Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A dual-polarized quasi-optical SIS mixer at 550 GHz

In this paper, we describe the design, fabrication, and the performance of a low-noise dual-polarized quasi-optical superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixer at 550 GHz. The mixer utilizes a novel cross-slot antenna on a hyperhemispherical substrate lens, two junction tuning circuits, niobium trilayer junctions, and an IF circuit containing a lumped element 180/spl deg/ hybrid. The antenna consists of an orthogonal pair of twin-slot antennas, and has four feed points, two for each polarization. Each feed point is coupled to a two-junction SIS mixer. The 180/spl deg/ IF hybrid is implemented using a lumped element/microstrip circuit located inside the mixer block. Fourier transform spectrometer measurements of the mixer frequency response show good agreement with computer simulations. The measured co-polarized and cross-polarized patterns for both polarizations also agree with the theoretical predictions. The noise performance of the dual-polarized mixer is excellent giving uncorrected receiver noise temperature of better than 115 K (double sideband) at 528 GHz for both the polarizations.
Heart rate dynamics after combined endurance and strength training in older men.

PURPOSE Aging alters cardiac autonomic function, which may contribute to a higher risk of cardiac events. Spectral measures of HR variability (HRV) and fractal-like behavior of HR are considered as markers of a healthy heart. The present study examined the effects of combining endurance and strength training compared with endurance or strength training alone on HR dynamics and physical fitness in older previously untrained men aged 40-67 yr. METHODS Subjects were randomized into endurance training (E, n = 23), strength training (S, n = 25), combined endurance and strength training (ES, n = 29), or control group (C, n = 16). Short-term fractal scaling exponent (alpha1) and spectral HRV were analyzed from maximal aerobic cycling tests and during supine rest, and leg extension one repetition maximum strength was measured. RESULTS Aerobic capacity and maximal strength increased in the training groups performing endurance and/or strength training, respectively. Only ES showed a decrease after training in fractal HR behavior during exercise, and the difference was significant between groups (P = 0.019). During supine rest, alpha1 only decreased significantly (P = 0.039) in ES from 1.18 (SD = 0.20) to 1.11 (SD = 0.21). The decrease in alpha1 at rest from 1.21 (SD = 0.19) to 1.11 (SD = 0.22) also approached significance (P = 0.061) in E. Changes in spectral measures of HRV were minor during the study period and only occurred during exercise. CONCLUSION Fractal HR dynamics were improved more by combining strength training with endurance training in our older men compared with endurance training alone, although strength training alone produced no changes in fractal HR behavior. The synergistic effect in fractal HR behavior occurred regardless of changes in aerobic capacity.
Optimal Power and Retransmission Control Policies over Fading Channels with Packet Drop Penalty Costs

We present a power and retransmission control policy that achieves an optimal tradeoff between transmission power, delay, and packet drop penalty costs over a radio fading channel. We formulate the underlying power and retransmission control as a Markov decision problem (MDP). Under certain sufficient conditions, we show that the optimal transmission power monotonically decreases in the channel quality and the number of retransmission slots left. These structural results lead to power allocation policies that are computationally inexpensive for on-line implementation and are scalable in terms of transmission parameters. Numerical examples confirm the monotonicity results and demonstrate the improvement in the transmission cost enabled by the optimal policy.
Crystal Structure of the Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Virulence Factor SrfJ, a Glycoside Hydrolase Family Enzyme

ABSTRACT To cause infection, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium uses type III secretion systems, which are encoded on two Salmonella pathogenicity islands, SPI-1 and SPI-2, the latter of which is thought to play a crucial role in bacterial proliferation in Salmonella-containing vacuoles (SCVs) after invading cells. S. Typhimurium SrfJ, located outside SPI-2, is also known to be involved in Salmonella pathogenicity and has high amino acid sequence homology with human lysosomal glucosylceramidase (GlcCerase). We present the first crystal structure of SrfJ at a resolution of 1.8 Å. The overall fold of SrfJ shares high structure similarities with that of human GlcCerase, comprising two distinctive domains: a (β/α)8-barrel catalytic domain and a β-sandwich domain. As in human GlcCerase, the pocket-shaped active site of SrfJ is located on the C-terminal side of the barrel, and two conserved glutamic acid residues are used for the enzyme catalysis. Moreover, a glycerol-bound form of SrfJ reveals that the glucose ring moiety of the substrate might similarly bind to the enzyme as to human GlcCerase, suggesting that SrfJ might function as a glycoside hydrolase. Although some structural differences are observed between SrfJ and human GlcCerase in the substrate entrance of the active site, we speculate that, based on the high structural similarities to human GlcCerase in the overall fold and the active-site environment, SrfJ might have a GlcCerase activity and use the activity to enhance Salmonella virulence by modifying SCV membrane lipids.
The New Statistics

