Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The broader cognitive phenotype of autism in parents: how specific is the tendency for local processing and executive dysfunction?

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to investigate the tendency for local processing style ('weak central coherence') and executive dysfunction in parents of subjects with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared with parents of individuals with early onset schizophrenia (EOS) and mental retardation (MR). METHOD Sixty-two parents of subjects with ASD, 36 parents of subjects with EOS and 30 parents of subjects with MR were examined. Data on two scales indicative of local visual processing (Embedded Figures Test, Block Design) and on three executive function tests (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Tower of Hanoi, Trailmaking Test) were collected for all participants. RESULTS Parents of subjects with ASD performed significantly faster on the Embedded Figures Test compared with both control samples. No other substantial group differences were observed. CONCLUSIONS The findings indicate that an increased tendency for local processing in terms of visual disembedding could be a relatively specific core feature of the broader cognitive phenotype of autism in parents.
Syphilis in pregnant women and their children in the United Kingdom: results from national clinician reporting surveys 1994-7

Abstract Objective: To measure the incidence of syphilis detected in pregnancy and congenital syphilis in the United Kingdom. Design: Surveys through consultants in genitourinary medicine and paediatricians with active surveillance. Setting: United Kingdom, 1994-7. Subjects: Women treated for syphilis in pregnancy, and children with early congenital syphilis born in the United Kingdom. Results: Over 3 years 139 women were diagnosed with and treated for syphilis in pregnancy; 121 were detected through antenatal screening. Thirty one had confirmed or probable congenitally transmissible syphilis, putting their pregnancies at risk. These were minimum figures but are compatible with the 90 to 100 women newly diagnosed annually as having infectious or early latent syphilis. A universal screening policy would require 18 600 and 55 700 women (maximum numbers) to be screened, respectively, to detect one woman needing treatment and to prevent one case of congenital syphilis. Nine presumptive cases of children with congenital syphilis born in the United Kingdom were reported. Mothers requiring treatment for syphilis were found in almost every health region but were more prevalent in London and the south east. Being born abroad and belonging to an ethnic minority group were strong risk factors, but 14% (19 of 121) of cases treated and six of 31 definite or probably transmissible cases occurred in white women born in the United Kingdom. Conclusions: Congenitally transmissible syphilis continues to occur among pregnant women in the United Kingdom. Cases would be missed and stillbirths and congenitally infected babies would occur if antenatal screening was abandoned.
Multi-beam massive MIMO using beam selection with only amplitude control

Massive MIMO transmission has been attracted much attention as one of key technologies in next-generation mobile communication system, because it enables improvement in service area and interference mitigation by simple signal processing. Multi-beam massive MIMO configuration has proposed that utilizes the beam selection in analog part and blind algorithm such as constant modulus algorithm (CMA) which does not need channel sate information (CSI) is applied in digital part. In this paper, to achieve the further higher transmission rate, we propose beam selection method with only amplitude information regarding the multi-beams.
Market impacts in major events: an analysis using state price distributions

