Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Thermal conductivity of silicon nanowire arrays with controlled roughness

A two-step metal assisted chemical etching technique is used to systematically vary the sidewall roughness of Si nanowires in vertically aligned arrays. The thermal conductivities of nanowire arrays are studied using time domain thermoreflectance and compared to their high-resolution transmission electron microscopy determined roughness. The thermal conductivity of nanowires with small roughness is close to a theoretical prediction based on an upper limit of the mean-free-paths of phonons given by the nanowire diameter. The thermal conductivity of nanowires with large roughness is found to be significantly below this prediction. Raman spectroscopy reveals that nanowires with large roughness also display significant broadening of the one-phonon peak; the broadening correlates well with the reduction in thermal conductivity. The origin of this broadening is not yet understood, as it is inconsistent with phonon confinement models, but could derive from microstructural changes that affect both the optical phonons observed in Raman scattering and the acoustic phonons that are important for heat conduction.
Aligned microcontact printing of biomolecules on microelectronic device surfaces

Microcontact printing (/spl mu/CP) of extracellular matrix proteins is a fascinating approach to control cell positioning and outgrowth, which is essential in the development of applications ranging from cellular biosensors to tissue engineering. Microelectronic devices can be used to detect the activity from a large number of recording sites over the long term. However, signals from cells can only be recorded at small sensitive spots. Here, the authors present an innovative setup to perform aligned /spl mu/CP of extracellular matrix proteins on microelectronic devices in order to guide the growth of electrogenic cells specifically to these sensitive spots. The authors' system is based on the combination of a fine-placer with redesigned micro stamps having a rigid glass cylinder as backbone for attachment in the alignment tool. Alignment is performed moving the device with an optical table under microscopic control of the superimposed images from stamp and device surface. After successful alignment, the stamp is brought into contact with the device surface by means of a high-precision lever. With their setup, the authors were able to pattern up to 40 devices per hour. A lateral alignment accuracy of <2 /spl mu/m has been achieved. Aligned neuronal growth on patterned devices was demonstrated with dissociated hippocampal neurons.
A Conceptual Model for the Study of Persuasive Games

markdownabstractIn this paper I propose a new theory for the study of persuasiveness within digital games. This theory aims to make visible how persuasiveness can be structured within digital games and to be useful to identify specific aspects of games' persuasiveness that might not be obvious to the naked eye, by giving them order and conferring them intelligibility. The theory that I propose here is based on the hypothesis that multiple persuasive dimensions can be used within digital games to convey persuasive messages. In order to defend this hypothesis I introduce the concept of 'persuasive structures', which I use to describe how persuasive communication works within digital games. The definition of this concept relies on a conceptual model that is based on the proposition that persuasiveness within digital games can be developed through three different persuasive levels and that in each of the three persuasive levels it is possible to find different persuasive dimensions.
Reconsidering Schumpeterian opportunities: The contribution of interaction ritual chain theory

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to develop a conceptual framework that recognises the significance of emotional and interactional factors in shaping the development and enactment of entrepreneurial opportunities.Design/methodology/approach – Provides a theory development illustrated through a case study based on secondary sources.Findings – Demonstrates how emotion and interaction ritual chains can extend the scope of entrepreneurial theorising.Research limitations/implications – Suggests how novel concepts could be deployed to add explanatory power to accounts of entrepreneurial behaviour.Practical implications – Suggests new approaches to spotting potential entrepreneurial opportunities.Originality/value – Emotion has received little attention from entrepreneurship researchers. This paper offers one way of filling this gap by developing a strand of microsociological theory that has not previously been applied to the explanation of entrepreneurial behaviour.
Relationship between self-efficacy and life satisfaction according to exercise participation in obese female university students

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between self-efficacy and life satisfaction according to exercise participation in obese female university students. The sample of the study consisted of over 18 age 145 obese (BMI≥30) that were regularly exercising for at least 4 days, 90 minutes in a week for 6 mounts and 136 obese sedentary (BMI≥30). The mean age was (20.69 ± 1.84) for obese female students who participated regular exercise and (20.19 ± 1.49) for obese female university students who was sedentary. “General Self-Efficacy Scale” that originally developed by Sherer et al. (1982) and adapted to Turkish by Yıldırım and İlhan (2010) and “Life Satisfaction Scale” that originally developed by Diener et al. (1985) and adapted to Turkish by Yetim (1991) were used for measurement. For statistical analysis, The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to determine whether the scores were normally distributed. Descriptive statistics, independent sample t test and pearson correlation analysis were also applied. There was statistically significant difference for the mean life satisfaction (t = 7.68, p <.05) but there was no statistically significant difference for the mean self-efficacy (t = 1.17; p> .05) between two groups according to the t test results. There was a significant positive correlation between life satisfaction and total self-efficacy scores (r = .551**). As a result, there was significant difference in life satisfaction between two groups. Obese female students with high self-efficacy perceptions may be aware of their abilities and thus rely on their abilities. In this case, it can be concluded that they are happy and generally enjoy life.
Energy-aware adaptive Johnson-Lindenstrauss embedding via RIP-based designs

