Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intranasal drug delivery of didanosine-loaded chitosan nanoparticles for brain targeting; an attractive route against infections caused by aids viruses

The primary aim of this study was to investigate intranasal (i.n.) administration as a potential route to enhance systemic and brain delivery of didanosine (ddI). A further aim was to investigate the potential use of chitosan nanoparticles as a delivery system to enhance the systemic and brain targeting efficiency of ddI following i.n. administration. Didanosine-loaded chitosan nanoparticles, were prepared through ionotropic gelation of chitosan with tripolyphosphonate anions, and characterized in terms of their size, drug loading, and in vitro release. The nanoparticles were administered i.n. to rats, compared to i.n. and intravenous (i.v.) administration of ddI in solution. The concentrations of ddI in blood, CSF, and brain tissues were analyzed by ultra performance liquid chromatography mass spectroscopy (UPLC/MS). The brain/plasma, olfactory bulb/plasma and CSF/plasma concentration ratios were significantly higher (P < 0.05) after i.n. administration of ddI nanoparticles or solution than those after i.v. administration of didanosine aqueous solution. The ratio of ddI concentration values of the nanoparticles to the solution at 180 min post-i.n. dosing was 2.1 and 1.9 in CSF and brain, respectively. Thus, both the i.n. route of administration and formulation of ddI in chitosan nanoparticles increased delivery of ddI to CSF and brain.
Spatially unconstrained, gesture-based human-robot interaction

For a human-robot interaction to take place, a robot needs to perceive humans. The space where a robot can perceive humans is restrained by the limitations of robot's sensors. These restrictions can be circumvented by the use of external sensors, like in intelligent environments; otherwise humans have to ensure that they can be perceived. With the robotic platform presented here, the roles are reversed and the robot autonomously ensures that the human is within the area perceived by the robot. This is achieved by a combination of hardware and algorithms capable of autonomously tracking the person, estimating their position and following them, while recognizing their gestures and navigating through environment.
Designing Adaptive Replication Schemes in Distributed Content Delivery Networks

We address the problem of content replication in large distributed content delivery networks, composed of a data center assisted by many small servers with limited capabilities and located at the edge of the network. We aim at optimizing the placement of contents on the servers to offload the data center as much as possible. We model the sub-system constituted by the small servers as a loss network, each loss corresponding to a request to the data center. Based on large system / storage behavior, we obtain an asymptotic formula for the optimal replication of contents and propose adaptive schemes to attain it by reacting to losses, as well as faster algorithms which can react before losses occur. We show through simulations that our adaptive schemes outperform significantly standard replication strategies both in terms of loss rates and adaptation speed.
Design Space Exploration for GPU-Based Architecture

Recent advances in Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) provide opportunities to exploit GPUs for non-graphics applications. Scientific computation is inherently parallel, which is a good candidate to utilize the computing power of GPUs. This report investigates QR factorization, which is an important building block of scientific computation. We analyze different mapping mtheods of QR factorization on GPUs. The bottlenecks of them are identified using an analytical model. The limitations of GPUs and its implications on selection of algorithm are discussed. To explore the design space of parallel processing architecture, an equal-area model is proposed. Given an application and an amount of chip area, the equal-area model can provide quantitative information on performance and bottleneck for making design decisions.
Frequency study of facial electromyography signals with respect to emotion recognition

Abstract Emotional intelligence is one of the key research areas in human-computer interaction. This paper reports the development of an emotion recognition system using facial electromyogram (EMG) signals focusing the ambiguity on the frequency ranges used by different research works. The six emotional states (happiness, sadness, fear, surprise, disgust, and neutral) were elicited in 60 subjects using audio visual stimuli. Statistical features were extracted from the signals at high, medium, low, and very low frequency levels. They were then classified using four classifiers – naïve Bayes, regression tree, K-nearest neighbor, and fuzzy K-nearest neighbor, and the performance of the system at the different frequency levels were studied using three metrics, namely, % accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity. The post hoc tests in analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicate that the features contain significant emotional information at the very low-frequency range (<0.08 Hz). Similarly, the performance metrics of the classifiers also ensure better recognition rate at very low-frequency range. Though this range of frequency has not been used by researchers, the results of this work indicate that it should not be ignored. Further investigation of the very low frequency range to identify emotional information is still in progress.
Integration of R91-5::Tn501 into the Pseudomonas putida PPN chromosome and genetic circularity of the chromosomal map

