Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Investigation of Temperature-Dependent Characteristics of AlGaN/GaN MOS-HEMT by Using Hydrogen Peroxide Oxidation Technique

This paper investigates the temperature-dependent performances of AlGaN/GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor high electron mobility transistor (MOS-HEMT). The gate dielectric layer and surface passivation layer are formed by the H2O2 oxidation technique. The gate dielectric quality is estimated by the breakdown electric field (EBD) and low-frequency noise. The capacitance-voltage (C-V) hysteresis characteristics of MOS and Schottky diodes at 300/480 K are also studied. An appropriate thermal model is used to investigate the self-heating effect and calculate the effective channel temperature (Teff). The dc performances of the present MOS-HEMT are improved at 300/480 K, as compared with a Schottky-barrier HEMT (SB-HEMT), including output current density, maximum extrinsic transconductance (gm,max), gate voltage swing, gate-drain leakage current (IGD), specific ON-resistance (RON), three-terminal OFF-state breakdown voltage (BVOFF), and subthreshold swing. Factors that cause IGD and BVOFF are analyzed by the temperature-dependent measurement. The passivation effect of the present MOS-HEMT is also confirmed by the surface leakage measurement. The devised MOS-HEMT demonstrates superior thermal stability to the reference SB-HEMT. The present-design is promising for high-temperature electronic applications.
Evolution of Sporadic Isolates of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in Hospitals and Their Similarities to Isolates of Community-Acquired MRSA

ABSTRACT Forty-one methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) hospital isolates that clearly differed from the six major pandemic clones of MRSA in pulsed-field gel electrophoresis type, mecA and Tn554 polymorphism, and epidemic behavior were selected from an international strain collection for more detailed characterization. SpaA typing, multilocus sequence typing, and SCCmec (staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec) typing demonstrated extensive diversity among these sporadic isolates both in genetic background and also in the structure of the associated SCCmec elements. Nevertheless, the isolates could be grouped into restricted clonal complexes by using the BURST (i.e., based upon related sequence types) program algorithm, which predicted that most sporadic MRSA isolates evolved from pandemic MRSA clones. Several of the sporadic MRSA resembled community-acquired MRSA isolates in properties that included a relatively limited multiresistance pattern, faster growth rates, diversity of genetic backgrounds, and a frequent association with SCCmec type IV.
Efficient screening of cognitive dysfunction in stroke patients: Comparison between the CAMCOG and the R-CAMCOG, Mini Mental State Examination and Functional Independence Measure-cognition score

Background. The CAMCOG is a valid screening instrument for cognitive dysfunction in stroke patients but too time-consuming to be used by physicians in acute or post-acute care settings. The aim of this study was to identify a shorter cognitive screening test or combination of tests that yields the same results as the CAMCOG. Methods. A total of 169 stroke patients completed the CAMCOG and the abbreviated Rotterdam-CAMCOG (R-CAMCOG), Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the cognitive part of the Functional Independence Measure (FIM cognition) after admission to clinical rehabilitation and 1 year after stroke. The CAMCOG score was used as criterion standard for validity. Results. Spearman correlations with the CAMCOG were very strong for the R-CAMCOG (both 0.92), strong for the MMSE (0.66 and 0.69) and moderate to weak for the FIM cognition (0.35 and 0.27). Stepwise linear regression analyses showed that, at admission, the R-CAMCOG explained 83% of the variance in the CAMCOG. The MMSE and R-CAMCOG together explained 87%. At 1 year after stroke the correlations and explained variances were similar. Conclusion. The recently constructed R-CAMCOG appears an efficient alternative for the CAMCOG as a screening tool for cognitive dysfunction of stroke patients.
Book Review: The Neurobiology of Pain: Developmental Aspects

