Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hazardous alcohol use in rural southern India: nature, prevalence and risk factors.

BACKGROUND There is a dearth of data on the hazardous use of alcohol in rural India. METHODS We examined the nature, prevalence and factors associated with hazardous use of alcohol among men in a rural community in southern India. We used stratified sampling to select subjects from the Kaniyambadi block and employed 'AUDIT', a standard instrument, to assess the use of alcohol. RESULTS The prevalence of life-time use, use in the past year and hazardous use of alcohol was 46.7%, 34.8% and 14.2%, respectively. Using Indian made foreign liquor (OR 20.51; 95% CI 8.81-47.75) and living in a village which brewed illicit alcohol (OR 2.82; 95% CI 1.39-5.72) were risk factors for hazardous use while education (OR 0.39; 95% CI 0.21-0.72) was protective. These factors remained significantly associated with hazardous use after adjusting for age and education using logistic regression. CONCLUSION The relationship between the availability of illicit and commercial alcohol and its hazardous use suggests the need for an alcohol policy which takes into account health and economic issues and also implements the law to prevent the negative impact of problem drinking.
Event-triggered fault estimation for nonlinear systems with missing measurements

In this paper, the joint fault and state estimation problem is investigated for a class of nonlinear systems with event-triggered transmissions and missing measurements. In the proposed event-triggered transmission scheme, in order to reduce unnecessary network traffic, the current measurement is released only when it changes greatly from the previously transmitted one. A Bernoulli distributed sequence taking values on 0 or 1 is introduced to govern possible missing measurements in the transmission. Special effort is made to obtain and then minimize certain upper bound of the estimation error covariance in the simultaneous presence of the linearization errors and imperfect measurement transmissions. It is noticeable that, in the proposed method, the traditional assumption on the availability on the probability density functions of the states and the innovations conditional on the measurements is no longer needed, and therefore the application scope is much widened. Moreover, the fault and states can be jointly estimated, thereby providing a way of simultaneously monitoring the system and diagnosing the faults. The estimator gain is calculated via solving two recursive matrix equations, and the corresponding algorithm is therefore suitable for online applications. An illustrative example is provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Future direction of searching for root economics spectrum: focusing on the fibrous roots “absorptive unit”

As one of the trait‐based approaches, leaf economics spectrum (LES) has led to significant advances in plant ecology; however, hypothetical root economics spectrum (RES) which is even more important than the LES aboveground is still less well understood. By analogy with the LES, hypothetical RES may emerge from the coordinated functional traits of fine roots. However, lots of previous studies revealed inconsistent evidence of an RES across the woody species which dominate the terrestrial ecosystem. By discussing the sampling problems in previous studies, we realize that the main reason of failing to search the RES across woody species might be the lack of a standardized sampling protocol. Using inconsistent and inaccurate basic samples of absorptive roots in previous studies impeded the search for an RES. Mycorrhizal interactions and soil matrix constraints do have influences on fine‐root traits; however, there is no adequate evidence to support that these factors can offset or impede selection for an RES. In order to make sure the comparability across species and between studies, we come up with a concept absorptive unit of fibrous roots. The absorptive unit, which integrates all the absorptive fibrous root orders interconnected in a distal nonwoody cluster as a whole, is a parallel to a leaf. Excluding all the pioneer roots and treating absorptive unit as a basic sample can make sure the comparability across species and between studies. We believe it will offer a promising way to find consistent evidence that support the RES.
Climate Impact of Increasing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide

The global temperature rose by 0.2�C between the middle 1960's and 1980, yielding a warming of 0.4�C in the past century. This temperature increase is consistent with the calculated greenhouse effect due to measured increases of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Variations of volcanic aerosols and possibly solar luminosity appear to be primary causes of observed fluctuations about the mean trend of increasing temperature. It is shown that the anthropogenic carbon dioxide warming should emerge from the noise level of natural climate variability by the end of the century, and there is a high probability of warming in the 1980's. Potential effects on climate in the 21st century include the creation of drought-prone regions in North America and central Asia as part of a shifting of climatic zones, erosion of the West Antarctic ice sheet with a consequent worldwide rise in sea level, and opening of the fabled Northwest Passage.
A MARKER‐BASED METHOD FOR INFERENCES ABOUT QUANTITATIVE INHERITANCE IN NATURAL POPULATIONS

