Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An omnidirectional small loop antenna based on first-negative-order resonance

A compact first-negative-order resonance-based small loop antenna is proposed which consists of two unit cells of composite right-left hand transmission line (CRLH TL). By folding one of the unit cells to the bottom layer, higher radiation efficiency and omnidirectional radiation property can be achieved. A prototype antenna is fabricated and measured. The size of the proposed antenna is only 10.45 mm × 7mm (or 0.062 λ0 × 0.042 λ0) at 1.78 GHz. The measured antenna bandwidth is 6.4 MHz and gain is 0.53 dBi.
Variation in life-cycle between three rare and endangered floodplain violets in two regions: implications for population viability and conservation

We studied the demography of Viola elatior, V. pumila, and V. stagnina, three rare and endangered Central European floodplain species, to (i) analyse variation in life-cycles among congeners and between regions (Dyje-Morava floodplains, Czech Republic; Upper Rhine, Germany), (ii) to define sensitive stages in the life-cycles, and (iii) to identify possible threats for population viability and species conservation.Matrix models were based on the fate of marked individuals from a total of 27 populations over two years. We analysed population growth rate (λ), stage distribution, net reproductive rate (R0), generation time, age at first reproduction, and elasticity and calculated a life table response experiment (LTRE). Most populations were declining and λ did not differ between species or regions during the observed interval. Despite higher probabilities for survival and flowering in the Dyje populations, R0 was higher in the Rhine populations. Also other demographic traits showed consistent differences between regions and/or species. Complex life-cycles and large variation in λ precluded unequivocal identification of sensitive stages or vital rates for conservation. Variation between regions may be a consequence of differences in habitat quality.Our results suggest that deterministic processes such as reduced management, succession, habitat destruction, and lack of disturbance through reduced or eliminated flooding present the strongest threat for the viability and persistence of populations of the three floodplain violets as compared with stochastic processes. However, the persistent seed bank of the species may buffer populations against environmental variation and represents a reservoir for recovery after resumption of suitable land-use management.
A hybrid trust‐enhanced collaborative filtering recommendation approach for personalized government‐to‐business e‐services

The information overload on the World Wide Web results in the underuse of some existing e‐government services within the business domain. Small‐to‐medium businesses (SMBs), in particular, are seeking “one‐to‐one'' e‐services from government in current highly competitive markets, and there is an imperative need to develop Web personalization techniques to provide business users with information and services specific to their needs, rather than an undifferentiated mass of information. This paper focuses on how e‐governments can support businesses on the problem of selecting a trustworthy business partner to perform reliable business transactions. In the business partner selection process, trust or reputation information is crucial and has significant influence on a business user's decision regarding whether or not to do business with other business entities. For this purpose, an intelligent trust‐enhanced recommendation approach to provide personalized government‐to‐business (G2B) e‐services, and in particular, business partner recommendation e‐services for SMBs is proposed. Accordingly, in this paper, we develop (1) an implicit trust filtering recommendation approach and (2) an enhanced user‐based collaborative filtering (CF) recommendation approach. To further exploit the advantages of the two proposed approaches, we develop (3) a hybrid trust‐enhanced CF recommendation approach (TeCF) that integrates both the proposed implicit trust filtering and the enhanced user‐based CF recommendation approaches. Empirical results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approaches, especially the hybrid TeCF recommendation approach in terms of improving accuracy, as well as in dealing with very sparse data sets and cold‐start users. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Species Diversities of Herpetofaunal Samples From Similar Microhabitats at Two Tropical Sites

Amphibians and reptiles were collected from tree buttresses in two different regions to determine whether within-habitat species diversity differences were evident. Using the method suggested by Pielou (1966), the average species diversity per individual was H' = 1.92 ± . 47 for the collection of amphibians and reptiles taken from tree buttresses in a tropical dry forest formation in Thailand, H' = 4.95 ± . 84 for the tree buttress collection taken in Ecuador. Part of the within-habitat diversity differences are due to a difference in kind of organism: a large number of terrestrial frogs are present in Ecuador; there are no terrestrial frogs from the Thai site. Other differences are also operating, however. The number of lizard species are comparable in the two collections (8 from Thailand, 10 from Ecuador) , yet the Brillouin diversity measure of the Ecuadorian lizard collection was NH = 2.24, higher than the diversity of the Thai lizard collection, NH = 1.25. The diversity differences are postulated to be due to different sizes of the total forest herpetofaunas of the two regions.
Current Status of Antihypertensive Prescription and Associated Blood Pressure Control in Japan

