Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sintering and Properties of Titanium Diboride Made from Powder Synthesized in a Plasma‐Arc Heater

The pressureless sintering to near theoretical density of high-purity titanium diboride powder, produced in a plasma arc from halogen vapor reactants, is described. Physical and mechanical property measurements between 25° and 1400°C are reported for materials densified at T=1800° to 2275°C. Titanium diboride exhibits several unusual and interesting properties, which include high electronic conductivity, a large positive strength-vs-temperature coefficient, and an intrinsic resistance to high-temperature slow crack growth (negative N) Property trends are explained in terms of microstructural development and residual grain-boundary stresses.
Efficient n-gram, Skipgram and Flexgram Modelling with Colibri Core

Counting n-grams lies at the core of any frequentist corpus analysis and is often considered a trivial matter. Going beyond consecutive n-grams to patterns such as skipgrams and flexgrams increases the demand for efficient solutions. The need to operate on big corpus data does so even more. Lossless compression and non-trivial algorithms are needed to lower the memory demands, yet retain good speed. Colibri Core is software for the efficient computation and querying of n-grams, skipgrams and flexgrams from corpus data. The resulting pattern models can be analysed and compared in various ways. The software offers a programming library for C++ and Python, as well as command-line tools.
Fast prediction mode decision with hadamard transform based rate-distortion cost estimation for HEVC intra coding

The emerging video coding standard, High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), aims at doubling coding efficiency of H.264/AVC. In the intra encoding, Rate-Distortion Optimization (RDO) processes are employed to determine the best prediction mode. RDO based mode decision accounts for 35-39% coding time, because the large scale two-dimensional(2D) DCT/IDCT introduces a plethora of computation- and hardware-consuming multiplications. In this paper, the simplified Rate-Distortion (RD) cost estimation algorithms, which are based on the Hadamard transform and the distortion evaluation without the signal reconstruction, are proposed. When embedded to HEVC test Model(HM-5.2), our methods averagely achieve 16.1% time saving at the price of 0.055dB BD-PSNR loss, or equivalently 1.27% BD-BR increasing in intra coding. The corresponding VLSI design of the proposed algorithms is implemented with TSMC 90nm 1P9M technology. The maximum clock speed is 418 MHz under the worst work conditions (125°C, 0.9V). As compared with the primitive design, 64.9% hardware cost can be saved by our schemes. One proposed engine fulfills the throughput for 4K-UHDTV@28fps real-time encoding.
Association between Recurrent Concussion and Late-Life Cognitive Impairment in Retired Professional Football Players

OBJECTIVE:Cerebral concussion is common in collision sports such as football, yet the chronic neurological effects of recurrent concussion are not well understood. The purpose of our study was to investigate the association between previous head injury and the likelihood of developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease in a unique group of retired professional football players with previous head injury exposure. METHODS:A general health questionnaire was completed by 2552 retired professional football players with an average age of 53.8 (±13.4) years and an average professional football playing career of 6.6 (± 3.6) years. A second questionnaire focusing on memory and issues related to MCI was then completed by a subset of 758 retired professional football players (≥50 yr of age). Results on MCI were then cross-tabulated with results from the original health questionnaire for this subset of older retirees. RESULTS:Of the former players, 61% sustained at least one concussion during their professional football career, and 24% sustained three or more concussions. Statistical analysis of the data identified an association between recurrent concussion and clinically diagnosed MCI (&khgr;2 = 7.82, df = 2, P = 0.02) and self-reported significant memory impairments (&khgr;2 = 19.75, df = 2, P = 0.001). Retired players with three or more reported concussions had a fivefold prevalence of MCI diagnosis and a threefold prevalence of reported significant memory problems compared with retirees without a history of concussion. Although there was not an association between recurrent concussion and Alzheimer's disease, we observed an earlier onset of Alzheimer's disease in the retirees than in the general American male population CONCLUSION:Our findings suggest that the onset of dementia-related syndromes may be initiated by repetitive cerebral concussions in professional football players.
CUBIC for Fast Long-Distance Networks

