Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effect of laser pulse duration and beam shape on the selective removal of novel thin film layers for flexible electronic devices

Lightweight, flexible substrates coated with thin film layers <0. 5μm thick are commonly utilized for modern electronic devices that are portable and constantly reducing in size, weight, power consumption and material cost. Patterning techniques for these thin films are required to provide device functionality and alternatives to photolithography such as direct write laser processes are particularly attractive. However, for complex devices with multiple thin layers, the quality requirements for laser scribing are extremely high, since each individual thin film layer must be patterned without damaging the underlying thin film layer(s) and also provide a suitable topography for subsequent layers to be deposited upon. Hence, the choice of the laser parameters is critical for a number of emerging thin film materials used in flexible electronic devices such as ITO, pedot:PSS, silver nanoparticle inks, amongst others. These thin films can be extremely sensitive to the thermal interaction with lasers and this report outlines the influence of laser pulse duration and beam shaping techniques on laser patterning of these thin films and the implications for laser system design.
Enzyme-linked immunospot assay responses to early secretory antigenic target 6, culture filtrate protein 10, and purified protein derivative among children with tuberculosis: implications for diagnosis and monitoring of therapy.

BACKGROUND The ability to detect tuberculosis-specific lymphocytes by enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay may have important implications for the diagnosis and monitoring of tuberculosis in children, for which routine methods lack sensitivity. We conducted a study to determine the presence and time course of ELISPOT responses in children with tuberculosis. METHODS Blood samples were obtained from children with a clinical diagnosis of tuberculosis, and interferon-gamma ELISPOT assays were performed using purified protein derivative (PPD), early secretory antigenic target 6 (ESAT-6), and culture filtrate protein 10 (CFP10) as stimulants. A subset of children were retested after 1, 3, and 6 months of therapy. RESULTS Detectable responses to ESAT-6 or CFP10 were found in 49 of 70 children with clinical tuberculosis but were more frequently found in those with culture-proven disease (P = .05). The number of subjects with responses to PPD increased after 1 month of therapy (P = .0004) and decreased at 3 and 6 months. CONCLUSION Tuberculosis-specific ELISPOT testing is a promising tool that should be evaluated as a potential diagnostic test for childhood tuberculosis. We caution against the use of an early decrease in response as a marker of successful antituberculous chemotherapy.
A 219-to-231 GHz Frequency-Multiplier-Based VCO With ~3% Peak DC-to-RF Efficiency in 65-nm CMOS

Signal sources at mm-wave and (sub-)terahertz frequencies in CMOS can be classified into two broad categories: harmonic oscillators and oscillators that are based on the frequency multiplication of fundamental sources. This paper shows that frequency-multiplier-based sources potentially have a higher dc-to-RF efficiency than do the popular harmonic oscillators in 65-nm CMOS. To improve the power efficiency of CMOS signal sources that operate near or above the cutoff frequency of the device, design factors including the harmonic current efficiency, the effective output conductance, and the passive losses should be carefully tailored. An architecture is proposed in which: 1) the core voltage-controlled oscillator is optimized to efficiently generate a strong fundamental harmonic; 2) separate class-C frequency doublers are utilized to decouple fundamental signal generation and harmonic extraction and to reduce conductance loss; and 3) doubler circuits are separately optimized to simplify the output matching and power combining network, and hence avoid long and lossy transmission lines. A circuit prototype shows a measured peak output power and dc-to-RF efficiency of 3 dBm and 2.95%, respectively.
Inhibition of the lethality of Shiga-like toxin-1 by functional gold nanoparticles

