Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gene expression profile of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)

To search for novel mechanisms that contribute to the pathophysiology of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), we determined the whole blood gene expression profile in five ITP patients and five control samples. Using DNA microarrays that contained 24,473 unique putative genes, we found 176 cDNAs that were strongly correlated with ITP. These included a cluster of interferon‐regulated genes and TLR7, as well many less‐well characterized genes which are candidates for further study. We believe this approach is likely to yield new insights into our understanding of the molecular pathophysiology of ITP. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2006;47:675–677. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Advanced traffic control methods for network management

The objectives of network management control are outlined, and two categories of control are defined: network traffic controls and network configuration controls. Network traffic controls are further classified into traffic volume controls and routing controls, and advanced techniques for achieving each of them are examined. Two classes of methods for specifying the amount of traffic to be controlled are described. In proportional control, a certain proportion of the traffic offered by each exchange is admitted; in threshold control, there is a maximum rate at which the traffic offered by each exchange is admitted. The TCS-V2 traffic-control system, an advanced automatic code-blocking system that uses area and subscriber congestion control, is considered, and the simulated performance of proportional control and threshold control is compared for this system. For routing control, an advanced state-dependent dynamic routing scheme is examined, and the results of a comparative evaluation of dynamic routing schemes are presented. <<ETX>>
Magnetic resonance wireless power transfer using three-coil system with single planar receiver for laptop applications

This paper presents a magnetic resonance wireless power transfer (WPT) system that uses three coils, a planar receiver and operates at 6.78 MHz,. Effective power transfer is ensured by establishing an impedance matching condition for this WPT system. A metamaterial (MTM) array having dimensions of 20 cm X 30 cm is also positioned near the load coil to concentrate the magnetic field and enhance the transfer efficiency. The result is a maximal improvement of 27% in the transfer efficiency at a transfer distance of 50 cm. The impact of a ground plane on the transfer efficiency is also examined. By utilizing the MTM array, making slits on the ground plane and increasing the gap between the ground plane and the load coil, it is possible to mitigate this impact. The highest transfer efficiency improvement is about 55% at a distance of 20 cm with the ground plane. A practical laptop model is fabricated to verify the impact of the load coil angle and position on the transfer efficiency. The result shows that the maximum transfer efficiency with the laptop model is 47.58% with the load coil angle of 90 degree.
An Acidic Cluster of the Cytoplasmic Tail of the RD114 Virus Glycoprotein Controls Assembly of Retroviral Envelopes

Retroviral core proteins, Gag and envelope (Env) glycoproteins are expressed from distinct cellular areas and therefore need to encounter to assemble infectious particles. The intrinsic cell localisation properties of either viral component or their capacity to mutually interact determines the assembly of infectious particles. Here, we address how Env determinants and cellular sorting proteins allow the Env derived from gamma retroviruses, murine leukemia virus (MLV) and RD114, to travel to or from late endosomes (LE), which may represent the Env assembly site of retroviruses in some cells. The individual expression of MLV Env resulted in its accumulation in LE in contrast to RD114 Env that required the presence of gamma retroviral Gag proteins. To discriminate between intrinsic intracellular Env localisation and gamma retroviral Gag/Env interactions in influencing Env viral incorporation, we studied Env assembly on heterologous lentiviral particles on which they are passively recruited. We found that an acidic cluster present at the C‐terminus of the RD114 Env cytoplasmic tail determines its sub‐cellular localisation and retrograde transport. Mutation of this motif induced late endosomal concentration of the RD114 Env, correlating with increased viral incorporation and infectivity. Reciprocally, the reinforcement of a poorly functional acidic motif in the MLV Env resulted in a marked decrease of its late endosomal localisation, leading to weakly infectious lentiviral particles with low Env densities. Finally, through upregulation versus downregulation of its cellular expression, we show that phosphofurin acidic‐cluster‐sorting protein 1 (PACS‐1) controls the function of the RD114 Env acidic cluster, assigning to this cellular effector a crucial role in modulation of Env assembly of some retroviruses.
Psychological stress affects response to sublingual immunotherapy in asthmatic children allergic to house dust mite