We consider a dimensionality reducing matrix design based on training data with constraints on its Frobenius norm and number of rows. Our design criteria is aimed at preserving the distances between the data points in the dimensionality reduced space as much as possible relative to their distances in original data space. This approach can be considered as a deterministic Johnson-Lindenstrauss embedding of the data points. We introduce a scalable learning algorithm, dubbed AMUSE, and provide a rigorous estimation guarantee by leveraging game theoretic tools. We also provide a generalization characterization of our matrix based on our sample data. We use compressive sensing problems as an example application of our problem.
Preclinical prediction of AD using neuropsychological tests

Normals (N = 42) and patients with mild memory difficulty (N = 123) were given a neuropsychological test battery, and then followed annually for 3 years to determine which individuals developed sufficient functional change that they met clinical criteria for AD. Twenty-three of the 123 participants with mild memory difficulty converted to a diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) within 3 years of follow-up. Four of the 20 neuropsychological measures obtained at baseline, were useful in discriminating the groups on the basis of their status 3 years after the tests were given. The 4 discriminating tests pertained to assessments of memory and executive function. When the controls were compared to the individuals with memory impairments who ultimately developed AD (the converters), the accuracy of discrimination was 89%, based on the neuropsychological measures at baseline. The discrimination of the controls from the individuals with mild memory problems who did not progress to the point where they met clinical criteria for probable AD over the 3 years of follow-up (the Questionables) was 74% and the discrimination of the questionables from the converters was 80%. The specific tests that contributed to these discriminations, in conjunction with recent neuropathological and neuroimaging data from preclinical cases, have implications for which brain regions may be affected during the prodromal phase of AD. (JINS, 2001, 7, 631–639.)
Increased Frontal Response May Underlie Decreased Tinnitus Severity

Objectives The overall goal of the study was to identify functional and behavioral differences between individuals with higher tinnitus distress and individuals with lower tinnitus distress. Subsequent exploratory analyses were conducted to investigate the role physical activity may have on the observed results between high and low distress groups. The purpose of the experiment was to identify brain regions to be targeted in future intervention studies for tinnitus. Design A total of 32 individuals with varying levels of tinnitus severity were recruited from the Urbana-Champaign area. Volunteers were divided into higher tinnitus distress (HD) and lower tinnitus distress (LD) groups. Note that these groups also significantly differed based on physical activity level and were subsequently stratified into higher and lower physical activity level subgroups for exploratory analysis. While in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner, subjects listened to affective sounds classified as pleasant, neutral or unpleasant from the International Affective Digital Sounds database. Results The HD group recruited amygdala and parahippocampus to a greater extent than the LD group when listening to affective sounds. The LD group engaged frontal regions to a greater extent when listening to the affective stimuli compared to the HD group. Both higher physical activity level subgroups recruited more frontal regions, and both lower levels of physical activity subgroups recruited more limbic regions respectively. Conclusion Individuals with lower tinnitus distress may utilize frontal regions to better control their emotional response to affective sounds. Our analysis also suggests physical activity may contribute to lower tinnitus severity and greater engagement of the frontal cortices. We suggest that future intervention studies focus on changes in the function of limbic and frontal regions when evaluating the efficacy of treatment. Additionally, we recommend further investigation concerning the impact of physical activity level on tinnitus distress.
Pesticides exposure and genetic polymorphism of paraoxonase in the susceptibility of Parkinson's disease.

