Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Design and analysis of wireless power transfer system using flexible coil and shielding material on smartwatch strap

In this paper, we propose and analyze a smartwatch strap wireless power transfer (WPT) system using flexible PCB coils and magnetic field shielding materials. To ensure the sufficiency power delivery, we addressed the changes in impedance of the curved WPT coil system using 3D EM simulation and Z-parameter analysis. Using the proposed scheme, we achieved coil to coil power transfer efficiency of 50%.
Chapter 2 Ethnic Variation in Poverty and Parenting Stress

Given poverty rates in the USA, and that 33% of the nation’s poor are children (Jiang, Ekono, & Skinner, 2015), poor families are hardly on the fringes. Santiago Barquín’s words speak to the indiscriminate nature of poverty—it does not differentiate between color or creed when venting its fury. Living in poverty affects not only the individual, but also every domain associated with the individual’s life. An important question that has received limited research attention is how poverty affects parenting stress. We extend this question by including racial and ethnic minority groups who are disproportionately affected by poverty in the USA. Together, our chapter focuses on poverty and parenting stress in families from varied racial and ethnic backgrounds. Our discussion begins with a review of the Family Stress Model (FSM) of economic disadvantage, which is the main framework used for understanding the relationship between poverty and parenting behaviors. The bulk of the chapter is situated in the poverty and parenting literature, paying special attention to factors salient to racial and ethnic families, such as the
Compassionate treatment of Wegener's granulomatosis with rabbit anti-thymocyte globulin.

UNLABELLED The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of treatment with anti-thymocyte globulin in patients with Wegener's granulomatosis, untreatable with cyclophosphamide and steroids. MATERIALS AND METHODS Five patients with active Wegener's granulomatosis, either not responsive to standard therapy, or who could not tolerate alkylating agents received a single course of rabbit anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG). RESULTS Four patients showed a favourable response to treatment with partial or complete remission of disease activity, during a follow-up period of five to twelve months. One patient had progressive retroorbital granuloma, which resulted in enucleation of the eye. Side effects of the ATG treatment were mild with chills and fever during the first infusion, and development of serum sickness in two patients. Two other patients had labial herpes simplex shortly after the start of treatment, no other infectious complications were seen. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that ATG treatment seems to be an effective treatment for patients with severe Wegener's granulomatosis.
A novel technique to eliminate the effect of decaying DC component on DFT based phasor estimation

This paper describes a novel technique to eliminate the effect of decaying direct current (DC) component on DFT based phasor estimation. This technique is based on estimating the phasor of a sinusoidal wave corrupted by a DC component at an instant of time. Another phasor is estimated after half cycle from the instant of estimating the first one. The two phasors are added and a mathematical expression for the decaying DC component is derived. A phasor corresponding to the decaying DC component is calculated from this mathematical expression. The decaying DC component can be eliminated by subtracting this phasor from the phasor corresponding to a sinusoidal component corrupted by a DC component. The simulation results show the accuracy of the algorithm in calculating the fundamental phasor value regardless of the DC content in the input signal. This technique is compared to the most recent techniques for eliminating the effect of DC component on the DFT based phasor estimation methods.
Crystal structure of human CD1e reveals a groove suited for lipid-exchange processes

CD1e is the only human CD1 protein existing in soluble form in the late endosomes of dendritic cells, where it facilitates the processing of glycolipid antigens that are ultimately recognized by CD1b-restricted T cells. The precise function of CD1e remains undefined, thus impeding efforts to predict the participation of this protein in the presentation of other antigens. To gain insight into its function, we determined the crystal structure of recombinant CD1e expressed in human cells at 2.90-Å resolution. The structure revealed a groove less intricate than in other CD1 proteins, with a significantly wider portal characterized by a 2 Å-larger spacing between the α1 and α2 helices. No electron density corresponding to endogenous ligands was detected within the groove, despite the presence of ligands unequivocally established by native mass spectrometry in recombinant CD1e. Our structural data indicate that the water-exposed CD1e groove could ensure the establishment of loose contacts with lipids. In agreement with this possibility, lipid association and dissociation processes were found to be considerably faster with CD1e than with CD1b. Moreover, CD1e was found to mediate in vitro the transfer of lipids to CD1b and the displacement of lipids from stable CD1b–antigen complexes. Altogether, these data support that CD1e could have evolved to mediate lipid-exchange/editing processes with CD1b and point to a pathway whereby the repertoire of lipid antigens presented by human dendritic cells might be expanded.
Concurrent resistance and aerobic training as protection against heart disease