CUBIC is an extension to the current TCP standards. It differs from the current TCP standards only in the congestion control algorithm on the sender side. In particular, it uses a cubic function instead of a linear window increase function of the current TCP standards to improve scalability and stability under fast and long-distance networks. CUBIC and its predecessor algorithm have been adopted as defaults by Linux and have been used for many years. This document provides a specification of CUBIC to enable third-party implementations and to solicit community feedback through experimentation on the performance of CUBIC.
Abdominal Wall Reconstruction: The Uncertainty of the Impact of Drain Duration upon Outcomes

Drains are commonly used after abdominal wall reconstruction (AWR) to prevent seroma formation. Drain management is subjective, and the merits and drawbacks of drains are not well understood. After receiving Institutional Review Board approval, we queried our prospectively maintained surgical database for AWR cases from 2009 to 2012 to ascertain if the number of days postoperatively that drains are left in place impacts the incidence of surgical site complications. Number of drains, drain duration, wound complications, and interval to development of complications were recorded. Wound complications were defined as superficial cellulitis, seroma, hematoma, superficial infection, and deep infection. Among 117 AWRs, we investigated the 64 cases with Centers for Disease Control grade one wound classification. Longest drain duration varied widely (2–171 days postoperatively; mean = 22 days). Cases were divided into four groups based on duration prior to removal of all drains: ≤7 days (n = 18), 8 to 14 days (n = 16), 15 to 28 days (n = 18), or ≥29 days (n = 12). No significant relationship was found between incidence of seroma/hematoma and days postoperatively of last drain removal. Wound complications increased linearly with drain time. Using logistic regression to adjust for obesity (body mass index >35kg/m2), drain duration >2 weeks and operative time >220 minutes, only body mass index >35 remained an independent predictor of wound occurrence, P < 0.05. Wound complications occur frequently after AWR. Wound infections occur more commonly among patients with drains in place for more than 2 weeks. Strategies to reduce drain duration require furthermore investigation.
Study on Knowledge Integration Social Network of Scientific Research Team in University

The paper gets a scientific research team in university as a case, through the collection of the joint research achievements of the team members nearly 3 years to build the knowledge integration social network and to study the practical problems such as relationship of team members which occurred in the process of knowledge integration. From the perspective of the overall network to conduct a detailed study on the knowledge integration network of this scientific research team, includes three aspects: network viscosity measurement, centrality measurement and structural holes measurement. Analysis the measurement results and gives recommendations to improve the level of knowledge integration in the scientific research team of university.
Rates of and Risk Factors for Trichomoniasis Among Pregnant Inmates in New York City

Background: Trichomonas vaginalis is a common pathogen that is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes and may serve as a cofactor in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission. Goal: To define the epidemiology of trichomoniasis in a population of newly incarcerated pregnant women in New York City. Study Design: Prospective study of 213 pregnant prisoners attending prenatal clinic. Patients participated in an interview regarding sexual and drug‐related behaviors, and underwent direct culture for T. vaginalis in addition to routine testing for syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia. Results: The prevalence of trichomoniasis was 46.9%. On univariate analysis, there was a significant association between trichomoniasis and older age, crack use, prostitution, known HIV infection, and positive serological test for syphilis. Multivariate analysis showed a significant association of trichomoniasis with crack use and positive serological test for syphilis. Conclusions: Trichomoniasis is highly prevalent in pregnant prisoners in New York City. The extent of disease observed may justify a formal program of testing and treatment and emphasizes the urgent need for harm reduction education and expanded HIV counseling and testing services in this high‐risk population.
Age‐dependent expression of glucocorticoid‐ and mineralocorticoid receptors on neural precursor cell populations in the adult murine hippocampus