Derivatives of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa plasmid R91-5, loaded with the transposon Tn501, were transferred to P. putida PPN. Over 90% of exconjugants, which arose at a frequency of ca. 10(-6) per donor cell, exhibited high-frequency (greater than 10(-2) per donor cell) polarized transfer of chromosomal markers. In one instance it was demonstrated by transduction that the plasmid had been inserted into a gene required for serine biosynthesis. The integrated nature of the plasmid in this and other P. putida (R91-5::Tn501) derivatives was supported by the failure to detect covalently closed circular DNA in these strains. The transfer origins of six different Hfr donors have been characterized genetically, and time-of-entry kinetics obtained from interrupted matings have enabled the construction of a circular genetic map 103 min in length and containing 35 markers. The genetic map of P. putida PPN shows significant differences in marker order to that of P. aeruginosa PAO.
Effect of follicle size on bovine oocyte quality and developmental competence following maturation, fertilization, and culture in vitro

The aim of the present series of experiments was to investigate the effect of the size of follicle from which the oocytes originate on their subsequent in vitro developmental ability. Ovarian follicles were isolated and grouped according to size (2–6 mm, >6 mm). Primary oocytes were carefully liberated and grouped according to morphology into one of five categories: denuded; expanded; with two or three layers of cumulus; with four or five layers; and with many (six or more) layers. Following in vitro maturation (IVM), fertilization (IVF), and culture (IVC), more oocytes with many layers of cumulus (P < 0.01, 70.2%, 73/104 vs. 46.8%, 87/186, respectively) and a higher proportion of blastocysts were obtained from follicles > 6 mm compared to 2–6 mm follicles (P < 0.01, 65.9%, 60/91 from >6 mm follicles vs. 34.3%, 34/99 from 2–6 mm follicles, respectively). Use of follicular fluid (BFF) from follicles of different sizes in the IVM medium did not significantly increase the cleavage rate or blastocyst yield compared to controls. Administration of procine folliclestimulating hormone (pFSH) to donors prior to slaughter was investigated as a possible means of increasing the number of larger sized follicles in the ovaries and, thereby, the quality of the recovered oocytes. It was found that administration of six injections of pFSH beginning 3 days prior to slaughter resulted in a significant increase (P < 0.001) in the proportion of follicles >6 mm in diameter (31.6%) compared to that in nontreated controls (6.6%) and to animals that received only four injection groups (9.4%). The blastocyst yield from oocytes originating from >6 mm follicles, whether from unstimulated or from pFSH‐treated animals, was approximately double that of oocytes from 2–6 mm follicles (P < 0.01; 42.9%, 24/56 for >6 mm follicles vs. 22.8%, 21/92 for 2–6 mm follicles, respectively, for the 6 pFSH group; P > 0.05; 62.5%, 5/8 for >6 mm follicles vs. 32.8%, 22/67 for 2–6 mm follicles, respectively, for the control). © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
PIONEERING PARADIGMS AND MAGNIFICENT MANIFESTOS—LEIGH VAN VALEN'S PRICELESS CONTRIBUTIONS TO EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY

Evolutionary biology lost a unique, broad, creative, and influential thinker when Leigh Van Valen1 passed away on October 16, 2010 in Chicago at the age of 75. He was Professor Emeritus of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago and served on the Committees on Evolutionary Biology, Conceptual Foundations of Science and Genetics. Unwritten ideas still coursed through his ceaselessly active mind as he fought and lost his last battle against phylogenetically distant and diverse microbes. We are a multiflavored group who wants to honor this extraordinary thinker and teacher, and to bring broad attention to Leigh’s life’s work, much of which was ahead of his times. We reflect briefly on his work on mammal evolution, energy as an organizing principle in ecology and evolution, adaptation, evo–devo, homology and complexity, even though his “interests go beyond what this blurb indicates,” quoting directly from his homepage. Leigh’s niche in biology has been to open up new areas of research without attempting to provide final answers to the novel questions he identified. He synthesized empirical observations into a cohesive paradigm that often unified traditional disciplines.
Genitourinary lesions in leprosy, with special reference to the problem of atrophy of the testes.

Genitourinary lesions specifically related to leprosy (Hansen's disease) are relatively few. Of considerable clinical interest and importance are the frequent leprous orchitis, testicular atrophy, and gynecomastia. A review of urologic literature reveals no reference to involvement of organs of the genitourinary tract by the Mycobacterium leprae. Of the standard urologic textbooks only Young's1refers to leprous orchitis. In the general literature of leprosy only passing reference is made to the genitourinary manifestations. Fox and Knott2described cutaneous leprous nodules on the scrotum and penis in 4 of 34 male patients. Serra3examined 200 patients with leprosy, describing vulvar lesions in 13%, preputial lesions in 10%, and lesions of the balanic sulcus in 5%. These lesions were especially common in patients with the nodular and mixed types of leprosy, although it is known that macular leprosy of the penis and vulva often mimics primary chancre. One patient presented
Evaluation of a density functional with account of van der Waals forces using experimental data of H2 physisorption on Cu(111)

Detailed experimental data for physisorption potential-energy curves of H2 on low-indexed faces of Cu challenge theory. Recently, density-functional theory has been developed to also account for nonlocal correlation effects, including van der Waals forces. We show that one functional, denoted vdW-DF2, gives a potential-energy curve promisingly close to the experiment-derived physisorption-energy curve. The comparison also gives indications for further improvements of the functionals.
Curing of the killer deoxyribonucleic acid plasmids of Kluyveromyces lactis

Ultraviolet irradiation gave rise to frequent curing of killer plasmids pGKl1 and pGK12 of Kluyveromyces lactis. Almost all of the nonkillers obtained lost both plasmids, but one of them lost only pGKl1. The disappearance of pGKl1 was accompanied by the simultaneous loss of the killer activity and of the resistance to the killer factor. A new plasmid, pGKl1S, was obtained, which arose from a deletion in the central region of pGKl1. Genetic analysis suggested that pGKl1S has the killer gene lost by the deletion and the resistance gene intact and that pGKl1S shares the same replication control with pGKl1.
(geo)graphs - Complex Networks as a shapefile of nodes and a shapefile of edges for different applications

Spatial dependency and spatial embedding are basic physical properties of many phenomena modeled by networks. The most indicated computational environment to deal with spatial information is to use Georeferenced Information System (GIS) and Geographical Database Management Systems (GDBMS). Several models have been proposed in this direction, however there is a gap in the literature in generic frameworks for working with Complex Networks in GIS/GDBMS environments. Here we introduce the concept of (geo)graphs: graphs in which the nodes have a known geographical location and the edges have spatial dependence. We present case studies and two open source softwares (GIS4GRAPH and GeoCNet) that indicate how to retrieve networks from GIS data and how to represent networks over GIS data by using (geo)graphs.
Passive versus active recovery during high-intensity intermittent exercises.

