Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Accuracy of internal fields in volume integral equation simulations of light scattering.

We studied the accuracy of volume integral equation simulations of internal fields in small particles illuminated by a monochromatic plane wave as well as the accuracy of the scattered fields. We obtained this accuracy by considering scattering by spheres and comparing the simulated internal and scattered fields with those obtained by Mie theory. The accuracy was measured in several error norms (e.g., mean and root mean square). Furthermore, the distribution of the errors within the particle was obtained. The accuracy was measured as a function of the size parameter and the refractive index of the sphere and as a function of the cube size used in the simulations. The size parameter of the sphere was as large as 10, and three refractive indices were considered. The errors in the internal field are located mostly on the surface of the sphere, and even for fine discretizations they remain relatively large. The errors depend strongly on the refractive index of the particle. If the discretization is kept constant, the errors depend only weakly on the size parameter. We also examined the case of sharp internal field resonances in the sphere. We show that the simulation is able to reproduce the resonances in the internal field, although at a slightly larger refractive index.
Blood oxygenation level dependent-functional magnetic resonance imaging ( BOLD-fMRI ) combined with diffusion-tensor imaging ( DTI ) : a comparison of patients with hemiplegia after stroke treated with acupuncture and normal subjects

Objective: This study is to investigate the effects of acupuncture on the pyramidal tract injuries in patients with hemiplegia after stroke, with the blood oxygenation level dependent-functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD-fMRI) combined with diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI), in comparison with normal subjects. Methods: Totally 20 patients with hemiplegia after stroke and 20 normal subjects were treated with acupuncture at the LI4 Hegu and SJ5 Waiguan points. Right pyramidal tracts were observed, and the brain activation regions were detected, with BOLD-fMRI/DTI. Results: DTI tractography indicated intact bilateral pyramidal tracts, with normal distribution and arrangement, in normal subjects. In hemiplegiapatients, injured right pyramidal tracts were noted. BOLD-fMRI detection showed that, in comparison with normal subjects, positively activated brain regions in hemiplegia patients were mainly located in the cerebellum, left basal ganglia nuclei, and midbrain reticular formation, red nucleus, and substantia nigra. Moreover, the prefrontal cortex, limbic lobe, left temporal lobe, and parietal cortex were also partially activated. On the other hand, compared with normal subjects, negatively activated brain regions in hemiplegia patients mainly included the anterior cingulate cortex, right precentral gyrus, and superior frontal gyrus. Furthermore, partially negative activation was also observed in the right temporal lobe, parietal lobe, and left occipital lobe. Conclusion: Pyramidal tract injuries would be detected in patients with hemiplegia after stroke. When treated with acupuncture, in comparison normal subjects, obvious activation would be observed in the extrapyramidal system and secondary motor-related regions in these patients, which might contribute to motor function rehabilitation.
Antioxidant Properties and UV Absorbance Pattern of Mycosporine‐Like Amino Acids Analogs Synthesized in an Environmentally Friendly Manner

In current study, we report efficient and clean procedure for preparing mycosporine‐like amino acids (MMAs) analogs and evaluate their ultraviolet absorbance properties and antioxidant activities. The ultraviolet radiation absorbance patterns of the compounds were recorded and then used to define their molar absorptivities. The antioxidant activities were assessed using 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging and superoxide radical scavenging assays. Eight of nine compounds showed good activity against superoxide radicals, as only one of the analogs exhibited a measurable IC50 in the DPPH assay. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J BiochemMol Toxicol 27:305‐312, 2013; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/jbt.21489
Calibration Optimization Study for Tilt-Compensated Compasses

