Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Top-down fabrication of ordered arrays of GaN nanowires by selective area sublimation

We demonstrate the top-down fabrication of ordered arrays of GaN nanowires by selective area sublimation of pre-patterned GaN(0001) layers grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy on Al2O3. Arrays with nanowire diameters and spacings ranging from 50 to 90 nm and 0.1 to 0.7 μm, respectively, are simultaneously produced under identical conditions. The sublimation process, carried out under high vacuum conditions, is analyzed in situ by reflection high-energy electron diffraction and line-of-sight quadrupole mass spectrometry. During the sublimation process, the GaN(0001) surface vanishes, giving way to the formation of semi-polar {11̄03} facets which decompose congruently following an Arrhenius temperature dependence with an activation energy of (3.54 ± 0.07) eV and an exponential prefactor of 1.58 × 1031 atoms per cm2 per s. The analysis of the samples by low-temperature cathodoluminescence spectroscopy reveals that, in contrast to dry etching, the sublimation process does not introduce nonradiative recombination centers at the nanowire sidewalls. This technique is suitable for the top-down fabrication of a variety of ordered nanostructures, and could possibly be extended to other material systems with similar crystallographic properties such as ZnO.
Structural and optical properties of gold nanosphericals in variation of growth time using seed mediated growth method

Nanogold is a type of metallic nanostructures and it is very sensitive to the dielectric environment of the materials due to strong dependency of plasmon on shapes and sizes. The unique properties of gold nanostructures can be implemented as sensing material in Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR) sensor. This paper reports an experimental study on growth time effect towards structural and optical properties of gold nanosphericals (AuNSs). The gold nanoplates have been grown on a substrate using seed mediated growth method (SMGM). In this study, the growth time was varied from 30 minutes to seven hours. The largest size of AuNSs is ~ 82.67 nm obtained from 7 hours growth time sample. XRD analysis shows a peak of the diffraction angle occurs at the plane (111) in position ~ 38.19o. The optical absorption spectra of all samples show resonance peaks in the range of 530 nm to 560 nm, which are corresponding to the transverse surface plasmon resonance (t-SPR). Thus, in this study, it was found that the growth time affected the growth of the gold nanostructures with optimum growth time of seven hours. Longer growth time resulted in the larger size of AuNSs and therefore, it is not very suitable to be used in LSPR sensing application.
Macromolecular crowding : obvious but underappreciated

A characteristic of the interiors of all cells is the high total concentration of macromolecules they contain. Such media are termed 'crowded' rather than 'concentrated' because, in general, no single macromolecular species occurs at high concentration but, taken together, the macromolecules occupy a significant fraction (typically 20–30%) of the total volume. This fraction is thus physically unavailable to other molecules. This steric exclusion generates considerable energetic consequences that are not generally appreciated and that are the subject of this review. Biological macromolecules have evolved to function inside such crowded environments. For example, the total concentration of protein and RNA inside a cell of Escherichia coli is in the range of 300–400 g l −1 (Ref. 1). An artist's impression of this degree of crowding is shown in Fig. 1. Similar pictures are available for the major compartments of eukaryotic cells 2. Despite this physiological feature of the intracellular environment, biochemists commonly study the properties of macromolecules in solutions with a total macromolecular concentration of 1–10 g l −1 or less, in which crowding is negligible. The few exceptions include reticulocyte lysates and Xenopus oocyte extracts, which can be made without significant dilution, and in vitro studies of DNA replication and transcription, in which it has been found necessary to add crowding agents to extracts to obtain properties akin to those seen in vivo 3. Overlooking this difference matters because crowding has both thermodynamic and kinetic effects on the properties of macromolecules, a fact that has been known for at least four decades since systematic studies by Ogston and by Laurent 4. These effects are so large that it can be stated with some confidence that many estimates of reaction rates and equilibria made with uncrowded solutions in the test tube differ by orders of magnitude from those of the same reactions operating under crowded conditions within cells 5,6. A sceptic might observe that this difference does not matter because molecular biology continues to be remarkably successful despite its lack of quantitation 7. It is also true that editors of learned journals do not routinely reject manuscripts on the grounds that the lack of experiments to determine the effects of crowding raises doubts about the relevance of the conclusions to the in vivo situation. For this reason, crowding is not part of the biochemical zeitgeist, and it is rarely discussed in standard textbooks of biochemistry and molecular biology. However, the ultimate …
Tobacco-related cardiovascular diseases in the 21st century.