A marker‐based method for studying quantitative genetic characters in natural populations is presented and evaluated. The method involves regressing quantitative trait similarity on marker‐estimated relatedness between individuals. A procedure is first given for estimating the narrow sense heritability and additive genetic correlations among traits, incorporating shared environments. Estimation of the actual variance of relatedness is required for heritability, but not for genetic correlations. The approach is then extended to include isolation by distance of environments, dominance, and shared levels of inbreeding. Investigations of statistical properties show that good estimates do not require great marker polymorphism, but rather require significant variation of actual relatedness; optimal allocation generally favors sampling many individuals at the expense of assaying fewer marker loci; when relatedness declines with physical distance, it is optimal to restrict comparisons to within a certain distance; the power to estimate shared environments and inbreeding effects is reasonable, but estimates of dominance variance may be difficult under certain patterns of relationship; and any linkage of markers to quantitative trait loci does not cause significant problems. This marker‐based method makes possible studies with long‐lived organisms or with organisms difficult to culture, and opens the possibility that quantitative trait expression in natural environments can be analyzed in an unmanipulative way.
Analysis of the Networks Controlling the Antimicrobial-Peptide-Dependent Induction of Klebsiella pneumoniae Virulence Factors

ABSTRACT Antimicrobial peptides (APs) impose a threat to the survival of pathogens, and it is reasonable to postulate that bacteria have developed strategies to counteract them. Polymyxins are becoming the last resort to treat infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria and, similar to APs, they interact with the anionic lipopolysaccharide. Given that polymyxins and APs share the initial target, it is possible that bacterial defense mechanisms against polymyxins will be also effective against host APs. We sought to determine whether exposure to polymyxin will increase Klebsiella pneumoniae resistance to host APs. Indeed, exposure of K. pneumoniae to polymyxin induces cross-resistance not only to polymyxin itself but also to APs present in the airways. Polymyxin treatment upregulates the expression of the capsule polysaccharide operon and the loci required to modify the lipid A with aminoarabinose and palmitate with a concomitant increase in capsule and lipid A species containing such modifications. Moreover, these surface changes contribute to APs resistance and also to polymyxin-induced cross-resistance to APs. Bacterial loads of lipid A mutants in trachea and lungs of intranasally infected mice were lower than those of wild-type strain. PhoPQ, PmrAB, and the Rcs system govern polymyxin-induced transcriptional changes, and there is a cross talk between PhoPQ and the Rcs system. Our findings support the notion that Klebsiella activates a defense program against APs that is controlled by three signaling systems. Therapeutic strategies directed to prevent the activation of this program could be a new approach worth exploring to facilitate the clearance of the pathogen from the airways.
The Nonprofit Economy.

1. Nonprofits in a Mixed Economy 2. Options among Institutional Forms 3. Incentives and Performance 4. Anatomy of the Voluntary Nonprofit Sector 5. Charitable Donations 6. Revenues from Sales 7. Volunteer Labor 8. Are Nonprofits Really Different? 9. Recommendations for Public Policy Appendix A. Characteristics of the Nonprofit Economy Appendix B. The Nonprofit Sector around the World Appendix C. Financing Nonprofits Appendix B. Restrictions on Lobbying by Nonprofits Appendix E. Volunteer Labor Appendix F. For-profit and Nonprofit Behavior in Three Long-Term-Care Industries Notes Index
A binary screening assay for pro-oestrogens in food: metabolic activation using hepatic microsomes and detection with oestrogen sensitive recombinant yeast cells