While the clinical and immunologic efficacy of sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) in allergic diseases has been extensively demonstrated, some patients display a poor clinical response. Psychological stress has been shown to play a role in atopy and also to affect response to immunomodulating therapies such as vaccination with microbial antigens. This study addresses the possibility of response to SLIT being affected by psychological stress. Forty children with mild asthma caused by allergy to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and farinae were subjected to SLIT and then divided after 6 months into two groups based on the results of the stress integrated measure (SIM) test: group 1 (24 stressed patients, mean SIM value of 60.1) and group 2 (16 non‐stressed patients, mean SIM value of 7.6). There was also a higher prevalence of psychosocial stressing factors (divorced/absent parents, low income households, non‐working parents) among stressed patients. The symptom score, peak expiratory flow (PEF), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and serum eosinophie cationic protein (ECP) concentration were evaluated at both times. The serum concentration of neuroendocrine parameters [prolactin, cortisol, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)] was also measured after 6 months of therapy. While all the clinical parameters and ECP concentration improved after SLIT, symptom score, PEF and ECP showed a significantly greater improvement in non‐stressed patients. The concentration of neuroendocrine parameters was significantly increased in stressed patients. Our findings show that psychological stress can affect response to SLIT also in allergic subjects and are consistent with data recently reported showing a correlation between stress and poor response to antimicrobial vaccines. Our data also suggest that stress evaluation may become a useful prognostic factor in immunotherapy.
Approximation to Expectation Value of Non-Selfadjoint Operator in Anharmonic Exponential Oscillator System With Use of Two-Sided Rayleigh Quotient

This work focuses on the derivation of a solution methodology to exponential anharmonic oscillator system based on the expectation values. A differential-difference equation is constructed from the second derivative of expectation value of the exponential analytic function. Rearranging the equation gives us an eigenvalue problem. But the derived operator is not self-adjoint. This makes it impossible to use classical definition of Rayleigh Quotient for expectation value of the operator. Two-sided Rayleigh (or Ostrowski) Quotient considers both left and right eigenfunction of the non-selfadjoint operator and this definition of expectation value gives the energy value of the corresponding system. For the approximate eigenfunctions, the energy value is approximate. We construct the final expectation value equation for the operator. But the optimization process for finding the minimum approximate energy value isn’t analytically solvable. To validate the methodology, harmonic oscillator is studied at the end and an acceptable result is found with elementary approximations of eigenfuctions. Improvement of the approximations and solution to exponential anharmonic oscillator system are left as future work. Key–Words: Anharmonic Exponential Oscillator, Differential-Difference Equation, Variational Approximation, Two-sided Rayleigh (Ostrowski) Quotient.
A High Sensitivity, CoSi $_{2}$–Si Schottky Diode Voltage Multiplier for UHF-Band Passive RFID Tag Chips

A ultra high frequency (UHF)-band high sensitivity voltage multiplier was designed based on Cobalt-Salicide (CoSi2)-Silicon Schottky diodes fabricated in scaled-down 0.18 mum CMOS technology. With low sheet resistance of optimized CoSi2-Si Schottky diode, the voltage multiplier using the diode resulted in superior power sensitivity compared to low-threshold (VTH) metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors. Various multipliers with different diode sizes were fabricated and their sensitivities were compared. Under the operating current level of radio frequency identification (RFID) tag chips ( ~ muA), the voltage multipliers possessing smaller diodes showed better sensitivity due to higher Q -factor. An optimized five-stage voltage multiplier required an input power of - 19.5 dBm for a 1.2 V output voltage at 900 MHz. The measured sensitivity is the lowest for any UHF-band multiplier for passive RFID tag chips. This result based on scaled-down CMOS technology provides increased RFID operation range as well as higher processing power at lower power consumption.
Design of low-power and high slew-rate error amplifier for fast transient CMOS buck converters

