Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Merits and limitations of circular TLM structures for contact resistance determination for novel III-V HBTs

This paper discusses merits and limitations of CTLM (Circular Transfer Length Method) contact resistance assessment test structures. Requiring just one lithography step, these structures prove to be a simple yet very powerful tool in characterizing and optimizing the contact resistances for III-V based heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs).
Follow Your Heart or Mind? Measuring Neurophysiological Responses and Subjective Judgments for Visual Aesthetics

This research-in-progress explores measurement of affective responses to visual stimuli by two methods: objective neurophysiological measures (galvanic skin conductance and facial electromyography) and subjective psychometric measures (self-report using survey). We aim to argue that neurophysiological measures can supplement traditional measures to capture effectively emotional responses to aesthetically manipulated visual design interfaces. Besides that, we also establish links between emotional responses: valence and arousal and aesthetics: classical and expressive to better understand the impact on design parameters on subconscious information processing.
Combinatorial generation of variable fusion proteins in the Ewing family of tumours.

Balanced translocations involving band q12 of human chromosome 22 are the most frequent recurrent translocations observed in human solid tumours. It has been shown recently that this region encodes EWS, a protein with an RNA binding homologous domain. In Ewing's sarcoma and malignant melanoma of soft parts, translocations of band 22q12 to chromosome 11 and 12 result in the fusion of EWS with the transcription factors FLI‐1 and ATF1, respectively. The present analysis of 89 Ewing's sarcomas and related tumours show that in addition to the expected EWS‐FLI‐1 fusion, the EWS gene can be fused to ERG, a transcription factor closely related to FLI‐1 but located on chromosome 21. The position of the chromosome translocation breakpoints are shown to be restricted to introns 7‐10 of the EWS gene and widely dispersed within introns 3‐9 of the Ets‐related genes. This heterogeneity generates a variety of chimeric proteins that can be detected by immuno‐precipitation. On rare occasions, they may be associated with a truncated EWS protein arising from alternate splicing. All 13 different fusion proteins that were evidenced contained the N‐terminal domain of EWS and the Ets domain of FLI‐1 or ERG suggesting that oncogenic conversion is achieved by the linking of the two domains with no marked constraint on the connecting peptide.
A point-based system for local and remote exploration of dense 3D scanned models

We present a client-server framework for network distribution and real-time point-based rendering of large 3D models on commodity graphics platforms. Model inspection, based on a one-touch interface, is enriched by a bidirectional hyperlink system which provides access to multiple layers of multimedia contents linking different parts of the 3D model many information sources. In addition to view and light control, users can perform simple 3D operations like angle, distance and area measurements on the 3D model. An authoring tool derived from the basic client allows users to add multimedia content to the model description. Our rendering method is based on a coarse grained multiresolution structure, where each node contains thousands of point samples. At runtime, a view-dependent refinement process incrementally updates the current GPU-cached model representation from local or remote out-of-core data. Vertex and fragment shaders are used for high quality elliptical sample drawing and a variety of shading effects. The system is demonstrated with examples that range from documentation and inspection of small artifacts to exploration of large sites, in both a museum and a large scale distribution setting.
Bmc Structural Biology Residue Contact-count Potentials Are as Effective as Residue-residue Contact-type Potentials for Ranking Protein Decoys

Background: For over 30 years potentials of mean force have been used to evaluate the relative energy of protein structures. The most commonly used potentials define the energy of residue-residue interactions and are derived from the empirical analysis of the known protein structures. However, single-body residue 'environment' potentials, although widely used in protein structure analysis, have not been rigorously compared to these classical two-body residue-residue interaction potentials. Here we do not try to combine the two different types of residue interaction potential, but rather to assess their independent contribution to scoring protein structures.
Doping effects on proton incorporation and conduction in SrZrO3

