Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Efficient Two-Phase ILP-Based Algorithm for Precise CMOS RFIC Layout Generation

With advancing process technologies and booming Internet of Things markets, millimeter-wave CMOS RFICs have evolved rapidly and been widely applied in recent years. The performance of CMOS RFICs is very sensitive to the chip layout, and a tiny variation of the microstrip length can cause a large impact to the circuit performance. This results in a time-consuming tuning process including much simulation effort for chip design, which becomes the major bottleneck for time to market. This paper introduces a progressive integer-linear-programming-based method consisting of two phases: 1) global layout generation and 2) iterative validation. In the global layout generation phase, we focus on the most critical constraints such as layout planarity and device connection relations to determine the topology of the final design. This provides a basis for constructing the accurate model in the iterative validation phase. The layouts generated by applying our method can satisfy very stringent routing requirements of microstrip lines, including spacing/noncrossing rules, precise length, and bend number minimization, within a given layout area. The resulting RFIC layouts excel in both performance and area with much fewer bends compared with the simulation-tuning based manual layout, while the layout generation time is significantly reduced from weeks to a few minutes.
Lewy bodies in the lateral hypothalamus: Do they imply neuronal loss?

Lewy bodies have been found in the hypothalamic lateral tuberal nucleus (NTL) and the adjoining tuberomammillary nucleus (TM) in Parkinson's disease (PD). The NTL is severely atrophic in Huntington's disease; the TM seems unaffected. In this study, we examined we examined the NTL and the TM of seven PD patients and one patient with presumed PD to assess whether the presence of Lewy bodies indicated neuronal loss. Most Lewy bodies were found in the TM, but they were also present in the NTL of seven of the eight patients. The number of NTL neurons in the PD patients was similar to a group of 14 nonneurological controls, seven Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, and two AIDS patients with dementia. This challenges the hypothesis that Lewy bodies are a sign of significant cell death. The TM, whose cells could not be counted, did not seem depleted in neuronal numbers, although occasional neuronophagia was observed.
Analysis of Back-EMF Waveform of a Novel Outer-Rotor-Permanent-Magnet Flux-Switching Machine

In this paper, a novel outer-rotor-permanent-magnet flux-switching (ORPMFS) machine is proposed and analyzed. First, the geometric topology of the ORPMFS machine is introduced. Then, the PM-excited magneto motive force and open-circuit air-gap flux density are analyzed. Throughout the analysis, the ORPMFS machine is found to have the same air-gap flux density waveform as surface-mounted permanent magnet machine. Furthermore, the analytical equation of the back-electromotive force in the ORPMFS machine is deduced. Then, based on the analytical equation, different combinations of stator slot and rotor pole numbers are evaluated. Finally, the analytical results are verified by 2-D finite element analysis results.
Design Tools for Rapid Multidomain Virtual Prototyping of Power Electronic Systems

The need for multidisciplinary virtual prototyping in power electronics has been well established, however, design tools capable of facilitating a rapid iterative virtual design process do not exist. A key challenge in developing such tools is identifying and developing modeling techniques which can account for 3-D geometrical design choices without unduly affecting simulation speed. This challenge has been addressed in this paper using model order reduction techniques and a prototype power electronic design tool incorporating these techniques is presented. A relevant electrothermal power module design example is then used to demonstrate the performance of the software and model order reduction techniques. Five design iterations can be evaluated, using 3-D inductive and thermal models, under typical operating and start-up conditions on a desktop PC in less than 15 min. The results are validated experimentally for both thermal and electrical domains.
Insight into Africa's country-level latencies

This paper provides insight into the effects of cross-border infrastructure and logical interconnections in Africa on both intra-country and cross-border latency on end-to-end Internet paths, by comparing Internet performance measurements between different countries. We collected ICMP pings between countries using Speedchecker and applied a community detection algorithm to group countries based on round trip times (RTTs) between countries. We observed three main latency clusters: East and Southern Africa; North Africa; and West and Central Africa. An interesting observation is that these clusters largely correspond to countries that share the same official languages or past colonial history. The cluster in Eastern and Southern Africa is the most strongly clustered: these countries have the lowest inter-country latency values. We also found that some countries have a much higher intra-country latency than expected, pointing to the lack of local peering or physical infrastructure within the country itself. This finding underscores the importance of physical networking infrastructure deployment and inter-network relationships at a country and regional level.
Circadian proteomics of the mouse retina