The importance of tight blood pressure (BP) control has been established. We performed cross-sectional studies on the current status of BP control and the prescription and efficacy of antihypertensive drugs in hypertensive patients in Japan. The data were also evaluated in subgroups with or without diabetes mellitus (DM) and in winter and summer. Analyses were performed on the collected data of 12,437 treated hypertensive patients in winter and 5,972 in summer 2002. In winter, 50.3% of patients received calcium channel blockers (CCBs), 15.3% received angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and 11.0% received angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs). In the patients receiving monotherapy, 69% of patients received a CCB, 13% an ACEI and 11.0% an ARB. A total of 2,918 patients received combination therapy, and CCBs were the most frequently (89.6%) prescribed component of such therapy. Prescriptions of β-blockers (BBs) decreased and those of CCBs and diuretics (D) increased with age (p<0.001). The rate of patients with adequately controlled BP less than 140/90 mmHg was 40.3% in the CCB group, 37.6% in the D group, and 36.9% in the BB group (p<0.001). In patients receiving combination therapy, those with CCB+D had the best rate of BP control (40.7%). The rate of patients with adequately controlled BP was lower in winter than in summer at both a target BP of 140/90 mmHg (36.2% vs. 43.8%, p<0.001) and a target BP of 130/85 mmHg in patients younger than 60 years old (15.5% vs. 18.6%, p<0.02). In diabetic patients, the target BP (130/80 mmHg) was achieved in only 11.3%, which was lower (p<0.05) than the rate in non-diabetic patients (13.1%). In conclusion, the present cross-sectional study showed that CCBs were the most frequently prescribed agent for the treatment of hypertension in Japan. The rate of adequate BP control was less than 50% and was even worse in patients with DM and in winter. Our results indicate that physicians should treat hypertension more intensively to achieve the target BP.
Diversity in the Protein N-Glycosylation Pathways Within the Campylobacter Genus*

The foodborne bacterial pathogen, Campylobacter jejuni, possesses an N-linked protein glycosylation (pgl) pathway involved in adding conserved heptasaccharides to asparagine-containing motifs of >60 proteins, and releasing the same glycan into its periplasm as free oligosaccharides. In this study, comparative genomics of all 30 fully sequenced Campylobacter taxa revealed conserved pgl gene clusters in all but one species. Structural, phylogenetic and immunological studies showed that the N-glycosylation systems can be divided into two major groups. Group I includes all thermotolerant taxa, capable of growth at the higher body temperatures of birds, and produce the C. jejuni-like glycans. Within group I, the niche-adapted C. lari subgroup contain the smallest genomes among the epsilonproteobacteria, and are unable to glucosylate their pgl pathway glycans potentially reminiscent of the glucosyltransferase regression observed in the O-glycosylation system of Neisseria species. The nonthermotolerant Campylobacters, which inhabit a variety of hosts and niches, comprise group II and produce an unexpected diversity of N-glycan structures varying in length and composition. This includes the human gut commensal, C. hominis, which produces at least four different N-glycan structures, akin to the surface carbohydrate diversity observed in the well-studied commensal, Bacteroides. Both group I and II glycans are immunogenic and cell surface exposed, making these structures attractive targets for vaccine design and diagnostics.
Purulent pericarditis and mediastinitis due to Peptococcus magnus.