Invasive procedures that would be painful in children and adults are frequently performed on infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. This article discusses sensory responses to these procedures in the immature nervous system and highlights the fact that, in addition to causing distress and delayed recovery, pain in infancy is also a developmental issue. First, the immaturity of sensory processing within the newborn spinal cord leads to lower thresholds for excitation and sensitization, therefore potentially maximizing the central effects of these tissue-damaging inputs. Second, the plasticity of both peripheral and central sensory connections in the neonatal period means that early damage in infancy can lead to prolonged structural and functional alterations in pain pathways that can last into adult life.
Alcohol consumption among rural African American and White adolescents: The role of religion, parents, and peers

ABSTRACT Although studies have examined ethnic differences in psychosocial factors and adolescent alcohol use, most have not examined these relationships for rural adolescents. The Community Drug and Alcohol Survey (CDAS) was completed by 23,163 rural adolescents attending African American secondary schools. Multilevel analysis tested the hypothesis of stronger relationships of peer use and religiosity with alcohol use and a weaker relationship for parental permissiveness and alcohol use for White compared to African American adolescents. Results suggested that peer use, religiosity, and parental permissiveness were more strongly associated with changes in alcohol use for White adolescents. Findings provide insight for alcohol prevention among rural adolescents.
The bright liver syndrome. Prevalence and determinants of a "bright" liver echopattern.

BACKGROUND "Bright" liver at ultrasonography predicts fatty liver. AIM To assess prevalence and predictors of a bright liver. METHODS Prevalence arm--Prospective collection of records of unselected patients undergoing liver ultrasound. Protocol arm--A sample of patients with bright liver underwent routine laboratory investigations, liver tests, HBsAg (EIA) and anti-HCV (ELISA). Equipment--Grey scale real-time scanner. Bright liver diagnosed through the liver-kidney contrast. Statistics--Student's t-test; chi-square test; one-way analysis of variance; stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis, forward and backward. RESULTS Prevalence arm--72 out of 363 (19.8%) cases had bright liver. Protocol arm--100 cases underwent laboratory evaluation. No difference was found in mean values of fasting plasma glucose, LDL cholesterol, apo A, Lp(a), uric acid, total bilirubin, GOT, GPT, AP, GGT, and serum bile acids or in the prevalence of serum HBsAg and anti-HCV in bright liver vs control groups. Univariate analysis showed body mass index, age, total cholesterol triglycerides, apo B, albumin, HDL cholesterol to be significantly different between cases and controls. However, the last 2 variables dropped out when logistic regression analysis was applied. CONCLUSIONS 1. Roughly 20% of Italian patients undergoing US for routine clinical practice will have a bright liver. 2. Body mass index, age, serum cholesterol, triglycerides, and apo B levels are the independent predictors of a bright liver.
Growth of Weil-Petersson volumes and random hyperbolic surfaces of large genus

In this paper we study the asymptotic behavior of Weil-Petersson volumes of moduli spaces of hyperbolic surfaces of genus $g$ as $g \rightarrow \infty. $ We apply these asymptotic estimates to study the geometric properties of random hyperbolic surfaces, such as the Cheeger constant and the length of the shortest simple closed geodesic of a given combinatorial type.
Substrate Majority Carrier-Induced NLDMOSFET Failure and Its Prevention in Advanced Smart Power IC Technologies

This paper discusses substrate majority carrier conduction and prevention for an n-type lateral double diffused MOSFET (NLDMOSFET) device in Smart Power IC technologies. Substrate majority carrier current poses severe electrical and thermal stress for NLDMOSFET devices and causes many system integration issues for advanced Smart Power IC technologies. A single- and multi-iso isolated NLDMOSFET is proposed and experimentally verified to eliminate the problem. Tradeoff between device size, safe operating area (SOA), substrate current, and NLDMOSFET-device power dissipation has been studied. Detailed analysis of device SOA for conventional and isolated devices and techniques to improve the device SOA has also been provided
Characterization of the humoral immune response and virus replication in cats experimentally infected with feline foamy virus.

