Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Design of a traveling wave type ultrasonic motor

The purpose of the present paper is to establish a method of design for a traveling wave type ultrasonic motor. This method is based on two models for the ultrasonic motor. A two-dimensional elastic contact model is used for estimating the friction drive between the rotor and vibrator of the motor. Moreover, an electrical equivalent circuit is used to estimate the interaction between the electrical and mechanical parts of the vibrator. The proposed method is applied to the design of a prototype motor. To determine applicability of the method, the load characteristics of the prototype motor are measured. The measured characteristics agree with the required ones which are specified in advance. As a result, the validity of the proposed method is experimentally confirmed. <<ETX>>
Accuracy of self-reported intake of signature foods in a school meal intervention study: comparison between control and intervention period

Bias in self-reported dietary intake is important when evaluating the effect of dietary interventions, particularly for intervention foods. However, few have investigated this in children, and none have investigated the reporting accuracy of fish intake in children using biomarkers. In a Danish school meal study, 8- to 11-year-old children (n 834) were served the New Nordic Diet (NND) for lunch. The present study examined the accuracy of self-reported intake of signature foods (berries, cabbage, root vegetables, legumes, herbs, potatoes, wild plants, mushrooms, nuts and fish) characterising the NND. Children, assisted by parents, self-reported their diet in a Web-based Dietary Assessment Software for Children during the intervention and control (packed lunch) periods. The reported fish intake by children was compared with their ranking according to fasting whole-blood EPA and DHA concentration and weight percentage using the Spearman correlations and cross-classification. Direct observation of school lunch intake (n 193) was used to score the accuracy of food-reporting as matches, intrusions, omissions and faults. The reporting of all lunch foods had higher percentage of matches compared with the reporting of signature foods in both periods, and the accuracy was higher during the control period compared with the intervention period. Both Spearman's rank correlations and linear mixed models demonstrated positive associations between EPA+DHA and reported fish intake. The direct observations showed that both reported and real intake of signature foods did increase during the intervention period. In conclusion, the self-reported data represented a true increase in the intake of signature foods and can be used to examine dietary intervention effects.
Correlation of impairment and activity limitation after wrist fracture.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE During physiotherapy rehabilitation, judgements about activity limitation are often based on measurements of impairment. The present paper reports an investigation into the relationship between measurements of impairment and activity limitation in people with a fracture of the distal radius. METHOD Twenty people with a fracture of the distal radius were referred to physiotherapy after conservative management of their fractures. Measurements of impairment (grip strength and range of wrist extension) and activity limitation (Jebsen Test of Hand Function) were taken at the second physiotherapy appointment after cast removal. The scores between these measurements were correlated. RESULTS There were strong and significant correlations (-0.51 < rs < -0.76) between grip strength and the tasks of the Jebsen Test of Hand Function. The relationship between range of wrist extension and the Jebsen Test of Hand Function was weaker (-0.17 < rs < -0.55). However, subgroup analysis of those subjects with a Colles' type fracture of the distal radius demonstrated significant relationships between wrist extension and three of the seven activity tasks (-0.74 < rs < -0.84). CONCLUSIONS Preliminary evidence was found to support the physiotherapy practice of use of measurement of impairment to monitor progress in a person with a fracture of the distal radius.
A Novel approach to dictionary learning for the bag-of-features model

With the fast development of various methods for image classification using the bag-of-features model, machines can efficiently classify images by image content. Spatial pyramid matching (SPM) for sparse coding to create the dictionary is a popular and very well performing approach for image classification. The linear SPM was proposed to take advantage of the speed of the linear Support Vector Machine (SVM) on spatial-pyramid pooling of SIFT sparse coding. In order to improve k-means clustering in the bag-of-features model, a novel approach to dictionary learning to take advantage of the k-means++ algorithm which provides statistical guarantees for the results of clustering is proposed. Another main contribution is that a novel dictionary learning method is proposed to incorporate more information for the Support Vector Machine (SVM) to build a reliable model, and the information is generated by k-means++ algorithm with different values of k. Our experiments demonstrate that the classification results using our method have been improved a lot with a reduction of computational complexity compared to previous results. In the experimental section, it is shown that our method outperforms the k-means and k-means++ algorithms by nearly 10% and 5% respectively.
Ultrasound Diagnosis of Ectopic Pregnancy

