Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
AC electrothermal micropump for biofluidic applications using numerous microelectrode pairs

Electrokinetic phenomena are widely studied techniques used for micro-scale fluid delivery in many microfluidic application areas such as drug delivery, lab-on-a-chip, and biochemical analysis. AC electrothermal (ACET) micropumps are capable of operating at low voltages (up to 10 Vrms) and are suitable for applications involving high conductivity fluids (higher than 0.1 S/m), such as biological fluids. Electrothermal flow is induced by temperature gradients in the presence of a non-uniform electric field. ACET micropumps reported to date have low flow rates (up to 100nl/s) and relatively low back-pressures (up to 1kPa), limiting their utility. In addition, ACET arrays reported in the literature typically feature only a few electrode pairs. In this paper a long fluidic micro-channel, featuring an ACET micropump consisting of a row of 64 asymmetric coplanar microelectrodes is studied in order to investigate the effect of the number of microelectrode pairs on fluid flow. A simulation study is also performed for different numbers of microelectrode pairs. The results show that increasing the number of microelectrode pairs is an efficient way for increasing fluid flow of high conductivity fluids using ACET.
Bioremedial Application of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Waste Water Treatment

Microbial biodegradation of pollutants has intensified in recent years as mankind strives to find sustainable ways to clean up contaminated environments. These biological processes play a major role in the removal of contaminants in the polluted environment. Utilization of catabolic versatility of naturally occurring microorganisms in biodegrading processes is an essential process to degrade or convert such compounds. Recent developments in molecular microbial ecology offer new tools that facilitate molecular analyses of microbial population at contaminated sites. Both conventional and the molecular methods were used in this study to identify the bacteria from different polluted environments. Bacteria were isolated from the dye industry, Common Effluent Treatment Plant & Final Effluent Treatment Plant of Ankleshwar, Gujarat, India. Then, microbial DNA was isolated and amplified with Pseudomonas aeruginosa specific primers. The amplification of 162 bp specific region of catabolic gene of Pseudomonas aeruginosa confirmed the presence of this organism in the contaminated water collected from different climatic regions in Ankleshwar, Gujarat, India.
Static normalizing pre-compensator: The first step for addressing robustness in the design of multivariable controllers using the Characteristic Locus Method

This paper shows that the first step in the design of multivariable controllers within the Characteristic Locus Method must be the design of a static normalizing pre-compensator that makes the pre-compensated plant as closely as possible to a normal matrix at the vicinity of the crossover frequency, if robustness is to be addressed in a later stage of the design. Following this conclusion, the design of a static normalizing pre-compensator with no constraint in its structure is presented, being based on an optimization problem whose solution can be obtained directly by solving a simple eigenvalue problem. A numerical example illustrates the efficiency of the proposed design strategy.
Placental Adaptations in Growth Restriction

The placenta is the primary interface between the fetus and mother and plays an important role in maintaining fetal development and growth by facilitating the transfer of substrates and participating in modulating the maternal immune response to prevent immunological rejection of the conceptus. The major substrates required for fetal growth include oxygen, glucose, amino acids and fatty acids, and their transport processes depend on morphological characteristics of the placenta, such as placental size, morphology, blood flow and vascularity. Other factors including insulin-like growth factors, apoptosis, autophagy and glucocorticoid exposure also affect placental growth and substrate transport capacity. Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is often a consequence of insufficiency, and is associated with a high incidence of perinatal morbidity and mortality, as well as increased risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases in later life. Several different experimental methods have been used to induce placental insufficiency and IUGR in animal models and a range of factors that regulate placental growth and substrate transport capacity have been demonstrated. While no model system completely recapitulates human IUGR, these animal models allow us to carefully dissect cellular and molecular mechanisms to improve our understanding and facilitate development of therapeutic interventions.
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of a Statewide Media Campaign to Promote Adolescent Physical Activity

A cost-effectiveness analysis of a statewide social marketing campaign was performed using a statewide surveillance survey distributed to 6th through 12th graders, media production and placement costs, and 2000 census data. Exposure to all three advertisements had the highest impact on both intent and behavior with 65.6% of the respondents considering becoming more active and 58.3% reporting becoming more active. Average cost of the entire campaign was $4.01 per person to see an ad, $7.35 per person to consider being more active, and $8.87 per person to actually become more active, with billboards yielding the most positive cost-effectiveness. Findings highlight market research as an essential part of social marketing campaigns and the importance of using multiple marketing modalities to enhance cost-effectiveness and impact.
N ov 2 01 7 BPS Sphalerons in the F 2 Non-Linear Sigma Model

