Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A millimeter-wave predistortion linearizer for traveling wave tube amplifiers

In this paper, a millimeter-wave predistortion linearizer to satisfy linearization requirements of the traveling wave tube amplifiers (TWTAs) is proposed. By controlling the DC bias of the Schottky diode, the linearizer is capable of providing different combinations of the amplitude and phase characteristics for the TWTAs. The simulation results show 7.2dB gain compensation and 42° phase compensation can be achieved for the TWTAs with the linearizer. Good reflection characteristic of the linearizer can be obtained and any additional matching element is not required.
Magnetic Hysteresis Loop in a Superparamagnetic State

Magnetization curves of superparamagnetic nanoparticles in ac magnetic field are numerically studied by Brownian dynamics simulation with considering a more precisely estimated magnetic torque. Consequently, we confirmed that rotatable nanoparticles with magnetic easy axes show magnetic hysteresis loops without remanence, even when the thermal fluctuations of the magnetizations are much faster than the oscillation of the magnetic fields. The origin is that magnetic alignments of the easy axes by the magnetic torque in the peak period of the oscillations of field alternate with their randomizations by Brownian relaxation in the period when the field becomes almost zero. Because the equilibrium magnetization curve of the aligned nanoparticles is steeper than that of randomly oriented ones, a new kind of hysteresis appears when both the Brownian relaxation time and the characteristic time of the field-driven rotation are comparable to the alternation period of magnetic field. This finding sheds a new light on the widely accepted association between superparamagnetism and the anhysteretic magnetization curves. Furthermore, this knowledge will help reconsideration of the design of biomedical application using magnetic nanoparticles, since it has been optimized assuming magnetic response described by Langevin function.
Formulation and characterization of Phospholipon 90 G and tween 80 based transfersomes for transdermal delivery of eprosartan mesylate

Abstract The objective of the current study was to formulate the eprosartan mesylate loaded transfersomes using different proportions of Phospholipon® 90 G and Tween® 80 (95–75:5–25% w/w). The prepared transfersomes were characterized for their vesicles size, shape, polydispersity index, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency, in vitro skin permeation, confocal laser scanning microscopy, and in vivo skin irritation. Results revealed that the formulated transfersomes were negatively charged, spherical unilamellar structure of 71.18–85.66 nm with entrapment efficiency of 83.00–88.19%, and presented transdermal flux of 1.78–5.02 μg/cm2/h across rat skin. Confocal laser scanning microscopy confirmed that the formulated rhodamine 6 G loaded transfersomes could penetrate deeply and uniformly into rat skin. Additionally, in vivo skin irritation studies revealed that the prepared transfersomes were devoid of any skin irritation potential (erythema and edema). Results of this study revealed that the transfersomes prepared with Tween® 80 could be used to enhance the transdermal delivery of eprosartan mesylate. In conclusion, transdermal transfersomes formulation may prove to be an encouraging drug carrier for eprosartan mesylate and other actives, particularly owing to their simple formulation and unsophisticated scale-up methods.
Identification of genes up‐regulated by retinoic‐acid‐induced differentiation of the human neuronal precursor cell line NTERA‐2 cl.D1

The human teratocarcinoma cell line NTERA‐2 cl.D1 (NT2 cells) can be induced with retinoic acid and cell aggregation to yield postmitotic neurones. This seems to model the in vivo situation, as high concentrations of retinoic acid, retinoic acid binding proteins, and receptors have been detected in the embryonic CNS and the developing spinal cord suggesting a role for retinoic acid in neurogenesis. Suppression subtractive hybridization was used to detect genes up‐regulated by this paradigm of neuronal differentiation. Microfibril‐associated glycoprotein 2 was found to be drastically up‐regulated and has not been implicated in neuronal differentiation before. Suppression subtractive hybridization also identified DYRK4, a homologue of the Drosophila gene minibrain. Minibrain mutations result in specific defects in the development of the fly central nervous system. In adult rats, DYRK4 is only expressed in testis, but our results suggest an additional role for DYRK4 in neuronal differentiation. We have shown that suppression subtractive hybridization in conjunction with an efficient screening procedure is a valuable tool to produce a repertoire of differentially expressed genes and propose a new physiological role for several identified genes and expressed sequence tags.
Long-Term Care in the United States: Policy Themes and Promising Practices

This analysis provides an overview of the major policy themes and promising practices emerging in recent years as policymakers and researchers struggle to design a long-term care system that meets the needs of an aging population. Themes that have dominated the long-term care policy debates include: recruiting and retaining a qualified long-term care workforce; devising financing mechanisms for those requiring long-term care; and moving away from an institutional-based long-term care system towards more home- and community-based services. Three promising practices that have emerged in the past few decades include: the culture change movement; service integration that combines medical and social care; and various forms of community residential care that bring together housing and services in a more home-like environment. It concludes with long-term care recommendations for policymakers.
Role of Exercise Stages in Self-Reported Health-Promoting Behaviors of a Group of Turkish Adolescents at Transition to University