PURPOSE To compare the effects of passive versus active recovery on muscle oxygenation and on the time to exhaustion for high-intensity intermittent exercises. METHODS Twelve male subjects performed a graded test and two intermittent exercises to exhaustion. The intermittent exercises (15 s) were alternated with recovery periods (15 s), which were either passive or active recovery at 40% of . VO2max. Oxyhemoglobin was evaluated by near-infrared spectroscopy during the two intermittent exercises. RESULTS Time to exhaustion for intermittent exercise alternated with passive recovery (962 +/- 314 s) was significantly longer (P < 0.001) than with active recovery (427 +/- 118 s). The mean metabolic power during intermittent exercise alternated with passive recovery (48.9 +/- 4.9 mL.kg-1.min-1) was significantly lower (P < 0.001) than during intermittent exercise alternated with active recovery (52.6 +/- 4.6 mL.kg-1.min-1). The mean rate of decrease in oxyhemoglobin during intermittent exercises alternated with passive recovery (2.9 +/- 2.4%.s-1) was significantly slower (P < 0.001) than during intermittent exercises alternated with active recovery (7.8 +/- 3.4%.s-1), and both were negatively correlated with the times to exhaustion (r = 0.67, P < 0.05 and r = 0.81, P < 0.05, respectively). CONCLUSION The longer time to exhaustion for intermittent exercise alternated with passive recovery could be linked to lower metabolic power. As intermittent exercise alternated with passive recovery is characterized by a slower decline in oxyhemoglobin than during intermittent exercise alternated with active recovery at 40% of . VO2max, it may also allow a higher reoxygenation of myoglobin and a higher phosphorylcreatine resynthesis, and thus contribute to a longer time to exhaustion.
Enhancement of lateral mode discrimination in broad-area VCSELs using curved Bragg mirrors

This paper studies a novel technique for enhancing the single mode properties of large-area oxide-confined vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs). It utilizes a nonplanar shadow masked epitaxial growth to spatially detune part of the upper Bragg stack from the lower stack. The resulting mirror reflectivity modulation is used to enhance the discrimination between the lateral modes. Compared to other techniques, this method results in a larger difference in threshold gain between the lateral modes. We have developed a quasi-three-dimensional (3-D) optical model to analyze this laser. Simulation results indicate that even a small curvature can enhance the mode discrimination, and single mode operation may be possible for VCSEL diameters much greater than 2 /spl mu/m.
Development of an instrument to assess views on nature of science and attitudes toward teaching science

This article describes the development and field test of an instrument, the Views on Science and Education Questionnaire, designed to measure participants' concepts of the nature of science (NOS) and relevant teaching attitudes. The questionnaire includes 15 questions, each followed by several items representing different philosophical positions. Participants rank each item on a five-point scale. The items were empirically based and described from the learners' perspectives, but the issues and subcategories covered were validated by a panel of experts. The latest version was administered to 302 college students. Combined conceptions and conflicting thoughts about NOS were detected. Furthermore, the instrument achieved a test-retest correlation coefficient of 0.82. The questionnaire is a valid and practical tool that can be used to determine participants' conceptions and attitudes toward teaching NOS. With this instrument, science educators and teachers can conduct comparison studies and relate views of NOS to other measurable educational outcomes. C
EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON THE INFECTIVITY OF METACERCARIAE OF ZYGOCOTYLE LUNATA (DIGENEA: PARAMPHISTOMIDAE)

As a test of the energy limitation hypothesis (ELH), we predicted that temperature would have a significant influence on the infectivity of metacercariae of the digenetic trematode Zygocotyle lunata. Snails infected with Z. lunata were collected from ponds near Crawfordsville, Indiana, isolated at room temperature, and examined for the release of cercariae. Newly encysted metacercariae were collected and incubated 1–30 days at 1 of 5 temperatures (0, 3, 25, 31, 37 C). Twenty-five cysts were fed to each of 5 or 10 mice per treatment group (temperature). At 17 days postinfection, mice were killed and worms were recovered; data were collected on levels of infection in each group and the total body area of each worm. No worms were found in mice fed cysts that had been held at 0 C or 37 C (after 30 days). There were no differences in prevalence, infectivity, or mean intensity among the 3, 25, and 31 C treatments. Infectivity of metacercariae incubated at 37 C for 1 day was significantly greater than in all other treatments, while infectivity of metacercariae in the 37 C/15-day treatment was significantly lower than in all others. Mean body area of worms at 37 C/15 days was significantly greater than at other temperatures, suggesting density-dependent increases in growth. These results, particularly those from the 37 C treatments, are consistent with the ELH; infectivity was lower at high temperatures or when incubated for more time at 1 temperature (fewer energy reserves). It is suggested that microhabitat conditions experienced by metacercariae of Z. lunata could contribute to longer larval life, thus influencing this parasite's temporal dispersal.
Using NOGAPS Singular Vectors to Diagnose Large-scale Influences on Tropical Cyclogenesis