Steroid hormones are regulators of adult hippocampal neurogenesis and are central to hypotheses regarding adult neurogenesis in age‐related and psychiatric disturbances associated with altered hippocampal plasticity – most notably dementias and major depression. Using immunohistochemistry, we examined the expression of glucocorticoid (GR) and mineralocorticoid (MR) receptors during adult hippocampal neurogenesis. In young mice only 27% of dividing cells in the subgranular zone expressed GR, whereas 4 weeks after division 87% had become positive for GR and MR. GR was expressed by 50% of the radial glia‐like type‐1 and type‐2a progenitor cells, whereas MR was expressed only by mature calbindin‐positive granule cells. Doublecortin‐positive neuronal progenitor cells (type‐2b) and early postmitotic calretinin‐positive neurons were devoid of GR and MR expression. Fifty per cent of the intermediate type‐3 cells showed GR expression, possibly reflecting cells terminating maturation. Thus, all subpopulations of dividing precursor cells showed an identical receptor profile (50% GR, no MR), except for type‐2b cells, which expressed neither receptor. There was also no overlap between calretinin and GR early postnatally (P8) or after physical activity or exposure to an enriched environment, both of which are potent neurogenic stimuli. In contrast, in old age calretinin‐positive young neurons became GR and MR positive, suggesting increased steroid sensitivity. Age also increased the expression of GR in type‐1 and type‐2a precursor cells. Other intermediates were so rare in old age that they could not be studied. This course and variability of receptor expression in aging might help to explain differential vulnerability of adult neural precursor cells to corticoid‐mediated influences.
Asymmetry of the red cell anion exchange system. Different mechanisms of reversible inhibition by N-(4-azido-2-nitrophenyl)-2- aminoethylsulfonate (NAP-taurine) at the inside and outside of the membrane

In the dark, the photoaffinity reagent, N-(4-azido-2-nitrophenyl)-2- aminoethylsulfonate (NAP-taurine), acts as a reversible inhibitor of red cell anion exchange when it is present either within the cell or in the external solution. A detailed analysis of the inhibition kinetics, however, reveals substantial differences in the responses to the probe at the two sides of the membrane. On the inside of the cell, NAP- taurine is a relatively low affinity inhibitor of chloride exchange (Ki = 370 microM). Both the effects of chloride on NAP-taurine inhibition and the affinity of NAP-taurine for the system as a substrate are consistent with the concept that internal NAP-taurine competes with chloride for the substrate site of the anion exchange system. External NAP-taurine, on the other hand, is a far more potent inhibitor of chloride exchange (Ki = 20 microM). It acts at a site of considerably lower affinity for chloride than the substrate site, probably the modifier site, at which halide anions are reported to cause a noncompetitive inhibition of chloride transport. NAP-taurine therefore seems to interact preferentially with either the substrate or modifier site of the transport system, depending on the side of the membrane at which it is present. It is suggested that the modifier site is accessible to NAP-taurine only from the outside whereas the transport site may be accessible from either side.
Pathogenic and Epiphenomenal Anti-DNA Antibodies in SLE

The discoveries of natural and the development of manufactured highly efficient catalytic antibodies (abzymes) opens the door to many practical applications. One of the most fascinating is the use of such antibodies in human therapy and prevention (vaccination), of cancer, AIDS, autoimmune diseases. A special entity of naturally occurring DNA hydrolytic anti-DNA antibodies is emerging within past decades linked to autoimmune and lymphoproliferative disorders, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), multiple sclerosis (MS), Sjogren Syndrome (SS), B - Chronic lymphocytic leucosis (B-CLL), and Multiple Myeloma (MM). The origin of the antibodies is unknown. The underlying mechanisms of these activities are suggested to be penetration into the living cells and translocation in the nucleus, with recognition of the specific binding sites at particular (ss or ds) DNA. There are controversies in the literature whether hydrolysis is a sequence-specific event. The interplay between anti-DNA antibodies and DNA is not yet elucidated. This molecular “twist” also suggests that anti-DNA antibodies with DNA hydrolytic capacity could be the organism's immune response to a microbial attack, with microbial DNA, or specific genes within microbial DNA sequence, as a target for neutralization. The catalytic antibody-based approach can become a key tool in selective chemotherapeutic strategies.
Research and Development in Electrospinning Theory and Technology

