Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Linearized Darlington Cascode Amplifier Employing GaAs PHEMT and GaN HEMT Technologies

This paper reports on the results of a new Darlington cascode (DCAS) feedback amplifier topology implemented with 0.5 mum E-mode GaAs PHEMT technology. The Darlington cascode employs active self-bias and a linearizing Darlington cascode circuit for achieving enhanced gain and IP3-bandwidth performance. The Darlington cascode achieves 12.5 dB gain with a 16 GHz 3 dB bandwidth (BW)-a 60% BW improvement over an equivalent conventional Darlington amplifier design. The DCAS obtains an IP3 of 29 dBm with a 13 GHz BW-an 80% improvement in IP3-BW over the conventional Darlington approach. These improvements have been obtained without significantly compromising noise figure, stability, or bias robustness. The DCAS amplifier design approach was also successfully applied to a high-voltage GaN HEMT technology and resulted in greater than 1 W output power over a multi-octave 1-4GHz band. The DCAS topology offers an approach for compacting high microwave performance into a small area without the use of distributed or reactive matching techniques.
Maturation of granule cell dendrites after mossy fiber arrival in hippocampal field CA3

Most granule neurons in the rat dentate gyrus are born over the course of the first 2 postnatal weeks. The resulting heterogeneity has made it difficult to define the relationship between dendritic and axonal maturation and to delineate a time course for the morphological development of the oldest granule neurons. By depositing crystals of the fluorescent label DiI in hippocampal field CA3, we retrogradely labeled granule neurons in fixed tissue slices from rats aged 2–9 days. The results showed that all labeled granule cells, regardless of the age of the animal, exhibited apical dendrites. On day 2, every labeled neuron had rudimentary apical dendrites, and a few dendrites on each cell displayed immature features such as growth cones, varicosities, and filopodia. Some cells displayed basal dendrites. By day 4, the most mature granule neurons had longer and more numerous apical branches, as well as various immature features. Most had basal dendrites. On days 5 and 6, the immature features and the basal dendrites had begun to regress on the oldest cells, and varying numbers of spines were present. On day 7, the first few adult‐like neurons were seen: immature features and basal dendrites had disappeared, all dendrites reached the top of the molecular layer, and the entire dendritic tree was covered with spines. These data show that dendritic outgrowth occurs before, or concurrent with, axon arrival in the CA3 target region, and that adult‐like granule neurons are present by the end of the first week. Hippocampus 2003;13:413–427. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Synergistic policy and virtual machine consolidation in cloud data centers

In modern Cloud Data Centers (DC)s, correct implementation of network policies is crucial to provide secure, efficient and high performance services for tenants. It is reported that the inefficient management of network policies accounts for 78% of DC downtime, challenged by the dynamically changing network characteristics and by the effects of dynamic Virtual Machine (VM) consolidation. While there has been significant research in policy and VM management, they have so far been treated as disjoint research problems. In this paper, we explore the simultaneous, dynamic VM and policy consolidation, and formulate the Policy-VM Consolidation (PVC) problem, which is shown to be NP-Hard. We then propose Sync, an efficient and synergistic scheme to jointly consolidate network policies and virtual machines. Extensive evaluation results and a testbed implementation of our controller show that policy and VM migration under Sync significantly reduces flow end-to-end delay by nearly 40%, and network-wide communication cost by 50% within few seconds, while adhering strictly to the requirements of network policies.
Long-Term Effects of Early Overnutrition in the Heart of Male Adult Rats: Role of the Renin-Angiotensin System

To analyze the long-term effects of early overfeeding on the heart and coronary circulation, the effect of ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) and the role of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) was studied in isolated hearts from control and overfed rats during lactation. On the day of birth litters were adjusted to twelve pups per mother (controls) or to three pups per mother (overfed). At 5 months of age, the rats from reduced litters showed higher body weight and body fat than the controls. The hearts from these rats were perfused in a Langendorff system and subjected to 30 min of ischemia followed by 15 min of reperfusion (I/R). The myocardial contractility (dP/dt) and the coronary vasoconstriction to angiotensin II were lower, and the expression of the apoptotic marker was higher, in the hearts from overfed rats compared to controls. I/R reduced the myocardial contractily, the coronary vasoconstriction to angiotensin II and the vasodilatation to bradykinin, and increased the expression of (pro)renin receptor and of apoptotic and antiapoptotic markers, in both experimental groups. I/R also increased the expression of angiotensinogen in control but not in overfed rats. In summary, the results of this study suggest that early overnutrition induces reduced activity of the RAS and impairment of myocardial and coronary function in adult life, due to increased apoptosis. Ischemia-reperfusion produced myocardial and coronary impairment and apoptosis, which may be related to activation of RAS in control but not in overfed rats, and there may be protective mechanisms in both experimental groups.
A Prospective Study of the Relationship between Lower Body Stiffness and Hamstring Injury in Professional Australian Rules Footballers

