Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Wavelength stabilized high-power diode laser modules

In this work we report on high-power diode laser modules with enhanced spectral brightness by means of volume holographic gratings for wavelength stabilization. High-power diode laser modules typically have a relatively broad spectral width of about 3 to 6 nm. In addition the center wavelength shifts by changing the temperature and the driving current, which is obstructive for pumping applications with small absorption bandwidths. Wavelength stabilization of high-power diode laser modules is an important means for more efficient pumping of solid-state lasers with a narrow absorption bandwidth. However, for efficient and reliable wavelength stabilization the parameters of the volume holographic grating and the parameters of the diode laser bar have to be adapted carefully. Important parameters are the reflectivity of the volume holographic grating, the reflectivity of the diode laser bar and the angular and spectral emission characteristics of the diode laser bar. In addition, the lateral structure of the diode laser bar and the microoptical elements for beam shaping have to be considered. In this paper we present a detailed characterization of different diode laser systems with wavelength stabilization in the spectral range from 790 - 1000 nm. The laser modules are divided into systems with and without fiber coupling. We will present data for a wavelength stabilized single diode laser bar with an output power of 69 W at a wavelength of 808 nm. Another example is a wavelength stabilized fiber-coupled diode laser module with an output power of 456 W for a fiber with a core diameter of 400 μm (NA 0.22).
Notice of RetractionThe evaluation and countermeasure of agriculture modernization of Henan province

The construction of agricultural modernization plays an important role in agricultural sustainable development. Accurate evaluating the development of agricultural modernization is the base of formulating the countermeasures. This article constructs a evaluation system base on the illustrating the agricultural modernization theories. We select all of the Henan province's countries for object of study and use the methods of DEA and the fixed weight of grey cluster to evaluate the process of agricultural modernization. According to the result, we make countermeasures for different countries to improve the development of agricultural modernization.
Delay-Dependent Stabilization of Stochastic Discrete-Time Systems with Time-Varying Time-Delay

This paper deals with the class of linear stochastic discrete-time systems with varying time-delay. The problems of stability and stabilizability for this class of systems are considered. Given an upper and a lower bounds on the time-varying delay sufficient conditions for checking the stability of this class of systems are developed. A control design algorithm is also provided. All the results developed in this paper are in the LMI formalism which makes their solvability easier using the existing tools. A numerical example is provided to show the effectiveness of the established results.
3D-printed Broadband Impedance Transformers Using Helical-microstrip Transmission Line Segments

In this article 3D-printed helical-microstrip transmission line segments are used to implement compact broadband impedance transformers intended to work in the frequency range from few hundreds of MHz to several GHz. Two different topologies of tapered impedance transformer were designed fabricated and tested. In both cases, experimental results agree with electromagnetic simulations performed using the finite element method. The results demonstrate that the use of helical-microstrip technology allows to reduce the length of the transmission line segments by a factor of about 5 in comparison with an ideal transformer with the same minimum operating frequency.
The reliability of three definitions of bizarre delusions.

OBJECTIVE This study was conducted to determine whether the interjudge reliability of the DSM-III-R concept of bizarre delusions could be improved by alternative definitions of the concept. METHOD Twelve raters evaluated 180 delusions of separate psychiatric patients according to the DSM-III-R and two alternative definitions of bizarre delusions. RESULTS The kappas for the DSM-III-R definition and for one of the alternative definitions were 0.64 and 0.65, respectively; for the other alternative definition it was 0.45. All three definitions were highly intercorrelated, largely identifying the same cases. CONCLUSIONS Neither of the alternative definitions of bizarre delusions was more reliable than the DSM-III-R definition. The reliability of the DSM-III-R definition, although only fair, is comparable to that of other important clinical concepts that play a major role in the DSM-III-R diagnostic criteria for psychotic disorders.
Effect of Petting a Dog on Immune System Function

The present study assessed the effect of petting a dog on secretory immunoglobulin A (IgA) levels. 55 college students were randomly assigned to either an experimental group or one of two control groups. Group 1 (n = 19) petted a live dog; Group 2 (n = 17) petted a stuffed dog, while Group 3 (n = 19) simply sat comfortably on a couch. Each participant was exposed to one of the three conditions for 18 min. Pre- and posttreatment saliva samples yielded a significant increase in IgA for Group 1 only. Participants were also asked to complete the Pet Attitude Scale of Templer, Salter, Dickey, Baldwin and Veleber. Scores on this scale correlated with IgA increases only for participants in Group 2 (petting a stuffed animal). Results are discussed in terms of the beneficial effects of pets on health in general, and immunity in particular.
Efficient Algorithms for Prolog Based Probabilistic Logic Programming (Efficiënte algoritmen voor prolog gebaseerd probabilistisch logisch programmeren)

