Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prospective assessment of donor blood screening for antibody to hepatitis C virus and high‐titer antibody to HBcAg as a means of preventing posttransfusion hepatitis

Since December 1989, the Japan Red Cross Blood Bureau has screened blood donors for hepatitis C virus antibody on the basis of enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay and high titers of antibody to HBc antigen. To elucidate the effectiveness of the new screening tests in preventing posttransfusion hepatitis, the incidence of posttransfusion hepatitis after the introduction of the new tests (December 1989 to December 1990) was compared with the incidence before their introduction (January 1982 to December 1988). The incidence of posttransfusion hepatitis was 9.8% (219 of 2240), with a mean transfusion volume of 10.2 units, before the screening and 3.7% (12 of 326), with a mean transfusion volume of 14.7 units, after the introduction of the new tests. Statistical analysis revealed a significant decrease of incidence of posttransfusion non‐A, non‐B hepatitis after the introduction of the new tests (x2 = 10.9, p < 0.01). Posttransfusion hepatitis B occurred in 3 of 2,240 recipients (0.13%) before the introduction of HBc antibody testing. No cases of posttransfusion B viral hepatitis developed after the introduction of the new tests. Hepatitis C virus antibody status was investigated in 7 of 12 posttransfusion hepatitis patients who contracted the disease after the new screening tests were initiated. Hepatitis C virus antibody seroconversion occurred in three of the seven cases (43%), as detected on first‐ and second‐generation hepatitis C virus antibody assays and reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction. (HEPATOLOGY 1993;18:235–239).
Simulation of Multiangular Remote Sensing Products Using Small Satellite Formations

To completely capture the multiangular reflectance of an opaque surface, one must estimate the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF), which seeks to represent variations in surface reflectance as a function of measurement and illumination angles at any time instant. The gap in angular sampling abilities of existing single satellites in Earth observation missions can be complemented by small satellites in formation flight. The formation would have intercalibrated spectrometer payloads making reflectance measurements, at many zenith and azimuthal angles simultaneously. We use a systems engineering tool coupled with a science evaluation tool to demonstrate the performance impact and mission feasibility. Formation designs are generated and compared to each other and multisensor single spacecraft, in terms of estimation error of BRDF and its dependent products such as albedo, light use efficiency (LUE), and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Performance is benchmarked with respect to data from previous airborne campaigns (NASA's Cloud Absorption Radiometer), and tower measurements (AMSPEC II), and assuming known BRDF models. Simulations show that a formation of six small satellites produces lesser average error (21.82%) than larger single spacecraft (23.2%), purely in terms of angular sampling benefits. The average monolithic albedo error of 3.6% is outperformed by a formation of three satellites (1.86%), when arranged optimally and by a formation of seven to eight satellites when arranged in any way. An eight-satellite formation reduces albedo errors to 0.67% and LUE errors from 89.77% (monolithic) to 78.69%. The average NDVI for an eight satellite, nominally maintained formation is better than the monolithic 0.038.
Astrocytes promote neurogenesis from oligodendrocyte precursor cells

The oligodendrocyte precursor cell (OPC) has until recently been regarded as a lineage‐restricted precursor cell. Considerable interest has been generated by reports suggesting that OPCs may possess a wider differentiation potential than previously assumed and thus be considered a multipotential stem cell. This study examined the neuronal differentiation potential of rat, postnatal cortical OPCs in response to extracellular cues in vitro and in vivo. OPCs did not exhibit intrinsic neuronal potential and were restricted to oligodendrocyte lineage potential following treatment with the neural precursor mitogen fibroblast growth factor 2. In contrast, a postnatal hippocampal astrocyte‐derived signal(s) is sufficient to induce functional neuronal differentiation of cortical OPCs in vitro in population and single cell studies. Co‐treatment with Noggin, a bone morphogenetic protein antagonist, did not attenuate neuronal differentiation. Following transplantation to the adult rat hippocampus, cortical OPCs expressed doublecortin, a neuroblast‐associated marker. The present findings show that hippocampal, astrocyte‐derived signals can induce the neuronal differentiation of OPCs through a Noggin‐independent mechanism.
A Sub-1V Low-Power High-Speed Static Frequency Divider

