Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Metal-insulator transition mechanism in VO2 under electric bias

Submitted for the MAR11 Meeting of The American Physical Society Metal-insulator transition mechanism in VO2 under electric bias YONG ZHAO, JI HAO1, CHANGHONG CHEN, ZHAOYANG FAN, Nano Tech Center and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Texas Tech University — It is in controversy if metal-insulator phase transition (MIT) of VO2 can be triggered by electric field/current. In this work, a series of two terminal devices with different gap length, width, and multiple-channel configurations were fabricated on epitaxially grown VO2 thin films, to study its MIT mechanism under the electric bias. Micro-Raman spectroscopy was used to differentiate the rutile metallic phase from the monoclinic insulator phase. Voltage-current measurements indicated that a temperature-dependent critical current density (Jc) is required to induce MIT. Under the electric bias, the phase transition was observed to be a percolation process until a clear current path (or filament) is formed between the electrodes. Afterwards the pure metallic phase was identified along the current path, while outside of it become pure insulator phase. As current varies, current path width is proportionally changed to keep a constant current density. These observations indicate that a Jc is necessary to maintain the metallic phase current path. Contributions of the current effect and Joule heat effect to the phase transition were discussed. 1Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology Zhaoyang Fan Nano Tech Center and Dept of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA Date submitted: 22 Nov 2010 Electronic form version 1.4
Hybrid beamforming for indoor mmWave multi-carrier systems under sub-system SVD

In this paper, hybrid beamforming design for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) systems is studied over the indoor millimeter wave (mmWave) channels. Under practical hybrid beamforming constraints for multicarrier systems, we propose the sub-system SVD hybrid beamforming design which provides good performance with low complexity. Moreover, we reduce the amount of the required channel state information (CSI) in our design based on the statistical properties of indoor mmWave channels. Simulation results show that our design achieves the performance of traditional full-digital beamforming even if the amount of CSI is greatly reduced.
Promoting Physical Activity of Adolescent and Young Iranian Girls

Background: Women play a central role in the health of the whole family, but they are faced with more barriers while taking part in physical activities. Methods: This study was composed of two main phases. In the first phase, the status of physical activity among young and adolescent in Iran and global evidence of effective interventions were searched. In the second phase, Focused Group Discussion (FGD) sessions were held with the key stakeholders in Tehran to investigate the results obtained from the first phase. Results: Physical activity among young and adolescent in Iran is inadequate. Based on the results obtained from the evidence and analysis of the FGDs, solutions defined as supporting policies, supporting environment, and supporting programs for physical activities. Conclusions: Multilevel cooperation among schools, families, and society is necessary to develop and implement policies and supporting programs, with an emphasis on combined interventions.
Warmer weather as a risk factor for hospitalisations due to urinary tract infections

Abstract The incidence of urinary tract infections (UTIs) is seasonal, and this seasonality may be explained by changes in weather, specifically, temperature. Using data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, we identified the geographic location for 581 813 hospital admissions with the primary diagnosis of a UTI and 56 630 773 non-UTI hospitalisations in the United States. Next, we used data from the National Climatic Data Center to estimate the monthly average temperature for each location. Using a case–control design, we modelled the odds of a hospital admission having a primary diagnosis of UTI as a function of demographics, payer, location, patient severity, admission month, year and the average temperature for the admission month. We found, after controlling for patient factors and month of admission, the odds of a UTI diagnosis increased with higher temperatures in a dose-dependent manner. For example, relative to months with average temperatures of 5–7.5 °C, an admission in a month with an average temperature of 27.5–30 °C has 20% higher odds of a primary diagnosis of UTI. However, in months with extremely high average temperatures (above 30 °C), the odds of a UTI admissions decrease, perhaps due to changes in behaviour. Thus, at a population level, UTI-related hospitalisations are associated with warmer weather.
A Quality Improvement Framework for Equity in Cardiovascular Care: Results of a National Collaborative