PURULENT pericarditis and atraumatic mediastinitis are both uncommon illnesses. We report herein a case with both infections due to Peptococcus magnus , a pathogen reported only rarely 1,2 as the cause of either infection. The source of infection was probably an occult tooth abscess. Report of a Case A 30-year-old man was admitted elsewhere after two weeks of progressive fever, pleuritic chest pain, cough, and dyspnea. Examination disclosed fever and findings of pericardial tamponade. A chest roentgenogram showed cardiomegaly, and an echocardiogram showed normal valves and a large pericardial effusion. Pericardiocentesis was performed, with removal of 10 mL of purulent fluid. Examination of the fluid revealed 67,000 white blood cells (89% polymorphonuclear leukocytes) and gram-positive cocci. Blood cultures were not obtained. Therapy with nafcillin sodium and tobramycin was begun, and clindamycin was added when only anaerobic cultures yielded organisms. Biochemical identification of the pathogen as P magnus and persistent fever prompted
Function and Regulation of Vibrio campbellii Proteorhodopsin : Acquired Phototrophy in a Classical

Proteorhodopsins (PRs) are retinal-binding photoproteins that mediate light-driven proton translocation across prokaryotic cell membranes. Despite their abundance, wide distribution and contribution to the bioenergy budget of the marine photic zone, an understanding of PR function and physiological significance in situ has been hampered as the vast majority of PRs studied to date are from unculturable bacteria or culturable species that lack the tools for genetic manipulation. In this study, we describe the presence and function of a horizontally acquired PR and retinal biosynthesis gene cluster in the culturable and genetically tractable bioluminescent marine bacterium Vibrio campbellii. Pigmentation analysis, absorption spectroscopy and photoinduction assays using a heterologous over-expression system established the V. campbellii PR as a functional green light absorbing proton pump. In situ analyses comparing PR expression and function in wild type (WT) V. campbellii with an isogenic DpR deletion mutant revealed a marked absence of PR membrane localization, pigmentation and light-induced proton pumping in the DpR mutant. Comparative photoinduction assays demonstrated the distinct upregulation of pR expression in the presence of light and PR-mediated photophosphorylation in WT cells that resulted in the enhancement of cellular survival during respiratory stress. In addition, we demonstrate that the master regulator of adaptive stress response and stationary phase, RpoS1, positively regulates pR expression and PR holoprotein pigmentation. Taken together, the results demonstrate facultative phototrophy in a classical marine organoheterotrophic Vibrio species and provide a salient example of how this organism has exploited lateral gene transfer to further its adaptation to the photic zone. Citation: Wang Z, O’Shaughnessy TJ, Soto CM, Rahbar AM, Robertson KL, et al. (2012) Function and Regulation of Vibrio campbellii Proteorhodopsin: Acquired Phototrophy in a Classical Organoheterotroph. PLoS ONE 7(6): e38749. doi:10.1371/journal.pone. 0038749 Editor: Brandon K. Harvey, National Institute on Drug Abuse, United States of America Received February 1, 2012; Accepted May 12, 2012; Published June 7, 2012 This is an open-access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. Funding: This work was supported by the Office of Naval Research via United States Naval Research Laboratory core funds [MA 041-06-4R]. The opinions and assertions contained herein are those of the authors and are not to be construed as those of the U.S. Navy, military service at large or U.S. Government. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. * E-mail: gary.vora@nrl.navy. mil
Yeast two‐hybrid screen reveals novel protein interactions of the cytoplasmic tail of lipophorin receptor in silkworm brain

The silkworm, Bombyx mori lipophorin receptor (BmLpR), is expressed as splice variants. The alternative splicing of its primary gene transcripts yields four isoforms namely, LpR1 through 4. Among these isoforms, the LpR4 is unique, expressed only in the brain and CNS and with a unique amino acid tail sequence in its cytoplasmic domain. We carried out yeast two‐hybrid screens to identify effector proteins that interact specifically with the cytoplasmic tail of LpR4 from a cDNA library derived from silkworm brain. The validity of the screen was confirmed by immunoblotting and further by co‐immunoprecipitation. We have identified 11 novel proteins that are capable of interacting with the cytoplasmic domain of LpR4 in the silkworm brain. Most of these newly identified target proteins have known functions in lipid signalling, protein kinase pathways, cell motility, and organization of cytoskeleton, neurotransmission, and neuroprotection. These findings, for the first time, demonstrate a molecular link between LpR4 and the interacting proteins that might be involved in the regulation of signalling pathways in silkworm brain. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Lithium-Ion Battery State of Charge and Critical Surface Charge Estimation Using an Electrochemical Model-Based Extended Kalman Filter

