angulations, all the evaluated samples exhibited an increased frictional value. Wet condition samples obtained a higher value than their corresponding dry condition. Conclusion: The self-ligating bracket evaluated in this in vitro study is not beneficial in reducing friction during en-mass retraction due to its interactive clip type.
Sum rate maximizing for SWIPT with limited battery capacity

In this paper, we consider a multiuser multiple-input single-output downlink system for Simultaneous Wireless Information and Power Transfer(SWIPT). Different from the conventional battery-free power splitting strategy, the harvested energy can be buffered in a battery before consumption. Accordingly, increasing battery lifetime, where the base station is powered by sustainable energy. A sum rate optimization problem for SWIPT with battery constraint while ensuring user's quality of service and minimum harvested energy is formulated. Moreover, user quality and minimum harvest energy are ensured due to application of a sum rate optimization for SWIPT with battery constraint. It is a non-convex problem that needs to optimally design the transmit Beamforming(BF) vectors and battery constraint factors. To address this perplexing problem, we formulate it as an inner loop and outer loop problem. In inner loop, we propose an algorithm to convert the original problem into an iterative second-order cone program(SOCP) form to get the optimal value of transmit (BF) after the sum rate converges in a few iteration. For the outer loop, battery model for front-end decoding is designed and its relation with maximum user rate during different frames is analyzed. Simulation results show that our proposed algorithm not only improves the usage of batteries, but also enhances the average sum rate.
Alloprimed CD8+ T Cells Regulate Alloantibody and Eliminate Alloprimed B Cells Through Perforin‐ and FasL‐Dependent Mechanisms

While it is well known that CD4+ T cells and B cells collaborate for antibody production, our group previously reported that CD8+ T cells down‐regulate alloantibody responses following transplantation. However, the exact mechanism involved in CD8+ T cell–mediated down‐regulation of alloantibody remains unclear. We also reported that alloantibody production is enhanced when either perforin or FasL is deficient in transplant recipients. Here, we report that CD8+ T cell–deficient transplant recipient mice (high alloantibody producers) exhibit an increased number of primed B cells compared to WT transplant recipients. Furthermore, CD8+ T cells require FasL, perforin and allospecificity to down‐regulate posttransplant alloantibody production. In vivo CD8‐mediated clearance of alloprimed B cells was also FasL‐ and perforin‐dependent. In vitro data demonstrated that recipient CD8+ T cells directly induce apoptosis of alloprimed IgG1+ B cells in co‐culture in an allospecific and MHC class I‐dependent fashion. Altogether these data are consistent with the interpretation that CD8+ T cells down‐regulate posttransplant alloantibody production by FasL‐ and perforin‐dependent direct elimination of alloprimed IgG1+ B cells.
Effects of state surveillance on new post-hospitalization benzodiazepine use.

BACKGROUND Benzodiazepines (BZD) effectively treat anxiety and insomnia accompanying major health events, including hospitalizations. Prescribing regulations to decrease BZD misuse may negatively impact therapeutic uses. OBJECTIVE To assess the impact of a Triplicate Prescription Program (TPP) on initiation of post-hospitalization BZD prescribing, both overall and among cardiac and cancer patients in the United States. DESIGN Interrupted time-series of post-hospitalization BZD dispensing events to enrollees in the US Medicaid program in the states of New York (intervention group) and New Jersey (control group), before and after implementation of a TPP. STUDY PARTICIPANTS Community-dwelling Medicaid enrollees in New York State (n = 67 962) and New Jersey (n = 71 701), hospitalized between 1 January 1988 and 30 November 1990. INTERVENTION The New York State TPP, implemented on 1 January 1989, requires physicians to prescribe BZD on triplicate prescription forms for state surveillance. OUTCOME MEASURES Rates and duration of new post-hospitalization use of BZD and substitute medications. RESULTS Overall, a sudden and sustained 63.5% decrease [95% confidence interval (CI) -58.6% to -68.3%] in new post-hospitalization BZD dispensing-from a baseline rate of 44 discharges with BZD dispensing per 1000 discharges per month-followed the TPP in New York State, without discontinuity in the control state. Patients hospitalized for acute ischemic cardiac events experienced a 72.5% reduction (95% CI -55.5% to -89.4%), and cancer patients a 69.4% reduction (95% CI -36.7% to -100.0%). The TPP did not preferentially reduce BZD use lasting >2 months. Increased substitute use did not offset reductions in BZD use. CONCLUSIONS By decreasing new short-term post-hospitalization BZD use, the New York State TPP also had unintended effects.
IL-17 Selectively Down-Regulates TNF-α-Induced RANTES Gene Expression in Human Colonic Subepithelial Myofibroblasts1

