Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Calibrated high-precision 17 O-excess measurements using cavity ring-down spectroscopy with laser-current-tuned cavity resonance

Abstract. High-precision analysis of the 17O / 16O isotope ratio in water and water vapor is of interest in hydrological, paleoclimate, and atmospheric science applications. Of specific interest is the parameter 17O excess (Δ17O), a measure of the deviation from a~linear relationship between 17O / 16O and 18O / 16O ratios. Conventional analyses of Δ17O of water are obtained by fluorination of H2O to O2 that is analyzed by dual-inlet isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). We describe a new laser spectroscopy instrument for high-precision Δ17O measurements. The new instrument uses cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) with laser-current-tuned cavity resonance to achieve reduced measurement drift compared with previous-generation instruments. Liquid water and water-vapor samples can be analyzed with a better than 8 per meg precision for Δ17O using integration times of less than 30 min. Calibration with respect to accepted water standards demonstrates that both the precision and the accuracy of Δ17O are competitive with conventional IRMS methods. The new instrument also achieves simultaneous analysis of δ18O, Δ17O and δD with precision of
Prostate-Specific Antigen Kinetics under Androgen Deprivation Therapy and Prostate Cancer Prognosis

Objectives: To compare the difference in characteristics of post-treatment prostate-specific antigen (PSA) kinetics among respective patients and their influence on disease prognosis. Methods: A cohort of totally 332 eligible patients with histologically confirmed and hormonally naïve prostate cancer, identified from the patients' database of Huashan Hospital, all received combined androgen deprivation therapy including bilateral orchiectomy or luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone antagonists with the oral administration of flutamide 250 mg t.i. d. All patients had their serum PSA level tested at least every 3 months in the first 2 years and at least once a half year from the third year on. PSA nadir, time to PSA nadir (TTPN), PSA normalization (<4 ng/ml), undetectable PSA level (<0.2 ng/ml), biochemical failure, overall survival and cancer-specific survival were analyzed. Results: PSA normalization, TTPN, and reaching the undetectable PSA level perhaps were the independent risk factors for predicting the three types of prognosis. Probably the best cut-off of PSA nadir was 0.2 ng/ml (sensitivity 65.7%, specificity 80.6%) and the best cut-off of TTPN was 10 months (sensitivity 71.6%, specificity 63.9%). Conclusions: These results implied that a lower level of PSA nadir and longer TTPN can predict a better disease prognosis.
Construction and expression of eukaryotic plasmids containing lamivudine-resistant or wild-type strains of Hepatitis B Virus genotype C.

AIM To construct eukaryotic expression plasmids of full-length Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) genotype C genome, which contain lamivudine-resistant mutants (YIDD, YVDD) or wild-type strain (YMDD), and to observe the expression of HBV DNA and antigens [hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)] of the recombinant plasmids in HepG2 cells. METHODS Three HBV full-length genomes were amplified from the plasmids pMD18T-HBV/YIDD, pMD18T-HBV/YVDD and pMD18T-HBV/YMDD, using PCR. Three recombinant plasmids were generated by inserting each of the PCR products into the eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA3.1 (+), between the EcoRI and HindIII sites. After being characterized by restriction endonuclease digestion, and DNA sequence analysis, the recombinant plasmids were transfected into HepG2 cells. At 48 and 72 h post-transfection, the levels of intracellular viral DNA replication were detected by real-time PCR, and the expression of HBsAg and HBeAg in the cell culture supernatant was determined by ELISA. RESULTS Restriction endonuclease digestion and DNA sequence analysis confirmed that the three recombinant plasmids were correctly constructed. After transfecting the plasmids into HepG2 cells, high levels of intracellular viral DNA replication were observed, and HBsAg and HBeAg were secreted into the cell culture supernatant. CONCLUSION Eukaryotic expression plasmids pcDNA3.1 (+)-HBV/YIDD, pcDNA3.1 (+)-HBV/YVDD or pcDNA3.1 (+)-HBV/YMDD, which contained HBV genotype C full-length genome, were successfully constructed. After transfection into HepG2 cells, the recombinant plasmids efficiently expressed HBV DNA, HBsAg and HBeAg. Our results provide an experimental basis for the further study of HBV lamivudine-resistant mutants.
Phenotypic model for early T-cell activation displaying sensitivity, specificity, and antagonism