Abstract Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a pathogen, which can generate Shiga-like toxins (SLTs) and cause hemolytic-uremic syndrome. Foodborne illness outbreaks caused by E. coli O157:H7 have become a global issue. Since SLTs are quite toxic, effective medicines that can reduce the damage caused by SLTs should be explored. SLTs consist of a single A and five B subunits, which can inhibit ribosome activity for protein synthesis and bind with the cell membrane of host cells, respectively. Pigeon ovalbumin (POA), i.e. a glycoprotein, is abundant in pigeon egg white (PEW) proteins. The structure of POA contains Gal-α(1→4)-Gal-β(1→4)-GlcNAc ligands, which have binding affinity toward the B subunit in SLT type-1 (SLT-1B). POA immobilized gold nanoparticles (POA-Au NPs) can be generated by reacting PEW proteins with aqueous tetrachloroauric acid in one-pot. The generated POA-Au NPs have been demonstrated to have selective trapping-capacity toward SLT-1B previously. Herein, we explore that POA-Au NPs can be used as protective agents to neutralize the toxicity of SLT-1 in SLT-1-infected model cells. The results show that the cells can be completely rescued when a sufficient amount of POA-Au NPs is used to treat the SLT-1-infected cells within 1 h. Graphical Abstract
Predicting, Measuring and Tailoring Thermal Properties of Morphological and Structural Modified Polymeric Composite Materials

The development of heterogeneous engineered materials, such are the multiphase polymeric composites, requires combined knowledge and skills, both theoretically and experimentally, in order to provide a material combination with desired thermo-mechanical and physical properties for structural components from a given application. Nonetheless, these new emerging materials have to posses improved mechanical, thermal or electrical properties comparatively with their classical counterparts to prove their consistency, development and manufacturing (Curtu & Motoc Luca, 2009; Motoc Luca et al., 2010). Multiphase polymeric composites have found a niche into engineering applications as materials for structural components in aero-space (e.g. rocket nozzles, fuel tanks, ), civil engineering (e.g. liquid tanks), mechatronics (e.g. electronic packaging, sensors/actuators), electrical (e.g. electrical contacts, electrical shields), automotive (e.g. drive shafts, cylinders, brake rotors) or manufacturing (e.g. bearings, pistons) industries. All the engineering applications of these multiphase polymeric composite materials require controlled thermal expansion characteristics in order to match those of other components and low values of the property to attain a good dimensional stability. With respect to the stability issue, this can be view from two perspectives: a change in the geometrical form – materials’ CTE (i.e. CTE coefficient of thermal expansion) is playing a key role and a change in mechanical properties – a mismatch between the constitutive have a dominant effect (Tan & et al.,1999; Dimitrienko, 1997, a & b). Technical literature provides numerous experimentally related papers on the effective CTE for composite materials, manufactured as metal or polymeric based matrices. Most of these papers are approaching the 2-phase combination, either with fibres or particle reinforced as inclusions of the composite structure leaving an unexplored field with respect to the multiphase composite structures (Dey & Tripathi, 2008; Tognana & et. al., 2009). The previous holds for the theoretical based micromechanical approaches as well, the papers focusing on different methods developed to predict the effective properties of the composite structures, at the representative volume element or representative unit cell levels, based on double or multi-inclusion homogenization schemes. 3
Optical control of biological processes by light‐switchable proteins

Cellular processes such as proliferation, differentiation, or migration depend on precise spatiotemporal coordination of protein activities. Correspondingly, reaching a quantitative understanding of cellular behavior requires experimental approaches that enable spatial and temporal modulation of protein activity. Recently, a variety of light‐sensitive protein domains have been engineered as optogenetic actuators to spatiotemporally control protein activity. In the present review, we discuss the principle of these optical control methods and examples of their applications in modulating signaling pathways. By controlling protein activity with spatiotemporal specificity, tunable dynamics, and quantitative control, light‐controllable proteins promise to accelerate our understanding of cellular and organismal biology. WIREs Dev Biol 2015, 4:545–554. doi: 10.1002/wdev.188
On the minimum vertex covering transversal dominating sets in graphs and their classification

Let G = (V,E) be a simple and connected graph. A dominating set S ⊆ V is said to be a vertex covering transversal dominating set if it intersects every minimum vertex covering set of G. The vertex covering transversal domination number γvct(G) is the minimum cardinality among all vertex covering transversal dominating sets of G. A vertex covering transversal dominating set of minimum cardinality γvct(G) is called a minimum vertex covering transversal dominating set or simply a γvct-set. In this paper, we prove some general theorems on the vertex covering transversal domination number of a simple connected graph. We also provide some results about γvct-sets and try to classify those sets based on their intersection with the minimum vertex covering sets.
Tensor principal component analysis via sum-of-square proofs

