Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
High power 980 nm tapered lasers with separate contacts: numerical simulation and comparison with experiments

This work present simulations of the operation of tapered semiconductor lasers with separate contacts, in comparison with the experimental results, with the goal of providing a physical understanding of the origin of this improvement. The simulation parameters related to the fabrication technology were calibrated by comparison with experiments in broad area lasers and in tapered lasers with common contacts. The results provide physical interpretation of the observed improvement of the beam quality when the bias of the ridge waveguide section is higher than that of the tapered section.
SU-8 Cantilevers for Bio/chemical Sensing; Fabrication, Characterisation and Development of Novel Read-out Methods

Here, we present the activities within our research group over the last five years with cantilevers fabricated in the polymer SU-8. We believe that SU-8 is an interesting polymer for fabrication of cantilevers for bio/chemical sensing due to its simple processing and low Young's modulus. We show examples of different integrated read-out methods and their characterisation. We also show that SU-8 cantilevers have a reduced sensitivity to changes in the environmental temperature and pH of the buffer solution. Moreover, we show that the SU-8 cantilever surface can be functionalised directly with receptor molecules for analyte detection, thereby avoiding gold-thiol chemistry.
PM/sup 2/P: a tool for performance monitoring of message passing applications in COTS PC clusters

The use of clusters of computers as an environment for high performance computing has been shown to be promising. However, the efficient use of such systems still requires advances that make the application development process be simpler and more productive. The development of cluster monitoring tools is essential to achieve this advances. We present PM/sup 2/P, a tool for use in clusters of personal computers that provides a graphic visualization of the temporal execution of distributed applications that use the MPI standard for message passing. The tool uses an approach involving the parallel port to read the time of events that occur in all different machines of a cluster. It also simulates the execution of task precedence graphs and allocates tasks of a graph to the machines of a cluster, among other functionalities.
Political socialization as the driving factor for political engagement and political participation

Paper Abstract Politicians and academics have pointed to the fact that young people in the western world are increasingly disengaged from conventional politics. On the other hand the level of political interest does not follow the same trend, as young people remain interested in politics. The paper focuses on political socialization patterns that foster students’ political engagement, which could be seen as a starting point for political participation. The conditions under which some people become more involved with politics are a puzzle, since pioneering works on political culture have detected differences among individuals in this respect. Most of these studies pointed to political socialization as a plausible suspect for these differences. The political socialization of adolescents has been high on the agenda of governments and researchers in the past ten years. This paper focuses on younger students, as the issues around political engagement have gained importance due to the fact that in Austria the vote has been extended to 16 year olds in all elections since 2008. The whole debate has shifted towards the role of schools in educating students to become good citizens, but does the school really matter? The post-election studies for several elections since 2008 have shown that younger voters are very interested in politics, but are less likely to participate in elections.
Evaluation of brain connectivity: The role of magnetoencephalography

Communication between regions of the brain, both normal interactions and pathologic traffic, is manifest by electromagnetic activity. Magnetoencephalography (MEG)—with high resolution in both the temporal and spatial domains, as well as a comprehensive, whole‐head view—offers ready noninvasive access to this ongoing communication. The waveforms are amenable to a variety of signal processing techniques that can elucidate connectivity between brain areas. In conjunction with the other modalities acquired during the evaluation of a patient with epilepsy, MEG can provide information that is important for determining therapeutic strategy.
Substrate oxidation by isolated rat brain mitochondria and synaptosomes

The rates of [6‐14C]‐glucose oxidation by reconstituted systems of cytosol and mitochondria or cytosol and synaptosomes were essentially the same as the rate of oxidation of [3‐14C]‐3‐hydroxybutyrate. However, the rate of [U‐14C]‐glutamine oxidation by mitochondria was 2.5 times that by synaptosomes. The addition of glutamine (5 mM) caused a reduction in the rates of oxidation of [6‐14C]‐glucose of 20% and 40% by mitochondria and synaptosomes, respectively. Conversely, the addition of glucose (5 mM) had little or no effect on the rate of [U‐14C]‐glutamine oxidation by either organelle. Amino‐oxyacetate decreased [U‐14C]‐glutamine oxidation by mitochondria more than 35% but had little or no effect on the rate of glutamine oxidation by synaptosomes. When glucose (5 mM) was added to [3‐14C]‐3‐hydroxybutyrate, the rates of oxidation by the mitochondria and synaptosomes were increased by 65% and 77%, respectively. However, in the reverse situation the addition of 3‐hydroxybutyrate decreased [6‐14C]‐glucose oxidation by synaptosomes (35%) but did not decrease the rate by mitochondria. These results suggest that differences in the rates of substrate utilization by mitochondria and synaptosomes and differences in substrate interactions in these two subcellular organelles may contribute to metabolic compartmentation in the brain.
Integrating the Projective Transform with Particle Filtering for Visual Tracking