In this paper, a low-power high-speed static frequency divider is proposed. By utilizing the forward body-bias (FBB) technique and parallel switching topology which employ differential PMOS input pair, the proposed 2:1 static frequency divider can not only be operated at a supply voltage of 0.7V but also keep the structure of tail current source to provide constant current. The frequency divider is designed based on TSMC 0.18mum 1p6m CMOS process. The 2:1 frequency divider can be operated up to maximum operating frequency 10.18 GHz while consuming 1.68 mW from a supply voltage of 0.9V. As operating at supply voltage of 0.7V, the operating frequency is 4.07GHz and the power dissipation is 0.96mW.
Subgap Density-of-States-Based Amorphous Oxide Thin Film Transistor Simulator (DeAOTS)

The amorphous oxide thin-film transistor (TFT)-oriented simulator [subgap Density of states (DOS)-based Amorphous Oxide TFT Simulator (DeAOTS)] is proposed, implemented, and demonstrated for amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (a-IGZO) TFTs. It only consists of parameters having their physical meanings and is supplied with concrete techniques for parameter extraction. Among the physical parameters, the acceptor-like DOS gA(E) was experimentally extracted using the multifrequency C-V technique, whereas the donor-like DOS gD(E) and the doping concentration ND were extracted using numerical iterations. The simulation result reproduces the DOS and thin-film-thickness-dependence of dc I-V characteristics very well. Compared with the previously reported a-Si TFT models, the proposed DeAOTS model not only reflects the strong VGS dependence of the effective mobility (μeff) but also clarifies the relations between process-controlled DOS parameters and dc I- V characteristics based on experimentally extracted DOS parameters. Also, it sufficiently takes into account the peculiar situation of amorphous oxide TFTs where the free-carrier charge can be larger than the localized one out of the total induced charge. Moreover, it reproduces the measured electrical characteristics within the wide range of VGS/VDS with a single equation, not distinguishing the operation regions such as the subthreshold, linear, and saturation regimes.
Finite-SNR Diversity-Multiplexing Tradeoff for OFDM Channels

The diversity-multiplexing tradeoff, which relates the transmission reliability and efficiency, is an important performance metric in wireless communications. So far only an asymptotic tradeoff result has been obtained for OFDM channels, and such result is only valid for high SNRs. To characterize the outage performance of OFDM systems in realistic SNRs, a finite-SNR framework that analyzes and describes the diversitymultiplexing tradeoff will be proposed in this paper. New upper and lower bounds on outage probabilities will be derived by using the method of integral round a contour, Laurent series, and the properties of Meijer's G-function and Gamma function. The finite-SNR diversity gain, as a function of the multiplexing gain and SNR, will also be computed by Meijer's G-function. We will then show that the finite-SNR diversity-multiplexing tradeoff will converge to the corresponding asymptotic results as SNR tends to infinity. As a result, the finite-SNR diversity-multiplexing tradeoff can be used to estimate the additional SNR required to decrease the outage probability by a specified amount for a given multiplexing gain.
Re) Negotiating Police culture through partnership working

