Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dynamics and thermodynamics of a probe brane in the multicenter and rotating D 3-brane background

We study the dynamics and thermodynamics of a probe D3-brane in the rotating D3-brane background and in its extremal limit, which is a multicenter configuration of D3-branes distributed uniformly on a disc. In the extremal background, if the angular momentum of the probe does not vanish, the probe is always bounced back at some turning point. When its angular momentum vanishes, in the disc plane, the probe will be captured at the edge of the disc; in the hyperplane orthogonal to the disc, the probe will be absorbed at the center of the disc. In the non-extremal background, if the probe is in the hyperplane orthogonal to the disc, it will be captured at the horizon; if the probe is restricted in the disc plane, the probe will be bounced back at a turning point, which is just the infinite red-shift hyperplane of the rotating background, even when the angular momentum of the probe vanishes. The thermodynamics of a relative static D3-brane probe is also investigated to the rotating D3-brane source. Two critical points are found. One is just the thermodynamically stable boundary of the source rotating D3-branes; the other is related to the distance between the probe and the source, which can be regarded as the mass scale in the corresponding super Yang-Mills theory. If the probe is static, the second critical point occurs as the probe is at the infinite red-shift hyperplane of the background. The relevance to the thermodynamics of the super Yang-Mills theory is discussed briefly. ∗email address: cai@het.phys.sci.osaka-u.ac. jp 1
Long-circulating and target-specific nanoparticles: theory to practice.

The rapid recognition of intravenously injected colloidal carriers, such as liposomes and polymeric nanospheres from the blood by Kupffer cells, has initiated a surge of development for "Kupffer cell-evading" or long-circulating particles. Such carriers have applications in vascular drug delivery and release, site-specific targeting (passive as well as active targeting), as well as transfusion medicine. In this article we have critically reviewed and assessed the rational approaches in the design as well as the biological performance of such constructs. For engineering and design of long-circulating carriers, we have taken a lead from nature. Here, we have explored the surface mechanisms, which affords red blood cells long-circulatory lives and the ability of specific microorganisms to evade macrophage recognition. Our analysis is then centered where such strategies have been translated and fabricated to design a wide range of particulate carriers (e.g., nanospheres, liposomes, micelles, oil-in-water emulsions) with prolonged circulation and/or target specificity. With regard to the targeting issues, attention is particularly focused on the importance of physiological barriers and disease states.
The effect of shame and shame memories on paranoid ideation and social anxiety.

BACKGROUND Social wariness and anxiety can take different forms. Paranoid anxiety focuses on the malevolence of others, whereas social anxiety focuses on the inadequacies in the self in competing for social position and social acceptance. This study investigates whether shame and shame memories are differently associated with paranoid and social anxieties. METHOD Shame, traumatic impact of shame memory, centrality of shame memory, paranoia and social anxiety were assessed using self-report questionnaires in 328 participants recruited from the general population. RESULTS Results from path analyses show that external shame is specifically associated with paranoid anxiety. In contrast, internal shame is specifically associated with social anxiety. In addition, shame memories, which function like traumatic memories, or that are a central reference point to the individual's self-identity and life story, are significantly associated with paranoid anxiety, even when current external and internal shame are considered at the same time. Thus, traumatic impact of shame memory and centrality of shame memory predict paranoia (but not social anxiety) even when considering for current feelings of shame. CONCLUSION Our study supports the evolutionary model suggesting there are two different types of 'conspecific' anxiety, with different evolutionary histories, functions and psychological processes. Paranoia, but less so social anxiety, is associated with traumatic impact and the centrality of shame memories. Researchers and clinicians should distinguish between types of shame memory, particularly those where the self might have felt vulnerable and subordinate and perceived others as threatening and hostile, holding malevolent intentions towards the self.
PF-4var/CXCL4L1 Predicts Outcome in Stable Coronary Artery Disease Patients with Preserved Left Ventricular Function