The circadian clock in the retina regulates a variety of physiological phenomena such as disc shedding and melatonin release. Although these events are critical for retinal functions, it is almost unknown how the circadian clock controls the physiological rhythmicity. To gain insight into the processes, we performed a proteomic analysis using 2‐DE to find proteins whose levels show circadian changes. Among 415 retinal protein spots, 11 protein spots showed circadian rhythmicity in their intensities. We performed MALDI‐TOF MS and NanoLC‐MS/MS analyses and identified proteins contained in the 11 spots. The proteins were related to vesicular transport, calcium‐binding, protein degradation, metabolism, RNA‐binding, and protein foldings, suggesting the clock‐regulation of neurotransmitter release, transportation of the membrane proteins, calcium‐binding capability, and so on. We also found a rhythmic phosphorylation of N‐ethylmaleimide‐sensitive fusion protein and identified one of the amino acid residues modified by phosphorylation. These findings provide a new perspective on the relationship between the physiological functions of the retina and the circadian clock system.
Self-report scales/checklists for the measurement of concussion symptoms: a systematic review

Objective: To identify self-reported sport concussion symptom scales and to describe the psychometric properties of these identified scales. Design: Systematic review. Intervention: PubMed, Medline, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, Sport Discus, PsycINFO and AMED were searched from their establishment until December 2008. The medical subject heading terms “brain concussion”, “signs or symptoms” and “athletic injuries”. The search was limited to articles published in English. An additional search of the reference lists of the retrieved articles was conducted. Only full-text articles were considered for this study and these were retrieved to determine whether they met the inclusion criteria. Results: The initial search resulted in 421 articles, which were reduced to 290 articles after removing duplicates. The hand search resulted in 17 articles, thus giving a total of 307 articles. Full text was available for 295 articles of which 60 met the criteria for inclusion. The excluded 235 articles were case reports, reviews and guidelines on concussion management or studies that had not used a symptom scale or checklist. Conclusions: Six core scales were identified with a broad range of symptom items but with limited information on their psychometric properties. There were numerous derivative scales reported, most of which have not been methodically developed or subjected to scientific scrutiny. Despite this, they do make a contribution to the detection, assessment and return to play decisions but there is a need for the clinical user to be aware that many of these scales have “evolved” rather than being scientifically developed.
Characterization of Spores of Bacillus subtilis Which Lack Dipicolinic Acid

ABSTRACT Spores of Bacillus subtilis with a mutation inspoVF cannot synthesize dipicolinic acid (DPA) and are too unstable to be purified and studied in detail. However, the spores of a strain lacking the three major germinant receptors (termed Δger3), as well as spoVF, can be isolated, although they spontaneously germinate much more readily than Δger3 spores. The Δger3 spoVF spores lack DPA and have higher levels of core water than Δger3spores, although sporulation with DPA restores close to normal levels of DPA and core water to Δger3 spoVF spores. The DPA-less spores have normal cortical and coat layers, as observed with an electron microscope, but their core region appears to be more hydrated than that of spores with DPA. The Δger3 spoVF spores also contain minimal levels of the processed active form (termed P41) of the germination protease, GPR, a finding consistent with the known requirement for DPA and dehydration for GPR autoprocessing. However, any P41 formed in Δger3 spoVF spores may be at least transiently active on one of this protease's small acid-soluble spore protein (SASP) substrates, SASP-γ. Analysis of the resistance of wild-type, Δger3, and Δger3 spoVF spores to various agents led to the following conclusions: (i) DPA and core water content play no role in spore resistance to dry heat, dessication, or glutaraldehyde; (ii) an elevated core water content is associated with decreased spore resistance to wet heat, hydrogen peroxide, formaldehyde, and the iodine-based disinfectant Betadine; (iii) the absence of DPA increases spore resistance to UV radiation; and (iv) wild-type spores are more resistant than Δger3 spores to Betadine and glutaraldehyde. These results are discussed in view of current models of spore resistance and spore germination.
Mating Behavior and the Function of the Male Genital Spine in the Ground Beetle Carabus clathratus