Cats were experimentally infected with cell culture-adapted feline foamy virus (FFV, spumaretrovirinae) isolate FUV. FFV was consistently recovered from peripheral blood leukocytes and throat samples of FFV-infected cats starting 2 to 3 weeks postinfection (p. i.), indicative of the establishment of persistent FFV infections. Viral persistence was established, even despite neutralizing antibodies that appeared early after infection. The humoral immune response toward FFV was quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed over time. FFV Gag-specific antibodies were first detected 2 weeks p. i. and increased further; reactivities to the other structural and nonstructural FFV proteins appeared slightly delayed. Reactivities against FFV Pol and Gag proteins were detectable by immunoblotting and radioimmunoprecipitation, whereas the latter techniques had to be employed for the unambiguous detection of FFV Env-, Bet-, and Bel 1-specific antibodies.
Late parenthood among subfertile and fertile couples: motivations and educational goals.

OBJECTIVES The percentage of first birth among women and men in their early thirties is growing rapidly. Personal development is considered as an important factor for postponement of having children. Also, subfertility may lead to late parenthood. METHODS In this study 72 younger and 154 older first time parents in the Netherlands answered a questionnaire regarding parenthood. Subfertile parents and fertile parents were separately analysed. RESULTS Both fertile and subfertile mothers expressed a lesser desire to have a child than younger ones. Older fertile mothers valued the personal development of their children as more important than younger fertile mothers. Also, older fertile mothers had less traditional reasons for motherhood and reported less feminine characteristics. Younger fertile fathers assessed the future material success of their child as less important than older ones. Also, they reported less feminine characteristics. CONCLUSION There is more common ground than differences between younger and older first-time mothers. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Counselors should be aware that there appears to be no ground to fear that having children in the age of 30 and 40, has negative effects regarding parenting.
The Role of Fear-Avoidance Cognitions and Behaviors in Patients with Chronic Tinnitus

The current study investigated the role of fear-avoidance—a concept from chronic pain research—in chronic tinnitus. A self-report measure the “Tinnitus Fear-Avoidance Cognitions and Behaviors Scale (T-FAS)” was developed and validated. Furthermore, the role of fear-avoidance behavior as mediator of the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and tinnitus handicap was investigated. From a clinical setting, N = 373 patients with chronic tinnitus completed questionnaires assessing tinnitus handicap (Tinnitus Handicap Inventory), anxiety, depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), anxiety sensitivity (Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3), personality factors (Big Five Inventory-10), and fear-avoidance. To analyze the psychometric properties, principal component analysis with parallel component extraction and correlational analyses were used. To examine a possible mediating effect, hierarchical regression analysis was applied. The principal component analysis resulted in a three-factor solution: Fear-avoidance Cognitions, Tinnitus-related Fear-Avoidance Behavior, and Ear-related Fear-Avoidance Behavior. Internal consistency was satisfactory for the total scale and all subscales. High correlations between tinnitus-related handicap scales, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and the T-FAS were found, whereas associations with personality factors were low. Moreover, results indicate a significant partial mediation of fear-avoidance behaviors in the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and the cognitive dimension of tinnitus handicap. Results show that fear-avoidance behavior plays an important role in tinnitus handicap. More attention should be paid to this concept in research and clinical practice of psychotherapy for chronic tinnitus.
DOES DINOPHYSIS CAUDATA (DINOPHYCEAE) HAVE PERMANENT PLASTIDS? 1