Background Platelet-derived chemokines are implicated in several aspects of vascular biology. However, for the chemokine platelet factor 4 variant (PF-4var/CXCL4L1), released by platelets during thrombosis and with different properties as compared to PF-4/CXCL4, its role in heart disease is not yet studied. We evaluated the determinants and prognostic value of the platelet-derived chemokines PF-4var, PF-4 and RANTES/CCL5 in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD). Methodology/Principal Findings From 205 consecutive patients with stable CAD and preserved left ventricular (LV) function, blood samples were taken at inclusion and were analyzed for PF-4var, RANTES, platelet factor-4 and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP). Patients were followed (median follow-up 2.5 years) for the combined endpoint of cardiac death, non-fatal acute myocardial infarction, stroke or hospitalization for heart failure. Independent determinants of PF-4var levels (median 10 ng/ml; interquartile range 8–16 ng/ml) were age, gender and circulating platelet number. Patients who experienced cardiac events (n = 20) during follow-up showed lower levels of PF-4var (8.5 [5.3–10] ng/ml versus 12 [8–16] ng/ml, p = 0.033). ROC analysis for events showed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.82 (95% CI 0.73–0.90, p<0.001) for higher NT-proBNP levels and an AUC of 0.32 (95% CI 0.19–0.45, p = 0.009) for lower PF-4var levels. Cox proportional hazard analysis showed that PF-4var has an independent prognostic value on top of NT-proBNP. Conclusions We conclude that low PF-4var/CXCL4L1 levels are associated with a poor outcome in patients with stable CAD and preserved LV function. This prognostic value is independent of NT-proBNP levels, suggesting that both neurohormonal and platelet-related factors determine outcome in these patients.
Increase in plasma adrenomedullin in patients with heart failure characterised by diastolic dysfunction

OBJECTIVE To investigate the relation between plasma adrenomedullin and the severity of diastolic dysfunction in patients with heart failure. DESIGN Prospective study. SETTING University teaching hospital. PATIENTS 77 patients (mean (SEM) age 66.3 (1.2) years; 75% male) who were being followed in the outpatient clinic after admission to hospital for acute heart failure. INTERVENTIONS Same day echocardiography with Doppler studies; determination of venous adrenomedullin concentration by radioimmunoassay. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Plasma adrenomedullin concentration and its correlation with systolic and diastolic function. RESULTS 31 patients (40%) had isolated diastolic dysfunction (ejection fraction > 50%), and the remaining 46 had a depressed ejection fraction (< 50%). Of the patients with diastolic dysfunction, 17 had a restrictive filling pattern. In all but one of these there was coexisting systolic failure (χ2 = 10.7, p = 0.001). Patients with systolic heart failure and a restrictive filling pattern (group 1, n = 16) had a higher plasma adrenomedullin than those with systolic failure and a non-restrictive filling pattern (group 2, n = 30) or with isolated diastolic heart failure and a non-restrictive filling pattern (group 3, n = 30) (mean (SEM): 91.7 (21.1) v 38.4 (8.8) v 34.0 (6.5) pmol/l, both p < 0.05). All heart failure values were higher (p < 0.01) than the control value (6.9 (1.2) pmol/l). Ejection fraction and left ventricular dimensions were similar in groups 1 and 2. Plasma adrenomedullin did not correlate with ejection fraction or New York Heart Association functional class. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that the presence of a restrictive filling pattern was the only independent variable associated with a high plasma adrenomedullin. CONCLUSIONS Plasma adrenomedullin concentrations in patients with heart failure are determined by the presence of diastolic dysfunction, and are especially raised in the presence of a restrictive filling pattern. There appears to be no correlation with systolic dysfunction.
Fluorescence-based system for measurement of electrophysiological changes in stretched cultured cardiomyocytes

