Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Elimination mold flash by mold design enhancement and leadframe process control on flat power package

This paper will explained detail of challenge to eliminate mold flash in mold assist film technology on flat power package. Film assist molding uses a film is coated with an adhesive layer on one side which works as a soft cushion to cover of the heat sink / paddle. This thin film also holds the lead frame paddle for prevention the paddle to tilt. Tilting of the paddle causes the mold to flow towards the paddle area during molding process and causes a reject known as “Pad Bleed”. The flash layer on the heatsink is unable to be removed by typical deflash setting, thus it prevents tin plating coverage during plating process. As a result, the solder-able pad is unable to be mounted at end customers' application circuit. The hypothesis of mold flash occurrence is due to paddle deformation caused by over-clamping during mold process. This paper will emphasis on effectiveness of combining mold design enhancement and lead frame incoming quality control to eliminate mold flash on exposed heatsink flatpower product using film assisted molding system. Distribution clamp force evenly in mold tool is major area to investigate for mold tool design enhancement. Furthermore, process control on supplier to minimize paddle tilting is another main contributor factor need to evaluate in order to maintain incoming quality. By identifying and establishing a control on a critical lead frame dimension and redesigning the mold tool, mold flash or resin bleed was able to be eliminated. The verification run showed paddle tilting is the most critical factor that needs to be controlled in order to minimize resin bleed issue, these thin resin bleed or flashes are able to be removed by the subsequent “Deflashing” process.
Dominant Frequency Enhancement of Speech Signal to Improve Intelligibility and Quality

In mobile devices, perceived speech signal deteriorates significantly in the presence of near-end noise as the signal arrives directly at the listener's ears in a noisy environment. There is an inherent need to increase the clarity and quality of the received speech signal in noisier environment. It is accomplished by incorporating speech enhancement algorithms at the receiver end. The objective is to improve the intelligibility and quality of the speech signal by dynamically enhancing the speech signal when the nearend noise dominates. This paper proposes a speech enhancement approaches by inculcating the threshold of hearing and auditory masking properties of the human ear. Incorporating the masking properties, the speech samples that are audible can be obtained. In low SNR environments, selective audible samples can be enhanced to improve the clarity of the signal rather than enhancing every loud sample. Intelligibility and quality of the enhanced speech signal are measured using Speech Intelligibility Index and Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Quality. Experimental results connote the intelligibility and quality improvement of the speech signal with the proposed method over the unprocessed far-end speech signal. This approach is efficient in overcoming the deterioration of speech signals in a noisy environment.
Elevation of XPA protein level in testis tumor cells without increasing resistance to cisplatin or UV radiation

Most testicular germ cell tumors are curable using cisplatin‐based chemotherapy, and cell lines from these tumors are unusually sensitive to cisplatin and other DNA‐damaging agents. It has been suggested that this might be caused by a lower‐than normal nucleotide excision repair (NER) activity. Previous studies found that cell lines from testicular germ cell tumors have on average about one‐third the level of the NER protein XPA in comparison to cell lines from other tumors. We asked whether over‐expression of XPA protein would alleviate the cellular sensitivity and increase the DNA repair capacity of a testis tumor cell line. Increasing XPA levels in 833K cells by 10‐fold did not increase resistance to UV irradiation. XPA was localized to the cell nucleus in all cell lines, before and after exposure to UV‐radiation. 833K cells were proficient in removing UV radiation‐induced photoproducts from the genome and increased XPA did not enhance the rate of removal. Further, over‐expressing functional XPA protein did not correlate with increased resistance of 833K testis tumor cells to cisplatin. Thus, although the amount of XPA in this testis tumor cell line is lower than normal, it is sufficient for NER in vivo. The relative sensitivity of testis tumor cells to cisplatin, UV radiation, and other DNA damaging agents is likely related not to NER capacity, but to other factors such as the integrity of the p53 pathway in these cells. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Composite Disease Activity and Responder Indices for Psoriatic Arthritis: A Report from the GRAPPA 2013 Meeting on Development of Cutoffs for Both Disease Activity States and Response

Objective. There are several new composite indices for assessing disease activity in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Each may function as a disease state variable and a responder index. The aim of our study was to determine cutoffs for disease activity and response. Methods. Data from the Group for GRAPPA Composite Exercise (GRACE) study were used to develop cutoffs using a number of different approaches. Voting on choice of cutoff was undertaken at the 2013 GRAPPA Annual Meeting in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Results. After voting, results for cutoffs for low/high disease activity for the Psoriatic ArthritiS Disease Activity Score (PASDAS), GRAppa Composite scorE (GRACE index), and Composite Psoriatic Disease Activity Index (CPDAI), respectively, were 3.2/5.4, 2.3/4.7, and 4/8. The measurement error for each composite score was estimated at 0.8, 1, and 2 for PASDAS, GRACE, and CPDAI, respectively. Conclusion. Response criteria for the new composite indices have been developed. These now require further validation and testing in other datasets.
ACP Probe Measurement of On-Chip Strip Dipole Antennas at W Band

