Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A channel-erasing 1.8 V-only 32 Mb NOR flash EEPROM with a bit-line direct-sensing scheme

A 1.8 V-only 32 Mb NOR flash EEPROM uses a channel-erasing scheme for the 0.49 /spl mu/m/sup 2/ cell in 0.25 /spl mu/m CMOS technology. The block decoder circuit with an erase-reset sequence performs channel-erase. The bit line direct sense permits sub-1.8 V operation, suitable for use in handheld systems.
Temporal shift of diet in alternative cannibalistic morphs of the tiger salamander

Evolutionary theory predicts that alternative trophic morphologies are adaptive because they allow a broad use of resources in heterogeneous environments. The development of a cannibal morphology is expected to result in cannibalism and high individual fitness, but conflicting results show that the situation is more complex. The goal of the present study was to increase our understanding of the ultimate benefits of a cannibalistic polyphenism by determining temporal changes in the feeding habits and biomass intake in a population of tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum nebulosum). Cannibals in this species develop a larger head than typicals and have prominent teeth, both useful for consuming large prey. Although cannibalism was only detected in cannibal morphs, large temporal variation in resource partitioning was found between morphs. The two morphs always differed in their foraging habits, but cannibalism mainly occurred immediately after the ontogenetic divergence between morphs. Cannibals shifted their foraging later to a more planktivorous diet (i.e. the primarily prey of the typical morph). Cannibals also obtained more prey biomass than typicals. These results indicate that the cannibalistic morph is advantageous over the typical development, but that these advantages vary ontogenetically. Although the results obtained are consistent with models predicting the maintenance of cannibalism polyphenism in natural populations, they show that the foraging tactics utilized by cannibal morphs, and the fitness consequences accrued by such tactics, are likely to be more complex and dynamic than previous studies have suggested.
Amino acids, amino sugars and sugars present in the cell wall of some strains of Streptococcus pyogenes.

SUMMARY: Hydrolysates of the cell walls of 26 strains of group A streptococci were examined by paper chromatography. In all cases lysine, glutamic acid, alanine, glucosamine, muramic acid and rhamnose were found as the principal components. The mean relative proportion of lysine: glutamic acid:alanine was 1.1:1:4. Thus even when a number of strains of a particular bacterial species was tested, there was good uniformity in the cell-wall composition. Samples of cell-wall material which remained undigested after treatment with proteolytic enzymes all contained small amounts of several amino acids. It seems probable that a small amount of polypeptide or protein remained firmly attached to the cell walls examined.
MINERALIZATION DEFECTS IN DECIDUOUS TEETH OF LOW BIRTHWEIGHT INFANTS

ABSTRACT. A group of 91 children with birthweights below 2000 g and 48 healthy full‐term children, reference group, were examined for mineralization disturbances of the enamel of deciduous teeth. Perinatal data were collected retrospectively from obstetric and neonatal records. Within the low birthweight group, children with enamel hypoplasia had on the 5% level a significantly lower intake of breast milk during the first week of life than children without disturbances. The only perinatal complication associated with development of mineralization defects was IRDS. Infants with IRDS, however, had a significantly lower intake of breast milk during the first week of life than low birthweight without IRDS. A low frequency of enamel defects was found in the growth‐retarded sub‐group of the low birthweight infants. These infants had a significantly higher intake of breast milk during the first week compared to the AGA‐group. A seasonal variation was found, with the highest prevalence of mineralization disturbances in infants born during winter months. It is concluded that the occurrence of mineralization defects of the deciduous teeth in LBW infants seems to be dependent upon the amount of breast milk given during the early neonatal period and also possibly in which season of the year they are born.
A multicentre observational study of intra‐operative ventilatory management during general anaesthesia: tidal volumes and relation to body weight

We conducted an observational prospective multicenter study to describe the practices of mechanical ventilation, to determine the incidence of use of large intra‐operative tidal volumes (≥ 10 ml.kg−1 of ideal body weight) and to identify patient factors associated with this practice. Of the 2960 patients studied in 97 anaesthesia units from 49 hospitals, volume controlled mode was the most commonly used (85%). The mean (SD) tidal volume was 533 (82) ml; 7.7 (1.3) ml.kg−1 (actual weight) and 8.8 (1.4) ml.kg−1 (ideal body weight)). The lungs of 381 (18%) patients were ventilated with a tidal volume > 10 ml.kg−1 ideal body weight. Being female (OR 5.58 (95% CI 4.20–7.43)) and by logistic regression, underweight (OR 0.06 (95% CI 0.01–0.45)), overweight (OR 1.98 (95% CI 1.49–2.65)), obese (OR 5.02 (95% CI 3.51–7.16)), severely obese (OR 10.12 (95% CI 5.79–17.68)) and morbidly obese (OR 14.49 (95% CI 6.99–30.03)) were the significant (p ≤ 0.005) independent factors for the use of large tidal volumes during anaesthesia.
Explaining LSND by a decaying sterile neutrino

