Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Novel Reflective Surface With Polarization Rotation Characteristic

A reflective surface with polarization rotation property is proposed in this letter. The primary function of the surface is to reflect the linearly polarized incident wave with 90° polarization rotation. The fractional bandwidth reaches up to 9.5%, with copolarization reflection coefficient better than -10 dB at normal incidence. Stable frequency responses in the passband have been obtained with oblique incidence for TE polarization. The periodic element of the proposed surface consists of a dual-mode substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) cavity resonator with horizontal and vertical slots on the same side. A parametric study of its frequency responses has been done with full-wave simulation. To verify the design method, a prototype designed at 35 GHz is fabricated and measured. The measured results are in good agreement with the numerical simulations.
Asynchronous sum‐of‐products logic minimization and orthogonalization

We propose a method of the asynchronous sum‐of‐products (SOP) logic simplification that comprises of minimization and orthogonalization. The method is based on a transformation of the conventional single‐rail SOP synchronous logic into the dual‐rail asynchronous one operating under so‐called modified weak constraints. We formulate and prove the product terms constraint that ensures a correct logic behavior. We have processed the MCNC benchmarks and generated the asynchronous SOP logic. The complexity of the logic obtained is compared with the state‐of‐the‐art representation. Using our approach, we achieve a significant improvement. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A complete automatic region growing method for segmentation of masses on ultrasound images

Ultrasonography is a technique which helps the physician to visualize the structures of internal organs of human body. In some cases it is difficult to identify the boundaries of abnormal regions in the image. Hence segmentation is necessary. The manual methods of segmentation needs high attention of sonographer and also suffer from poor accuracy and time consuming. The automatic segmentation of Ultrasound images can help the physician by providing accurate location of abnormal regions. This paper describes a complete automatic technique for segmentation of masses on ultrasound images by using region growing technique. This is a best method for segmentation of ultrasound images because it is not affected by speckle noise and also preserves spatial information. In this paper the seed point has been automatically selected from the abnormal region based on textural features such as co-occurrence features and run length features. Then the threshold to control the region growing process is automatically selected and the Gradient magnitude based region growing algorithm is adopted. This method has been tested on different abdominal masses such as cyst and liver tumors. The result shows that the proposed region growing algorithm is efficient in selecting seed point as well as segmenting the region of interest without manual intervention.
The earliest evidence of ocean navigation

Il n'existe aucune preuve materielle (representations de bateau, vestiges d'embarcations) de la capacite des hommes du Pleistocene a traverser les oceans. Considerant l'expansion d'Homo Erectus et la colonisation de l'Australie, l'auteur du present article propose une reflexion sur la navigation au Pleistocene.
Investigation of extra power loss sharing among photovoltaic inverters caused by reactive power management in distribution networks

Grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) inverters tailored with reactive power management feature can support the grid voltage especially when the voltage fluctuates near its admissible limits. Although Q control allows reducing the grid voltage elevation along the distribution feeder, it brings extra load and power loss on the feeders and individual inverters. Simplified energy loss evaluation is carried out here by using analytical average loss modeling of 2-level full bridge inverter coupled with network load flow analysis simulating one month period. The study shows that whatever Q control is selected, extra power loss is not a substantial amount to take into consideration. Similarly, loss difference among the inverters located at the various points is negligible.
Notch signaling is required for the generation of hair cells and supporting cells in the mammalian inner ear

Sensorineural deafness and balance dysfunction are common impairments in humans frequently caused by defects in the sensory epithelium of the inner ear, composed of hair cells and supporting cells. Lineage studies have shown that hair cells and supporting cells arise from a common progenitor, but how these progenitors are generated remains unknown. Although various molecules have been implicated in the development of the sensory progenitors, none has been shown to be required for the specification of these progenitors in the mammalian inner ear. Here, using both loss-of-function and gain-of-function approaches, we show that Jagged1 (JAG1)-mediated Notch signaling is both required and sufficient for the generation of the sensory progenitors. Specifically, we find that loss of JAG1 signaling leads to smaller sensory progenitor regions without initial effects on proliferation or cell death, indicating that JAG1 is involved in initial specification events. To further test whether Notch signaling is involved in specification of the sensory progenitors, we transiently expressed an activated form of the Notch1 receptor (NICD) using a combined Tet-On/Cre induction system in the mouse. NICD expression resulted in ectopic hair cells and supporting cells in the nonsensory regions of the cochlea and vestibule. These data indicate that Notch specifies sensory progenitors in the inner ear, and that induction of Notch may be important for regenerating or replacing hair cells and supporting cells in the mammalian inner ear.
Serum therapy revisited: animal models of infection and development of passive antibody therapy