The voltage boosting control (VBC) is presented to achieve low-power and high slew-rate error amplifier for enhancing the load transient response of dc-dc converters. The VBC is employed to increase/decrease the gate voltages of the output-stage transistors of the error amplifier, leading to large current driving capability with simple circuitry during transient. In addition, the accelerative scheme of the error amplifier is switched off in steady state for power saving. A buck converter with the VBC method is designed with 0.35-µm 2P4M CMOS technology. Compared without the VBC, the experimental results show that the output voltage variation and recovery time of the buck converter with the VBC are enhanced by over two times and ten times, respectively, for load current change between 50 mA to 500 mA.
Shape and Nonrigid Motion Estimation Through Physics-Based Synthesis

A physics-based framework for 3-D shape and nonrigid motion estimation for real-time computer vision systems is presented. The framework features dynamic models that incorporate the mechanical principles of rigid and nonrigid bodies into conventional geometric primitives. Through the efficient numerical simulation of Lagrange equations of motion, the models can synthesize physically correct behaviors in response to applied forces and imposed constraints. Applying continuous Kalman filtering theory, a recursive shape and motion estimator that employs the Lagrange equations as a system model is developed. The system model continually synthesizes nonrigid motion in response to generalized forces that arise from the inconsistency between the incoming observations and the estimated model state. The observation forces also account formally for instantaneous uncertainties and incomplete information. A Riccati procedure updates a covariance matrix that transforms the forces in accordance with the system dynamics and prior observation history. Experiments involving model fitting and tracking of articulated and flexible objects from noisy 3-D data are described. >
Multicriteria Evaluation of Building Foundation Alternatives

In real conditions, decision makers usually deal with multiple objectives and should make a decision in a state of certainty or uncertainty. The selection of the best constructions for a building from a number of alternatives is of great importance for owners, contractors, and stakeholders. Dozens of multicriteria/multi‐attribute decision‐making (MCDM/MADM) models developed for evaluating the performance of the available alternatives can be used for selecting the most suitable alternative from a given finite set of options based on a set of attributes. A guide to systematic selection among the available alternatives of building structures is the integrated methodology, thoroughly analyzed in the article. The article presents a MCDM model for selecting the type of foundation for a single‐storey dwelling house based on the WASPAS‐G (Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment) method and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach. The aggregate criteria weights are determined by using the AHP and experts’ judgement methods.
A novel center-fed dual-band circularly polarized antenna for GNSS applications

A novel center-fed Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) antenna is proposed in this paper. The antenna is composed of two layers of microstrip patches, a folded ground plane and three choke rings. Simulated and measured results show that two frequency bands for return loss >10 dB cover GPS L2 (1.193~1.247 GHz) and GPS L1 (1.545~1.625 GHz) with good axial ratio (AR) performance. The radiation patterns with AR<;3 dB cover the whole half upper space and the forward to backward ratio (FBR) is higher than 30 dB in the operating bands. The antenna is suitable for GNSS applications.
Ventricle–brain ratio in schizophrenia

are unlikely to be replicated across independent studies. In making 10 tests of the relationship between schizophrenic births and influenza deaths, we aimed to cover the entire period ofgestation plus the month of birth. We certainly did not regard the tests as equally likely to show a significant result, since neuropathological evidence points to a disturbance of neurodevelopment in the second half of gestation (Roberts, 1991), and several previous studies have found a relationship between second or early third trimester exposure to influenza epidemics and schizophrenia (Mednick et al, 1988; Barr et a! , 1990; O'Callaghan et a! , 1991). Bearingin mind the existing evidence, the P-values of 0.02 for the relationships between schizophrenic births and influenza deaths 2 and 3 months previously should be considered as further evidence in support of the maternal viral infection hypothesis. Indeed, the lack of a significant effect of influenza in the first few months of gestation is exactly what we could have predicted from the existing evidence. Nonetheless, we realise that our results alone are not conclusive, hence our statement that our report â€œ¿ adds to the current evidence for an association between prenatal exposure to influenza epidemics and the later development of schizophreniaâ€•.
Structural Impact of Single Ribonucleotide Residues in DNA