The purpose of this study was to examine the self-perceived health-promoting behaviors with respect to exercise stages of Turkish adolescents at transition from high school to university. Participants were 358 adolescents (192 boys, 166 girls) who were accepted to a research university for undergraduate education. The Adolescent Health Promotion Scale was used to examine Nutrition, Health Responsibility, Life Appreciation, Social Support, Exercise and Stress Management behaviors. Physical Activity Stages of Change Questionnaire was used to examine the exercise stages of change. Scores were lowest for Exercise and highest for Life Appreciation regardless of exercise stage. All health-promoting behaviors differed by exercise stage. Participants at lower exercise stages had lower scores. Interventions should focus on increasing physical activity of physically inactive adolescents for holistic development of all health-promoting behaviors.
Discrete Forcing Immersed Boundary Method Using Virtual Interpolation Points

As a method to solve flow problems on complicated domains, an i mmersed boundary (IB) method equipped with the discrete forcing based on the fluidstructure interaction (FSI) is proposed in which the virtual interpolation points are introdu ced. The discrete force to the background fluid due to the no-slip condition on the surface of a fix ed rigid boundary is the instantaneous amount of momentum exchange, which is called the dis crete FSI force. To implement this force, we employ the projection method using the virtua l interpolation points for solving the incompressible Navier-Stokes flows, in which there is vi rtually staggered structure for the velocity and pressure but actually there is no explicit stag gered structure for stability. The unstructured node distribution for computation is available du to the approximation method of the moving least squares. The use of the same nodes for computati ons of the velocity and pressure must be one of key advantages of this method. Indeed, the stag gered grid in FVM often becomes burdensome. Additionally, it is another advantage that the implementation is easy compared to other methods for solving FSI problem. This means that it is r eadily extended to 3D without case-by-case changes. To validate the feasibility of the me thod, we solve the exterior flow passing around a circular cylinder and compare the numerical IB s olution by our method with others well-known. Finally, performing the numerical computatio n f complicated flows in complex geometry, we will show that the proposed IB method is efficien t and stable.
In Vitro-Clinical Correlations for Amphotericin B Susceptibility in AIDS-Associated Cryptococcal Meningitis

ABSTRACT Reliable measures of antifungal drug susceptibility are needed. We tested the susceptibility of Cryptococcus neoformans from patients treated with amphotericin B. In vitro susceptibility employed a modified broth macrodilution method. We demonstrate a strong correlation between the quantitative measures of in vitro amphotericin B susceptibility and the quantitative response observed in patients.
A method for OSEM PET reconstruction on parallel architectures using STIR

To accelerate image reconstruction of positron emission tomography (PET) data, we introduced an approach for parallel architectures by applying the message passing paradigm to an existing implementation of the ordered-subsets expectation-maximization (OSEM) algorithm for two- or three-dimensional (2D/3D) PET. To reduce the amount of time needed to complete a reconstruction, a cluster was used as well as different multi-core systems. A main focus was on the multi-core processors, as these systems are increasingly common and easy to use in medical environments.
Tungsten-Based SOI Microhotplates for Smart Gas Sensors

This paper is concerned with the design, fabrication, and characterization of novel high-temperature silicon on insulator (SOI) microhotplates employing tungsten resistive heaters. Tungsten has a high operating temperature and good mechanical strength and is used as an interconnect in high temperature SOI-CMOS processes. These devices have been fabricated using a commercial SOI-CMOS process followed by a deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) back-etch step, offering low cost and circuit integration. In this paper, we report on the design of microhotplates with different diameters (560 and 300 mum) together with 3-D electrothermal simulation in ANSYS, electrothermal characterization, and analytical analysis. Results show that these devices can operate at high temperatures (600degC ) well beyond the typical junction temperatures of high temperature SOI ICs (225degC), have ultralow dc power consumption (12 mW at 600degC), fast transient time (as low as 2-ms rise time to 600degC), good thermal stability, and, more importantly, a high reproducibility both within a wafer and from wafer to wafer. We also report initial tests on the long-term stability of the tungsten heaters. We believe that this type of SOI microhotplate could be exploited commercially in fully integrated microcalorimetric or resistive gas sensors.
Time trends in schizophrenia mortality in Stockholm County, Sweden: cohort study

Although mortality in patients with schizophrenia is two to three times higher than that in the general population, little is known about time trends in mortality rates.1-3 We aimed to assess mortality over time after a first admission to hospital with schizophrenia. In those patients who died, the cause of death was categorised as natural, cardiovascular, suicide, or unspecified violence. View this table: Observed over expected numbers of deaths and relative risks (95% confidence intervals) for different causes of death in patients first admitted to hospital with schizophrenia, Stockholm County, 1976-95 The Swedish patient register details all psychiatric inpatient treatments since 1 January 1971. Data on residents of Stockholm County (population 1.8 million) whose first admission to hospital with a diagnosis of schizophrenia had occurred between 1976 and 1995 were linked to the national causes of death register, and the date and underlying cause of death were determined in those who had …
The potential of microbial enzymes as diagnostic reagents.