Cigarette smoking activates platelets, induces endothelial inflammation, and promotes vascular dysfunction leading to accelerated atherosclerosis, plaque rupture, acute coronary syndromes, and death. Over several decades, notable advances in public policy in the United States have reduced initiation and increased cessation of cigarette smoking, thus lowering the prevalence of tobacco product consumption and related cardiovascular disease (CVD). Indeed, most people in developed countries understand the harm of cigarette smoking and the health and economic benefits of abstinence and cessation. However, these public health successes have slowed recently,1 reflecting perhaps a higher degree of addiction in remaining smokers and also a degree of fatigue in further advancing preventive and treatment strategies, as well as scientific knowledge more generally. Several realities underscore the current challenges …
Automatically generating realistic test input from web services

Generating realistic test data is a major problem for software testers. Realistic test data generation for certain input types is hard to automate and therefore laborious. We propose a novel automated solution to test data generation that exploits existing web services as sources of realistic test data. Our approach is capable of generating realistic test data and also generating data based on tester-specified constraints. In experimental analysis, our prototype tool achieved between 93% and 100% success rates in generating realistic data using service compositions while random test data generation achieved only between 2% and 34%.
Confronting the constraints of morphological taxonomy in the Botryosphaeriales

Identification of fungi and the International Code of Nomenclature underpinning this process, rests strongly on the characterisation of morphological structures. Yet, the value of these characters to define species in many groups has become questionable or even superfluous. This has emerged as DNA-based techniques have increasingly revealed cryptic species and species complexes. This problem is vividly illustrated in the present study where 105 isolates of the Botryosphaeriales were recovered from both healthy and diseased woody tissues of native Acacia spp. in Namibia and South Africa. Thirteen phylogenetically distinct groups were identified based on Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) rDNA PCR-RFLP and translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF1-α) sequence data, two loci that are known to be reliable markers to distinguish species in the Botryosphaeriales. Four of these groups could be linked reliably to sequence data for formerly described species, including Botryosphaeria dothidea, Dothiorella dulcispinae, Lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae and Spencermartinsia viticola. Nine groups, however, could not be linked to any other species known from culture and for which sequence data are available. These groups are, therefore, described as Aplosporella africana, A. papillata, Botryosphaeria auasmontanum, Dothiorella capri-amissi, Do. oblonga, Lasiodiplodia pyriformis, Spencermartinsia rosulata, Sphaeropsis variabilis and an undescribed Neofusicoccum sp. The species described here could not be reliably compared with the thousands of taxa described in these genera from other hosts and regions, where only morphological data are available. Such comparison would be possible only if all previously described taxa are epitypified, which is not a viable objective for the two families, Botryosphaeriaceae and Aplosporellaceae, in the Botryosphaeriales identified here. The extent of diversity of the Botryosphaeriales revealed in this and other recent studies is expected to reflect that of other undersampled regions and hosts, and illustrates the urgency to find more effective ways to describe species in this, and indeed other, groups of fungi.
Comparison of wavefront aberrations and optical quality of eyes implanted with five different intraocular lenses.

