Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dense dislocation arrays embedded in grain boundaries for high-performance bulk thermoelectrics

Squeezing out efficient thermoelectrics Thermoelectric materials hold the promise of converting waste heat into electricity. The challenge is to develop high-efficiency materials that are not too expensive. Kim et al. suggest a pathway for developing inexpensive thermoelectrics. They show a dramatic improvement of efficiency in bismuth telluride samples by quickly squeezing out excess liquid during compaction. This method introduces grain boundary dislocations in a way that avoids degrading electrical conductivity, which makes a better thermoelectric material. With the potential for scale-up and application to cheaper materials, this discovery presents an attractive path forward for thermoelectrics. Science, this issue p. 109 Pressure-assisted liquid-phase compaction allows synthesis of high–conversion efficiency thermoelectric materials. The widespread use of thermoelectric technology is constrained by a relatively low conversion efficiency of the bulk alloys, which is evaluated in terms of a dimensionless figure of merit (zT). The zT of bulk alloys can be improved by reducing lattice thermal conductivity through grain boundary and point-defect scattering, which target low- and high-frequency phonons. Dense dislocation arrays formed at low-energy grain boundaries by liquid-phase compaction in Bi0.5Sb1. 5Te3 (bismuth antimony telluride) effectively scatter midfrequency phonons, leading to a substantially lower lattice thermal conductivity. Full-spectrum phonon scattering with minimal charge-carrier scattering dramatically improved the zT to 1.86 ± 0.15 at 320 kelvin (K). Further, a thermoelectric cooler confirmed the performance with a maximum temperature difference of 81 K, which is much higher than current commercial Peltier cooling devices.
Cerebral Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Ultrasonography Findings After Neonatal Hypoglycemia

Objective. The aim of this study was to investigate sequential neuroradiologic changes in the brains of infants after transient neonatal hypoglycemia. We used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasonography (US) head scans. Methods. Eighteen symptomatic full-term infants whose serum glucose concentrations were ≤45 mg/dL (2.5 mmol/L) without any other diseases were included in the hypoglycemic group. MRI and US head scans were performed at full-term age and at the age of 2 months. The imaging results were compared with the findings of MRI and US scans in 19 healthy normoglycemic term newborn infants at the respective ages. The neurologic outcome was followed in the both groups. Results. MRI or US showed evidence of abnormality in 39% the hypoglycemic infants. MRI detected more abnormalities in the brains than US. Four infants showed patchy hyperintensity lesions either in the occipital periventicular white matter or the thalamus on T1-weighted images. These lesions had a good tendency to recover and only 1 of these infants appeared to be neurologically affected. Of the 19 controls, 10% (2 of 19) had caudothalamic cysts, which were detected both with MRI and US. The relative risk of the hypoglycemic child compared with nonhypoglycemic child, to have any abnormality detected in the brain, was 3.7, with a 90% confidence interval from 1.11 to 12.28. Conclusions. Postnatal full-term MRI and US scans showed abnormalities four times more often after transient neonatal hypoglycemia than in the healthy control group. However, most often lesions were absent 2 months later. The clinical relevance of these abnormal findings remains to be clarified with detailed neurologic examinations and follow-up.
Treatment of fulminant ulcerative colitis with cyclosporine A

Abstract Objective. Fulminant ulcerative colitis not responding to high doses of corticosteroids remains a clinical challenge. Intravenous infusion of cyclosporine A (CyA) has shown an excellent short-term response, but its use has been restricted by potential serious adverse events and reports of high short- and long-term colectomy rates. The purpose of this study was to report on the Oslo experience with CyA in fulminant ulcerative colitis. Material and methods. Between 1993 and 2006, intravenous CyA (5 mg/kg) was administered to 18 patients with fulminant ulcerative colitis. Responders were discharged under a 6 months' course of oral CyA. Patients were prospectively followed at 2, 6, 12 and 24 months after discharge. Results. Fifteen patients (83%) responded to intravenous CyA treatment. On follow-up at 2, 6, 12 and 24 months, the colectomy-free rates were 72%, 67%, 61% and 56%, respectively. After a median follow-up of 60.3 months (range 1.7–146), 8 patients (44%) still had avoided having to undergo a colectomy. All patients had at least one relapse during follow-up. Only one patient had to discontinue CyA owing to adverse events. Conclusion. At our institution, CyA treatment of fulminant ulcerative colitis is an effective and safe treatment.
Acoustic radiation force (ARF) generation with a novel dual-frequency intravascular transducer

Atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease remain the leading cause of death in the US. Coronary plaque is visualized with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and is typically implemented with high center frequencies (>20 MHz) for superior spatial resolution. Coronary plaque characterization may be improved by implementing elasticity imaging techniques such as acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging using IVUS transducers. In this work we propose to extend ARFI imaging to a novel, dual-frequency small-aperture transducer design that includes a low-frequency “pushing” element and a high-frequency “tracking” element. A 40 MHz element (0.6 mm × 0.6 mm) was integrated onto a 5 MHz element (0.6 mm × 3 mm). Both elements of the transducer were fabricated from single crystal PMN-PT and the whole transducer was mounted on a 20 gauge needle tip. ARF-induced motion from the low-frequency element was quantified using optical tracking methods in a translucent phantom (~8 kPa) containing embedded graphite microparticles. Displacements induced by ARF excitations with 300, 600, 900, and 1200 cycles (5 MHz, 190 V) were captured and compared to baseline. Median (inter-quartile range) peak displacements for 300, 600, 900, and 1200 cycles were 0.33 (0.27 - 0.39) μm, 0.72 (0.62 - 0.87) μm, 1.1 (1.0 - 1.3) μm, and 1.6 (1.43 - 1.75) μm, respectively. In another phantom, 40 MHz pulse/echo RF lines were captured to demonstrate backscatter sensitivity. The results of this study show that ARF generation and high-resolution tracking is feasible on a small-aperture transducer fit for IVUS implementation.
Glistenings on intraocular lenses in healthy eyes: effects and associations.

PURPOSE To assess glistenings in AcrySof (Alcon Laboratories Inc) intraocular lenses (IOLs), to quantify any effects of glistenings on the visual function of patients with healthy eyes, and to investigate whether glistenings were associated with demographic or lens characteristics. METHODS Case files from a consecutive series of healthy eyes were retrospectively analyzed. Subjective glistening grades were investigated for associations with the following parameters: contrast sensitivity, corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), intraocular light scattering (measured by C-Quant [Oculus Optikgeräte GmbH]), posterior capsule opacification, demographic characteristics, lens power, and duration of pseudophakia. The subjective grading method was compared to objective software-based quantitation of glistenings. RESULTS The study cohort included 97 eyes from 65 patients with a mean age of 65 ± 11 years. Mean follow-up was 18 ± 17 months. Glistening grades did not vary by duration of pseudophakia (P=.19), although study design limited confidence in this result. Glistening grades had no associations with lens power (P=.41), intraocular light scattering (P=.31), logMAR CDVA (P=.64), contrast sensitivity at any spatial frequency (all P ≥.22), or with any other parameter under investigation. The software-based assessment confirmed the validity of the subjective grading method: glistening grades correlated with vacuoles/mm(2) (P<.0001) and mean values for vacuoles/mm(2) were statistically significant for each glistening grade (all P ≤.004). CONCLUSIONS In healthy eyes, glistening grade was not associated with contrast sensitivity, CDVA, intraocular light scatter, or any lens or demographic characteristics that were investigated.
Comparison of A Planar and Finite Difference Time Domain Technique to Simulate the Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves in Biological Tissue

