Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lack of charge offset drift is a robust property of Si single electron transistors

One of the challenges that single-electron transistors (SETs) face before they can be considered technologically useful is the charge offset drift. Recently, two different types of Si SETs were shown to have a drift of only 0.01e (the fundamental charge) over several days. Those devices came from one fabrication source. Here, we present the results for Si SETs fabricated by our group (a different source) demonstrating their operation as SETs. We confirm that the charge offset drift is less than 0.01e, demonstrating the lack of charge offset drift is generic to Si devices and not dependent on the fabrication source.
Low-loss tunable metamaterials using superconducting circuits with Josephson junctions

We report on experiments with superconducting metamaterials containing Josephson junctions. In these structures, split-ring resonators used in conventional metamaterials are replaced by superconducting loops that are interrupted by Josephson junctions, so called rf-SQUIDs. Like the split-ring resonators, these elements can be seen as LC-resonators that couple to the magnetic field. The advantage of superconducting thin-film metamaterials is that, due to the tunable intrinsic inductance of the Josephson junction, the resonance frequency of the rf-SQUID can be changed by applying an external dc magnetic field. We present experimental results that demonstrate the tunability of the resonance frequency of these devices.
Clinical efficacy of artemisinin-lumefantrine and status of antifolate drug resistance markers in western Kenya

Background: The development of Plasmodium falciparum resistance to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) necessitated its replacement with artemether-lumefantrine (AL) in Kenya. However, the delayed parasite clearance following treatment with artemisinin derivatives has now spread in the Greater Mekong Sub region and may emerge or spread to other malaria endemic regions. Since parasites resistance to drugs is correlated with specific gene mutations, molecular markers associated with antimalarial drugs offer a powerful tool to monitor the emergence and spread of resistance. In this study, we assessed the clinical efficacy of AL following its adoption and the current levels of antifolate drug resistant markers after its ban in Kenyan health facilities. Methods: We conducted a therapeutic efficacy study between May and November 2015 in Chulaimbo sub-County, Kisumu, Kenya. A total of 76 patients ≥6 and ≤60 months of age with confirmed Plasmodium falciparum mono-infection were enrolled, treated with AL and followed up for a period of 28 days. Study endpoints were adequate clinical and parasitological response (ACPR) on the 28 day and known SP molecular markers of resistance were also determined. Results: The study showed that 97% of the participants had cleared parasitemia within 48 hours with an adequate clinical and parasitological response (ACPR) of 100% clearance on day 3. On Pfdhfr/Pfdhps mutants, N51I was identified in the P. falciparum isolates with a prevalence of 94% while C59R and S108N had 92% each. The prevalence of mutation at Pfdhps codons A437G and K540E stood at 94% and 91% respectively. Conclusion: AL was found to be highly efficacious since no plasmodium falciparum parasites were observed after day 3 making it a drug of choice in Kenya. Evidence of quintuple mutations frequency is high in the study population threatening the future use of SP.
A Distinct Class of Bursting Neurons with Strong Gamma Synchronization and Stimulus Selectivity in Monkey V1

Cortical computation depends on interactions between excitatory and inhibitory neurons. The contributions of distinct neuron-types to sensory processing and network synchronization in primate visual-cortex remain largely undetermined. We show that in awake monkey V1, there exists a distinct cell-type (≈30% of neurons) that has narrow-waveform action-potentials, high spontaneous discharge-rates, and fires in high-frequency bursts. These neurons are more stimulus-selective and phase-locked to gamma (30-80Hz) oscillations as compared to other neuron types. Unlike the other neuron-types, their gamma phase-locking is highly predictive of their orientation tuning. We find evidence for strong rhythmic inhibition in these neurons, suggesting that they interact with interneurons to act as excitatory pacemakers for the V1 gamma rhythm. These neurons have not been observed in other primate cortical areas and we find that they are not present in rodent V1. However, they resemble the excitatory “chattering” neurons previously identified by intracellular recordings in cat V1. Given its properties, this neuron type should be pivotal for the encoding and transmission of V1 stimulus information.
Efficient Phosphorescent OLEDS Based on Vacuum Deposition Technology