This paper presents a numerical calculation of the evolution of the spatially resolved solid concentration in the two electrodes of a lithium-ion cell. The microscopic solid concentration is driven by the macroscopic Butler–Volmer current density distribution, which is consequently driven by the applied current through the boundary conditions. The resulting, mostly causal, implementation of the algebraic differential equations that describe the battery electrochemical principles, even after assuming fixed electrolyte concentration, is of high order and complexity and is denoted as the full order model. The full order model is compared with the results in the works of Smith and Wang (2006, “Solid-State Diffusion Limitations on Pulse Operation of a Lithium-Ion Cell for Hybrid Electric Vehicles,” J. Power Sources, 161, pp. 628–639) and Wang et al. (2007 “Control oriented 1D Electrochemical Model of Lithium Ion Battery,” Energy Convers. Manage., 48, pp. 2565–2578) and creates our baseline model, which will be further simplified for charge estimation. We then propose a low order extended Kalman filter for the estimation of the average-electrode charge similarly to the single-particle charge estimation in the work of White and Santhanagopalan (2006, “Online Estimation of the State of Charge of a Lithium Ion Cell,” J. Power Sources, 161, pp. 1346–1355) with the following two substantial enhancements. First, we estimate the average-electrode, or single-particle, solid-electrolyte surface concentration, called critical surface charge in addition to the more traditional bulk concentration called state of charge. Moreover, we avoid the weakly observable conditions associated with estimating both electrode concentrations by recognizing that the measured cell voltage depends on the difference, and not the absolute value, of the two electrode open circuit voltages. The estimation results of the reduced, single, averaged electrode model are compared with the full order model simulation. DOI: 10.1115/1.4002475
From Pyrylium to Pyridinium Salts: Understanding Physicochemical Features

Pyridinium salts are very useful synthetic building blocks to obtain substituted pyridine, dihydropyridine or piperidine. This synthetic strategy has been described for different applications such as total synthesis of Geissoschizine, cannabisativine, Lepadin B, among others. Pyridinium salts have been also used to achieve asymmetric and regioselective synthesis by additions of Grignard reagents. Furthermore, pyridinium salts have been applied as acylating agents, phase transfer catalyst or ionic liquid and dyes as a result of its intrinsic fluorescence. Frequently, these N-alkylated pyridine systems have been synthesized involving pyrylium salts as precursors. Pyrylium salts are cationic organic molecules with trivalent oxygen in a six member aromatic rings. These compounds have been exploited to design sensors for anions, amines, amino acids and chameleon labels for quantifying proteins. Herein, we report the synthesis and characterization of new 2,4,6-tri-arylpyrylium salts from small aldehydes and ketones. The synthesis of pyridinium salts by subsequent reaction with a primary alkyl amine or amino groups on carbohydrate moieties have been also explored. In one case, formation of pyridinium cation, that involves quaternary nitrogen, may provide a good potential candidate for gene delivery by using siRNA. We thank the AECID (Projects A/023577/09 and A/030422/10) and the 'Junta de Andalucia' (FQM 142 and Project P09-AGR-4597) for financial support.
Ferroelectric thin-film based electrically tunable Ku-band coplanar waveguide components

Barium strontium titanate Ba/sub 0.6/Sr/sub 0.4/TiO/sub 3/ thin-film based tunable coplanar waveguide (CPW) components were studied in this research. The CPW components modeled and experimentally verified include CPW transmission lines, resonators and 2-pole filters. The resonators and filters fabricated and tested exhibited a frequency tunability of approximately 3% for a bipolar bias voltage of /spl plusmn/100 V, corresponding to a peak biasing field of 40 kV/cm.
MiR-19b/20a/92a regulates the self-renewal and proliferation of gastric cancer stem cells