Significance Early immune response has to discriminate a few foreign peptides rapidly from a vast excess of self-peptides, and it is unclear in quantitative terms how this is possible. We show that a generic proofreading cascade supplemented by a single negative feedback mediated by the Src homology 2 domain phosphatase-1 (SHP-1) accounts quantitatively for this discrimination. Our model, with minimal variables and parameters, can fit a large body of experimental data and accounts for phenotypes in T-cell activation. New experiments validate our predictions and provide a quantitative understanding of antagonism, the effect by which foreign ligands close to activation alter the immune response. Early T-cell activation is selected by evolution to discriminate a few foreign peptides rapidly from a vast excess of self-peptides, and it is unclear in quantitative terms how this is possible. We show that a generic proofreading cascade supplemented by a single negative feedback mediated by the Src homology 2 domain phosphatase-1 (SHP-1) accounts quantitatively for early T-cell activation, including the effects of antagonists. Modulation of the negative feedback with SHP-1 concentration explains counterintuitive experimental observations, such as the nonmonotonic behavior of receptor activity on agonist concentration, the digital vs. continuous behavior on certain parameters, and the loss of response for high SHP-1 concentration. New experiments validate predictions on the nontrivial joint dependence on binding time and concentration for the relative effect of two antagonists: We explain why strong antagonists behave as partial agonists at low concentration and predict that the relative effect of antagonists can invert as their concentrations are varied. By focusing on the phenotype, our model quantitatively fits a body of experimental data with minimal variables and parameters.
Optimal growth strategies of larval helminths in their intermediate hosts

We consider optimal growth of larval stages in complex parasite life cycles where there is no constraint because of host immune responses. Our model predicts an individual's asymptotic size in its intermediate host, with and without competition from conspecific larvae. We match observed variations in larval growth patterns in pseudophyllid cestodes with theoretical predictions of our model. If survival of the host is vital for transmission, larvae should reduce asymptotic size as intensity increases, to avoid killing the host. The life history strategy (LHS) model predicts a size reduction <1/intensity, thus increasing the parasite burden on the host. We discuss whether body size of competing parasites is an evolved LHS or simply reflects resource constraints (RC) on growth fixed by the host, leading to a constant total burden with intensity. Growth under competition appears comparable with “the tragedy of the commons”, much analysed in social sciences. Our LHS prediction suggests that evolution generates a solution that seems cooperative but is actually selfish.
Chang'E-1 Lunar Mission: An Overview and Primary Science Results

Chang'E-1 is the first lunar mission in China, which was successfully launched on Oct.24th, 2007.It was guided to crash on the Moon on March 1,2009,at 52.36degreesE,1.50degreesS,in the north of Mare Fecunditatis. The total mission lasted 495 days, exceeding the designed life-span about four months. 1.37 Terabytes raw data was received from Chang'E-1.It was then processed into 4 Terabytes science data at different levels. A series of science results have been achieved by analyzing and applicating these data, especially"global image of the Moon of China's first lunar exploration mission". Four scientific goals of Chang'E-1 have been achieved. It provides abundant materials for the research of lunar sciences and cosmochemistry. Meanwhile these results will serve for China's future lunar missions
A comparison of voltage stability indices