We need to make substantial changes to how we conduct research. First, in response to heightened concern that our published research literature is incomplete and untrustworthy, we need new requirements to ensure research integrity. These include prespecification of studies whenever possible, avoidance of selection and other inappropriate data-analytic practices, complete reporting, and encouragement of replication. Second, in response to renewed recognition of the severe flaws of null-hypothesis significance testing (NHST), we need to shift from reliance on NHST to estimation and other preferred techniques. The new statistics refers to recommended practices, including estimation based on effect sizes, confidence intervals, and meta-analysis. The techniques are not new, but adopting them widely would be new for many researchers, as well as highly beneficial. This article explains why the new statistics are important and offers guidance for their use. It describes an eight-step new-statistics strategy for research with integrity, which starts with formulation of research questions in estimation terms, has no place for NHST, and is aimed at building a cumulative quantitative discipline.
Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activity of Chitosan/Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose Film-Forming Hydrosols Hydrolyzed by Cellulase

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of cellulase (C) on the biological activity of chitosan/hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (CH/HPMC) film-forming hydrosols. The hydrolytic activity of cellulase in two concentrations (0.05% and 0.1%) was verified by determination of the progress of polysaccharide hydrolysis, based on viscosity measurement and reducing sugar-ends assay. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging effect, the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and microbial reduction of Pseudomonas fluorescens, Yersinia enterocolitica, Bacillus cereus, and Staphylococcus aureus were studied. During the first 3 h of reaction, relative reducing sugar concentration increased progressively, and viscosity decreased rapidly. With increasing amount of enzyme from 0.05% to 0.1%, the reducing sugar concentration increased, and the viscosity decreased significantly. The scavenging effect of film-forming solutions was improved from 7.6% at time 0 and without enzyme to 52.1% for 0.1% cellulase after 20 h of reaction. A significant effect of cellulase addition and reaction time on antioxidant power of the tested film-forming solutions was also reported. Film-forming hydrosols with cellulase exhibited a bacteriostatic effect on all tested bacteria, causing a total reduction.
Mechanical, Thermal and Morphological Properties of Pineapple and Betel Nut Husk Fiber Reinforced Hybrid Polypropylene Composites

Hybrid composites have extensive engineering application where strength to weight ratio, low cost and ease of fabrication are required. In recent times hybrid composites have been established as highly efficient, high performance structural materials. Structures made of composites have a long life and need little maintenance. Present research presents a review of the current status of hybrid composite materials technology in terms of mechanical, thermal and morphological properties. Hybrid composites were manufactured with pineapple and betel nut husk as hybrid fibers and polypropylene as matrix using a hot press machine. Fiber loading was varied at 5, 10 and 15 wt%, while pineapple and betel nut husk fiber ratio was set at 1:1. For mechanical characterization, tensile, flexural and hardness tests were conducted with the composites. Thermal properties were measured using thermo gravimetric analysis. To observe surface morphology of the samples, scanning electron microscope was used. Tensile test of the composites showed a decreasing trend of tensile strength with increasing fiber content. Tensile modulus initially increased with fibers loading, then decreased at 10% fiber content. Flexural strength and flexural modulus were found higher for 10% fiber loaded composite as compared composites containing 5% and 15% fiber. From the TGA analysis, it is observed that 10% fiber loaded composites had highest thermal stability among all manufactured composites. According to scanning electron microscopy, 10% fiber loaded composite showed more adhesion as compared to 5% and 15% fiber loaded composites. Fiber agglomeration was also observed in 15% fiber loaded composite.
Uplink NOMA with Multi-Antenna

In this paper, we propose a uplink (UL) non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) systems equipped with multiple antennas to enhance the sum capacity of UL. In the proposed UL NOMA system, a base station (BS) with N antennas can support 2N users by sharing the space resource. However, sharing the space resource leads to interference between users. Therefore, to mitigate the interference and improve the sum capacity, we additionally propose a set selection algorithm and power control scheme. The set selection algorithm, which selects 2N users based on orthogonality and gain-difference between their channels, reduces the interference between users. Furthermore, the power control scheme can maximize the sum capacity with ensuring minimum target rate. Numerical results show that the proposed system improves the sum capacity over that of the conventional orthogonal multiple access (OMA) system.
Effect of the Mechanical Properties and Corrosion Behaviors of Nickel-Cadmium Duplex Electroplated AISI 4340 Steel by Using Various Solid Solution Treatments