We construct static and also time-dependent solutions in a non-linear sigma model with target space being the flag manifold F2 = SU(3)/U(1) 2 on the four dimensional Minkowski space-time by analytically solving the second order Euler-Lagrange equation. We show the static solutions saturate an energy lower bound and can be derived from coupled first order equations though they are saddle point solutions. We also discuss basic properties of the time-dependent solutions.
Safety and Efficacy of 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT for Diagnosis, Staging, and Treatment Management of Neuroendocrine Tumors

Our purpose was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT compared with 111In-pentetreotide imaging for diagnosis, staging, and restaging of pulmonary and gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Methods: 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT and 111In-pentetreotide scans were obtained for 78 of 97 consecutively enrolled patients with known or suspected pulmonary or gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Safety and toxicity were measured by comparing vital signs, serum chemistry values, or acquisition-related medical complications before and after 68Ga-DOTATATE injection. Added value was determined by changes in treatment plan when 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT results were added to all prior imaging, including 111In-pentetreotide. Interobserver reproducibility of 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT scan interpretation was measured between blinded and nonblinded interpreters. Results: 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT and 111In-pentetreotide scans were significantly different in impact on treatment (P < 0.001). 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT combined with CT or liver MRI changed care in 28 of 78 (36%) patients. Interobserver agreement between blinded and nonblinded interpreters was high. No participant had a trial-related event requiring treatment. Mild, transient events were tachycardia in 1, alanine transaminase elevation in 1, and hyperglycemia in 2 participants. No clinically significant arrhythmias occurred. 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT correctly identified 3 patients for peptide-receptor radiotherapy incorrectly classified by 111In-pentetreotide. Conclusion: 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT was equivalent or superior to 111In-pentetreotide imaging in all 78 patients. No adverse events requiring treatment were observed. 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT changed treatment in 36% of participants. Given the lack of significant toxicity, lower radiation exposure, and improved accuracy compared with 111In-pentetreotide, 68Ga-DOTATATE imaging should be used instead of 111In-pentetreotide imaging where available.
Multidimensional Modeling of Nanotransistors

In this paper, we review our recent work using the nonequilibrium Green's function method to model nanotransistors. After presenting a motivation for the need of quantum mechanical modeling, an account of the equations and implementation is given for both 1-D and 2-D modeling. Examples are given to highlight the use of the developed models. Finally, possible future directions in quantum mechanical modeling of transport in nanotransistors are highlighted along with computational challenges.
Morphological and Biochemical Characterization of Bio-surfactants Producing Bacteria from Diesel Contaminated Soil

Two soil bacteria designated as S1 and S2 were isolated from diesel-contaminated soil in Covenant University, Nigeria. Characterization (morphologically and biochemically) and comparison of the isolates with standard reference suggests they were Bacillus (S1) and Pseudomonas (S2) species. These bacterial species were screened for biosurfactant production potentials using: drop collapse test, oil displacement test, foam activity, blood hemolysis test, emulsification activity and interfacial tension. The results showed that the isolates S1 and S2 grew and reduced surface tension of diesel. Optimum growth of the bacteria and biosurfactant production were observed at pH 7. The emulsification index E24 obtained using the Pseudomonas and Bacillus species on oil substrates (crude oil, petrol and kerosene) were 51.00 – 34.48 and 60.7 ‒ 30.0%, respectively. The isolated bacterial species exhibited biosurfactant production and such bacterial species could have application for clean-up of oil spilled sites in the Niger delta regions of Nigeria. © 2018 Friends Science Publishers
Constraints on the Very High Energy Emissivity of the Universe from the Diffuse GeV Gamma-Ray Background

Very high energy (VHE, E ≳ 100 GeV) radiation emitted at cosmological distances will pair produce on low-energy diffuse extragalactic background radiation before ever reaching us. This prevents us from directly seeing most of the VHE emission in the universe. However, a VHE γ-ray that pair produces initiates an electromagnetic pair cascade. At low energies, this secondary cascade radiation has a spectrum insensitive to the spectrum of the primary γ-radiation and, unlike the original VHE radiation, is observable. Motivated by new measurements of the extragalactic MeV-GeV diffuse γ-ray background, we discuss the constraints placed on cosmological VHE source populations by requiring that the cascade background they produce not exceed the observed levels. We use a new, accurate cascading code and pay particular attention to the dependence of the constraints on the diffuse cosmic background at infrared/optical wavelengths. Despite considerable uncertainty in this background, we find that robust constraints may still be placed on the integrated emissivity of potential VHE sources in the universe. The limits are tighter than those obtained by considering cascading on the microwave background alone and restrict significantly, for example, the parameter space available for the exotic particle physics scenarios recently proposed to explain the highest energy cosmic-ray events. If direct emission from blazar AGNs in fact accounts for most of the observed GeV background, the resulting stronger limits rule out AGN emission scenarios that produce significant power above ~300 GeV.
EGFR signaling promotes inflammation and cancer stem-like activity in inflammatory breast cancer

