Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A 1.9 GHz CMOS Power Amplifier With Embedded Linearizer to Compensate AM-PM Distortion

A series combining transformer(SCT)-based, watt-level 1.9 GHz linear CMOS power amplifier with an on-chip linearizer is demonstrated. Proposed compact, predistortion-based linearizer is embedded in the two-stage PA to compensate AM-PM distortion of the cascode power stages, and improve ACLR of 3GPP WCDMA uplink signal by 2.6 dB at 28.0 dBm output power. The designed interstage power distributor with one tuning inductor contributes to low-loss power supply for the driver stage and high common-mode stability of the whole PA. Moreover, a newly developed PVT variation- tolerant cascode biasing circuit guarantees highly accurate bias voltages in a wide supply voltage range from 2.5 V to 3.6 V. The test chip demonstrates maximum output power of 28.3 dBm at 1.95 GHz, satisfying 3GPP WCDMA spectrum mask with die area of 5.4 mm2.
Human Infection with Ehrlichia Canis Accompanied by Clinical Signs in Venezuela

Abstract: A total of 20 human patients with clinical signs compatible with human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME), who were admitted to the emergency clinic in Lara State, Venezuela, were studied. Thirty percent (6/20) patients were positive for Ehrlichia canis 16S rRNA on gene‐specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Compared with the U.S. strains, 16S rRNA gene sequences from all six patients had the same base mutation as the sequence of the E. canis Venezuelan human Ehrlichia (VHE) strain previously isolated from an asymptomatic human. This study is the first report of E. canis infection of human patients with clinical signs of HME.
Perfusion decellularization of a human limb: A novel platform for composite tissue engineering and reconstructive surgery

Muscle and fasciocutaneous flaps taken from autologous donor sites are currently the most utilized approach for trauma repair, accounting annually for 4.5 million procedures in the US alone. However, the donor tissue size is limited and the complications related to these surgical techniques lead to morbidities, often involving the donor sites. Alternatively, recent reports indicated that extracellular matrix (ECM) scaffolds boost the regenerative potential of the injured site, as shown in a small cohort of volumetric muscle loss patients. Perfusion decellularization is a bioengineering technology that allows the generation of clinical-scale ECM scaffolds with preserved complex architecture and with an intact vascular template, from a variety of donor organs and tissues. We recently reported that this technology is amenable to generate full composite tissue scaffolds from rat and non-human primate limbs. Translating this platform to human extremities could substantially benefit soft tissue and volumetric muscle loss patients providing tissue- and species-specific grafts. In this proof-of-concept study, we show the successful generation a large-scale, acellular composite tissue scaffold from a full cadaveric human upper extremity. This construct retained its morphological architecture and perfusable vascular conduits. Histological and biochemical validation confirmed the successful removal of nuclear and cellular components, and highlighted the preservation of the native extracellular matrix components. Our results indicate that perfusion decellularization can be applied to produce human composite tissue acellular scaffolds. With its preserved structure and vascular template, these biocompatible constructs, could have significant advantages over the currently implanted matrices by means of nutrient distribution, size-scalability and immunological response.
FBD: a fault-tolerant buffering disk system for improving write performance of RAID5 systems

The parity calculation technique of the RAID5 provides high reliability, efficient disk space usage, and good read performance for parallel-disk-array configurations. However, it requires four disk accesses for each write request. The write performance of a RAID5 is therefore poor compared with its read performance. We propose a buffering system to improve write performance while maintaining the reliability of the total system. The buffering system uses two to four disks clustered into two groups, primary and backup. Write performance is improved by sequential accesses of the primary disks without interruption and by reduction of irrelevant disk accesses for the RAID5 by packing. The backup disks are used to tolerate a disk failure and to accept read requests for data stored in the buffering system so as not to disturb sequential accesses in the primary disks. We developed an experimental system using an off-the-shelf personal computer and disks, and a commercial RAID5 system. The experiments indicate that the buffering system considerably improves both system throughput and average response time.
Relationship Between Leptin, Adiponectin, Bone Mineral Density, and Measures of Adiposity among Pre-Menopausal Hispanic and Caucasian Women