We study a statistical model for the tensor principal component analysis problem introduced by Montanari and Richard: Given a order-$3$ tensor $T$ of the form $T = \tau \cdot v_0^{\otimes 3} + A$, where $\tau \geq 0$ is a signal-to-noise ratio, $v_0$ is a unit vector, and $A$ is a random noise tensor, the goal is to recover the planted vector $v_0$. For the case that $A$ has iid standard Gaussian entries, we give an efficient algorithm to recover $v_0$ whenever $\tau \geq \omega(n^{3/4} \log(n)^{1/4})$, and certify that the recovered vector is close to a maximum likelihood estimator, all with high probability over the random choice of $A$. The previous best algorithms with provable guarantees required $\tau \geq \Omega(n)$. In the regime $\tau \leq o(n)$, natural tensor-unfolding-based spectral relaxations for the underlying optimization problem break down (in the sense that their integrality gap is large). To go beyond this barrier, we use convex relaxations based on the sum-of-squares method. Our recovery algorithm proceeds by rounding a degree-$4$ sum-of-squares relaxations of the maximum-likelihood-estimation problem for the statistical model. To complement our algorithmic results, we show that degree-$4$ sum-of-squares relaxations break down for $\tau \leq O(n^{3/4}/\log(n)^{1/4})$, which demonstrates that improving our current guarantees (by more than logarithmic factors) would require new techniques or might even be intractable. Finally, we show how to exploit additional problem structure in order to solve our sum-of-squares relaxations, up to some approximation, very efficiently. Our fastest algorithm runs in nearly-linear time using shifted (matrix) power iteration and has similar guarantees as above. The analysis of this algorithm also confirms a variant of a conjecture of Montanari and Richard about singular vectors of tensor unfoldings.
EFA6 proteins regulate lumen formation through α-actinin 1

ABSTRACT A key step of epithelial morphogenesis is the creation of the lumen. Luminogenesis by hollowing proceeds through the fusion of apical vesicles at cell–cell contacts. The small nascent lumens grow through extension, coalescence and enlargement, coordinated with cell division, to give rise to a single central lumen. Here, by using MDCK cells grown in 3D-culture, we show that EFA6A (also known as PSD) participates in luminogenesis. EFA6A recruits α-actinin 1 (ACTN1) through direct binding. In polarized cells, ACTN1 was found to be enriched at the tight junction where it acts as a primary effector of EFA6A for normal luminogenesis. Both proteins are essential for the lumen extension and enlargement, where they mediate their effect by regulating the cortical acto-myosin contractility. Finally, ACTN1 was also found to act as an effector for the isoform EFA6B (also known as PSD4) in the human mammary tumoral MCF7 cell line. EFA6B restored the glandular morphology of this tumoral cell line in an ACTN1-dependent manner. Thus, we identified new regulators of cyst luminogenesis essential for the proper maturation of a newly-formed lumen into a single central lumen. Summary: EFA6 proteins control epithelial luminogenesis by recruiting ACTN1 and regulating acto-myosin contractility. The EFA6–ACTN1 signaling pathway also restores an epithelial phenotype to mammary tumoral cells.
Serum bactericidal activity and induction of chemiluminescence of polymorphonuclear leukocytes: complement activation pathway requirements in defense against Neisseria meningitidis.

