Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Kinetic and Static Domain-Wall Pinning at Notches on Ferromagnetic Nanowires

We investigate the domain wall (DW) pinning and depinning processes at notches of ferromagnetic nanowires by means of micromagnetic calculation. Two distinct pinning mechanisms are examined-the kinetic pinning for a moving DW to be trapped at a notch and the static depinning for a trapped DW to move from the notch. Interestingly, the kinetic pinning field is revealed to be noticeably smaller than the static depinning field. The DW energy landscapes around the notch visualize that the kinetic DW motion bypasses the lowest energy state, from which the static depinning field is determined. This phenomenon is basically equivalent to the kinetic and static friction processes in classical mechanics.
NASA Systems Engineering Research Consortium: Defining the Path to Elegance in Systems

The NASA Systems Engineering Research Consortium was formed at the end of 2010 to study the approaches to producing elegant systems on a consistent basis. This has been a transformative study looking at the engineering and organizational basis of systems engineering. The consortium has engaged in a variety of research topics to determine the path to elegant systems. In the second year of the consortium, a systems engineering framework emerged which structured the approach to systems engineering and guided our research. This led in the third year to set of systems engineering postulates that the consortium is continuing to refine. The consortium has conducted several research projects that have contributed significantly to the understanding of systems engineering. The consortium has surveyed the application of the NASA 17 systems engineering processes, explored the physics and statistics of systems integration, and considered organizational aspects of systems engineering discipline integration. The systems integration methods have included system exergy analysis, Akaike Information Criteria (AIC), State Variable Analysis, Multidisciplinary Coupling Analysis (MCA), Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO), System Cost Modelling, System Robustness, and Value Modelling. Organizational studies have included the variability of processes in change evaluations, margin management within the organization, information theory of board structures, social categorization of unintended consequences, and initial looks at applying cognitive science to systems engineering. Consortium members have also studied the bidirectional influence of policy and law with systems engineering. © 2016 Michael D. Watson and Phillip A. Farrington.
SiGe HBTs With Normal High-Speed Emitter-Up and Reverse Low-Power Collector-Up Operation

SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) are usually optimized to obtain best performance in the forward operation mode. In this paper, we demonstrate that a simultaneous excellent performance in the reverse mode of operation can be obtained as well. A fT / fmax combination of 50/100 GHz is obtained, which is, to our knowledge, the best value reported for a Si-based HBT operating in the reverse mode. This excellent performance is analyzed and explained by studying the different delay components of the device in the reverse operation mode. It is shown that the extrinsic SiGe base region plays a crucial role. Additionally, good low-power performance in the reverse operation mode is obtained as well, which is attributed to a reduction in the device parasitic contributions. The simultaneous availability of a high-speed performance in the forward mode and a low-power performance in the reverse mode offers additional flexibility to optimize circuit performance in terms of speed, power, and area.
External Attachment of Acoustic Tags to Deepwater Reef Fishes: an Alternate Approach When Internal Implantation Affects Experimental Design

AbstractImplanting internal acoustic tags is often a preferred method for tracking fish; however, this procedure can present issues with respect to surgical incision that affect experimental design. This is particularly the case when testing for the effects of barotrauma, where the incision for an internal tag would inadvertently “vent” the fish, precluding an “unvented” or control treatment. The rise of barotrauma experimentation has increased the need for methods facilitating this design. Here, we develop and test a novel technique to externally attach acoustic tags, without causing the release of gasses from the fish's body cavity. In addition, this method does not require anesthetics, thereby allowing researchers to eliminate artifacts associated with sedation when trying to more accurately replicate “real-world” fishery conditions. We used accelerometer/depth tags to provide information on how long an externally tagged fish would retain its tag in situ. Changes in acceleration or changes in depth wer.
Structure of murine enterokinase ( enteropeptidase ) and expression in small intestine during development

Yuan, Xin, Xinglong Zheng, Deshun Lu, Deborah C. Rubin, Christopher Y. M. Pung, and J. Evan Sadler. Structure of murine enterokinase (enteropeptidase) and expression in small intestine during development. Am. J. Physiol. 274 (Gastrointest. Liver Physiol. 37): G342–G349, 1998. —Enterokinase (enteropeptidase) is expressed only in proximal small intestine, where it initiates digestive enzyme activation by converting trypsinogen into trypsin. To investigate this restricted expression pattern, mouse enterokinase cDNA was cloned, and the distribution of enterokinase mRNA and enzymatic activity were determined in adult mice and during gestation. Analysis of enterokinase sequences showed that a mucinlike domain near the NH2 terminus is composed of repeated ,15-amino acid Ser/Thr-rich motifs. By Northern blotting and trypsinogen activation assays, enterokinase mRNA and enzymatic activity were undetectable in stomach, abundant in duodenum, and decreased distally until they were undetectable in midjejunum, ileum, and colon. By in situ mRNA hybridization, enterokinase mRNA was localized to the enterocytes throughout the villus. Expression was not observed in goblet cells, Paneth cells, or Brunner’s glands. Enterokinase mRNA and enzymatic activity were not detected in the duodenum of fetal mice but were easily detected in the duodenum on postnatal days 2–6. Both enterokinase mRNA and enzymatic activity decreased to very low levels after day 7 but increased after weaning and reached a high level characteristic of adult life by day 60. Therefore, in mice, duodenal enterocytes are the major type of cells expressing enterokinase, which appears to be regulated at the level of mRNA abundance.
Automatic segmentation of electricity consumption data series with Jensen-Shannon divergence