While a topic of considerable interest in the 1990s and early 2000s, there has been little literature on partnership working in the public sector in recent years. This is surprising given that the practice has been extended through the national roll-out of Neighbourhood Policing in England and Wales in 2008. This paper presents a reassessment of how the police operate in partnership with other agencies. In contrast to the previous literature, our research suggests that police officers involved in partnerships find them effective, crucial to their work and, at times, enjoyable. Rather than conflicting with traditional police culture, partnership work is enhanced by, and enhances, the police orientation towards the pragmatic. We explore the implications of this for our understandings of police culture. Bio: Megan O’Neill is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Salford. Her research interests include police culture, Neighbourhood Policing, partnership working, private policing and Police Community Support Officers. She is currently undertaking a Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship to study the work and experiences of Police Community Support Officers. Bio: Daniel McCarthy is Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Surrey. His research relates to policing, multi-agency working and youth justice. He has published recent articles in The British Journal of Criminology, Critical Social Policy and Policing and Society.
Perceived discrimination in clinical care in a nationally representative sample of HIV-infected adults receiving health care

BACKGROUND: Perceived discrimination in clinical settings could discourage HIV-infected people from seeking health care, adhering to treatment regimens, or returning for follow-up.OBJECTIVES: This study aims to determine whether HIV-infected people perceive that physicians and other health care providers have discriminated against them.DESIGN, PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional data (1996 to 1997) from the HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study (HCSUS), which conducted in-person interviews with a nationally representative probability sample of 2,466 HIV-infected adults receiving health care within the contiguous U.S.MEASUREMENTS: Reports of whether health care providers have been uncomfortable with the respondent, treated the respondent as an inferior, preferred to avoid the respondent, or refused the respondent service. Questions also covered the types of providers who engaged in these behaviors.RESULTS: Twenty-six percent of HIV-infected adults receiving health care reported experiencing at least 1 of 4 types of perceived discrimination by a health care provider since becoming infected with HIV, including 8% who had been refused service. White respondents (32%) were more likely than others (27%) and Latinos (21%) and nearly twice as likely as African Americans (17%) to report perceived discrimination (P<.001). Respondents whose first positive HIV test was longer ago were also more likely to report discrimination (P<.001). Respondents who reported discrimination attributed it to physicians (54%), nurses and other clinical staff (39%), dentists (32%), hospital staff (31%), and case managers or social workers (8%). CONCLUSIONS: Many HIV-infected adults believe that their clinicians have discriminated against them. Clinicians should make efforts to address circumstances that lead patients to perceive discrimination, whether real or imagined.
Transient Modulations of Neural Responses to Heartbeats Covary with Bodily Self-Consciousness

Recent research has investigated self-consciousness associated with the multisensory processing of bodily signals (e.g., somatosensory, visual, vestibular signals), a notion referred to as bodily self-consciousness, and these studies have shown that the manipulation of bodily inputs induces changes in bodily self-consciousness such as self-identification. Another line of research has highlighted the importance of signals from the inside of the body (e.g., visceral signals) and proposed that neural representations of internal bodily signals underlie self-consciousness, which to date has been based on philosophical inquiry, clinical case studies, and behavioral studies. Here, we investigated the relationship of bodily self-consciousness with the neural processing of internal bodily signals. By combining electrical neuroimaging, analysis of peripheral physiological signals, and virtual reality technology in humans, we show that transient modulations of neural responses to heartbeats in the posterior cingulate cortex covary with changes in bodily self-consciousness induced by the full-body illusion. Additional analyses excluded that measured basic cardiorespiratory parameters or interoceptive sensitivity traits could account for this finding. These neurophysiological data link experimentally the cortical mapping of the internal body to self-consciousness. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT What are the brain mechanisms of self-consciousness? Prominent views propose that the neural processing associated with signals from the internal organs (such as the heart and the lung) plays a critical role in self-consciousness. Although this hypothesis dates back to influential views in philosophy and psychology (e.g., William James), definitive experimental evidence supporting this idea is lacking despite its recent impact in neuroscience. In the present study, we show that posterior cingulate activities responding to heartbeat signals covary with changes in participants' conscious self-identification with a body that were manipulated experimentally using virtual reality technology. Our finding provides important neural evidence about the long-standing proposal that self-consciousness is linked to the cortical processing of internal bodily signals.
Comparison of the behavioral and neurochemical effects of the two optical enantiomers of medetomidine, a selective alpha-2-adrenoceptor agonist.