&NA; Disparities in the quality of cardiovascular care provided to minorities have been well documented, but less is known about the use of quality improvement methods to eliminate these disparities. Measurement is also often impeded by a lack of reliable patient demographic data. The objective of this study was to assess the ability of hospitals with large minority populations to measure and improve the care rendered to Black and Hispanic patients. The Expecting Success: Excellence in Cardiac Care project utilized the standardized collection of self‐reported patient race, ethnicity, and language data to generate stratified performance measures for cardiac care coupled with evidence‐based practice tools in a national competitively selected sample of 10 hospitals with high cardiac volumes and largely minority patient populations. Main outcomes included changes in nationally recognized measures of acute myocardial infarction and heart failure quality of care and 2 composite measures, stratified by patient demographic characteristics. Quality improved significantly at 7 of the 10 hospitals as gauged by composite measures (p < .05), and improvements exceeded those observed nationally for all hospitals. Three of 10 hospitals found racial or ethnic disparities which were eliminated in the course of the project. Clinicians and institutions were able to join the standardized collection of self‐reported patient demographic data to evidence‐based measures and quality improvement tools to improve the care of minorities and eliminate disparities in care. This framework may be replicable to ensure equity in other clinical areas.
Building Secure Public Key Encryption Scheme from Hidden Field Equations

Multivariate public key cryptography is a set of cryptographic schemes built from the NP-hardness of solving quadratic equations over finite fields, amongst which the hidden field equations (HFE) family of schemes remain the most famous. However, the original HFE scheme was insecure, and the follow-up modifications were shown to be still vulnerable to attacks. In this paper, we propose a new variant of the HFE scheme by considering the special equation defined over the finite field when . We observe that the equation can be used to further destroy the special structure of the underlying central map of the HFE scheme. It is shown that the proposed public key encryption scheme is secure against known attacks including the MinRank attack, the algebraic attacks, and the linearization equations attacks. The proposal gains some advantages over the original HFE scheme with respect to the encryption speed and public key size.
New drugs and combinations for the treatment of soft-tissue sarcoma: a review

Sarcomas are a heterogeneous group of solid tumors arising from either soft tissues or bone, accounting for approximately 1% of all cancers in adults. Management of these diseases has changed little over the past 10 years, with the exception of treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Reasons for this stagnation include multiple histologies commonly grouped together in clinical trials limiting the understanding of benefit of treatment and limited investigation of molecular targeted therapies. More recently, advances in molecular pathogenesis, the advent of novel and targeted therapeutics, and increasing collaborations between sarcoma investigators has helped move the field forward in the right direction. Here, we review the recent data on novel agents tested for the management of adult soft-tissue sarcomas, excluding gastrointestinal stromal tumors.
Smoking Attitudes and Practices among Low-Income African-Americans: Qualitative Assessment of Contributing Factors

Purpose. Studies have shown that African-American adolescents are less likely to smoke cigarettes than white youth. National data suggest that this pattern changes in late adolescence and early adulthood. Specifically, African-American adults have a relatively high smoking prevalence rate when compared with other racial/ethnic groups. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine the sociocultural factors associated with smoking attitudes and practices among low-income African-American young adults. Design. Cross-sectional qualitative study. Settings. High schools, 2-year colleges, housing developments, and trade schools in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Memphis, Tennessee. Subjects. One hundred eighteen low-income African Americans between 18 and 35 years of age (65 men and 53 women). Measure/Procedure. Fourteen focus groups were conducted with the target population. Nonmonetary incentives were provided for each participant in the 1-hour sessions. The majority of focus group moderators were African-American females trained in focus group moderation. Participants were recruited through flyers and project liaisons at each field location. Results. Themes elicited from the focus groups were classified according to the PEN-3 model, and they included: lighting cigarettes for parents as a first experience with cigarettes, perceived stress relief benefits of smoking, use of cigarettes to extend the sensation of marijuana, and protective factors against smoking such as respect for parental rules. Conclusion. The results indicate that there are specific contextual and familial factors that can contribute to smoking initiation, maintenance, and cessation among low-income African-American young adults. Limitations of this study include the exploratory nature of focus groups and the relatively small sample size. Further studies are necessary to quantitatively examine the role of these factors on smoking patterns in this population.
Deformation on impaction of a large diameter carbon fibre reinforced poly- ether-ether-ketone acetabular cup and its effects on the tribology of the bearing

