Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Low-Pass Filters Design and Simulation for the Control Circuit of DC/DC Converters

For conducted interference in the control circuit of the DC/DC converter used in FCEV, the second order Butterwoth and Chebyshev active low-pass filters and their circuit configurations are analyzed and discussed in this article. The article presents the process of their network realization and simulates them with Matlab. Furthermore, an advanced second-order active low-pass filter is designed in this article for occasions that need a large time constant in practice.
Cartilage Oligomeric Matrix Protein Interacts with Type IX Collagen, and Disruptions to These Interactions Identify a Pathogenetic Mechanism in a Bone Dysplasia Family*

Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) and type IX collagen are key structural components of the cartilage extracellular matrix and have important roles in tissue development and homeostasis. Mutations in the genes encoding these glycoproteins result in two related human bone dysplasias, pseudoachondroplasia and multiple epiphyseal dysplasia, which together comprise a “bone dysplasia family. ” It has been proposed that these diseases have a similar pathophysiology, which is highlighted by the fact that mutations in either the COMP or the type IX collagen genes produce multiple epiphyseal dysplasia, suggesting that their gene products interact. To investigate the interactions between COMP and type IX collagen, we have used rotary shadowing electron microscopy and real time biomolecular (BIAcore) analysis. Analysis of COMP-type IX collagen complexes demonstrated that COMP interacts with type IX collagen through the noncollagenous domains of type IX collagen and the C-terminal domain of COMP. Furthermore, peptide mapping identified a putative collagen-binding site that is associated with known human mutations. These data provide evidence that disruptions to COMP-type IX collagen interactions define a pathogenetic mechanism in a bone dysplasia family.
Rapid diagnosis of falciparum malaria by using the ParaSight F test in travellers returning to the United Kingdom: prospective study

A simple diagnostic strip test for Plasmodium falciparum malaria ( Para Sight F test, Becton Dickinson Advanced Diagnostics) detects a water soluble antigen, histidine rich protein 2, which is produced by blood stages of P falciparum . High sensitivity and specificity have been reported for the test in areas where malaria is endemic1-3 and in studies of travellers returning from such areas. 4 5 We compared the test with standard blood film microscopy in febrile travellers returning to the United Kingdom from such areas. We studied 160 consecutive patients aged 9–77 years presenting between April 1994 and June 1996 to our unit with a history of fever and travel in the previous year to an area where malaria is endemic. Thin films were stained with Giemsa and read by an experienced microscopist. The Para …
FACTORS INFLUENCING SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE MALAYSIAN WORKPLACE

This study examined the potential risks factors associated with sexually harassing behaviors within the framework of the four-factor model of sexual harassment. The factors examined are unprofessional work environment, skewed gender ratio in the workplace, knowledge of grievance procedure for sexual harassment, sexist attitudes among co-workers, privacy of workspace, physical attractiveness, dress manner of victims, job status, and sex roles. The dependent variable is incidence of sexual harassment which was evaluated using the Sexual Experience Questionnaire developed by Fitzgerald, Shullman, Bailey, Richards, Swecker, Gold, Ormerod, and Weitzman (1988). Data were collected from 657 women employees working in Malaysian organizations. The findings showed that the predictions of the four-factor model are also largely true in the case of the Malaysian workplace. The study also found that sexual harassment behaviors are fairly widespread in Malaysia.
Increased immune transcript levels are correlated with acute graft-versus-host disease and cytomegalovirus response after allogeneic stem cell transplantation