Summary This study was designed to compare the effects of aerobic and concurrent aerobic and resistance training on their ability to slow the rate of development and progression of coronary heart disease (CHD) in young adult males at low risk, as determined by the Framingham risk assessment (FRA) score. Subjects were assigned to 16 weeks of three-times weekly aerobic training (AT) (n = 13), concurrent aerobic and resistance training (CART) (n = 13) or no exercise (NO) (n = 12). Both AT and CART resulted in significant (p < 0.05) changes in total cholesterol (from 173.67 ± 29.93 to 161.75 ± 26.78 mg.dl-1 and from 190.00 ± 38.20 to 164.31 ± 28.73 mg.dl-1, respectively), smoking status (from 12.25 ± 5.08 to 10.33 ± 5.37 cigarettes per day and 12.00 ± 4.71 to 8.77 ± 5.10 cigarettes per day, respectively), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (from 47.00 ± 11.85 to 57.50 ± 5.99 mg.dl-1 and 34.00 ± 8.53 to 46.77 ± 14.32 mg.dl-1, respectively), systolic blood pressure (from 126.17 ± 7.00 to 122.33 ± 3.17 mmHg and 131.54 ± 9.28 to 121.69 ± 7.87 mmHg, respectively) and therefore FRA score (from 3.58 ± 2.19 to 1.33 ± 2.27 and 5.77 ± 3.09 to 2.46 ± 2.90, respectively). Both modes of exercise were found to be equally effective in reducing CHD risk. These findings support the inclusion of resistance training into an aerobic training programme to lower CHD risk, which will afford subjects the unique benefits of each mode of exercise.
Integrated Analysis Platform: An Open-Source Information System for High-Throughput Plant Phenotyping1[C][W][OPEN]

An open-source information system for high-throughput plant phenotyping enables large-scale image analysis for different species based on real-time imaging data obtained from different spectra. High-throughput phenotyping is emerging as an important technology to dissect phenotypic components in plants. Efficient image processing and feature extraction are prerequisites to quantify plant growth and performance based on phenotypic traits. Issues include data management, image analysis, and result visualization of large-scale phenotypic data sets. Here, we present Integrated Analysis Platform (IAP), an open-source framework for high-throughput plant phenotyping. IAP provides user-friendly interfaces, and its core functions are highly adaptable. Our system supports image data transfer from different acquisition environments and large-scale image analysis for different plant species based on real-time imaging data obtained from different spectra. Due to the huge amount of data to manage, we utilized a common data structure for efficient storage and organization of data for both input data and result data. We implemented a block-based method for automated image processing to extract a representative list of plant phenotypic traits. We also provide tools for build-in data plotting and result export. For validation of IAP, we performed an example experiment that contains 33 maize (Zea mays ‘Fernandez’) plants, which were grown for 9 weeks in an automated greenhouse with nondestructive imaging. Subsequently, the image data were subjected to automated analysis with the maize pipeline implemented in our system. We found that the computed digital volume and number of leaves correlate with our manually measured data in high accuracy up to 0.98 and 0.95, respectively. In summary, IAP provides a multiple set of functionalities for import/export, management, and automated analysis of high-throughput plant phenotyping data, and its analysis results are highly reliable.
Clinical and Epidemiological Profile of hospitalised H1N1 Cases: Comparison of Pandemic, Post pandemic and Recent epidemic period