i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . ii STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY . iii LIST OF FIGURES . vi LIST OF TABLES . xi CHAPTER 1 . 1 CHAPTER 2 . 5 2.1 CLAIMS-BASED ASSET PRICING . 5 2.2 BEHAVIOURAL FINANCE . 10 2.3 CONTRIBUTIONS OF THIS STUDY . 15 CHAPTER 3 . 17 3.1 PROPOSITIONS ON LTCM IMPACTS . 19 3.2 PROPOSITIONS ON 2000-BURST IMPACTS . 22 3.3 PROPOSITIONS ON 9/11 IMPACTS . 25 3.4 PROPOSITIONS ON CROSS-EVENT IMPACT COMPARISONS . 26 3.5 SUMMARY . 30 CHAPTER 4 . 32 4.1 DATA . 32 4.2 METHODS OF ESTIMATING STATE PRICE DISTRIBUTIONS AND IMPACT MEASURES . 33 CHAPTER 5 . 52 CHAPTER 6 . 59 6.1 SUMMARY CONCLUSIONS ON LTCM: . 60 6.2 SUMMARY CONCLUSIONS ON TECH-BUBBLE BURST: . 64 6.3 SUMMARY CONCLUSIONS ON 9/11: . 66 6.4 SUMMARY ON CROSS-EVENT COMPARISONS: . 70 6.5 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS WITH CONTROL SAMPLE . 75 6.6 RESULTS VERSUS PROPOSITIONS . 79 CHAPTER 7 . 85 CONCLUSIONS . 85 REFERENCES . 87 APPENDIX A. CHRONOLOGY OF NEWS EVENTS DURING LTCM . 91 APPENDIX B. MATCHING DATES TO MATURITY FOR EACH EVENT. 94 APPENDIX C. GARCH RESULTS ON NDX AND SPX . 97 APPENDIX D. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STATE PRICE DENSITY (LI) AND MARKET EXPECTATIONS . 100 APPENDIX E. DETAILED ANALYSIS RESULTS ON LTCM 1998 . 102 A. Post-Event Impact Duration . 102 B. Size of Impact . 126 C. Information Leakage . 139 APPENDIX F. DETAILED ANALYSIS RESULTS ON TECH-BUBBLE BURST 2000 . 147
Cerebral hemodynamics in asymptomatic patients with internal carotid artery occlusion: a dynamic susceptibility contrast MR and transcranial Doppler study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Perfusion imaging with dynamic susceptibility contrast MR imaging (DSC-MRI) has been used to evaluate hemodynamic status in patients with symptomatic occlusive cerebrovascular disease. The aim of the present study was to determine the hemodynamic changes occurring in asymptomatic patients with unilateral internal carotid artery (ICA) occlusion by use of DSC-MRI with transcranial Doppler (TCD) measurement of the breath-holding index (BHI). METHODS Nine patients with asymptomatic unilateral ICA occlusion underwent DSC-MRI and TCD examination. One patient was excluded from final analysis because of severe movement artifacts. On a separate workstation, regional cerebral blood volume (rCBV), regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), and regional mean time to peak (rMTT) were calculated on the basis of signal decay rate during the passage of gadolinium bolus through the sampled volume in the territory of the middle cerebral artery. TCD-BHI was calculated in all patients. Six healthy subjects underwent the same MR protocol as the patients. RESULTS Compared with control subjects, patients with unilateral ICA occlusions had hemodynamic changes in the ipsilateral hemisphere: rCBF was significantly lower than in controls (P <.01), and r MTT was significantly increased in both white (WM) and gray matter (GM) in the affected side (WM: P <.01; GM: P <.05). No statistically significant difference in rCBV was found in the group of patients (occluded versus contralateral, P <.1) or between the patient and control groups (occluded side versus controls, P <.1). The correlation of rCBV and BHI showed a strong relation of the two variables, showing a decrease of the latter when the former increased. CONCLUSION DSC-MRI is a valuable tool for measuring hemodynamic changes in the presence of carotid disease with hemodynamic impairment. In our opinion, hemodynamic changes and efficiency of collateral pathways can be evaluated in occlusive carotid disease by using paired measurement of BHI and DSC-MRI. In the patient group, MR-determined rCBV and TCD-determined BHI showed a significant inverse correlation, suggesting similar significance of the two indices.
Manufacturing considerations for implantable antennas

Design of implantable antennas poses a unique set of challenges since antennas need to be small, biocompatible, and operate in the highly lossy environment of the human body. A recent review identified miniaturization challenges and how they have been managed in a variety of designs. [1] It also noted the sensitivity of these miniaturized antennas to fabrication tolerances. Our paper addresses another type of challenge - effective methods to manufacture these antennas using biocompatible materials (many of which are difficult to adhere with glue or solder), tight manufacturing tolerances (and practical ways to manage them), and a design that is practical both for manufacturing of individual test antennas by hand or for larger scale manufacturing. We will build on the spiral microstrip designs originally presented in [2] and expanded in [3][4].
Triple negative breast cancer: new therapeutic approaches and BRCA status