Two L- and T-shaped strip dipole on-chip antennas are designed and manufactured back-to-back in a single chip for 77 GHz operation. The antennas are measured for their reflection coefficients and radiation patterns at W band. It has been observed that measurements are highly influenced by the antenna placements and the ACP110-A-GSG-100 probe. To model the effect of air coplanar probe (ACP probe), a software calibration is performed similar to a network analyzer calibration, and then the antenna reflection coefficient is calculated using the modeled probe-fed antenna. The technique employs obtaining the probe ABCD matrix and then de-embedding from the simulation results to compare with measurements. The probe-fed simulated and measured reflection coefficients agree well for manufactured L and T antennas, which resonate at 86 and 81 GHz, respectively. There are resonance frequency shifts attributed to the ACP probe effect, and simulations show that antennas will operate at 79 GHz (L antenna) and 77 GHz (T antenna) in the absence of ACP probe. The results obtained are highly dependent on the ACP probe, antenna structure, and the environments/experiments on which the measurements are performed.
Legionella cincinnatiensis sp. nov. isolated from a patient with pneumonia

A Legionella-like organism (strain 72-OH-H [= ATCC 43753]) was isolated from an open-lung biopsy specimen from a hemodialysis patient with end-stage renal disease and bronchopneumonia. Growth characteristics and gas-liquid chromatographic profiles of the isolate were consistent with those for Legionella spp. The isolate was presumptively identified as a Legionella longbeachae serogroup 1 strain by direct immunofluorescence staining. However, the organism was serologically distinct in the slide agglutination test with absorbed antisera. DNA hybridization studies showed that strain 72-OH-H constitutes a new Legionella species, which is named Legionella cincinnatiensis (ATCC 43753).
REGENERATION OF DIPLOID AND TETRAPLOID PLANTS OF ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA VIA CALLUS

Different explants from diploid and tetraploid plants of Arabidopsis thaliana ecotype Wilna were cultured in vitro on the same medium in the same conditions. The mode and capacity for regeneration and the ploidy level of regenerants were examined in eight callus lines. The explant responses to in vitro conditions depended on the ploidy level of donor plants and on the type of explant. Callus derived from leaves of tetraploid plants showed the highest ability to regenerate. Histological investigation showed that plants regenerated mostly through organogenesis and occasionally through embryogenesis. Somatic embryos were observed more frequently in callus derived from tetraploid plants. Regenerated plants were diploids, triploids and tetraploids. The majority of regenerated plants from callus of diploid origin were diploid, but diploids were also observed quite frequently among regenerants from callus of tetraploid origin.
Oral health literacy comparisons between Indigenous Australians and American Indians.

OBJECTIVES To compare oral health literacy (OHL) levels between two profoundly disadvantaged groups, Indigenous Australians and American Indians, and to explore differences in socio-demographic, dental service utilisation, self-reported oral health indicators, and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) correlates of OHL among the above. METHODS OHL was measured using REALD-30 among convenience samples of 468 Indigenous Australians (aged 17-72 years, 63% female) and 254 female American Indians (aged 18-57 years). Covariates included socio-demography, dental utilisation, self-reported oral health status (OHS), perceived treatment needs and OHRQoL (prevalence, severity and extent of OHIP-14 'impacts'). Descriptive and bivariate methods were used for data presentation and analysis, and between-sample comparisons relied upon empirical contrasts of sample-specific estimates and correlation coefficients. RESULTS OHL scores were: Indigenous Australians - 15.0 (95% CL=14.2, 15.8) and American Indians--13.7 (95% CL=13.1, 14.4). In both populations, OHL strongly correlated with educational attainment, and was lower among participants with infrequent dental attendance and perceived restorative treatment needs. A significant inverse association between OHL and prevalence of OHRQoL impacts was found among American Indians (rho=-0.23; 95% CL = -0.34, -0.12) but not among Indigenous Australians. CONCLUSIONS Our findings indicate that OHL levels were comparable between the two groups and lower compared to previously reported estimates among diverse populations. Although the patterns of association of OHL with most examined domains of correlates were similar between the two groups, this study found evidence of heterogeneity in the domains of self-reported OHS and OHRQoL.
A Novel Yeast Gene Product, G4p1, with a Specific Affinity for Quadruplex Nucleic Acids (*)

