Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Molecular Basis of β-Thalassemia in the Western Province of Saudi Arabia: Identification of Rare β-Thalassemia Mutations

This study aimed at the identification of the spectrum of mutations in patients with β-thalassemia (β-thal) in the western province of Saudi Arabia. Screening for the mutations was done using the polymerase chain reaction-amplification refractory mutation system (PCR-ARMS) technique to test for 12 mutations, and direct automated DNA sequencing for the unknown samples. The study included 172 patients; of these 15 patients had sickle cell anemia and one Hb S [β6(A3)Glu→Val, GAG>GTG]/β-thal. A total of 23 mutations were identified to cause the disease in the western area. Seven common mutations were responsible for the β-thal alleles in 78% of patients and could be detected by the ARMS technique: IVS-II-1 (G>A), IVS-I-110 (G>A), IVS-I-5 (G>C), codon 39 (C>T), codon 26 (G>A) [Hb E or β26(B8)Glu→Lys, GAG>AAG], frameshift codons (FSC) 8/9 (+G), and IVS-I-1 (G>A). DNA sequencing of uncharacterized alleles detected eight less common mutations: FSC 41/42 (–TCTT), IVS-I 25 bp deletion, codon 37 (G>A), FSC 44 (–C), Cap site +1 (A>C), IVS-I-6 (T>C), FSC 5 (–CT) and IVS-I-1 (G>T), and eight rare mutations: −87 (C>G), initiation codon −1 (T>G), codon 15 (G>A), FSC 16 (–C), FSC 20/21 (+G), codon 27 (G>A), IVS-I-130 (G>C) and IVS-II-837 (A>C). Four alleles were normal by DNA sequencing. Genetic heterogeneity was observed in this study, 10 mutations were of Asian or Asian/Indian origin, two were Kurdish, one Chinese, one Turkish, one Saudi, and the remainder were of Mediterranean origin. The presence of a large population of immigrants in the western province is responsible for the great heterogeneity at the molecular level, and for the difference observed in the frequencies of mutations from those reported in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia. Screening for β-thal mutations using PCR-ARMS for the seven most frequent mutations in the Saudi population followed by DNA sequencing of the unknown alleles could be useful for the implementation of a strategy for carrier detection and preimplantation genetic diagnosis in high risk families.
Fabrication of strained Ge on insulator via room temperature wafer bonding

This work describes a strained germanium on insulator (GeOI) fabrication process using wafer bonding and etch-back techniques. The strained Ge layer is fabricated epitaxially using reduced pressure chemical vapor deposition (RPCVD). The strained Ge is grown pseudomorphic on top of a partially relaxed Si0.66Ge0. 34 layer. Wafer bonding is performed at room temperature without post-anneal processes and the etch-back steps are performed without mechanical grinding and chemical mechanical polishing (CMP).
Performance of joint direction-of-departure and direction-of-arrival estimation in UWB MIMO radars detecting targets with fluctuating radar cross sections

This paper evaluated the performance of joint direction-of-departure (DOD) and direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation in ultra wideband (UWB) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radars detecting a target with fluctuating radar cross sections (RCS). The UWB MIMO radar utilized a combination of two-way multiple signal classification (MUSIC) algorithm and majority decision scheme. Numerical simulations were carried out to evaluate the performance of the proposed scheme while detecting Weibull targets using UWB signals with different bandwidth. It was found that the estimation performance improved with increasing signal bandwidth.
Serum response factor and myocardin mediate arterial hypercontractility and cerebral blood flow dysregulation in Alzheimer's phenotype

Cerebral angiopathy contributes to cognitive decline and dementia in Alzheimer's disease (AD) through cerebral blood flow (CBF) reductions and dysregulation. We report vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) in small pial and intracerebral arteries, which are critical for CBF regulation, express in AD high levels of serum response factor (SRF) and myocardin (MYOCD), two interacting transcription factors that orchestrate a VSMC-differentiated phenotype. Consistent with this finding, AD VSMC overexpressed several SRF-MYOCD-regulated contractile proteins and exhibited a hypercontractile phenotype. MYOCD overexpression in control human cerebral VSMC induced an AD-like hypercontractile phenotype and diminished both endothelial-dependent and -independent relaxation in the mouse aorta ex vivo. In contrast, silencing SRF normalized contractile protein content and reversed a hypercontractile phenotype in AD VSMC. MYOCD in vivo gene transfer to mouse pial arteries increased contractile protein content and diminished CBF responses produced by brain activation in wild-type mice and in two AD models, the Dutch/Iowa/Swedish triple mutant human amyloid β-peptide (Aβ)-precursor protein (APP)- expressing mice and APPsw+/− mice. Silencing Srf had the opposite effect. Expression of SRF did not change in VSMC subjected to Alzheimer's neurotoxin, Aβ. Thus, SRF-MYOCD overexpression in small cerebral arteries appears to initiate independently of Aβ a pathogenic pathway mediating arterial hypercontractility and CBF dysregulation, which are associated with Alzheimer's dementia.
RLSA Bessel beam launchers using Hankel waves