Limitations associated with current total hip arthroplasty implants, such as aseptic loosening and dislocation, have led to the investigation into alternative bearing materials such as Carbon Fibre Reinforced PolyEtherEtherKetone (CFR-PEEK). There are reports of press-fit acetabular cups experiencing excessive deformation on impaction into the acetabulum which could lead to unfavourable conditions for bone in-growth and could adversely affect the lubrication regime of the bearing. This may have implications for the use of a reduced modulus material such as CFR-PEEK. The aim of this project was therefore to investigate the level of deformation the prototype Biomet UK Ltd CFR-PEEK cup experiences on impaction into the acetabulum and to assess the effect this deformation would have on the tribological behaviour of the system. In order to achieve this aim three different test regimes were considered; rim loading, impaction into polyurethane foam and impaction into cadaveric bone. In each case, corresponding finite element models were created. To assess the impact cup deformation would have on the lubrication regime of the ceramic-on-CFR-PEEK bearing, friction testing was conducted on cups with various clearances. This study has shown that that the polyurethane foam model is the most suitable method for assessing the level of cup deformation which occurs due to the impaction of a press fit acetabular cup. Testing using cadaveric specimens revealed a high level of variation in both the size of cavity produced by reaming and the level of deformation experienced by the cup. As a result cadaveric testing is unlikely to give a reliable worse case result. It was also found that rim loading is not a valid method for investigating the deformation on impaction of acetabular shells. In order to use rim loading, the load equivalent to that experienced on impaction would have to be found empirically for each individual cup design and size via imperial measurement. The Biomet CFR-PEEK cup experienced a large diametric deformation on impaction of up to 1.084 mm. However, the large clearance between the head and the acetabular cup meant that the deformation of the PEEK cup did not result in jamming of the modular femoral head. The friction testing demonstrated that the bearing was insensitive to changes in clearance; therefore, provided the initial clearance is sufficient the deformation caused by press-fitting should not have an adverse effect on the friction and lubrication of the system.
Nuclear division cycle 80 promotes malignant progression and predicts clinical outcome in colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common human malignancy worldwide and increasing studies have attributed its malignant progression to abnormal molecular changes in cancer cells. Nuclear division cycle 80 (NDC80) is a newly discovered oncoprotein that regulates cell proliferation and cycle in numerous malignancies. However, its clinical significance and biological role in CRC remain unclear. Therefore, in this study, we firstly analyze its expression in a retrospective cohort enrolling 224 CRC patients and find its overexpression is significantly correlated with advanced tumor stage and poor prognosis in CRC patients. In addition, our result reveals it is an independent adverse prognostic factor affecting CRC‐specific and disease‐free survival. The subgroup analysis indicates NDC80 expression can stratify the clinical outcome in stage II and III patients, but fails in stage I and IV patients. In cellular assays, we find knockdown of NDC80 dramatically inhibits the proliferative ability, apoptosis resistance, cell cycle progression, and clone formation of CRC cells in vitro. Using xenograft model, we further prove knockdown of NDC80 also inhibits the tumorigenic ability of CRC cells in vivo. Finally, the microarray analysis is utilized to preliminarily clarify the oncogenic molecular mechanisms regulated by NDC80 and the results suggest it may promote CRC progression partly by downregulating tumor suppressors such as dual specificity phosphatase 5 and Forkhead box O1. Taken together, our study provides novel evidences to support that NDC80 is not only a promising clinical biomarker but also a potential therapeutical target for CRC precise medicine.
Gain control with A-type potassium current: IA as a switch between divisive and subtractive inhibition

Neurons process and convey information by transforming barrages of synaptic inputs into spiking activity. Synaptic inhibition typically suppresses the output firing activity of a neuron, and is commonly classified as having a subtractive or divisive effect on a neuron’s output firing activity. Subtractive inhibition can narrow the range of inputs that evoke spiking activity by eliminating responses to non-preferred inputs. Divisive inhibition is a form of gain control: it modifies firing rates while preserving the range of inputs that evoke firing activity. Since these two “modes” of inhibition have distinct impacts on neural coding, it is important to understand the biophysical mechanisms that distinguish these response profiles. In this study, we use simulations and mathematical analysis of a neuron model to find the specific conditions (parameter sets) for which inhibitory inputs have subtractive or divisive effects. Significantly, we identify a novel role for the A-type Potassium current (IA). In our model, this fast-activating, slowly-inactivating outward current acts as a switch between subtractive and divisive inhibition. In particular, if IA is strong (large maximal conductance) and fast (activates on a time-scale similar to spike initiation), then inhibition has a subtractive effect on neural firing. In contrast, if IA is weak or insufficiently fast-activating, then inhibition has a divisive effect on neural firing. We explain these findings using dynamical systems methods (plane analysis and fast-slow dissection) to define how a spike threshold condition depends on synaptic inputs and IA. Our findings suggest that neurons can “self-regulate” the gain control effects of inhibition via combinations of synaptic plasticity and/or modulation of the conductance and kinetics of A-type Potassium channels. This novel role for IA would add flexibility to neurons and networks, and may relate to recent observations of divisive inhibitory effects on neurons in the nucleus of the solitary tract.
Emotion recognition by combining prosody and sentiment analysis for expressing reactive emotion by humanoid robot