Background and objectives: During H1N1 pandemic 2009-2010, numbers of hospital admissions and mortality were high in Gujarat as well as globally. During post pandemic period of 2010-2011, transmission of the influenza A/H1N1 virus was sporadic. In 2013 again there was a sharp rise of influenza 1 cases in Gujarat causing sizable epidemic. Here our aim is to study clinical and epidemiological profile of laboratory confirmed H1N1 positive cases admitted in our hospital during pandemic, post pandemic and recent epidemic period and to study epidemiological trends of this disease. Materials and methods: This retrospective observational study was conducted after due permission from the Intramural Research Committee/Institutional Review Board, Smt NHL Municipal Medical College. We reviewed data of all the patients admitted in our tertiary care hospital with suspected influenza like illness from July 2009 to April 2013. We selected only laboratory confirmed H1N1 positive cases admitted during pandemic (July 2009 to March 2010), Post pandemic (August 2010 to February 2011) and recent epidemic period (December 2012 to April 2013). For each confirmed patient a standardised form was used to collect clinical and demographic data. Results: Out of 339 suspected cases of Category C, 95 patients were laboratory confirmed H1N1 cases. Among them 57(60%) were in pandemic, 14(15%) were in post pandemic and 24(25%) were in Recent epidemic group. Mean age of patients in pandemic (32.5+16.3) was significantly lower than post pandemic and recent epidemic (P value 0.023). Males were older (45+15) and more frequently affected (57%) in post pandemic period than pandemics and recent epidemic. Mean APACHE II score (9.9+4.1), co morbidities (64%) and complications were more in post pandemic than pandemic. In pandemic period mortality was high in young age (25-50yrs), females and pregnant patients while in post pandemic period mortality was high in old age (> 50 yrs), males and patients having co-morbidities (44.4%). Due to delayed presentation, only 9% patients received oseltamivir within 48 hours of symptom onset and another 12% within 72 hours of symptom onset. Conclusion: Our study shows that in post pandemic and recent epidemic period patients were older, with more co morbidities, worse APACHE II score on admission, having more complications and having high mortality than Pandemic period which can be due to drift H1N1 variants and/or emergence of immunity in young population. Delayed presentation to health care facilities is still major obstacle to early treatment of these patients. Continuous surveillance programmes and effective vaccination programmes can help us to prevent excessive morbidity and mortality in community during future epidemics.
Risk factors for progressive axonal degeneration of the retinal nerve fibre layer in multiple sclerosis patients

Aim To quantify structural and functional degeneration in the retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) over a 2-year time period, and to analyse the effect of prior optic neuritis (ON) as well as the duration and incidence of MS relapses. Methods 166 MS patients and 120 healthy controls underwent assessment of visual acuity and colour vision, visual field examination, optical coherence tomography, scanning laser polarimetry and visual evoked potentials (VEPs). All subjects were re-evaluated after a period of 12 and 24 months. Results Changes in the optic nerve were detected by structural measurements but not by functional assessments. Changes registered in MS patients were greater than changes in healthy controls (p<0.05). Eyes with previous ON showed a greater reduction of parameters in the baseline evaluation, but RNFL atrophy was not significantly greater in the longitudinal study. Patients with MS relapses showed a greater reduction of RNFL thickness and VEP amplitude compared with non-relapsing cases. Patients with and without treatment showed similar measurement reduction, but the non-treated group had a significantly higher increase in Expanded Disability Status Scale (p=0.029). Conclusions MS causes progressive axonal loss in the optic nerve, regardless of a history of ON. This ganglion cell atrophy occurs in all eyes but is more marked in MS eyes than in healthy eyes.
Determinants of meditation practice inventory: development, content validation, and initial psychometric testing.