This paper extends prior work on magnetic and inertial sensor frame calibration with an optimization study for the calibration of tilt-compensated electronic compasses. The novelty of this paper consists in formally demonstrating the optimal calibration orientations that maximize the observability of the various calibration coefficients. The optimal orientations are determined by analyzing the partial derivatives of the cost functions with respect to the calibration coefficients, and finding those orientations that produce their maximum slopes. This approach leads to the preservation of the information needed to determine the calibration coefficients by avoiding geometric dilution. Calibration schemes including optimal orientations for the accelerometers and magnetometers are determined not only for the alignment of the magnetometers and accelerometers sensor reference frames but also for the prerequisite calibrations in the sensor reference frames and partial body frames, respectively. This paper also shows that the optimal accelerometer orientations are different from the optimal magnetometer orientations, however, leaves the analysis of a possible compromise to future work. While confirming some intuitions about possible optimal orientations, this paper also offers an insight into those cases not supported by empirical wisdom, such as the misalignments, eliminating therefore the guesswork from the selection of the calibration profiles.
Automatic Software Repair of C Programs with Genetic Programming and Fix Patterns

Between 50% and 90% of the software costs are invested in repairing errors. The nature of this activity makes difficult its partial or complete automation through software-intensive systems. Nevertheless, a vast amount of research has been made over the last years in the pursuit of novel, effective, sound and scalable solutions towards the automation of software repair. Works like GenProg, PAR, ASTOR, JAFF, which use Genetic Programming to detect and repair software errors, demonstrate this fact. However, there are still a bunch of challenges to overcome in the field of Search-Based Software Engineering (SBSE) metaheuristics, group to which Genetic Programing belongs [Le Goues et al., 2013]. One of them is to improve the low quality of the software repairs. Since the basic idea of the Genetic Algorithms in automatic software repair is to evolve systematically a set of genotypes (i.e. programs) through a series of mutation operations until an optimal fix is found, nonsensical fixes can be presented as a solution. Thus, generating meaningful and human-like repairs is an essential topic to cover in this area in order to improve the patch quality. Since human knowledge and expertise have played and play currently an important role in the bug fixing process, we must transport this intangibles to the automatic software repair process. In this work, similar to the work made by Kim [Kim et al., 2013] we extract this knowledge from different sources of information and structure them in a set of patterns which, along with the Genetic Programming operators, will transform buggy program systematically to find an optimal patch. To our knowledge, this is the first work which applies fix templates to repair C programs. At the end, we will demonstrate that the use of fix templates not only overcome other approaches to fix C programs, but the generated patches tend to be more similar that the ones made by a human.
Nuptiality Transition and Marriage Squeeze in Lebanon: Consequences of Sixteen Years of Civil War*

AKERS DS, 1967, DEMOGRAPHY, V4, P907, DOI 10.2307-2060328; COURBAGE Y, 1974, SITUATION DEMOGRAPHI; DIB G, 1977, POPULATION B UN COMM, V12, P34; FAOUR T, 2001, THESIS AM U BEIRUT B; Goodkind D, 1997, INT MIGR REV, V31, P108, DOI 10.2307-2547260; LOUAIZEH ND, 1997, P 7 C HELD FATQ KESR; NATOUR S, 1997, J REFUGEES STUDIES, V10; ROMANES A, 2001, ANAL STUDIES RESULTS, V6; SCHOEN R, 1983, DEMOGRAPHY, V20, P61, DOI 10.2307-2060901; TABBARAH R, 1993, LEBANONS NATL REPORT; TABBARAH R, 2000, ANAL STUDIES RESULTS, V2; *UNDP COLL COUNC D, 1998, NAT HUM DEV REP LEB; 2000, DAILY STAR NEWS 0309
The effects of graded levels of calorie restriction: V. Impact of short term calorie and protein restriction on physical activity in the C57BL/6 mouse