G4 nucleic acids are four-stranded helical structures that are formed in vitro by nucleic acids that contain guanine tracts. These structures anneal readily under physiological conditions and are unusually stable once formed. G4 nucleic acids are thought to participate in telomere function, retroviral genome dimerization, chromosome alignment during homologue pairing, and mitotic recombination, although the in vivo demonstration of these structures in any of these situations has not yet been achieved. Here we purify and characterize an activity from yeast, G4p1, which has a high and specific affinity for G4 nucleic acids. G4p1 prefers substrates containing multiple G4 domains, has an equal affinity for parallel and antiparallel G4 structures, and binds equivalently to RNA and DNA in G4 form. The Keq for G4p1 binding to a G4 DNA oligomer is 5.0 108M, under near physiological conditions. G4p1 was purified and shown to derive from a 42-kDa protein (p42). We have cloned and sequenced the gene encoding p42 and show it to encode a novel protein with a region significantly homologous to bacterial methionyl-tRNA synthetase dimerization domains. We have reconstituted the G4p1 binding activity with recombinant p42 and present evidence that G4p1 is a homodimer of p42.
Different exosome cargo from plasma/bronchoalveolar lavage in non‐small‐cell lung cancer

Tumor‐derived exosomes mediate tumorigenesis by facilitating tumor growth, metastasis, development of drug resistance, and immunosuppression. However, little is known about the exosomes isolated from bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) in patients with lung neoplasm. Exosomes isolated in plasma and BAL from 30 and 75 patients with tumor and nontumor pathology were quantified by acetylcholinesterase activity and characterized by Western Blot, Electron Microscopy, and Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis. Differences in exosome cargo were analyzed by miRNA quantitative PCR in pooled samples and validated in a second series of patients. More exosomes were detected in plasma than in BAL in both groups (P < 0.001). The most miRNAs evaluated by PCR array were detected in tumor plasma, tumor BAL, and nontumor BAL pools, but only 56% were detected in the nontumor plasma pool. Comparing the top miRNAs with the highest levels detected in each pool, we found close homology only between the BAL samples of the two pathologies. In tumor plasma, we found a higher percentage of miRNAs with increased levels than in tumor BAL or in nontumor plasma. The data reveal differences between BAL and plasma exosome amount and miRNA content. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Complex Interactions Among Second Messenger Pathways, Steroid Hormones, and Protooncogenes of the Fos and Jun Families Converge in the Regulation of the Nerve Growth Factor Gene

Abstract: Regulation of the expression of the nerve growth factor (NGF) gene has been reported previously to be mediated via the protooncogene c‐fos. Activation of the protein kinase C pathway and 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D3[1,25(OH)2D3] has also been reported to increase the pool of NGF transcripts in L929 fibroblasts. Here we show that activation of the cyclic AMP second messenger pathway antagonized the effect of phorbol 12‐myristate 13‐acetate (PMA) or serum on NGF synthesis, whereas it enhanced that of 1,25(OH)2D3. A positive effect was also observed when serum, PMA, and 1,25(OH)2D3 were added together, but dexamethasone reduced this enhancement. There was no close correlation between the increase in c‐fos mRNA and that in NGF mRNA, suggesting that expression of the c‐fos protooncogene is not necessarily followed by induction of the NGF gene. Rather, these two genes are simultaneously, and not sequentially, induced after forskolin treatment. It appears that regulation of the NGF gene depends on a repertoire of multiple regulatory AP‐1 complexes arising from activation of the second messenger pathways. This suggests that NGF gene expression is under the control of a complex interplay among second messenger pathways, protooncogenes, and steroid hormones such as 1,25(OH)2D3 and glucocorticoids.
Use of a high-fidelity simulator to develop testing of the technical performance of novice anaesthetists.

BACKGROUND We used the Delphi technique to gain a consensus from 26 consultant anaesthetists about technical tasks during general anaesthesia. We then developed a technical scoring system to assess anaesthetists undertaking general anaesthesia with rapid sequence induction. METHODS We then followed the performance of six novice anaesthetists on five occasions during their first 3 months of training. At each, visit each novice 'anaesthetized' the Human Patient Simulator at Bristol Medical Simulator Centre. For comparison seven post-fellowship anaesthetists were scored on one occasion. RESULTS Novice scores improved significantly over the 12-week period (P<0.01). A significant difference was also found between the final novice scores and the post-fellowship subjects (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that simulation can be used to observe and quantify technical performance.
Task-level robot learning: juggling a tennis ball more accurately

Results are presented from a preliminary investigation of task-level learning, an approach to learning from practice. The authors programmed a robot to juggle a single ball in three dimensions by batting it upwards with a large paddle. The robot uses a real-time binary vision system to track the ball and measure its performance. Task-level learning consists of building a model of performance errors at the task level during practice, and using that model to refine task-level commands. A polynomial surface was fitted to the errors in the path which the ball took after each hit, and this task model is used to refine how the ball is hit. This application of task-level learning dramatically increased the number of consecutive hits the robot could execute before the ball was hit out of range of the paddle. <<ETX>>
Descriptive and experimental analyses of variables maintaining self-injurious behavior.

