Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bandwidth Enhancement of a Polarization-Reconfigurable Patch Antenna With Stair-Slots on the Ground

A polarization-reconfigurable rectangular patch antenna for bandwidth enhancement is proposed. This antenna has stair-slots on the ground and two p-i-n diodes are used for switching the antenna's polarization in linear polarization (LP), left-hand circular polarization (LHCP) and right-hand circular polarization (RHCP). The structure is concise and easy to optimize, and dc bias network is very simple. The measured impedance (-10-db S11) and 3-dB axial-ratio (AR) bandwidths are about 180 and 37 MHz, respectively, at the center frequency around 2.46 GHz for both LHCP and RHCP. Compared to the reference antennas (antenna with loop slots on the ground and antenna with L-shaped slots on the ground), the bandwidths of -10-dB S11 and 3-dB AR are greatly enhanced. The asymmetrical slotted ground excites TM10 and TM01 modes with different resonant frequency to generate CP radiation, and because of the stair-slots, instead of loop slots and L-shaped slots, the lower resonant frequency decreases and the higher one increases. Thus, the bandwidths are improved. The antenna has good switchable and radiation performances. It could be used for wireless local area network (WLAN) (2.4-2.5 GHz) in wireless communication systems.
Effects of Lactic Acid-Fermented Soymilk on Lipid Metabolism-Related Gene Expression in Rat Liver

We examined the effects of lactic acid fermentation of soymilk on the lipid profile and lipid metabolism-related gene expression in rat liver. Male Sprague-Dawley rats aged 7 weeks were fed a control diet (AIN-93), soymilk diet, or fermented soymilk diet for 1 week or 5 weeks. The hepatic triglyceride and cholesterol contents in the soymilk (SM) group and the fermented soymilk (FSM) group were significantly lower than those in the control group after 5 weeks, but these changes had not become apparent until after 1 week. The fatty acid synthesis-related genes were more markedly down-regulated after 1 week than after 5 weeks, whereas the cytochrome p450 family 7 subfamily a polypeptide 1 (CYP7al) gene related to cholesterol catabolism was more markedly up-regulated after 5 weeks than after 1 week. This up-regulation was higher in the FSM group than in the SM group. It is assumed that the bioactive components produced by lactic acid fermentation induced the up-regulation of CYP7a1.
Effect of a gluten‐free diet on plasma nitric oxide products in coeliac disease

Background: Inducible nitric oxide synthase is expressed in the small intestine of patients with coeliac disease. This produces increased plasma concentration of nitric oxide end products (NOx), most marked in those ingesting gluten. The time‐course of change in NOx with a gluten‐free diet (GFD) and its correlation with histology and coeliac serology were studied. Methods: Fasting plasma NOx was determined by the Greiss reaction in 20 coeliac patients at diagnosis and 2, 4 and 6 months after commencing a GFD. Endomysial and gliadin antibodies were checked at the same time. Duodenal biopsies were taken at diagnosis and at 6 months, and then graded according to the Marsh classification. Results: Plasma NOx fell rapidly following the introduction of a GFD (mean before GFD 95.8 μM to 61.5 μM at 2 months), and further still by 6 months (mean = 37.0 μM). Reductions at 2 and 6 months were statistically significant compared with baseline (P < 0.01 and P < 0.005, respectively: Wilcoxon signed ranks test). Plasma NOx was correlated with histological grade initially (P = 0.03: Kruskal‐Wallis) but not after 6 months on a GFD (P = 0.24). Coeliac serology correlated poorly with histology. Conclusions: Plasma NOx falls rapidly following GFD in coeliac disease and is related to histological grade initially. However, values vary widely between individuals, which may limit its use as a clinical tool.
Conservatives report, but liberals display, greater happiness