Calorie restriction (CR) delays the onset of age-related disease and extends lifespan in a number of species. When faced with reduced energy supply animals need to lower energy demands, which may be achieved in part by reducing physical activity (PA). We monitored changes in PA using implanted transmitters in male C57BL/6 mice in response to graded levels of CR (10 to 40%) or matched levels of graded protein restriction (PR) for 3 months. Mice were fed at lights out and ad libitum controls were limited to dark-phase feeding (12AL) or 24hr/day. Total daily PA declined in a non-linear manner over the first 30 days of CR or PR, remaining stable thereafter. Total daily PA was not related to the level of CR or PR. Total daily PA over the last 20 days of restriction was related to circulating leptin, insulin, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF- α) and insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 levels, measured after 3 months. Mice under restriction showed a high level of activity in the 2hrs before feeding (food anticipatory activity: FAA). FAA followed a complex pattern, peaking around day 20, falling on ~day 37 then increasing again. FAA was also positively related to the level of restriction and inversely to leptin, insulin, TNF-α and IGF-1. Non-FAA, in contrast, declined over the period of restriction, generally more so in mice under greater restriction, thereby offsetting to some extent the increase in FAA. Mice under PR displayed no changes in PA over time or in comparison to 12AL, and showed no increase in FAA.
Exploration into Chinese Traditional Confucian Thoughts on Responsibility

As a most important social and psychological theme,the idea of responsibility expresses specific values,and reflects the typical cultural-related characteristics.Different from Western responsibility viewpoints originated from an individualism background,traditional Confucianism places emphasis on exploring the role of responsibility in relational ethics systems.According to Confucianism,it is not subjectivity of individual but "harmony of man with nature" that constitutes the logical starting point of responsibility inquiry.Upon such premise,Confucian understandings of responsibility peculiarly exhibit the structural feature of "rationalizing human beings practice abiding by natural rules". On this account,traditional Confucianism bases the concept of responsibility on plain blood kinship,and forms "ritual and fitness" principles,to which "the filial piety" is central.Furthermore,the extensive application of those principles to the whole society is suggested as well. Practically speaking,responsibility is essential in individual undertaking the role of the master over the mass world,and also in the realization of Confucian moral ideals returning to the real life.The main contents of such responsibility are as follows:(1) the benevolence in the course of "Practicing humanitarianism",which originates from family ethics and develops to cover all kinds of social relationships,(2) "Wang Dao",the faith on "respecting morality through protecting people",i.e.realizing the ideal of "Ren Yi" by serving for social governance,thus constituting central values of social politics in Confucianism,(3) the consciousness of concerns about the state and people,which comprises two aspects,about both the practice of "ritual and fitness" principles by oneself and the ritual governance of the whole nation.Confucianism further states that only with the development and transcendence of personality can the above contents of responsibility be achieved,and that under the guidance of the philosophy of "sacrificing oneself for others",individual is molded in a wide-range relational background. As for the cultivation of responsibility character,Confucianism emphasizes that it firstly is a process of internalizing the external rules through the "sincerity" and "respect" training.However,the promotion of inner moral knowledge and experiences is not the ultimate goal.For Confucianism,"unity of knowledge with practice" is most crucial during the process of cultivation,which,to a large extent,will help to create a responsible life style.Although such process is mainly dependent on some subjective factors,there are still some external intervention mechanisms,among which moral education and penalties are typical,that provide necessary supplements.
One Mbps 1 nJ/b 3.5–4 GHz Fully Integrated FM-UWB Transmitter for WBAN Applications

This paper introduces a fully integrated frequency-modulated ultra-wideband (UWB) transmitter implemented in 130 nm CMOS technology. The 3.5–4 GHz band transmitter involves a phase-locked loop (PLL)-based binary frequency-shift keying subcarrier generator to provide the modulated triangular waveform. The RF signal is generated using a voltage-controlled oscillator and modulated by the triangular signal resulting in a constant-envelope UWB signal. A PLL-based RF calibration scheme is employed to calibrate the lower and the upper frequencies of the modulated RF signal. The purpose of this novel calibration structure is to keep transmitting in a fixed emission band. A Class-AB power amplifier is utilized to amplify the modulated RF signal and drive the antenna through an integrated matching network. The transmitter occupies 0.124 mm2 silicon area and consumes 987 $\mu \text{W}$ from a 1.2 V supply. It achieves an energy consumption of 0.987 nJ/bit at 1 Mbps data rate.
The longevity of national identity and national pride: Evidence from wider Europe