There has been a rapid growth in the application of microbial enzymes for diagnosis in the area of clinical chemistry. The reasons behind this trend are discussed. Descriptions and illustrations are given of the use of microbial enzymes in the determination of metabolic marker analytes; in the assay of antibiotics, analgesic and chemotherapeutic drugs, and in the quantitation of antibody-antigen interactions.
Damage to human muscle from eccentric exercise after training with concentric exercise

1 It is known that a period of eccentric exercise provides protection against damage to muscle from subsequent eccentric exercise. Here we ask, does concentric exercise do the opposite, make muscle more prone to damage? 2 The triceps surae muscle group of one leg in each of eight human subjects was subjected to 30 min of concentric exercise per day, for 5 days. At the end of the training period there was a small but significant increase in passive torque in the exercised muscle (P < 0.05), with no changes in the untrained muscle. 3 After a single period of eccentric exercise, angle‐torque curves for muscles of both legs shifted in the direction of longer muscle lengths, suggestive of an increase in series compliance. The shift in the concentrically trained muscle was significantly greater over the first 48 h post‐exercise (P < 0.05). 4 The volume of the trained leg increased significantly more than the untrained leg for five subjects over 72 h post‐exercise (P < 0.05). Peak torque fell, passive stiffness increased and both muscles became sore, but with no significant differences between the two legs. 5 It is concluded that a period of concentric exercise increases the susceptibility of muscle to changes associated with the damage from eccentric exercise.
Regulation of skeletal muscle lipolysis and oxidative metabolism by the co-lipase CGI-58[S]

We investigated here the specific role of CGI-58 in the regulation of energy metabolism in skeletal muscle. We first examined CGI-58 protein expression in various muscle types in mice, and next modulated CGI-58 expression during overexpression and knockdown studies in human primary myotubes and evaluated the consequences on oxidative metabolism. We observed a preferential expression of CGI-58 in oxidative muscles in mice consistent with triacylglycerol hydrolase activity. We next showed by pulse-chase that CGI-58 overexpression increased by more than 2-fold the rate of triacylglycerol (TAG) hydrolysis, as well as TAG-derived fatty acid (FA) release and oxidation. Oppositely, CGI-58 silencing reduced TAG hydrolysis and TAG-derived FA release and oxidation (−77%, P < 0.001), whereas it increased glucose oxidation and glycogen synthesis. Interestingly, modulations of CGI-58 expression and FA release are reflected by changes in pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 gene expression. This regulation involves the activation of the peroxisome proliferator activating receptor-δ (PPARδ) by lipolysis products. Altogether, these data reveal that CGI-58 plays a limiting role in the control of oxidative metabolism by modulating FA availability and the expression of PPARδ-target genes, and highlight an important metabolic function of CGI-58 in skeletal muscle.
Optimal microgrid economic operations under progressive second price auction mechanisms

This paper studies the economic operation of microgrids in a distributed scenario such that the operational schedule of each of units, like generators, load units, storage units etc, in a microgrid system, is implemented by autonomous agents. We apply and generalize a so-called progressive second price auction mechanism which was firstly presented by Lazar and Semret for allocation of variable size shares of resources. In a microgrid system, (i) a storage unit, like plug-in electric vehicles, is a buyer when it charges or a seller when it discharges, and (ii) in connected mode with the main grid, besides the interactions among the individual units in the microgrid, units may sell (or buy) electricity resources from (or to) exogenous main grid with certain buying (or selling) price set by the utility. It makes the underlying auction problems distinct from most of the auction problems in the literature.
Chapter 4 Scanning mutagenesis in a yeast system delineates the role of the NPxxY