An assay, employing microsomes prepared from rat liver and a recombinant cell bioassay (RCBA) expressing the human oestrogen receptor (α) linked to a reporter gene, was evaluated for the detection of pro-oestrogens in food using methoxychlor and mestranol as model compounds. Bio-activation of the hop phytoestrogen isoxanthohumol to the potent oestrogen 8-prenylnaringenin was also investigated. The oestrogenic potency values for reference standards determined with the RCBA (17 β-oestradiol = 100%) were: methoxychlor 0.0025%, mestranol 1.3%, isoxanthohumol 0.001%, and for their potential respective metabolites were: bishydroxymethoxychlor 0.015%, 17 α-ethynyl oestradiol 69% and 8-prenylnaringenin 0.4%. Incubation of methoxychlor and mestranol (10 μ M) with microsomes prepared from the liver of rats treated with Aroclor 1254 significantly increased (p < 0.001) their oestrogenic potency from 0.0021 and 2.4% to 0.015 and 8.3%, respectively. In contrast, the potency of the hop phytoestrogen isoxanthohumol was unchanged. Metabolites were identified by UV-HPLC-MS/MS as monohydroxy methoxychlor and HPTE from methoxychlor, and the major metabolite of mestranol was 17 α-ethynyl oestradiol. There was no evidence for the metabolism of isoxanthohumol. Mestranol was also activated by microsomes induced with saline (control), β -napthoflavone, 3-methylcholantherene, isoniazid or pregnenolone-16α -carbonitrile, but not phenobarbitone. These studies demonstrate the principle for use of a binary assay system for the detection of pro-oestrogens and indicate the potential value for risk assessment of endocrine disrupting chemicals.
Organizations and overlapping generations games: Memory, communication, and altruism

Abstract.This paper studies the role of memory and communication in overlapping generations (OLG) games between ongoing organizations. In each organization, each individual, upon entry into the game, replaces his predecessor who has the same preferences and faces the same strategic possibilities. An individual has no prior memory - that is, he does not directly witness the events that occur before his tenure. Instead, each individual relies on information about the past from his predecessor via cheap talk. This paper highlights the role of communication as a surrogate for memory.It has been shown elsewhere that Folk Theorems hold in OLG games with long enough lived individuals who can perfectly observe the past. However, the Folk Theorem fails for many games when individuals have no prior memory. We show that for OLG games without prior memory but with costly communication, a Folk Theorem holds only when there is some altruistic link between cohorts in an organization. Our main result asserts that if communication costs are sufficiently small, or if altruistic weights on successors are sufficiently large, then a strongly stationary Folk Theorem (i.e., equilibrium payoffs are time invariant) obtains if a manager’s message is public information. The equilibria in this Folk Theorem require a special form of intergenerational sanctions. In these sanctions, punishment is sometimes carried out long after both victim and perpetrator have left the game. Without this special structure, altruism may in fact destroy cooperation when it would otherwise be possible.
Modeling of an e-vehicle charging station using DC-DC self-lift SEPIC converter

This paper presents the modeling and simulation of Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) using the self-lift SEPIC converter. The PI controller based MPPT is used to track the maximum power from the solar panel. It will reduce the voltage and current ripple. The output voltage of the converter is then connected with the lithium ion battery to charge the e-vehicle.
Online Path-Based Test Method for Network-on-Chip