Acute or sustained stretch of cardiac tissue is known to play a key role in arrhythmogenesis. Using a fluorescence approach, we designed a system measuring calcium transients and transmembrane potential changes in monolayers of cultured cardiomyocytes under uniaxial elongation and electrical stimulation. Cardiac myocytes are seeded on a rectangular PDMS template held and stretched by a motorized linear guide system. Electrical stimulation is performed with two parallel carbon electrodes supplied by amplified pulses from a digital-to-analog converter. The cells are stained with either voltage- or calcium-sensitive dye (di-4-ANEPPS and Fluo-4 AM respectively). The two available excitation light sources are both current-controlled LED arrays (λ = 523 ± 45nm for di-4-ANEPPS and λ = 505 ± 15nm for Fluo-4 AM). The filtered emitted fluorescence (λ > 610nm for di-4-ANEPPS and λ = 535 ± 25nm for Fluo-4 AM) is transduced to current with a photodiode, converted to amplified voltage signals and digitized. The design and preliminary validation results are presented.
Time-Varying Linear Systems: Relative Degree and Normal Form

We define the relative degree of time-varying linear systems, show that it coincides with Isidori's and with Liberzon/Morse/Sontag's definition if the system is understood as a time-invariant nonlinear system, characterize it in terms of the system data and their derivatives, derive a normal form with respect to a time-varying linear coordinate transformation, and finally characterize the zero dynamics
Cells activated for wound repair have the potential to direct collective invasion of an epithelium

Studies using a clinically relevant injury invasion model reveal that cells critical to wound repair are inherently invasive, acting as leaders to direct the collective invasion of a wounded epithelium. This model is a valuable tool with which to study leader cell–directed invasion and help understand how mechanisms of wound healing are hijacked to cause disease.
Indoor biofuel air pollution and respiratory health: the role of confounding factors among women in highland Guatemala.

BACKGROUND A number of studies have reported associations between indoor biofuel air pollution in developing countries and chronic obstructive lung disease (COLD) in adults and acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) in children. Most of these studies have used indirect measures of exposure and generally dealt inadequately with confounding. More reliable, quantified information about this presumed effect is an important pre-requisite for prevention, not least because of the technical, economic and cultural barriers to achieving substantial exposure reductions in the world's poorest households, where ambient pollution levels are typically between ten and a hundred times higher than recommended standards. This study was carried out as part of a programme of research designed to inform the development of intervention studies capable of providing quantified estimates of health benefits. METHODS The association between respiratory symptoms and the use of open fires and chimney woodstoves ('planchas'), and the distribution of confounding factors, were examined in a cross-sectional study of 340 women aged 15-45 years, living in a poor rural area in the western highlands of Guatemala. RESULTS The prevalence of reported cough and phlegm was significantly higher for three of six symptom measures among women using open fires. Although this finding is consistent with a number of other studies, none has systematically examined the extent to which strong associations with confounding variables in these settings limit the ability of observational studies to define the effect of indoor air pollution adequately. Very strong associations (P < 0.0001) were found between the type of fire and a number of household and socioeconomic factors including the arrangement of rooms, floor type, and possession of a radio and television. The spouse's economic activity type was also significantly associated (P < 0.05). Thus, while 82% of open fire users had dirt floors and only 18% cement or tile floors, the situation was reversed for plancha users, only 16% of whom had dirt floors. CONCLUSIONS Confounding presents a substantial problem for observational studies of indoor air pollution and health, although there is a reasonable case for believing that the observed association is causal. Intervention studies are required for stronger evidence of this association, and more importantly, to determine the size of health benefit achievable through feasible exposure reductions.
Assessing A Novel Approach To Identifying Optimal Threshold Levels For Cognitive Consensus Structures : Implications and general applications