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is the most lethal and aggressive type of breast cancer, with a strong proclivity to metastasize, and IBC-specific targeted therapies have not yet been developed. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has emerged as an important therapeutic target in IBC. However, the mechanism behind the therapeutic effect of EGFR targeted therapy is not well defined. Here, we report that EGFR regulates the IBC cell population that expresses cancer stem-like cell (CSC) markers through COX-2, a key mediator of inflammation whose expression correlates with worse outcome in IBC. The COX-2 pathway promoted IBC cell migration and invasion and the CSC marker-bearing population in vitro, and the inhibition of this pathway reduced IBC tumor growth in vivo. Mechanistically, we identified Nodal, a member of the TGFβ superfamily, as a potential driver of COX-2-regulated invasive capacity and the CSC phenotype of IBC cells. Our data indicate that the EGFR pathway regulates the expression of COX-2, which in turn regulates the expression of Nodal and the activation of Nodal signaling. Together, our findings demonstrate a novel connection between the EGFR/COX-2/Nodal signaling axis and CSC regulation in IBC, which has potential implications for new combination approaches with EGFR targeted therapy for patients with IBC.
Prediction of Subharmonic Oscillation in Switching Converters Under Different Control Strategies

Subharmonic oscillation is an undesired phenomenon in switching converters. In past studies, its prediction has been mainly tackled by explicitly deriving a discrete-time model and then linearizing it in the vicinity of the operating point. However, the results obtained from such an approach cannot be applied for design purpose except for simple cases such as peak or valley current-mode control (CMC). Alternatively, in this brief, this phenomenon is analyzed by using a unified formal symbolic approach that can be applied for different control strategies. This approach is based on expressing the condition for subharmonic oscillation occurrence using Fourier series and then converting the result into a matrix-form expression that explicitly depends on the system parameters, making the results directly applicable for design purpose. Under certain practical conditions concerning these parameters, the matrix-form expression can be approximated by standard polynomial functions depending on the operating duty cycle. The results presented in this work clearly generalize the well-known stability condition of peak/valley CMC.
Effects of earthworms and mycorrhizal fungi on the growth of the medicinal herb Calendula officinalis (Asteraceae)

Both earthworms and symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) often co-occurr in ecosystems, however very little is known on their interrelationships. Here we tested to what extent earthworms (Annelida) or AMF (Glomales) separately or in combination affect the growth of the pharmaceutical plant species, pot marigold ( Calendula officinalis , Asteraceae). We conducted a greenhouse experiment using non-sterilized field soil where we manipulat ed the factors earthworms (addition/no addition of the vertical burrowing species Lumbricus terrestris) and AMF (addition/no addition of a mix of the four Glomus taxa G. geosporum, G. mosseae, G. intraradices, G. claroideum). Leaf length and flower stem length was significantly increased by earthworms but remained unaffected by addi tional AMF. The longest leaves and flower stems were observed in pots containing earthworms but no additional AMF. The number of flower buds was unaffected by earthworms but marginally significantly increased by AMF. Plant shoot biomass production was significantly higher when earthworms were present; AMF inoculation had no effect on biomass production. Root biomass production and total plant biomass production remained unaffected by earthworms or AMF. These results indicate that in soil already containing AMF earthworm addition primarily af fects vegetative growth while additional AMF inoculation tended to affect reproductive plant parts.
Department of Economics Working Paper Series a Model of Endogenous Union Density and Membership

We develop a theoretical model of endogenously determined union density and union membership. A union is formed, continued, or dissolved by majority voting. Given the profitability, production technology, and labor and product market conditions, the union determines the reservation wage that is acceptable to the firm. Based on this reservation wage and other subjective factors, workers vote for or against the union. If the union is formed, the firm determines the employment level at the union wage.
Authority server selection in DNS caching resolvers

Operators of high-profile DNS zones utilize multiple authority servers for performance and robustness. We conducted a series of trace-driven measurements to understand how current caching resolver implementations distribute queries among a set of authority servers. Our results reveal areas for improvement in the ``apparently sound'' server selection schemes used by some popular implementations. In some cases, the selection schemes lead to sub-optimal behavior of caching resolvers, e.g. sending a significant amount of queries to unresponsive servers. We believe that most of these issues are caused by careless implementations, such as keeping decreasing a server's SRTT after the server has been selected, treating unresponsive servers as responsive ones, and using constant SRTT decaying factor. For the problems identified in this work, we recommended corresponding solutions.
Engineering Case Report