Independent descriptive (correlational) and functional (experimental) analyses were conducted to determine the extent to which the two methods would yield data supporting similar conclusions about variables maintaining the self-injurious behavior (SIB) of 6 subjects. For the descriptive analyses, subjects were observed in their residences and at training sites at various times each day while observers recorded naturally occurring sequences of specified subject and staff behaviors. The subjects also participated in a day program for the assessment and treatment of SIB, in which they were exposed to functional analyses that manipulated potential maintaining variables in multielement designs. Both sets of data were analyzed via conditional probabilities to identify relevant antecedent and consequent events for subjects' SIB. Using outcomes of the experimental analysis as the standard for comparison, results indicated that the descriptive analysis was useful in identifying the extent to which SIB was related to social versus nonsocial contingencies, but was limited in its ability to distinguish between positive and negative reinforcement (i.e., attention versus escape).
Time-Resolved Magnetization Dynamics and Damping Constant of Sputtered Co/Ni Multilayers

Co/Ni multilayers with a stack of Ta (2 nm)/[Co (<i>t</i><sub>Co</sub>)/Ni (<i>t</i><sub>Ni</sub>)] <i>N</i>/Ta (30 nm) were prepared by dc magnetron sputtering, and their magnetization dynamics were measured by time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect (TRMOKE). The total thickness of the multilayer and perpendicular anisotropy were varied by changing the bilayer period <i>d</i> = <i>t</i><sub>Co</sub>+ <i>t</i><sub>Ni</sub> and number of repeats <i>N</i> while <i>t</i><sub>Ni</sub>/<i>t</i><sub>Co</sub> was kept at a constant of 2.5. The TRMOKE measurements show clear damped oscillation of the magnetization of Co/Ni multilayers after the pump pulse illumination, and the damping constant α of the Co/Ni multilayers was estimated from the TRMOKE waveform. The estimated α was found to be independent both on total thickness and anisotropy field of the multilayer and was estimated to be ~ 0.035 for all the multilayers. This means that the use of Ta capping and buffer layers is effective to evaluate intrinsic damping constant of the Co/Ni multilayer, and that independent control of α and perpendicular anisotropy are possible for the magnetic multilayers.
Corresponding Mitochondrial DNA and Niche Divergence for Crested Newt Candidate Species

Genetic divergence of mitochondrial DNA does not necessarily correspond to reproductive isolation. However, if mitochondrial DNA lineages occupy separate segments of environmental space, this supports the notion of their evolutionary independence. We explore niche differentiation among three candidate species of crested newt (characterized by distinct mitochondrial DNA lineages) and interpret the results in the light of differences observed for recognized crested newt species. We quantify niche differences among all crested newt (candidate) species and test hypotheses regarding niche evolution, employing two ordination techniques (PCA-env and ENFA). Niche equivalency is rejected: all (candidate) species are found to occupy significantly different segments of environmental space. Furthermore, niche overlap values for the three candidate species are not significantly higher than those for the recognized species. As the three candidate crested newt species are, not only in terms of mitochondrial DNA genetic divergence, but also ecologically speaking, as diverged as the recognized crested newt species, our findings are in line with the hypothesis that they represent cryptic species. We address potential pitfalls of our methodology.
Latitude, productivity and species richness

Aim Global patterns in primary productivity in natural ecosystems are important for interpreting ecological processes and patterns of biodiversity. Net primary productivity (NPP) on land has long been thought to be greatest in tropical forests and to decrease towards the poles. However, it has recently been claimed that the NPP of mid-latitude forests is as great as, or even greater than, that of tropical forests and that ecologically relevant productivity peaks at mid-latitudes. Here we evaluate these hypotheses by testing for relationships between latitude and productivity using a range of forest productivity datasets. Location Global. Methods We apply ordinary least squares regression and t-test analyses to published latitude–productivity data for forests, specifically updated to include an expanded dataset for the previously data-poor tropics, and we evaluate the relationship between the primary productivity of forests and modelled vascular plant species richness. Results Contrary to the recent claims, we found strong support for a negative relationship between latitude and annual NPP of forests with all datasets, and NPP was significantly greater in tropical forests than in temperate forests. Vascular plant richness was positively correlated with NPP. Main conclusions NPP of forests increases towards the equator. Given that species richness also increases towards the equator, and that vascular plant richness correlates with NPP, these results are consistent with recent meta-analyses showing that the relationships between productivity and species richness of both plants and animals in natural ecosystems are predominantly positive. These results are congruent with ecological theories that predict a positive relationship between species richness and productivity, and they indicate that there is no need to explain peaked richness–productivity relationships over broad spatial extents, since they do not appear to exist.