Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exciton equilibration induced by phonons: theory and application to PS II reaction centers.

In this paper we compare calculations of the rates of excitation energy transfer within reaction center of photosystem II, with transient absorption measurements of the same dynamics. The theory that we apply is based on the assumption that exciton−phonon interaction is fairly weak. In this way we can study the effect of exciton coherence as well as the relaxation toward thermal equilibrium of an excitonically coupled system. The theory correctly predicts the experimentally observed differences in rates for transfer between two degenerate states in the vicinity of 680 nm and transfer between red and blue electronic states.
Organizational Interventions to Improve Health Outcomes of Older Persons

Background. With the reorganization of the financing of health care and creation of systems of care, it is possible to design and implement organizational interventions to improve the care of older persons beyond the services that can be provided by an individual provider. Objectives. To review the effectiveness of organizational interventions for older persons, describe barriers to dissemination of success models into practice settings, and identify future directions for such interventions. Methods. Selective review of organizational interventions that have been aimed primarily at the geriatric population and have been formally evaluated using conventional research designs, usually randomized clinical trials. Results. Organizational interventions can be classified into two groups: component models and systems changes. The former can be superimposed upon an intact system but do not fundamentally change the system of care whereas the latter modify the basic structure of primary care. A variety of organizational interventions have been implemented in diverse settings, but the evidence supporting the effectiveness of these interventions is inconsistent. Even when such interventions have been effective in research settings, these interventions rarely reduce health care costs. Moreover, there have been formidable barriers to implementation of successful interventions into practice. Conclusions. Organizational interventions are potentially powerful methods to influence health care and maintain health status of older persons. Nevertheless, gaps between knowledge and practice and unanswered questions about the effectiveness of organizational interventions currently limit the potential value of this approach to improving health care of older persons.
A Framework of Fog Computing: Architecture, Challenges, and Optimization

Fog computing (FC) is an emerging distributed computing platform aimed at bringing computation close to its data sources, which can reduce the latency and cost of delivering data to a remote cloud. This feature and related advantages are desirable for many Internet-of-Things applications, especially latency sensitive and mission intensive services. With comparisons to other computing technologies, the definition and architecture of FC are presented in this paper. The framework of resource allocation for latency reduction combined with reliability, fault tolerance, privacy, and underlying optimization problems are also discussed. We then investigate an application scenario and conduct resource optimization by formulating the optimization problem and solving it via a genetic algorithm. The resulting analysis generates some important insights on the scalability of the FC systems.
Hollow core of Alzheimer’s Aβ42 amyloid observed by cryoEM is relevant at physiological pH

Recent cryoEM density maps of Aβ42 fibrils obtained at low pH revealed two protofilaments winding around a hollow core raising the question if such tubular structures also exist at physiological pH. Based on the cryoEM measurements and on NMR data, we probe amyloid fibril organizations corresponding to the observed cryoEM density map. Our study demonstrates that the tubular Aβ42 fibril models exist at both acidic and physiological pH; however, the relative populations of the polymorphic models shift with pH. At acidic pH, the hollow core model exhibits higher population than the other models; at physiological pH, although it is less populated compared to the other models, structurally, it is stable and represents 8% of the population. We observe that only models with C termini facing the external surface of the fibril retain the hollow core under acidic and physiological conditions with dimensions similar to those observed by cryoEM; on the other hand, the hydrophobic effect shrinks the tubular cavity in the alternative organization. The existence of the hollow core fibril at physiological pH emphasizes the need to examine toxic effects of minor oligomeric species with unique organizations.
Investigator contact details should continue to be available after completion of clinical trials

Timely dissemination of research findings is needed for research results to be successfully translated into practice.1 The Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act requires trials that are subject to mandatory reporting to post results within 12 months of study completion on ClinicalTrials.gov. 2 Despite this initiative, less than a quarter of trial investigators comply.3 Maruani and colleagues report that email reminders of the legal requirement to post results significantly improved reporting at six months.4 …
War and peace in East Asia: Sino-Japanese relations and national stereotypes