High-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration was first developed by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission during the World War II era to capture microscopic radioactive particles that existing filters could not capture. (1) A HEPA filter is composed of a pleated sheet of borosilicate fibers that are designed to remove particulates. (2) According to the U.S. Department of Energy standard,(3) to be classified as “HEPA,” the filter must be able to remove the most penetrating particle size of 0.3 μm with an efficiency of at least 99.97%. Regulatory agencies such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) consider vacuum dust collection (VDC) systems equipped with HEPA filters as a feasible option for controlling occupational and residential exposure to respirable-sized particles such as crystalline silica(4) and lead. (5) In fact, OSHA requires that VDC systems be equipped with HEPA filters where vacuum use is required for lead removal on construction sites. (6) Furthermore, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recommends the use of VDC systems equipped with HEPA filters when cleaning residences contaminated with lead-based paints. (7) VDC systems with HEPA filters are also recommended by the EPA for final cleanup of mold remediation areas in indoor environments. (8) In addition to removing crystalline silica and lead, VDC systems equipped with HEPA filters have many other applications, including use in medical facilities, pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities, and homes. Increasing numbers of household vacuum cleaner manufacturers are using HEPA filters as part of the vacuum cleaner’s filtration system to remove pollen and allergens that are commonly present in the household environment. To protect the health of the residing astronauts and the safety of the internal environment of the International Space Station (ISS), stringent preflight microbial requirements have been established for cargo bags, astronauts, and flight vehicles internal environments. (9) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) transports cargo to and from the ISS for launch, disposal, and return. Cargo bags are made of Nomex, a meta-aramid polymer that has excellent thermal, chemical, and radiation resistance. They range in volume from 1.5 × 103 cubic inches to 3.6 × 104 cubic inches. Figure 1 shows a typical cargo bag that is used in the space program. When needed, cargo bags are decontaminated with chemical disinfectants such as 70% ethanol, 3% hydrogen peroxide wipes, or quaternary ammonium chloride wipes prior to flight. However, decontamination with chemical
Aggregating distributed STT, MT, and information extraction engines: the GALE interoperability-demo system

Natural-language-processing engines are now attaining accuracy sufﬁcient to begin combining them to perform more complex tasks. The GALE Interoperability Demo system consists of 12 engines including speech recognition, translation, and various information extraction engines, interoperated to make Arabic news video browsable as English text grouped and summarized by topic. Unstructured Information Management Architecture serves as the framework enabling remote pipelined and parallelized operation of these engines operating on their native computing platforms at their home sites.
Enhancement of the HIF-1α/15-LO/15-HETE Axis Promotes Hypoxia-Induced Endothelial Proliferation in Preeclamptic Pregnancy

Preeclampsia (PE) is an extremely serious condition in pregnant women and the leading cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Despite active research, the etiological factors of this disorder remain elusive. The increased release of 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15-HETE) in the placenta of preeclamptic patients has been studied, but its exact role in PE pathogenesis remains unknown. Mounting evidence shows that PE is associated with placental hypoxia, impaired placental angiogenesis, and endothelial dysfunction. In this study, we confirmed the upregulated expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) and 15-lipoxygenase-1/2 (15-LO-1/2) in patients with PE. Production of the arachidonic acid metabolite, 15-HETE, also increased in the preeclamptic placenta, which suggests enhanced activation of the HIF-1α–15-LO–15-HETE axis. Furthermore, this study is the first to show that the umbilical cord of preeclamptic women contains significantly higher serum concentrations of 15-HETE than that of healthy pregnant women. The results also show that expression of 15-LO-1/2 is upregulated in both human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) collected from preeclamptic women and in those cultured under hypoxic conditions. Exogenous 15-HETE promotes the migration of HUVECs and in vitro tube formation and promotes cell cycle progression from the G0/G1 phase to the G2/M + S phase, whereas the 15-LO inhibitor, NDGA, suppresses these effects. The HIF-1α/15-LO/15-HETE pathway is therefore significantly associated within the pathology of PE.
Classification of Ordinal Data

Classification of ordinal data is one of the most important tasks of relation learning. In this thesis a novel framework for ordered classes is proposed. The technique reduces the problem of classifying ordered classes to the standard two-class problem. The introduced method is then mapped into support vector machines and neural networks. Compared with a well-known approach using pairwise objects as training samples, the new algorithm has a reduced complexity and training time. A second novel model, the unimodal model, is also introduced and a parametric version is mapped into neural networks. Several case studies are presented to assert the validity of the proposed models.