The integration of probabilistic reasoning with logic programming has become one of the challenges in Artificial Intelligence. Lately, a lot of Probabilistic Logic Programming (PLP) formalisms have surfaced. Given that PLP is the combination of logic programming and probabilities which are two very different fields, it is expected that researchers from several fields come up with different approaches to tackle the presented challenges. This has resulted in a new discipline called Probabilistic Logic Learning (PLL) or Statistical Relational Learning (SRL) and a very active research community. Within this community, ProbLog a probabilistic extension of Prolog, has appeared. ProbLog was motivated by the task of mining links in large probabilistic graphs. The simple but powerful ProbLog formulation was extended in order to support inference on several different models. Soon ProbLog evolved into a general purpose probabilistic programming language that provides infrastructure for many PLL/SRL tasks. The two most critical aspects of a PLP language are its expression power, and its scalability over common PLL problems. This thesis focuses on the extension and implementation of ProbLog. Tabling is a well known method for avoiding re-computation in logic programming; we present how tabling can be implemented for ProbLog. Tabling has significant benefits for performance and also allows ProbLog to handle cyclic programs. In order for the ProbLog system to perform inference, it manipulates large Boolean formulae. We present the manipulation of Boolean formulae and several novel algorithms that improve the performance of this task. Furthermore, we present patterns, called AND/OR-clusters, that can be used to reduce a Boolean formula to an equivalent one. Besides performance improvements of the ProbLog system, we also present several novel extensions to the ProbLog language, such as: general negation, probabilistic meta calls and ProbLog answers. Finally, we present two applications of ProbLog that use several of the features we have contributed to ProbLog.
Netlist bipartitioning using particle swarm optimisation technique

In this paper circuit netlist bipartitioning using particle swarm optimisation technique is presented. Particle swarm optimisation is a powerful evolutionary computation technique for global search and optimisation. The circuit netlist is partitioned into two partitions such that the number of interconnections between the partitions (cutsize) is minimised. Results obtained show the versatility of the proposed soft computing method in solving non polynomial hard problems like circuit netlist partitioning.
The Evaluation Criteria for a Video Query Language with Powerful Expressiveness

With the rapid increasing of video data, video queries are becoming increasingly important. To better describe users’ video query requirements, developing a functional video query language has become a promising and interesting task. In this paper, we present a novel query language called SVQL for video databases, which is developed based on an extension of the traditional database query language SQL. In SVQL, we remain the clear and concise grammatical framework of SQL, thereby making SVQL easy to learn and use for traditional users, i.e., making SVQL with a user-friendly interface. Moreover, we extend the WHERE clause of SQL to introduce new conditional expressions, such as variable declaration, structure specification, feature specification and spatial-temporal specification, thereby, making SVQL with powerful expressiveness. In this paper, we first present the formal definitions of SVQL and illustrate its basic query capabilities using examples. Then, we discuss the SVQL query processing techniques. Finally, we evaluate SVQL through the comparison with other existing video query languages, and the evaluation results demonstrate the practicality and effectiveness of our proposed query language for video databases
An activity gel assay detects a single, catalytically active histone acetyltransferase subunit in Tetrahymena macronuclei.

Macronuclei of the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila possess a histone acetyltransferase activity closely associated with transcription-related histone acetylation. Nothing definitive is known concerning the polypeptide composition of this activity in Tetrahymena or any comparable activity from any cellular source. An acetyltransferase activity gel assay was developed which identifies a catalytically active subunit of this enzyme in Tetrahymena. This activity gel assay detects a single polypeptide of 55 kDa (p55) in crude macronuclear extracts, as well as in column-purified fractions, which incorporates [3H]acetate from [3H]acetyl-CoA into core histone substrates polymerized directly into SDS polyacrylamide gels. p55 copurifies precisely with acetyltransferase activity through all chromatographic steps examined, including reverse-phase HPLC. Gel-filtration chromatography of this activity indicates a molecular mass of 220 kDa, suggesting that the native enzyme may consist of four identical subunits of 55 kDa. Furthermore, p55 is tightly associated with di- and greater polynucleosomes and therefore may be defined as a component of histone acetyltransferase type A--i.e., chromatin associated.
Fundamentación matemática del análisis estadístico de datos composicionales