Treatment of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a clinically challenging problem due to intriguing clinical and pathologic features of TNBC and natural or induced resistance to existing therapies. However, a great understanding of features of TNBC particularly associated with BRCA mutations has led to the development of different therapeutic approaches. Besides, identification of TNBC subtypes contribute to investigation of the underlying molecular differences and development of new strategies for the treatment of TNBC patients. In this review, we discussed the definition and characteristic properties of TNBC. We summarized an up‐to‐date description of the reported clinical trials of novel targeted strategies especially PARP inhibitors (PARPi) due to novel and highly potent for the treatment of TNBC. Additionally, we reviewed published studies which investigated the prevalence and types of BRCA1/2 mutation in breast cancer patients to assess and draw attention of association of BRCA status with TNBC. Consequently, the definition subtype of TNBC has important predictive value for the development of new therapeutic agents in the treatment of TNBC. Additionally, the incidence and types of mutations in BRCA‐related pathways may be affected by ethnic origin and contribute to the risk of developing TNBC.
Therapy-, gender- and race-specific microRNA markers, target genes and networks related to glioblastoma recurrence and survival.

AIM To identify and study targets of microRNA biomarkers of glioblastoma survival across events (death and recurrence) and phases (life expectancy or post-diagnostic) using functional and network analyses. MATERIALS AND METHODS microRNAs associated with glioblastoma survival within and across race, gender, recurrence, and therapy cohorts were identified using 253 individuals, 534 microRNAs, Cox survival model, cross-validation, discriminant analyses, and cross-study comparison. RESULTS All 45 microRNAs revealed as being associated with survival were confirmed in independent cancer studies and 25 in glioblastoma studies. Thirty-nine and six microRNAs (including hsa-miR-222) were associated with one and multiple glioblastoma survival indicators, respectively. Nineteen and 26 microRNAs exhibited cohort-dependent (including hsa-miR-10b with therapy and hsa-miR-486 with race) and independent associations with glioblastoma, respectively. CONCLUSION Sensory perception and G protein-coupled receptor processes were enriched among microRNA gene targets also associated with survival and network visualization highlighted their relations. These findings can help to improve prognostic tools and personalized treatments.
Reliable Manufacturing of Heavy Copper Wire Bonds Using Online Parameter Adaptation

Usage of copper wire bonds allows to push power boundaries imposed by aluminum wire bonds. Copper allows higher electrical, thermal and mechanical loads than aluminum, which currently is the most commonly used material in heavy wire bonding. This is the main driving factor for increased usage of copper in high power applications such as wind turbines, locomotives or electric vehicles. At the same time, usage of copper also increases tool wear and reduces the range of parameter values for a stable process, making the process more challenging. To overcome these drawbacks, parameter adaptation at runtime using self-optimization is desired. A self-optimizing system is based on system objectives that evaluate and quantify system performance. System parameters can be changed at runtime such that pre-selected objective values are reached. For adaptation of bond process parameters, model-based self-optimization is employed. Since it is based on a model of the system, the bond process was modeled. In addition to static model parameters such as wire and substrate material properties and vibration characteristics of transducer and tool, variable model inputs are process parameters. Main simulation result is bonded area in the wire-substrate contact. This model is then used to find valid and optimal working points before operation. The working point is composed of normal force and ultrasonic voltage trajectories, which are usually determined experimentally. Instead, multiobjective optimalization is used to compute trajectories that simultaneously optimize bond quality, process duration, tool wear and probability of tool-substrate contacts. The values of these objectives are computed using the process model. At runtime, selection among pre-determined optimal working points is sufficient to prioritize individual objectives. This way, the computationally expensive process of numerically solving a multiobjective optimal control problem and the demanding high speed bonding process are separated. To evaluate to what extent the pre-defined goals of self-optimization are met, an off-the-shelf heavy wire bonding machine was modified to allow for parameter adaptation and for transmitting of measurement data at runtime. This data is received by an external computer system and evaluated to select a new working point. Then, new process parameters are sent to the modified bonding machine for use for subsequent bonds. With these components, a full self-optimizing system has been implemented.
The Eagle Meets the DragonTwo Superpowers, Two Mega RTAs, and So Many in Between: Reflections on TPP and RCEP

The proliferation of regional trade agreements (RTAs) in recent decades and the intensifying rivalry among major trading nations has led to the creation of two mega RTAs, namely the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) led by the United States of America and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) led by China. Due to the importance of market access to these two economic superpowers, seven out of twelve TPP countries are also participating in the negotiations for RCEP, comprising half of the sixteen participating countries. This article discusses the development of these two mega RTAs, introduces their key provisions and approaches, and examines the dynamics and implications for trade that these mega RTAs would create.
A recursive distributed topology discovery service for grid clients