The doping effects on the proton incorporation and protonic conductivity of perovskite‐type SrZrO3 were investigated using the density functional theory (DFT) with the generalized gradient approximation (GGA). The optimized geometries, formation energies of hydrogen defect and activation energies for hydrogen diffusion in SrZrO3 doped with Al, Sc, Ga, Y, Rh, In, and Yb were calculated. It was shown that the doping leads to large local distortions around hydrogen and dopant ion, affecting the protonic conduction in these oxides. The alignment of hydrogen levels varies with the dopant introduced into the SrZrO3. In In‐, Y‐, Sc‐, Ga‐, and Al‐doped SrZrO3, the H+ is the lowest energy state in all the bandgap. But for Yb‐ and Rh‐doped SrZrO3, the H+ is the lowest energy state only when the Fermi energy below 2.37 and 2.66 eV, respectively. The estimates of the activation energy show good agreement between the measured and calculated activation energies. Also, the hydrogen diffusion seems to become more difficult as the distance between hydrogen and dopant ion decreases. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 27: 711–718, 2006
Scalability of the Channel Capacity in Graphene-Enabled Wireless Communications to the Nanoscale

Graphene is a promising material which has been proposed to build graphene plasmonic miniaturized antennas, or graphennas, which show excellent conditions for the propagation of Surface Plasmon Polariton (SPP) waves in the terahertz band. Due to their small size of just a few micrometers, graphennas allow the implementation of wireless communications among nanosystems, leading to a novel paradigm known as Graphene-enabled Wireless Communications (GWC). In this paper, an analytical framework is developed to evaluate how the channel capacity of a GWC system scales as its dimensions shrink. In particular, we study how the unique propagation of SPP waves in graphennas will impact the channel capacity. Next, we further compare these results with respect to the case when metallic antennas are used, in which these plasmonic effects do not appear. In addition, asymptotic expressions for the channel capacity are derived in the limit when the system dimensions tend to zero. In this scenario, necessary conditions to ensure the feasibility of GWC networks are found. Finally, using these conditions, new guidelines are derived to explore the scalability of various parameters, such as transmission range and transmitted power. These results may be helpful for designers of future GWC systems and networks.
Identifying evolving multivariate dynamics in individual and cohort time series, with application to physiological control systems

Physiological control systems involve multiple interacting variables operating in feedback loops that enhance an organism's ability to self-regulate and respond to internal and external disturbances. The resulting multivariate time-series often exhibit rich dynamical patterns, which are altered under pathological conditions. However, model identification for physiological systems is complicated by measurement artifacts and changes between operating regimes. The overall aim of this thesis is to develop and validate computational tools for identification and analysis of structured multivariate models of physiological dynamics in individual and cohort time-series. We first address the identification and stability of the respiratory chemoreflex system, which is key to the pathogenesis of sleep-induced periodic breathing and apnea. Using data from both an animal model of periodic breathing, as well as human recordings from clinical sleep studies, we demonstrate that model-based analysis of the interactions involved in spontaneous breathing can characterize the dynamics of the respiratory control system, and provide a useful tool for quantifying the contribution of various dynamic factors to ventilatory instability. The techniques have suggested novel approaches to titration of combination therapies, and clinical evaluations are now underway. We then study shared multivariate dynamics in physiological cohort time-series, assuming that the time-series are generated by switching among a finite collection of physiologically constrained dynamical models. Patients whose time-series exhibit similar dynamics may be grouped for monitoring and outcome prediction. We develop a novel parallelizable machine-learning algorithm for outcome-discriminative identification of the switching dynamics, using a probabilistic dynamic Bayesian network to initialize a deterministic neural network classifier. In validation studies involving simulated data and human laboratory recordings, the new technique significantly outperforms the standard expectation-maximization approach for identification of switching dynamics. In a clinical application, we show the prognostic value of assessing evolving dynamics in blood pressure time-series to predict mortality in a cohort of intensive care unit patients. A better understanding of the dynamics of physiological systems in both health and disease may enable clinicians to direct therapeutic interventions targeted to specific underlying mechanisms. The techniques developed in this thesis are general, and can be extended to other domains involving multi-dimensional cohort time-series. Thesis Supervisor: George C. Verghese Title: Professor, EECS, MIT Thesis Supervisor: Atul Malhotra Title: Associate Professor, Medicine, Harvard
Providing antiretroviral therapy for HIV infection.