The adenosine receptor subfamily includes four subtypes: the A1, A2A, A2B and A3 receptors, which all belong to the superfamily of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). The adenosine A2B receptor is the least investigated of the adenosine receptors, and the molecular mechanisms of its activation have hardly been explored. We used a single-GPCR-one-G protein yeast screening method in combination with mutagenesis studies, molecular modeling and bioinformatics to investigate the importance of the different amino acid residues of the NPxxY(x)6F motif and helix 8 in the human adenosine A2B receptor (hA2BR) activation. A scanning mutagenesis protocol was employed, yielding 11 single mutations and one double mutation of the NPxxY(x)6F motif and 16 single mutations of helix 8. The amino acid residues P2877.50, Y2907.53, R2937.56 and I3048.57 were found to be essential, since mutation of these amino acid residues to alanine led to a complete loss of function. Western blot analysis showed that mutant receptor R2937.56A was not expressed, whereas the other proteins were. Amino acid residues that are also important in receptor activation are: N2867.49, V2897.52, Y2927.55, N2948.47, F2978.50, R2988.51, H3028.55 and R3078.60. The mutation Y2907.53F lost 50% of efficacy, while F2978.50A behaved similar to wild-type receptor. The double mutation, Y2907.53F/F2978.50Y, lost around 70% of efficacy and displayed a lower potency for the reference agonist 5’-(N-ethylcarboxamido)adenosine (NECA). This study provides new insight into the molecular interplay and impact of TM7 and helix 8 for hA2B receptor activation, which may be extrapolated to other adenosine receptors and possibly to other GPCRs.
Speeding up neural network execution: an application to speech recognition

Many papers have addressed the problem of speeding up neural network execution, most of them trying to reduce network size by weight and neuron pruning, and others making use of special hardware. In this paper we propose a new, different method able to reduce the computational effort needed to calculate the output activity of a neural network. The suggested technique can be applied to a wide class of connectionist models for processing of slow varying signals (for example: vocal, radar, sonar and video signals). In addition, neither specialized hardware nor big quantities of additional memory are required. For each neuron of the network, the method suggests comparing its activation value at a certain moment with the corresponding activation value computed at the previous net forward computation: if no change occurred the neuron does not perform any computation, otherwise it propagates to the connected neurons the difference of its two activations multiplied by its outcoming weights. The proposal is verified in a speech recognition framework on two main tasks with two different neural network architectures. The results show a drastic reduction of the execution time on both the neural architectures and no significant changes in recognition quality.
Consumer decision-making, perceived product value, and purchasing behavior in the Taipei digital camera market

This study examined consumers decision-making styles by using the Consumer Styles Inventory (CSI) by Sui, Hui, Wang, and Chang (2001). It also investigated the relationship between the decision-making styles and the Perceived Value (PV) (Teas & Agarwal, 2001) when purchasing digital cameras and related equipments. The Independent Sample t test and Multiple Regression was used in analyzing the data. The results of the study indicated that the consumers with price-value consciousness decision-making styles had a positive relationship with perceived product quality and had a negative relationship with perceived product value and perceived performance risk. The consumers with perfectionism decision-making styles had a negative relationship with perceived sacrifice and perceived financial risk. The consumers with confused by over choice decision-making styles had a positive relationship with perceived product quality, and had a negative relationship with perceived product value and perceived product performance risk. Marketing managers could use this information to target consumers which had certain traits in these decision-making styles.
Language-integrated query with ordering, grouping and outer joins (poster paper)

Language-integrated query systems like T-LINQ or QUEΛ make relational operations on (generally external) data feel like the ordinary iteration over native arrays. As ordinary programs, queries are type-checked, can be abstracted over and composed. To access relational database systems, queries are eventually translated into well-formed, well-typed and efficient SQL. However, most existing language-integrated query systems implement only a small subset of relational operations supported by modern databases. To make QUEΛ full-featured, we add to it the operations corresponding to SQL's ORDER BY, LIMIT, OUTER JOIN, GROUP BY and HAVING. We describe the type system and the normalization rules to produce the efficient SQL code. The type system not only ensures by construction the intricate SQL validity constraints. It also prevents the accidental composition of hard-to-optimize queries. Our extended QUEΛ is embedded in OCaml in the tagless-final style.
Factors determining variations in otolith microincrement width of demersal juvenile Baltic cod Gadus morhua

Pelagic and demersal juvenile Baltic cod Gadus morhua L. were collected on the slope and the top of Ronne bank in the Baltic Sea during 2 cruises in November and December 1998. The objective of this study was to evaluate distinct changes in otolith increment width observed in demersal juveniles by comparison with laboratory-reared individuals, and to investigate the factors determining variation in these increments. The different increment-width patterns were identified with a method based on the widths of consecutive increments. Otolith increment widths of juvenile cod were found to be highly variable within and between individuals, in both the experimental and the field samples. The first change in increment pattern observed in the field samples was related to settling. The formation periodicity of increments within the different pattern intervals was confirmed with a growth model based on otolith growth rates of juvenile cod reared in the laboratory under different conditions. In this model, otolith growth rate was expressed as a function of rearing temperature and fish dry weight. Otolith growth of the field samples was calculated using ambient temperatures obtained from a 3D-circulation model. The best fit to observed otolith growth rates was obtained under the assumption that fish on the slope performed daily vertical migrations between the warm surface layer and the cold bottom layer. The data suggested that fish stayed in the surface layer during the first increment-pattern interval, performed vertical migrations during the second interval, and stayed in association with the seafloor in the subsequent interval, corresponding to the time after the breakdown of the thermocline.