This paper presents the projective particle filter, a Bayesian filtering technique integrating the projective transform, which describes the distortion of vehicle trajectories on the camera plane. The characteristics inherent to traffic monitoring, and in particular the projective transform, are integrated in the particle filtering framework in order to improve the tracking robustness and accuracy. It is shown that the projective transform can be fully described by three parameters, namely, the angle of view, the height of the camera, and the ground distance to the first point of capture. This information is integrated in the importance density so as to explore the feature space more accurately. By providing a fine distribution of the samples in the feature space, the projective particle filter outperforms the standard particle filter on different tracking measures. First, the resampling frequency is reduced due to a better fit of the importance density for the estimation of the posterior density. Second, the mean squared error between the feature vector estimate and the true state is reduced compared to the estimate provided by the standard particle filter. Third, the tracking rate is improved for the projective particle filter, hence decreasing track loss.
Coregistered intraoperative ultrasonography in resection of malignant glioma.

OBJECT The authors present their experience with coregistration of preoperative imaging data to intraoperative ultrasonography in the resection of high-grade gliomas, focusing on methodology and clinical observation. METHODS Images were obtained preoperatively and coregistered to intraoperative hand-held ultrasound images by merging the respective imaging coordinate systems. After patient registration and imaging calibration, the authors computed the location on the magnetic resonance (MR) space of each pixel on an ultrasound image acquired in the operating room. The data were retrospectively reviewed in 11 patients with high-grade gliomas who underwent ultrasonography-assisted resection at our institution between June 2000 and December 2002. Satisfactory coregistration of intraoperative ultrasound and preoperative MR images was accomplished in all cases. Ultrasound and MR image data were closely congruent. Preoperative setup and intraoperative use of the system were unencumbering. CONCLUSIONS Based on these preliminary results, intraoperative ultrasonography is an attractive neuronavigational alternative, by which a less expensive and constraining imaging technique is used to acquire updated information. Optimal intraoperative guidance can be provided by the integration of this with other imaging studies.
Single-incision Laparoscopic Percutaneous Hydatid Cystectomy: A Novel Curative Approach for Segment 7 Hydatid Cyst of Liver

Hydatid disease of the liver is one of the common cystic disease of the liver. Chemotherapy as well operative procedures are generally opted for the treatment of hydatid disease of the liver. Apart from open surgical intervention, (PAIR) Percutaneous Aspiration Injection & reaspiration, Laparoscopic hydatid cystectomy is also popularized. We have developed a novel technique for segment 7 liver hydatid cyst as a combination of single incision percutaneous technique with direct visualisation of cystic cavity under sonographic guidance.
Cryo-electron microscopy single particle reconstruction of virus particles using compressed sensing theory

Sparse object supports are often encountered in many imaging problems. For such sparse objects, recent theory of compressed sensing tells us that accurate reconstruction of objects are possible even from highly limited number of measurements drastically smaller than the Nyquist sampling limit by solving L1 minimization problem. This paper employs the compressed sensing theory for cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) single particle reconstruction of virus particles. Cryo-EM single particle reconstruction is a nice application of the compressed sensing theory because of the following reasons: 1) in some cases, due to the difficulty in sample collection, each experiment can obtain micrographs with limited number of virus samples, providing undersampled projection data, and 2) the nucleic acid of a viron is enclosed within capsid composed of a few proteins; hence the support of capsid in 3-D real space is quite sparse. In order to minimize the L1 cost function derived from compressed sensing, we develop a novel L1 minimization method based on the sliding mode control theory. Experimental results using synthetic and real virus data confirm that the our algorithm provides superior reconstructions of 3-D viral structures compared to the conventional reconstruction algorithms.
C‐terminal of human histamine H1 receptors regulates their agonist‐induced clathrin‐mediated internalization and G‐protein signaling

It has been suggested that the agonist‐induced internalization of G‐protein‐coupled receptors from the cell surface into intracellular compartments regulates cellular responsiveness. We previously reported that Gq/11‐protein‐coupled human histamine H1 receptors internalized via clathrin‐dependent mechanisms upon stimulation with histamine. However, the molecular determinants of H1 receptors responsible for agonist‐induced internalization remain unclear. In this study, we evaluated the roles of the intracellular C‐terminal of human histamine H1 receptors tagged with hemagglutinin (HA) at the N‐terminal in histamine‐induced internalization in Chinese hamster ovary cells. The histamine‐induced internalization was evaluated by the receptor binding assay with [3H]mepyramine and confocal immunofluorescence microscopy with an anti‐HA antibody. We found that histamine‐induced internalization was inhibited under hypertonic conditions or by pitstop, a clathrin terminal domain inhibitor, but not by filipin or nystatin, disruptors of the caveolar structure and function. The histamine‐induced internalization was also inhibited by truncation of a single amino acid, Ser487, located at the end of the intracellular C‐terminal of H1 receptors, but not by its mutation to alanine. In contrast, the receptor‐G‐protein coupling, which was evaluated by histamine‐induced accumulation of [3H]inositol phosphates, was potentiated by truncation of Ser487, but was lost by its mutation to alanine. These results suggest that the intracellular C‐terminal of human H1 receptors, which only comprises 17 amino acids (Cys471‐Ser487), plays crucial roles in both clathrin‐dependent internalization of H1 receptors and G‐protein signaling, in which truncation of Ser487 and its mutation to alanine are revealed to result in biased signaling toward activation of G‐proteins and clathrin‐mediated internalization, respectively.
Life satisfaction and competence of Bosnian refugees in Norway