Background Hamstring strains remain one of the most prevalent injuries in Australian Rules football. The authors prospectively examined the relationship between musculotendinous stiffness of the hamstring and leg stiffness with hamstring injury in professional Australian Rules footballers during the 2006 season. Hypothesis Higher hamstring stiffness and leg stiffness are related to noncontact, soft tissue hamstring injury risk in professional Australian Rules footballers. Study Design Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods Unilateral hamstring stiffness and leg stiffness were assessed in 136 professional footballers in the month before the commencement of the competitive season. This information was then investigated relative to players who suffered noncontact, soft tissue hamstring injuries during either matches or training throughout the season to identify whether preseason stiffness was related to injury occurrence. Results Fourteen tested players recorded acute, noncontact hamstring injuries, resulting in 3.3 ± 2.8 weeks of missed match play per injury. At preseason testing, the players who ended up sustaining a hamstring injury during the season recorded significantly higher mean hamstring stiffness (11%, P = .04) and leg stiffness (5%, P = .03). When considering the injured players, the leg stiffness of the involved limb was significantly higher than the noninjured players (P = .02), whereas hamstring stiffness was significantly higher on the noninvolved limb (P = .01). Further, those players who suffered a hamstring injury were significantly older than the noninjured players (P = .01). Conclusion It appears that a high bilateral hamstring stiffness and leg stiffness may be a determinant in the risk of sustaining a hamstring injury. Further, relatively lower hamstring stiffness in the involved limb of injured players appears to be associated with increased injury and may be related to a lack of strength. The information from stiffness assessment may allow medical staff to determine the hamstring risk status for individual players in team sports.
Wild-type Splicing Factor U2AF1 inhibits splicing associated with a recurrent U2AF1 mutant in human lung cancers and is required for cell survival

The splicing factor gene, U2AF1, is recurrently mutated in a variety of human cancers, including lung adenocarcinomas. The most frequent U2AF1 mutant, U2AF1 p.Ser34Phe (S34F), induces specific changes in splicing that we collectively refer to as 'S34F-associated splicing', but it is unclear how these splicing changes are regulated. Moreover, while a wild-type U2AF1 allele is retained in all cancers expressing a U2AF1 mutation, the functional significance of the retained wild-type allele is unknown. Our analysis of published data on human lung adenocarcinomas indicates that lung adenocarcinomas carrying a U2AF1 S34F allele exhibit a wide range of mutant to wild-type U2AF1 (S34F:WT) mRNA ratios, which can be partially attributed to copy number variation at the U2AF1 locus. S34F:WT mRNA ratios, rather than absolute levels of U2AF1 S34F or total U2AF1 mRNA, correlate positively with the magnitude of S34F-associated splicing in lung adenocarcinoma transcriptomes. To examine the effect of S34F:WT ratios on S34F-associated splicing directly, we modified a human bronchial epithelial cell line so that U2AF1 S34F is expressed at one of the two endogenous U2AF1 loci and the S34F:WT mRNA ratio approximates one. By altering the levels of mutant or wild-type U2AF1 in this engineered cell line, we show that the degree of S34F-associated splicing is proportional to the ratio of S34F:WT gene products and not to absolute levels of either the mutant or wild-type factor. Further, we show that in nearly all cases, S34F-associated splicing alterations are largely explained by the different RNA binding affinities of recombinant protein complexes containing wild-type or mutant U2AF1. Together, these observations suggest that wild-type U2AF1 is a negative regulator of S34F-associated splicing, at least in part through differential binding to 3' splice sites. Finally, we show that the U2AF1 S34F allele does not behave like some oncogenes: the mutated gene does not induce cell transformation, and lung adenocarcinoma cell lines are not dependent on it for growth in vitro or in vivo. Wild-type U2AF1, however, is absolutely required for cell survival, regardless of whether the cells carry the U2AF1 S34F allele. We conclude that wild-type U2AF1 has two important functions in U2AF1 S34F-expressing lung cancers: it controls the magnitude of S34F-associated splicing, and it is essential for cell survival.
MDLT: a polynomial time optimal algorithm for maximization of time-to-first- failure in energy constrained wireless broadcast networks

We consider the problem of maximizing the time-to-first-failure, defined as the time till the first node in the network runs out of battery energy, in energy constrained broadcast wireless networks. We discuss a greedy algorithm and prove that it solves the problem optimally for a broadcast application, in polynomial time, provided the complete power matrix and the battery residual capacities are known.
Multiobjective Optimization of Mediterranean Building Design

