Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enhanced Hole Mobility and Low $Tinv$ for pMOSFET by a Novel Epitaxial Si/Ge Superlattice Channel

Since the SiGe or Ge channel materials are desirable to enhance the carrier mobility degraded by ultrathin high-k gate dielectric, the pMOSFET device with novel superlattice (SL) SiGe channels is proposed in this letter. Experimental results show that the electrical characteristics of MOSFET can be obviously improved by an SL virtual substrate. The peak hole mobility of the pMOSFET device with SL is enhanced by about 100% as compared to that with the Si one. The on-off ratio of the Id-Vg curve is beyond eight orders, and the electrical thickness in inversion (Tinv) value of the gate dielectric can be ~1.4 nm. The source/drain activation temperature of 650°C is particularly suitable to high-k dielectric process.
Jumping translocations in spontaneous abortions

Chromosome translocations involving one donor chromosome and multiple recipient chromosomes have been referred to as jumping translocations (JTs). Acquired JTs are commonly observed in cancer patients, mainly involving chromosome 1. Constitutional forms of JTs mostly involve the acrocentric chromosomes and their satellites and have been reported in patients with clinical abnormalities. Recognizable phenotypes resulting from these events have included Down, Prader-Willi, and DiGeorge syndromes. The presence of JTs in spontaneous abortions has not been previously described. The breakpoints of all JTs occur in areas rich in repetitive DNA (telomeric, centromeric, and nucleolus organizing regions). We report two different unstable chromosome rearrangements in samples derived from spontaneous abortions. The first case involved a chromosome 15 donor. The recipient chromosomes were 1, 9, 15, and 21, and the respective breakpoints were in either the heterochromatic regions or the centromeres. FISH studies confirmed that the breakpoints of the jumping 15 rearrangement did not involve the Prader-Willi region but originated at the centromere or in the proximal short arm. A second case of instability was observed with a rearrangement resulting from a presumed de novo 8;21 translocation. Three JT cell lines were observed. They consisted of a deleted 8p chromosome, a dicentric 8;21 translocation, and an 8q isochromosome. The instability regions appeared to be at the pericentromeric region of chromosome 8 and the satellite region of chromosome 21. Both cases proved to be de novo events. The unstable nature of the JT resulting in chromosomal imbalance most likely contributed to the fetal loss. It appears that JT events may predispose to chromosomal imbalance via nondisjunction and chromosomal rearrangement and, therefore, may be an unrecognized cause of fetal loss.
A Novel Wavelet Packet Speech Enhancement Algorithm Based On Time-Frequency Threshold

Threshold choosing is critical in wavelet speech enhancement. In the paper, a novel wavelet packet speech enhancement algorithm is presented based on time-frequency (TF) threshold. Different from the conventional methods in threshold choosing, e.g. invariant threshold and time-variant threshold, the proposed threshold is modulated according to speech TF details other than rough envelops adopted in the recent algorithms based on eager energy operator (TEO) and adaptive noise estimation (ANE). In the new algorithm, the speech TF information is obtained from the frequency-based pre-estimate, and the threshold is modulated with TF characteristic of the pre-estimate. Then via thresholding the wavelet packet coefficients, the contaminated speech can be denoised adaptively. Compared with the former wavelet based algorithms, the proposed algorithm offers more pleasant enhanced speech with less distortion and residual noise in additive Gaussian noise case. Experimental results show its better performance in subjective test, input and output SNR test and modified bark spectral distortion measurement (MBSD).
A novel blind T/sub RMS/ estimation method for wireless OFDM systems

In this paper we propose a novel blind TRMS estimator for wireless orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (OFDM) systems, that can be used for channel estimation. The estimator is based on the frequency correlation between subcarriers of one OFDM symbol and an expression between frequency correlation and TRMS is derived assuming an exponentially decaying power delay profile (PDP). The estimation performance, examined in environments with different PDPs, introducing transceiver mobility and channel sparsity, is high from low SNR values with small variance
Post-LASIK edema-induced keratopathy (PLEK), a new name based on pathophysiology of the condition