Objective. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between fasting serum leptin and adiponectin levels with bone mineral density (BMD) and body composition in pre-menopausal, middle-aged Hispanic and Caucasian women. Objective. Participants' (68 Hispanic and 36 Caucasian) BMD and bone mineral content were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and body density was measured by hydrodensitometry. Serum leptin was determined by enzyme immunoassay and adiponectin by ELISA. Results. Hispanic women had significantly higher leptin, BMD, and fat mass (FM), and lower adiponectin than Caucasian women. There was no significant correlation between leptin and BMD for Hispanic or Caucasian women; adiponectin was inversely correlated with BMD in Caucasian women only (p = 0.01). In both Hispanic and Caucasian women, lean body mass and adiponectin best explained the variance in BMD (r2 = 0.25, p < 0.001). Conclusion. These data demonstrate no significant relationship between leptin and BMD of pre-menopausal, middle-aged Hispanic and Caucasian women, and a significant inverse relationship between adiponectin and BMD in Caucasian women. The role of adipocytokines in the regulation of BMD remains inconclusive and may vary across ethnic groups.
Improving SeaSonde radial velocity accuracy and variance using radial metrics

The surface current observations made by HF radar systems are increasingly being relied on to support decision-making by coastal ocean users and managers. Thus, the need for high quality data with defined error characteristics has never been higher. Building on previous efforts, this paper examines the use of `radial metrics', the ancillary output of the direction finding algorithm used by the SeaSonde radar system, to improve both accuracy and error characterization. The radial metrics provide non-velocity based parameters that can be used to eliminate low-quality data and or weight the contribution of individual returns on the resulting spatially averaged radial velocity. While their effects on the data are different, both thresholding and weighted averaging based on the metrics are shown here to significantly increase the accuracy and reduce the error of the resulting velocity estimates. Thus, we suggest that operators should take advantage of these advancements to improve the accuracy of existing systems.
Robot subtask performance with singularity robustness using optimal damped least-squares

The authors introduce a novel formulation of subtask performance for redundant manipulators. This formulation uses the singularity robust inverse (SRI), which is effective in yielding feasible joint motions in single regions, in conjunction with a homogeneous-like joint velocity component to perform an additional subtask such as obstacle avoidance. This novel inverse kinematic scheme enables the manipulator to overcome singularities (or, more accurately, avoid infeasible joint motions at or near singular configurations) and avoid obstacles in addition to the main motion task. The attractive aspect of this scheme is that it results in the satisfaction of two subtasks without requiring two explicit subtask criteria. This is because one of the subtasks, i.e., feasible joint motion, is implicitly incorporated in the particular solution in the form of the SRI. As depicted in simulations, the proposed formulation proves to be an effective inverse kinematic solution in singular regions of the manipulator workspace. <<ETX>>
An Efficient Optimization Method for Extreme Learning Machine Using Artificial Bee Colony

Traditional learning algorithms with gradient descent based technique, such as back-propagation (BP) and its variant Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) have been widely used in the training of multilayer feedforward neural networks. The gradient descent based algorithm may converge usually slower than required time in training, since many iterative learning step are needed by such learning algorithm, and difficult setting of learning parameters such as stopping criteria, learning rate, learning epochs, which make it easily cause the over-fitting or trap in local minimum. Moreover, the activation functions adopted in these gradient descent based tuning methods need to be differentiable
A new heart: portraying the physiologic anatomo-functional reconstruction in ischemic cardiomyopathy