National stereotypes may provide a useful social psychological perspective in which to consider intergroup relations between national groups. Autostereotypes and heterostereotypes of China and Japan were explored to shed light on one of the most critical intergroup relations in East Asia, namely Sino-Japan relations. Chinese and Japanese undergraduate students see themselves as likeable and warmer than the other, though they both view Japan to be more competent than China. We also examined hypotheses that current stereotypes may reflect shared perceptions of the past international conflicts, and may be influenced by the way people frame the international circumstance of their own country-namely, whether to regard it as linked to Asia or to the Pacific Rim. Moderate support was found for these ideas. Chinese who regarded past Sino-Japan conflicts as more important tended to have a more negative autostereotype, but Japanese who did so held a somewhat more positive autostereotype. Japanese students who linke.
DETECTION OF GENETIC MARKERS OF HUMAN IMMUNOGLOBULINS BY IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE TECHNIQUE

In 1966, Curtain and Baumgarten used fluorescent antibodies to show that genetic markers were located in different plasma cells in the red pulp of the spleen and in the medullary cords of the lymph nodes. ' Lobb used the same technique to study genetic markers in PHA-stimulated cultured lymphocytes from human peripheral blood. Both these investigations, however, were limited to detecting the Gm(a) and (b) markers. With the present extension of the Gm system, allelic markers are known for IgGl (Cm' and Gm') and for IgG2 (Gm' and Gmb), while Gn" is the only known IgG2 marker and no IgG4 Gm marker has been described. The present work was undertaken to study the Gm types and IgG subclasses in rheumatoid synovial tissue, nephritic tissue, and serum antinuclear antibodies. Selection of IgG subclasses was noted both in the diseased tissues and in antinuclear antibodies, compared with the distribution of IgG subclasses in whole serum. Selection of Gm markers was found in some tissues from heterozygous patients.
Monolithic 2.5-Gb/s clock and data recovery circuit based on silicon bipolar technology

A monolithic Clock and Data Recovery (CDR) circuit for SDH STM-16 (2.5 Gb/s) digital receivers has been designed and fabricated using Maxim GST-2 27 GHz Silicon bipolar technology. The main functions carried out by the IC are: signal amplification (40 dB) and limitation, clock recovery and decision. The design is intended to achieve a complete 2.5 Gb/s receiver by using the IC and a low noise preamplifier (transimpedance stage), mounted in a DIL package. The integrated circuit comprises about 400 active devices, used both for analog and digital blocks, and uses two supply voltages of 5 and -4.5 V. The input port is decoupled by external capacitors and matched to 50 (Omega) using on-chip resistors, whereas clock and data outputs are open collector type. The die size is 2 X 2 mm2 and the chip has been packaged using a TQFP 48 pins plastic package. Measurements under 231-1 PRBS data stream have shown an input sensitivity below 5 mVpp, rms output jitter below 7 ps and total power consumption of 0.8 W.
Maximizing Information From Routine Staging Computed Tomography in Functional Neuroendocrine Neoplasms: Are There Findings Indicating the Presence of Carcinoid Heart Disease?

Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate signs of right-sided heart dysfunction on staging computed tomography (CT) as indirect indicators of carcinoid heart disease. Patients and Methods Patients with functionally active neuroendocrine neoplasm and different grades of tricuspid valve regurgitation (TR) were identified. Two readers independently reviewed contrast-enhanced staging CT performed within 90 days before or after echocardiography. Logistic regression and receiver operating analyses were used to asses the predictive value of right ventricle–left ventricle ratio (RV-LV ratio), ventricular septal bowing, retrograde contrast filling of the hepatic veins during contrast injection, and time to aortal enhancement greater than 100 Hounsfield units during bolus tracking for TR. Results Forty-four examinations were evaluated (11 with TR = 0, 16 with TR = 1, 9 with TR = 2, and 8 with TR = 3). Right ventricle–LV ratio was found to predict TR less than or equal to 1 versus TR greater than 1 (P = 0.0188) and TR less than or equal to 1 versus TR equals 2 (P = 0.0082). A prolonged time to aortal enhancement greater than 100 Hounsfield units during bolus tracking predicted TR less than or equal to 1 versus TR greater than 1 (P = 0.0077). Area under the curve for RV-LV ratio was 0.86 when differentiating TR less than or equal to 1 versus TR equals 2. With a cutoff of 1.07, sensitivity was 0.89, and specificity was 0.72. Conclusions In patients with functionally active neuroendocrine neoplasm, an RV-LV ratio of more than 1.07 predicted TR with a relatively high sensitivity and moderate specificity and thus could serve as an indicator of subclinical carcinoid heart disease on routine staging CT.
Expression and Function of Tight Junctions in the Crypt Epithelium of Human Palatine Tonsils