Background Meditation health benefits have been difficult to document, as many efficacy studies are marred by lack of statistical power secondary to small sample size and/or threats to validity from high attrition. To date, no published studies have examined barriers to meditation that are likely responsible for low enrollment and high attrition. Objective To develop an instrument to capture barriers to meditation use, namely, the Determinants of Meditation Practice Inventory (DMPI). Design A five-step, mixed-methods approach was used, including literature review, qualitative interviews, content validation, reliability testing, and construct validation. Participants/Setting Four distinct participant groups contributed. Four meditation teachers participated in qualitative interviews. Five expert panelists conducted the content validation. Ten nonmeditators participated in the pilot test. For reliability testing and construct validation, 150 cancer family caregivers participated. Outcome Measures Big Five Inventory (BFI) and Caregiver Reactions Assessment (CRA) were used to test convergent construct validity. Results The three content domains are perceptions and misconceptions, pragmatic concerns, and sociocultural beliefs. Initially, 53 items were generated. Three reviews by the expert panel concluded with a 22-item survey. After pilot testing, a 17-item survey was created. Data from 150 caregivers showed Cronbach's coefficient alpha of 0.87. The intraclass correlation for baseline and retest was 0.86 (confidence interval 0.82-0.90). BFI and CRA were significantly and positively correlated with DMPI. Conclusion Preliminary results indicate the DMPI is psychometrically sound. By identifying barriers to meditation, the DMPI will enable researchers to address the needs and concerns of the target population when designing recruitment and intervention procedures, potentially maximizing recruitment, minimizing attrition, and optimizing interpretation of results.
Systemic chemotherapy and surgical cytoreduction for poorly differentiated and signet ring cell adenocarcinomas of the appendix.

BACKGROUND Poorly differentiated and signet ring cell adenocarcinomas of the appendix represent a subset with aggressive tumor biology and poor outcomes with few studies evaluating the impact of systemic chemotherapy and cytoreductive surgery (CRS). PATIENTS AND METHODS A retrospective chart review of patients with either poorly differentiated and signet ring cell appendiceal adenocarcinomas was completed from 1992 to 2010. RESULTS One hundred forty-two patients were identified. Seventy-eight patients with metastatic disease received chemotherapy. Radiographic response was 44%, median progression-free survival (PFS) was 6.9 months, and median overall survival (OS) was 1.7 years. In multivariate analysis, response to chemotherapy [hazard ratio (HR) 0.5; P = 0.02] predicted improved PFS, and complete CRS (HR 0.3; P = 0.004) predicted improved OS. Patients who underwent complete CRS (n = 26) had a median relapse-free survival (RFS) of 1.2 years and a median OS of 4.2 years. In multivariate analysis for this subset, complete cytoreduction score of 0 was significantly correlated with improved RFS (HR 0.07; P = 0.01) and OS (HR 0.02; P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS Systemic chemotherapy appears to be a viable treatment option for patients with metastatic poorly differentiated and signet ring cell appendiceal adenocarcinomas. Complete CRS is associated with improved RFS and OS, though part of this benefit likely reflects the selection of good tumor biology.
Large‐scale molecular diet analysis in a generalist marine mammal reveals male preference for prey of conservation concern

Abstract Sex‐specific diet information is important in the determination of predator impacts on prey populations. Unfortunately, the diet of males and females can be difficult to describe, particularly when they are marine predators. We combined two molecular techniques to describe haul‐out use and prey preferences of male and female harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) from Comox and Cowichan Bay (Canada) during 2012–2013. DNA metabarcoding quantified the diet proportions comprised of prey species in harbor seal scat, and qPCR determined the sex of the individual that deposited each scat. Using 287 female and 260 male samples, we compared the monthly sex ratio with GLMs and analyzed prey consumption relative to sex, season, site, and year with PERMANOVA. The sex ratio between monthly samples differed widely in both years (range = 12%–79% males) and showed different patterns at each haul‐out site. Male and female diet differed across both years and sites: Females consumed a high proportion of demersal fish species while males consumed more salmonid species. Diet composition was related to both sex and season (PERMANOVA: R 2 = 27%, p < 0.001; R 2 = 24%, p < 0.001, respectively) and their interaction (PERMANOVA: R 2 = 11%, p < 0.001). Diet differences between males and females were consistent across site and year, suggesting fundamental foraging differences, including that males may have a larger impact on salmonids than females. Our novel combination of techniques allowed for both prey taxonomic and spatiotemporal resolution unprecedented in marine predators.
Performance Modeling for Two-Hop Relay with Erasure Coding in MANETs