Fiber-based model of the left ventricle is known since 1628 but the complex 3D structure of myocardial fi bers has not taken into account in normalcy or in disease until the last decade. We here present the case of a 60-year-old female patient affected by ischemic cardiomyopathy and severe left ventricular dysfunction. Left ventricle was reconstructed according to a novel surgical technique aimed at rebuilding an elliptical ventricular chamber and redirecting myocardial bundles of fi bers in a near-normal orientation, by means of an original suturing technique. Left ventricular torsion was restored, proving the reorientation of myocardial fi bres’ bundles. The restored physiologic shape was maintained along the years, gradually improving global ejection fraction and diastolic indices, showing a positive remodeling induced by the optimised geometrical and functional parameters.
Numerical detection, measuring and analysis of differential interferon resistance for individual HCV intra-host variants and its influence on the therapy response

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major cause of liver disease world-wide. Current interferon and ribavirin (IFN/RBV) therapy is effective in 50%-60% of patients. HCV exists in infected patients as a large viral population of intra-host variants (quasispecies), which may be differentially resistant to interferon treatment. We present a method for measuring differential interferon resistance of HCV quasispecies based on mathematical modeling and analysis of HCV population dynamics during the first hours of interferon therapy. The mathematical models showed that individual intra-host HCV variants have a wide range of resistance to IFN treatment in each patient. Analysis of differential IFN resistance among intra-host HCV variants allows for accurate prediction of response to IFN therapy. The models strongly suggest that resistance to interferon may vary broadly among closely related variants in infected hosts and therapy outcome may be defined by a single or a few variants irrespective of their frequency in the intra-host HCV population before treatment.
Phylogeny of the Cecropieae (Urticaceae) and the Evolution of an Ant-Plant Mutualism

Abstract Ant-plant mutualisms are abundant in the tropics and are popular models for ecological study, but investigating the origin and evolution of such systems requires a phylogenetic framework. A common ant-plant mutualism in the Neotropics involves the genus Cecropia, a group of fast-growing pioneer trees that are important in forest regeneration. Relationships between genera in the tribe Cecropieae (Urticaceae), including Cecropia, Coussapoa, Musanga, Myrianthus, and Pourouma, are unknown and are necessary to investigate the evolutionary history of the Cecropia-ant mutualism. Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of the NADH dehydrogenase (ndhF) chloroplast gene region, the 26S region of nuclear ribosomal DNA, and an exon-primed intron-crossing DNA region support the position of non-myrmecophytic African Musanga within a paraphyletic Cecropia. Neotropical Pourouma and Coussapoa are supported as sister taxa with African Myrianthus as their closest relative. Although it remains uncertain whether myrmecophytism was the ancestral condition of the Cecropia clade, a close relationship between non-myrmecophytic Cecropia sciadophylla and Musanga suggests that the loss of ant associations did not accompany African colonization.
Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1/Adeno-Associated Virus rep+ Hybrid Amplicon Vector Improves the Stability of Transgene Expression in Human Cells by Site-Specific Integration

ABSTRACT Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) amplicon vectors are promising gene delivery tools, but their utility in gene therapy has been impeded to some extent by their inability to achieve stable transgene expression. In this study, we examined the possibility of improving transduction stability in cultured human cells via site-specific genomic integration mediated by adeno-associated virus (AAV) Rep and inverted terminal repeats (ITRs). A rep− HSV/AAV hybrid amplicon vector was made by inserting a transgene cassette flanked with AAV ITRs into an HSV-1 amplicon backbone, and a rep + HSV/AAV hybrid amplicon was made by inserting rep68/78 outside the rep − vector 3′ AAV ITR sequence. Both vectors also had a pair of loxP sites flanking the ITRs. The resulting hybrid amplicon vectors were successfully packaged and compared to a standard amplicon vector for stable transduction frequency (STF) in human 293 and Gli36 cell lines and primary myoblasts. The rep +, but not the rep −, hybrid vector improved STF in all three types of cells; 84% of Gli36 and 40% of 293 stable clones transduced by the rep + hybrid vector integrated the transgene into the AAVS1 site. Due to the difficulty in expanding primary myoblasts, we did not assess site-specific integration in these cells. A strategy to attempt further improvement of STF by “deconcatenating” the hybrid amplicon DNA via Cre-loxP recombination was tested, but it did not increase STF. These data demonstrate that introducing the integrating elements of AAV into HSV-1 amplicon vectors can significantly improve their ability to achieve stable gene transduction by conferring the AAV-like capability of site-specific genomic integration in dividing cells.
The Cellular Factors Vps18 and Mon2 Are Required for Efficient Production of Infectious HIV-1 Particles