Background. Donor T cells are primarily responsible for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Three effector pathways have been described for T-cell cytotoxicity: granzyme B/perforin, Fas/Fas ligand (FasL), and secreted molecules such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-&agr;. Therefore, this study evaluates the gene expression pattern in the peripheral blood of patients after allogeneic stem cell transplantation and correlates the results to acute GVHD. Methods. Real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction was used to quantify the gene expression of granzyme B, perforin, FasL, and TNF-&agr; in peripheral blood from 53 patients. Results. Samples were available from 27 of the 38 patients with acute GVHD diagnoses. Increased gene expression (>50%) during acute GVHD was detected in 23 of 27, 26 of 27, and 24 of 27 patients for granzyme B, perforin, and FasL, respectively. TNF-&agr; showed a diffuse correlation. The median increases were as follows: granzyme B, 7.2× (1.6–183.2); perforin, 5.8× (1.6–254.9); and FasL, 8.5× (1.5–895.6). We also showed that all of the 10 patients with increasing levels of granzyme B, perforin, and FasL during steroid treatment demonstrated persistent or deteriorating GVHD. Patients with increasing transcription levels during cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation responded significantly better to therapy than those with declining levels. A total of 13 of 17 patients with increasing levels versus 0 of 11 patients with decreasing levels responded well to CMV treatment (P <0.01). Conclusion. Although not specific for acute GVHD, quantitative assessment of immune transcripts may be of value in diagnosing and monitoring acute GVHD. It may also serve as a guide for the clinician in detecting patients who respond poorly to CMV therapy.
Intuitionistic Fuzzy Possibilistic C Means Clustering Algorithms

Intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IFSs) provide mathematical framework based on fuzzy sets to describe vagueness in data. It finds interesting and promising applications in different domains. Here, we develop an intuitionistic fuzzy possibilistic C means (IFPCM) algorithm to cluster IFSs by hybridizing concepts of FPCM, IFSs, and distance measures. IFPCM resolves inherent problems encountered with information regarding membership values of objects to each cluster by generalizing membership and nonmembership with hesitancy degree. The algorithm is extended for clustering interval valued intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IVIFSs) leading to interval valued intuitionistic fuzzy possibilistic C means (IVIFPCM). The clustering algorithm has membership and nonmembership degrees as intervals. Information regarding membership and typicality degrees of samples to all clusters is given by algorithm. The experiments are performed on both real and simulated datasets. It generates valuable information and produces overlapped clusters with different membership degrees. It takes into account inherent uncertainty in information captured by IFSs. Some advantages of algorithms are simplicity, flexibility, and low computational complexity. The algorithm is evaluated through cluster validity measures. The clustering accuracy of algorithm is investigated by classification datasets with labeled patterns. The algorithm maintains appreciable performance compared to other methods in terms of pureness ratio.
A QoE-aware Reinforcement Approach to Disseminate Warning Videos on LTE-VANETs

The wide range of Vehicular Ad-hoc NETwork's (VANETs) applications, e.g., real-time video dissemination, have made VANETs an interesting field of mobile wireless communication. Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication enables users to distribute significant amount of real-time video traffic over VANETs and to alleviate congestion over LTE networks. However, the video delivery process considering an adequate Quality of Experience (QoE) in VANETs is a critical issue in both academic and industrial communities due to dynamic network topology, importance of video QoE, and broadcast nature of VANETs. This paper presents a Qoe-Aware Reinforcement approach to disseminate warning videos on LTE-VANETs, called QAR. It enables an enhancement for routing protocols in LTE-VANETs that takes advantage of a centralized architecture around the base station to improve the route management, and to provide video dissemination with QoE support. We analyze the performance of QAR by using NS-2 simulations and a realistic urban mobility model. Results show gains of QAR in comparison to existing proposals, where it achieves video dissemination with QoE support, less routing overhead, and robustness in LTE-VANETs.
Artificial surfactant for therapy in hydrocarbon-induced lung injury in sheep.