Medetomidine (MED) is a veterinary sedative whose mode of action is activation of alpha-2 adrenoceptors. Because the carbon atom which separates the two ring systems is methylated, there is a center of stereochemical asymmetry in the molecule. The resulting enantiomers, d-MED and l-MED have recently become available for study. The biological activity of MED, as is now demonstrated in rats in vivo, seems to reside almost exclusively in the d-MED form. Only at extremely high doses (e.g., 10 mg/kg) does l-MED exert any effects, interpreted as alpha-2 adrenoceptor antagonism. In contrast, doses of d-MED as low as 30 micrograms/kg cause sedation, hypothermia and induce neurochemical changes in norepinephrine and 5-hydroxytryptamine metabolism in brain characteristic of alpha-2-agonists (decreases in concentrations of biogenic amine metabolites, turnover and increases in concentration of parent amine). The most sensitive neurochemical indicator of the alpha-2-agonist action of d-MED was the concentration of unconjugated 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy-phenyethylene glycol in rat cerebral spinal fluid, doses of d-MED as low as 10 micrograms/kg caused a significant reduction in this norepinephrine metabolite. Simultaneous administration of the specific alpha-2 adrenoceptor antagonist, atipamezole (1 mg/kg), effectively inhibited the behavioral and most of the neurochemical actions of d-MED (100 micrograms/kg). It is concluded that the enantiomers of MED may be extremely useful in elucidating structure action relationships at alpha-2 adrenoceptors.
A scattering methodology for droplet sizing of e-cigarette aerosols

Abstract Context: Knowledge of the droplet size distribution of inhalable aerosols is important to predict aerosol deposition yield at various respiratory tract locations in human. Optical methodologies are usually preferred over the multi-stage cascade impactor for high-throughput measurements of aerosol particle/droplet size distributions. Objective: Evaluate the Laser Aerosol Spectrometer technology based on Polystyrene Sphere Latex (PSL) calibration curve applied for the experimental determination of droplet size distributions in the diameter range typical of commercial e-cigarette aerosols (147–1361 nm). Materials and methods: This calibration procedure was tested for a TSI Laser Aerosol Spectrometer (LAS) operating at a wavelength of 633 nm and assessed against model di-ethyl-hexyl-sebacat (DEHS) droplets and e-cigarette aerosols. The PSL size response was measured, and intra- and between-day standard deviations calculated. Results: DEHS droplet sizes were underestimated by 15–20% by the LAS when the PSL calibration curve was used; however, the intra- and between-day relative standard deviations were < 3%. This bias is attributed to the fact that the index of refraction of PSL calibrated particles is different in comparison to test aerosols. This 15–20% does not include the droplet evaporation component, which may reduce droplet size prior a measurement is performed. Aerosol concentration was measured accurately with a maximum uncertainty of 20%. Count median diameters and mass median aerodynamic diameters of selected e-cigarette aerosols ranged from 130–191 nm to 225–293 nm, respectively, similar to published values. Discussion and conclusion: The LAS instrument can be used to measure e-cigarette aerosol droplet size distributions with a bias underestimating the expected value by 15–20% when using a precise PSL calibration curve. Controlled variability of DEHS size measurements can be achieved with the LAS system; however, this method can only be applied to test aerosols having a refractive index close to that of PSL particles used for calibration.
Glacial survival may matter after all: nunatak signatures in the rare European populations of two west‐arctic species