ABSTRACT Like all viruses, HIV-1 requires cellular host factors for replication. The mechanisms for production of progeny virions involving these host factors, however, are not fully understood. To better understand these mechanisms, we used a yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) genetic screen to identify mutant strains in which HIV-1 Gag targeting to the plasma membrane was aberrant. Of the 917 mutants identified, we selected 14 mutants whose missing genes had single orthologous counterparts in human and tested them for Gag-induced viruslike particle (VLP) release in yeast cells. We found that the Vps18 and Mon2 proteins were important for HIV-1 Gag-induced VLP release in yeast. In eukaryote cells, these host proteins are highly conserved and function in protein trafficking. Depletion of hVps18 or hMon2 reduced the efficient production of infectious HIV-1 virions in human cells. Our data suggest that these cellular factors play an important role in the efficient production of infectious HIV-1 virion particles.
IDENTIFYING SAFETY BEHAVIORS IN INSOMNIA

The aim of the present study was to systematically elicit the safety behaviors employed by people with insomnia. Safety behaviors have been identified as contributing to the maintenance of anxiety disorders. They include overt or covert strategies designed to prevent a feared outcome. However, they contribute to the maintenance of the disorder because they prevent unambiguous disconfirmation of unrealistic beliefs and they increase the likelihood that the fear would actually occur. A questionnaire based on the Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep Scale was developed to elicit safety behaviors and was administered to 33 people meeting criteria for primary insomnia and 33 nonpatient controls. The data indicated that people with insomnia use a wide range of safety behaviors to prevent feared outcomes. Blind raters determined that the safety behaviors reported included those that: interfere with the regularity of the sleep cycle, interfere with sleep directly, cause paradoxical fuelling of presleep cognitive activity, exacerbate daytime sleepiness, contribute to the day being unpleasant or boring, and those that increase preoccupation with sleep. The clinical implications of these findings and areas for further research are discussed.
Factors Related to Ventricular Size and Valvular Regurgitation in Healthy Tibetans in Lhasa

Background: Lhasa is the main residence of Tibetans and one of the highest cities in the world. Its unique geography and ethnic population provide the chance to investigate the interactions among high altitude, ethnicity, and cardiac adaptation. Meanwhile, echocardiographic data about healthy Tibetans on a large scale are not available. This study aimed to analyze physiological factors related to ventricular size and valvular function in healthy Tibetans in Lhasa. Methods: A representative sample of residents in Tibet was recruited using a multistage cluster random sampling method. Two-dimensional echocardiographic measurements and Doppler evaluation for valvular function were performed. Healthy Tibetans in Lhasa constituted the study population. Associations between physiological parameters and ventricular dimensions in healthy Tibetans were analyzed by canonical correlation analysis. Factors related to valvular regurgitations were determined by logistic regression analysis. Results: The 454 healthy Tibetans (340 females and 114 male) in Lhasa were included in the final analysis. Canonical correlation analysis revealed that weight was positively correlated with the proximal right ventricular outflow diameter and the basal left ventricular linear dimension in both genders. Weight and pulse were negatively related to mild tricuspid regurgitation. Age was a positive factor for pulmonary and aortic regurgitations. The same was found between systolic blood pressure and mitral regurgitation. Conclusions: Weight is associated with ventricular size and valvular regurgitation in healthy Tibetans. It should be of more concern in research of high altitude population.
Immunohistochemical localization of thrombomodulin in chorionic diseases of the uterus and choriocarcinoma of the stomach. A comparative study with the distribution of human chorionic gonadotropin