Be mindful of a self-reported gap Happiness is a notoriously hard to pin down quantity possibly best described by the phrase, “I know it when I see it. ” Self-reported ratings of happiness are generally higher for political conservatives in the United States than for those with more liberal leanings. Wojcik et al. examined three data sets based on behavioral measures, such as tweets and smiles. Despite self-reported claims to the contrary, liberals exhibited more happiness than their more conservative counterparts. For instance, as judged from their photographs on a business-oriented social network, more employees of the New York Times smiled genuinely than did those of the Wall Street Journal. Science, this issue p. 1243 They don’t say so, but politically more liberal people display more happiness than conservatives via their written words and genuine smiles. Research suggesting that political conservatives are happier than political liberals has relied exclusively on self-report measures of subjective well-being. We show that this finding is fully mediated by conservatives’ self-enhancing style of self-report (study 1; N = 1433) and then describe three studies drawing from “big data” sources to assess liberal-conservative differences in happiness-related behavior (studies 2 to 4; N = 4936). Relative to conservatives, liberals more frequently used positive emotional language in their speech and smiled more intensely and genuinely in photographs. Our results were consistent across large samples of online survey takers, U.S. politicians, Twitter users, and LinkedIn users. Our findings illustrate the nuanced relationship between political ideology, self-enhancement, and happiness and illuminate the contradictory ways that happiness differences can manifest across behavior and self-reports.
Antimicrobial Susceptibility and Distribution of Antimicrobial-Resistance Genes Among Enterococcus and Coagulase-Negative Staphylococcus Isolates Recovered from Poultry Litter

Abstract Data on the prevalence of antimicrobial resistant enterococci and staphylococci from the poultry production environment are sparse in the United States. This information is needed for science-based risk assessments of antimicrobial use in animal husbandry and potential public-health consequences. In this study, we assessed the susceptibility of staphylococci and enterococci isolated from poultry litter, recovered from 24 farms across Georgia, to several antimicrobials of veterinary and human health importance. Among the 90 Enterococcus isolates recovered, E. hirae (46%) was the most frequently encountered species, followed by E. faecium (27%), E. gallinarum (12%), and E. faecalis (10%). Antimicrobial resistance was most often observed to tetracycline (96%), followed by clindamycin (90%), quinupristin–dalfopristin (62%), penicillin (53%), erythromycin (50%), nitrofurantoin (49%), and clarithromycin (48%). Among the 110 staphylococci isolates recovered, only coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) were identified with the predominant Staphylococcus species being S. sciuri (38%), S. lentus (21%), S. xylosus (14%) and S. simulans (12%). Resistance was less-frequently observed among the Staphylococcus isolates for the majority of antimicrobials tested, as compared with Enterococcus isolates, and was primarily limited to clarithromycin (71%), erythromycin (71%), clindamycin (48%), and tetracycline (38%). Multidrug resistance (MDR) phenotypes were prevalent in both Enterococcus and Staphylococcus; however, Enterococcus exhibited a statistically significant difference in the median number of antimicrobials to which resistance was observed (median = 5.0) compared with Staphylococcus species (median = 3.0). Because resistance to several of these antimicrobials in gram-positive bacteria may be attributed to the shuttling of common drug-resistance genes, we also determined which common antimicrobial-resistance genes were present in both enterococci and staphylococci. The antimicrobial resistance genes vat(D) and erm(B) were present in enterococci, vgaB in staphylococci, and mobile genetic elements Tn916 and pheromone-inducible plasmids were only identified in enterococci. These data suggest that the disparity in antimicrobial-resistance phenotypes and genotypes between enterococci and staphylococci isolated from the same environment is, in part, because of barriers preventing exchange of mobile DNA elements.
Carbohydrate Structure of Human Fibrinogen

From the “Department of Medicine, Dicision of Hematology, The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, the ‘Department of Surgery, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, the “Department of Biochemistry, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana 701 12, the ‘Department of Biochemistry, University of Kentucky, College ofMedicine, Lexington, Kentucky 40536, and the ‘Department of Biology and the McCollum-Pratt Institute, The Johns Hopkins Uniuersity, Baltimore, Maryland 21218
DNA replication initiation patterns and spatial dynamics of the human ribosomal RNA gene loci