A 33-year-old man who underwent uneventful laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) developed pressure-induced stromal edema resulting in an interface haze in both eyes and a pocket of fluid under the flap of the right eye 10 days after surgery, while receiving topical fluorometholone. Intraocular pressure by applanation tonometry was 16 mm Hg in his right eye (erroneous result due to the fluid in the interface) and 34 mm Hg in his left eye. After discontinuation of steroids and addition of ocular hypotensive medication, interface fluid collection disappeared in his right eye. Visual acuity improved and haze diminished in both eyes. This case illustrates that in the same patient a post-LASIK edema induced syndrome may be present with or without fluid in the interface, suggesting that both clinical pictures could be manifestations of a broad spectrum of the same condition. We suggest a new name for this non-inflammatory disorder: post-LASIK edema-induced keratopathy (PLEK).
Design of a Lithium-iron battery charger with the open-circuit voltage function evaluation

This paper is aimed to develop a Li-ion battery charger with the intelligent decisions based on OCV information of the battery. In this method, the OCV function can be formulated through the measurement of output voltage with respect to a certain SOC value. Then using the obtained dynamics of battery intrinsic, a fast charging method can be developed to reach speedy and full charge without entering over-charging area. The method proposed in this paper is examined under various scenarios. The results help consolidate the feasibility and practicability of the approach for the applications considered.
THE IMPACT OF AUDITOR SELECTION REGIME AND AUDIT COMMITTEE AUTONOMY ON INVESTMENT DECISIONS

After the recent financial crisis and a number of corporate failures, regulatory bodies have proposed and, in some cases, enacted mandatory audit firm rotation or mandatory periodical audit firm tendering to enhance auditor independence and resulting audit quality. However, there is limited empirical evidence of the efficacy of such measures. Further, since the audit committee can have significant influence in oversight of the audit process and financial reporting, their effectiveness likely depends on the strength of corporate governance within a company, especially the de facto autonomy of the audit committee from management in selecting and appointing the audit firm, potentially creating a perceived auditor self-interest threat. This study examines the impact of auditor selection regime (rotation, tendering, and the current regime) and the autonomy of the audit committee (high vs. low) on investors’ investment decisions. We hypothesize an interaction between auditor selection regime and audit committee autonomy on the likelihood of investing and a main effect of audit committee autonomy. Specifically, we expect the highest level of investment when there is tendering or rotation and high audit committee autonomy, and the lowest level of investment when there is tendering and a low audit committee autonomy. We examine these issues in an experiment involving 118 investment professionals, where we manipulate auditor selection regime and audit committee autonomy. The results suggest that given a high autonomy audit committee, rotation and tendering both lead to the highest investment level, as predicted. However, given low audit committee autonomy, all auditor selection regimes result in an equally low likelihood of investing. Further, we obtain a significant positive main effect of audit committee autonomy but find that this effect holds for rotation and tendering but not for the current regime. Collectively, the findings underscore that auditor selection regimes should not be viewed in isolation, but as part of the overall monitoring of financial reporting, which includes elements of corporate governance.
Diversity within bacterial isolates hybridizing with Comamonas probe ppT

Diversity within bacteria isolated from activated sludge and the Baltic sea and recognized by the rRNA targeted oligonucleotide probe ppT (designed by BRAUN‐HOWLAND et al., 1993 to recognize C. testosteroni) was studied. The partial nucleotide sequences of 16S genes of the isolates revealed that the activated sludge and Baltic sea isolates each formed a separate group distinct from C. testosteroni. The analysis of phage and bacteriocin sensitivity as well as whole cell protein patterns revealed the same grouping, but in these characters also intragroup variation was observed. As a conclusion, neither of the studied groups were C. testosteroni, but they probably belong to two previously unknown species common in activated sludge or the Baltic sea.
An amphibian‐derived, cationic, α‐helical antimicrobial peptide kills yeast by caspase‐independent but AIF‐dependent programmed cell death