In the preantibiotic era, passively administered immune animal sera, or serum therapy, was the primary mode of treatment for many infectious diseases, including diphtheria, tetanus, scarlet fever, pneumococcal pneumonia, and meningitis caused by Neisseria meningitis and Haemophilus influezae (24). Immune sera contained specific antibodies which mediated therapeutic effects by promoting opsonization, neutralizing toxins, and/or triggering complement-mediated bacterial lysis. Toxicity resulting from the systemic administration of foreign proteins was associated with serum therapy, however, and so serum therapy was abandoned when antibiotics became widely available in the 1940s. Over the past half-century there has been relatively little interest in passive antibody therapy for bacterial and fungal infections because effective antimicrobial drugs have been available. However, several recent developments should renew interest in the use of passive antibody therapy alone or in combination with antimicrobial drugs. First, the emergence of antimicrobial resistance has decreased the efficacy and predictability of antimicrobial chemotherapy. Second, the difficulties of treating infections in immunocompromised individuals, particularly those with AIDS, have revealed the limitations of antimicrobial chemotherapy in the absence of effective immunity. Third, the hybridoma technology introduced in 1975 by Kohler and Milstein (68) provides the means of generating an unlimited supply of homogeneous monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). Technology is now available to reduce the immunogenicity of rodent MAbs in humans by constructing mousehuman chimeric or humanized MAbs (77) or to generate completely human MAbs from either hybridomas or combinatorial libraries (65). Thus, antibody-based therapies no longer depend on heterologous immune sera, with their inherent variations and toxicities, and antibodies can again be considered therapeutic alternatives for a variety of infections. Potentially useful antibodies for the prevention and therapy of infectious diseases are usually identified by demonstrating that they can modify the course of experimental infection. The choice of an animal model for use in the testing of antibody reagents can be a critical decision for demonstrating efficacy. The development of serum therapy in the preantibiotic era relied almost exclusively on animal models in the preclinical testing phase. Here we review serum therapy for pneumococcal and meningococcal infections, with emphasis on the role of the animal models used in their development.
Making networks work for policy: evidence from agricultural technology adoption in Malawi

Many farmers in sub-Saharan Africa may be reluctant to adopt productivity-enhancing technologies because they lack persuasive information on the proper use of new inputs or agricultural techniques from credible sources. Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test whether the position of a trained lead farmer within a community’s social network aﬀected other farmers’ decisions to adopt a new agricultural technology in Malawi. Results suggest that having access to multiple lead farmers/central individuals has the potential to increase adoption and speed the diﬀusion process of the technology. In other words, the researchers showed that targeting multiple central lead farmers was necessary to generate technology adoption in Malawi.
Development of a broadly reactive nested reverse transcription‐PCR assay to detect murine noroviruses, and investigation of the prevalence of murine noroviruses in laboratory mice in Japan

A broadly reactive nested RT‐PCR assay to detect MNV was developed and subsequently used to investigate the prevalence of MNV in laboratory mice in Japan. MNV were detected in 8 (22%) of 37 murine stool specimens by second‐round PCR, although no positive band was obtained from any specimen by first‐round PCR. Genetic analysis of the second round PCR products showed that MNV sequences detected in this study were closely matched (97.2 ∼ 99.1%) to that of MNV‐3 (DQ223042). This is the first report demonstrating the prevalence of MNV in Japan.
1-Aminopyridinium triiodidoplumbate(II)

The title complex, (C5H7N2)[PbI3], consists of a 1-aminopyridinium cation, disordered about a mirror plane, and a [PbI3]− anion. The Pb2+ ion (site symmetry ) is surrounded by six I atoms in a slightly distorted octahedral coordination. The PbI6 octahedra share faces, building up ∞ 1[PbI6/2] chains running along [010]. The cations are situated between the chains. Coulombic attractions and van der Waals interactions between the inorganic and organic components are mainly responsible for the cohesion of the structure.
Application and optimization of organic-inorganic hybrid monolithic capillary electrochromatography for in vivo cefdinir determination with microdialysis.