In Smart Grids the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) could be used to better manage both consumption and production of electricity. The increasing presence of renewable energy sources in production and the permeation of novel consumption types (e.g. Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV)) will obviously cause the increase the fluctuation of electrical energy. One possible solution to these problems is development of novel methods for investigating electrical power consumption data series. As the existing learning algorithms of pattern classification are suitable for discovering internal structures of large datasets, it is important to generate a training/testing/validation learning database from existing measurements (e.g. from smart meters), actually via segmentation and labeling by hand. In this paper we propose a novel method for the automatic segmentation with a predefined confidence level. The algorithm is based on the generalized Jensen-Shannon divergence (JSD), and it estimates the change-points (CPTs) in electrical power consumption data. Both the method and some recent results in segmenting one household's power consumption data are presented in this paper.
Do practices comply with key recommendations of the British Asthma Guideline? If not, why not?

AIMS Amongst general practices in the NHS Borders region of Scotland, we aimed to determine compliance with the three key recommendations of the British Guideline for the Management of Asthma and to understand the nature of barriers and facilitators to their implementation. METHODS Using piloted audit tools, a researcher extracted data from computerised and/or paper patient medical records to assess compliance with recommendations for objective diagnosis and stepwise management. Provision of asthma action plans was assessed by patient survey. Clinicians' attitude to guidelines was assessed by postal survey. RESULTS Fifteen of the 24 practices in the NHS Borders region participated. Audited compliance with the three key recommendations varied markedly amongst and within practices. Whilst 367/547 (67%) of patients were treated appropriately with add-on therapy, only 58/254 (23%) of patients reported having been given an asthma action plan. Barriers to implementation identified by the clinicians' survey (response rate 64/84 - 76%) were theoretical (doubt about the evidence base and relevance to primary care, lack of knowledge and skills, misconceptions) as well as practical (lack of time and resources) and were exacerbated by poor teamwork. Facilitators were good teamwork and appropriate organisation of work within the practice. CONCLUSIONS Implementation of key recommendations was variable, particularly in the more complex intervention of issuing asthma action plans. An intervention to enhance compliance with these guideline recommendations will need to address both theoretical and practical barriers within the context of improved teamwork.
Improved leap-size selection for accelerated stochastic simulation

In numerically simulating the time evolution of a well-stirred chemically reacting system, the recently introduced “tau-leaping” procedure attempts to accelerate the exact stochastic simulation algorithm by using a special Poisson approximation to leap over sequences of noncritical reaction events. Presented here is an improved procedure for determining the maximum leap size for a specified degree of accuracy.
Self-reflection Orients Visual Attention Downward

Previous research has demonstrated abstract concepts associated with spatial location (e.g., God in the Heavens) could direct visual attention upward or downward, because thinking about the abstract concepts activates the corresponding vertical perceptual symbols. For self-concept, there are similar metaphors (e.g., “I am above others”). However, whether thinking about the self can induce visual attention orientation is still unknown. Therefore, the current study tested whether self-reflection can direct visual attention. Individuals often display the tendency of self-enhancement in social comparison, which reminds the individual of the higher position one possesses relative to others within the social environment. As the individual is the agent of the attention orientation, and high status tends to make an individual look down upon others to obtain a sense of pride, it was hypothesized that thinking about the self would lead to a downward attention orientation. Using reflection of personality traits and a target discrimination task, Study 1 found that, after self-reflection, visual attention was directed downward. Similar effects were also found after friend-reflection, with the level of downward attention being correlated with the likability rating scores of the friend. Thus, in Study 2, a disliked other was used as a control and the positive self-view was measured with above-average judgment task. We found downward attention orientation after self-reflection, but not after reflection upon the disliked other. Moreover, the attentional bias after self-reflection was correlated with above-average self-view. The current findings provide the first evidence that thinking about the self could direct visual-spatial attention downward, and suggest that this effect is probably derived from a positive self-view within the social context.
Gemmobacter lanyuensis sp. nov., isolated from a freshwater spring.