The human palatine tonsils have surface and crypt stratified epithelium and may be initiated via the epithelium to mount immune responses to various presenting antigens. Here we investigated the expression and function of tight junctions in the epithelium of human palatine tonsils from patients with tonsillar hypertrophy or recurrent tonsillitis. Occludin, ZO-1, JAM-1, and claudin-1, −3, −4, −7, −8, and −14 mRNAs were detected in tonsillar hypertrophy. Occludin and claudin-14 were expressed in the uppermost layer of the tonsil surface epithelium, whereas ZO-1, JAM-1, and claudin-1, −4, and −7 were found throughout the epithelium. In the crypt epithelium, claudin-4 was preferentially expressed in the upper layers. In freeze-fracture replicas, short fragments of continuous tight junction strands were observed but never formed networks. In the crypt epithelium of recurrent tonsillitis, the tracer was leaked from the surface regions where occludin and claudin-4 disappeared. Occludin, ZO-1, JAM-1, and claudin-1, −3, −4, and −14, but not claudin-7, mRNAs were decreased in recurrent tonsillitis compared with those of tonsillar hypertrophy. These studies suggest unique expression of tight junctions in human palatine tonsillar epithelium, and the crypt epithelium may possess an epithelial barrier different from that of the surface epithelium.
Studying Flammability in a Commercial Transport Fuel Tank with Inerting

As part of the continued emphasis on fuel tank safety, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has developed a demonstration fuel tank inerting system and has tested it on a NASA -operated Boeing 747 aircraft. To support this, the FAA developed two models to predict both fuel tank oxygen concentration and flammability in an inerted ullage, based on pre viously developed models and calculations. Laboratory and aircraft test results indicated that the models duplicated measured data trends well and gave predicted peak values with a reasonable degree of accuracy. This allowed the FAA to develop a repr esentative Boeing 747 aircraft flight cycle and give predictions of flammability exposure for the given ullage. The results indicated that the aircraft fuel tank would not be exposed to flammable conditions during the developed flight profile with the represented inerting system even though part of the tank ullage did achieve oxygen concentration levels of approximately 18%.
Physiologic and Biologic Characteristics of Three Experimental Models of Acute Lung Injury in Rats

BACKGROUND: Strategies to attenuate ventilator-associated lung injury have been tested in various experimental methods of acute lung injury (ALI). Conclusions are often drawn from physiologic and biologic effects, but the influence of the model on these results is not known. Our aim in this study was to characterize frequently used models of experimental ALI. METHODS: Twenty Sprague Dawley rats were anesthetized and their lungs mechanically ventilated for 5 hours. Three models of ALI (surfactant washout, acid aspiration, and high tidal volume ventilation) were investigated with regard to hemodynamics, respiratory mechanics, gas exchange, lung pathology, and inflammatory reactions. Animals without ALI served as controls. RESULTS: Five animals in each group were analyzed. Dynamic compliance and PaO2/fraction of inspired oxygen ratio decreased by at least 50% in all groups after 1 hour. Whereas compliance remained decreased in all models, oxygenation returned to baseline values in the lavage group after 5 hours. Diffuse alveolar damage was worse in the high tidal volume model and was not different between the control and lavage animals. Interleukin-6 was increased in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in the aspiration and high tidal volume models. CONCLUSIONS: Although comparable physiologic effects meeting acute respiratory distress syndrome criteria were achieved in all models, the biologic responses varied among lung injury models. The acid aspiration model created both respiratory and inflammatory responses typically seen in ALI; these data suggest that it may be the most clinically applicable model to study the intermediate-term effects of ventilator-associated lung injury in rats.
Grain Price Fluctuations and Witch Hunting in Bavaria