IL-17 enhances the TNF-α-induced IL-6 and IL-8 secretion in human colonic subepithelial myofibroblasts. In this study, we investigated how IL-17 modulates RANTES secretion in these cells. TNF-α potently induced RANTES secretion, but IL-17 dose-dependently inhibited the TNF-α-induced RANTES secretion. This was also observed at the mRNA level. Even after pretreatment with TNF-α for 12 h, the inhibitory effect of IL-17 was detectable. IL-17 did not affect the TNF-α-induced stability of the RANTES gene. IL-17 significantly decreased the TNF-α-induced increase in RANTES promoter activity, and IL-17 actually blocked the TNF-α-induced RANTES gene transcription. EMSAs demonstrated that IL-17 did not modulate the TNF-α-induced NF-κB DNA-binding activity, but markedly decreased TNF-α-induced IFN regulatory factor-1 (IRF-1) DNA-binding activity. Because cooperation between NF-κB and IRF-1 is important in the TNF-α-induced RANTES gene expression, the major mechanism mediating the inhibitory effect of IL-17 may be achieved by the inhibition of IRF-1 DNA-binding activity.
Spotlight on Clinical Response Discordant Cellular Response to Presurgical Letrozole in Bilateral Synchronous ER þ Breast Cancers with a KRAS Mutation or FGFR 1 Gene Ampli fi cation

We describe herein a patient presenting with bilateral estrogen-receptor–positive (ERþ) breast tumors who was enrolled in a clinical trial exploring molecular aberrations associated with hormone-refractory tumor cell proliferation. Short-term (two week) hormonal therapy with the aromatase inhibitor letrozole substantially reduced proliferation as measured by Ki67 immunohistochemistry in one tumor, whereas the second was essentially unchanged. Extensive molecular and genetic work-up of the two tumors yielded divergent lesions in the two tumors: an activating KRASmutation in the responsive tumor and an amplification of the fibroblast growth factor receptor-1 (FGFR1) locus in the treatment-refractory tumor. These findings provide an insight to possible mechanisms of resistance to antiestrogen therapy in ERþ breast cancers. First, they illustrate the necessity of clinically approved assays to identify FGFR1 gene amplification, which occur in approximately 5% of breast tumors and have been linked to antiestrogen resistance. It is quite possible that the addition of FGFR inhibitors to ER-targeted therapywill yield a superior antitumor effect and improvedpatient outcome. Second, they suggest that the role of activating mutations in RAS, although rare in breast cancer, may need to be explored in the context of ERþ breast tumors. Mol Cancer Ther; 11(10); 1–5. 2012 AACR.
Sociocultural determinants of physical activity among children.

