Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multiple continuous error correct code for high performance network-on-chip

Network-on-chip (NoC) is considered as a reasonable solution for integrating plenty of IP blocks on a single chip in Nano-scale technology. But its proper function is suffered from crosstalk errors, which is becoming more and more serious with the rapid shrink of the technology. Meanwhile chip in hard environment where full filled with energetic particles such as nuclear power plant, eagerly calls for strong reliability. In this paper, we proposed a coding method for NoC channel, multiple-continuous-error-correct-coding (MCECC) which can strongly correct continuous error bits with 14-bit maximum fault tolerance. Besides, an adaptive error control scheme is proposed to work with this code to enhance the robust communication. Experiments show that the proposed design can reduce nearly 50% wire capacitance energy dissipation and stronger error correcting ability, especially for continuous errors.
Is the participation in the non-farm income generating activities help smooth food consumption? Evidence from rural Nigeria

More than 40 percent of the total income of households in rural Nigeria is from non-farm activities. However, there has been no much empirical work to analyse whether the participation in these activities reduces food insecurity and smooth food consumption or not. This paper examines the impact of non-farm diversification on food consumption expenditure using a national representative sample of 3624 rural households from the General Household-panel Survey data. The propensity score matching technique was employed in the analysis to take care of selection bias. We find that the on the average food consumption expenditure of the non-participating households in NFIGA is less than participating households. Overall, the average increase in food expenditure due to diversification into non-farm income generating activities range between ₦1571.52 to ₦11654.07.
StructSorter: A Method for Continuously Updating a Comprehensive Protein Structure Alignment Database

Advances in protein crystallography and homology modeling techniques are producing vast amounts of high resolution protein structure data at ever increasing rates. As such, the ability to quickly and easily extract structural similarities is a key tool in discovering important functional relationships. We report on an approach for creating and maintaining a database of pairwise structure alignments for a comprehensive database comprising the PDB and homology models for the human and select pathogen genomes. Our approach consists of a novel, multistage method for determining pairwise structural similarity coupled with an efficient clustering protocol that approximates a full NxN assessment in a fraction of the time. Since biologists are commonly interested in recently released structures, and the homology models built from them, an automatically updating database of structural alignments has great value. Our approach yields a querying system that allows scientists to retrieve databank-wide protein structure similarities as easily as retrieving protein sequence similarities via BLAST or PSI-BLAST. Basic, noncommercial access to the database can be requested at https://tip.eidogen-sertanty.com/.
Gentamicin concentrations in human subcutaneous tissue

Wound infections frequently originate from the subcutaneous tissue. The effect of gentamicin in subcutaneous tissue has, however, normally been evaluated from concentrations in blood or wound fluid. The aim of the present study was to investigate the pharmacokinetic properties of gentamicin in human subcutaneous adipose tissue by a microdialysis technique. Seven healthy young volunteers each had four microdialysis probes placed in the fat (subcutaneous) layer of the abdominal skin. After the administration of a 240-mg gentamicin intravenous bolus, consecutive measurements of the drug concentrations in serum and subcutaneous interstitial fluid were obtained simultaneously for 6 h. The tissue gentamicin concentration peaked after 10 to 30 min. The peak concentration in the tissue was 6.7 +/- 2.0 mg.liter-1 (standard deviation), equivalent to 39.1% of the peak concentration in serum. The area under the concentration-versus-time curve for the first 6 h in the tissue was 1,281 +/- 390.0) mg.min liter-1, equivalent to 59.7% of the area under the concentration-versus-time curve in serum. It is concluded that the microdialysis technique can be used to make dynamic and quantitative measurements of the gentamicin concentration in human subcutaneous tissue. In this adipose tissue, the peak concentrations of gentamicin were approximately seven times the MIC for Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 33 times the MIC for Staphylococcus aureus after the administration of an intravenous bolus of 240 mg, indicating the presence of sufficient concentrations in the adipose tissue to be effective against common bacteria.
Clinical Inertia in Depression Treatment

Objective:To explore reasons for clinical inertia in the management of persistent depression symptoms. Research Design:We characterized patterns of treatment adjustment in primary care and their relation to the patient's clinical condition by modeling transition to a given treatment “state” conditional on the current state of treatment. We assessed associations of patient, clinician, and practice barriers with adjustment decisions. Subjects:Survey data on patients in active care for major depression were collected at 6-month intervals over a 2-year period for the quality improvement for depression (QID) studies. Measures:Patient and clinician characteristics were collected at baseline. Depression severity and treatment were measured at each interval. Results:Approximately, one-third of the observation periods ending with less than a full response resulted in an adjustment recommendation. Clinicians often respond correctly to the combination of severe depression symptoms and less than maximal treatment by changing the treatment. Appropriate adjustment is less common, however, in management of less severely depressed patients who do not improve after starting treatment, particularly if their care already meets minimal treatment intensity guidelines. Conclusions:Our findings suggest that quality improvement efforts should focus on promoting appropriate adjustments for patients with persistent depression symptoms, particularly those with less severe depression.
The Influence of Nursing Unit Empowerment and Social Capital on Unit Effectiveness and Nurse Perceptions of Patient Care Quality