PURPOSE We compared corneal and total higher order wavefront aberrations in 25 pseudophakic eyes implanted with five different types of intraocular lenses to obtain an objective evaluation of the optical quality of these pseudophakic eyes. Five IOLs per type were studied. METHODS Implanted lenses were the Pharmacia Tecnis Z9000 with negative spherical aberration, Pharmacia 911 Edge, Alcon Acrysof SA60AT and MA60BM, and Allergan Sensar AR40e. Eyes were examined using the Topcon KR-9000PW topographer/aberrometer, which obtains simultaneous coaxial measurements of corneal and ocular aberrations, and displays the calculated Point Spread Function (PSF) and Modulation Transfer Function (MTF). RESULTS Corneal spherical aberration was positive in all tested eyes. For a 4-mm optical zone, ocular spherical aberration was 0.0054+/-0.0172 microm root-mean-square (RMS) in eyes implanted with the Tecnis lens, and was 0.0562 to 0.0974 microm RMS in eyes implanted with the four other conventional IOLs. A myopic refractive shift with mydriasis of -0.08 D occurred with the Tecnis IOL; it was -0.57 to -0.90 D with the conventional IOLs. Coma did not show a substantial reduction with any of the IOLs. Total wavefront aberrations showed nonsignificant reduction with the Tecnis lens. The PSF and the MTF also showed nonsignificant improvements over conventional IOLs. CONCLUSIONS The optical quality of pseudophakic eyes can be measured in vivo by aberrometers. Different IOLs resulted in measurably different outcomes. In this preliminary study, compensation of the spherical aberration observed with the Tecnis lens confirmed the theoretical predictions associated with this lens and resulted in no myopic shift in refraction with mydriasis.
Hospitalizations with Lower Respiratory Tract Infections among American Indian and Alaska Native Children Under Age 5 Years : The Use of Non-Federal Hospital Discharge Data to Analyze Rates

This cross-sectional analysis has methodological limitations, including lack of an adequate sample size for meaningful analysis of other racial/ethnic groups, such as Native Americans and multiracial youth. This limitation underscores the need for additional research with samples representative of US racial/ethnic diversity and studies designed to explicate the factors and mechanisms that contribute to the observed disparities in health behaviors that contribute to overweight and obesity in children and adolescents. Reducing such disparities on a population level will require expanded efforts focused on the multilevel policies that influence and impact adoption and maintenance of healthy lifestyle behaviors for all children and youth. n
Dynamic quantitative analysis of adherent cell cultures by means of lens-free video microscopy

We present our implementation of lens-free video microscopy setup for the monitoring of adherent cell cultures. We use a multi-wavelength LED illumination together with a dedicated holographic reconstruction algorithm that allows for an efficient removal of twin images from the reconstructed phase image for densities up to those of confluent cell cultures (>500 cells/mm2). We thereby demonstrate that lens-free video microscopy, with a large field of view (~30 mm2) can enable us to capture the images of thousands of cells simultaneously and directly inside the incubator. It is then possible to trace and quantify single cells along several cell cycles. We thus prove that lens-free microscopy is a quantitative phase imaging technique enabling estimation of several metrics at the single cell level as a function of time, for example the area, dry mass, maximum thickness, major axis length and aspect ratio of each cell. Combined with cell tracking, it is then possible to extract important parameters such as the initial cell dry mass (just after cell division), the final cell dry mass (just before cell division), the average cell growth rate, and the cell cycle duration. As an example, we discuss the monitoring of a HeLa cell cultures which provided us with a data-set featuring more than 10 000 cell cycle tracks and more than 2x106 cell morphological measurements in a single time-lapse.
Adverse Childhood Experiences and Alcohol Consumption in Midlife and Early Old-Age.

AIMS To examine the individual and cumulative effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on alcohol consumption in midlife and early old-age, and the role of ACEs in 10-year drinking trajectories across midlife. METHODS Data were from the Whitehall II study, a longitudinal British civil service-based cohort study (N = 7870, 69.5% male). Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the individual and cumulative effects of ACEs on weekly alcohol consumption. Mixed-effect multilevel modelling was used to explore the relationship between ACEs and change in alcohol consumption longitudinally. RESULTS Participants who were exposed to parental arguments/fights in childhood were 1.24 (95% CI 1.06, 1.45) times more likely to drink at hazardous levels in midlife (mean age 56 years) after controlling for covariates and other ACEs. For each additional exposure to an ACE, the risk of hazardous drinking versus moderate drinking was increased by 1.12 (95% CI 1.03, 1.21) after adjusting for sex, age, adult socio-economic status, ethnicity and marital status. No associations between ACEs and increased risk of hazardous drinking in early old-age (mean age 66 years) were found. In longitudinal analyses, ACEs did not significantly influence 10-year drinking trajectories across midlife. CONCLUSION The effect of exposure to parental arguments on hazardous drinking persists into midlife.
Object‐based attention is multisensory: co‐activation of an object's representations in ignored sensory modalities