The stressful condition of power system and high transmission losses leads to voltage security and reliability problems of system operation. If the voltage stability is not assessed and the problems occurred are not mitigated properly, cascading events may occur and this may lead to voltage collapse or blackout events. Therefore, there is a need to assess the voltage stability in order to detect the voltage collapse point and mitigate it when it occurs. This paper aims to compare four existing voltage stability index performance towards reactive and real power load changes. The performances are analyzed theoretically, and using simulation on IEEE 30-bus test system. Total power loss is also observed for each case. The comparison shows that all indices are prone to either reactive or real load power changes only. None of the indices are sensitive towards both power loads changes. Meanwhile, the total power loss is mostly contributed by reactive power losses.
Automatic Line Segment Registration Using Gaussian Mixture Model and Expectation-Maximization Algorithm

Line segment registration (LSR) for image pairs is a challenging task but plays an important role in remote sensing and photogrammetry. This paper proposes a line segment registration method using Gaussian Mixture Models (GMMs) and Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm. Comparing to the conventional registration methods which consider the local appearance of points or line segments, the proposed method of LSR uses only the spatial relations between the line segments detected from an image pair, and it does not require the corresponding line segments sharing the same start points and end points. Although the proposed method is not confined to the transformation model between the image pair, the affine model, which is a simple and fast registration model and widely used in remote sensing, is taken to verify the proposed method. Various images including aerial images, satellite images and GIS data are used to test the algorithm, and test results show that the method is robust to different conditions, including rotation, noise and illumination. The results of the proposed method are compared with those of other line segment matching methods, and it is shown that the proposed method is superior in matching precision and performs better in less-texture or no-texture case.
Isolation of non-tuberculous mycobacteria among patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in Ontario, Canada.

SETTING AND OBJECTIVE There are limited data regarding the frequency and significance of co-isolating pulmonary non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). DESIGN We identified all patients with culture-proven PTB in Ontario, Canada, in 2004, identified those with NTM 'co-isolation' (≤6 months following initial TB isolate) and determined subsequent NTM isolation over 5 years. RESULTS In 2004, 369 people in Ontario had culture-proven PTB (average age 46 years, SD 21, 41% female). NTM co-isolation occurred in 11% (40/369), including Mycobacterium avium complex 22/40 (55%), M. xenopi 7/40 (18%), M. gordonae 6/40 (15%) and others 5/40 (13%). Patients with NTM co-isolation were older (55 vs. 45 years, P = 0.004), but had similar sex ratios (females 43% vs. 40%, P = 0.87). Among patients with co-isolation, 23% (9/40) went on to have ≥2 NTM cultures (excluding initial culture), compared with 3% (10/329) in the PTB group (including initial culture, P = 0.0001). In the co-isolation group, the median (quartiles) number of samples collected for mycobacterial study was 6 (4-8) compared to 2 (1-4) in the PTB group (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS The high frequency of subsequent NTM isolation among patients with NTM co-isolation during PTB may warrant follow-up for potential NTM disease.
500W Long-Pulse High Efficiency UHF BJT Transistor for Radar Applications

A 500 W very long-pulse high efficiency BJT power transistor is presented, which operates at 6 mS pulse width, 20% duty cycle and 36 V supply voltage. The output power exceeds 500 Watts; the efficiency is higher than 60%; and power gain is greater than 11dB across 400 MHz to 450 MHz. The die layout, internal impedance matching technique and external impedance matching of the test fixture design is also described. The thermal resistance is 0.25C/W. The junction temperature remains below 150 C at the heat sink temperature of 70 C. This transistor uses state-of-the-art silicon BJT technology in a common emitter configuration and class C operation. This combination of high power, long-pulse, and high efficiency makes these devices ideally suited for transmitter designs in UHF radar systems.
Fourth-order central compact scheme for the numerical solution of incompressible Navier–Stokes equations