Due to the recent advances in ultra wide-band (UWB) radar technologies, there has been widespread interest in the possible medical applications of UWB microwave radar. Therefore, the development of accurate numerical techniques to predict the propagation of UWB signals in biological tissue is of great interest to researchers as an aid in developing signal processing algorithms. Two techniques for modeling the propagation of electromagnetic (EM) waves in human tissue are presented and compared in this paper: the planar and finite difference time domain (FDTD) technique. A four layer biological model is considered, three layers of normal tissue, and one layer of cancerous soft tissue (sarcoma). The two modeling techniques are used to predict the response of the model to the UWB input signal, with particular focus on the response of the sarcoma layer. Both the Planar technique and the FDTD technique identify the presence of the soft tissue sarcoma quite easily. However the FDTD technique predicts more subtle phenomena such as multiple reflections, albeit at a high computational cost.
A Taught-Obesrve-Ask (TOA) Method for Object Detection with Critical Supervision

Being inspired by child's learning experience - taught first and followed by observation and questioning, we investigate a critically supervised learning methodology for object detection in this work. Specifically, we propose a taught-observe-ask (TOA) method that consists of several novel components such as negative object proposal, critical example mining, and machine-guided question-answer (QA) labeling. To consider labeling time and performance jointly, new evaluation methods are developed to compare the performance of the TOA method, with the fully and weakly supervised learning methods. Extensive experiments are conducted on the PASCAL VOC and the Caltech benchmark datasets. The TOA method provides significantly improved performance of weakly supervision yet demands only about 3-6% of labeling time of full supervision. The effectiveness of each novel component is also analyzed.
A literary reading of the Exodus story

The present work offers an explication of Exodus 1-14 in the Masoretic text from a literary perspective and questions the methodological relationship between Narrative Criticism and traditional Historical Criticism. Chapter One outlines a set of theoretical assumptions upon which the reading of Exodus is based with regard to history, referentiality, the diachronic/synchronic relationship, intentionality and ideology. Along with theory, the method being utilised is discussed, particularly with respect to its role in a pluralistic methodological sphere and also in relation to the stance of the interpreter along emic and etic lines of discussion. Chapter Two interacts with a selection of approaches through which the Exodus story has been read and evaluates their usefulness for Narrative Criticism. Chapters Three to Five contain the Narrative Criticism proper as applied to Exodus 1-14: Chapter Three examines the plot of the entire story in a descriptive manner. After an initial survey and consideration of plot from Aristotle onwards, the plot of Exodus 1-14 is subdivided into four main parts: Section I: Exod 1:1-2:25 (.Introduction), Section II: Exod 3:1-7:7 (Ascent), Section III: Exod 7:8-13:16 (Complication) and Section IV: Exod 13:17-14:31 (Conclusion). Chapter Four deals with the characterisation of the story's Introduction (Section I: Exod 1:1-2:25), focusing initially on the diverse characterisation techniques and character types found within its seven pericopae. Then a major section on etiology opens the methodological dialogue between Narrative Criticism and traditional Historical Criticism (with the issue of etiology—Form Criticism) and intimates a positive interrelationship. Chapter Five offers a close reading of the Prologue and initial Plagues triad (Exod 7:8-8:15) from a narrative-critical perspective, and then continues the literary/historical dialogue concerning method, with the entire Plagues narratives (Section III: Exod 7:8-13:16) as primary data. Whereas the narratological function of these narratives is that they offer links with previous and future story-elements through resonances and foreshadowing, at a historical-compositional level they can be seen to represent two separate tradition-complexes. The thesis locates the method of Narrative Criticism within a context of certain issues that are relevant to literary theory. It samples this method by treating the plot of the whole story, the characterisation of the Introduction and the narratology of the Plagues. Finally, the thesis discusses the relationship between Narrative Criticism and issues (like etiology and the compositional development of the story) long discussed by more historical types of criticism. A Literary Reading of the Exodus Story
The physical and chemical nature of technegas.