Previous research has demonstrated the importance of cognitive social network structures to better understanding human behavior and thought. Yet network members may deviate in perceiving whether relations exist between pairs of nodes in a network, which can present a challenge in modeling cognitive consensus structures. It has been suggested to define cognitive consensus structures (CCS) to yield a minimum threshold level of 50% of network members perceiving that a relation exits. Here I suggest an improved operational definition, labeled optimal cognitive consensus structures (OCCS). The OCCS threshold level is a function of a consensus structure; yielding the maximum correlate with the summation of nodes’ cognitive interpretations of a social network. Revisiting two datasets, I find that the OCCS’ predictive validity outperforms the CCS concept in most cases. I also argue how the OCCS can be further developed as a general tool for optimally dichotomizing valued relational data. Authors Jarle Aarstad, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in Organization Studies at Bergen University College, Faculty of Engineering. His major research interests are social network theory, innovation studies, and entrepreneurship.
Step-Down Spatial Randomness Test for Detecting Abnormalities in DRAM Wafers with Multiple Spatial Maps

Defects on semiconductor wafers are not uniformly distributed, but tend to cluster. These spatial defect patterns contain useful information about issues during integrated circuit fabrication. Promptly detecting abnormal wafers is an important way to increase yield and product quality. However, research on identifying spatial defect patterns has focused only on flash memory with a single wafer map. No procedure is available for identifying spatial defect patterns on dynamic random access memory (DRAM) with multiple wafer maps. This paper proposes a new step-down spatial randomness test for detecting abnormalities on a DRAM wafer with multiple spatial maps. We adopt nonparametric Gaussian kernel-density estimation to transform the original fail bit test (FBT) values into binary FBT values. We also propose a spatial local de-noising method to eliminate noisy defect chips to distinguish the random defect patterns from systematic ones. We experimentally validated the proposed procedure using real-life DRAM wafers. These experimental results demonstrate that our approach can viably replace manual detection of abnormal DRAM wafers.
Epidemiological features of Guillain-Barré syndrome in Sweden, 1978-93.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the incidence of Guillain-Barré syndrome in Sweden during the period 1978-93 and its temporal and geographical variations. METHODS: Stratified and Poisson regression analyses and tests for detection of small epidemics were applied to population based hospital discharge data from 2257 incident cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome in Sweden during the study period. RESULTS: The incidence of Guillain-Barré syndrome was (1) 1.77 per 100000 person-years when age adjusted to the European population; (2) higher in males; and (3) stable across time, although occasional increases of annual incidence rates were found-namely, in 1978 (relative risk (RR) 1.30 (95% CI 1.10-1.54)), and in 1983 (RR 1.24 (95% CI 1.06-1.40)). The incidence increased with age and was bimodal, with peaks at 20-24 and 70-74 years. There was a moderate but significant seasonality with a peak in August, particularly among the young age groups. The age adjusted incidence by county varied from 1.11 to 2.57 per 100000 person-years. Neither temporal nor spatial clustering was significant, except during the period July-September in 1983 at ages below 40 years. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of Guillain-Barré syndrome in Sweden during the period 1978-93 had a magnitude similar to those described in other surveys, a bimodal distribution by age, and modest geographical and temporal variations with significantly high rates in 1978 and 1983 and in autumn. Minor outbreaks might have passed unnoticed up to the present. Whereas reported drug induced cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome may in part explain the high incidence in 1983, the cause of the aberrant incidence in 1978 remains unknown. Epidemiological surveillance of Guillain-Barré syndrome in Sweden might have been useful.
A New and Highly Divergent Enterocytozoon bieneusi Genotype Isolated from a Renal Transplant Recipient

ABSTRACT A 49-year-old renal transplant recipient was admitted to our hospital due to abundant liquid diarrhea and dehydration. Parasitological investigations, including genotyping, led to the diagnosis of intestinal microsporidiosis due to a new and highly divergent internal transcribed spacer (ITS) genotype of Enterocytozoon bieneusi. The potential route of transmission through horse stools is discussed.
Binding of complement component C3b to glycoprotein gC of herpes simplex virus type 1: mapping of gC-binding sites and demonstration of conserved C3b binding in low-passage clinical isolates