Abstract : The overarching goal is to improve our understanding of synoptic-scale influences on tropical cyclone (TC) formation and motion in the western North Pacific Ocean, in the context of error growth in forecast models. Benefits to the Navy would include improved forecast skill of the structure and track of developing and recurving TCs. The first objective is to connect Singular Vector (SV) and ensemble perturbation growth to synoptic scale dynamical influences on tropical cyclone formation and structure change. The second objective is to extend these investigations towards vortex initialization and analysis of tropical cyclone structure in high-resolution models. The goal is to extend these methodologies into the Navy s COAMPS-TC framework.
Service Use and Costs of Care for Depressed Adolescents: Who Uses and Who Pays?

Major depressive disorder is common in adolescence and is associated with significant morbidity and family burden. Little is known about service use by depressed adolescents. The purpose of this article is to report the patterns of services use and costs for participants in the Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study sample during the 3 months before randomization. Costs were assigned across three categories of payors: families, private insurance, and the public sector. We examined whether costs from payors varied by baseline covariates, such as age, gender, insurance status, and family income. The majority (71%) of depressed youth sought services during the 3-month period. Slightly more than one-fifth had contact with a behavioral health specialist. The average participant had just under $300 (SD = $437.67, range = $0–$3,747.71) in treatment-related costs, with most of these costs borne by families and private insurers.
A Comparison of Morning Blood Pressure Surge in African Americans and Whites

African Americans have twice the risk of suffering a stroke compared to whites, but the reasons for this disparity have yet to be elucidated. Recent data suggest that the morning blood pressure (BP) surge is an independent predictor of strokes. Whether African Americans and whites differ with respect to morning BP surge is unknown. African‐American (n=183) and white (n=139) participants, age 18‐65, were studied with 24‐hour ambulatory BP monitoring. Morning surge was defined as morning BP minus the trough BP during sleep. The morning surge was significantly lower in African Americans than in whites (23 mm Hg vs. 27 mm Hg; both SEM=1.0; p=0.009). This relationship was no longer evident after adjusting for gender, age, and body mass index (23 mm Hg vs. 26 mm Hg; SE=1.0 and 1.1; p=nonsignificant). Morning BP surge is unlikely to account for differences in stroke incidence between African Americans and whites.
The Druzes : a new study of their history, faith and society

This book places the beliefs of the Druzes in the context of the history of Shi'ism in its Isma'ili form, from which their faith developed. It also describes the role of the Druze community in the history of Lebanon and Syria. In the preparation of this book, the author, a Druze herself, has made use not only of the readily available Arabic and European sources but also of documents and manuscripts that are less easily accessible.
Research and design of a miniaturized bandpass filter with ultra-wide stopband

This paper presents a novel miniaturized bandpass filter with ultra-wide stopband in C-band. With the assistance of 1/4 wavelength SIR (stepped impedance resonator), interdigital capacitors and suspended microstrip, this filter has small size of 15mm × 10.6mm × 1.854mm and high Q value, and can effectively suppress harmonics. Moreover, the filter is simulated by the electromagnetic simulation software HFSS (High Frequency System Simulator). The simulated results show that the center frequency of this filter is 4.7GHz and its relative bandwidth is 29.79%(1.4GHz). Most values of the return loss are below -15dB and the transmission loss is -0.5dB~-1.3dB within the passband.