In this study, an organic-inorganic hybrid monolithic capillary column was applied and optimized for the determination of cefdinir in plasma, and the electro-osmotic flow that usually hinders migration in reverse polarity became a driving force. The Sample used for pharmacokinetic research was collected by microdialysis using phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) as perfusate, and a volume of 60 μL fluid was mixed with 140 μL of acetonitrile. By using a silica-allyldimethyldodecylammonium monolithic column (100 μm inner diameter, 21 cm effective length and 31.2 cm total length), and a mobile phase consisting of phosphate and acetonitrile (pH 4.5, 50:50, v/v), at a voltage of 20 kV, the analytes were successfully separated with the background within 2.5 min. The detection wavelength was 214 nm. The calibration curve showed a good linearity (r(2) = 0.9994) over the concentration range of 0.2-50 μg/mL. The proposed method showed good specificity, linearity, sensitivity, precision and recovery, and the introduction of field amplified sample stacking helped to improve the low recovery caused by microdialysis. This method was successfully applied to quantify cefdinir in rat plasma to support a pre-clinical pharmacokinetic trial.
Transferring Autonomous Driving Knowledge on Simulated and Real Intersections

We view intersection handling on autonomous vehicles as a reinforcement learning problem, and study its behavior in a transfer learning setting. We show that a network trained on one type of intersection generally is not able to generalize to other intersections. However, a network that is pre-trained on one intersection and fine-tuned on another performs better on the new task compared to training in isolation. This network also retains knowledge of the prior task, even though some forgetting occurs. Finally, we show that the benefits of fine-tuning hold when transferring simulated intersection handling knowledge to a real autonomous vehicle.
A Plantar Closing Wedge Osteotomy of the Medial Cuneiform for Residual Forefoot Supination in Flatfoot Reconstruction

Background: Residual forefoot supination is commonly encountered during a flatfoot reconstruction, and a new technique for its treatment is described. Contrary to the standard Cotton osteotomy, a plantar closing wedge osteotomy of the medial cuneiform (PCWOMC) was performed, which has a number of advantages. Methods: We followed 10 feet in 9 patients who had a PCWOMC performed as the last step of a standard flatfoot reconstruction for the correction of residual forefoot supination. These patients were evaluated pre- and postoperatively by standardized radiographic parameters, Short Form-12 (SF-12), and Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS). Results: Patients were followed for an average of 25.8 months with final radiographic analysis performed at an average of 9.9 months. A significant difference (P < .001) between pre- and postoperative parameters was demonstrated for both lateral talus–first metatarsal angle and medial-cuneiform-to-ground distance. Likewise, there was a statistically significant improvement in the SF-12 score and 4 out of 5 components of the FAOS. One patient developed internal hardware–related symptoms, which were relieved following implant removal. All osteotomies healed uneventfully. Conclusion: A PCWOMC can be considered an alternative to the Cotton osteotomy for the treatment of forefoot supination deformity in adult flatfoot reconstruction. The main advantage of this technique over the Cotton osteotomy was simplicity, as an additional dorsal incision and bone graft were not required. Level of Evidence: Level IV, retrospective case series.
Infant temperament, mother's mode of interaction, and attachment in Japan: an interim report.

The objective of our research is to investigate the possible relationships among several variables: the infant's temperamental disposition, the mother's mode of interaction, and the quality of the subsequent motherinfant attachment. Our ultimate objective is to understand how processes in early infancy lay the basis for important individual differences in both personality and cognitive style in later childhood (Azuma, Kashiwagi, & Hess, 1981; Miyake, Tajima, & Usui, 1980). Specifically, our research concerns the relationship between the infant's temperamental characteristics and the attachment to his or her mother; the
Distributed Configuration, Authorization and Management in the Cloud-Based Internet of Things

Network-based deployments within the Internet of Things increasingly rely on the cloud-controlled federation of individual networks to configure, authorize, and manage devices across network borders. While this approach allows the convenient and reliable interconnection of networks, it raises severe security and safety concerns. These concerns range from a curious cloud provider accessing confidential data to a malicious cloud provider being able to physically control safety-critical devices. To overcome these concerns, we present D-CAM, which enables secure and distributed configuration, authorization, and management across network borders in the cloud-based Internet of Things. With D-CAM, we constrain the cloud to act as highly available and scalable storage for control messages. Consequently, we achieve reliable network control across network borders and strong security guarantees. Our evaluation confirms that D-CAM adds only a modest overhead and can scale to large networks.
New closed-form solutions for Karnik-Mendel algorithm+defuzzification of an interval type-2 fuzzy set

Karnik-Mendel (KM) algorithms used for type reduction (TR) followed by defuzzification are commonly used in interval type-2 fuzzy logic systems (IT2 FLSs). Up until now no closed-form solution has existed for KM+defuzzification. Our paper gives, for the first time, a Taylor-series approximation to KM+defuzzification. The first term in the approximation is the Nie-Tan (NT) formula, and the second-term (which is actually the third-order term in the Taylor series) is a correction to it. One very interesting fact is that the Taylor series approximation is itself iterative (as is the KM Algorithm) in that the second term depends on the first term. Simulations show that the first term is a very good approximation to KM+defuzzification.
Comparing Three GIS Techniques for Modelling Geographical Access to General Practitioners