National pride predicts a wide range of politico-economic outcomes, yet what makes individuals proud of their nation is not completely understood. We propose and test a theory that an important but thus far unexplored determinant of contemporary national pride is the longevity of national identity. To measure the longevity of national identity, we construct an index based on responses from an original expert survey designed to trace the emergence of national identity across the polities of Europe and the former Soviet Union. We find that our National Identity Longevity Index is statistically significantly positively associated with the extent of national pride. The implied effect is robust and noteworthy in magnitude. Our results suggest that contemporary national pride inter alia reflects deep, historically rooted societal conventions which take time to emerge.
Long-Term Critical Band Energy-Based Feature Set for Dialect Identification Using a Neuro-Fuzzy Approach

Dialects of languages demonstrate dependency on both speaker and sound-unit (phone)-related information, which encompasses the problem of dialect identification (DID) under the domain of language identification (LID). The DID task is more complicated than conventional LID, and it has been established that conventional acoustic features like perceptual linear prediction (PLP) and mel frequency cepstral coefficient (MFCC) features-which carry only phone-unit-related information-are not sufficient to address the problem of DID. The authors explore raw log critical band energy (LCBE) information obtained from critical band analysis of speech signals, which effectively carries both speaker and phone-unit-related information. A nonlinear feature extractor using multilayer perceptron (MLP) is designed to model the critical band information. Further, a neuro-fuzzy classifier (NFC) is configured to classify feature vectors into different dialectal classes to discriminate between finer variations. The objective is to investigate perceptually oriented information obtained from all critical bands to distinguish dialectal speech and the applicability of NFC for such problems. Experimental results are shown in terms of classification accuracy of four dialects of Assamese language, mostly spoken in Northeast India. A few baseline systems are developed using PLP and MFCC features along with a Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM)-based classifier. Experimental results prove the strength of the MLP-based nonlinear mapping of critical band information for dialect discrimination compared to the PLP-based autoregressive approximation and MFCC-based cepstral domain version of critical band energy.
Matrix Metalloproteinase Inhibitor, Marimastat, Decreases Peritoneal Spread of Gastric Carcinoma in Nude Mice

Marimastat, a matrix metalloproteinese inhibitor, was examined for the ability to prevent peritoneal dissemination of a human gastric cancer xenograft, TMK–1. Even with novel approaches such as molecular targeting of cancer chemotherapy, peritoneal dissemination of gastric cancer has little sensitivity to anticancer drugs, and it is impossible to inhibit its growth completely. Intraperitoneal injection of TMK–1 into nude mice at 5 × 105 cells/body resulted in carcinomatous peritonitis that mimicked clinical cases. Continuous administration of marimastat (18 mg/kg/day) from 24 h after the tumor inoculation successfully inhibited the growth of peritoneal dissemination nodules. Combined administration of marimastat (18 mg/kg/day) and mitomycin C (MMC, 2 mg/kg) showed synergistic inhibition of growth of peritoneal dissemination, being superior to MMC alone (2 mg/kg). Although marimastat alone could not increase survival tune with statistical significance, combined administration of marimastat and MMC had a survival benefit with statistical significance. The combination of marimastat and MMC increased the preventive effect on peritoneal dissemination. Marimastat seems to be a candidate for the prevention of peritoneal spread of gastric carcinoma.
Public versus internal conceptions of addiction: An analysis of internal Philip Morris documents