OBJECTIVE: This study tested a multilevel model examining the effects of work-unit structural empowerment and social capital on perceptions of unit effectiveness and nurses’ ratings of patient care quality. BACKGROUND: Structural empowerment and social capital are valuable resources for staff nurses that promote work effectiveness and high-quality patient care. No studies have examined social capital in nursing at the group level. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of 525 nurses in 49 nursing units in 25 acute care hospitals in Ontario was conducted to test the hypothesized multilevel model using structural equation modeling. RESULTS: Both unit-level structural empowerment and social capital had significant effects on unit effectiveness (&bgr; = .05 and &bgr; = .29, P < .05, respectively). Unit-level predictors explained 87.5% of level 2 variance in individual nurses’ ratings of patient care quality. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides a better understanding of how unit-level structural empowerment and social capital affect both unit- and individual-level outcomes.
Cyclooxygenase-2-derived lipoxin A4 increases gastric resistance to aspirin-induced damage.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) has been implicated as contributing to mucosal defense. Acetylation of COX-2 by aspirin can result in production of an antiinflammatory substance, 15(R)-epi-LXA4. We determined whether aspirin-triggered lipoxin (LX) production via COX-2 diminishes aspirin-induced damage in the rat stomach. METHODS Rats were treated with aspirin plus or minus celecoxib or rofecoxib. Gastric generation of LXA4 was measured. Effect of exogenous LXA4 or an LXA4 receptor antagonist on gastric resistance to aspirin-induced damage was examined. Aspirin-induced leukocyte adherence in mesenteric venules, and the effects of LXA4, were examined by intravital microscopy. RESULTS Celecoxib and rofecoxib significantly increased the severity of aspirin-induced gastric damage. Aspirin rapidly up-regulated COX-2 expression in the stomach and caused a significant increase in gastric 15(R)-epi-LXA4 production, which was abolished by celecoxib. LXA4 dose dependently (0.25-2.5 microg/kg, intraperitoneally) reduced the severity of aspirin-induced gastric damage and suppressed aspirin-induced leukocyte adherence, whereas an LXA4 antagonist had the opposite effects. CONCLUSIONS Aspirin administration results in elevated production of 15(R)-epi-LXA4 via COX-2. LXA4 exerts very potent protective actions on the gastric mucosa. Co-administration of aspirin and a selective COX-2 inhibitor results in substantially more severe gastric injury than is produced with either agent alone.
Characterization and mutant analysis of the Drosophila sema 5c gene

Class V semaphorins are transmembrane glycoproteins characterised by the presence of thrombospondin type I (Tsp) repeats linked to their extracellular semaphorin domain. Sema 5C is the only class V semaphorin found in Drosophila. Dsema 5C RNA is maternally provided and its embryonic expression is prominent in the mesoderm and muscle attachment sites. Here, we show that DSema 5C exists in two protein isoforms as a result of alternative splicing and that both protein and RNA have similar expression patterns. Using a combination of various molecular markers, we show that the DSema 5C protein becomes enriched in mesodermal cells that would normally give rise to fat body and visceral structures. In late embryos, DSema 5C is expressed in segment boundary cells that would constitute subsets of muscle attachment sites. Both RNA and protein are excluded from the somatic precursors and the mature muscles. The expression data suggest DSema 5C localised to the epidermal component of muscle attachment sites. Mutations in Dsema 5C were isolated from a P‐element excision screen and by blotting analysis. The Dsema 5C mutants are homozygous viable and show no obvious embryonic phenotypes, suggesting that the maternal and zygotic components of Dsema 5C are not essential for fly development. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Comparison of Pulse Contour Wave Analysis and Ultrasonic Cardiac Output Monitoring in the Critically Ill

Cardiac output (CO) is a key determinant of major organ blood flow and solute delivery to drug eliminating organs. As such, CO assessment is a key covariate in understanding altered drug handling in the critically ill. Newer minimally-invasive devices are providing unique platforms for such an application, although comparison data are currently lacking. In this study we evaluated the Vigileo® (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, CA, USA) and USCOM® (USCOM Ltd, Sydney, NSW) devices in 62 critically ill patients requiring antibacterial therapy. The mean COVigileo and COUSCOM for the first paired measurements were 8.20±2.65 * * *1/minute and 6.84±2.57 1/minute respectively (P P P P=0.066), although bias, precision and percentage error were similar in both subgroups. In 54 patients a second paired assessment was obtained at three hours. A weak, although significant correlation (r=0.377, P=0.005) was observed suggesting that gross trends over time were similar. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate poor agreement between these techniques suggesting that these devices are not simply interchangeable when assessing CO in a research or clinical setting.
Neurological Soft Signs and Their Relationship with Measures of Executive Function in Chinese Adolescents