A considerable amount of routers and links remains idle after each mapping application onto the Network-on-Chip based many-core systems. Online path-based test method is a kind of self-test for these idle components. In this paper, a path-based fabric for NoC is firstly proposed. A path serves as the basic component, covering one link and its associated control logic in the routers. One possibility is to apply fault detection on the idle paths, while the other paths continue to operate normally. Moreover, this paper details the hardware implementation, targeting the stuck-at and bridging faults. It suggests a good trade-off between fault coverage, hardware overhead and test time. Experimental results show that the approach achieves 93% of the stuck-at faults in control unit and cover 100% of the stuck-at and bridging faults on the global link within 256 clock cycles.
Gastric bypass vs sleeve gastrectomy for type 2 diabetes mellitus: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES To determine the efficacies of 2 weight-reducing operations on diabetic control and the role of duodenum exclusion. DESIGN Double-blind randomized controlled trial. SETTING Department of Surgery of the Min-Sheng General Hospital, National Taiwan University. PATIENTS We studied 60 moderately obese patients (body mass index >25 and <35) aged >30 to <60 years who had poorly controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) (hemoglobin A(1c) [HbA(1c)] >7.5%) after conventional treatment (>6 months) from September 1, 2007, through June 30, 2008. Patients and observers were masked during the follow-up, which ended in 2009, 1 year after final enrollment. INTERVENTIONS Gastric bypass with duodenum exclusion (n = 30) vs sleeve gastrectomy without duodenum exclusion (n = 30). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The primary outcome was remission of T2DM (fasting glucose <126 mg/dL and HbA(1c) <6.5% without glycemic therapy). Secondary measures included weight and metabolic syndrome. Analysis was by intention to treat. RESULTS Of the 60 patients enrolled, all completed the 12-month follow-up. Remission of T2DM was achieved by 28 (93%) in the gastric bypass group and 14 (47%) in the sleeve gastrectomy group (P = .02). Participants assigned to gastric bypass had lost more weight, achieved a lower waist circumference, and had lower glucose, HbA(1c), and blood lipid levels than the sleeve gastrectomy group. No serious complications occurred in either group. CONCLUSIONS Participants randomized to gastric bypass were more likely to achieve remission of T2DM. Duodenum exclusion plays a role in T2DM treatment and should be assessed. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00540462 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov).
Design and Implementation of a High-Flux Photoneutron Converter for Analysis of Fast Neutron Radiation Damage on Gallium Nitride Transistors

GalliumNitride(GaN) is known for its wide-energy bandgap of 3.4 eV and its high-efficiency as a semiconductor, which makes it a prime material for high-power, high-frequency, and low-noise systems. Specifically, GaN high electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) have seen an increase in popularity due to its two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) that allows for increased mobility of un-doped GaN. In this work, GaN HEMTs were irradiated with a fluence of 2x1016n/cm2 while maintaining a 99 percent fast-to-thermal neutron ratio. There were three phases to this work, the first was the design and fabrication of a photoneutron converter. The second was the design and implementation of a device testing suite in order to characterize the GaN HEMTs before, during, and after the experiment. The last was the analysis of the data showing the relationship of the electrical and physical characteristics of the devices with respect to the fast neutron fluence. The damage was also analyzed using a total displacement calculation for each layer of the device. The GaN HEMTs linearly degraded due to the high energy neutron displacements within the heterojunction layers.
Atrial function during cardiac arrest caused by ventricular fibrillation.

OBJECTIVES To report observations on preserved regular atrial electrical and mechanical systole during ventricular fibrillation (VF) and to quantitate blood flow generated by atrial contractions in this setting. METHODS In 10 rats, right atrial pressure pulses were continuously recorded before and for an interval of 8 min after inducing VF. In 3 isolated, perfused rat hearts, epicardial right atrial electrograms were recorded after inducing VF. In 15 pigs, transesophageal echo-Doppler measurements were obtained with pulsed and color-Doppler visualization of flow across the mitral valve after onset of VF. RESULTS In each rat, regular right atrial pressure pulses were documented during VF. These persisted over an average interval of 7.5 min. In isolated, perfused hearts, right atrial contractions were accompanied by regular atrial depolarizations. In pigs, regular atrial contractions generated atrial stroke volumes of approximately 12 mL, or 25% of prearrest values during the first minute after onset of VF, but those declined to approximately 6 mL after 10 min of untreated cardiac arrest. Blood flow from the left atrium into the left ventricle failed to advance significantly into the systemic circuit. During atrial diastole, we observed reversal of flow into the left atrium. CONCLUSIONS Atrial contractions are preserved during the initial 8 min or more after cardiac arrest due to VF. Substantial forward flow into the left ventricle failed to advance through the outflow tract but regurgitated into the atrium during atrial diastole.
Birth dates of retinal ganglion cells giving rise to the crossed and uncrossed optic projections in the mouse