Distributed application (e.g., grid-enabled application) performance can be improved by complementing the computational resource information advertised to the clients with network information (e.g., topology and link capacity). In this way, clients may choose the jointly optimal resources. This study focuses on how to provide clients with network information. The proposed method, namely the Recursive Distributed Topology Discovery Service (RD-TDS), utilizes a selected set of distributed beacons (i.e., measurement points) for network discovery. Each RD-TDS beacon recursively probes nodes that it has not discovered during its previous exploration steps but that have been discovered by other beacons. The exploration ends when each beacon does not have any new node to probe. The RD-TDS evaluation confirms the expected advantage of such method: closely approximating the full topology discovery with a limited number of active beacons. In addition, the proposed method rationale can be easily applied to many current network exploration tools.
Herpes simplex virus type 1 mutant strain in1814 establishes a unique, slowly progressing infection in SCID mice

Ocular infection of immunocompetent (BALB/c) mice with wild-type herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) 17+ may lead to acute fatal encephalitis; however, in surviving animals, a latent (nonproductive) infection of the nervous system is established. In contrast, 17+ infection invariably kills mice with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID mice) within 2 weeks. Ocular infection of immunocompetent mice with a mutant HSV-1 strain, in1814, which does not produce a functional alpha-transinducing protein, results in no detectable viral replication in the nervous system during the time corresponding to the acute phase of infection, no mortality, and the establishment of latency. In SCID mice, however, the in1814 virus establishes a unique, slowly progressing infection. In studying the courses of in1814 infection in SCID and BALB/c mice, we found that although intact B- and/or T-lymphocytic functions were required for the control of viral replication in the nervous system, some of the infected neurons of SCID mice seemed to be able to restrict in1814 replication and harbor the virus in a latent state.
Ringer-Lactate solution versus isotonic saline solution on mucociliary function after nasal septal surgery

Irrigation with isotonic saline is one of the most frequently used solutions after nasal surgery. However, the effect of saline solutions on mucociliary clearance is not well known. In a previous study, it was found that isotonic saline solution had a negative effect on ciliary beat frequency but Ringer-Locke solution had no effect in vitro. In this study we compared the effects of Ringer-Lactate solution and isotonic saline solution on mucociliary transport time before, and after, nasal septal surgery in patients with nasal septal deviation. We found that patients who used Ringer-Lactate solution as irrigation after surgery had a significantly better mucociliary transport time than the patients using isotonic saline solution (p < 0.05). In conclusion, it is better to use Ringer-Lactate solution instead of 0.9 per cent saline solution for nasal irrigation.
Fabrication and characteristic of a simplified hollow-core microstructured fiber

A simplified hollow-core microstructured fiber was fabricated and investigated. The diameter of the core is about 31 μm, and the thickness of the bridges t is about 280 nm. Three broad band transmission windows with relative low loss were measured in IR domain with the large bandwidth of ~600 nm. A Gaussian-shaped beam profile with visible pattern guided by the large core was observed in far field. The curvature behavior was also studied. This large core broad band transmission fiber offers a good medium for applications in high energy delivery, novel gas-cell based laser and sensing devices.
Autoinhibition of Bacteriophage T4 Mre11 by Its C-terminal Domain*