The diagnosis of tubal ectopic pregnancy should be based upon the positive visualization of an adnexal mass using transvaginal ultrasound rather than the absence of an intrauterine gestational sac. Ultrasound diagnosis earlier in the natural history of the condition has meant that more conservative treatment options can be considered and implemented in clinically stable women. Although laparoscopy traditionally is accepted as the gold standard in the diagnosis of tubal ectopic pregnancy, there is substantial evidence that transvaginal ultrasound is the diagnostic tool of choice in modern practice. In expert hands, this single noninvasive and reproducible diagnostic test correlates well with the presence of ectopic pregnancy at the time of surgery. This article discusses the use of ultrasound as a single stand-alone test in the diagnosis of tubal ectopic pregnancy.
Quantifying the relationship between inhibition of VEGF receptor 2, drug‐induced blood pressure elevation and hypertension

Several anti‐angiogenic cancer drugs that inhibit VEGF receptor (VEGFR) signalling for efficacy are associated with a 15–60% incidence of hypertension. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) that have off‐target activity at VEGFR‐2 may also cause blood pressure elevation as an undesirable side effect. Therefore, the ability to translate VEGFR‐2 off‐target potency into blood pressure elevation would be useful in development of novel TKIs. Here, we have sought to quantify the relationship between VEGFR‐2 inhibition and blood pressure elevation for a range of kinase inhibitors.
Typing of Pneumocystis carinii strains with type-specific oligonucleotide probes derived from nucleotide sequences of internal transcribed spacers of rRNA genes

We have recently developed a method for typing Pneumocystis carinii strains that infect humans. The method takes advantage of nucleotide sequence variations in internal transcribed spacers (ITSs) of the rRNA genes of P. carinii. To date, two types of nucleotide sequences (designated types A and B) have been found in the ITS1 region, and three types of nucleotide sequences (designated types a, b and c) have been found in the ITS2 region. Of the six potential combination types, we have detected four, designated types Ac, Bb, Ba, and Bc. To simplify typing, we have designed five oligonucleotide probes, probes 1-A, 1-B, 2-a, 2-b, and 2-c, which are specific to ITS1 type A and type B and ITS2 type a, type b, and type c, respectively, of P. carinii strains that infect humans. We also have designed an oligonucleotide which reacts specifically with P. carinii strains that infect rats. The ITS region were amplified by PCR, and the PCR products were then probed with these type-specific oligonucleotide probes. Typing with the type-specific oligonucleotide probes was found to be effective with specimens containing only one type of P. carinii. These methods are rapid and simple to perform and will be useful for studying the epidemiology of P. carinii infections.
Chlamydia-related abortions in Cattle from Graubunden, Switzerland

In 2001, the first case of bovine chlamydial abortion was reported in canton Graubunden, Switzerland. In this region, Chlamydophila (Cp.) abortus is endemic in small ruminants. Hence, we aimed to investigate the incidence of chlamydia-related abortions in cattle from Graubunden. During breeding seasons of 2003-2004, formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded placenta specimens (n = 235) from late-term abortions in cattle were analyzed by histopathology, immunohistochemistry with a Chlamydiaceae-specific monoclonal antibody against chlamydial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and 2 different polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods (16 S ribosomal ribonucleic acid [rRNA] PCR, intergenic spacer [IGS-S] PCR), followed by PCR product sequencing. In 149 of 235 cases (63.4%), histopathologic lesions such as purulent and/or necrotizing placentitis were observed. Chlamydial antigen was clearly demonstrated in immunohistochemistry in only 1 of 235 cases (0.4%). Cp. abortus or Cp. psittaci was found in 12 of 235 (5.1%) and 10 of 235 cases (4.2%) by 16 S rRNA PCR and IGS-S PCR, respectively. However, we detected, by 16 S rRNA PCR, 43 of 235 cases (18.3%) to be positive for chlamydia-like organisms. In contrast to the situation in small ruminants in the canton Graubunden, bovine abortion from Cp. abortus seems not to play an important role. Nevertheless, zoonotic potential should be taken into account when handling abortion material from cattle. The significance of chlamydia-like isolates other than Waddlia chondrophila remains an open question in abortion and needs further investigation.
The Effectiveness of a New Gas-Induced Reactor in Treating Phenolic Wastewater by Ozonation and Hydrogen Peroxide