Thrombomodulin (TM) is a newly described protein that functions as a potent natural anticoagulant by converting thrombin from a procoagulant protease to an anticoagulant. TM is found on endothelium of the blood and lymph vessels and on syncytiotrophoblast of the placenta in humans. In the current study, we localized TM by immunohistochemistry in chorionic diseases of the uterus and choriocarcinomas of the stomach. The syncytiotrophoblast of hydatidiform mole contained TM. Uterine choriocarcinoma also had TM in the neoplastic syncytiotrophoblastic cells, although some of the neoplastic syncytiotrophoblastic cells showed no TM expression. Gastric choriocarcinoma never showed TM expression in the neoplastic syncytiotrophoblastic cells. However, all of the syncytiotrophoblastic cells had human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in hydatidiform mole, uterine choriocarcinoma, and gastric choriocarcinoma.
Le rôle de l'analyse secondaire dans la recherche en sciences sociales

Résumé L'analyse secondaire est maintenant une pratique courante dans le domaine des sciences sociales. Son développement a été contemporain de celui des larges ensembles de données quantitatives d'enquêtes de bonne qualité concernant différents pays. Cette montée en puissance de l'analyse secondaire peut également être rapprochée de la création d'un centre d'archivage centralisé qui a mission d'engranger, cataloguer et diffuser les données. La Grande-Bretagne offre un ensemble d'enquêtes annuelles, réalisées sur fonds publics, particulièrement riche, concernant un vaste éventail de sujets et qui le plus souvent permet l'agrégation au niveau du ménage. Un nombre croissant d enquêtes longitudinales renseigne sur la dynamique des changements affectant les individus et les ménages et offre au chercheur universitaire aes possibilités uniques. A l'instar de pays comme les Etats-Unis, le Canada et l'Australie, des échantillons anonymisés des données individuelles du recensement ont ainsi été livrés aux chercheurs pour la première fois en Grande-Bretagne. Ces données ont l'avantage d'offrir d'énormes possibilités pour la recherche, y compris en matière de comparaisons internationales et d'analyse de tendance. Cependant, de nombreux écueils menacent l'analyste innocent et d'énormes précautions sont indispensables pour éviter de graves erreurs a interprétation. Enfin, si l'on souhaite que l'analyse de données poursuive son essor, il est nécessaire que la confidentialité des données soit assurée et que les chercheurs reconnaissent l'importance de leur rôle en la matière.
Scab resistance in 'Geneva' apple is conditioned by a resistance gene cluster with complex genetic control.

Apple scab, caused by the fungal pathogen Venturia inaequalis, is one of the most severe diseases of apple worldwide. It is the most studied plant-pathogen interaction involving a woody species using modern genetic, genomic, proteomic and bioinformatic approaches in both species. Although 'Geneva' apple was recognized long ago as a potential source of resistance to scab, this resistance has not been characterized previously. Differential interactions between various monoconidial isolates of V. inaequalis and six segregating F1 and F2 populations indicate the presence of at least five loci governing the resistance in 'Geneva'. The 17 chromosomes of apple were screened using genotyping-by-sequencing, as well as single marker mapping, to position loci controlling the V. inaequalis resistance on linkage group 4. Next, we fine mapped a 5-cM region containing five loci conferring both dominant and recessive scab resistance to the distal end of the linkage group. This region corresponds to 2.2 Mbp (from 20.3 to 22.5 Mbp) on the physical map of 'Golden Delicious' containing nine candidate nucleotide-binding site leucine-rich repeat (NBS-LRR) resistance genes. This study increases our understanding of the complex genetic basis of apple scab resistance conferred by 'Geneva', as well as the gene-for-gene (GfG) relationships between the effector genes in the pathogen and resistance genes in the host.