Por vector composicional se entiende un vector cuyas componentes son todas estrictamente positivas y de suma constante. Revisamos esta definición partiendo de una relación de equivalencia en el octante positivo del espacio real que permite identificar las composiciones con clases de equivalencia. La transformación logaŕıtmica entre el conjunto de las composiciones y un espacio vectorial real euclidiano permite demostrar que el śımplex es una representación posible del conjunto de clases y que tiene estructura de espacio vectorial real euclidiano. Además, la metodoloǵıa de Aitchison es compatible con esta estructura y no depende de la representación.
Spatio-temporal modelling in disease

Disease mapping is an area of statistical research that is rapidly evolving. At the present time, it has become usual that Vital Statistics Agencies produce Atlases to display the mortality risk distribution in a region. Most of these published documents already make use of spatial models that correct the well-known deficiencies of the Standardized Mortality Ratio (SMR). Recently, interest has been on extending these models to incorporate jointly time trends and spatio-temporal interactions. Comparable maps in space and time can give valuable information not only about the present geographically localized disease problems but also on the evolution of these problems. Several proposals are being constantly given in the literature. Here, we adopt two of the most used: the spatiotemporal mixture model given in Böhning (2003), and that based on Bayesian analysis proposed by Bernardinelli et al. (1995). These models are compared in terms of how their specifications affect the pattern obtained. We illustrated our findings using a real data set of mortality due to colon and rectum cancer in males from Navarra, Spain.
Increased genetic susceptibility to intestinal‐type gastric cancer is associated with increased activity of the RUNX3 distal promoter

The runt‐related transcription factor RUNX3 plays essential roles in various types of tumors, including gastric cancer. Epigenetic changes in the methylation of the RUNX3 proximal promoter, but not common genetic changes in RUNX3, have been associated with both changes in the gene expression and development of the cancer.
Selenoprotein S/SEPS1 Modifies Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Z Variant α1-Antitrypsin Deficiency*

Z α1-antitrypsin (ZAAT) deficiency is a disease associated with emphysematous lung disease and also with liver disease. The liver disease of AAT deficiency is associated with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. SEPS1 is a selenoprotein that, through a chaperone activity, decreases ER stress. To determine the effect of SEPS1 on ER stress in ZAAT deficiency, we measured activity of the grp78 promoter and levels of active ATF6 as markers of the unfolded protein response in HepG2 cells transfected with the mutant form of AAT, a ZAAT transgene. We evaluated levels of NFκB activity as a marker of the ER overload response. To determine the effect of selenium supplementation on the function of SEPS1, we investigated glutathione peroxidase activity, grp78 promoter activity, and NFκB activity in the presence or absence of selenium. SEPS1 reduced levels of active ATF6. Overexpression of SEPS1 also inhibited grp78 promoter and NFκB activity, and this effect was enhanced in the presence of selenium supplementation. This finding demonstrates a role for SEPS1 in ZAAT deficiency and suggests a possible therapeutic potential for selenium supplementation.
The effect of percutaneous motor cortex stimulation on H reflexes in muscles of the arm and leg in intact man.

The technique of electrical stimulation of the brain via scalp electrodes has been used to activate corticospinal pathways in intact man. The intensity of stimulation was adjusted to be below the threshold necessary to evoke a direct electromyographic response when the muscles being tested were totally relaxed. Changes in spinal cord excitability were measured using H‐reflex (monosynaptic) testing. By this means it was found that subthreshold scalp stimulation can produce a descending corticospinal volley even in the absence of a direct muscle response. The time course of changes in spinal cord excitability was evaluated by evoking test H reflexes at different intervals relative to the scalp stimulus. In wrist and finger flexor muscles of seven subjects, a single subthreshold scalp shock produced an initial peak facilitation of the H reflex which on average lasted for 2.5 ms. The end of the initial facilitation was marked by a return of the H reflex towards basal levels and on one occasion by a frank inhibition. It is suggested that the initial facilitation is produced by arrival at the motoneurones of monosynaptic excitatory post‐synaptic potentials (e.p.s.p.s) and is truncated by the subsequent arrival of disynaptic inhibitory post‐synaptic potentials (i.p.s.p.s). The initial facilitation was followed by a second phase of facilitation of the H reflex. The second phase was weaker, more variable and longer lasting (from 5 to 20 ms) than the first phase. The threshold of scalp stimulus intensity required to produce an effect on the H reflex was the same for the first and second phases of facilitation. Several possible explanations are discussed for the mechanism responsible for the late and long‐lasting facilitation. In two subjects wrist and finger extensor muscles were studied. The time course of H‐reflex changes was similar to that of the flexors except that the initial facilitation was followed by a frank inhibition in both subjects. In one subject thenar muscles and tibialis anterior were studied and behaved similarly to wrist and finger flexor muscles. Effects on the soleus H reflex was studied in seven subjects. In five of these subjects, in contrast to the other muscles studied, the initial event was an inhibition of the H reflex. This inhibition also could be seen preceding the usual period of facilitation in averaged rectified surface electromyogram (e.m.g.) records when scalp stimuli were given during weak voluntary activation of soleus. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Genetic Characterization of Protostrongylus shiozawai From Japanese Serows (Capricornis crispus)