In this paper the focusing capabilities of a radiating aperture taking on an Hankel-like distribution are demonstrated. In the case of an infinite aperture distribution, an analytical approach is followed. In the case of an inward Hankel wave, the ideal non-diffractive Bessel beam shape is observed for the longitudinal z-component of the electric field in a conical region close to the axis of symmetry of the aperture. In the finite case, an asymptotic approximation is used to evaluate the diffractive contributions due to the aperture truncation and to verify the conclusions of the infinite case. A radial waveguide loaded with annular slots is therefore designed and optimized as a practical implementation of the proposed Bessel beam launcher validating the theoretical results.
Will REDD+ Safeguards Mitigate Corruption? Qualitative Evidence from Southeast Asia

Abstract High levels of faith and finance are being invested in REDD+ as a promising global climate change mitigation policy. Since its inception in 2007, corruption has been viewed as a potential impediment to the achievement of REDD+ goals, partly motivating ‘safeguards’ rolled out as part of national REDD+ readiness activities. We compare corruption mitigation measures adopted as part of REDD+ safeguards, drawing on qualitative case evidence from three Southeast Asian countries that have recently piloted the scheme: Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. We find that while REDD+ safeguards adopt a conventional principal-agent approach to tackling corruption in the schemes, our case evidence confirms our theoretical expectation that REDD+ corruption risks are perceived to arise not only from principal-agent type problems: they are also linked to embedded pro-corruption social norms. This implies that REDD+ safeguards are likely to be at best partially effective against corruption, and at worst will not mitigate corruption at all.
Report: Atmospheric pollutants discharged from municipal solid waste incineration and gasification-melting facilities in Japan

This article reports on the discharge of particulate matter, acid gases, nitrogen oxides, and dioxins from 107 municipal solid waste incineration and gasification-melting facilities in Japan between the years 2001 and 2003; the pollution control methods and the operational data are summarized. The knowledge on amounts of slaked lime used and the emission of acid gases is reported, the emission concentrations did not exceed the limit values in all facilities. In Japan, the regulation of dioxin emissions by the revised Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law (Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan 2007) has been enforced since December 1997. Bag filters have been installed in all facilities constructed after this time, and catalytic reactors have been installed in 66% of these facilities. The regulated values for combustion temperature, the cooling temperature of gases discharged from furnaces and the concentration of carbon monoxide in the gases discharged from stacks were satisfactory in almost all facilities. In facilities constructed since December 1997, the dioxin concentrations in the discharged gases were considerably lower than in those constructed before this time. All facilities met the emission limit values for particulate matter, acid gases, nitrogen oxides and dioxins.
Registration Based on Scene Recognition and Natural Features Tracking Techniques for Wide-Area Augmented Reality Systems

This research focuses on designing a robust and flexible registration method for wide-area augmented reality applications using scene recognition and natural features tracking techniques. Instead of building a global map of the wide-area scene, we propose to partition the whole scene into several sub-maps according to the user's preference or the requirements of the augmented reality (AR) applications. Random classification trees are used to learn and recognize the reconstructed scenes because they naturally handle multi-class problems, while being both robust and fast. The result is a system that can deal with large scale scene that previous methods cannot cope with. We also propose a hybrid natural features tracking strategy combining both wide and narrow baseline techniques. While providing seamless registration, our system can recover from registration failures and switch between different sub-maps automatically. Experimental results demonstrate the validity of the proposed method for wide-area augmented reality applications.
The social context of hormone and silicone injection among Puerto Rican transwomen

Abstract This paper draws on ethnographic, qualitative and survey data with transwomen in Puerto Rico to examine the social and political-economic context of lay injection with hormone and silicone – common practices within this community. We describe specific practices of hormone and silicone injection, the actors that govern them, the market for the sale and distribution of syringes and the networks of lay specialists who provide services to a population that is neglected by and largely excluded from biomedical settings. Our data derive from ethnographic observations, sociodemographic questionnaires, surveys and semi-structured interviews conducted with a diverse group of transwomen in metropolitan San Juan, Puerto Rico. Our analysis focuses on four overlapping social domains or processes that shape the practices of lay silicone and hormone injection among transwomen: (1) the circulation of gender transitioning technologies within local and global markets; (2) the tension between the social exclusion of transwomen and their resilient sub-cultural responses; (3) the cultural meanings that shape transwomen’s attitudes about injection; and (4) the perceived consequences of injection. We conclude with a discussion of the kinds of intervention and policy changes that would respond to the factors that most endanger transwomen’s health.
Leadership For Student Engagement

v TABLE OF CONTENTS . vi LIST OF TABLES . x LIST OF FIGURES . xi CHAPTER ONE . 1 Problem Statement . 6 Purpose of Study . 8 Research Questions . 10 Organization of Study . 10 Conceptual Framework . 11 Definition of Terms. 19 Significance of Study . 21 CHAPTER TWO . 24 Introduction . 24 Transformational Leadership Theory . 25 Self-Efficacy and Cognitive Theory . 28
[2010] OREX - An Optical Ring with Electrical Crossbar Hybrid Photonic Network-on-Chip