The purpose of this work is to test the efficiency of metaheuristics to solve the optimization problem of the design of Mediterranean buildings. We are interested in the minimisation of the energy load as well as the monetary cost. It is an interesting decision support problem because both energy and monetary costs depend on several parameters and the multiobjective optimal solution cannot be easily predicted. We propose to use genetic algorithms to solve this multiobjective problem. Two algorithm based on this techniques were developed using two different approaches to combine the energy and the economic criteria. These approaches are the Goal Programming and the Pareto Optimality. The results obtained by these two algorithms are quite interesting and very encouraging.
Timing of Tympanostomy Tube Placement and Efficacy of Palatoplasty Technique on the Resolution of Chronic Otitis Media: A Cross-sectional Analysis

Background: Chronic otitis media with effusion is a persistent complication essentially universal in children with cleft palate. The prevalence of chronic otitis media with effusion is hypothesized to be a result of Eustachian tube dysfunction secondary to the anomalous insertion of the palatal musculature. This study was designed to evaluate the timing of tympanostomy tube placement and the effect of primary palatoplasty technique on the recovery of Eustachian tube function and resolution of chronic otitis media with effusion. Methods: We performed a retrospective, cross-sectional analysis of the previous 99 consecutive patients who underwent a palatoplasty at our institution. Variables included timing of initial tympanostomy tube placement, palatoplasty technique, cleft type, and gender. These were then evaluated to assess their impact on the resolution of chronic otitis media with effusion. Resolution was established as an inverse function of the number of tympanostomy tubes placed in correlation with available audiometric/tympanographic data. For all models, a generalized linear mixed model was applied using a Poisson distribution and a log-link function where the outcome variable was the total number of tympanostomy tubes. For all tests, a P = . 05 level of significance was used. Results: Of 99 palatoplasties performed, 94 patients were included in the study. Ninety-one percent of patients had documented chronic otitis media with effusion at the time of palatoplasty. Forty-four percent underwent straight-line repair with aggressive intravelar veloplasty, 36% had Furlow double z-plasty, 20% had straight-line repair without intravelar veloplasty. There was a statistically significant difference (F2,83 = 5.36, P = .0065) between the 3 types of repair. The mean number of tubes placed was 0.6000 ± 0.1225, 0.8519 ± 0.1776, and 1.4737 ± 0.2785 for intravelar veloplasty, Furlow double z-plasty, and straight line without intravelar veloplasty, respectively . With regard to the timing of tympanostomy tube placement, there was a trend toward statistical significant (F2,83 = 3.02, P = .0540) in the mean number of tube insertions was 1.4286 ± 0.4518, 0.6964 ± 0.1115, and 1.1304 ± 0.2217 when the initial set was placed before palatoplasty, at the time of palatoplasty, and after palatoplasty, respectively. Conclusions: Despite its inherent limitations, this study suggests that palatal musculature reconstruction via intravelar veloplasty or reorientation via Furlow double z-plasty may improve Eustachian tube function and lower the need for tympanostomy tubes in this population. In comparison with other time points, patients who underwent initial tympanostomy tube placement at the time of palatoplasty trended toward improved chronic otitis media with effusion.
Sketch-based shape exploration using multiscale free-form surface editing

Abstract The hierarchical construction of solid models with current computer-aided design systems provide little support in creating and editing free-form surfaces commonly encountered in industrial design. In this work, we propose a new design exploration method that enables sketch-based editing of free-form surface geometries where specific modifications can be applied at different levels of detail. This multilevel detail approach allows the designer to work from existing models and make alterations at coarse and fine representations of the geometry, thereby providing increased conceptual flexibility during modeling. At the heart of our approach lies a multiscale representation of the geometry obtained through a spectral analysis on the discrete free-form surface. This representation is accompanied by a sketch-based surface editing algorithm that enables edits to be made at different levels. The seamless transfer of modifications across different levels of detail facilitates a fluid exploration of the geometry by eliminating the need for a manual specification of the shape hierarchy. We demonstrate our method with several design examples.
A Reduce Task Scheduler for MapReduce with Minimum Transmission Cost Based on Sampling Evaluation

MapReduce is a popular framework for processing large datasets in parallel over a cluster. It has gained wide attention for its high scalability, reliability and low cost. However, its performance may be degraded by excessive network traffic when processing jobs, for such two problems as data locality in reduce task scheduling and partitioning skew. We propose a Minimum Transmission Cost Reduce task Scheduler (MTCRS) based on sampling evaluation to solve the two problems. The MTCRS takes the waiting time of each reduce task and the transmission cost set as indicators to decide appropriate launching locations for Reduce tasks. The transmission cost set is computed by a mathematical model, in which the parameters are the sizes and the locations of intermediate data partitions generated by Average Reservoir Sampling (ARS) algorithm. The experiments show that the MTCRS reduces network traffic by 8.4% compared with Fair scheduler.
WAG2 represses apical hook opening downstream from gibberellin and PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR 5