Abstract A new Gas-Induced Reactor (GIR) has been developed to improve the efficiency of ozone utilization in water treatment. In this study, the GIR was used to investigate the behavior of ozonation of aqueous phenol solution by means of O3 and O3/H2O2 processes in order to explore the feasibility and efficiency of treating such wastewater using the new GIR. The study observed the decomposition of phenol, utilization of ozone, and variation of TOC during ozonation, varying pH values, phenol initial concentrations, ozone input concentrations, and hydrogen peroxide dosages. The study concluded that the new GIR was capable of performing effective and efficient ozonation of phenolic wastewater, maintaining high ozone utilization ratios at all experimental pH values and initial phenol and ozone concentrations. The optimal pH condition for phenol removal was around 11. The best molar ratios of initial hydrogen peroxide over input ozone among the performed experiments were about 20 at pH 7 and 10 at pH 9 and 11. The primary operational energy used for treating a tonne of wastewater was 66 MJ, giving treatment costs of about US$1.0 per tonne.
Anemia as an independent prognostic factor for survival in patients with cancer

Anemia is common in cancer patients, although the prevalence is influenced both by the type of malignancy and the choice of treatment. Individual studies have compared the survival of patients with and without anemia and have shown reduced survival times in patients with various malignancies, including carcinoma of the lung, cervix, head and neck, prostate, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma. The objective of this study was to systematically review, to summarize, and to obtain an overall estimate of the effect of anemia on survival in patients with malignant disease.
Role of positive end‐expiratory pressure changes on functional residual capacity in surfactant treated preterm infants

Both surfactant replacement and positive end‐expiratory pressure (PEEP) increase lung volume in infants with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). We measured pulmonary mechanics and functional residual capacity (FRC) in 21 preterm infants with RDS, > 48 hr post‐surfactant therapy (BW, 1,168 ± 441 g; GA, 28.3 ± 2.8 weeks; postnatal age, 3–7 days). A non‐linear but significant increase in mean FRC was noted as PEEP increased from 2 to 5 cmH2O: 18.4 ± 4.7mL/kg at 2 cmH2O; 19.7 ± 4.3 mL at 3 cm H2O; 22.6 ± 5.5ml/kg at 4 cmH2O; and 26.2 ± 6.2 mL/kg at 5 cmH2O (P < 0.01). Because of the synergistic combined effect on lung volume, surfactant treated neonates should be weaned cautiously from PEEP during ventilatory management. Our study also suggests that the occurrence of inadvertent end‐distending pressure during FRC measurement in the ventilated neonate lead to erroneous results.Pediatr Pulmonal. 1994;18:89–92. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Fast voltage detection method for the voltage ride through operation of grid-tied renewable energy generation systems

As the scale of renewable energy resources connected to the grid is increasing remarkably, the strict gird codes are formulated in order to ensure the grid safety. Among the grid codes, the low voltage ride through (LVRT) regulation is important because it defines the acquired response to support the grid stability. This paper proposed a new voltage detection method, which consists of the traditional three-phase phase lock loop and a new low voltage detection procedure for the low voltage ride through operation of grid-tied renewable energy generation systems. This method can detect the amplitude of voltage sag within 5ms by tracking either the maximum point or the zero point. Finally, validity and accuracy of the proposed method is verified by simulation and experimental results.
Sir3 C-Terminal Domain Involvement in the Initiation and Spreading of Heterochromatin