The role of network-on-chip (NoC) is becoming more important as the number of processing elements (PE) integration onto a single chip increases. Lowering power consumption while providing capability of high-performance communication is a challenging problem for the design of future NoCs. In this paper we propose OREX, which is a hybrid NoC consisting of an optical ring and an electrical crossbar central router. OREX takes advantage of both electrical and optical technology designs state-of-art to deliver a high data rate transfer NoC at an acceptable power consumption cost. Using a cycle accurate simulator, we evaluate the proposed hybrid NoC. Simulation experiment shows that OREX presents slightly better communication performance in terms of bandwidth and power consumption compare to a conventional hybrid photonic torus network.
Series active conditionners for reliable Smart grid: A comprehensive review

The development of active power compensators and power conditioners lead to eminent solutions to improve power quality. Among these emerging solutions, the Series Active Filter is relatively immature compared to shunt and hybrid configurations. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the Series compensator history, configurations, control strategies, and related involvements in this field. It provides a perspective of Series active compensator's technology to researchers dealing with power quality issues. This paper tries to promote industrial application of series compensators for future Smart grids.
The kinematic analysis and stiffness optimization for an 8-DOF cable-driven manipulator

This paper proposed an 8-degrees-of-freedom (8-DOF) cable-driven robotic arm (CDRA) composed of four identical 2-DOF cable-driven joints with variable stiffness. The proposed cable-driven joints are equipped with variable stiffness devices to increase the stiffness adjustable range. Therefore, an inverse displacement algorithm is proposed for this redundant robotic arm using the conjugate gradient method. A rotation control function is employed as an objective to minimize due to the character that the cable-driven joints has a larger stiffness range when the joint angle is small. With such algorithm, the joint angles will have a larger stiffness range. Then, the stiffness of the CDRA is analyzed with the body manipulator Jacobian employed. An optimization algorithm using similar conjugate gradient method is proposed to obtain the desired stiffness. Low cable tension level could be obtained with a "tension level index" employed in the optimization. A simulation of the algorithm is conducted and the result shows that such method is effective and computational efficient.
Methane emission from global livestock sector during 1890–2014: Magnitude, trends and spatiotemporal patterns

Human demand for livestock products has increased rapidly during the past few decades largely due to dietary transition and population growth, with significant impact on climate and the environment. The contribution of ruminant livestock to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has been investigated extensively at various scales from regional to global, but the long‐term trend, regional variation and drivers of methane (CH4) emission remain unclear. In this study, we use Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Tier II guidelines to quantify the evolution of CH4 emissions from ruminant livestock during 1890–2014. We estimate that total CH4 emissions in 2014 was 97.1 million tonnes (MT) CH4 or 2.72 Gigatonnes (Gt) CO2‐eq (1 MT = 1012 g, 1 Gt = 1015 g) from ruminant livestock, which accounted for 47%–54% of all non‐CO2 GHG emissions from the agricultural sector. Our estimate shows that CH4 emissions from the ruminant livestock had increased by 332% (73.6 MT CH4 or 2.06 Gt CO2‐eq) since the 1890s. Our results further indicate that livestock sector in drylands had 36% higher emission intensity (CH4 emissions/km2) compared to that in nondrylands in 2014, due to the combined effect of higher rate of increase in livestock population and low feed quality. We also find that the contribution of developing regions (Africa, Asia and Latin America) to the total CH4 emissions had increased from 51.7% in the 1890s to 72.5% in the 2010s. These changes were driven by increases in livestock numbers (LU units) by up to 121% in developing regions, but decreases in livestock numbers and emission intensity (emission/km2) by up to 47% and 32%, respectively, in developed regions. Our results indicate that future increases in livestock production would likely contribute to higher CH4 emissions, unless effective strategies to mitigate GHG emissions in livestock system are implemented.
Is there an association between subjective and objective measures of cognitive function in patients with affective disorders?