ABSTRACT This paper provides an implicit central compact scheme for the numerical solution of incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. The solution procedure is based on the artificial compressibility method that transforms the governing equations into a hyperbolic-parabolic form. A fourth-order central compact scheme with a sixth-order numerical filtering is used for the discretization of convective terms and fourth-order central compact scheme for the viscous terms. Dual-time stepping approach is applied to time discretization with backward Euler difference scheme to the pseudo-time derivative, and three point second-order backward difference scheme to the physical time derivative. An approximate factorization-based alternating direction implicit scheme is used to solve the resulting block tridiagonal system of equations. The accuracy and efficiency of the proposed numerical method is verified by simulating several two-dimensional steady and unsteady benchmark problems.
Observations of binary population biofilms

Biofilm research has focused on studies of undefined mixed microbial populations and, more recently, on investigations of monopopulation biofilms. In the first case, the biofilm is considered a homogeneous mass, ignoring the properties of individual species. The second case concentrates on the properties and processes of one microbial species in the biofilm. This article describes biofilm experiments conducted with monopopulations of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and with binary populations of K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa. Process rates and stoichiometric coefficients were determined for the monopopulation and for the binary population biofilms and evaluated in light of the species distribution in the latter. Results indicate that neither the specific cellular product formation rate nor the glucose–oxygen stoichiometric ratio of K. pneumoniae or P. aeruginosa in the binary biofilm is affected by the presence of the other species. Consequently, species interaction was not observed. Although the specific cellular growth rate of K. pneumoniae is five times that of P. aeruginosa, the former species did not dominate the microbial population in the biofilm. Possible reasons for this unexpected behavior are discussed.
Antioxidant and free radical scavenging activity of isoflavone metabolites

1. Soy isoflavones have been extensively studied because of their possible health-promoting effects. Genistein and daidzein, the major isoflavone aglycones, have received most attention; however, they undergo extensive metabolism in the gut and liver, which might affect their biological properties. 2. The antioxidant activity, free radical-scavenging properties and selected cellular effects of the isoflavone metabolites equol, 8-hydroxydaidzein, O-desmethylangiolensin, and 1,3,5 trihydroxybenzene were investigated in comparison with their parent aglycones, genistein and daidzein. 3. Electron spin resonance spectroscopy indicated that 8-hydroxydaidzein was the most potent scavenger of hydroxyl and superoxide anion radicals. Isoflavone metabolites also exhibited higher antioxidant activity than parent compounds in standard antioxidant (FRAP and TEAC) assays. However, for the suppression of nitric oxide production by activated macrophages, genistein showed the highest potency, followed by equol and daidzein. 4. The metabolism of isoflavones affects their free radical scavenging and antioxidant properties, and their cellular activity, but the effects are complex.
Preventing falls in the elderly at home: a community‐based program

To the Editor: There has been a resurgence of the vaccine-preventable disease rubella in Australia over the past four years, with 3810, 3812, and 3315 cases being notified in the years 1992, 1993 and 1994, respectively, to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System. We have observed that a mild hepatitis often accompanies this diagnosis, although this is not well documented. Mandell et al.' state that mild hepatitis has been described as an unusual complication of rubella. We conducted a retrospective survey of the results of liver function tests performed at our lab for 171 consecutive patients in one year diagnosed with a clinical history compatible with rubella and supported by a laboratory diagnosis (confirmed either by the presence of specific IgM or a seroconversion for specific IgG for rubella). Consistent with the epidemiology of the recent rubella epidemic, the number of males (62%) in our sample exceeded that of females (38%). The mean age of these patients was 29 years (range, 8-84 years). The results of liver function tests are summarised in the Table, which shows that many patients had elevated levels of liver enzymes, most commonly lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). LDH isoenzyme studies have previously shown an increase in both LD3 derived from platelets and LDs derived from liver in patients with rubella. Patients with a mild, transient hepatitis with high LDH activity in comparison with both aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase levels accompanied by clinical indicators may have rubella.v'
On Specification Predication and the derivation of copular to-clauses in Polish