BACKGROUND This study explores underresearched sociocultural predictors of children's physical activity and fitness, with particular attention paid to the influence of ethnicity independent from potential confounders such as social class. METHODS Utilizing a 1997/1998 cross-sectional sample of 107 children (ranging in age from 6.5 to 13 years, mean = 10 years) participating in a longitudinal study of childhood obesity in Birmingham, Alabama, predictors of television viewing, vigorous exercise, habitual physical activity, exercise in school P.E. classes, sports team participation, and maximal aerobic capacity were identified, utilizing multiple regression analyses. RESULTS The results indicated few ethnic differences in childhood physical activity once characteristics such as social class and single vs dual parent family background were controlled for. Specific multivariate findings included higher levels of television viewing and vigorous exercise among children from single parent homes; lower habitual physical activity among girls; less P.E. exercise among African Americans and children from single parent homes; higher sports team participation among older yet physically immature children; and higher physical fitness among boys, Caucasians, physically mature children, and children from single parent homes. CONCLUSIONS This study illustrates the multidimensional nature of childhood physical activity and the influence of sociocultural factors on children's activity patterns.
The interaction between TPH2 promoter haplotypes and clinical–demographic risk factors in suicide victims with major psychoses

Tryptophan hydroxylase isoform 2 (TPH2) is a rate‐limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of serotonin (5‐HT) and is predominantly localized in the brain. Previous studies have suggested that there is an association between serotonergic dysfunction in the brain and suicidality. This study was designed to examine whether the −473T > A and −8396G > C polymorphisms of the TPH2 gene may be associated with completed suicide in subjects with major psychoses from the Stanley Foundation Brain Bank sample. TPH2 genotypes were determined in 69 subjects with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, among which 22 died by suicide. Genomic DNA was amplified by polymerase chain reaction and typed by automated methods. Both markers were found to be in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium and in strong linkage disequilibrium. No association with history of suicide was found for either polymorphism. Haplotype analysis with ehap showed no association between completed suicide and haplotype distribution (χ2 = 1.877; 3 df; P = 0.598). Nor was there any association between suicide and these genetic markers even when clinical–demographic factors were considered as covariates in the haplotype analysis. These findings suggest that these 5′ marker haplotypes in the TPH2 gene do not influence suicidal behaviour.
Insect overwintering in a changing climate

SUMMARY Insects are highly successful animals inhabiting marine, freshwater and terrestrial habitats from the equator to the poles. As a group, insects have limited ability to regulate their body temperature and have thus required a range of strategies to support life in thermally stressful environments, including behavioural avoidance through migration and seasonal changes in cold tolerance. With respect to overwintering strategies, insects have traditionally been divided into two main groups: freeze tolerant and freeze avoiding, although this simple classification is underpinned by a complex of interacting processes, i.e. synthesis of ice nucleating agents, cryoprotectants, antifreeze proteins and changes in membrane lipid composition. Also, in temperate and colder climates, the overwintering ability of many species is closely linked to the diapause state, which often increases cold tolerance ahead of temperature-induced seasonal acclimatisation. Importantly, even though most species can invoke one or both of these responses, the majority of insects die from the effects of cold rather than freezing. Most studies on the effects of a changing climate on insects have focused on processes that occur predominantly in summer (development, reproduction) and on changes in distributions rather than winter survival per se. For species that routinely experience cold stress, a general hypothesis would be that predicted temperature increases of 1°C to 5°C over the next 50-100 years would increase winter survival in some climatic zones. However, this is unlikely to be a universal effect. Negative impacts may occur if climate warming leads to a reduction or loss of winter snow cover in polar and sub-polar areas, resulting in exposure to more severe air temperatures, increasing frequency of freeze—thaw cycles and risks of ice encasement. Likewise, whilst the dominant diapause-inducing cue (photoperiod) will be unaffected by global climate change, higher temperatures may modify normal rates of development, leading to a decoupling of synchrony between diapause-sensitive life-cycle stages and critical photoperiods for diapause induction. In terms of climate warming and potential heat stress, the most recent predictions of summer temperatures in Europe of 40°C or higher in 50-75 years, are close to the current upper lethal limit of some insects. Long-term data sets on insect distributions and the timing of annual migrations provide strong evidence for ‘positive’ responses to higher winter temperatures over timescales of the past 20-50 years in North America, Europe and Asia.