Organic light emitting devices (OLEDs) are viewed as a potential next generation display and lighting applications. Phosphorescent OLED technology, with its inherently high efficiencies, represents the best opportunity to meet the challenging requirements of display and lighting applications. Thereby, we demonstrate high-efficiency organic light-emitting diodes by incorporating a double emission layer {i.e. both doped with the green phosphorescent dye tris(phenylpyridine)iridium [Ir(ppy) 3 ]} into p-i-n-type device structure based on vacuum deposition technology. The intrinsic and doped transports layers are formed using a high vacuum controlled co-evaporation deposition technique. These have been very successful in reducing the operational voltages and increasing the power efficiency. A peak power efficiency of 77 lm/W and an external quantum efficiency of 19 % are achieved at 100 cd/m 2 and at an operating voltage of 2.65 V. Keywords: p-i-n structure, Phosphorescent OLED, Double doped emission layers.
Intelligent Personalised Traveller Information: Impacts on the Choice of Travel Mode

Progressively improved information and communication technologies have led to the cusp of the era of applying pervasive computing to transport. Potentially this may lead to a significant improvement in the delivery of future traveler information. This paper describes current research at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne which is investigating the potential impacts of the next generation of traveler information systems on facilitating more use of traveler information for modal choices and accordingly, motivating a modal shift from the car towards public transport. These systems, termed as Intelligent Personalized Traveler Information (IPTI) in this research, seek to offer efficient and convenient real-time access to better customized traveler information and to provide intelligent supports with context-awareness to individual travelers, in particular, public transport users. Two scenarios are developed and used as visual aids in a three-stage field survey to test research hypotheses identified in this research.
FSHR-1/GPCR activates the mitochondrial unfolded protein response in Caenorhabditis elegans

The mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt) is an evolutionarily conserved adaptive response that functions to maintain mitochondrial homeostasis following mitochondrial damage. In C. elegans, the nervous system plays a central role in responding to mitochondrial stress by releasing endocrine signals that act upon distal tissues to activate the UPRmt. The mechanisms by which mitochondrial stress is sensed by neurons and transmitted to distal tissues is not fully understood. Here, we identify a role for the conserved follicle-stimulating hormone G protein coupled receptor (GPCR), FSHR-1, in promoting UPRmt activation. Genetic deficiency of fshr-1 severely attenuates UPRmt activation and organism-wide survival in response to mitochondrial stress. FSHR-1 functions in a common genetic pathway with SPHK-1/sphingosine kinase to promote UPRmt activation, and FSHR-1 regulates the mitochondrial association of SPHK-1 in the intestine. Through tissue-specific rescue assays, we show that FSHR-1 functions in neurons to activate the UPRmt, to promote mitochondrial association of SPHK-1 in the intestine, and to promote organism-wide survival in response to mitochondrial stress. We propose that FSHR-1 functions cell non-autonomously in neurons to activate UPRmt upstream of SPHK-1 signaling in the intestine.
Replicated anthropogenic hybridisations reveal parallel patterns of admixture in marine mussels