UNLABELLED Technegas, the discrete radio-aerosol particle, containing 99mTc has been investigated, and the chemical evolution and physical properties of the particle demonstrated. METHODS A commercial technegas generator was used to produce aerosols according to standard clinical procedures. The aerosols were collected by electrostatic precipitation and examined with transition electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and force microscopy. The chemical evolution was examined by x-ray techniques and thermogravimetric analysis. RESULTS The active particle was identified as hexagonal platelets of metallic technetium contained within a thin layer of graphitic carbon. This composite structure is discussed in light of the metal particle behaving as a template for the carbon capsule. The average size of the observed hexagonal platelets, 30-60 nm, was only weakly dependent on the concentration of technetium in the crucible. CONCLUSION The mechanism for the formation of the technegas pancreas has been developed and the particles involved characterized. It appears that the use of other metals also leads to the formation of similar materials.
Generation of stable retrovirus packaging cell lines after transduction with herpes simplex virus hybrid amplicon vectors ‡

A number of properties have relegated the use of Moloney murine leukemia virus (Mo‐MLV)‐based retrovirus vectors primarily to ex vivo protocols. Direct implantation of retrovirus producer cells can bypass some of the limitations, and in situ vector production may result in a large number of gene transfer events. However, the fibroblast nature of most retrovirus packaging cells does not provide for an effective distribution of vector producing foci in vivo, especially in the brain. Effective development of new retrovirus producer cells with enhanced biologic properties may require the testing of a large number of different cell types, and a quick and efficient method to generate them is needed.
Using augmented reality and education platform in architectural visualization: Evaluation of usability and student's level of sastisfaction

In this paper we analyze the results of the implementation of new technologies in the framework of education related to the visualization of architectural projects. On the basis of the evaluation of the technological profile of students, we propose the use of various augmented reality systems for viewing different projects in the degree of Architecture with mobile devices. The main objective is to assess whether the proposed methodology improves the student learning process and thus generates a satisfactory response.
Multiple molecular dynamics simulations of human LOX‐1 and Trp150Ala mutant reveal the structural determinants causing the full deactivation of the receptor

Multiple classical molecular dynamics simulations have been applied to the human LOX‐1 receptor to clarify the role of the Trp150Ala mutation in the loss of binding activity. Results indicate that the substitution of this crucial residue, located at the dimer interface, markedly disrupts the wild‐type receptor dynamics. The mutation causes an irreversible rearrangement of the subunits interaction pattern that in the wild‐type protein allows the maintaining of a specific symmetrical motion of the monomers. The subunits dislocation determines a loss of linearity of the arginines residues composing the basic spine and a consequent alteration of the long‐range electrostatic attraction of the substrate. Moreover, the anomalous subunits arrangement observed in the mutated receptor also affects the integrity of the hydrophobic tunnel, actively involved in the short‐range hydrophobic recognition of the substrate. The combined effect of these structural rearrangements generates the impairing of the receptor function.
Polymorphisms at GSTM 1 and GSTP 1 Gene Loci and Risk of Prostate Cancer in a South Indian Population

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men worldwide and second leading cause of cancer related deaths (Jemal et al., 2003). Etiologically, Prostate cancer is a multifactorial disease in which several dietary, environmental and genetic factors may be involved; yet little is known about the interaction between these factors (Giovannucci et al., 1993; Ekmann 1999). Recent studies point to the important role that oxidative damage plays in prostate carcinogenesis (Fleshner and Kucuk., 2001). The prostate is replete with metabolic pathways such as prostaglandin synthetic pathways, which generate abundant oxygen free radicals. Diets rich in saturated fats have been shown to increase oxidative stress and to produce potentially mutagenic DNA adducts (Li and Randerath., 1992). Moreover, with increase in age the prooxidant-antioxidant state of many tissues, including the prostate, shift towards an oxidative state that leads to oxidative DNA damage (Baker et al., 1997). The metabolic reduction of these DNAdamaging electrophiles is done effectively by the antioxidants, of which the Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) Polymorphisms at GSTM1 and GSTP1 Gene Loci and Risk of Prostate Cancer in a South Indian Population
How R Helps Airbnb Make the Most of its Data