Among the "store-carry-forward" kind of protocols, the two-hop relay and its variants have become a class of attractive routing protocols for the mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) due to its efficiency and simplicity. This paper focuses on the performance modeling for two-hop relay with erasure coding, a promising technique for improving the delay performance of conventional two-hop relay with simple replication. A general Markov chain-based theoretical framework is first developed to model the complicated message delivery process in such a network, based on which not only the mean value but also the variance of message delivery delay are derived analytically. The important medium contention, interference and traffic contention issues are carefully incorporated into our analysis, so the new theoretical framework can be used to precisely predicate the message delivery delay performance of two-hop relay with erasure coding, as verified by extensive simulation results.
English Skills and Wages in a Non-English Speaking Country: Findings from Online Advertisements in Mexico

In spite of the generally accepted status of English as a lingua franca, the labor market returns to English for its role as an international language are understudied. In this paper I use advertisements from Computrabajo.com. mx to estimate the returns to English in Mexico. I find that the wage premium for English speakers is approximately 28 percent for the sample as a whole. The evidence suggests that English may provide a path to upward economic mobility in Mexico, and that this holds true for persons of all skill levels.
Temporal-spectral characterization and classification of marine mammal vocalizations and diesel-electric ships radiated sound over continental shelf scale regions with coherent hydrophone array measurements

Temporal-spectral characterization and classification of marine mammal vocalizations and diesel-electric ships radiated sound over continental shelf scale regions with coherent hydrophone array measurements by Wei Huang Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering Northeastern University, December 2017 Prof. Purnima Ratilal Makris, Advisor The passive ocean acoustic waveguide remote sensing (POAWRS) technology is capable of monitoring a large variety of underwater sound sources over instantaneous wide areas spanning continental-shelf scale regions. POAWRS uses a large-aperture densely-sampled coherent hydrophone array to significantly enhance the signal-to-noise ratio via beamforming, enabling detection of sound sources roughly two-orders of magnitude more distant in range than that possible with a single hydrophone. The sound sources detected by POAWRS include ocean biology, geophysical processes, and man-made activities. POAWRS provides detection, bearing-time estimation, localization, and classification of underwater sound sources. The volume of underwater sounds detected by POAWRS is immense, typically exceeding a million unique signal detections per day, in the 10–4000 Hz frequency range, making it a tremendously challenging task to distinguish and categorize the various sound sources present in a given region. Here we develop various approaches for characterizing and clustering the signal detections for various subsets of data acquired using the POAWRS technology. The approaches include pitch tracking of the dominant signal detections, time-frequency feature extraction, clustering and categorization methods. These approaches are essential for automatic processing and enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of POAWRS data analysis. The results of the signal detection, clustering
Tolerogenic function of Blimp-1 in dendritic cells

Blimp-1 has been identified as a key regulator of plasma cell differentiation in B cells and effector/memory function in T cells. We demonstrate that Blimp-1 in dendritic cells (DCs) is required to maintain immune tolerance in female but not male mice. Female mice lacking Blimp-1 expression in DCs (DCBlimp-1(ko)) or haploid for Blimp-1 expression exhibit normal DC development but an altered DC function and develop lupus-like autoantibodies. Although DCs have been implicated in the pathogenesis of lupus, a defect in DC function has not previously been shown to initiate the disease process. Blimp-1(ko) DCs display increased production of IL-6 and preferentially induce differentiation of follicular T helper cells (T(FH) cells) in vitro. In vivo, the expansion of T(FH) cells is associated with an enhanced germinal center (GC) response and the development of autoreactivity. These studies demonstrate a critical role for Blimp-1 in the tolerogenic function of DCs and show that a diminished expression of Blimp-1 in DCs can result in aberrant activation of the adaptive immune system with the development of a lupus-like serology in a gender-specific manner. This study is of particular interest because a polymorphism of Blimp-1 associates with SLE.