Based on the analysis of much related literature, the present article introduced some of the latest theoretical models and technologies. Meanwhile, it sums up two important issues in electrospinning development. One is that more studies will focus on melt fiber refinement and improving position accuracy. Another is orderly collection and spinning efficiency will be emphasized. This study provides a clear direction for further development of electrospinning.
A Category Space Approach to Supervised Dimensionality Reduction

Supervised dimensionality reduction has emerged as an important theme in the last decade. Despite the plethora of models and formulations, there is a lack of a simple model which aims to project the set of patterns into a space defined by the classes (or categories). To this end, we set up a model in which each class is represented as a 1D subspace of the vector space formed by the features. Assuming the set of classes does not exceed the cardinality of the features, the model results in multi-class supervised learning in which the features of each class are projected into the class subspace. Class discrimination is automatically guaranteed via the imposition of orthogonality of the 1D class sub-spaces. The resulting optimization problem - formulated as the minimization of a sum of quadratic functions on a Stiefel manifold - while being non-convex (due to the constraints), nevertheless has a structure for which we can identify when we have reached a global minimum. After formulating a version with standard inner products, we extend the formulation to reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces in a straightforward manner. The optimization approach also extends in a similar fashion to the kernel version. Results and comparisons with the multi-class Fisher linear (and kernel) discriminants and principal component analysis (linear and kernel) showcase the relative merits of this approach to dimensionality reduction.
10 Gbps outdoor mobile communication experiment employing CoMP in 11 GHz band

Super high bit rate mobile communications over 10 Gbps have been studied, and in order to verify the feasibility of the super high bit rate, 11 GHz band 10 Gbps 8×16 MIMO-OFDM experimental system that uses 400 MHz bandwidth has been developed. This paper investigates suitable system configuration for an 11 GHz band super high bit rate mobile communication employing coordinated multipoint (CoMP) transmission and reception. Specifically, in addition to a base station (BS) with low-height antennas for a pico cell, a BS with relatively high-height antennas for a micro cell is employed to cause multipath propagation, which aims to enhance the effect of CoMP. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the system configuration, an outdoor transmission experiment is conducted. A mobile station with eight transmit antennas spatially multiplexes OFDM signals, and two BSs with eight receive antennas perform the CoMP reception. It is shown that the system configuration can expand the coverage area of throughput over 10 Gbps compared with 8×16 MIMO transmission with one BS.
Point-to-Point Car Racing: an Initial Study of Evolution Versus Temporal Difference Learning

This paper considers variations on an extremely simple form of car racing, the challenge being to visit as many way-points as possible in a fixed amount of time. The simplicity of the models enables a very thorough evaluation of various learning algorithms and control architectures, and enables other researchers to work on the same models with relative ease. The models are used to compare the performance of various hand-programmed controllers, and neural networks trained using evolution, and using temporal difference learning. Comparisons are also made between state-based and action-based controller architectures. The best controllers were obtained using evolution to learn the weights of state-evaluation neural networks, and these were greatly superior to human drivers
STUDIES ON ACUTE DISSEMINATED ENCEPHALOMYELITIS PRODUCED EXPERIMENTALLY IN RHESUS MONKEYS