Typically, only a fraction of the ≥600 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene copies in human cells are transcriptionally active. Expressed rRNA genes coalesce in specialized nuclear compartments – the nucleoli – and are believed to replicate during the first half of S phase. Paradoxically, attempts to visualize replicating rDNA during early S phase have failed. Here, I show that, in human (HeLa) cells, early-replicating rDNA is detectable at the nucleolar periphery and, more rarely, even outside nucleoli. Early-replicated rDNA relocates to the nucleolar interior and reassociates with the transcription factor UBF, implying that it predominantly represents expressed rDNA units. Contrary to the established model for active gene loci, replication initiates randomly throughout the early-replicating rDNA. By contrast, mostly silent rDNA copies replicate inside the nucleoli during mid and late S phase. At this stage, replication origins are fired preferentially within the non-transcribed intergenic spacers (NTSs), and ongoing rDNA transcription is required to maintain this specific initiation pattern. I propose that the unexpected spatial dynamics of the early-replicating rDNA repeats serve to ensure streamlined efficient replication of the most heavily transcribed genomic loci while simultaneously reducing the risk of chromosome breaks and rDNA hyper-recombination.
[Diagnostic and therapeutic management of Barrett's esophagus].

Die Entstehung eines Barrett-Ösophagus (BE) ist pathophysiologisch auch heute noch nicht eindeutig geklärt. Er gilt als Folgeerscheinung eines chronischen gastroösophagealen Refluxes und geht mit einem erhöhten Risiko eines Adenokarzinoms der Speiseröhre einher [7]. Die Diagnose wird meist durch eine Gastroskopie bei Verdacht auf eine gastroösophageale Refluxsymptomatik gestellt. Aber der Barrett-Ösophagus an sich verursacht keine Beschwerden und wird auch nicht selten endoskopisch bei Patienten ohne jegliche Refluxsymptomatik gefunden.
Estimation of Sparse Channels in Millimeter-Wave MU-MIMO Systems

This paper considers a channel estimation scheme for millimeter-wave multiuser multiple-input multiple-output systems. According to the proposed method, parts of the beams are selected and the channel parameters are estimated according to the sparsity of channels and the orthogonality of the beams. Since the beams for each channel become distinct and the signal power increases with the increased number of antennas, the proposed approach is able to achieve good estimation performance. As a result, the sum rate can be increased in comparison with traditional approaches, and channels can be estimated with fewer pilot symbols. Numerical results verify that the proposed approach outperforms traditional approaches in cases with large numbers of antennas.
Estimation of mean glandular dose for breast tomosynthesis: factors for use with the UK, European and IAEA breast dosimetry protocols

A formalism is proposed for the estimation of mean glandular dose for breast tomosynthesis, which is a simple extension of the UK, European and IAEA protocols for dosimetry in conventional projection mammography. The formalism introduces t-factors for the calculation of breast dose from a single projection and T-factors for a complete exposure series. Monte Carlo calculations of t-factors have been made for an imaging geometry with full-field irradiation of the breast for a wide range of x-ray spectra, breast sizes and glandularities. The t-factors show little dependence on breast glandularity and tables are provided as a function of projection angle and breast thickness, which may be used for all x-ray spectra simulated. The T-factors for this geometry depend upon the choice of projection angles and weights per projection, but various example calculations gave values in the range 0.93–1.00. T-factors are also provided for the Sectra tomosynthesis system, which employs a scanned narrow-beam imaging geometry. In this quite different configuration, the factor (denoted TS) shows an important dependence on breast thickness, varying between 0.98 and 0.76 for 20 and 110 mm thick breasts, respectively. Additional data are given to extend the current tabulations of g-, c- and s-factors used for dosimetry of conventional 2D mammography.
Pharmacokinetic investigations in patients from northern Angola refractory to melarsoprol treatment

Melarsoprol, an organo‐arsenical drug, has been the drug of choice for late‐stage trypanosomiasis for 50 years. Because of the lack of alternatives any abatement of this medication will have a dramatic negative impact on the perspectives for patients. As a large number of patients refractory to melarsoprol treatment was recently reported from northern Uganda and northern Angola, we investigated in northern Angola whether interpatient pharmacokinetic differences influence the outcome of melarsoprol treatment. Drug levels were determined by a biological assay in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 22 patients. Nine patients could be successfully treated, eight were refractory and the outcome was unclear or no adequate follow‐up information was available for five patients. No differences in the pharmacokinetic parameters (maximum serum concentration Cmax, half‐life t1/2β, total clearance CL and the volume of distribution Vss) could be detected between the groups. Serum and CSF concentrations for all patients were in the expected range. This result indicates that other underlying factors are responsible for treatment failures.
The Effect of Accuracy Motivation on Anchoring and Adjustment: Do People Adjust from Provided Anchors?