Based on the data set of Behringer (1997), we develop and test competing models of the determinants of witch hunting in Bavaria in the period 1345-1750, which explain the cyclicity as well as the variation over time from the 14th to the 18th century. Our main focus is on economic factors and their influence on the intensity of prosecution. We analyse this issue by quantifying the importance of grain price fluctuations for the frequency of witch trials/accusations, taking into account other possible explanations like the impact of confession and regional characteristics.
Design of CMOS low-noise amplifier for low-band ultra-wideband system

In this paper, a low-noise amplifier (LNA) is designed for ultra-wideband (UWB) system. The design consists of two shunt-peaked cascode amplifiers and it is fabricated in 0.18/spl mu/m standard RF CMOS process. The LNA gives 18.03dB gain and 1.9GHz 3dB bandwidth (3.1-5.0GHz) while consuming 25.92mW through a 1.8V supply. Over the 3.1-5.0GHz frequency band, a minimum noise figure of 2.74dB and input return loss lower than -9.6dB have been achieved.
Investigating the role of desorption on the bioavailability of sediment‐associated 3,4,3′,4′‐tetrachlorobiphenyl in benthic invertebrates

Only a fraction of all sediment‐associated hydrophobic organic contaminants are bioavailable, and a simple Tenax® extraction procedure may estimate this fraction. Bioavailability is assumed to coincide with the rapidly and, possibly, slowly desorbing sediment‐associated contaminant. River sediment was spiked with radiolabeled (14C) and nonradiolabeled (12C) 3,4,3,4′‐tetrachlorobiphenyl (TCBP), and desorption kinetics using Tenax extraction were obtained at 10°C and 22°C. Bioaccumulation was measured in Lumbriculus variegatus, Chironomus tentans, and Hyalella azteca. Desorption of TCBP was triphasic at 22°C and slowed at 10°C to show only biphasic kinetics. The rapidly desorbing fractions decreased with increasing TCBP sediment concentration. The biota sediment accumulation factors, biota accumulation factors, and sediment clearance coefficients (ks) also decreased with increasing sediment TCBP concentration. The rapidly plus slowly desorbing fractions and the total TCBP desorbed when 99.9% of the rapidly desorbing fraction had desorbed were used to estimate bioavailable TCBP. These Tenax‐based fractions did not explain the decreasing bioavailability with increasing TCBP load. Several factors, such as animal behavior and TCBP water solubility limitations, were evaluated to explain the concentration effect, but the most likely cause was severe diffusion limitations in whole sediment that were not predicted by the fully mixed Tenax extraction. Therefore, desorbing fractions determined by Tenax extraction overestimated the bioavailable fractions in sediments.
Accuracy rate of mastitis on-farm test ( udder check ) in comparison to somatic cell count ( S . C . C ) in dairy herd

Mastitis in bovine is an important disease in milk herds that cause economical losses due to decrease of milk production and treatment costs. Somatic cell count (SCC) is one of traditional test in mastitis diagnosis. The aim of current study was to evaluate the accuracy of udder check (on-farm) in comparison to SCC in industrial livestock. Current study was conducted in a 100 bovine livestock, samples were evaluated by udder check test at farm and simultaneously for SCC measurement were sent to, Pegah pasteurized Milk Company. Then the accuracy of two tests was evaluated and compared. The result was evaluated by descriptive method in SPSS ver. 22. The results of study indicated that SCC was 2014.86×10 6 in studied bovine. In addition, SCC results demonstrate 48 percent positive and remnant was negative. Udder check test results indicate 76 percent of samples was positive which 22% was 3positive, 21% was 2positive, and 33% was 1positive and positive cases was significantly different from SCC test (p<0.05). The results indicated that the udder check has a higher specificity and sensitivity in mastitis detection and successfully could detect the subclinical mastitis at farm and provide opportunity to early treatment.
A 1.39-V input fast-transient-response digital LDO composed of low-voltage MOS transistors in 40-nm CMOS process