Dramatic declines in the incidence of AIDS and the number of deaths from this disease began in the United States in 1996, in association with the widespread use of potent combinations of antiretroviral drugs. Subsequently, the rates of decline have slowed and begun to level. As of June 2000, more than 300,000 people were estimated to be living with AIDS. Each year, there are about 40,000 new infections with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and 16,000 deaths from AIDS. About one third of the 800,000 to 900,000 Americans estimated to be living with HIV or AIDS do not know they .
Do Anthropogenic Dark Earths Occur in the Interior of Borneo? Some Initial Observations from East Kalimantan

Anthropogenic soils of the Amazon Basin (Terra Preta, Terra Mulata) reveal that pre-Colombian peoples made lasting improvements in the agricultural potential of nutrient-poor soils. Some have argued that applying similar techniques could improve agriculture over much of the humid tropics, enhancing local livelihoods and food security, while also sequestering large quantities of carbon to mitigate climate change. Here, we present preliminary evidence for Anthropogenic Dark Earths (ADEs) in tropical Asia. Our surveys in East Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) identified several sites where soils possess an anthropogenic development and context similar in several respects to the Amazon’s ADEs. Similarities include riverside locations, presence of useful fruit trees, spatial extent as well as soil characteristics such as dark color, high carbon content (in some cases), high phosphorus levels, and improved apparent fertility in comparison to neighboring soils. Local people value these soils for cultivation but are unaware of their origins. We discuss these soils in the context of local history and land-use and identify numerous unknowns. Incomplete biomass burning appears key to these modified soils. More study is required to clarify soil transformations in Borneo and to determine under what circumstances such soil improvements might remain ongoing.
Efficient Analysis at Edge

Digitalization changes traditional business models by using digital technologies to improve existing offerings and to create new offerings. Current technological trends such as artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and predictive maintenance are ideal candidate technologies to enable digitalization use cases. Often, these technologies rely on the availability of large amounts of data and the capability to process these data efficiently. In contrast to consumer markets, industrial products must fulfill higher non-functional requirements such as fast response times, 24/7 availability and stability, real-time processing, safety, or security requirements. As a consequence, processing capabilities -- ranging from multicore and manycores to even high end parallel clusters -- have to be exploited to achieve necessary performance and stability needs. In this paper, we introduce a Distributed Multicore Monitoring Framework (MoMo) which is a reference monitoring solution developed at Siemens Corporate Technology. It can be used to easily build efficient and stable diagnostic solutions which can help to understand the correctness, availability, reliability, and performance of large-scale distributed systems based on live data. Due to its small footprint MoMo can be used to analyze data directly at the data source which, for instance, can significantly reduce the network load. While MoMo's efficiency comes from the usage of multicore processors (CPUs) for running analysis in parallel, its usability is guaranteed by its capability to easily integrate with other monitoring frameworks and its usage of SPL - a domain-specific language which allows user to easily define diagnostic algorithms.
An Epidemiologic Study of Pediatric Poisoning; a Six-month Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Intentional and unintentional poisoning are among the most common reasons for referrals to emergency department (ED). Therefore, the present study was designed to evaluate epidemiologic features and effective risk factors of intentional and unintentional poisoning in children. Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study was carried out in ED of Loghman Hakim Hospital, greatest referral poison center of Iran, Tehran during March to August 2014. Demographic data, medical history, history of psychiatric disease in child, the cause of poisoning, parents’ educational level, household monthly income, location of residence, history of addiction or divorce in family, and the poisoning intentionality were gathered. Data were analyzed using SPSS 18 and appropriate statistical tests based on the purpose of study. Results: 414 participants with the mean age of 4.2 ± 3.43 years were included (57.5% male). Children in the 0-4 year(s) age range had the most frequency with 281 (67.9%) cases. 29 (7%) cases were intentional (62% female, 76% in the 10-14 years old group). Methadone with 123 (29.7%) cases was the most frequent toxic agent in general and in unintentional cases. 10-14 years of age (p = 0.001), and the history of psychiatric disease in children (p <0.001), had a direct correlation with probability of intentional poisoning. While, history of addiction in the family showed an indirect correlation with this probability (p = 0.045). Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, most cases of poisoning in the children were unintentional methadone intoxication in boys in the 0-4 age range with a history of a psychiatric disease, and those who had a history of addiction in the family. In addition, the most powerful risk factor for the children’s intentional poisoning was their history of psychiatric disease. The history of addiction in the child’s family had indirect correlation with intentional intoxications.
A Survey of Research on Mobile Cloud Computing

The rapid development of mobile computing and cloud computing trigger novel computing paradigm-----Mobile Cloud Computing. This paper review current research effort towards Mobile Computing. First, we present several challenges for the design of Mobile Cloud Computing service. Second, a concept model has been proposed to analyze related research work. Third, we survey recent Mobile Cloud Computing architecture, application partition & offloading, and context-aware service.
A Belief-based Pixel Labeling Strategy for Medical and Satellite Image Segmentation