Within the visual modality, it has been shown that attention to a single visual feature of an object such as speed of motion, results in an automatic transfer of attention to other task‐irrelevant features (e.g. colour). An extension of this logic might lead one to predict that such mechanisms also operate across sensory systems. But, connectivity patterns between feature modules across sensory systems are thought to be sparser to those within a given sensory system, where interareal connectivity is extensive. It is not clear that transfer of attention between sensory systems will operate as it does within a sensory system. Using high‐density electrical mapping of the event‐related potential (ERP) in humans, we tested whether attending to objects in one sensory modality resulted in the preferential processing of that object's features within another task‐irrelevant sensory modality. Clear evidence for cross‐sensory attention effects was seen, such that for multisensory stimuli responses to ignored task‐irrelevant information in the auditory and visual domains were selectively enhanced when they were features of the explicitly attended object presented in the attended sensory modality. We conclude that attending to an object within one sensory modality results in coactivation of that object's representations in ignored sensory modalities. The data further suggest that transfer of attention from visual‐to‐auditory features operates in a fundamentally different manner than transfer from auditory‐to‐visual features, and indicate that visual‐object representations have a greater influence on their auditory counterparts than vice‐versa. These data are discussed in terms of ‘priming’ vs. ‘spreading’ accounts of attentional transfer.
Neuro‐QoL health‐related quality of life measurement system: Validation in Parkinson's disease

Neuro‐QoL is a multidimensional patient‐reported outcome measurement system assessing aspects of physical, mental, and social health identified by neurology patients and caregivers as important. One of the first neurology‐specific patient‐reported outcome measure systems created using modern test development methods, Neuro‐Qol enables brief, yet precise, assessment and the ability to conduct both PD‐specific and cross‐disease comparisons. We present results of Neuro‐QoL clinical validation using a sample of PD patients.
IRF4 Is a Suppressor of c-Myc Induced B Cell Leukemia

Interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF4) is a critical transcriptional regulator in B cell development and function. We have previously shown that IRF4, together with IRF8, orchestrates pre-B cell development by limiting pre-B cell expansion and by promoting pre-B cell differentiation. Here, we report that IRF4 suppresses c-Myc induced leukemia in EμMyc mice. Our results show that c-Myc induced leukemia was greatly accelerated in the IRF4 heterozygous mice (IRF4+/−Myc); the average age of mortality in the IRF4+/−Myc mice was only 7 to 8 weeks but was 20 weeks in the control mice. Our results show that IRF4+/−Myc leukemic cells were derived from large pre-B cells and were hyperproliferative and resistant to apoptosis. Further analysis revealed that the majority of IRF4+/−Myc leukemic cells inactivated the wild-type IRF4 allele and contained defects in Arf-p53 tumor suppressor pathway. p27kip is part of the molecular circuitry that controls pre-B cell expansion. Our results show that expression of p27kip was lost in the IRF4+/−Myc leukemic cells and reconstitution of IRF4 expression in those cells induced p27kip and inhibited their expansion. Thus, IRF4 functions as a classical tumor suppressor to inhibit c-Myc induced B cell leukemia in EμMyc mice.
Blind background calibration of harmonic distortion based on selective sampling