OBJECTIVE To document the effect of administering artificial surfactant into the trachea, either by instillation or aerosolization, on acute lung injury experimentally induced with kerosene in sheep. DESIGN Randomized, prospective, controlled study. SETTING Research laboratory. SUBJECTS Sheep (n = 24), weighing 8.5 to 25.2 kg (average 16.6). INTERVENTIONS In anesthetized, tracheally intubated sheep with pulmonary and femoral artery catheters inserted, lung injury was induced by instilling kerosene (0.3 mL/kg) into the trachea. After 15 mins of spontaneous breathing, mechanical ventilation was instituted with a uniform F10(2) and a tidal volume of 10 mL/kg. Sheep were then assigned randomly to one of four regimens as follows: exogenous surfactant or saline (5 mL/kg each) was administered as a bolus intratracheally or by aerosolization for 6 hrs. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Arterial and mixed venous blood gases, pH, airway pressure, and static respiratory system compliance were measured and compared between aerosol saline and aerosol surfactant and between bolus saline and bolus surfactant. For all variables except static respiratory system compliance, the hourly rate of change from 15 mins, 1 hr, and 6 hrs after kerosene instillation was determined for each animal, and group rank sums of hourly rates of change were compared. For static respiratory system compliance, the slope of the pressure-volume curve with volumes of 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 mL was computed for each animal at baseline and at 3 and 6 hrs after kerosene instillation. Group rank sums for static respiratory system compliance at 3 and 6 hrs were compared. Also, the 3- and 6-hr static respiratory system compliance values at each of the volumes were compared. With saline, six of eight sheep died; with surfactant, no sheep died (p = .001). When compared with saline at 15 mins, 1 hr, and 6 hrs after kerosene instillation, surfactant, regardless of whether administered by aerosol or bolus, significantly increased rate of change of arterial oxygen saturation, mixed venous oxygen saturation, and PO2. CONCLUSIONS In the present animal study, artificial surfactant was an effective treatment for hydrocarbon aspiration. Aerosolized surfactant achieved results similar to instilled surfactant but at a lower total dose.
The prevalence of adult sexual assault. The Los Angeles Epidemiologic Catchment Area Project.

Data were collected as a supplement to the Los Angeles Epidemiologic Catchment Area project, one of five field sites of a National Institute of Mental Health-initiated program. The authors used a two-stage probability sampling technique to interview 3,132 Los Angeles residents of two mental health catchment areas during the period January 1983-August 1984. Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites were about equally represented in the sample, as were males and females. Respondents were asked, "In your lifetime has anyone ever tried to pressure or force you to have sexual contact? By sexual contact I mean their touching your sexual parts, your touching their sexual parts, or sexual intercourse? " Persons who reported an assault were asked additional questions, including information about the most recent assault. Lifetime prevalence of sexual assault during adulthood (at or after age 16 years) was estimated at 10.5% for the entire sample. Women, non-Hispanic whites, and young people (less than age 40 years) reported higher rates of sexual assault than men, Hispanics, and older people. Highest rates were reported by young non-Hispanic white women with some college education (26.3%). In the most recent sexual assault, three-fourths of respondents knew their assailant, over half experienced harm or the threat of harm, and half experienced sexual contact including but not limited to intercourse.
Concepts in Neural Coaptation: Using the Facial Nerve as a Paradigm in Understanding Principles Surrounding Nerve Injury and Repair

Objectives:Individuals with nerve transection face unpredictable outcomes, and microsurgical interventions have variable success. The facial nerve in particular is prone to traumatic transection and leads to debilitating sequelae. Surgeons have used multiple modalities of enhancing nerve regeneration and restoring premorbid functionality. The success of nerve regeneration is predicated on multiple physiologic factors. This article sought to collate the literature on factors influencing nerve damage and repair, using the facial nerve as a paradigm. As such, facial reanimation will also be briefly discussed as it relates to the central theme. Design:A PubMed search was conducted to find articles published on nerve physiology and anatomy, as well as repair. Articles from 1947 to 2013 were studied; however, the preponderance of articles in the study was from the past 15 years to include recent advances. Results:The type and severity of nerve injury, as well as timing of intervention, influence the anatomical and functional outcomes of nerve repair. As there is no uniform solution for all reconstructive challenges, multiple factors must be considered when planning an intervention. Future advances suggest a potential role for engineered nerve conduits in providing a tool for nerve regrowth. Conclusion:Our review has detailed mechanisms of nerve injury, physiology, interventions in nerve repair, and future direction of this expanding field. This review provides a guide for the microsurgeon in factors involved in restorative success.
On-Chip Aging Sensor Circuit Based on Phase Locked Loop Circuit