The morphologies of male genitalia often appear harmful or aggressive, as if they may inflict physical damage upon females during copulation. Such male genitalia are often thought to function in intra- and intersexual interactions during mating. In the carabid genus Carabus, division Spinulati, males possess a spine (spinula) on the intromittent organ, of which function is unknown. To reveal the function of the spinula, we studied the mating behavior and genital coupling of a Spinulati species, Carabus (Limnocarabus) clathratus. The males positioned the spinula along the inner wall of the vaginal opening throughout copulation. This placement created a small dent and subsequently a melanized patch (wound) on the vaginal wall, but the spinula rarely penetrated the vaginal wall. The spinula did not reach the innermost part of the vagina where the spermatophore is deposited. These results suggest that the spinula is not used for inflicting damage on female genitalia or manipulating spermatophores of rival males. During spermatophore formation, the male partially withdrew the aedeagus, and only the aedeagal tip and endophallus remained within the female. By placing the spinula against the vaginal wall, the male could hold the endophallus within the vaginal chamber in the unstable copulatory posture. Thus, our observations suggest that the spinula primarily functions as an “anchor” to maintain the coupling of the male and female genitalia and thereby ensure insemination.
Calibration of an indoor radio propagation prediction model at 2.4 GHz by measurements of the IEEE 802.11b preamble

The indoor radio channel is characterised basically by strong multipath propagation. Therefore ray-tracing techniques are applied for the coverage prediction of indoor communication systems. The path loss for each multipath signal is influenced by the electromagnetic properties of the materials of the reflecting walls. The material parameters can be determined using measurements. In this paper a new approach for the calibration of these parameters is presented. The indoor channel impulse response is derived from measurements using the cross-correlation technique and the 802.11b preamble in conjunction with a high resolution approach, which combines a 3D ray-tracing technique and a pulse extraction algorithm in order to improve the measurement resolution. A further improvement of the resolution of the multipath signals is achieved by the determination of the angle of arrival from directional measurements. The performance of this 3D ray-tracing model is shown by comparisons with measurements from an operational WLAN.
Plasticity of archaeal C/D box sRNA biogenesis

Archaeal and eukaryotic organisms contain sets of C/D box s(no)RNAs with guide sequences that determine ribose 2′‐O‐methylation sites of target RNAs. The composition of these C/D box sRNA sets is highly variable between organisms and results in varying RNA modification patterns which are important for ribosomal RNA folding and stability. Little is known about the genomic organization of C/D box sRNA genes in archaea. Here, we aimed to obtain first insights into the biogenesis of these archaeal C/D box sRNAs and analyzed the genetic context of more than 300 archaeal sRNA genes. We found that the majority of these genes do not possess independent promoters but are rather located at positions that allow for co‐transcription with neighboring genes and their start or stop codons were frequently incorporated into the conserved boxC and D motifs. The biogenesis of plasmid‐encoded C/D box sRNA variants was analyzed in vivo in Sulfolobus acidocaldarius. It was found that C/D box sRNA maturation occurs independent of their genetic context and relies solely on the presence of intact RNA kink‐turn structures. The observed plasticity of C/D box sRNA biogenesis is suggested to enable their accelerated evolution and, consequently, allow for adjustments of the RNA modification landscape.
Lactated ringer's solution and hetastarch but not plasma resuscitation after rat hemorrhagic shock is associated with immediate lung apoptosis by the up-regulation of the Bax protein.