Biogeographers claimed for more than a century that arctic plants survived glaciations in ice‐free refugia within the limits of the North European ice sheets. Molecular studies have, however, provided overwhelming support for postglacial immigration into northern Europe, even from the west across the Atlantic. For the first time we can here present molecular evidence strongly favouring in situ glacial persistence of two species, the rare arctic‐alpine pioneer species Sagina caespitosa and Arenaria humifusa. Both belong to the ‘west‐arctic element’ of amphi‐Atlantic disjuncts, having their few and only European occurrences well within the limits of the last glaciation. Sequencing of non‐coding regions of chloroplast DNA revealed only limited variation. However, two very distinct and partly diverse genetic groups, one East and one West Atlantic, were detected in each species based on amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs), excluding postglacial dispersal from North America as explanation for their European occurrences. Patterns of genetic diversity and distinctiveness indicate that glacial populations existed in East Greenland and/or Svalbard (A. humifusa) and in southern Scandinavia (S. caespitosa). Despite their presumed lack of long‐distance dispersal adaptations, intermixed populations in several regions indicate postglacial contact zones. Both species are declining in Nordic countries, probably due to climate change‐induced habitat loss. Little or no current connectivity between their highly fragmented and partly distinct populations call for conservation of several populations in each geographic region.
Recent Advances in Click Chemistry Applied to Dendrimer Synthesis

Dendrimers are monodisperse polymers grown in a fractal manner from a central point. They are poised to become the cornerstone of nanoscale devices in several fields, ranging from biomedicine to light-harvesting. Technical difficulties in obtaining these molecules has slowed their transfer from academia to industry. In 2001, the arrival of the “click chemistry” concept gave the field a major boost. The flagship reaction, a modified Hüisgen cycloaddition, allowed researchers greater freedom in designing and building dendrimers. In the last five years, advances in click chemistry saw a wider use of other click reactions and a notable increase in the complexity of the reported structures. This review covers key developments in the click chemistry field applied to dendrimer synthesis from 2010 to 2015. Even though this is an expert review, basic notions and references have been included to help newcomers to the field.
Shear-Layer Manipulation of Backward-Facing Step Flow with Forcing: A Numerical Study

By means of experimental and numerical analysis, turbulent flow separation has long been extensively studied. This is not only due to its interesting intrinsic flow features for fundamental studies, but also for its significance in engineering applications in relation to, among others, turbulent heat transfer, drag and noise generation. In the presence of sharp edges, protuberances, curvature surfaces and/or adverse pressure gradient, boundary layer separation is usually accompanied with free shear layer detaching from the wall surface and being characterized by consequent vortex motions and flow recirculation. Flow control of boundary layer separation has usually targeted to delay the separation onset in order to suppress the separation. In many cases, for example, to control the vortex motion behind a bluff body in relation to noise and drag generation, the modulation introduced by flow control actuators modifies the free shear layer stemmed from the separating point. By means of hybrid RANS-LS computations, the main purpose of the present work is to explore the manipulation on separated shear layer subjected to forcing-type actuation. A backward facing step (BFS) flow has thus been computationally analysed, with a focus on the free shear layer detaching from the step edge and reattached on the downstream bottom wall.
High penetration PV deployment in the Arizona Public Service system

In an effort to better understand the impacts of high penetrations of photovoltaic (PV) generators on distribution systems, Arizona Public Service (APS) and its partners have begun work on a multi-year project to develop the tools and knowledgebase needed to safely and reliably integrate high penetrations of utility and residential scale PV. Building upon the APS Community Power Project — Flagstaff Pilot, this project will analyze the impact of PV on a representative feeder in northeast Flagstaff. To quantify and catalog the effects of the estimated 1.5 MW of PV that will be installed on the feeder (both smaller units at homes as well as large, centrally located systems), high-speed weather and electrical data acquisition systems and digital "smart" meters are being designed and installed to facilitate monitoring and to build and validate comprehensive, high-resolution models of the distribution system. These models will be used to analyze the impacts of the PV on distribution circuit protection systems (including anti-islanding), predict voltage regulation and phase balance issues, and develop volt / var control schemes. The goal of this paper is to provide insight and lessons learned on the early stages of high penetration PV deployment. Primarily focusing on modeling and data acquisition, this paper describes the overall project, early results, and plans for future phases of the project.