The dermaseptins are a family of antimicrobial peptides from the tree‐frog Phyllomedusa sauvagii. Yeast exposed to dermaseptin S3(1‐16), a truncated derivative of dermaseptin S3 with full activity, showed diagnostic markers of yeast apoptosis: the appearance of reactive oxygen species and fragmentation of nuclear DNA. This process was independent of the yeast caspase, Yca1p. Screening of a non‐essential gene deletion collection in yeast identified genes that conferred resistance to dermaseptin S3(1‐16): izh2Δ, izh3Δ, stm1Δ and aif1Δ, all known to be involved in regulating yeast apoptosis. The appearance of apoptotic markers was reduced in these strains when exposed to the peptide. Dermaseptin S3(1‐16) was shown to interact with DNA, and cause DNA damage in vivo, a process known to trigger apoptosis. Supporting this, a dermaseptin S3(1‐16) affinity column specifically purified Stm1p, Mre11p and Htb2p; DNA‐binding proteins implicated in yeast apoptosis and DNA repair. Thus, amphibians may have evolved a mechanism to induce cell suicide in invading fungal pathogens.
Genetic Epidemiology with a Capital E: Where Will We Be in Another 10 Years?

In a commentary on the evolution of the field of genetic epidemiology over the past 10 years, Khoury et al. (2011) highlight several important developments, including the emergence of evaluation of genetic discoveries for their translational utility and of standards for reporting genetic findings. In this companion to their article, I reflect on some of these trends and speculate about the direction of the field in the future. In particular, I emphasize the opportunities posed by novel technologies like next‐generation sequencing and the biological insights emerging from integrative genomics, but I also question the utility of large consortia. The basic principles of population‐based research and the importance of taking account of the environment remain important to the field.
GRK 5 Regulates Social Behavior Via Suppression of mTORC 1 Signaling in Medial Prefrontal Cortex

Impairments in social behaviors are features of a number of psychiatric diseases associated with subtle alterations in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) circuitry. G protein-coupled receptor kinase (GRK) 5 is widely expressing in the cortex, however, its role in regulation of the mPFC activity and the development of social behaviors and psychiatric disorders is unclear. Here, we found that GRK5 dificiency in mice caused social behavior impairments. Further morphological, electrophysiological, and biochemical analyses showed abnormal postsynaptic ultrastructure, impaired excitatory synaptic transmission, the increased association of raptor with mTOR, and overactivated mTORC1-S6K signaling in the mPFC of Grk5 mice. Conditional knockdown of GRK5 in the mPFC caused impairments in social interaction and social novelty recognition behaviors; whereas selectively overexpressing GRK5 in the mPFC of Grk5 mice rescued the social novelty recognition phenotype. Inhibition of the overactivated mTORC1-S6K signaling pathway by rapamycin or mGluR5 antagonist ameliorated the deficiency of the excitatory synaptic transmission in the mPFC and the social recognition of Grk5 mice. These results indicate that GRK5 is critical for maintaining normal mTORC1 signaling and connectivity in mPFC, and normal social behavior.
Predictors of invalid neuropsychological test performance after traumatic brain injury

Objective: To investigate the usefulness of the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM) and the California Verbal Learning Test-Second Edition (CVLT-II) in assessing invalid test performance after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Design: Consecutive 3-year series of rehabilitation referrals (n = 132). Methods and procedures: Percentage of participants who failed validity criteria was determined. Hierarchical logistic regression analysis and odds ratios were used to identify predictors of invalid test performance. Results: Twenty patients (15%) performed in the invalid range when held to a priori specified criteria for invalid test performance (i.e. TOMM <45/50 on Trial 2 or CVLT-II <15/16 on Forced-Choice recognition trial). Both psychiatric history and financial compensation seeking were associated with an almost 4-fold increase in likelihood of invalid responding. Conclusions: The TOMM and CVLT-II are sensitive to the potential impact of current financial compensation seeking and prior psychiatric history on neuropsychological test performance after TBI.
Reconstruction of dual isotope PET using expectation maximization (EM) algorithm