Abstract—In sub micrometer technology, the aging phenomenon starts to have a significant impact on the reliability of integrated circuits by bringing performance degradation. For that reason, it is important to have a capability to evaluate the aging effects accurately. This paper presents an accurate aging measurement approach based on phase-locked loop (PLL) and voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) circuit. The architecture is rejecting the circuit selfaging effect from the characteristics of PLL, which is generating the frequency without any aging phenomena affects. The aging monitor is implemented in low power 32 nm CMOS technology, and occupies a pretty small area. Aging simulation results show that the proposed aging measurement circuit improves accuracy by about 2.8% at high temperature and 19.6% at high voltage.
Complement Protein C3 Binding to Mycobacterium tuberculosis Is Initiated by the Classical Pathway in Human Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid

ABSTRACT In high concentrations of fresh nonimmune human serum, Mycobacterium tuberculosis activates the alternative pathway of complement and binds C3 protein, resulting in enhanced phagocytosis by complement receptors on human alveolar macrophages. Yet in the lung, the alternative pathway of complement is relatively inactive compared to the classical pathway. To begin to determine whether C3 opsonophagocytosis of M. tuberculosis by alveolar macrophages can occur in the lung of the immunologically naive host, we characterized the binding of C3 to M. tuberculosis in different concentrations of fresh nonimmune human serum and concentrated human bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Here we show that in human serum, C3 binding to M. tuberculosis is rapid, initiated by either the alternative pathway or the classical pathway, depending on the concentration of serum, and occurs by covalent linkages between the bacterial surface and the C3 cleavage products, C3b or C3bi. Human bronchoalveolar lavage fluid contains C3 protein and functional classical pathway activity that mediates the binding of C3 to the surface of M. tuberculosis. These studies provide evidence that when M. tuberculosis is first inhaled into the lungs of the human host, the bacterium is opsonized by C3 cleavage via classical pathway activation within the alveolus, providing a C3-dependent entry pathway into resident alveolar macrophages.
The impact of interface metaphor and context of use on the usability of a speech-based mobile city guide service

This experiment investigated the effect of interface metaphor and context of use (private/public) on the usability of a hierarchically structured speech-activated mobile city guide service. Two different versions of the service were evaluated using a Wizard of Oz methodology. The first was a non-metaphor standard service with numbered menu options. The second was a service based on an office filing system metaphor, with different metaphor-related menu options at each level. User performance and attitudes to the services were recorded over a six week period, and post-trial interviews conducted. Results showed that the interface metaphor improved participants' performance compared to the standard service, but had no effect on attitudes. Context of use did not affect the usability of the services, which supports their use for mobile interaction. Visualisation of the metaphor-based service significantly affected participants' attitudes, suggesting an additional benefit of using interface metaphor for the design of speech-based mobile phone services.
Remarks on entanglement measures and non-local state distinguishability

We investigate the properties of three entanglement measures that quantify the statistical distinguishability of a given state with the closest disentangled state that has the same reductions as the primary state. In particular, we concentrate on the relative entropy of entanglement with reversed entries. We show that this quantity is an entanglement monotone which is strongly additive, thereby demonstrating that monotonicity under local quantum operations and strong additivity are compatible in principle. In accordance with the presented statistical interpretation which is provided, this entanglement monotone, however, has the property that it diverges on pure states, with the consequence that it cannot distinguish the degree of entanglement of different pure states. We also prove that the relative entropy of entanglement with respect to the set of disentangled states that have identical reductions to the primary state is an entanglement monotone. We finally investigate the trace-norm measure and demonstrate that it is also a proper entanglement monotone.
Oligonucleotide probes for detection of cephalosporinases among Bacteroides strains

Two oligonucleotide probes selected from the sequences of cepA and cfxA genes, respectively, were used to detect beta-lactamase production among strains of the Bacteroides fragilis group. By using these probes, colony hybridization was shown to be a specific and rapid method for identifying the more prevalent beta-lactamase, CepA, and the rarer CfxA enzyme among B. fragilis strains.
Exercise training increases coronary transport reserve in miniature swine.