This paper proposes a blind calibration algorithm for suppressing harmonic distortion in analog to digital converters (ADCs). The proposed algorithm does not need any external calibration signal and is first of its kind. The proposed algorithm relies on the properties of downsampling and orthogonality of sinusoidal signals to estimate the harmonic distortion coefficients. The algorithm can be operated in both foreground and background modes to remove even and odd harmonics simultaneously. The algorithm is demonstrated on a first-order ring oscillator based ΔΣ ADC, whose performance is harmonic distortion limited. Built in 0. 13μm, the algorithm improves the SNDR of the ADC by 39dB while improving SFDR by 45 dB.
Safety, Virology and Pharmacokinetics of Oseltamivir in Infants with Laboratory-Confirmed Influenza: A Phase I/II, Prospective, Open-Label, Multicentre Clinical Trial

Background The influenza antiviral oseltamivir is not licensed for infants aged <1 year in most countries outside the United States. More information is needed on oseltamivir safety at different dosing levels in this vulnerable age group. Methods In this prospective, observational, non-randomized study, infants aged <1 year with laboratory-confirmed influenza were treated with oral oseltamivir for 5 days. Cohorts 1, 2 and 3 (aged 91–364, 31–90 and 0–30 days, respectively), received twice-daily dosages of 3, 2.5 and 2 mg/kg, respectively. Assessments included pharmacokinetics, on-treatment adverse events, resistance testing and viral shedding. Results A total of 65 patients were enrolled: 40, 20 and 5 in cohorts 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Systemic exposure to oseltamivir carboxylate (active metabolite) reached therapeutic levels in all patients, with an adequate safety margin. On-treatment adverse events (n=48) were reported by 32 patients (49%). At least one adverse event was reported by 43%, 65% and 40% of infants in cohorts 1, 2 and 3, respectively; most frequently vomiting and diarrhoea. Eight serious adverse events were reported, all of which were considered unrelated to treatment by the investigator. No deaths occurred and no patient had treatment withdrawn. Oseltamivir resistance mutations were detected in eight patients. Conclusions Oseltamivir dosages of 2–3 mg/kg were well tolerated in infants aged <1 year and achieved therapeutic exposure levels. The current study supports the adoption of a universal dosing recommendation for infants. Clinicaltrials.gov unique identifier NCT00988325.
A New N2N Packet Forwarding Technique for MPEG Video Transport in IP networks

to increase in the multimedia applications and streaming servers, transport of MPEG compressed video data through a packet switched network has become highly important. It is necessary to transport the video while ensuring appropriate video quality at the receiving end. This paper proposes a new N2N packet forwarding technique that reduces the packet loss and delay jitter of the video traffic. The paper also shows that with the use of the proposed packet forwarding technique, the PSNR is also improved.
New Insights into Functional Aspects of Liver Morphology

The liver is structurally and functionally complex and has been considered second only to brain in its complexity. Many mysteries still exist in this heterogeneous tissue whose functional unit of the lobule has continued to stump morphologists for over 300 years. The primary lobule, proposed by Matsumoto in 1979, has been gaining acceptance as the functional unit of the liver over other conceptual views because it’s based on vessel architecture and includes the classic lobule as a secondary feature. Although hepatocytes comprise almost 80% of the liver, there are at least another dozen cell types, many of which provide “cross-talk” and play important functional roles in the normal and diseased liver. The distribution and functional roles of all cells in the liver must be carefully considered in both the analysis and interpretation of research data, particularly data in the area of genomics and “phenotypic anchoring” of gene expression results. Discoveries regarding the functional heterogeneity of the various liver cell types, including hepatocytes, hepatic stellate cells, sinusoidal endothelia, and Kupffer cells, are providing new insights into our understanding of the development, prevention and treatment of liver disease. For example, functional differences along zonal patterns (centrilobular or periportal) have been demonstrated for sinusoidal endothelium, Kupffer cells, and hepatocytes and can explain the gradients and manifestations of disease observed within lobules. Intralobular gradients of bile uptake, glycogen depletion, glutamine synthetase, and carboxylesterase by hepatocytes; widened fenestrations in centrilobular sinusoidal lining cells; and differences in the components of centrilobular extracellular matrix or function of Kupffer cells have been demonstrated. Awareness of the complexities and heterogeneity of the liver will add to a greater understanding of liver function and disease processes that lead to toxicity, cancer, and other diseases.