AISI 4340, a high strength low alloy steel employed in aeronautical structural components, are always protected by various surface treatments from failure. In order to obtain better mechanical properties and corrosion resistance economically, in this study, multiple surface treatments were applied to the AISI 4340 steel, including of nickel-cadmium duplex electroplating, chromate conversion processing, and solid solution treatments with different temperatures and duration times. To evaluate the properties of the nickel-cadmium duplex coating for various solid solution treated AISI 4340 steel, thickness and hardness measurements, salt spray tests, XRD and SEM inspections were performed. The experimental results showed that the electroplated specimens, followed by 300~350°C solid solution treatment, exhibited a distinct nickel-cadmium intermediate compound (Cd5Ni). The highest hardness reached was HV0.3 582.9 after 300°C solid solution treatment for 120 min. Moreover, the anti-salt corrosion capability of the nickel-cadmium layers effectively improved with the 300~325°C solid solution treatment. However, the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance declined with the increase in temperature above 350°C because of the depletion of the cadmium layer and Cd5Ni compound, and the formation of cadmium oxide and chloride. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.M2017282]
Anxiety disorders and anxiety-related traits and serotonin transporter gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) in adolescents: case–control and trio studies

The role of the serotonin transporter gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) in anxiety disorder and anxiety-related traits is controversial. Besides this study, few studies have evaluated the triallelic genotype in adolescents. The aim of this study was to investigate whether anxiety disorders and anxiety-related traits are associated with 5-HTTLPR (biallelic and triallelic) in adolescents, integrating both case–control-based and family-based designs in a community sample. This is a cross-sectional community study of 504 individuals and their families: 225 adolescents (129 adolescents with anxiety disorder and 96 controls) and their biological families. We assessed psychiatric diagnosis using the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia. The Temperament and Character Inventory and the Resnick Behavioral Inhibition Scale were used to evaluate harm avoidance and behavioral inhibition. DNA was extracted from saliva and genotyped, including biallelic and triallelic 5-HTTLPR classification, by PCR-RFLP followed by agarose gel electrophoresis. We were not able to find any associations between 5-HTTLPR and anxiety-related phenotypes in both case–control and trio analyses. Further investigation and meta-analytic studies are needed to better clarify the inconsistent results with regard to the association between 5-HTTLPR and anxiety-related phenotypes in adolescents.
Vaccine Potentiation by Combination Adjuvants

Adjuvants are crucial components of vaccines. They significantly improve vaccine efficacy by modulating, enhancing, or extending the immune response and at the same time reducing the amount of antigen needed. In contrast to previously licensed adjuvants, current successful adjuvant formulations often consist of several molecules, that when combined, act synergistically by activating a variety of immune mechanisms. These “combination adjuvants” are already registered with several vaccines, both in humans and animals, and novel combination adjuvants are in the pipeline. With improved knowledge of the type of immune responses needed to successfully induce disease protection by vaccination, combination adjuvants are particularly suited to not only enhance, but also direct the immune responses desired to be either Th1-, Th2- or Th17-biased. Indeed, in view of the variety of disease and population targets for vaccine development, a panel of adjuvants will be needed to address different disease targets and populations. Here, we will review well-known and new combination adjuvants already licensed or currently in development—including ISCOMs, liposomes, Adjuvant Systems Montanides, and triple adjuvant combinations—and summarize their performance in preclinical and clinical trials. Several of these combination adjuvants are promising having promoted improved and balanced immune responses.
Feature-driven Maximally Stable Extremal Regions

The high repeatability of Maximally Stable Extremal Regions (MSERs) on structured images along with their suitability to be combined with either photometric or shape descriptors to solve image matching problems have contributed to establish the MSER detector as one of the most prominent affine covariant detectors. However, the so-called affine covariance that characterizes MSERs relies on the assumption that objects possess smooth boundaries, a premiss that is not always valid. We introduce an alternative domain for MSER detection in which boundary-related features are highlighted and simultaneously delineated under smooth transitions. Detection results on common benchmarks show improvements that are discussed.
Energy Dumpster Diving

Power data alone cannot identify sources of energy ineﬃ-ciency. However, correlating power data with utilization statistics can reveal where power is used well and where it is wasted. We describe a sensing infrastructure, PowerNet, that monitors power and utilization in a building environment. The deployment includes both wired and wireless sensors and covers oﬃces, networking closets, and server racks. We present PowerNet’s architecture, then generate initial insights from each monitored environment. Analyzing Pow-erNet data traces identiﬁes contexts where electricity consumption can be reduced without cost, and others which call for rethinking system designs altogether
Missing Data Imputation of Solar Radiation Data under Different Atmospheric Conditions

Global solar broadband irradiance on a planar surface is measured at weather stations by pyranometers. In the case of the present research, solar radiation values from nine meteorological stations of the MeteoGalicia real-time observational network, captured and stored every ten minutes, are considered. In this kind of record, the lack of data and/or the presence of wrong values adversely affects any time series study. Consequently, when this occurs, a data imputation process must be performed in order to replace missing data with estimated values. This paper aims to evaluate the multivariate imputation of ten-minute scale data by means of the chained equations method (MICE). This method allows the network itself to impute the missing or wrong data of a solar radiation sensor, by using either all or just a group of the measurements of the remaining sensors. Very good results have been obtained with the MICE method in comparison with other methods employed in this field such as Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR). The average RMSE value of the predictions for the MICE algorithm was 13.37% while that for the MLR it was 28.19%, and 31.68% for the IDW.
High‐gain observer for chaotic synchronization and secure communication