Serum bactericidal activity and chemiluminescence (CL) responses of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL) to pathogenic Neisseria meningitidis serogroups B and W-135 and to nonpathogenic serogroup 29E were examined with pooled normal human serum depleted of the complement proteins C1q, factor D, properdin and C5. Purified C1q, factor D, properdin and C5 were added alone or in combination. For investigation of serogroup W-135 meningococci, a C1q, factor D and properdin-depleted postvaccination serum with high concentrations of anticapsular antibodies was also used. Serogroup B and W-135 cultured to log phase were resistant to the bactericidal activity of pooled normal human serum but were efficiently killed through the classical pathway alone when the bacteria were cultured to stationary phase. Nonpathogenic serogroup 29E meningococci in log or stationary growth phases were efficiently killed in serum, predominantly through the classical pathway. Serogroup W-135 meningococci grown to log phase were resistant to classical pathway-mediated bactericidal activity in postvaccination serum but were killed on addition of alternative pathway proteins. Stationary phase serogroup W-135 meningococci were killed through both pathways in the postvaccination serum. In the pooled normal human serum CL responses of PMNL were consistently more pronounced with fully reconstituted C1q, factor D, properdin, C5-depleted serum than with serum reconstituted with C1q, factor D and properdin suggesting contribution of actions related to terminal components. In the absence of C1q, serogroup W-135 meningococci in postvaccination serum induced a significant but delayed alternative pathway-mediated CL response. CL responses induced by serum-opsonized meningococci, in contrast to serum bactericidal activity, were not influenced by culture conditions. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Modeling of thin film evaporation heat transfer and experimental investigation of miniature heat pipes

The heat pipe, as one of the most efficient heat transport devices, is a peerless choice in the electronic cooling field. In order to better understand the heat transfer mechanisms of the heat pipe, a heat transfer model, which considers the effects of the surface condition, disjoining pressure, gravity force, and contact angle on the thin film profile, heat flux distribution, has been developed. The theoretical analyses showed that the heat transfer in the evaporator could be divided into three templates: CASE I, II, and III with increasing the heat load input. In order to verify the theoretical analysis, experimental investigations of a grooved heat pipe with micro trapezoid wicks, a miniature loop heat pipe with a copper sintered-layer flat evaporator, and a flat heat pipe with the wire core wicks were conducted, respectively. Comparison of the experimental data with theoretical results showed that the model can be used to predict the temperature response in evaporator at low heat load but is invalid at high heat load. The thin film evaporation heat transfer model is successful to address the heat transfer in a cell during the freezing process. In order to obtain ultra-high cooling rate and uniform temperature profiles at cryogenic temperature, one cryogenic oscillating heat pipe with the liquid nitrogen as its working fluid has been developed and experimentally studied. Experimental results showed that its heat transport capability reached 380W with 0 , 49 C Ave e c T − Δ = at charged ratio of 48 percent. At steady state, the amplitude of temperature response in evaporator was smaller than that of condenser while the temperature response kept the same frequency in both evaporator and condenser. The T Δ amplitude between evaporator and condenser decreased with increasing the heat load.
Considerations for the use of virally delivered genetic tools for in-vivo circuit analysis and behavior in mutant mice: a practical guide to optogenetics

Optogenetics was the method of the year in 2010 according to Nature Neuroscience. Since then, this method has become widespread, the use of virally delivered genetic tools has extended to other fields such as pharmacogenetics, and optogenetic techniques have become frequently applied in genetically manipulated animals for in-vivo circuit analysis and behavioral studies. However, several issues should be taken into consideration when planning such experiments. We aimed to summarize the critical points concerning optogenetic manipulation of a specific brain area in mutant mice. First, the appropriate vector should be chosen to allow optimal optogenetic manipulation. Adeno-associated viral vectors are the most common carriers with different available serotypes. Light-sensitive channels are available in many forms, and the expression of the delivered genetic material can be influenced in many ways. Second, selecting the adequate stimulation protocol is also essential. The pattern, intensity, and timing could be determinative parameters. Third, the mutant strain might have a phenotype that influences the observed behavior. In conclusion, detailed preliminary experiments and numerous control groups are required to choose the best vector and stimulation protocol and to ensure that the mutant animals do not have a specific phenotype that can influence the examined behavior.
First Test of Lorentz Violation with a Reactor-based Antineutrino Experiment