Single ribonucleotide intrusions represent the most common nonstandard nucleotide type found incorporated in genomic DNA, yet little is known of their structural impact. This lesion incurs genomic instability in addition to affecting the physical properties of the DNA. To probe for structural and dynamic effects of single ribonucleotides in various sequence contexts—AxC, CxG, and GxC, where x=rG or dG—we report the structures of three single‐ribonucleotide‐containing DNA duplexes and the corresponding DNA controls. The lesion subtly and locally perturbs the structure asymmetrically on the 3′ side of the lesion in both the riboguanosine‐containing and the complementary strand of the duplex. The perturbations are mainly restricted to the sugar and phosphodiester backbone. The ribose and 3′‐downstream deoxyribose units are predominately in N‐type conformation; backbone torsion angles ϵ and/or ζ of the ribonucleotide or upstream deoxyribonucleotide are affected. Depending on the flanking sequences, the C2′−OH group forms hydrogen bonds with the backbone, 3′‐neighboring base, and/or sugar. Interestingly, even in similar purine‐rG‐pyrimidine environments (A‐rG‐C and G‐rG‐C), a riboguanosine unit affects DNA in a distinct manner and manifests different hydrogen bonds, which makes generalizations difficult.
Thematic Representation in Simple Recurrent Networks

Introduction Simple recurrent networks (SRNs) are able to learn and represent lexical classes (Elman, 1990) and grammatical knowledge, such as agreement and argument structure (Elman, 1991), on the basis of co-occurrence regularities embedded in simple and complex sentences. In the present study, we address the question whether SRNs can represent differences in the thematic roles assigned by verbs.
A configurable 2-in-1 SRAM compiler with constant-negative-level write driver for low Vmin in 16nm Fin-FET CMOS

This paper presents a configurable SRAM for low voltage operation supporting both pseudo two-port SRAM (P2P-SRAM) and single-port SRAM (SP-SRAM) functions in one compiler. Unlike conventional pseudo two-port SRAM that always performs read first, this work enables dynamic read-or-write-first selection and write-through function. It can improve SP-SRAM function speed by 90% faster than that of the conventional read-first pseudo two-port SRAM design. An area-free constant-negative-level write driver (CNL-WD), which is suitable for compiler development, is used to improve write Vmin for configuration range from 4 to 256 cells/BL. A testchip is fabricated in a 16nm Fin-FET CMOS technology with a 0. 0907μm2 6T-SRAM cell.
Thyroid Dysfunctions among Jordanian Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus : A Hospital Based Study

Objective: To determine the frequency of thyroid dysfunction among Jordanian patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Rheumatoid Arthritis. Method: This study was conducted in collaboration between Rheumatology and Endocrine clinics at King Hussein Medical Center in the period between January 2010 and July 2010. One hundred and twenty-two patients were studied; 80 patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and 42 patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis were screened for thyroid diseases (clinical or subclinical hyper/hypothyroidism) regardless of their symptoms. The results were compared with 304 apparently healthy controls. Result: A total number of 122 patients, female to male ratio 7.7:1 and a mean age (SD) of 37.1±13.5 years, were included in the study. Twenty-six patients were found to have thyroid function abnormalities. The frequency of thyroid disease was 21.3%. The mean age in the control group was 49.4 years. The frequency of thyroid dysfunction in the control was 6.6%. Subclinical hypothyroidism was seen in 5% of healthy controls, 13.7% of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and 7.1% of Rheumatoid Arthritis patients. The majority of cases of subclinical hypothyroidism with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and all cases with Rheumatoid Arthritis were females. Overt hypothyroidism was seen in 0.9% of controls, 8.7% of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and 4.7% of Rheumatoid Arthritis patients. Biochemical hyperthyroidism was seen in 0.3% of controls, 2.5% of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and 2.3% of Rheumatoid Arthritis patients, all of whom were female. Conclusion: Patients with rheumatologic disorders have high frequency rate of thyroid dysfunction. These dysfunctions are often subclinical in nature with female predominance. Screening should be regularly conducted in all patients with rheumatologic diseases for proper early detection and management.
Dual functions of the AML1/Evi-1 chimeric protein in the mechanism of leukemogenesis in t(3;21) leukemias