A fast transient-response digital low-dropout (LDO) voltage regulator comprising only low-voltage MOS transistors was developed. The input voltage can be higher than the withstand voltage of the low-voltage MOS transistors by the proposed withstand-voltage relaxation scheme. The switching frequency of 1 GHz can be achieved using small-dimension low-voltage power-MOS transistors. The LDO occupies only 0.057 mm2 area using 40-nm CMOS technology, and covers a wide range of load currents from 400 μA to 250 mA. The response time is only 0.07 μs.
DRAM write-only-cache for improving lifetime of phase change memory

Due to its high density and low standby power, phase change memory (PCM) has been considered to be a promising alternative of DRAM while DRAM faces its scaling limits and serious power consumption. However, PCM cells can only endurance a maximum of 107-108 write operations, making a PCM based system have a lifetime of only hundreds of days on average, it is even worse for some memory intensive applications as their lifetime is only several days. Thus it is important to reduce write operations in order to extend the lifetime of PCM. In this paper, we propose a novel hybrid memory architecture combining DRAM with PCM. In the proposed architecture, DRAM acts as a write-only-cache (WoC) which only stores dirty data evicted from last level cache (LLC). Our simulation shows that compared to PCM-only based main memory, the proposed architecture increases the lifetime by 205%, the improvement is also up to 45.4% compared to the PCM based main memory with a DRAM as the off-chip cache. At the same time, the read latency reduces by 30.9%, at a cost of only 5.3% power consumption, compared to the typical DRAM cache hybrid architecture.
A computer aided diagnosis system for detection of lung nodules from series of CT slices

The proposed system aims to detect the lung nodules from a series of CT scan images. Otsu's thresholding and morphological operations are applied for nodules segmentation. After segmentation, the objects that do not hold the possibility to be nodules are removed. Geometric, histogram as well as texture features are then extracted for benign and malignant nodules classification. Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) is used for classification and the accuracy 95% has been achieved.
Pharmacokinetics, Safety, and Tolerability After Single and Multiple Oral Doses of Varenicline in Elderly Smokers

Varenicline is a novel selective α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine partial agonist developed for smoking cessation. This study investigated the single‐ and multiple‐dose pharmacokinetics, safety, and tolerability of varenicline in elderly (≥ 65 years) smokers. Twenty‐four elderly smokers with normal renal function for their age (estimated creatinine clearance ≥ 70 mL/min) received varenicline 1 mg once daily (n = 8) or placebo (n = 4) for 7 days, or 1 mg twice daily (n = 8) or placebo (n = 4) for 6 days with a single dose on day 7 in a double‐blind, parallel group and placebo‐controlled design. There was no evidence of concentration‐ or time‐dependent changes in varenicline pharmacokinetics upon repeat dosing. Once‐ and twice‐daily dosing was associated with an approximate 2‐fold and 3‐fold increase, respectively, in systemic exposure to varenicline. Varenicline was well tolerated; all adverse events reported were mild to moderate in intensity. Thus, no dose adjustment is necessary based on age alone.
High mobility group protein B1: a new biomarker of obesity in pregnant women?

Abstract Obesity is associated with an increased risk of an adverse pregnancy outcome. The aim of this study was to analyze the serum levels of high mobility group protein B1 (HMGB1) in obese pregnant women, to assess the role of this protein in the pathogenesis of this disease and to evaluate its possible function as a diagnostic marker for obesity-related complications in obese women. Study participants were randomly selected, from a cohort of pregnant women afferent to our department. A total of 120 women were enrolled in this study: 60 pregnant women had normal body mass index (BMI) and 60 women resulted obese. Pre-pregnancy BMI, weight increase and HMGB1 levels were evaluated for each pregnant woman enrolled. Matching serum HMGB1 levels in two groups, our data evidenced higher levels in the obese women, with a statistically significant difference (p = 0.0023). A significant positive univariate correlation was observed between serum HMGB1 levels and BMI in obese women. HMGB1 serum levels may therefore represent a predictive marker of disease in pregnant women (r = 20.9 and p = 0.0001). Further studies are needed in order to validate the role of this cytokine, with the aim of making it possible to use in clinical practice not only for diagnostic purposes, but especially for the early recognition of complications related to it.