BACKGROUND We previously demonstrated that the type of resuscitation fluid used in hemorrhagic shock affects apoptosis. Unlike crystalloid, whole blood seems to attenuate programmed cell death. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the acellular components of whole blood (plasma, albumin) attenuated apoptosis and to determine whether this process involved the Bax protein pathway. METHODS Rats were hemorrhaged 27.5 mL/kg, kept in hypovolemic shock for 75 minutes, then resuscitated over 1 hour (n = 44). Control animals underwent anesthesia only (sham, n = 7). Treatment animals were bled then randomly assigned to the following resuscitation groups: no resuscitation (n = 6), whole blood (n = 6), plasma (n = 6), 5% human albumin (n = 6), 6% hetastarch (n = 7), and lactated Ringer's solution (LR, n = 6). Hetastarch was used to control for any colloid effect. LR was used as positive control. Immediately after resuscitation, the lung was collected and evaluated for apoptosis by using two methods. TUNEL stain was used to determine general DNA damage, and Bax protein was used to specifically determine intrinsic pathway involvement. RESULTS LR and hetastarch treatment resulted in significantly increased apoptosis in the lung as determined by both TUNEL and Bax expression (p < 0.05). Plasma infusion resulted in significantly less apoptosis than LR and hetastarch resuscitation. Multiple cell types (epithelium, endothelium, smooth muscle, monocytes) underwent apoptosis in the lung as demonstrated by the TUNEL stain, whereas Bax expression was limited to cells residing in the perivascular and peribronchial spaces. CONCLUSION Apoptosis after volume resuscitation of hemorrhagic shock can be affected by the type of resuscitation fluid used. Manufactured fluids such as lactated Ringer's solution and 6% hetastarch resuscitation resulted in the highest degree of lung apoptosis. The plasma component of whole blood resulted in the least apoptosis. The process of apoptosis after hemorrhagic shock resuscitation involves the Bax protein.
DNA immunization with Onchocerca volvulus genes, Ov‐tmy‐1 and OvB20: serological and parasitological outcomes following intramuscular or GeneGun delivery in a mouse model of Onchocerciasis

The objective of this study was to evaluate whether the distinct immune responses invoked by epidermal and intramuscular DNA immunization could be harnessed to improve upon the levels of protection to Onchocerca volvulus infective larvae achieved previously by recombinant protein immunization. Intramuscular (IM) and epidermal (GeneGun) routes of DNA immunization generally drive T helper1 and Th2 dominant responses, respectively. This dichotomy was used in an attempt to further define the nature of host‐protective immunity in a mouse model of onchocerciasis. Mice were immunized with DNA plasmids expressing the O. volvulus antigens, Ov‐TMY‐1 (tropomyosin) and OvB20 (a nematode specific gene product). While, IM and GeneGun immunization of mice with Ov‐tmy‐1 induced expected Th1/Th2‐associated IgG isotype profiles, mice responded to OvB20 immunization with a Th2 dominant response, irrespective of the delivery route. Despite inducing potent serological responses, neither DNA construct promoted statistically significant levels of protection to L3 challenge infection. We conclude that DNA immunization has good potential for induction of humoral responses against nematode infections and that serological responses alone do not predict vaccination efficacy under the conditions used here to measure host resistance to parasite challenge.
Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibition and Experimental Colitis: Beneficial Effects of Phosphorothioated Antisense Oligonucleotide and Meloxicam

Background: The effects of cyclooxygenase-2 (cox-2) inhibition by a cox-2 selective antisense phosphorothioated oligonucleotide (AS) and meloxicam were examined in experimental colitis. Methods: Colitis was induced by trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid (TNBS) and acetic acid (Hac) separately in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Both groups of animals were treated daily intraperitoneally with AS and a mismatched control oligo (CO) (3 mg/kg), and orally with meloxicam (7.5 mg/kg) 1 h before induction of colitis. The animals were killed on day 4 (Hac) and on day 5 (TNBS). Tissue samples from colon, ileum, liver, kidney and spleen were collected for mRNA, myeloperoxidase activity (MPO), prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ) estimation and for histology, and blood samples for PGE 2 , thromboxane B 2 (TxB 2 ) and TNF- α. Results: Both TNBS and Hac increased colonic MPO activity, PGE 2 concentrations and infiltration of colonic wall by inflammatory cells. Serum levels of TNF- α were increased in both models, whereas PGE 2 was increased only in TNBS colitis. Only meloxicam suppressed the level of PGE 2 significantly below the basal level. The animals in both models also showed splenomegaly. The colitis-induced changes were significantly suppressed by the treatment of the test compounds but not by the CO. Cox-2 mRNA but not cox-1 was decreased by the AS, but not by meloxicam or in CO-treated colitic animals. Conclusion: The findings demonstrate comparable beneficial effects of the cox-2 selective antisense oligonucleotide and meloxicam, which seem to be mediated by a combined inhibition of both PGE 2 and TNF- α in the present models of colitis.
Surface modification of electrospun poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanofibers for the development of in vitro respiratory epithelium model