Objective: To examine the prevalence of neurological soft signs (NSS) in Chinese adolescents and their associations with sex, age, and executive function. Methods: A total of 3892 14- to 19-year-old adolescents were recruited from 7 big cities in China. NSS were assessed using the soft sign subscales of the Cambridge Neurological Inventory. Executive functions were tested using the arrows task (AT) and the Stroop color-word test (SCWT). Results: The prevalence of individual signs of NSS in Chinese adolescents varied from 1.3% to 24.6%. Boys obtained higher NSS scores than girls. Both boys and girls showed age-related reduction in prevalence of NSS. Adolescents with high NSS scores exhibited significantly higher scores in AT and SCWT reaction time and AT and SCWT interference and lower scores in AT and SCWT accuracy than adolescents with low NSS score. Conclusions: The current study indicated that boys have significantly higher rate of NSS than girls, and this difference in NSS rate between genders decreased with increasing age. Adolescents with high NSS scores exhibited more severe impairment in executive functions.
Classifying gene data with regularized ensemble trees

The Guided Regularized Random Forests (GRRF) is an ensemble learning method based on random forests and has been shown to perform well in terms of both the gene selection and the prediction of accuracy for gene classification. However, the performance may be downgraded because the feature selection in the GRRF uses scores yielded by the original random forests. In this paper, we improve the GRRF's performance by proposing new importance scores. In our experiments, the improved random forests model based on the GRRF enhances the prediction accuracy and outperforms the GRRF model when applied to high dimensional gene data.
865 MHz switching-speed step-down DC-DC power converter for envelope tracking

Envelope tracking (ET) is an appealing alternative to the widely used Doherty power amplifier (PA) due to its potential to increase efficiency, particularly for high data rate transmissions. In this work, we demonstrate a 28 V, 865 MHz switching speed step-down converter that can be applied to envelope tracking. The converter's ET capability is demonstrated at up to 865 MHz PWM carrier frequency. An integrated RF GaN HEMT and 100 V GaN power switch process is reported, which enables fabrication of a power switch and gate driver on the same IC, necessary for achieving the 865 MHz switching speed. We report a slew rate of the main power switch of 152 V/ns at 50 V, which enables ET with up to 20% less power than that required without ET. To the authors' best knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a GaN MMIC process that integrates a GaN HEMT suitable for X through Ka-band power amplifiers and a high voltage power switch on the same IC.
Feasibility and Effectiveness of an Automated Bilingual Text Message Intervention for Weight Loss: Pilot Study

Background Little is known about the feasibility and acceptability of tailored text message based weight loss programs for English and Spanish-language speakers. Objective This pilot study evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and estimated impact of a tailored text message based weight loss program for English and Spanish-language speakers. The purpose of this pilot study was to inform the development of a full-scale randomized trial. Methods There were 20 overweight or obese participants (mean age 40.10, SD 8.05; 8/20, 40% male; 9/20, 45% Spanish-speakers) that were recruited in San Diego, California, from March to May 2011 and evaluated in a one-group pre/post clinical trial. For 8 weeks, participants received and responded to 3-5 text messages daily sent from a fully automated text messaging system. They also received printed weight loss materials and brief 10-15 minute weekly counseling calls. To estimate the impact of the program, the primary outcome was weight (kg) measured during face-to-face measurement visits by trained research staff. Pre and post differences in weight were analyzed with a one-way repeated measures analysis of variance. Differences by language preference at both time points were analyzed with t tests. Body mass index and weight management behaviors also were examined. Feasibility and acceptability were determined by recruitment success, adherence (ie, percentage of replies to interactive text messages and attrition), and participant satisfaction. Results Participants who completed the final assessment (N=18) decreased body weight by 1.85 kg (F 1,17=10.80, P=.004, CI∆ 0.66-3.03, η2=0.39). At both time points, there were no differences in weight by language preference. Participants responded to 88.04% (986/1120) of interactive text messages, attrition rate was 10% (2/20), and 94% (19/20) of participants reported satisfaction with the program. Conclusions This fully automated text message based weight program was feasible with English and Spanish-speakers and may have promoted modest weight loss over an 8-week period. Trial Registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01171586; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01171586 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6Ksr6dl7n).
Economic issues of innovation clusters-based industrial policy: a critical overview