Increasing accuracy motivation (e.g., by providing monetary incentives for accuracy) often fails to increase adjustment away from provided anchors, a result that has led researchers to conclude that people do not effortfully adjust away from such anchors. We challenge this conclusion. First, we show that people are typically uncertain about which way to adjust from provided anchors and that this uncertainty often causes people to believe that they have initially adjusted too far away from such anchors (Studies 1a and 1b). Then, we show that although accuracy motivation fails to increase the gap between anchors and final estimates when people are uncertain about the direction of adjustment, accuracy motivation does increase anchor-estimate gaps when people are certain about the direction of adjustment, and that this is true regardless of whether the anchors are provided or self-generated (Studies 2, 3a, 3b, and 5). These results suggest that people do effortfully adjust away from provided anchors but that uncertainty about the direction of adjustment makes that adjustment harder to detect than previously assumed. This conclusion has important theoretical implications, suggesting that currently emphasized distinctions between anchor types (self-generated vs. provided) are not fundamental and that ostensibly competing theories of anchoring (selective accessibility and anchoring-and-adjustment) are complementary.
Translation and validation of the Japanese version of the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire version A.

Severe antenatal fear of childbirth causes adverse effects on emotional well-being during the postpartum period. The Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire is widely used to measure fear of childbirth among women before (version A) and after (version B) delivery. In this study, the original Swedish version was translated into Japanese, and its validity and reliability were examined among healthy, pregnant Japanese women. The Japanese-translated version presented a multidimensional structure with four factors: fear, lack of positive anticipation, isolation, and riskiness. Exhibiting concurrent/convergent validity, the Japanese version correlated with other psychological measures at expected levels. The Cronbach's α (0.90) and the intraclass correlation coefficient (0.86, P < 0.001) were high. In conclusion, the results provide support for the Japanese version to be considered a valid and reliable measure of prenatal fear of childbirth among pregnant Japanese women.
ULTRASTRUCTURAL STUDY OF FIBRIN DISSOLUTION VIA EMIGRATED POLYMORPHONUCLEAR NEUTROPHILS.

is a component of the inflammatory process. polymorphonuclear neutrophils comprise the initial cellular response in acute inflammation. A functional relationship between these two components posed by the early work of Rulot,1 that fibrin dissolution in saline was greatly accelerated if leukocytes were present in the fibrin network. was due to the release of leukocyte-bound proteolytic enzymes. observations by describing a proteolytic enzyme derived from polynuclear leukocytes of the inflammatory exudate. the capable of digesting coagulated blood serum, fibrin, gelatin casein. to Opie's work by that exudative neutrophils pepsin, trypsin cathepsin. posed. Fixation was Wolman-Behar fixative17 o°C. I0 were the fixative, allowed to air-dry and on the same or at a subsequent time the fluorescent antibody specific in reacting with either fibrinogen, fibrin or their breakdown products was applied to the exudative cells. Rhodamine antifibrinogen was adjusted with saline to an optical density of 0.2I at 56o m,u and applied at room temperature for 40 minutes. The specimens were thor-oughly washed with tap water, air-dried and examined with a Zeiss photomicroscope equipped with fluorescent accessories. The best filter combinations for observation and photography were the BG I 2 exciter filter and the OG 4 barrier filter.
Gastric intramucosal pH and intraluminal Pco2 during weaning from mechanical ventilation