An information signal can be embedded in a transmitter which produces a chaotic signal, it is inviable to the observer who has no knowledge about the transmitter, but it can be recovered if the receiver is a replica of the chaotic transmitter. In this paper, a new aspect of the chaotic communication is introduced. A high‐gain observer at the receiver's end replaces the conventional chaotic system. A single parameter is adjusted so that the receiver and transmitter can be synchronized. Three chaotic systems, Duffing equation, Van der Pol oscillator and Chua's circuit, are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the chaotic communication. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effect of the fungal mycotoxin patulin on the chromatin structure of fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

The fungal mycotoxin patulin is produced by several molds, especially by Aspergillus and Penicillium. The aim of this study was to clarify whether patulin causes alterations in plasma membrane permeability of Schizosaccharomyces pombe lead to cellular shrinkage charateristic to apoptosis or increases cell size indicating necrosis in cells. Transmission and scanning electronmicroscopy revealed that lower concentrations of patulin induced cellular shrinkage and blebbing, higher concentration caused expansion without cellular disruption. Large‐scale morphological changes of individual cells were followed by time lapse video microscopy. Patulin caused the elongation and stickiness of cells or rounded up their shapes. To visualize chromatin structures of S. pombe nuclei upon patulin treatment, protoplasts were isolated from S. pombe and subjected to fluorescent microscopy. Chromatin changes in the presence of 50 μM patulin concentration were characterized by elongated nuclei containing sticky fibrillary chromatin and enlarged round shaped nuclei trapped at the fibrillary stage of chromatin condensation. Short (60 min) incubation of S. pombe cells in the presence of high (500 μM) patulin concentration generated patches of condensed chromatin bodies inside the nucleus and caused nuclear expansion, with the rest of chromatin remaining in fibrillary form. Longer (90 min, 500 μM) incubation resulted in fewer highly condensed chromatin patches and in nuclear fragmentation. Although, high patulin concentration increased the size of S. pombe size, it did not lead to necrotic explosion of cells, neither did the fragmented nuclei resemble apoptotic bodies that would have indicated programmed cell death. All these morphological changes and the high rate of cell survival point to rapid adaptation and mixed type of fungistatic effects. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
A New Class of Probability Distributions and its Application to Finance

∗Corresponding author. The paper presents extensions and generalisations of my Ph.D. thesis (Menn 2004). The results have partly been presented in talks at University of California, Santa Barbara, University of Washington, Seattle, Hochschule für Banken, Frankfurt and at the EU-workshop on mathematical optimization models held in November 2003 in Cyprus. I gratefully acknowledge the helpful discussions and suggestions made by participants at these events. †Rachev gratefully acknowledges research support by grants from Division of Mathematical, Life and Physical Sciences, College of Letters and Science, University of California, Santa Barbara, the Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft and the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst.
Supplementary Figures Supplementary Figure 1 | Sem Images and Illustration of a Fpi with a Center Ohmic Contact

surrounded by an isolation-gate. The regime of this device can be tuned by varying the voltage on the isolation gate í µí± ! "#$%&! #' ; it can be tune to either the pure AB regime, by setting í µí± ! "#$%&! #' = 0, or to an intermediate regime by setting a low enough voltage resulting in depletion of the electron-gas below it. We note that a pure CD regime cannot be reached with this device.
Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems ( PACIS ) 9 July 2011 E-Government , E-Business , And National Environmental Performance

What is the relative importance of the contextual factors facilitating e-government and e-business development in a nation? What is the relationship between e-government and e-business in a nation? What is the relationship of e-government and e-business development in a nation with its environmental performance? These are the three research questions that we intend to address in this study. Specifically, by utilizing the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) theory and the Resource-Based-View (RBV) of a firm as guiding lenses, this study identifies the relative importance of TOE contextual factors (i.e., ICT infrastructure, human capital, and institutions) facilitating egovernment and e-business development. Further, grounding the discussion in information technology (IT) impact literature, we investigate the impact of e-government and e-business development on national environmental performance. By addressing the intersection of these two global trends (i.e., growing requirements for publicand private-sector organizations in a country to use the Internet for conducting their businesses and operations, and increasing demands for them to engage in nationallevel environmental sustainability practices), findings from this study is expected to contribute to the theoretical discourse on RBV and IT impact by identifying the relative importance of TOE contextual factors on e-government and e-business development in a country, and provide indications to practice on enhancing its environmental performance through effectively managing those factors and increasing the levels of e-government and e-business development.