1. Animals injected with emulsions of monkey brain with adjuvants show a complex pattern of antibody response as determined by complement fixation tests. 2. Organ-specific complement-fixing antibodies to constituents of brain tissue may be formed which fix complement with brain tissues of various animal species but fail to react with other organs or with rabbit placenta. 3. Antibodies may be formed to some constituent of brain other than nervous tissue. It would seem that these can be detected by the strong complement fixation given with rabbit placenta. 4. Sera from individual animals may contain antibodies to the brain or placenta constituents, to both, or to neither. Occasional individual sera show unique patterns of antibody response as determined with various additional antigens such as fetal brain, posterior pituitary, or peripheral nerves. 5. No evidence of any etiological relationship between the development of encephalomyelitis and the complement-fixing antibodies to brain demonstrable in the sera could be found. The complement-fixing antibody to the placental constituent was unrelated to the encephalomyelitis.
Improved sequence classification using adaptive segmental sequence alignment

Traditional pairwise sequence alignment is based on matching individual samples from two sequences, under time monotonicity constraints. However, in some instances matching two segments of points may be preferred and can result in increased noise robustness. This paper presents an approach to segmental sequence alignment based on adaptive pairwise segmentation. We introduce a distance metric between segments based on average pairwise distances, which addresses deficiencies of prior approaches. We then present a modified pair-HMM that incorporates the proposed distance metric and use it to devise an efficient algorithm to jointly segment and align the two sequences. Our results demonstrate that this new measure of sequence similarity can lead to improved classification performance, while being resilient to noise, on a variety of problems, from EEG to motion sequence classification.
Power budget and performance prediction for WiMAX based passive radar

Power budget can be used for performance prediction of passive radar illumination sources. A bistatic coordinate system for WiMAX based passive radar was proposed firstly. Then the bistatic radar equations were introduced in detail, also direct path signal power, target echo path signal power, noise, interference and clutter was analyzed. In addition, coherent integration gain and target bistatic radar cross section (RCS) was considered in radar equation to calculate the maximum detection range. The WiMAX based passive radar power budget simulation results demonstrated that the maximum detection range can reach 19.4 km for conventional naval ship and 4.1 km for cabin cruiser.
[Serum levels of retinol-binding protein-4 and its association with metabolic syndrome in first-degree relatives of type 2 diabetes mellitus].

OBJECTIVE To evaluate serum levels of retinol-binding protein-4 (RBP-4) in first-degree relatives (FDR) of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with different glucose tolerance status and to observe its correlation to metabolic syndrome (MS). METHODS Subjects from FDR of T2DM, including 174 with NGT, 55 with IGT/IFG, and 71 patients with newly diagnosed of T2DM and 114 subjects without diabetic family history as control group [(18 +/- 7) microg/ml vs (22 +/- 8) microg/ml, (NC) [(18 +/- 7) microg/ml vs (22 +/- 8) microg/ml, were recruited. Serum RBP-4 level was measured by radioimmunoassay. Insulin resistance was evaluated by the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR). MS was diagnosed according to 2005 IDF consensus. RESULTS (1) Serum RBP-4 levels in NC, NGT, IFG/IGT and T2DM groups were (18 +/- 7), (22 +/- 8), (24 +/- 9) and (26 +/- 9) microg/ml respectively. Serum RBP-4 was significantly elevated in NGT group of diabetic FDR as compared with NC group [(26 +/- 9) microg/ml vs (24 +/- 9) microg/ml], and increased with the severity of glucose intolerance. However, no difference was found between serum RBP-4 in the IFG/IGT and T2DM groups. (2) When the distribution of RBP-4 was stratified into quartiles (Q1-Q4), subjects in the top quartile (Q4) was not only associated with greater risk for impaired glucose regulation as compared with Q1 OR = 5.26) , but also significantly with risk for hypertension (OR = 1.96), dyslipidemia (OR = 4.14), obesity (OR = 2.18) and MS (OR = 4.30). CONCLUSION (1) Serum RBP-4 levels in FDR of T2DM were elevated significantly even before the development of impaired glucose regulation and were further increased with severity of glucose tolerance, suggesting a possible role of RBP-4 in the early pathogenesis of T2DM. (2) Serum RBP-4 level was closely related to MS.