ObjectiveTo study the value of gastric intramucosal pH and gastric intraluminal Pco2 measurements to predict weaning outcome from mechanical ventilation. DesignProspective clinical study. SettingIntensive care medicine department of a university hospital. PatientsNineteen adult critically ill patients who were mechanically ventilated because of acute respiratory failure and were considered ready to be weaned. InterventionsThe patients were weaned with: synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation plus positive end-expiratory pressure (SIMV+PEEP) or continuous positive airway pressure with pressure support ventilation (CPAP+PSV). A gastric tonometer was placed in all the patients. Tonometric, respiratory, and hemodynamic variables were measured during the weaning process. MeasurementsHemodynamic variables, respiratory mechanics, pulmonary gas exchange, respiratory muscle force, spontaneous pattern of breathing, and the central control of breathing were recorded. Simultaneously, the intramucosal pH and gastric intraluminal Pco2 were measured. Main ResultsEleven patients were successfully extubated and eight failed. The patients who failed showed higher values of mouth occlusion pressure, respiratory rate, and effective inspiratory impedance (mouth occlusion pressure/mean inspiratory flow). The intramucosal pH was initially 7.19 ± 0.22 and decreased to 7.10 ± 0.16 during the weaning process in patients who failed (p < .05). At the same time, the intramucosal pH showed a nonsignificant change from 7.36 ± 0.07 to 7.32 ± 0.07 in the patients who were successfully extubated. The intramucosal pH was statistically different when both groups were compared during the initial and the final evaluations (p < .05). For the initial evaluation, the sensitivity and specificity to predict weaning failure when the intramucosal pH was ≤7.30 were 0.88 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.66–1) and 0.82 (95% CI, 0.59–1), respectively. The gastric intraluminal Pco2 was higher in patients who failed (p < .05). When gastric intraluminal Pco2 was ≥40 torr during the initial evaluation, weaning failure occurred with a sensitivity of 1 (95% CI, 0.31–1) and a specificity of 0.55 (95% CI, 0.26–0.84). ConclusionsWeaning failure was associated with gastric intramucosal acidosis. The intramucosal pH and gastric intraluminal Pco2 may be helpful to predict weaning outcome. Further controlled clinical trials in a larger group of patients are needed.
Cardiac Effects of Coronary Arteriography with Electrolyte Addition to Iohexol

Electrolyte addition to nonionic contrast media has been suggested to further reduce the incidence of ventricular fibrillation during coronary arteriography. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of adding 30 mM NaCl, 0.9 mM KCl, 0.15 mM CaCl2 and 0.1 mM MgCl2 to iohexol on cardiac electrophysiology and hemodynamics (iohexol + electrolytes = IPE). Contrast media were injected into the left main coronary artery in 9 open-chest, anesthetized dogs before and after induction of acute ischemic heart failure. IPE increased left ventricular inotropy (LV dP/dtmax) with no initial decrease, even during heart failure. During heart failure IPE induced the same hemodynamic effects as iohexol without electrolyte addition. IPE slightly lengthened epicardial monophasic action potential duration before heart failure. We conclude that IPE appears to be well tolerated hemodynamically. The electrophysiologic differences between IPE and iohexol are small when the injection time is not longer than 5 s.
Modulation of P-glycoprotein-Mediated Anticancer Drug Accumulation, Cytotoxicity, and ATPase Activity by Flavonoid Interactions

Flavonoids are components of plant foods and of many herbal medicines taken in combination with anticancer drugs. We have examined the potential of flavonoids to affect the accumulation and cytotoxicity of 3 cytotoxic drugs [vinblastine (VLB), daunorubicin (DNR), and colchicine (COL)] that are substrates for the ABC transporter, P-glycoprotein in a vinblastine-resistant T-cell leukemia, CEM/VBL100, that overexpresses P-glycoprotein. The effects of the flavonoids on accumulation and cytotoxicity of these drugs were different depending on the P-gp substrate used. Most of the 30 flavonoids tested decreased DNR accumulation in the VBL-resistant, but not sensitive, leukemia cells. By contrast, flavonoids that inhibited DNR accumulation enhanced the accumulation of fluorescently labeled vinblastine. None of these flavonoids affected COL accumulation. The effects of the flavonoids on the cytotoxicities of these drugs paralleled their effects on accumulation; the same flavonoids decreased DNR cytotoxicity but increased VLB cytotoxicity and had no effect on COL. Verapamil reversed the accumulation deficit and cytotoxicity of all three P-gp substrates. These effects correlated with the effects of flavonoids on P-gp-ATPase activity. Flavonoids that decreased DNR accumulation stimulated DNR-activated P-gp ATPase, whereas flavonoids that increased fluorescently labeled VLB accumulation inhibited VBL-stimulated P-gp ATPase activity, thereby accounting for the decrease or increase in cancer drug accumulation in resistant cells. We conclude that flavonoids often ingested by cancer patients may have different effects on anticancer drugs and that these findings should be considered in designing future combination treatments for cancer patients.