The sites on glycoprotein gC of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) which bind complement component C3b were evaluated by using anti-gC monoclonal antibodies and mutants which have alterations at defined regions of the glycoprotein. Monoclonal antibodies were incubated with HSV-1-infected cells in a competitive assay to block C3b binding. Each of 12 different monoclonals, which recognize the four major antigenic sites of gC, completely inhibited C3b binding. With this approach, no one antigenic group on gC could be assigned as the C3b-binding region. Next, 21 gC mutants were evaluated for C3b binding, including 1 which failed to synthesize gC, 4 which synthesized truncated forms of the glycoprotein such that gC did not insert into the cell's membrane, and 16 which expressed gC on the cell's surface but which had mutations in various antigenic groups. Eleven strains did not bind C3b. This included the 1 strain which did not synthesize gC, the 4 strains which secreted gC without inserting the glycoprotein into the cell membrane, and 6 of 16 strains which expressed gC on the cell surface. In these six strains, the mutations were at three different antigenic sites. One hypothesis to explain these findings is that C3b binding is modified by changes in the conformation of gC which develop either after antibodies bind to gC or as a result of mutations in the gC gene. Attachment of C3b to gC was also evaluated in 31 low-passage clinical isolates of HSV-1. Binding was detected with each HSV-1 isolate, but not with nine HSV-2 isolates. Therefore, although mutants that lack C3b binding are readily selected in vitro, the C3b-binding function of gC is maintained in vivo. These results indicate that the sites on gC that bind C3b are different from those that bind monoclonal antibodies, that antibodies directed against all sites on gC block C3b binding, and that C3b binding is a conserved function of gC in vivo.
Transport in the subtropical lowermost stratosphere during the Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers–Florida Area Cirrus Experiment

[1] We use in situ measurements of water vapor (H2O), ozone (O3), carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitric oxide (NO), and total reactive nitrogen (NOy) obtained during the CRYSTAL-FACE campaign in July 2002 to study summertime transport in the subtropical lowermost stratosphere. We use an objective methodology to distinguish the latitudinal origin of the sampled air masses despite the influence of convection, and we calculate backward trajectories to elucidate their recent geographical history. The methodology consists of exploring the statistical behavior of the data by performing multivariate clustering and agglomerative hierarchical clustering calculations and projecting cluster groups onto principal component space to identify air masses of like composition and hence presumed origin. The statistically derived cluster groups are then examined in physical space using tracer-tracer correlation plots. Interpretation of the principal component analysis suggests that the variability in the data is accounted for primarily by the mean age of air in the stratosphere, followed by the age of the convective influence, and last by the extent of convective influence, potentially related to the latitude of convective injection (Dessler and Sherwood, 2004). We find that high-latitude stratospheric air is the dominant source region during the beginning of the campaign while tropical air is the dominant source region during the rest of the campaign. Influence of convection from both local and nonlocal events is frequently observed. The identification of air mass origin is confirmed with backward trajectories, and the behavior of the trajectories is associated with the North American monsoon circulation.
A lab-on-CD prototype for high-speed blood separation

Blood separation is the first step for subsequent blood tests in clinical diagnosis. Lab-on-a-chip technology provides an automatic, cost-effective and fast solution for a wide variety of blood analyses. The objective of this work is to design a new lab-on-CD microstructure capable of separating blood cells from the whole blood into different reservoirs directly. A CD platform including a microchannel network consisting of a straight main microchannel, a curved microchannel and a branching microchannel has been proposed. The merits of this design are its simple structure, less operating time and high separation efficiency because it utilizes multiple separation mechanisms, for instance, two centrifugal forces and Coriolis force. One centrifugal force is due to the system rotation; the other centrifugal force is due to the curvature of the specifically designed curved channel. In this work, systematical evaluation on the functionality and performance of such a design has been done. Ninety-nine per cent separation efficiency is achieved for diluted blood of 6% hematocrit.