Female yucatan miniature swine were trained on a treadmill (ET) or were cage confined (C) for 16-22 wk. The ET pigs had increased exercise tolerance, heart weight-to-body weight ratio, and skeletal muscle oxidative capacity. After anesthesia the left anterior descending coronary artery was cannulated and pump perfused with blood while aortic, central venous, and coronary perfusion pressures, electrocardiogram, heart rate, and coronary blood flow were monitored. Capillary permeability-surface area product (PS) for EDTA was determined with the single-injection indicator-diffusion method by use of an organ model based on the Sangren-Sheppard equations for capillary transport. Coronary blood flow (CBF) and PS were compared before and during maximal adenosine vasodilation with coronary perfusion pressures at 120 mmHg. Results indicate that there were no differences in base-line CBF or PS between C and ET groups. alpha-Receptor blockade with phentolamine and/or prazosin, before adenosine vasodilation, produced increases in PS in C pigs but had little effect in ET pigs. During maximal vasodilation with adenosine, ET pigs had greater CBF (447 +/- 24 vs. 366 +/- 27 ml.min-1.100 g-1) and greater PS (83 +/- 9 vs. 55 +/- 7 ml.min-1.100 g-1) than the C group. It is concluded that ET induces an increased coronary transport capacity in miniature swine that includes a 22% increase in blood flow capacity and a 51% increase in capillary exchange capacity.
Spécification des objets partagés dans les systèmes répartis sans-attente. (Specification of shared objects in wait-free distributed systems)

Dans les systemes repartis a tres grande echelle, les criteres de coherence forts comme la coherence sequentielle et la linearisabilite sont souvent trop couteux, voire impossibles a obtenir. Dans cette these, nous nous posons la question de la specification des objets que l’on peut tout de meme obtenir. Nous soutenons qu’il est toujours possible de separer leur specification en deux facettes : un type de donnees abstrait qui specifie l’aspect fonctionnel des operations et un critere de coherence faible qui decrit la qualite de service garantie par l’objet dans son environnement reparti. Nous illustrons ces concepts par une mise en oeuvre dans le langage D : les types de donnees abstraits sont les classes du programme et les criteres de coherence sont choisis dans une liste fournie par la bibliotheque CODS. Nous dressons une carte de l’espace des criteres faibles organisee autour de trois familles de criteres primaires (localite d’etat, convergence et validite) et trois familles de criteres secondaires (coherence d’ecritures, coherence pipeline et serialisabilite). Chaque critere secondaire renforce deux criteres primaires, mais les trois criteres primaires ne peuvent pas etre implementes ensembles dans les systemes consideres. Nous etudions egalement l’effet de la causalite sur ces familles.
DNMT3b Polymorphism and Hereditary Nonpolyposis Colorectal Cancer Age of Onset

Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) is an autosomal dominant syndrome of familial malignancies resulting from germ-line mutations in DNA mismatch repair genes. Colorectal and endometrial cancers are most frequently observed. A polymorphic C-to-T change in the promoter region of the DNMT3b gene, −149 bp from the transcription start site, is reported to greatly increase promoter activity and is associated with increased risk for lung cancer and decreased postsurgical survival in patients with small cell carcinoma of the head and neck. We studied the influence of this DNMT3b polymorphism on HNPCC age of onset. We determined the DNMT3b genotype of 146 mismatch repair mutation carriers from 72 families. Of these, 74 participants had colorectal cancer. The participants were genotyped by single-strand conformational polymorphism analysis and DNA sequencing. We tested the association between age of onset and DNMT3b genotypes by comparing Kaplan-Meier survival curves, evaluating the homogeneity of the curves using the log-rank test, Wilcoxon's test, and Fleming-Harrington test and estimating the strength and direction of the association using the Cox proportional hazards regression model adjusting for potential demographic and genetic confounding factors. HNPCC patients carrying one or two copies of the DNMT3b variant T allele developed their colorectal cancer significantly earlier than HNPCC patients who were homozygous for the wild-type DNMT3b allele. Combining knowledge of an individual's DNMT3b genotype with information on other genetic and environmental risk factors may improve risk estimates and help to identify individuals who are genetically susceptible to developing HNPCC at an earlier age. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2006;15(5):886–91)