Abstract Protostrongylus shiozawai (Nematoda: Strongylida) infection is known to occur in the lungs of wild Japanese serows (Capricornis crispus) and, to date, has been classified only by its morphological characteristics, as well as host specificity. To characterize P. shiozawai genetically, a partial sequence of the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS-2) region was determined and compared with those of related nematodes. Our subsequent classification of P. shiozawai based on phylogenetic analysis was consistent with the current classification. Phylogenetic analysis also showed that P. shiozawai is more closely related to Protostrongylus stilesi than to Protostrongylus rufescens. PCR using genetic markers in the ITS-2 region should provide a useful tool for expanded studies of P. shiozawai and other Protostrongylus species.
Can poverty get under your skin? Basal cortisol levels and cognitive function in children from low and high socioeconomic status

It is well known that individuals from more advantaged social classes enjoy better mental and physical health than do individuals within lower classes. Various mechanisms have been evoked to explain the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and health. One mechanism that has received particular attention in recent years is stress. It has been shown that individuals lower in SES report greater exposure to stressful life events and a greater impact of these events on their life than individuals higher in SES. In order to measure whether the development of the relationship between SES and mental health is sustained by exposure to high levels of glucocorticoids, we measured morning salivary cortisol levels as well as cognitive function (memory, attention, and language) in 307 children (from 6 to 16 years of age) from low versus high SES in the Montreal area in Canada. The results revealed that low SES children from 6 to 10 years old present significantly higher salivary cortisol levels when compared to children from high SES. This difference disappears at the time of school transition, and no SES differences are observed in salivary cortisol levels during high school. However, children from low and high SES do not differ with regard to memory or to attentional and linguistic functions. Also, mothers of low SES children reported higher feelings of depression and more unhealthy behaviors, while mothers of high SES children reported higher stress related to work or family transitions. Altogether, these results show that low SES in young children is related to increased cortisol secretion, although the impact of SES on cortisol secretion is absent after transition to high school. These data are interpreted within the context of the equalization process of class patterning. Four social explanatory factors are suggested to explain the disappearance of SES differences in basal cortisol levels after school transition, taking into account the influence of family environment on the child's secretion of stress hormones.
Robot-on-Robot Gossiping to Improve Sense of Human-Robot Conversation

In recent years, a substantial amount of research has been aimed at realizing a social robot that can maintain long-term user interest. One approach is using a dialogue strategy in which the robot makes a remark based on previous dialogues with users. However, privacy problems may occur owing to private information of the user being mentioned. We propose a novel dialogue strategy whereby a robot mentions another robot in the form of gossiping. This dialogue strategy can improve the sense of conversation, which results in increased interest while avoiding the privacy issue. We examined our proposal by conducting a conversation experiment evaluated by subject impressions. The results demonstrated that the proposed method could help the robot to obtain higher evaluations. In particular, the perceived mind was improved in the Likert scale evaluation, whereas the robot empathy and intention to use were improved in the binary comparison evaluation. Our dialogue strategy may contribute to understanding the factors regarding the sense of conversation, thereby adding value to the field of human-robot interaction.
The Crystal Structure of DJ-1, a Protein Related to Male Fertility and Parkinson's Disease*

DJ-1 is a multifunctional protein that plays essential roles in tissues with higher order biological functions such as the testis and brain. DJ-1 is related to male fertility, and its level in sperm decreases in response to exposure to sperm toxicants. DJ-1 has also been identified as a hydroperoxide-responsive protein. Recently, a mutation of DJ-1 was found to be responsible for familial Parkinson's disease. Here, we present the crystal structure of DJ-1 refined to 1.95-Å resolution. DJ-1 forms a dimer in the crystal, and the monomer takes a flavodoxin-like Rossmann-fold. DJ-1 is structurally most similar to the monomer subunit of protease I, the intracellular cysteine protease from Pyrococcus horikoshii, and belongs to the Class I glutamine amidotransferase-like superfamily. However, DJ-1 contains an additional α-helix at the C-terminal region, which blocks the putative catalytic site of DJ-1 and appears to regulate the enzymatic activity. DJ-1 may induce conformational changes to acquire catalytic activity in response to oxidative stress.