Criticisms vis-a-vis cluster policy are numerous, often confusing and really unhelpful; while some authors systematically question the merits, others on the contrary play a genuine role of counsel in his favour. This paper attempts to refocus the debate and analyses the economic issues and implications of the innovation clusters policy. We take a critical view of the literature on clusters, focusing on analysis of the effects of three industrial dynamics in perpetual movement within clusters, i.e. research and development, industrial location and technology cooperation. We assume that innovation cluster 'potentiates', by a synergistic action, the beneficial effect of each of these three industrial dynamics in favour of localised firms. It appears from our analysis that these expectations invested in cluster policy must be relativised. So the reasons for the rising power of cluster policies must be sought elsewhere than in a necessarily consensual and tangible evidence of their positive impacts.
MMSE Relaying Strategy for Two-Way Amplify-and-Forward Wireless Networks

This paper studies amplify-and-forward (AF) relay strategies for two-way wireless relay networks consisting of two sources with a single antenna and multiple relays with a single antenna. The closed form of relay amplifying matrices (vectors) with the perfect cancelation of self-interference under both no channel uncertainty and channel uncertainty is presented based on the minimum mean square error (MMSE) criterion. With the derived optimal relay amplifying matrices, the MMSE cost function behavior, the relay power usage, and the sum of the achievable rate are analyzed. Additionally, a filter for each destination will be provided to remove the influences of noises at the receivers.
Reconstruction of perineoscrotal defects in Fournier's gangrene with pedicle anterolateral thigh perforator flap

Fournier's gangrene is an acute and potentially lethal necrotizing fasciitis that involves the scrotum and perineum. This disease can result in the extensive loss of skin and soft tissues of the perineoscrotal area with exposure of the testes. To reconstruct the large defects of scrotal and perineal remains a surgical challenge.
Efficacy of Cortexin and Methylprednisolone on Traumatic Facial Nerve Paralysis.

OBJECTIVE The aim was to investigate the efficacy of cortexin and methylprednisolone on recovery in cases of traumatic facial nerve paralysis occurring after facial nerve trauma. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was performed on 21 healthy rabbits. The buccal branches of the left facial nerves of all the rabbits were pressed, and facial nerve paralysis occurred. The rabbits were randomly divided into three equal groups: 3 mg/day cortexin intramuscularly, 1 mg/kg/day methylprednisolone intramuscularly, and 3 mg/day saline intramuscularly were administered for 10 days in Group I (cortexin group), Group II (methylprednisolone group), and Group III (control group), respectively. Electromyography was performed on the 7th, 14th, and 21st days to evaluate their improvement. Following this, the traumatic buccal branches of the facial nerves of rabbits were extracted and subjected to histopathological examination. RESULTS There was a significant difference between the cortexin and methylprednisolone groups and the control group in terms of neural fibrotic degeneration, myelin degeneration, axonal degeneration, normal myelin production, and edema. When the cortexin and methylprednisolone groups were compared with each other, there was no significant difference between them, except for an increase in collagen fibers. Cortexin significantly reduced the collagen fiber increase to a greater extent than methylprednisolone. The electromyography findings did not show any significant difference between the groups or within the groups. CONCLUSION Our study suggests that cortexin and methylprednisolone are effective for healing traumatic facial nerve paralysis with intact nerve integrity; however, cortexin is unable to cause significant improvement, which is superior to that caused by methylprednisolone.
Changes in miR-143 and miR-21 Expression and Clinicopathological Correlations in Pancreatic Cancers

Objectives Despite advances in clinical management of pancreatic cancer (PC), there is still room for improvement in early detection, diagnosis, and treatment strategies. The role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in tumor biology might pinpoint an alteration in expression of miRNAs as new diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers. Methods Expression levels of miR-143 and miR-21 and correlations with clinicopathological features were analyzed in 26 matched pairs of tumor and adjacent noncancerous tissue samples collected from patients with PCs, including 18 pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDACs) and 8 adenocarcinomas of Vater’s papilla (PVACs). Results Compared to normal tissues, miR-143 was up-regulated in both PDAC and PVAC tumor samples (P = 0.0028 and P = 0.039, respectively). Conversely, alterations in miR-21 expression were significantly different in PDAC versus PVAC samples (P = 0.0049). Tumor levels of miR-21 were associated with preoperative serum levels of CA 19-9 (r = 0.63, P = 0.0022), whereas miR-143 expression was negatively correlated to lymph node spreading (r = −0.64; P = 0.0004). Correlation between miR-143 and miR-21 expression levels in patients with PDAC was observed (r = 0.53, P = 0.023). Conclusions Deregulation of miR-143 and miR-21 may reflect histological features and biological behavior of different PCs. Association data with clinical parameters might indicate a prognostic significance for miR-143 and miR-21 in PCs.