The dual-isotope (DI) imaging with positron emission tomography (PET) is particularly difficult because positron-electron annihilation always results in 511 keV photons, irrespective of the radioisotope. Therefore, differentiation of PET isotopes based on the energy discrimination is impossible. However, there are radioisotopes that in addition to a positron also emit at least one prompt high energy (HE) gamma (positron-gamma emitters). The detection of this gamma in coincidence with two annihilation photons tags this particular PET event as originating from the decay of the isotope with positron-gamma emissions. An example of such radioisotope is 60Cu which can be used in our approach for DI studies together with a pure positron emitter 18F. Two data sets are acquired in DI-PET imaging. The first, standard PET dataset results from detections of two coincident 511 keV photons, and the second dataset - from detection of two 511 keV photons in coincidence with a HE gamma. The challenge is then to reconstruct two separate activities using the information contained in these two datasets. In this work, we developed an Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm for the estimation of distributions of both isotopes. The EM update equations were derived and evaluated using synthetic data. We used Monte Carlo package GATE to simulate the dual-isotope acquisition with a standard PET camera. Realistic efficiencies were assumed for the HE gamma detection varying from 3% to 9%. A set of seven partially overlapping 3D objects filled with 18F and 60Cu was located at the center of a water phantom of 30 cm diameter. A low-count (250k decays of each 18F and 60Cu) and a high-count (2.5M decays each) acquisitions were simulated. We found that the dual-isotope EM algorithm was able to successfully separate two PET tracers for all values of studied parameters. As expected the accuracy of this separation increased for higher HE gamma detection efficiency and higher total number of detected counts. A systematic analysis of the quantitative accuracy of these reconstructions is currently being performed.
Radioimmunoassay of inhibin in various mammals.

A sensitive radioimmunoassay (RIA) for the determination of inhibin in peripheral plasma and tissue homogenates of different species has been developed using antisera to partially purified bovine follicular fluid (bFF) inhibin and 125I-labelled bFF 32 kDa inhibin. Antisera were produced by immunization of rabbits with partially purified bFF inhibin prepared by immunoaffinity chromatography. Increasing doses of a high titre antiserum could neutralize the suppressing effect of bFF, porcine follicular fluid and rat ovarian homogenate on FSH secretion from rat anterior pituitary cells in culture. Sensitivity of the assay was 3.1 ng International Research Standard of porcine inhibin per tube. Parallel inhibition curves were obtained for inhibin preparations from female and male animals of ten species, i.e. cattle, goats, sheep, cats, dogs, monkeys, pigs, horses, rats and man. Inhibin subunits and related proteins cross-reacted minimally with the antiserum used in the study. Plasma concentrations of inhibin in adult male and female rats were measured by the RIA before and at various times after gonadectomy. Inhibin levels in peripheral plasma before gonadectomy were significantly higher in adult female than in adult male rats. Inhibin levels decreased abruptly after gonadectomy in both sexes and they correlated negatively with plasma concentrations of FSH. This inhibin RIA will facilitate studies of the physiology of inhibin in various species of animals.
A New Partitioned-Rotor Flux-Switching Permanent Magnet Motor With High Torque Density and Improved Magnet Utilization

In this paper, by incorporating the new concept of “partitioned structure,” a type of new partitioned-rotor flux-switching permanent magnet (PR-FSPM) motors is proposed, where the parallel and serial magnetic circuit topologies are involved, respectively. The topologies and the operation principle of the two motors are introduced first. Then, by using the finite-element method, the basic electromagnetic performances are analyzed. Moreover, the two proposed motors and the conventional 12/10-pole FSPM motor are quantitatively compared, in terms of their output torque, torque capability in per unit PM volume, as well as torque-speed and power-speed characteristics, in detail. Both the theoretical analysis and simulation results indicate that the proposed motors not only can retain the high torque density and efficiency but also can avoid the stator flux leakage and improve the PM utilization significantly.
Behavioral Experiments in Email Filter Evasion