In order to achieve rapport in human-robot interaction, it is important to express a reactive emotion that matches with the user's mental state. This paper addresses an emotion recognition method which combines prosody and sentiment analysis for the system to properly express reactive emotion. In the user emotion recognition module, valence estimation from prosodic features is combined with sentiment analysis of text information. Combining the two information sources significantly improved the valence estimation accuracy. In the reactive emotion expression module, the system's emotion category and level are predicted using the parameters estimated in the recognition module, based on distributions inferred from human-human dialog data. Subjective evaluation results show that the proposed method is effective for expressing human-like reactive emotion.
Efficacy of First-Line Sodium Thiosulfate Administration in a Case of Potassium Cyanide Poisoning

Cyanide poisoning may occur following accidental fire-smoke inhalation or deliberate ingestion of salts. Hydroxocobalamin represents a first-line life-saving antidote. Although hydroxocobalamin represents a first-line lifesaving antidote, it is still not promptly available in the emergency department. Sodium thiosulfate can be administered in association with hydroxocobalamin whereas the delayed onset of clinical response makes sodium thiosulfate less suitable for emergency use. We describe a case of cyanide intoxication of a 43-year-old man who ingested an unknown amount of potassium cyanide, purchased via the Internet, in an attempted suicide. At admission to the emergency department, the patient presented GCS 3 with severe lactic acidosis. Orotracheal intubation, gastric lavage and oral activated charcoal were applied. Sodium thiosulfate was available in the emergency department and 10 grams were infused over a 30 minute period. Hydroxocobalamin was prescribed by the poison control centre and 5 grams were infused 2 hours after admission. Following sodium thiosulfate administration the patient was arousable and lactate concentration improved. No adverse effects were noted. Metabolic acidosis completely resolved 12 hours later. Cyanide concentration performed on blood samples collected at admission confirmed high cyanide blood levels (15 mg/L). This report highlights as the first-line administration of sodium thiosulfate, in rapid infusion, resulted effective and safe for cyanide poisoning. Our report suggests that sodium thiosulfate should be considered when hydroxocobalamin is not promptly available in an emergency setting.
The Role of Ultrasound in the Evaluation of Endometrial Receptivity Following Assisted Reproductive Treatments

Improvements in in vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer (ET) have resulted from evaluating each step of the process, analyzing effects of different techniques, then assessing outcomes to select the best method, whether related to preparation of the patient, choice of stimulation protocol, culture technique, embryo selection, mechanics of transfer, or posttransfer management. Despite numerous developments in assisted reproduction, the clinical pregnancy rate (CPR) in IVF and intracytoplasmatic sperm injection (ICSI) remains low. It has been estimated that up to 85% of the embryos replaced into the uterine cavity fail to implant (Edwards RG, 1995). The cause of this low CPR may reside in the technique of embryo transfer, the endometrial receptivity, or the capacity of the embryo to properly invade the endometrium.
Tracking-Aided Classification of Targets Using Multihypothesis Sequential Probability Ratio Test

This paper deals with target classification by using both feature data and kinematic measurements. The problem is tackled by multihypothesis sequential testing with embedded target tracking. We implement an Armitage sequential test for nonmaneuvering and maneuvering targets. Both (centralized and distributed) fusion architectures are used for the embedded tracking. The contributions of the kinematic measurements to classification are analyzed, and classification performance improvement is shown analytically for a special case. Numerical results are provided to demonstrate the performance of our algorithms.
Stellenwert vom Homocystein beim Glaukom

Zusammenfassung In der multifaktoriellen Pathogenese der glaukomatösen Optikusatrophie spielen endotheliale Dysfunktion und vaskuläre Dysregulation eine Rolle. Eine Hyperhomocysteinämie als Risikofaktor für die endotheliale Dysfunktion ist sowohl mit dem primären Offenwinkelglaukom als auch mit dem sekundären Offenwinkelglaukom bei Pseudoexfoliationssyndrom assoziiert. In dieser Übersichtsarbeit wird die aktuelle Datenlage zur Assoziation zwischen Homocysteinmetabolismus und Glaukomerkrankung dargelegt sowie eine mögliche Rolle der Hyperhomocysteinämie in der Pathogenese und Progression der Glaukomerkrankung erläutert. Die Bedeutung von Homocystein für die Regulationsstörung der extrazellulären Matrix, der Vasotoxizität, der Neurodegeneration sowie der Epigenetik wird dargelegt. Die Prävention und Therapie der Glaukomerkrankung durch Beeinflussung des Homocysteinspiegels wird diskutiert.