PURPOSE The manifestation of Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by bradykinesia, resting tremor, and rigidity. The etiology of PD remains unknown. Recently several studies suggest that some environmental and genetic factors may be related to the cause of PD. Genetic variation in xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes involved in the disposition of pesticides, such as paraoxonase I (PON 1), may increase the risk of PD. We investigated the association between PON1 polymorphism, pesticides exposure and risk of Parkinson's disease in Taiwanese population. METHODS We enrolled 162 controls and 125 patients with idiopathic PD. Histories of exposures to environmental factors and other information were collected with a questionnaire filled out during a face-to-face interview with the subject. The data included years of farming, drinking water sources, occupational exposures to pesticides, duration and the initial age of the pesticides exposure. Buccal mucosa cells are collected from each subject and PON1 polymorphism at codon 54 (L and M alleles) is studied with PCR-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. RESULTS There is significant association between the risk of PD and exposure to pesticides (OR=1.72, 95% CI=1.07-2.75). On the otherhand, no significant differences are found in PON1 genotype or allelic distribution between PD and control groups. We further investigated participants who had reported exposure to pesticides and found that the frequency distribution of PON1 genotypes did not differ significantly between patients and controls. CONCLUSION The present survey reveals the close relationship between exposure to pesticides and Parkinson's disease. There are no significant differences in the distribution of PON1 genotypes between cases and controls.
EDF-DVS Scheduling on the IBM Embedded PowerPC 405 LP

Power consumption has become a major concern, both for processor design with high clock rates and embedded systems that rely on batteries to operate. Recent support for dynamic frequency and voltage scaling (DVS) in contemporary architectures allows software to affect power consumption by varying both execution frequency and supply voltage on the fly. However, processors generally enter a sleep state while transitioning between frequencies/voltages. In the following, we describe an experimental framework for studying DVS for a processor that continues to execute during frequency/voltage transitions. For this purpose, we developed an infrastructure for investigating hard real-time DVS schemes on the IBM PowerPC 405LP. Task scheduling was performed using four earliest-deadline-first (EDF) DVS schemes, including our feedback real-time DVS algorithm that, prior to this work, had only been evaluated in simulation. Voltage and current of the processor core were depicted through an oscilloscope, and the energy consumption was assessed through a data acquisition board. Measurements indicate a considerable potential for real-time DVS scheduling algorithms to lower energy consumption up to 54% over naı̈ve DVS schemes. The benefits of continued execution during frequency/voltage switching provide up to 5% energy savings for frequent switches.
Cell-specific nitrogen responses mediate developmental plasticity

The organs of multicellular species consist of cell types that must function together to perform specific tasks. One critical organ function is responding to internal or external change. Some cell-specific responses to changes in environmental conditions are known, but the scale of cell-specific responses within an entire organ as it perceives an environmental flux has not been well characterized in plants or any other multicellular organism. Here, we use cellular profiling of five Arabidopsis root cell types in response to an influx of a critical resource, nitrogen, to uncover a vast and predominantly cell-specific response. We show that cell-specific profiling increases sensitivity several-fold, revealing highly localized regulation of transcripts that were largely hidden from previous global analyses. The cell-specific data revealed responses that suggested a coordinated developmental response in distinct cell types or tissues. One example is the cell-specific regulation of a transcriptional circuit that we showed mediates lateral root outgrowth in response to nitrogen via microRNA167, linking small RNAs to nitrogen responses. Together, these results reveal a previously cryptic component of cell-specific responses to nitrogen. Thus, the results make an important advance in our understanding of how multicellular organisms cope with environmental change at the cell level.
Within-family differences in mothers' support to adult children.

OBJECTIVE In this article we explore the ways in which mothers provide support differentially to their adult children and the factors that explain such differentiation. METHODS We collected data for the present analysis during face-to-face interviews with a representative sample of 556 mothers ranging in age from 65 to 78 residing in the greater Boston area. RESULT We found substantial within-family variation in mother-to-child support. Multivariate analyses revealed a set of factors that explained within-family differences: Mothers were more likely to provide support to children who were daughters, unmarried, lived nearby, had health problems, and had provided the mothers with support. DISCUSSION These findings indicate that within-family differences in support to children continue across the life course. Such variations within the family underscore the importance of using designs that provide information on relationships between parents and each of their children, rather than focusing on single parent-child dyads.
The Principle of Turtle Motion and Bio-Mechanism of Its Four Limbs Research

As good pose agility and control ability of the marine turtle swimming, its motion principle and bionic of four-limbs are investigated. After building a real-time video monitor experiment platform for turtle motion, by the video processing methods and analyzing turtle characters, the movement parameters of turtle are extracted, the coordination control theory of multi-drive is put forward and the underwater motion principle of turtle is obtained. Secondly, establish the two DOF motion model of turtlepsilas four-limbs, analyze their hydrodynamics characteristics, and confirm that the model physical parameters and movement parameters as the influential factors for the bio-mechanism motion. Finally, in point of function bionics, the hydrofoil bio-mechanism and the palmiped bio-mechanism are designed. By use of the calibration experiments of oscillating interpolated activation function and the optimization experiments of hydrofoil-rootspsila key points, the feasibility and reliability of bio-mechanism are validated, at the same time, the foundation to optimize the bionic design and the reference to the control decision-making of turtle motion bionic sample are provided.
Requesting agent participation in Electronic Institutions (Extended Abstract)