Despite decades of effort to combat spam, unwanted and even malicious emails, such as phish which aim to deceive recipients into disclosing sensitive information, still routinely find their way into one's mailbox.To be sure, email filters manage to stop a large fraction of spam emails from ever reaching users, but spammers and phishers have mastered the art of filter evasion, or manipulating the content of email messages to avoid being filtered.We present a unique behavioral experiment designed to study email filter evasion.Our experiment is framed in somewhat broader terms: given the widespread use of machine learning methods for distinguishing spam and non-spam, we investigate how human subjects manipulate a spam template to evade a classification-based filter.We find that adding a small amount of noise to a filter significantly reduces the ability of subjects to evade it, observing that noise does not merely have a short-term impact, but also degrades evasion performance in the longer term.Moreover, we find that greater coverage of an email template by the classifier (filter) features significantly increases the difficulty of evading it.This observation suggests that aggressive feature reduction — a common practice in applied machine learning — can actually facilitate evasion.In addition to the descriptive analysis of behavior, we develop a synthetic model of human evasion behavior which closely matches observed behavior and effectively replicates experimental findings in simulation.
Self-monitoring of blood glucose as part of a multi-component therapy among non-insulin requiring type 2 diabetes patients: a meta-analysis (1966–2004)*

ABSTRACT Objective: To determine if therapeutic management programs that include self-monitoring of blood glucose result in greater HbA1c reduction in non-insulin-requiring type 2 diabetes patients compared to programs without blood glucose self-monitoring. Research design and methods: Electronic databases including MEDLINE (1966–2004), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, EMBASE (1950–2004), Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) and the Online Index Journals of the American Diabetes Association (ADA 1978–2004) were searched. Personal collections of investigators were also explored. Randomized controlled trials comparing HbA1c reduction in therapies with and without blood glucose self-monitoring among adult, non-insulin-treated type 2 diabetes patients were selected. Studies on patients who are pregnant, taking insulin, troglitazone or experimental drugs were excluded. Out of 14 potentially useful randomized controlled trials on self-monitoring of blood glucose in non-insulin treated type 2 diabetes patients, eight studies with a total of 1307 subjects were included in the analysis. Two independent reviewers assessed the quality of studies. Main outcome measure: The effect of SMBG was assessed by means of meta-analysis of the difference in HbA1c reduction between self-monitoring and non-self-monitoring groups. Results: Antidiabetic therapies that included blood glucose self-monitoring as part of a multi-component management strategy produced a mean additional HbA1c reduction of –0.39% (95%CI: –0.54%, –0.23%) under the fixed effects model and –0.42% (95%CI: –0.63%, –0.21%) under the random effects model, when compared to therapies that did not. Heterogeneity among studies was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Multi-component diabetes management programs with self-monitoring of blood glucose result in better glycemic control among non-insulin-using type 2 diabetes patients.
IES Test Patterns of Accepted and Rejected Adolescents

The IES test (Dombrose & Slobin, 1758) provides stimuli designed to elicit operational measures of the impulses, ego, and superego which are of potential value in diagnosis and therapy. The validity of the IES test has been estimated by using theoretical explanatory concepts to predict expected variations of scores from different groups, then testing these groups to evaluate the predictions. A review of the validity data indicated a need for further studies on other Ss about whom different predictions could be made and appraised. I t was hypothesized that adolescents who were overtly rejected by their parents in infancy or early childhood, resulting in their continued separation from the parents, would display personality structures different from those of accepted, well-adjusted adolescents living in their own homes. The IES test was used to evaluate this prediction of the effect of parental rejection on the personality development of the adolescent.