When penetrating the soil during germination, dicotyledonous plants protect their shoot apical meristem through the formation of an apical hook. Apical hook formation is a dynamic process that can be subdivided into hook formation, maintenance and opening. It has previously been established that these processes require the transport and signaling of the phytohormone auxin, as well as the biosynthesis and signaling of the phytohormones ethylene and gibberellin (GA). Here, we identify a molecular mechanism for an auxin-GA crosstalk by demonstrating that the auxin transport-regulatory protein kinase WAG2 is a crucial transcription target during apical hook opening downstream from GA signaling. We further show that WAG2 is directly activated by PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR 5 (PIF5), a light-labile interactor of the DELLA repressors of the GA pathway. We find that wag2 mutants are impaired in the repression of apical hook opening in dark-grown seedlings and that this phenotype correlates with GA-regulated WAG2 expression in the concave (inner) side of the apical hook. Furthermore, wag2 mutants are also impaired in the maintenance or formation of a local auxin maximum at the site of WAG2 expression in the hook. WAG2 is a regulator of PIN auxin efflux facilitators and, in line with previous data, we show that this kinase can phosphorylate the central intracellular loop of all PIN-FORMED (PIN) proteins regulating apical hook opening. We therefore propose that apical hook opening is controlled by the differential GA-regulated accumulation of WAG2 and subsequent local changes in PIN-mediated auxin transport.
Hazardous Waste Facilities

Recent widely publicized studies claim facilities for treatment, storage, and disposal of hazard ous wastes (TSDFs) are located in areas with higher than average proportions of minorities, thereby exposing minorities to relatively greater levels of potential risk. These claims have influenced national policies and public perceptions. This article revisits those claims in the first national study of TSDFs to use census tract-level data, finding no consistent and statistically significant differences in the racial or ethnic composition of tracts that contain commercial TSDFs and those that do not. Aggregating tracts surrounding TSDF tract locations, the authors find that the claims of the previous studies rest on using larger areal aggregates (zip code areas) on the peripheries of which the densities of minority populations are higher. The authors conclude that whether minorities are exposed to greater risk depends on how distance from TSDF sites is related to that nsk, an issue on which there is currently little knowledge.
Auditing the NCI Thesaurus with Semantic Web Technologies

Auditing biomedical terminologies often results in the identification of inconsistencies and thus helps to improve their quality. In this paper, we present a method based on Semantic Web technologies for auditing biomedical terminologies and apply it to the NCI thesaurus. We stored the NCI thesaurus concepts and their properties in an RDF triple store. By querying this store, we assessed the consistency of both hierarchical and associative relations from the NCI thesaurus among themselves and with corresponding relations in the UMLS Semantic Network. We show that the consistency is better for associative relations than for hierarchical relations. Causes for inconsistency and benefits from using Semantic Web technologies for auditing purposes are discussed.
Sphere-Specific Measures of Perceived Control

Evidence for the multidimensionality of perceived control is briefly reviewed. It is proposed that individual differences in perceived control be partitioned into components associated with three primary spheres of behavior: (a) personal efficacy—control over the nonsocial environment as in personal achievement, (b) interpersonal control—control over other people in dyads and groups, and (c) sociopolitical control—control over social and political events and institutions. Assessment instruments are presented for measuring perceived control in each of these three spheres. * A three-factor structural model is tested using confirmatory factor analysis, and the results are strongly supportive. The scales are shown to have impressive convergent and discriminant validity in relation to other individual difference measures. Evidence from several laboratory and field studies is reviewed to support the predictive validity of the three scales. Over the last 10 years, it has become generally accepted that the construct of locus of control is multidimensio nal (for recent reviews, see Phares, 1978; Strickland, 1977). Models of the factor structure, however, have come in several varieties. Many researchers
Reducing the number of clock variables of timed automata

We propose a method for reducing the number of clocks of a timed automaton by combining two algorithms. The first one consists in detecting active clocks, that is, those clocks whose values are relevant for the evolution of the system. The second one detects sets of clocks that are always equal. We implemented the algorithms and applied them to several case studies. These experimental results show that an appropriate encoding of the state space, based on the output of the algorithms, leads to a considerable reduction of the memory space allowing a more eficient Verification.
Conjugacy of Self-Adjoint Difference Equations of Even Order

We study oscillation properties of 2n-order Sturm-Liouville difference equations. For these equations, we show a conjugacy criterion using the p-criticality (the existence of linear dependent recessive solutions at ∞ and -∞). We also show the equivalent condition of p-criticality for one term 2n-order equations.