Background Tobacco addiction is a complex, multicomponent phenomenon stemming from nicotine’s pharmacology and the user’s biology, psychology, sociology, and environment. After decades of public denial, the tobacco industry now agrees with public health authorities that nicotine is addictive. In 2000, Philip Morris became the first major tobacco company to admit nicotine’s addictiveness. Evolving definitions of addiction have historically affected subsequent policymaking. This article examines how Philip Morris internally conceptualized addiction immediately before and after this announcement. Methods and findings We analyzed previously secret, internal Philip Morris documents made available as a result of litigation against the tobacco industry. We compared these documents to public company statements and found that Philip Morris’s move from public denial to public affirmation of nicotine’s addictiveness coincided with pressure on the industry from poor public approval ratings, the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), the United States government’s filing of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) suit, and the Institute of Medicine’s (IoM’s) endorsement of potentially reduced risk products. Philip Morris continued to research the causes of addiction through the 2000s in order to create successful potentially reduced exposure products (PREPs). While Philip Morris’s public statements reinforce the idea that nicotine’s pharmacology principally drives smoking addiction, company scientists framed addiction as the result of interconnected biological, social, psychological, and environmental determinants, with nicotine as but one component. Due to the fragmentary nature of the industry document database, we may have missed relevant information that could have affected our analysis. Conclusions Philip Morris’s research suggests that tobacco industry activity influences addiction treatment outcomes. Beyond nicotine’s pharmacology, the industry’s continued aggressive advertising, lobbying, and litigation against effective tobacco control policies promotes various nonpharmacological determinants of addiction. To help tobacco users quit, policy makers should increase attention on the social and environmental dimensions of addiction alongside traditional cessation efforts.
Changes in Expression of Estrogen Receptors α and β in Relation to Progesterone Receptor and pS2 Status in Normal and Malignant Endometrium

To clarify changes in estrogen receptor (ER) α and ERβ during endometrial tumorigenesis, 48 endometrial carcinomas (endometrioid type), as well as 40 samples of normal endometrial tissue, were investigated using a combination of reverse‐transcription and polymerase chain reaction with Southern blot hybridization and western blot assays, and the results were compared with findings for progesterone receptor (PR) and pS2 mRNA status. In addition, 166 carcinomas were also examined for immunohistochemistry, along with 171 normal specimens. Relative amounts of ERα at both mRNA and protein levels were significantly greater than those for ERβ in normal and malignant endometrial lesions. ERα mRNA showed a stepwise decrease from normal or grade (G) 1 through to G3 tumor lesions, in line with changes in the protein levels, in contrast to ERβ mRNA or protein expression, which did not alter, suggesting a shift in the ratio of the two ER subtypes during endometrial tumorigenesis. PR mRNA expression was significantly correlated with ERα, but not ERβ mRNA status. Although significantly higher expression of pS2 mRNA or protein was observed in carcinomas than in the normal cases, there was no apparent association with the ER status. The findings suggest that alteration in estrogen signaling pathways may occur during endometrial tumorigenesis, and provide evidence that ERα expression may play an important role in the regulation of PR, but not pS2 expression in normal and malignant endometrium.
Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate Monotherapy is Superior to Entecavir-Adefovir Combination Therapy in Patients with Suboptimal Response to Lamivudine-Adefovir Therapy for Nucleoside-Resistant HBV: A 96-Week Prospective Multicentre Trial

Background A complete virological response is closely related to the long-term outcome of patients with chronic hepatitis B and prevention of emerging HBV mutations. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) monotherapy compared to entecavir-adefovir dipivoxil (ETV-ADV) combination therapy in patients with suboptimal responses to long-term lamivudine-adefovir dipivoxil (LAM-ADV) therapy for nucleoside analogue-resistant chronic hepatitis B. Methods Patients (n=60) were randomized to TDF monotherapy or ETV-ADV combination therapy for 96 weeks. All patients had the rt204I/V mutation and serum HBV DNA was measured (>60 IU/ml) during LAM-ADV therapy. The primary end point was a complete virological response (HBV DNA <20 IU/ml) at week 96. Results The median duration of prior LAM-ADV rescue therapy was 43 (7–108) months. A complete virological response was achieved in 86.6% and 53.3% of patients in the TDF and ETV-ADV groups, respectively, at week 96 (P=0.005). Reduction in serum HBV DNA was significantly greater in the TDF group than in ETV-ADV group (-3.2 ±1.2 versus -2.6 ±1.2; P=0.01). Hepatitis B e antigen loss (22.2% versus 16.6%; P=0.731) and biochemical responses (76.7% versus 73.3%; P=0.766) were not different between the TDF and ETV-ADV groups. No newly emerged mutations were detected. Both therapies demonstrated favourable safety profiles. Conclusions TDF therapy achieved a better complete virological response than ETV-ADV therapy in chronic hepatitis B patients with suboptimal response to long-term LAM-ADV rescue therapy. (KCT0000627).