In this study the relative influence of age, gender, locus of control, preferred acculturation strategy, perceived majority members' attitude, and social support on life satisfaction and competence of Bosnian refugees was examined. Hundred and six Bosnians living temporarily in Norway completed a questionnaire. The results showed that persons with a higher internal locus of control had a higher life satisfaction and higher feelings of competence. The acculturation option assimilation was related to the highest life satisfaction, while the integration option was related to the highest feelings of competence. The more positive reactions the respondents received from Norwegians, the higher their life satisfaction and the higher their feelings of competence. Older refugees reported the highest feelings of competence.
Effects of single nucleotide polymorphisms in the human holocarboxylase synthetase gene on catalytic activity

Holocarboxylase synthetase (HCS) catalyzes the covalent binding of biotin to carboxylases and histones in eukaryotic cells. Biotinylated carboxylases play essential roles in intermediary metabolism; biotinylated histones play essential roles in gene regulation and genome stability. HCS knockout is embryonic lethal. Greater than 1,900 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been reported for HCS, but the biological importance of these polymorphisms is unknown. We hypothesized that some of these SNPs impair catalytic activity and that this effect can be overcome by dietary intervention with biotin. We are currently studying the biotin‐protein ligase activities of eight recombinant HCS morphs using a propionyl‐CoA carboxylase surrogate (“p67”), histone H3, and synthetic histone‐based peptides as substrates for biotinylation. The biotinylation of p67 by T647G HCS and G1528A HCS decreased by ~50% compared with wild‐type HCS. Enzyme kinetic analyses and intervention studies are underway. This is the first biochemical characterization of catalytic activities of HCS morphs.
Prioritizing Child Health Interventions in Ethiopia: Modeling Impact on Child Mortality, Life Expectancy and Inequality in Age at Death

Background The fourth Millennium Development Goal calls for a two-thirds reduction in under-5 mortality between 1990 and 2015. Under-5 mortality rate is declining, but many countries are still far from achieving the goal. Effective child health interventions that could reduce child mortality exist, but national decision-makers lack contextual information for priority setting in their respective resource-constrained settings. We estimate the potential health impact of increasing coverage of 14 selected health interventions on child mortality in Ethiopia (2011–2015). We also explore the impact on life expectancy and inequality in the age of death (Ginihealth). Methods and Findings We used the Lives Saved Tool to estimate potential impact of scaling-up 14 health interventions in Ethiopia (2011–2015). Interventions are scaled-up to 1) government target levels, 2) 90% coverage and 3) 90% coverage of the five interventions with the highest impact. Under-5 mortality rate, neonatal mortality rate and deaths averted are primary outcome measures. We used modified life tables to estimate impact on life expectancy at birth and inequality in the age of death (Ginihealth). Under-5 mortality rate declines from 101.0 in 2011 to 68.8, 42.1 and 56.7 per 1000 live births under these three scenarios. Prioritizing child health would also increase life expectancy at birth from expected 60.5 years in 2015 to 62.5, 64.2 and 63.4 years and reduce inequality in age of death (Ginihealth) substantially from 0.24 to 0.21, 0.18 and 0.19. Conclusions The Millennium Development Goal for child health is reachable in Ethiopia. Prioritizing child health would also increase total life expectancy at birth and reduce inequality in age of death substantially (Ginihealth).
Life chances at 16 Life Chances Study stage 8

Stage 8 of the longitudinal Life Chances Study explores the situations of 125 young Australians (75 girls and 50 boys) from diverse backgrounds, their current engagement with school and work and their future plans at the age of 16. The survey responses confirmed the continuity and layering of disadvantage: for example, 16 year olds from low-income families with parents with limited education are more likely than their affluent peers to leave school early and less likely to plan university careers. The findings also showed diversity within socioeconomic groups, and posed the challenge of providing effective teaching and transition supports for all young people.
Online estimation of object-environment constraints for planning of humanoid motion on a movable object