Background: How nuclease activity of Mre11 is controlled by Rad50 is poorly understood. Results: Removal of the C-terminal domain of T4 Mre11 enhances its nuclease activity. Conclusion: The C terminus of Mre11 is autoinhibitory, and complex formation with Rad50 relieves this inhibition. Significance: This autoinhibition provides a mechanism for restricting the nuclease activity of Mre11 in the absence of Rad50. Mre11 and Rad50 form a stable complex (MR) and work cooperatively in repairing DNA double strand breaks. In the bacteriophage T4, Rad50 (gene product 46) enhances the nuclease activity of Mre11 (gene product 47), and Mre11 and DNA in combination stimulate the ATPase activity of Rad50. The structural basis for the cross-activation of the MR complex has been elusive. Various crystal structures of the MR complex display limited protein-protein interfaces that mainly exist between the C terminus of Mre11 and the coiled-coil domain of Rad50. To test the role of the C-terminal Rad50 binding domain (RBD) in Mre11 activation, we constructed a series of C-terminal deletions and mutations in bacteriophage T4 Mre11. Deletion of the RBD in Mre11 eliminates Rad50 binding but only has moderate effect on its intrinsic nuclease activity; however, the additional deletion of the highly acidic flexible linker that lies between RBD and the main body of Mre11 increases the nuclease activity of Mre11 by 20-fold. Replacement of the acidic residues in the flexible linker with alanine elevates the Mre11 activity to the level of the MR complex when combined with deletion of RBD. Nuclease activity kinetics indicate that Rad50 association and deletion of the C terminus of Mre11 both enhance DNA substrate binding. Additionally, a short peptide that contains the flexible linker and RBD of Mre11 acts as an inhibitor of Mre11 nuclease activity. These results support a model where the Mre11 RBD and linker domain act as an autoinhibitory domain when not in complex with Rad50. Complex formation with Rad50 alleviates this inhibition due to the tight association of the RBD and the Rad50 coiled-coil.
Anesthesia and Hypertension: The Effect of Clonidine on Perioperative Hemodynamics and Isoflurane Requirements

Thirty patients (ASA physical status II-III) with a history of arterial hypertension, whose blood pressure (BP) control varied from normotension to moderate hypertension (diastolic BP < 110 mmHg), scheduled for elective surgery under general anesthesia, were randomly assigned to two groups. Group 1 was premedicated 90–120 min prior to induction with diazepam 0.15 mg · kg1 po; group 2, in addition, received clonidine 5 μg · kg1 po. Anesthetic depth was assessed by on-line aperiodic analysis of the electroencephalogram. Following lidocaine 1 mg · kg1 and fentanyl 2 μg · kg1 (group 1 only), anesthesia was induced with thiopental 3–4 mg · kg1 and vecuronium 0.1 mg · kg1 was used to facilitate endotracheal intubation. Anesthesia was maintained with isoflurane in N2O/O2 and supplemented by fentanyl. In group 2, clonidine produced a rapid preoperative control of systolic and diastolic BP from 166 ± 32/95 ± 14 to 136 ± 80 ± 11 (P < 0.01), was more effective in blunting the reflex tachycardia associated with laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation than lidocaine-fentanyl pretreatment. It significantly reduced the intraoperative lability (coefficient of variation) of systolic (P < 0.01) and diastolic BP and heart rate (HR) (P < 0.05), and resulted in significantly slower HR during recovery (P < 0.01). Anesthetic requirements for isoflurane were reduced 40% (P < 0.01) in group 2; narcotic supplementation was also significantly reduced (P < 0.005). The authors conclude that these effects of clonidine are explained by the inhibitory action of clonidine on central monoaminergic systems involved in cardiovascular control, modulation of sleep/wake cycle, cortical arousal, and of nociception.
Fast programming of Peg-in-hole Actions by human demonstration

Peg-in-Hole actions play an important role in industrial assembly. In this paper, we present a system which performs such actions after learning by human demonstration. Strategies for getting robust human-demonstrated PiH trajectories are investigated, and a number of PiH experiments are conducted to verify the performance of the proposed approach. The results show that our approach leads to a high PiH success rate and allows the robot to fine-tune the PiH trajectories to achieve faster performance.
Reliability investigations and improvements of interconnection technologies for the wireless brain-machine interface — ‘BrainCon’

We developed an implantable wireless, hermetically sealed brain-computer interface which is intended to stay functional within the body for decades. Such an ambitious task demands interconnection technologies of high reliability and reproducibility. Investigating soft-soldering, poor wetting behavior of SnAg solder and destructive influences of additional fluxing materials excluded the lead-free compound from our list of suitable sealing and interconnection materials. We developed a robust and reliable welded interconnection method, which allows us to join a multichannel electrode array, even if materials such as MP35N are involved, which are inherently difficult to solder. For solder-sealing of the implant package with leakage rates in the desired range of <;10-9mbar l s-1 we found SnPbCu solder to be the best choice.