A bacterial strain designated Orc-4(T) was isolated from a freshwater spring in Taiwan and characterized using the polyphasic taxonomic approach. Cells of strain Orc-4(T) were facultatively anaerobic, Gram-reaction-negative, poly-β-hydroxybutyrate-accumulating, non-motile rods surrounded by a thick capsule and forming cream-white colonies. Growth occurred at 15-40 °C (optimum, 25-30 °C), at pH 6.0-9.0 (optimum, pH 7.0) and with 0-1 % NaCl (optimum, 0-0.5 %). Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain Orc-4(T) belonged to the genus Gemmobacter within the family Rhodobacteraceae of the class Alphaproteobacteria and its most closely related neighbour was Gemmobacter fontiphilus JS43(T) with sequence similarity of 97.8 %. Strain Orc-4(T) contained C18 : 1ω7c as the predominant fatty acid. The major respiratory quinone was Q-10. The DNA G+C content of the genomic DNA was 63.5 mol%. The polar lipid profile consisted of a mixture of phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine, one uncharacterized aminolipid and several uncharacterized phospholipids. The DNA-DNA relatedness of strain Orc-4(T) with respect to recognized species of the genus Gemmobacter was less than 48 %. On the basis of the genotypic, chemotaxonomic and phenotypic data, strain Orc-4(T) represents a novel species of the genus Gemmobacter, for which the name Gemmobacter lanyuensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is Orc-4(T) ( = BCRC 80378(T) = LMG 26667(T) = KCTC 23714(T)).
Texture Classification with Single- and Multiresolution Co-Occurrence Maps

We have developed methods for the classification of textures with multidimensional co-occurrence histograms. Gray levels of several pixels with a given spatial arrangement are first compressed linearly and the resulting multidimensional vectors are quantized using the self-organizing map. Histograms of quantized vectors are classified by matching them with precomputed texture model histograms. In the present study, a multiple resolution technique in linear compression of pixel values is evaluated. The multiple resolution linear compression was made with a local wavelet transform. The vectors were quantized with the tree-structured variant of the self-organizing map. In the tree-structured self-organizing map, the quantization error is reduced, in comparison to the traditional tree-structured codebook, by limited lateral searches in topologically-ordered neighborhoods. The performance of multiresolution texture histograms was compared with single-resolution histograms. The histogram method was compared with three well-established methods: co-occurrence matrices, Gaussian Markov random fields, and multiresolution Gabor energies. The results for a set of natural textures showed that the performance of single- and multiresolution texture histograms was similar. Thus, the benefit of multiresolution analysis was overridden by the multidimensionality of our texture models. Our method gave significantly higher classification accuracies than the three other methods.
Phenethyl Isothiocyanate Inhibits Shiga Toxin Production in Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli by Stringent Response Induction

ABSTRACT The pathogenicity of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) depends on production of Shiga toxins, which are encoded by stx genes located in the genomes of lambdoid prophages. Efficient expression of these genes requires prophage induction and lytic development of phages. Treatment of EHEC infections is problematic due to not only the resistance of various strains to antibiotics but also the fact that many antibiotics cause prophage induction, thus resulting in high-level expression of stx genes. Here we report that E. coli growth, Shiga toxin-converting phage development, and production of the toxin by EHEC are strongly inhibited by phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC). We demonstrate that PEITC induces the stringent response in E. coli that is mediated by massive production of a global regulator, guanosine tetraphosphate (ppGpp). The stringent response induction arises most probably from interactions of PEITC with amino acids and from amino acid deprivation-mediated activation of ppGpp synthesis. In mutants unable to synthesize ppGpp, development of Shiga toxin-converting phages and production of Shiga toxin are significantly enhanced. Therefore, ppGpp, which appears at high levels in bacterial cells after stimulation of its production by PEITC, is a negative regulator of EHEC virulence and at the same time efficiently inhibits bacterial growth. This is in contrast to stimulation of virulence of different bacteria by this nucleotide reported previously by others.
Receptor for advanced glycation end-products is a marker of type I cell injury in acute lung injury.

RATIONALE Receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE) is one of the alveolar type I cell-associated proteins in the lung. OBJECTIVES To test the hypothesis that RAGE is a marker of alveolar epithelial type I cell injury. METHODS Rats were instilled intratracheally with 10 mg/kg lipopolysaccharide or hydrochloric acid. RAGE levels were measured in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and serum in the rats and in the pulmonary edema fluid and plasma from patients with acute lung injury (ALI; n = 22) and hydrostatic pulmonary edema (n = 11). MAIN RESULTS In the rat lung injury studies, RAGE was released into the BAL and serum as a single soluble isoform sized approximately 48 kD. The elevated levels of RAGE in the BAL correlated well with the severity of experimentally induced lung injury. In the human studies, the RAGE level in the pulmonary edema fluid was significantly higher than the plasma level (p < 0.0001). The median edema fluid/plasma ratio of RAGE levels was 105 (interquartile range, 55-243). The RAGE levels in the pulmonary edema fluid from patients with ALI were higher than the levels from patients with hydrostatic pulmonary edema (p < 0.05), and the plasma RAGE level in patients with ALI were significantly higher than the healthy volunteers (p < 0.001) or patients with hydrostatic pulmonary edema (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION RAGE is a marker of type I alveolar epithelial cell injury based on experimental studies in rats and in patients with ALI.
GRACE: building next generation event correlation services