The marine photosynthetic dinoflagellates Dinophysis Ehrenb. species are obligate mixotrophs that require both light and the ciliate prey Myrionecta rubra (= Mesodinium rubrum) for long‐term survival. Despite rapid progress on the study of Dinophysis using laboratory cultures, however, whether it has its own permanent plastids or kleptoplastids (i.e., stolen plastids from its ciliate prey) is not fully resolved. Here, we addressed this issue using established cultures of D. caudata Saville‐Kent strain DC‐LOHABE01 and cross‐feeding/starvation experiments encompassing the prey M. rubra strain MR‐MAL01 cultures grown on two different cryptophytes (strains CR‐MAL01 and CR‐MAL11). To follow the fate of prey plastids, psbA gene as a tracer was amplified from individually isolated D. caudata cells, and the PCR products were digested with a restriction enzyme, SfaNI. The RFLP pattern of the PCR products digested by SfaNI revealed that D. caudata continued to keep CR‐MAL01–type plastids, while it lost CR‐MAL11–type plastids with increasing starvation time. Our results suggest that Dinophysis treats in different ways plastids taken up from different cryptophytes via its ciliate prey M. rubra. Alternatively, D. caudata may already have its own CR‐MAL01–type permanent plastid, with two types of plastids (CR‐MAL01 and CR‐MAL11) obtained from M. rubra being lost within 1 month. This result highlights the need to identify more accurately the origin of plastids in newly isolated photosynthetic Dinophysis species to resolve the issue of plastid permanence.
Differential regulation of multiple populations of granules in rat adrenal chromaffin cells by culture duration and cyclic AMP

We employed carbon fiber amperometry to measure the amount of catecholamine released from individual granules (i.e. the quantal size, Q) of rat chromaffin cells. The distribution of Q1/3 of amperometric events could be reasonably described by the summation of at least three Gaussians, suggesting that rat chromaffin cells contained at least three distinct populations of granules, with a small, medium or large modal Q. After 3 days of culture, the mean cellular Q reduced by ∼14%, which did not arise from a uniform percentage decrease in the Q of every granule. Instead, the rundown involved a > 11% decrease in the proportional release from large Q granules and a > 19% decrease in the modal Q‐value of small Q granules. In contrast, when cells were cultured with dibutyryl‐cAMP (dBcAMP) for 3 days, their mean cellular Q increased by ∼38% (relative to time‐matched controls). This increase in Q was not associated with any shift in the proportional release from the three populations of granules. Instead, cAMP increased the average amount of catecholamines released from all three populations of granules. Our data raise the possibility that distinct populations of granules in rat chromaffin cells can be regulated either differentially or uniformly.
Chondrogenesis in Cartilage Repair is Induced by Members of the Transforming Growth Factor-Beta Superfamily

The authors recently reported on the principle of an intrinsic repair strategy for partial-thickness articular cartilage defects, which is based on the introduction of a biocompatible and biodegradable matrix loaded with a free chemotactic and mitogenic agent (transforming growth factor-beta 1, at low concentration) and a liposomeencapsulated chondrogenic factor (transforming growth factor-beta 1 at high concentration). In the current study, the potential of other members of the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily (transforming growth factor-beta 2, transforming growth factor-beta 3, bone morphogenetic protein-2 and bone morphogenetic protein-13), and of insulinlike growth factor-1, epidermal growth factor, transforming growth factor-alpha, and Tenascin-C, to induce chondrogenesis within the authors’ adult miniature pig articular cartilage defect model, was evaluated. The degree of chondrogenic tissue differentiation was assessed 6 weeks after surgery, on a semiquantitative basis, histologic assessment of cell morphologic features, and intercellular matrix staining being used as the relevant criteria. All selected members of the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily were efficacious in inducing chondrogenic tissue transformation, whereas the other signaling substances tested were not. When encapsulated at high activity levels, bone morphogenetic proteins were less prone than transforming growth factor-beta 1, transforming growth factor-beta 2, and transforming growth factor-beta 3 to evoke undesired side effects as a result of incidental leakage into the joint cavities and subsynovial connective tissue spaces, and therefore they are potentially more suitable candidates for use in human patients.
VKORC1 gene variation and venous thrombosis: ‘another one bites the dust’?