We propose an explanation of the LSND evidence for electron antineutrino appearance based on neutrino decay. We introduce a heavy neutrino, which is produced in pion and muon decays because of a small mixing with muon neutrinos, and then decays into a scalar particle and a light neutrino, predominantly of the electron type. We require values of gm4 ∼ few eV, g being the neutrino–scalar coupling and m4 the heavy neutrino mass, e.g. m4 in the range from 1 keV to 1 MeV and g ∼ 10 −6 –10 −3 . Performing a fit to the LSND data as well as all relevant nullresult experiments, we show that all data can be explained within this decay scenario. In the minimal version of the decay model, we predict a signal in the upcoming MiniBooNE experiment corresponding to a transition probability of the same order as seen in LSND. In addition, we show that extending our model to two nearly degenerate heavy neutrinos it is possible to introduce CP violation in the decay, which can lead to a suppression of the signal in MiniBooNE running in the neutrino mode. We briefly discuss signals in future neutrino oscillation experiments, we show that our scenario is compatible with bounds from laboratory experiments, and we comment on implications in astrophysics and cosmology.
Relationships among TQM Practices , Role Conflict , and Role Ambiguity : A Review and Empirical Study

This study examines the multidimensional and mediating relationships between six Total Quality Management (TQM) practices, role conflict and role ambiguity. Survey data are collected from 422 employees from ISO certified firms in Malaysia. With the use of structural equation modelling, the findings indicate that higher levels of process management and information analysis lead to lower levels of role conflict. The presence of a quality-oriented human resource focus induces higher levels of role conflict. Strategic planning is negatively related to role ambiguity. Customer focus and role conflict are found to be independently and positively related to role ambiguity. Role conflict is found to be a full mediator between the following: human resource focus and role ambiguity; process management and role ambiguity; information analysis and role ambiguity. The research model serves as a diagnostic tool for the organisational administrators to manage the individual employee stress behaviour by leveraging current TQM practices, and fine-tune the right characteristics to reduce undesirable role conflict and role ambiguity. The study and its findings have filled the research gap in the literature of TQM and psychological well-being of employees. The inclusion of mediating effects in this study is an important distinction that other studies have not identified.
Dominant Inheritance of Field-Evolved Resistance to Bt Corn in Busseola fusca

Transgenic crops expressing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins have been adopted worldwide, notably in developing countries. In spite of their success in controlling target pests while allowing a substantial reduction of insecticide use, the sustainable control of these pest populations is threatened by the evolution of resistance. The implementation of the “high dose/refuge” strategy for managing insect resistance in transgenic crops aims at delaying the evolution of resistance to Bt crops in pest populations by promoting survival of susceptible insects. However, a crucial condition for the “high dose/refuge” strategy to be efficient is that the inheritance of resistance should be functionally recessive. Busseola fusca developed high levels of resistance to the Bt toxin Cry 1Ab expressed in Bt corn in South Africa. To test whether the inheritance of B . fusca resistance to the Bt toxin could be considered recessive we performed controlled crosses with this pest and evaluated its survival on Bt and non-Bt corn. Results show that resistance of B . fusca to Bt corn is dominant, which refutes the hypothesis of recessive inheritance. Survival on Bt corn was not lower than on non-Bt corn for both resistant larvae and the F1 progeny from resistant × susceptible parents. Hence, resistance management strategies of B . fusca to Bt corn must address non-recessive resistance.
Factors affecting family physicians' drug prescribing: a cross-sectional study in Khuzestan, Iran.

BACKGROUND Rational prescription is a considerable issue which must be paid more attention to assess the behavior of prescribers. The aim of this study was to examine factors affecting family physicians' drug prescribing. METHODS We carried out a retrospective cross-sectional study in Khuzestan province, Iran in 2011. Nine hundred eighty-six prescriptions of 421 family physicians (including 324 urban and 97 rural family physicians) were selected randomly. A multivariate Poisson regression was used to investigate potential determinants of the number of prescribed drug per patient. RESULTS The mean of medication per patient was 2.6 ± 1.2 items. In the majority (91.9%) of visits a drugs was prescribed. The most frequent dosage forms were tablets, syrups and injection in 30.1%, 26.9%, and 18.7% of cases respectively. Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) and antibiotics were 29.7% and 17.1% of prescribed drugs respectively. The tablets were the most frequent dosage forms (38.6% of cases) in adult's patients and syrups were the most frequent dosage forms (49% of cases) in less than 18 years old. Paracetamols were popular form of NSAIDs in two patients groups. The most common prescribed medications were oral form. CONCLUSION In Khuzestan, the mean of medication per patient was fewer than national average. Approximately, pattern of prescribed drug by family physicians (including dosage form and type of drugs) was similar to other provinces of Iran.
Virulence gene profiles and intimin subtypes of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli isolated from healthy and diarrhoeic calves