We present a search for Lorentz violation with 8249 candidate electron antineutrino events taken by the Double Chooz experiment in 227.9 live days of running. This analysis, featuring a search for a sidereal time dependence of the events, is the first test of Lorentz invariance using a reactor-based antineutrino source. No sidereal variation is present in the data and the disappearance results are consistent with sidereal time independent oscillations. Under the Standard-Model Extension (SME), we set the first limits on fourteen Lorentz violating coefficients associated with transitions between electron and tau flavor, and set two competitive limits associated with transitions between electron and muon flavor.
Complete Genome Sequence of the Myoviral Bacteriophage YS35, Which Causes the Lysis of a Multidrug-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa Strain

ABSTRACT The lytic bacteriophage YS35, which is capable of lysing multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains, was isolated from a sewage sample. Here, we describe the complete genome sequence of this myoviral bacteriophage, which contains 93,296 bp of double-stranded DNA and has a 49.4% G+C content.
A pathophysiological role of PDE 3 in allergic airway inflammation

1Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Erasmus MC, ‘s-Gravendijkwal, Rotterdam, Netherlands. 2Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland USA. 3Department of Pulmonology, Franciscus Gasthuis, Rotterdam, Netherlands. 4Epirus Biopharmaceuticals Netherlands Yalelaan, Utrecht, Netherlands. 5VIB Center for Inflammation Research, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Overhead Transmission Line Sag Estimation Using a Simple Optomechanical System with Chirped Fiber Bragg Gratings. Part 1: Preliminary Measurements

A method of measuring the power line wire sag using optical sensors that are insensitive to high electromagnetic fields was proposed. The advantage of this technique is that it is a non-invasive measurement of power line wire elongation using a unique optomechanical system. The proposed method replaces the sag of the power line wire with an extension of the control sample and then an expansion of the attached chirped fiber Bragg grating. This paper presents the results of the first measurements made on real aluminum-conducting steel-reinforced wire, frequently used for power line construction. It has been shown that the proper selection of the CFBG (chirped fiber Bragg grating) transducer and the appropriate choice of optical parameters of such a sensor will allow for high sensitivity of the line wire elongation and sag while reducing the sensitivity to the temperature. It has been shown that with a simple optomechanical system, a non-invasive measurement of the power line wire sag that is insensitive to temperature changes and the influence of high electromagnetic fields can be achieved.
Ultrasound-guided internal jugular venous cannulation in infants: a prospective comparison with the traditional palpation method.

BACKGROUND Percutaneous cannulation of the internal jugular vein in infants is technically more difficult and carries a higher risk of carotid artery puncture than in older children and adults. In this prospective study, the authors tested their hypothesis that using an ultrasound scanner would increase the success of internal jugular cannulation and decrease the incidence of carotid artery puncture in infants. METHODS After approval from the institutional review board and receipt of written informed parental consent, 95 infants scheduled for cardiac surgery were randomized prospectively into two groups. In the landmarks group, the patients' internal jugular veins were cannulated using the traditional method of palpation of carotid pulsation and identification of other anatomic landmarks. In the ultrasound group, cannulation was guided using an ultrasound scanner image. The cannulation time, number of attempts, success rate, and incidence of complications were compared for the two groups. RESULTS There were no significant differences between the two groups with regard to weight, age, and American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status classification. The success rate was 100% in the ultrasound group, with no carotid artery punctures, and 77% in the landmarks group, with a 25% incidence of carotid artery punctures. Both differences were significant (P > 0.0004). The cannulation time was less, the number of attempts was fewer, and the failure rate was significantly lower in the ultrasound group than in the landmark group. CONCLUSION Ultrasonographic localization of the internal jugular vein was superior to the landmarks technique in terms of overall success, speed, and decreased incidence of carotid artery puncture.
Flipped-Adversarial AutoEncoders

We propose a flipped-Adversarial AutoEncoder (FAAE) that simultaneously trains a generative model G that maps an arbitrary latent code distribution to a data distribution and an encoder E that embodies an "inverse mapping" that encodes a data sample into a latent code vector. Unlike previous hybrid approaches that leverage adversarial training criterion in constructing autoencoders, FAAE minimizes re-encoding errors in the latent space and exploits adversarial criterion in the data space. Experimental evaluations demonstrate that the proposed framework produces sharper reconstructed images while at the same time enabling inference that captures rich semantic representation of data.