See also Lacut K, Larramendy-Gozalo C, Le Gal G, Duchemin J, Mercier B, Gourhant L, Mottier D, Becquemont L, Oger E, Verstuyft C. Vitamin K epoxide reductase genetic polymorphism is associated with venous thromboembolism: results from the EDITH study. This issue, pp 2020–4; Hindorff LA, Heckbert SR, Smith N, Marciante KD, Psaty BM. Common VKORC1 variants are not associated with arterial or venous thrombosis. This issue, pp 2025–7.
The immune system as a sensory organ.

La neuro-immuno-endocrinologie est supposee depuis longtemps. En effet, le systeme nerveux innerve les organes et tissus varies du systeme immunitaire et leur stimulation a des effets sur la reponse immunitaire. Les auteurs tentent de repondre a 3 questions: est-ce que les lymphokines et les hormones peptidiques d'origine neuroendocrine ont des fonctions communes? Est-ce que les cellules des systemes immunitaire et neuroendocrine ont des recepteurs communs pour les signaux peptidiques? Les peptides sont-ils communs a ces 2 systemes?
Autoimmune Epilepsy: Are We Seeing the Tip of the Iceberg … or the Whole Thing?

Commentary Neurologists are at once comfortable and uncomfortable with uncertainty: The first allows us to effectively care for patients despite incomplete knowledge, and the second drives us to new discoveries. Despite the use of sophisticated diagnostic tools, we lack a fundamental grasp of some basic facts about the epilepsies, including the cause of seizures in the majority of our patients. Advances in neuroimaging have reduced the proportion of ‘unknown’ causes of epilepsy, and other disciplines—including genetics and immunology—are likely to reveal more. The ultimate size of the autoimmune segment is uncertain. Autoantibodies have had a recognized role for many years in the genesis of paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis, which frequently has seizures as a prominent feature. Other studies have suggested a role for autoantibodies in epilepsy outside of the bounds of paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis (1), but it has not been until recently that more definite clues to a more expanded role of autoimmunity in epilepsy have been offered. For example, in 2007, Bien and colleagues (2) retrospectively reported a series of patients with adult onset epilepsy and hippocampal sclerosis and found that features suggestive of an autoimmune etiology were common: A quarter had definite evidence of an autoimmune etiology and another quarter had suggestive features. They argued that immune mediated epilepsy may be more common than previously recognized. Several approaches have been used to describe the scope and features of autoimmune epilepsy. Association studies have examined the prevalence of autoantibodies in patients with epilepsy—often refractory epilepsy—and compared them to healthy controls or patients with other neurological diseases (3, 4). Depending on the antibody and population studied, varying percentages of epilepsy patients have been discovered with the identified autoantibody and statistically distinguished from the prevalence of those antibodies in controls. Many patients did not fit the classic limbic encephalitis clinical profile, hinting at a broader spectrum of autoimmune mediated epilepsy. In general, these studies were not able to address Autoimmune Epilepsy: Clinical Characteristics and Response to Immunotherapy.
Comparison of Changes in Autonomic and Respiratory Parameters of Girls after Yoga and Games at a Community Home

The heart rate, breathing rate, and skin resistance were recorded for 20 community home girls (Home group) and for 20 age-matched girls from a regular school (School group). The former group had a significantly higher rate of breathing and a more irregular breath pattern, known to correlate with high fear and anxiety, than the School group. Skin resistance was significantly lower in the School group, which may suggest greater arousal. 28 girls of the Home group formed 14 pairs, matched for age and duration of stay in the home. Subjects of a pair were randomly assigned to either yoga or games groups. For the former emphasis was on relaxation and awareness, whereas for the latter increasing physical activity was emphasized. At the end of an hour daily for six months both groups showed a significant decrease in the resting heart rate relative to initial values (Wilcoxon paired-sample test), and the yoga group showed a significant decrease in breath rate, which appeared more regular but no significant increase in the skin resistance. These results suggest that a yoga program which includes relaxation, awareness, and graded physical activity is a useful addition to the routine of community home children.