The virulence properties of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains isolated from diarrhoeic and non-diarrhoeic calves were compared. The strains were also tested for O157:H7, O111 and O26 serotypes, using PCR and conventional serotyping methods. E coli strains isolated from 297 faecal samples, from 200 diarrhoeic and 97 non-diarrhoeic calves, were screened by multiplex PCR assay for the stx1, stx2, eae and Ehly virulence genes. STECs were recovered from 8 per cent of diarrhoeic calves and 10.3 per cent of non-diarrhoeic calves. The predominant virulence gene profile was stx1/eae/Ehly (47.3 per cent) among isolates from diarrhoeic calves and eae/Ehly (36.8 per cent) among isolates from non-diarrhoeic calves. Among three tested serogroups, the predominant serogroup was O26 (18.4 per cent), and O157:H7 was not detected. Intimin subtyping by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis revealed only three intimin subtypes (β, γ and θ). A significant difference was observed in the distribution of Int-θ between two groups. Int-θ was present in 50 per cent of the isolates from diarrhoeic calves and in 11.1 per cent of the isolates from non-diarrhoeic calves; this difference was statistically significant (P=0.01).
Assessing psychological well-being: A holistic investigation of NHS employees

A substantial body of research has investigated the effects of work on the psychological well-being of employees. However, there has been little assessment of the ways in which workplace factors (such as job demands, working conditions, inter-personal relations and workplace change) interact with personal factors (such as work-life balance, family circumstances, key personality traits or demographic characteristics) to affect psychological health. This article reports findings from a study which aimed to construct and test a comprehensive model of the influences on employee well-being within the UK National Health Service (NHS). The results show that psychological well-being is influenced by a complex array of personal, environmental and work factors. A key finding is that there are clear associations between workplace change and well-being and between work-life (im)balance and well-being. These effects appear to be independent of one another and therefore require separate attention from managers and employers.
A full-duplex self-backhaul scheme for small cell networks with massive MIMO

With the deployment of small cell networks, low-cost backhaul schemes for small cell base stations (SBSs) have attracted great attentions. Self-backhaul using cellular communication technology is considered as a promising solution. Although some excellent works have been done on self-backhaul in small cell networks, most existing works do not consider the recent advances of full-duplex (FD) and massive multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) technologies. By jointly considering them, we propose a novel self-backhaul scheme for small cell networks in this paper, where the macro base station is equipped with massive MIMO antennas, and the SBSs have the FD communication capability. Then, we can achieve the simultaneous transmissions of the access link of users and the backhaul link of SBSs in the same frequency and then spectrum efficiency is improved. Furthermore, we formulate the power allocation problem of the MBS and SBSs as an optimization problem. Because the formulated power allocation problem is a non-convex problem, we transfer the original problem into a difference of convex program by using successive convex approximation method and variable substitution, and then solve it using a constrained concave convex procedure based iterative algorithm. Finally, extensive simulations are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.
Precipitation intensity and variation during MC3E: A numerical modeling study

Previous observational studies have identified three different types of diurnal precipitation variation over the conterminous U.S.: localized afternoon rainfall maxima over the Mississippi and Ohio valleys, propagating mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) from the Rocky Mountain region, and propagating MCSs over the Appalachian Mountains. This study focuses on the second type, which involves nocturnal rainfall maxima from eastward‐propagating MCSs on the lee side of the Rocky Mountains. This study evaluates model simulations with regard to rainfall using observations and assesses the impact of microphysics, surface fluxes, radiation, and terrain on the simulated diurnal rainfall variation. A regional high‐resolution model was used to conduct a series of real‐time forecasts during the Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E) in 2011 over the Southern Great Plains. The model ably captured most heavy precipitation events. When all forecast days are composited, the mean forecast depicts accurate, propagating precipitation features and thus the overall diurnal variation. However, individual forecasts tend to overestimate the rainfall for light precipitation events, have location errors, and misrepresent convection in some cases. A post mission case study is performed on one multi‐cell, eastward‐propagating MCS event; the results suggest that cold‐pool dynamics were an important physical process. Model results also indicate that terrain effects are important during the initial stages of MCS development. By increasing the terrain height by 10%, the simulated rainfall is increased and in better agreement with observations. On the other hand, surface fluxes, and radiation processes only have a secondary effect for short‐term simulations.
The medial olivocochlear reflex in children during active listening