Human-mediated transport creates secondary contacts between genetically differentiated lineages, bringing new opportunities for gene exchange. When similar introductions occur in different places, they provide informally replicated experiments for studying hybridisation. We here examined 4279 Mytilus mussels, sampled in Europe and genotyped with 77 ancestry informative markers. We identified a type of introduced mussels, called ‘dock mussels’, associated with port habitats and displaying a particular genetic signal of admixture between M. edulis and the Mediterranean lineage of M. galloprovincialis. These mussels exhibit similarities in their ancestry compositions, regardless of the local native genetic backgrounds and the distance separating colonised ports. We observed fine-scale genetic shifts at the port entrance, at scales below natural dispersal distance. Such sharp clines do not fit with migration-selection tension zone models, and instead suggest habitat choice and early stage adaptation to the port environment, possibly coupled with connectivity barriers. Variations in the spread and admixture patterns of dock mussels seem to be influenced by the local native genetic backgrounds encountered. We next examined departures from the average admixture rate at different loci, and compared human-mediated admixture events, to naturally admixed populations and experimental crosses. When the same M. galloprovincialis background was involved, positive correlations in the departures of loci across locations were found; but when different backgrounds were involved, no or negative correlations were observed. While some observed positive correlations might be best explained by a shared history and saltatory colonisation, others are likely produced by parallel selective events. Altogether, genome-wide effect of admixture seems repeatable, and more dependent on genetic background than environmental context. Our results pave the way towards further genomic analyses of admixture, and monitoring of the spread of dock mussels both at large and fine spacial scales.
Residual Drifts of Self-Centering Systems Including Effects of Ambient Building Resistance

There has been widespread interest in the development and use of self-centering (SC) lateral resisting systems that eliminate residual drifts after large earthquakes. SC systems often include a restoring force component and a component that dissipates seismic energy. Typically, it is assumed that the criterion for self-centering is satisfied if the restoring force is proportioned to be greater than the force required to yield the energy dissipating component. A parametric SDOF study was conducted using time-history analyses on several prototype buildings to quantify the effect of varying system parameters on structural response including residual drifts. The ambient resistance of the rest of the building was considered, as well as proportioning the system with less restoring force than the yield capacity of the dissipative component. In addition, the probabilistic mechanism that creates a propensity for reducing residual drifts in systems with little or no restoring force is explored and quantified. It was found that a restoring force that is at least one-half of the force required to yield the dissipative component will still reliably eliminate residual drifts in a non-softening system.
International Journal of Emerging Electric Power Systems Electrical Treeing in Polymer Nanocomposites

This paper presents a study of electrical treeing phenomena in polymer nanocomposites. The polymer nanocomposite studied consists of epoxy resin as base polymer and silica as nano filler. Treeing experiments were performed at a constant ac voltage of 20kV, 50Hz on epoxy samples without any fillers as well as epoxy silica nano composites with 1% by weight of nano silica. Times for tree inception as well as tree growth patterns were studied. The results show that addition of small amount (1% by weight) of nano silica particles in epoxy resin can improve the treeing resistance by delaying the tree inception time as well as the time required by the tree to reach the opposite electrode. Treeing phenomena has been analyzed and interpreted by a physical model to explain the behavior in nanocomposites. The nature of bonding at the interface between epoxy and nano filler is characterized by using FTIR spectrometry. It has been shown that the type of bonding at the interface has an influence on the electrical tree growth pattern.
UTrack: Enterprise User Tracking Based on OS-Level Audit Logs

Tracking user activities inside an enterprise network has been a fundamental building block for today's security infrastructure, as it provides accurate user profiling and helps security auditors to make informed decisions based on the derived insights from the abundant log data. Towards more accurate user tracking, we propose a novel paradigm named UTrack by leveraging rich system-level audit logs. From a holistic perspective, we bridge the semantic gap between user accounts and real users, tracking a real user's activities across different user accounts and different network hosts based on causal relationship among processes. To achieve better scalability and a more salient view, we apply a variety of data reduction and compression techniques to process the large amount of data. %and significantly reduce the data volume. We implement UTrack in a real enterprise environment consisting of 111 hosts, which generate more than 4 billion events in total during the experiment time of one month. Through our evaluation, we demonstrate that UTrack is able to accurately identify the events that are relevant to user activities. Our data reduction and compression modules largely reduce the output data size, producing a both accurate and salient overview on a user session profile.
Behavior of Screw and Adhesive Connections to Gypsum Wallboard in Wood and Cold-Formed Steel-Framed Wallettes