The Electronic Institutions (EIs) framework is designed for regulating interactions among heterogeneous agents in open systems [1]. In EIs, agent interactions are speech acts whose exchange is organized as conversation protocols called scenes. Agents can participate simultaneously in multiple scenes playing a single role in each one of them. However, at some point, the execution of a given scene may require the presence of an agent playing a particular role. When such an agent is missing, a deadlock may ensue unless the institution or the agents themselves can invoke the participation of an agent to play the missing role. Such functionality is not provided in the current EI framework. We propose an extension of the framework that addresses that problem in a generic way: the provision of an institutional agent in charge of instantiating new agents and dispatching them to scenes through a participation request protocol. In this paper we make the proposal precise and illustrate it with a use case.
A NEW REALISTIC MOBILITY MODEL FOR MANET TO IMPROVE THE DATA DELIVERY RATIO

In this paper, we present a new mobility model for multi-hop Adhoc networks. We show that group motion occurs frequently in ad hoc networks, and introduce a novel group mobility model called Multi Mobility Model (MMM) to represent the relationship among mobile hosts. MMM can be readily applied to many existing applications. This model gives the best coverage across the country irrespective of the area type-rural, urban and city. This model takes into consideration both static and dynamic nodes. We have applied our MMM model to different network transmission scenarios, clustering, time, speed, steady state and routing, and have evaluated network performance under different mobility patterns and for different implementations. In order to illustrate the feasibility of hybrid mobility model, it is compared with the existing mobility models based on the routing algorithms. Through extensive simulations on MMM, we demonstrate up to 90% improvement in packet delivery rate.
Whole grain consumption and weight gain: a review of the epidemiological evidence, potential mechanisms and opportunities for future research

The epidemiological data that directly examine whole grain v. refined grain intake in relation to weight gain are sparse. However, recently reported studies offer insight into the potential role that whole grains may play in body-weight regulation due to the effects that the components of whole grains have on hormonal factors, satiety and satiation. In both clinical trials and observational studies the intake of whole-grain foods was inversely associated with plasma biomarkers of obesity, including insulin, C-peptide and leptin concentrations. Whole-grain foods tend to have low glycaemic index values, resulting in lower postprandial glucose responses and insulin demand. High insulin levels may promote obesity by altering adipose tissue physiology and by enhancing appetite. The fibre content of whole grains may also affect the secretion of gut hormones, independent of glycaemic response, that may act as satiety factors. Future studies may examine whether whole grain intake is directly related to body weight, and whether the associations are primarily driven by components of the grain, including dietary fibre, bran or germ.
Continuous Noninvasive Glucose Monitoring Technology Based on “Occlusion Spectroscopy”

Background: A truly noninvasive glucose-sensing device could revolutionalize diabetes treatment by leading to improved compliance with recommended glucose levels, thus reducing the long-term complications and cost of diabetes. Herein, we present the technology and evaluate the efficacy of a truly noninvasive device for continuous blood glucose monitoring, the NBM (OrSense Ltd.). Methods: In vitro analysis was used to validate the technology and algorithms. A clinical study was performed to quantify the in vivo performance of the NBM device. A total of 23 patients with type 1 (n = 12) and type 2 (n = 11) diabetes were enrolled in the clinical study and participated in 111 sessions. Accuracy was assessed by comparing NBM data with paired self-monitoring of blood glucose meter readings. Results: In vitro experiments showed a strong correlation between calculated and actual glucose concentrations. The clinical trial produced a total of 1690 paired glucose values (NBM vs reference). In the paired data set, the reference glucose range was 40–496 mg/dl. No systematic bias was found at any of the glucose levels examined (70, 100, 150, and 200 mg/dl). The mean relative absolute difference was 17.2%, and a Clarke error grid analysis showed that 95.5% of the measurements fall within the clinically acceptable A&B regions (zone A, 69.7%; and zone B, 25.7%). Conclusions: This study indicates the potential use of OrSense's NBM device as a noninvasive sensor for continuous blood glucose evaluation. The device was safe and well tolerated.