Abstract The paper offers a consistently derivational account of Polish predicational and specificational copular clauses with the occurrence of a particle to instead of a verbal copula być (‘be’). The particle to is given the status of a predicative head with the potential of designating a phrase in its c-command domain as a specification predicate. Such a phrase is then interpreted as the focus at the C-I interface. Thus, a view is promoted in which the focus, a category of information structure, is not directly coded in narrow syntax, but is rather an interpretive outcome of a more general syntactic relation, referred to as Specification Predication. This view has been inspired by Kiss’s (2006, 2010) idea that focusing is predication but it substantially differs from her approach. The analysis is limited to copular-to clauses, but it is suggested to have a potential for the account of two more syntactic types with the occurrence of the particle to, namely, so-called to-clefts, and topic-to sentences. The proposal advanced in the paper is confronted with three earlier accounts dealing with copular-to clauses, and is shown to avoid some empirical and conceptual problems they have posed. It is shown how the derivation of copular-to clauses proceeds through a sequence of minimal and well-defined steps starting from the formation of an array of two nominal phrases, through a Small Clause stage to a Specification Predicative Phrase. Couched in the recent minimalist framework, the analysis specifically dwells on the theoretical advancements determining the nature of syntactic derivations, such as Hornstein’s (2009) distinctions between operations Concatenate, Merge and Label, Moro’s (2000, 2008) idea of Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking or Chomsky’s (2013) view of Labeling.
A virus of hyperthermophilic archaea with a unique architecture among DNA viruses

Significance We describe a filamentous virus, Pyrobaculum filamentous virus 1 (PFV1), with a linear double-stranded DNA genome. PFV1 infects hyperthermophilic archaea of the genus Pyrobaculum and displays a virion organization that is unique among filamentous DNA viruses. With its linear genome enclosed in a tripartite shell consisting of two protein layers and an external envelope, PFV1 virion organization bears a superficial resemblance to that of filoviruses, such as Ebola and Marburg viruses, which have negative-sense RNA genomes. This observation suggests that overall similar designs in the viral world have been achieved on multiple independent occasions. Viruses package their genetic material in diverse ways. Most known strategies include encapsulation of nucleic acids into spherical or filamentous virions with icosahedral or helical symmetry, respectively. Filamentous viruses with dsDNA genomes are currently associated exclusively with Archaea. Here, we describe a filamentous hyperthermophilic archaeal virus, Pyrobaculum filamentous virus 1 (PFV1), with a type of virion organization not previously observed in DNA viruses. The PFV1 virion, 400 ± 20 × 32 ± 3 nm, contains an envelope and an inner core consisting of two structural units: a rod-shaped helical nucleocapsid formed of two 14-kDa major virion proteins and a nucleocapsid-encompassing protein sheath composed of a single major virion protein of 18 kDa. The virion organization of PFV1 is superficially similar to that of negative-sense RNA viruses of the family Filoviridae, including Ebola virus and Marburg virus. The linear dsDNA of PFV1 carries 17,714 bp, including 60-bp-long terminal inverted repeats, and contains 39 predicted ORFs, most of which do not show similarities to sequences in public databases. PFV1 is a lytic virus that completely disrupts the host cell membrane at the end of the infection cycle.
Association of perceived neighborhood safety with [corrected] body mass index.

OBJECTIVES We sought to determine whether there is an association between perceived neighborhood safety and body mass index (BMI), accounting for endogeneity. METHODS A random sample of 2255 adults from the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey 2000-2001 was analyzed using instrumental variables. The main outcome was BMI using self-reported height and weight, and the main independent variable was residents' report of their neighborhood safety. RESULTS In adjusted analyses, individuals who perceived their neighborhoods as unsafe had a BMI that was 2.81 kg/m(2) (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.11, 5.52) higher than did those who perceived their neighborhoods as safe. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that clinical and public health interventions aimed at reducing rates of obesity may be enhanced by strategies to modify the physical and social environment that incorporate residents' perceptions of their communities.