AbstractIncreasing the lateral strength and stiffness of light-frame structures can lead to reduced damage in the event of an earthquake. Because low-rise wood and cold-formed steel-framed buildings often contain many partition walls, their performance can be improved economically by more effective engagement of gypsum-sheathed walls. This paper describes a series of tests of enhanced screw and adhesive connections between gypsum wallboard and wood and cold-formed steel-framing members. Small wall panels constructed with the improved connections were also tested and compared with wallettes built with conventional drywall screws. Test results indicate that while enhanced screws can increase connection and wall strength modestly relative to conventional screws, a much more significant increase in strength and stiffness can be obtained by using construction adhesives. Test results show that supplementing conventional screws with adhesives increased connection strength and stiffness by a factor of four to fiv.
Genome-wide association study and meta-analysis of missing teeth and functional dentition

Retention of a functional dentition of twenty or more permanent teeth is an important World Health Organization (WHO) goal, as missing teeth adversely affects oral health quality of life, especially masticatory function and aesthetic appearance and satisfaction. Previous studies show that tooth loss is moderately heritable, and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of periodontitis and dental caries, the two main causes of tooth loss, have successfully identified genetic variants associated with these oral diseases. Thus, this work aimed to identify genetic variants associated with missing teeth by performing genome-wide association scans in five cohorts and a subsequent meta-analyses. Genome-wide association scans using linear and logistic regression for a quantitative trait and functional dentition, respectively, were performed in five cohorts: The Center for Oral Health Research in Appalachia cohort 1 (COHRA; N = 955), Dental Registry and DNA Repository of the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine (DRDR; N = 227), and cohorts from The Pittsburgh Orofacial Clefts Studies (POFC) project recruited from the United States (POFC-USA; N = 192), Guatemala (POFC-G; N = 272), and the Patagonia region of Argentina (POFC-PA; N = 182). Three p-value based meta-analyses were performed: a white-only meta-analysis (COHRA and DRDR; N = 1182), a Hispanics-only meta-analysis (POFC-G and POFC-PA; N = 454), and a trans-ethnic meta-analysis (COHRA, DRDR, POFC-G, and POFC-PA; N = 1636). Two regions of the genome were associated with missing teeth at genome-wide significance (p < 5 x 10-8) and were located near genes relevant to dental and oral health (POSTN, a critical regulator of periodontal homeostasis, and MTRR, which functions in methionine synthesis, a process previously implicated by GWAS of dental caries.) Furthermore, many regions of the genome showed suggestive significance (p < 1 x 10-5) and were located near genes biologically relevant to tooth loss. These discoveries corroborate existing evidence for a genetic contribution to tooth loss, and supports the hypothesis that common genetic variants influence tooth loss. The public health significance of this work is that such findings may ultimately lead to the identification of individuals at risk for tooth loss and the development of novel treatments.
Numerical Analysis of the Behavior of Suction Caissons in Clay

This paper presents the development of a finite element model for simulating the behavior of suction caissons subjected to vertical loading, and the validation of the numerical model based on centrifuge experimental results. The pull out load versus displacement (Pu-d) curve obtained from finite element analyses (FEA), using the passive suction recorded in the centrifuge tests, was in close agreement with that obtained using the centrifuge pull out tests. Numerical simulation of passive suction is still a challenging problem, which is not fully solved at the present time. A new method, in which the water inside the caisson is simulated by a very soft poro-elastic material, was used to simulate the development of passive suction. Although the passive suction versus pull out displacement curve obtained using the FEA was slightly different from that obtained from the centrifuge tests, the magnitude of the maximum suction was almost the same, and the pull out force with displacement curve obtained using the FEA was in close agreement with that obtained from the centrifuge tests.
Recruitment of Arctic deep‐sea invertebrates: Results from a long‐term hard‐substrate colonization experiment at the Long‐Term Ecological Research observatory HAUSGARTEN