ABSTRACT Heterochromatin is nucleated at a specific site and subsequently spreads into distal sequences through multiple interactions between modified histones and nonhistone proteins. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, these nonhistone proteins include Sir2, Sir3, and Sir4. We have previously shown that loss of the C-terminal Rap1 domain containing Sir3 and Sir4 association sites can be overcome by tethering a 144-amino-acid C-terminal domain (CTD) of Sir3 adjacent to the telomere. Here, we explore the substructure and functions of the CTD. We demonstrate that the CTD is the minimum domain for Sir3 homodimerization, a function that is conserved in related yeasts. However, CTD heterodimers associate at only low efficiencies and correspondingly have low levels of tethered silencing, consistent with an essential role for dimerization in tethered silencing. Six missense alleles were generated, with ctd-Y964A producing the most extreme phenotypes when tethered to the LexA binding sites. Although ctd-Y964A is capable of dimerization, telomere silencing is abrogated, indicating that the CTD serves a second essential function in silencing. Chromatin immunoprecipitation analyses of wild-type and ctd-Y964A mutant cells indicate an association of the CTD with the deacetylated histone tails of H3 and H4 that is necessary for the recruitment of Sir3. The efficiency of spreading depends upon the apparent stoichiometry and stability during the initiation event. The predicted Cdc6 domain III winged-helix structure may well be responsible for dimerization.
Plasminogen activation in human acute leukaemias

Plasminogen activation is implicated in solid tumour growth, invasion and metatastic spread. However, little is known about its role in leukaemia. We investigated the production by leukaemic cells of plasminogen activators [urokinase (uPA) and tissue‐type PA (tPA)], cell surface receptor for uPA (uPAR) and PA inhibitors (PAI‐1 and PAI‐2). Leukaemic cells from 37 patients [26 with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and 11 with acute lymphoid leukaemia (ALL)] were analysed for mRNA content and enzymatic activities. High levels of uPA mRNA were found in M1, M2, M3 and M4–M5 AMLs, whereas tPA mRNA was not detected in any of the analysed cases. uPAR mRNA was confined to subtypes M4–M5. PAI‐1 mRNA was detected in M3 and M4–M5. PAI‐2 mRNA was found predominantly in M2 and M4–M5. SDS‐PAGE/zymography analyses of cell extracts and supernatants after 24 and 48 h of culture confirmed the production of active uPA by AML cells (mainly M4–M5), but not by ALL. The finding of uPA, uPAR, PAI‐1 and PAI‐2 synthesized by leukaemic cells suggests that plasminogen activation may contribute to the invasive behaviour of these cells, the fibrinolytic imbalance observed in leukaemic patients and the differentiation and proliferation of M4–M5 by interaction of uPA with uPAR.
In Vivo Characterization of Alveolar and Interstitial Lung Macrophages in Rhesus Macaques: Implications for Understanding Lung Disease in Humans

Alveolar macrophages (AMs) obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) are commonly used to study lung macrophage-mediated immune responses. Questions remain, however, about whether AMs fully represent macrophage function in the lung. This study was performed to determine the contribution of interstitial macrophages (IMs) of lung tissue to pulmonary immunity and that are not present in BAL sampling. In vivo BrdU injection was performed to evaluate the kinetics and monocyte/tissue macrophage turnover in Indian rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Lung macrophage phenotype and cell turnover were analyzed by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry. AMs and IMs in lungs of rhesus macaques composed ∼70% of immune response cells in the lung. AMs represented a larger proportion of macrophages, ∼75–80%, and exhibited minimal turnover. Conversely, IMs exhibited higher turnover rates that were similar to those of blood monocytes during steady-state homeostasis. IMs also exhibited higher staining for TUNEL, suggesting a continuous transition of blood monocytes replacing IMs undergoing apoptosis. Although AMs appear static in steady-state homeostasis, increased influx of new AMs derived from monocytes/IMs was observed after BAL procedure. Moreover, ex vivo IFN-γ plus LPS treatment significantly increased intracellular expression of TNF-α in IMs, but not in AMs. These findings indicate that the longer-lived AMs obtained from BAL may not represent the entire pulmonary spectrum of macrophage responses, and shorter-lived IMs may function as the critical mucosal macrophage subset in the lung that helps to maintain homeostasis and protect against continuous pathogen exposure from the environment.
Narcissistic Consumers' Response to Self-focused Appeal Online Advertising: Evidence from Chinese Gen Y