The chromosomal translocation t(3;21)(q26;q22), which is found in blastic crisis in chronic myelogenous leukemias and myelodysplastic syndrome-derived leukemias, produces AML1/Evi-1 chimeric transcription factor and is thought to play important roles in acute leukemic transformation of hemopoietic stem cells. We report here the functional analyses of AML1/Evi-1. It was revealed that AML1/Evi-1 itself does not alter the transactivation level through mouse polyomavirus enhancer-binding protein 2 (PEBP2; PEA2) sites (binding site of AML1) but dominantly suppresses the transactivation by intact AML1, which is assumed to be a stimulator of myeloid cell differentiation. DNA-binding competition is a putative mechanism of such dominant negative effects of AML1/Evi-1 because it binds to PEBP2 sites with higher affinity than AML1 does. Furthermore, AML1/Evi-1 stimulated c-fos promoter transactivation and increased AP-1 activity, as Evi-1 (which is not normally expressed in hemopoietic cells) did. Experiments using deletion mutants of AML1/Evi-1 showed that these two functions are mutually independent because the dominant negative effects on intact AML1 and the stimulation of AP-1 activity are dependent on the runt domain (DNA-binding domain of AML1) and the zinc finger domain near the C terminus, respectively. Furthermore, we showed that AML1/Evi-1 blocks granulocytic differentiation, otherwise induced by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, of 32Dcl3 myeloid cells. It was also suggested that both AML1-derived and Evi-1-derived portions of the fusion protein play crucial roles in this differentiation block. We conclude that the leukemic cell transformation in t(3;21) leukemias is probably caused by these dual functions of AML1/Evi-1 chimeric protein.
p21Waf1/Cip1 Is an Assembly Factor Required for Platelet-derived Growth Factor-induced Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Proliferation*

The cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors interact with cyclin-cdk complexes to arrest mitogen-stimulated transit through the cell cycle, but these proteins have recently been shown to have positive regulatory effects on cyclin-cdk complex activity as well. Most of the previous work in this area has focussed on the finding that overexpressed p21Waf1/Cip1 causes growth arrest. However, mice lacking p21Waf1/Cip1 showed normal development with no aberrancy in their cell cycles, and antisense p21Waf1/Cip1has only been shown to prevent cell cycle arrest, leading to the conclusion that the cyclin kinase inhibitors may not be required for cell cycle progression. We found that transfection of several lines of vascular smooth muscle cells with antisense oligodeoxynucleotide specific to p21Waf1/Cip1 correlates with decreased cyclin D1/cdk 4, but not cyclin E/cdk 2, association, yet, unexpectedly, results in dose-dependent inhibition of platelet-derived growth factor-BB-stimulated DNA synthesis and cell proliferation. Our finding that p21Waf1/Cip1 exhibits permissive effects on growth factor-induced vascular smooth muscle cell cycle progression, such that its presence is required for growth factor-induced proliferation, is the first such report and opens up a fertile area of research relevant to diseases involving vascular cell proliferation.
Trading Costs and Quote Clustering on the NYSE and NASDAQ after Decimalization

We examine execution costs and quote clustering on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and NASDAQ using 517 matching pairs of stocks after decimalization. We find that the mean spread of NASDAQ stocks is greater than the mean spread of NYSE stocks when spreads are equally weighted across stocks, and the difference is greater for smaller stocks. In contrast, the mean NASDAQ spread is narrower than the mean NYSE spread when spreads are volume weighted, and the difference is statistically significant for large stocks. Both NYSE and NASDAQ stocks exhibit high degrees of quote clustering on nickels and dimes, and quote clustering has a significant effect on spreads in both markets.