Event correlation is a widely accepted technology for managing the complexity of modern telecommunication and data networks. This paper outlines the directions for future advancement of the technology and practice of event correlation systems. It shows that event correlation solutions are an integral part of the next generation of network management systems, which will be based on distributed service (component) architecture. We present this architecture, and discuss the importance of the unification of data and knowledge presentation formalisms, and the use of advanced technologies such as CORBA, Java, and XML. Finally, we demonstrate how these technological solutions have been implemented in the distributed event correlation system called GRACE /spl lambda/obal Real-Time Advanced Correlation Environment.
Synthesis of Small Diameter Silicon Nanowires on SiO2 and Si3N4 Surfaces

We report successful bottom-up synthesis of small diameter silicon nanowires (SiNWs) on SiO2 and Si3N4 surfaces. SiNWs with diameter comparable to the diameter of the Au nano-particles (10-20nm) were grown on these surfaces, as well as on Si substrates which are commonly used for the nanowire growth. The growth temperature for obtaining a high density of SiNWs on SiO2 and Si3N4 substrates is higher (460-470°C) than that of the case of normal Si substrates (440°C). The growth on patterned substrates demonstrates that SiNWs can be selectively grown. Furthermore, the guided growth over metal structures is also shown to be possible. Selective growth of SiNWs on pre-patterned surfaces opens up the possibility of self-aligning SiNWs for the integration of complex device structures.
Reconstruction of maxillofacial bone defects: Contemporary methods and future techniques

Reconstruction of maxillofacial continuity defects has always been a challenging tasks for the scientist and surgeons over the years. The main goal of the reconstruction of the maxillofacial region is to restore facial form, function, full rehabilitation of occlusion and articulation. A refinement in surgical technique and methods of reconstruction has improved patient’s quality of life. This manuscript reviewed exciting methods of bone reconstruction and confirms that the ideal system for reconstruction of critical size continuity defect of the jaw bones has yet to be found. Shortcoming and limitation of each method has been discussed. The author highlight recent advances on how tissue engineering which could offer biological substitute to restore, maintain, or improve oro-facial function.
Is a history of gestational diabetes related to risk factors for coronary heart disease?

Coronary heart disease (CHD) risk in 20 non-diabetic women with and 20 without a distant history of gestational diabetes (hGDM), matched on age, body mass index, and time since GDM-affected pregnancy, was compared in a case control study. Women with an hGDM had lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), p = . 02, and higher triglycerides, p < or = . 001, versus controls. The combination of high triglycerides and low HDL-c occurred in 25% of hGDM cases versus 0% of controls, p </= . 01. Two-hour post-load glucose indicated that 45% of hGDM cases were pre-diabetic versus 20% of controls, p < or = . 05. Non-diabetic women with a distant hGDM are at increased risk for DM and may be at increased risk for CHD.
Caring for Older People: Loneliness

Loneliness is undesirable and personal: what for one person may be acceptable solitude may for another be anguish. The negative stereotype of old age includes loneliness, but the problem seriously affects only one in 10 older people. Certain people are prone to loneliness—bereaved people, immigrants, and those limited by physical disabilities—but loneliness can be exacerbated by lack of money and may occur among those in institutional care as well as older caregivers. This article discusses the signs and effects of loneliness and the schemes and activities available to support older people who may otherwise be lonely. Loneliness may be described as an unwelcome feeling of lack or loss of companionship, or feeling that one is alone and not liking it. It is essentially undesirable and it may have implications for the health of the person experiencing it. A situation leading to loneliness for one person can be a source of contented aloneness for someone else. Loneliness cannot be regarded as the simple, direct result of social circumstances. It is rather an individual response to an external situation to which old people vary in their reactions. Loneliness is often confused with social isolation, a concept that can be more accurately measured (by the number of social contacts the person has, for example). However, wellbeing may not be positively correlated with social contact; much depends on the nature of the contacts made. Seeing a particular visitor may be more important than the number of people who call. For some people, solitude is a way of life which temperamentally suits them. Therefore some people may feel isolated even when they have many visitors; others who have less need of social contact may not feel lonely even if they have no visitors. This article will concentrate on loneliness, its incidence, and some suggested ways …