Although self-focused appeal has become popular for online advertising in China and most of such advertisements focus on Gen Y, researches on the effect and mechanism of such advertisements are spares. To fill the gap, the presented study focuses on one typical individual psychological trait of Gen Y, i.e., narcissism, and aims to provide a conceptual framework which captures the moderating influence of product types, advertising types and different self (i.e., actual versus ideal self) in the relationship between consumers’ narcissistic trait and advertising persuasiveness. Two studies will be conducted to test the framework and relevant hypotheses, and the experimental design method will be adopted by these two studies ; the findings are expected to contribute to the consumer behavior and advertising literature regarding to narcissistic consumers and the effect of self-focused appeal.
Yersinia enterocolitica septicemia: clinical and microbiological aspects.

Septicemia is a rare but serious complication of infection with Yersinia enterocolitica (Y.e.). Seven cases of Y.e. septicemia are presented. Five of the patients had no underlying disease predisposing to septicemia. Five patients displayed recurrent episodes of septicemia, despite treatment with recommended doses of antibiotics to which the isolates were sensitive in vitro. One patient developed endocarditis which required surgical replacement of the aortic valve. Other clinical manifestations were arthritis, diverticulitis and pulmonary abscesses. The outcome was fatal to 3 elderly patients. The serological response to Y.e. was followed by tube agglutination and a diffusion-in-gel enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. One patient, with a benign course of illness, had transient elevated Y.e. antibody titres, while the 3 cases with a protracted disease showed sustained antibody responses for 6-18 months. Blood isolates of Y.e. had ordinary virulence characteristics identical to fecal isolates and produced extracellular beta-lactamase. All isolates were sensitive in vitro to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, mecillinam, piperacillin, cefotaxime, ceftazidime, chloramphenicol and gentamicin. The lowest MIC values were recorded for mecillinam. Full synergistic activity was demonstrated when mecillinam was combined with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, cefuroxime or rifampicin.
Evaluating the validity of using unverified indices of body condition

Condition indices are commonly used in an attempt to link body condition of birds to ecological variables of interest, including demographic attributes such as survival and reproduction. Most indices are based on body mass adjusted for structural body size, calculated as simple ratios or residuals from regressions. However, condition indices are often applied without confirming their predictive value (i.e., without being validated against measured values of fat and protein), which we term ‘unverified’ use. We evaluated the ability of a number of unverified indices frequently found in the literature to predict absolute and proportional levels of fat and protein across five species of waterfowl. Among indices we considered, those accounting for body size never predicted absolute protein more precisely than body mass, however, some indices improved predictability of fat, although the form of the best index varied by species. Further, the gain in precision by using a condition index to predict either absolute or percent fat was minimal (rise in r 2 50.13), and in many cases model fit was actually reduced. Our data agrees with previous assertions that the assumption that indices provide more precise indicators of body condition than body mass alone is often invalid. We strongly discourage the use of unverified indices, because subjectively selecting indices likely does little to improve precision and might in fact decrease predictability relative to using body mass alone.
Ensemble climate simulations using a fully coupled ocean–troposphere–stratosphere general circulation model

Long-term transient simulations are carried out in an initial condition ensemble mode using a global coupled climate model which includes comprehensive ocean and stratosphere components. This model, which is run for the years 1860–2100, allows the investigation of the troposphere–stratosphere interactions and the importance of representing the middle atmosphere in climate-change simulations. The model simulates the present-day climate (1961–2000) realistically in the troposphere, stratosphere and ocean. The enhanced stratospheric resolution leads to the simulation of sudden stratospheric warmings; however, their frequency is underestimated by a factor of 2 with respect to observations. In projections of the future climate using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change special report on emissions scenarios A2, an increased tropospheric wave forcing counteracts the radiative cooling in the middle atmosphere caused by the enhanced greenhouse gas concentration. This leads to a more dynamically active, warmer stratosphere compared with present-day simulations, and to the doubling of the number of stratospheric warmings. The associated changes in the mean zonal wind patterns lead to a southward displacement of the Northern Hemisphere storm track in the climate-change signal.