Abstract Objective: To determine if active listening modulates the strength of the medial olivocochlear (MOC) reflex in children. Design: Click-evoked otoacoustic emissions (CEOAEs) were recorded from the right ear in quiet and in four test conditions: one with contralateral broadband noise (BBN) only, and three with active listening tasks wherein attention was directed to speech embedded in contralateral BBN. Study sample: Fifteen typically-developing children (ranging in age from 8 to14 years) with normal hearing. Results: CEOAE levels were reduced in every condition with contralateral acoustic stimulus (CAS) when compared to preceding quiet conditions. There was an additional systematic decrease in CEOAE level with increased listening task difficulty, although this effect was very small. These CEOAE level differences were most apparent in the 8–18 ms region after click onset. Conclusions: Active listening may change the strength of the MOC reflex in children, although the effects reported here are very subtle. Further studies are needed to verify that task difficulty modulates the activity of the MOC reflex in children.
Fund Flows, Slow-Moving Liquidity Provision, and Common Factors in Stock Returns

Over the period of 1965-2015, retail investors frequently made large and uninformed capital reallocations at size and value style levels by trading equity mutual fund shares. Consistent with other market participants being slow to provide liquidity, fund flows are associated with large contemporaneous price impact which reverses in the subsequent years, explaining approximately 30% of SMB and HML factor return variance. Because price reversions are not accompanied by flow reversions, the evidence is inconsistent with standard “rational” or “behavioral” models with heterogeneous agents. Without slow-moving liquidity provision, flows would not be able to explain such a high fraction of broad-market price movements over long periods of time.
Control of Cardiac Growth and Function by Calcineurin Signaling*

The central role of calcium in the control of cardiac function is well established. The release and reuptake of calcium by the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) controls not only the contraction of the cardiac myocyte but, ultimately, the heartbeat. However, the role of calcium as a key second messenger in signal transduction pathways that control growth of the heart has only recently been recognized. The calcium-dependent protein phosphatase calcineurin, also called protein phosphatase 2B, is a critical transducer of calcium signals that govern cardiac growth during development and disease. The actions of calcineurin are dependent on an array of effector proteins that influence its enzymatic activity, subcellular distribution, and stability. Additional proteins transmit calcineurindependent signals to the nucleus with consequent changes in gene transcription. Calcineurin signaling affects the functions of a wide range of cell types and although many of its effectors are ubiquitous, others are restricted to cardiac (and skeletal) muscle, providing muscle specificity to calcineurin signaling. The diversity of calcineurin effectors provides entry points into the signaling pathways that govern cardiac growth and function and provides opportunities for pharmacological and genetic modification of these processes. Here we discuss the functions of calcineurin and its effectors, the possibilities and pitfalls involved in its modulation as a therapeutic target in the heart, and questions for the future.
Biomechanical Evaluation of a Knotless Barbed Suture Repair in a Human Achilles Tendon Rupture Model

Background. Knotless barbed sutures are seeing more common use in wound closures and small tendon repairs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the strength and resistance to gap formation of these sutures in larger tendons, such as the Achilles, compared with conventional repair. Methods. Six matched pairs of fresh-frozen human cadaver Achilles tendons were transected to simulate a rupture. Six tendons were repaired using a double Bunnell over-the-top technique with Fiberwire, and the matched pairs were repaired using a double Bunnell knotless technique with barbed suture. The tendons were tested to failure and stiffness, peak failure load, percentage elongation, load at initial gap and load at 5-mm gap (clinical failure) were compared. Results. The mean peak failure load for the Fiberwire group (459 N) was significantly higher (P = .029) compared with the barbed suture group (184 N). Percentage elongation at peak load was significantly lower in the barbed suture group (P = .014), as was percentage elongation at initial gapping (P = .007) and percent elongation at 5 mm of gapping (P = .004). Conclusion. While the knotless barbed suture is attractive for its design and resistance to gap formation, low failure loads compared with conventional suture are concerning for large tendon repairs. Levels of Evidence: Therapeutic, Level IV: Bench testing
Determination of Plasma Methoxyamines

Abstract The determination of plasma methoxyamines is the most informative parameter for the diagnosis of pheochromocytoma. Very good sensitivity and specificity are necessary for this. The measurement of deconjugated (free plus sulfate—conjugated) metanephrines is more useful. Concentrations are 10—fold higher than free metanephrine concentrations. The methodology generally uses a column purification and high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. We have tested six commercial columns used for the purification step. We chose a rapid and reliable method with a mixture of strong cation-exchange and strong anion-exchange groups bonded onto a silica column. This protocol has been validated with samples of plasma from normal subjects, healthy elderly people, renal failure patients and patients with pheochromocytoma.