For benthic marine invertebrates, recruitment strongly influences the composition and abundance of resulting communities. We present the results of a long‐term (1999–2017) colonization experiment at the Long‐Term Ecological Research observatory HAUSGARTEN in the Fram Strait (Arctic Ocean, 79°N, 04°E, 2500 m water depth). Recruitment panels were constructed from plastic and brick and deployed attached to a metal frame in 1999. The experiment was monitored using a remotely operated vehicle in 2003 and 2011 and recovered in 2017. Recruitment was very low, with only foraminiferans being visible after 4 yr (2003) and one metazoan species, the hydroid Halisiphonia arctica, being visible on the panels after 12 yr (2011). After 18 yr underwater, panels were colonized by 13 metazoan species as well as calcareous and agglutinating foraminiferans. Recruitment was higher on brick panels than on plastic, but while some species were more common on panels at higher altitude (H. arctica and the crinoid Bathycrinus carpenterii), others were more common on panels closer to the seafloor (serpulid polychaetes) or on panels in line with the predominant bottom current (small round white sponges). The most common species recruiting to our panels can be described as opportunistic. Meanwhile, large hexactinellid sponges that are common in natural communities did not recruit to our panels. These results suggest that community assembly in the Arctic deep sea takes much longer than the two decades spanned by this study.
Chest radiographic pattern of multidrug resistance (MDR) tuberculosis cases at alert hospital, Addis Ababa A retrospective cross sectional study

Background : Drug-resistant TB has emerged as a major challenge facing tuberculosis prevention and control efforts in Ethiopia. Chest radiograph is the primary most important imaging modality used to suggest the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis. Therefore, this research will provide base line information to clinicians and radiologist about the chest radiographic pattern of MDR tuberculosis. Methodology : A retrospective Cross-sectional study was conducted in Alert hospital in Addis Ababa. All culture proven MDR TB patients from January 2012 to June 2014 G.C. and who had chest radiograph available were included in the study . Result : Chest radiograph of 128 culture proven MDR TB patients analyzed and 72.7% (93/128) patients had abnormal chest radiographic findings among which the three most common radiographic findings were fibrosis 45(35.5%) cavities 33(25.8%) and consolidations 22(17.2%) with most of the abnormal radiographic findings (77.4) were seen in either of the upper or bilateral upper lobes. Discussion : even if most literatures revealed hilar and mediastinal nodal disease is the most common CXR findings in patients with MDR tuberculosis, fibrosis and csvitation was the most common pattern seen in our cases. There was no significant radiological differences seen in those who have HIV confection and those who don’t. Conclusion : One cannot suggest the diagnosis of MDR tuberculosis based on CXR findings and normal CXR cannot guarantee the possibility of MDR tuberculosis.
Ionic conductive nanocomposite based on poly(l-lactic acid)/poly(amidoamine) dendrimerelectrospun nanofibrous for biomedical application

The modification of poly (l-lactic acid) (PLLA) electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds was carried out by blending with second-generation poly amidoamine (PAMAM) for enhancement of their ionic conductivity. The samples containing PLLA and various amounts of PAMAM (1%, 3%, 5%, and 7% by wt.) were fabricated by electrospinning techniques. The electrospun fibers were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), porosity, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, contact angle measurement, water uptake measurement, mechanical properties, and electrical properties. Furthermore, in vitro degradation study and cell viability assay were investigated in biomaterial applications. Creating amide groups through aminolysis reaction was confirmed by FTIR analysis successfully. The results reveal that adding PAMAM caused an increase in fiber diameter, crystallinity percentage, hydrophilicity, water absorption, elongation-at-break, and OE-mesenchymal stem cell viability. It is worth mentioning that this is the first report investigating the conductivity of PLLA/PAMAM nanofiber. The results revealed that by increasing the amount of PAMAM, the ionic conductivity of scaffolds was enhanced by about nine times. Moreover, the outcomes indicated that the presence of PAMAM could improve the limitations of PLLA like hydrophobicity, lack of active group, and poor cell adhesion.