This paper shows a method for achieving multi-contact motion for a humanoid robot on a movable object, such as climbing of a stepladder. Recent research has developed methods for achieving multi-contact motion that considers various constraints, such as joint limits, torques, balance constraints, reachability, and collision avoidance. In addition to these constraints, Motion On a Movable Object (MOMO) has the following features: it has to consider an object's balance during the changing of contact points; and it has to handle scenarios where the mass properties of an object are unknown. In this paper, in order to achieve a humanoid robot having MOMO, we propose balance constraints that consider the constraints imposed by an object as well as an online estimation of object's constraints. First, we use object-environment constraints as the robot's constraints, and then we show a method for estimating them based on information provided by the robot's sensors. Next, we show a method for applying the balance constraints to a humanoid motion planner and for executing planned motion with real-time sensor feedback controller. Finally, we evaluate our proposed method through experiments in which a life-sized humanoid robot climbs stepladders that have unknown mass properties.
Certainty, Revision, and Ambivalence: A Qualitative Investigation into Women's Journeys to Stop Self-Injuring

Abstract Based on in-depth interviews, this study utilizes grounded theory, interpretive poetics, and voice-centered analytic methods to investigate how six college women stop self-injuring. Findings illuminate that this process involves multiple factors beyond whether or not a woman desires to stop. These include: subjective meanings of the behavior, a decrease in psychological catalysts, self-initiative, life engagements, relational ties, professional treatment, disclosure experiences, motivators, and momentum. Treatment implications suggest that a woman's attitude toward stopping may point toward particular interventions.
Micelles as Delivery Vehicles for Oligofluorene for Bioimaging

With the successful development of organic/polymeric light emitting diodes, many organic and polymeric fluorophores with high quantum efficiencies and optical stability were synthesized. However, most of these materials which have excellent optical properties are insoluble in water, limiting their applications in biological fields. Herein, we used micelles formed from an amino-group-containing poly(ε-caprolactone)-block-poly(ethylene glycol) (PCL-b-PEG-NH2) to incorporate a hydrophobic blue emitter oligofluorene (OF) to enable its application in biological conditions. Although OF is completely insoluble in water, it was successfully transferred into aqueous solutions with a good retention of its photophysical properties. OF exhibited a high quantum efficiency of 0.84 in a typical organic solvent of tetrahydrofuran (THF). In addition, OF also showed a good quantum efficiency of 0.46 after being encapsulated into micelles. Two cells lines, human glioblastoma (U87MG) and esophagus premalignant (CP-A), were used to study the cellular internalization of the OF incorporated micelles. Results showed that the hydrophobic OF was located in the cytoplasm, which was confirmed by co-staining the cells with nucleic acid specific SYTO 9, lysosome specific LysoTracker Red®, and mitochondria specific MitoTracker Red. MTT assay indicated non-toxicity of the OF-incorporated micelles. This study will broaden the application of hydrophobic functional organic compounds, oligomers, and polymers with good optical properties to enable their applications in biological research fields.
Choosing How to Choose: Institutional Pressures Affecting the Adoption of Personnel Selection Procedures

The gap between science and practice in personnel selection is an ongoing concern of human resource management. This paper takes Oliver's framework of organizations' strategic responses to institutional pressures as a basis for outlining the diverse economic and social demands that facilitate or inhibit the application of scientifically recommended selection procedures. Faced with a complex network of multiple requirements, practitioners make more diverse choices in response to any of these pressures than has previously been acknowledged in the scientific literature. Implications for the science-practitioner gap are discussed.
Approximate Recursive Identification of Autoregressive Systems with Skewed Innovations

We propose a novel recursive system identification algorithm for linear autoregressive systems with skewed innovations. The algorithm is based on the variational Bayes approximation of the model with a multivariate normal prior for the model coefficients, multivariate skew-normally distributed innovations, and matrix-variate-normal - inverse-Wishart prior for the parameters of the innovation distribution. The proposed algorithm simultaneously estimates the model coefficients as well as the parameters of the innovation distribution, which are both allowed to be slowly time-varying. Through computer simulations, we compare the proposed method with a variational algorithm based on the normally-distributed innovations model, and show that modelling the skewness can provide improvement in identification accuracy.
Performance of Levenberg-Marquardt Backpropagation for Full Reference Hybrid Image Quality Metrics

Image quality analysis is to study the quality of images and develop methods to efficiently and swiftly determine the quality of images. It is an important process especially in this digital age whereby transmission, compression and conversion are compulsory. Therefore, this paper proposed a hybrid method to determine the image quality by using Levenberg-Marquardt Back-Propagation Neural Network (LMBNN). Three known quality metrics were combined as the input element to the network. A proper set of network properties was chosen to represent this element and was trained using Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm (trainlm) in MATLAB. From the preliminary simulation, a promising output result was obtained indicated by good performance metrics results and good regression fitting.