Summary Human gastric cancers contain a population of gastric cancer stem cells (GCSCs) that can undergo self-renewal and multipotent differentiation. GCSCs can be enriched with EpCAM+/CD44+ gastric cancer cells. However, the underlying mechanisms controlling the balance of GCSC self-renewal and differentiation remain to be explored. Because miRNAs can regulate cancer cell fates, we compared miRNA expression in tumorspheric cancer cells enriched with GCSCs and more differentiated cells. We found that the miR-17-92 cluster members miR-19b, miR-20a and miR-92a were gradually reduced during the differentiation of GCSCs. Therefore, we speculated that miR-17-92 members might regulate the self-renewal ability of GCSCs. By downregulating miR-19b, miR-20a and miR-92a in EpCAM+/CD44+ GCSCs, or overexpressing them in EpCAM−/CD44− non-GCSC populations, we found that miR-19b, miR-20a and miR-92a could sustain the self-renewal function of GCSCs. Furthermore, we found that miR-19b, miR-20a and miR-92a could also promote the proliferation of gastric cancer cells. miR-17-92 targeted the E2F1 and HIPK1 proteins, which suppressed Wnt–&bgr;-catenin signaling. A real-time PCR analysis of miR-19b, miR-20a and miR-92a expression in 97 gastric cancer specimens suggested that miR-92a could be used as an independent prognostic factor in gastric cancer. This study showed that several members of the miR-17-92 cluster, miR-19b, miR-20a and miR-92a, might play important roles in the development of gastric cancer stem cells and that miR-92a has the potential to be used as a predictive prognostic marker in gastric cancer.
Bacterial community structure of Gaotaizi reservoir in Sanan development area in Daqing Oilfield

To develop microbial enhanced oil recovery(MEOR) technology,bacterial diversity of Gaotaizi Reservoir in Sanan development area in Daqing Oilfield was investigated by molecular biology methods.One sample of injected water and one mixed sample including eight samples of produced water were analyzed.The genomic DNA was extracted,16S rDNA clone library was constructed by PCR amplification with universal primers,cloned in Escherichia coli and bacterial community structure was studied by the analysis of 16S rDNA clone library.Bacterial clones of injected water were classified into 22 different operational taxonomic units(OUTs),bacterial clones of produced water were only classified into 9 different OUTs.The result showed that the diversity of microbial communities in the injected water was more complicated than that in produced water.16S rDNA of each clone was sequenced and phylogenetic analysis revealed that the dominant microbes of the injected water belonged to Gammaproteobacteria(79.0%),Betaproteobacteria(3.0%),and the uncultured bacteria(18.0%);the dominant microbes of the produced water were composed of Gammaproteobacteria(87.7%),detaproteobacteria(8.5%) and the uncultured bacteria(15.1%). Pseudomonas related with hydrocarbon biodegradation and surfactant production accounted for 17.79 % and 6.02 % in the clone library of injected water and produced water,respectively.These results provide the basis information on microbial ecology in specific reservoirs for MEOR technology.
A Technique for Lymphocyte Preparation from Stored Heparinized Blood 1

The lymphocyte cytotoxicity technique is the method of choice a t present for the detection of leukocyte HL-A antigens in histocompatibility testing for organ transplantation, as well as in genetic and anthropological studies. A problem of this technique is the lack of a consistently reliable method of preparing pure suspensions of lymphocytes from the peripheral blood of cadavers and from stored blood, although there are numerous satisfactory techniques for obtaining lymphocytes from the blood of healthy donors. This paper describes a reliable, simple, and quick modification of the method of BOYUM [l], suitable for the preparation of lymphocytes from fresh blood from healthy people, and also superior t o other techniques for lymphocyte preparations from cadaver blood, and from heparinized blood stored at room temperature for up t o 72 h.
Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke: From Scientific Evidence to Practice

Nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) is the most frequent cause of cardioembolic stroke. Due to the aging of the population, NVAF is becoming an important public health issue. Despite the impressive results of trials with oral anticoagulation (OAC) in primary and secondary prevention of stroke in NVAF patients, OAC remains underused or misused in practice. Beyond the risk of bleeding, there also are several arguments for a lack of knowledge about trials and guidelines. Medical education could then be one of the most effective way to improve stroke prevention in NVAF patients in practice.