Scaffold design is an important aspect of in vitro model development. In this study, nanoscaffold surface modification, namely UV radiation and genipin cross-linking to immobilize collagen on the surface of electrospun poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanofiber sheet was investigated. Samples were divided into four groups; PMMA nanofibers (PMMA), collagen-coated PMMA nanofibers (PMMACOL), genipin cross-linked collagen-coated PMMA nanofibers (PMMAGEN), and UV-irradiated collagen-coated PMMA nanofibers (PMMAUV). 6 h of UV radiation significantly reduced the hydrophobicity of PMMA nanofibers from (131.88° ± 1.33°) to (110.04° ± 0.27°) (p < 0.05). The amount of collagen immobilized was significantly higher in PMMAGEN group (239.36 ± 16.63 μg collagen/mg nanofibers) (p < 0.05) compared to the other groups. RECs on all scaffold expressed epithelial cell-specific markers (CK18 and CK14), mucin-producing cell marker (MUC5Ac) and were actively proliferating, based on the positive expression of Ki67. Total number of attached cells was significantly the highest in PMMAUV group on day 9 (6.44 × 104 ± 2.77 × 104 cells/cm2) and it has the highest proliferation rate from day 4 to 9 (0.005 ± 0.003 h−1) compared to the other groups. Even though PMMAGEN group showed the highest collagen adsorption, in terms of cells attachment and proliferation, PMMAUV group showed a better outcome compared to the other groups. Thus, PMMAUV scaffold is more suitable to be used in the construction of in vitro respiratory epithelial model.
Nyström solutions of electromagnetic scattering by inhomogeneous anisotropic objects

Analysis for electromagnetic (EM) scattering by inhomogeneous or anisotropic objects relies on the solutions of volume integral equations (VIEs) in the integral equation approach. The VIEs are usually solved by the method of moments (MoM) in which the volume currents are represented with the Schaubert-Wilton-Glisson (SWG) basis function. It is found that the implementation of the MoM for the inhomogeneous anisotropic objects is inconvenient due to the features of the basis function. In this work, we develop an efficient Nyström scheme as an alternative to solve the VIES for those objects. A numerical example for EM scattering by an inhomogeneous anisotropic block is presented to demonstrate the scheme.
Inferring Crowd Conditions from Pedestrians' Location Traces for Real-Time Crowd Monitoring during City-Scale Mass Gatherings

There is a need for event organizers and emergency response personnel to detect emerging, potentially critical crowd situations at an early stage during city-wide mass gatherings. In this work, we introduce and describe mathematical methods based on pedestrian-behavior models to infer and visualize crowd conditions from pedestrians' GPS location traces. We tested our approach during the 2011 Lord Mayor's Show in London by deploying a system able to infer and visualize in real-time crowd density, crowd turbulence, crowd velocity and crowd pressure. To collection location updates from festival visitors, a mobile phone app that supplies the user with event-related information and periodically logs the device's location was distributed. We collected around four million location updates from over 800 visitors. The City of London Police consulted the crowd condition visualization to monitor the event. As an evaluation of the usefulness of our approach, we learned through interviews with police officers that our approach helps to assess occurring crowd conditions and to spot critical situations faster compared to the traditional video-based methods. With that, appropriate measure can be deployed quickly helping to resolve a critical situation at an early stage.