Background: Patients with affective disorders experience cognitive dysfunction in addition to their affective symptoms. The relationship between subjectively experienced and objectively measured cognitive function is controversial with several studies reporting no correlation between subjective and objective deficits. Aims: To investigate whether there is a correlation between subjectively reported and objectively measured cognitive function in patients with affective disorders, and whether subjective complaints predict objectively measured dysfunction. Methods: The study included 45 participants; 15 with bipolar disorder (BD), 15 with unipolar disorder (UD) and 15 healthy individuals. Participants’ subjectively experienced cognitive function and objective cognitive function were assessed with the Massachusetts General Hospital Cognitive and Physical Functioning Questionnaire (CPFQ) and the Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry (SCIP), respectively. Patients were rated for affective symptoms with Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS). Results: Patients demonstrated subjective and objective cognitive dysfunction relative to controls (P-values ≤ 0.01) but there were no differences between patient groups (P > 0.1). We found no correlation between subjectively experienced and objectively measured cognitive dysfunction in BD (P = 0.7), and a non-significant trend towards a correlation in UD (P = 0.06), which disappeared when controlling for gender (P = 0.1). Conclusion: Our results suggest that it is not necessarily patients who have cognitive complaints that are most impaired. If confirmed in a larger sample, our findings suggest that neuropsychological assessment is warranted to elucidate the potential role of cognitive dysfunction in patients’ everyday lives and to inform treatment strategies targeting these difficulties.
Factors affecting cervical cancer screening uptake by Hmong hilltribe women in Thailand.

BACKGROUND Cervical cancer is relatively common in Thai women, but the proportion of females receiving Pap smear screening is still low. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to study factors related to cervical cancer screening uptake by Hmong hilltribe women in Lomkao District, Phetchabun Province. MATERIALS AND METHODS Interview data were collected from 547 of these women aged 30-60 years living in the study area and analyzed using multiple logistic regression. RESULTS The results showed that 64.9% of the study sample had received screening, and that 47.2% had attended due to a cervical screening campaign. The most common reason given for not receiving screening was lack of time (21.4%). The factors found to be positively associated with uptake (p value <0.05) were as follows: number of years of school attendance (OR=1.56, 95%CI:1.02-2.38), animistic religious beliefs (OR=0.55, 95%CI:0.33-0.91), a previous pregnancy (OR=6.20, 95%CI:1.36-28.35), receipt of information about cervical cancer screening (OR=2.25, 95%CI:1.35-3.76), and perceived risk of developing cervical cancer (OR=1.83, 95%CI:1.25-2.67). CONCLUSIONS To promote the uptake of cervical screening, Hmong hilltribe women need to know more about cervical cancer and cervical cancer screening, and access to screening services should be provided in conjunction with existing everyday services, such as family planning and routine blood pressure monitoring or diabetes services.
A randomized controlled trial of cognitive-behavioral therapy for persistent symptoms in schizophrenia resistant to medication.

BACKGROUND Research evidence supports the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy in the treatment of drug-refractory positive symptoms of schizophrenia. Although the cumulative evidence is strong, early controlled trials showed methodological limitations. METHODS A randomized controlled design was used to compare the efficacy of manualized cognitive-behavioral therapy developed particularly for schizophrenia with that of a nonspecific befriending control intervention. Both interventions were delivered by 2 experienced nurses who received regular supervision. Patients were assessed by blind raters at baseline, after treatment (lasting up to 9 months), and at a 9-month follow-up evaluation. Patients continued to receive routine care throughout the study. An assessor blind to the patients' treatment groups rated the technical quality of audiotaped sessions chosen at random. Analysis was by intention to treat. RESULTS Ninety patients received a mean of 19 individual treatment sessions over 9 months, with no significant between-group differences in treatment duration. Both interventions resulted in significant reductions in positive and negative symptoms and depression. At the 9-month follow-up evaluation, patients who had received cognitive therapy continued to improve, while those in the befriending group did not. These results were not attributable to changes in prescribed medication. CONCLUSION Cognitive-behavioral therapy is effective in treating negative as well as positive symptoms in schizophrenia resistant to standard antipsychotic drugs, with its efficacy sustained over 9 months of follow-up.
A unified approach to c-means clustering models

In order to improve the accuracy, robustness, and computational load of c-means clustering models, a series of hybrid solutions have been proposed. Mixtures of fuzzy (FCM) and possibilistic c-means (PCM) clustering generally attempted to avoid the noise sensitivity of the former and the coincident clusters of the latter. On the other hand, mixtures of fuzzy and hard c-means (HCM) have been proposed to speed up fuzzy clustering without losing the quality of its partitions. In this paper, a novel hybrid c-means algorithmic scheme is proposed that unifies the objective functions of all three conventional clustering models. The strength of each component within the mixture is controlled by two tradeoff parameters. The optimization of the proposed objective function is achieved using the alternating optimization derived from zero gradient conditions and Lagrange multipliers. The novel hybrid's behavior is evaluated in terms of classification accuracy, cluster validity and execution time, using the IRIS data set. Suitably chosen tradeoff parameters enable the proposed algorithm to achieve better accuracy than previous models, while performing less computations.