In the mouse, as in most mammals, the crossed optic projections originate from the entire extent of the retina, whereas ganglion cells giving rise to the uncrossed (ipsilateral) projection are restricted to the temporal and ventral retina. The nasal border of this bilaterally projecting region in the retina corresponds to the midline of the visual field. Here the birth dates of ipsilaterally and contralaterally projecting ganglion cells were determined by combining tritiated thymidine labelling in the embryo with horseradish peroxidase tracings from the optic tract in the adult. Contralaterally projecting ganglion cells were found to be generated from embryonic day E11 to about E19 in a crude concentric fashion with the oldest cells in central and youngest ones in peripheral retina. Ipsilaterally projecting cells were born from E11 to E16, that is, during the earlier part of the period in which the contralateral projection was born. At the earliest time of ganglion cell generation (E11-12 ) ipsi- and contralaterally projecting cells were born within separate retinal regions, with the future midline representation forming the border between the two zones. This distinction became lost after E13, when both ipsi- and contralaterally projecting cells were born in the bilaterally projecting region. Hence at E11-12 the retina was found to have a bipartite organization that may allow the specification of the two maps of opposite topographical polarity in which the crossed and uncrossed projections are organized. Since in the adult retina this bipartite organization is preserved only in the large ganglion cells that project to the lateral geniculate nucleus, and since large ganglion cells are known to be the earliest ones formed in the mouse, these cells may be the ones that establish the early and bilateral projections of the retina. The conclusion that the bilateral projection system in the retina reflects an early developmental programme, and not the result of competition between the two eyes at later stages, was reinforced by observing a practically normal retinal origin of ipsilateral projections in mice which had only one normal eye from the earliest stages of eye development.
Multi-Level Dirty Paper Coding

We propose multi-level coding and successive decoding for dirty paper coding (DPC) in the high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regime. We divide the channel code into two levels, the upper code interacting with the shaping code and the lower code that does not such that it is information lossless. Our code design is more intuitive for designing DPC in the high SNR regime. The design of the lower code becomes trivial since it does not interact with the shaping code anymore. The design of the upper code is also simplified since we can now assume binary signaling for the code. We evaluate the capacity of each level and design codes to approach the estimated capacity. We demonstrate a good performance can indeed be achieved by simulations using low- density parity-check (LDPC) codes at each level. Our best code is only 0.45 dB from the no-interference Gaussian capacity at the spectral efficiency of 3 b/s/Hz.
Spectrophotometric determination of amlodipineand nicardipine in pharmaceutical formulations viabinary complex formation with eosin Y

A validated simple and selective spectrophotometric method was developed for the selective determination of amlodipine and nicardipine in bulk powders and pharmaceutical formulation. The proposed method was based on the formulation of a binary complex between either of the studied drugs and eosin Y in aqueous buffered medium. The surfactant, methylcellulose, was added to enhance the solubility of the formed complex. The binary complexes showed absorption maxima at 549 nm. The different experimental parameters affecting the development of stability of the colors were studied and optimized. Under the optimum reaction conditions, linear relationship with good correlation coefficients (0.9981 and 0.9995) were found between the absorbances and the concentrations of amlodipine and nicardipine respectively in the range of 5-60 g/ml for both drugs. The limits of detection were 1.8 and 1.2 g/ml while the limits of quantitation were 6.0 and 3.6 g/ml for both drugs respectively. The analytical parameters were fully validated and results were satisfactory. No interference was observed from the excipients that are commonly present in pharmaceutical formulations. The proposed method was successfully applied to the analysis of the cited drugs in some pharmaceutical formulations. The mean percentage recoveries were 100.04 ± 0.83 and 99.98 ± 0.80. The results obtained are reproducible with a coefficient of variation less than 2% and were in good agreement with those obtained using the reference methods.