Accessibility to health services is a social and economic issue that has many dimensions. This article compares three techniques for measuring geographical accessibility to general practitioners (family doctors). These techniques can be described as ratio, least-cost path, and allocation methods. The ratio method is the most common and simply measures the population-to-GP ratio for a given area. The least-cost path and allocation techniques rely on GIS network analysis and provide information on travel times and distances. The allocation analysis differs from least-cost path analyses because it considers the number of GPs available and this acts as a capacity constraint. The use of GIS network analysis can produce a number of different statistics on accessibility that can be visualized as a map. This article will argue that the use of a capacity constraint is important and that the population further than 30 minutes from a GP is an effective statistic for comparing the accessibility of different managemen.
Tuning of the Relative Phases of a Rotary Travelling Wave Oscillator

This letter describes the implementation and performance of a phase detector and algorithm combination used to tune the relative phases of an 18-GHz RTWO. Symmetrical XOR phase detectors are designed (20 GHz simulated operation), fabricated in a SiGe BiCMOS process and tested to resolve approximately 4 mV/° from 35° to 55° and approximately 5 mV/° from 80° to 100° at 12 GHz. Instances of this phase detector are used to measure the phase of nominal 45° differential transmission line sections of an 18-GHz RTWO. The phase alignment algorithm mitigates differences between these measurements by iteratively adjusting varactors placed differentially across the RTWO transmission line sections.
Novel Polymerase Gene Mutations for Human Adaptation in Clinical Isolates of Avian H5N1 Influenza Viruses

A major determinant in the change of the avian influenza virus host range to humans is the E627K substitution in the PB2 polymerase protein. However, the polymerase activity of avian influenza viruses with a single PB2-E627K mutation is still lower than that of seasonal human influenza viruses, implying that avian viruses require polymerase mutations in addition to PB2-627K for human adaptation. Here, we used a database search of H5N1 clade 2.2. 1 virus sequences with the PB2-627K mutation to identify other polymerase adaptation mutations that have been selected in infected patients. Several of the mutations identified acted cooperatively with PB2-627K to increase viral growth in human airway epithelial cells and mouse lungs. These mutations were in multiple domains of the polymerase complex other than the PB2-627 domain, highlighting a complicated avian-to-human adaptation pathway of avian influenza viruses. Thus, H5N1 viruses could rapidly acquire multiple polymerase mutations that function cooperatively with PB2-627K in infected patients for optimal human adaptation.
A novel approach for emotion classification based on fusion of text and speech

In this paper we design a system that adopts a novel approach for emotional classification from human dialogue based on text and speech context. Our main objective is to boost the accuracy of speech emotional classification by accounting for the features extracted from the spoken text. The proposed system concatenates text and speech features and feeds them as one input to the classifier. The work builds on past research on music mood classification based on the combination of lyrics and audio features. The innovation in our approach is in the specific application of text and speech fusion for emotion classification and in the choice of features, Furthermore, in the absence of benchmark data, a dataset of movie quotes was developed for testing of emotional classification and future benchmarking. The comparison of the results obtained in each case shows that the hybrid text-speech approach achieves better accuracy than speech or text mining alone.
A novel adrenocorticotropin receptor mutation alters its structure and function, causing familial glucocorticoid deficiency.

CONTEXT Familial glucocorticoid deficiency (FGD) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by unresponsiveness to ACTH. In this study, two mutations of the ACTH receptor (MC2R) gene are reported in this FGD clinical case. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to characterize a novel MC2R gene mutation in a compound heterozygous patient with FGD phenotype. DESIGN This was a clinical case description, biochemical, molecular, and bioinformatics analysis to describe a novel MC2R gene mutation. PATIENTS The subject of the study was a male diagnosed with primary adrenal insufficiency. The family history showed nonconsanguineous healthy parents, three healthy siblings, and one brother affected with FGD. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The mutant MC2R-Ala126Ser showed significantly lower activity when it was stimulated with ACTH-(1-24) than did cells transfected with wild-type MC2R. RESULTS The molecular studies demonstrated the presence of an adenine heterozygous insertion (InsA1347) in the MC2R gene (G217fs) in the patient. This insertion was due to a frame shift mutation in one allele and a premature stop codon codifying an aberrant receptor of 247 residues (27.2 kDa). We also found a novel heterozygous mutation alanine 126 by serine. Molecular dynamic simulations showed that serine 126 side chain fluctuates forming a noncanonical intrahelical hydrogen bond in the transmembrane helix 3 of the mutated receptor. This produces a structural rearrangement of the MC2R internal cavities that may affect the ligand recognition and signal transduction throughout the G protein. CONCLUSIONS We propose a molecular explanation for the reduced activity exhibited by the MC2R alanine 126 by serine mutant.