ABSTRACT At Airbnb, R has been among the most popular tools for doing data science work in many different contexts, including generating product insights, interpreting experiments, and building predictive models. Airbnb supports R usage by creating internal R tools and by creating a community of R users. We provide some specific advice for practitioners who wish to incorporate R into their day-to-day workflow.
Generalized unconditionally stable Crank-Nicolson PML formulations for truncating FDTD domains

An efficient and unconditional stable perfectly matched layer (PML) formulations are presented for truncating finite difference time domain grids. The formulations are based on incorporating the Crank-Nicolson scheme into the stretched coordinate PML approach. In these formulations, the field components are updated in a single step per time iteration. Numerical example carried out in one-dimensional domain shows that the formulations are both accurate and unconditionally stable.
Pattern and Determinants of Diagnostic Interval in Cancers of the Prostate, Bladder and Kidney

The present study examined the pattern of presentation and diagnostic interval, i.e. number of months between first cancer symptom or sign and first medical visit, in 444 cases of urological cancer (122 of prostate cancer, 187 of bladder cancer and 135 of kidney cancer). The mean diagnostic interval was 7.6 months for prostate, 5.6 for bladder and 4.5 kidney cancer. A chance diagnosis, i.e. in absence of any symptom or sign, was reported by 16%, 8% and 18% of patients with cancer of the prostate, bladder and kidney respectively. We observed on significant differences in diagnostic intervals according to patients’ demographic, sociocultural, and lifestyle characteristics, or tumor stage. Better quantitative and qualitative data on the pattern and determinants of delay in cancer diagnosis are clearly warranted, and the present study, although largely negative, shows the possibility of using large-scale epidemiological Investigations for this purpose.
Species-specific inhibition of homologous enzymes by modification of nonconserved amino acids residues. The cysteine residues of triosephosphate isomerase.

The possibility of using non-conserved amino acid residues to produce selective inhibition of homologous enzymes from different species has been further explored with triosephosphate isomerase. S-phenyl-p-toluenethiosulfonate (MePhSO2-SPh), which produces phenyl disulfides with accessible Cys residues, inhibits the activity of rabbit triosephosphate isomerase. The inhibition is due to derivatization of one of the five Cys residues of rabbit triosephosphate isomerase. The effect of MePhSO2-SPh on triosephosphate isomerase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Escherichia coli, chicken and Schizosaccharomyces pombe was also determined. MePhSO2-SPh did not affect the activity of triosephosphate isomerase from S. cerevisiae and E. coli but it inhibited triosephosphate isomerase from chicken and S. pombe. From an analysis of the Cys content of the various triosephosphate isomerases, it was evident that amongst the ones studied only those that have a Cys in position 217 (or in an equivalent position) were sensitive to MePhSO2-SPh. Methyl metanethiosulfonate (MeSO2-SMe), which produces methyl disulfides, had no effect on triosephosphate isomerases that lack Cys217 (S. cerevisiae and E. coli). In triosephosphate isomerases that have Cys217, MeSO2-SMe inhibited by 40-50% the activity of that from S. pombe, 20-25% that from rabbit but had no effect on the chicken enzyme. In the three latter triosephosphate isomerases, MeSO2-SMe protected against the strong inhibiting action of MePhSO2-SPh. The latter observations suggest that MeSO2-SMe and MePhSO2-SPh derivatize the same Cys and that significant inhibition of activity requires perturbation by the relatively large phenyl group. The intrinsic fluorescence of rabbit triosephosphate isomerase that had been derivatized to a phenyl disulfide was almost identical to that of the native enzyme. Thus, modification of Cys217 did not produce gross structural alterations, albeit it brought about important kinetic alterations, i.e. a nearly fivefold increase in the K(m) for glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate and a 65% decrease in Vmax. The effect of derivatizating Cys217 differs markedly from that produced by derivatization of Cys14 (another non-conserved cysteine). The differences may be explained from their position in the three-dimensional structure of the enzyme.