In this paper, a belief-based pixel labelling strategy is introduced and applied to image segmentation. The procedure exploits the results of a K-means clustering algorithm for first quantifying the membership degree of each pixel to a region in the image. Belief functions are then used to quantify the uncertainty about the pixel labelling. This theoretical framework allows to manage imprecise and uncertain information extracted from spatial neighbors. Using this strategy (classification + post-labelling), the segmentation scheme allows to perform a complementary approach combining region segmentation and edge detection. Segmentation results on different kinds of image are presented and allow to highlight the algorithm performances. Finally, the application of this methodology is also presented in case of 3D medical imaging and multi-spectral satellite images.
Preparation and Properties of High Performance Multilayered PANi/PMMA/PPG-b-PEG-b-PPG/FGHMDA Nanocomposites via in Situ Polymerization

ABSTRACT In this attempt, novel conjugated polymer/graphite nanocomposites with exposed surface area were fabricated by in situ polymerization using polyaniline, poly(methyl methacrylate) and poly(propylene glycol)-block-poly(ethylene glycol) block- poly(propylene glycol) as matrices and functionalized graphite as a filler. Structural and morphological analysis revealed the modification of graphite as well as oxidative polymerization of numerous matrices over the surface of modified graphite ensuing multilayered nanocomposites. The increased values of Tg (59 and 103°C) obtained from thermal analysis reflect the improved thermal stability of prepared nanocomposites and exhibit better adsorption capacity (35.5cm3/g). Maximum electrical conductivity (7.4 S/cm) was also observed for multilayered nanocomposite. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Logic Clause Analysis for Delay Optimization

In this paper, we present a novel method for topological delay optimization of combinational circuits. Unlike most previous techniques, optimization is performed after technology mapping. Therefore, exact gate delay information is known during optimization. Our method performs incremental network transformations, specifically substitutions of gate input or output signals by new gates. We present new theory which relates incremental network transformations to combinations of global clauses, and show how to detect such valid clause combinations. Employing techniques which originated in the test area, our method is capable to globally optimize large circuits. Comprehensive experimental results show that our method reduces the delay of large standard cell netlists by 23% on average. In contrast to most other delay optimization techniques, area reductions are achieved concurrently.
Tumor necrosis factor alpha as a marker of systemic and local in ﬂ ammation in “healthy” smokers

Background: Tobacco smoking induces a local and systemic inﬂ ammatory reaction and also a decline in pulmonary function. There are some novel noninvasive methods to measure the degree of inﬂ ammatory bronchial reaction, including the exhaled breath condensate (EBC) in which several inﬂ ammatory markers can be measured, including tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF- α ). There is a clear clinical need to develop methods that allow early detection of smokers at risk of losing pulmonary function. Objectives: The aims of the present study are: 1) to show that smokers show higher levels of TNF- α both in serum and EBC; 2) to analyze the possible inﬂ uence of gender, age, and weight on this parameter; and 3) to determine a possible association between smoking and pulmonary function parameters and TNF- α levels. Material and methods: We have prospectively analyzed two cohorts of smokers and nonsmokers subjects without any chronic or acute disease (within eight weeks of study initiation). We have performed pulmonary function tests with bronchodilators and also collected EBC and blood samples before smoking cessation. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS of TNF in serum and EBC. We have not conﬁ rmed any signiﬁ cant inﬂ uence of age or weight on TNF- α levels. These levels do not seem to be inﬂ uenced either by the amount of tobacco or the time since habit began. We have shown a modest relation between pulmonary function and TNF- α levels in EBC.
Novel test procedure for testing antimicrobially active materials

Abstract Antimicrobial coatings are typically tested for their activity and effectiveness based on an artificial procedure, the standard JIS Z 2801 (or ISO 22196). The test samples are contaminated with a predetermined concentration of bacteria and covered with a sterile film. Due to the artificial structure of this process, however, there is always the question of the validity in the practical application of these surfaces and how comparable this germ-reducing effect is to currently common disinfection measures. Therefore, we developed a more realistic test procedure in our laboratory. The test samples are inoculated and incubated at standard room conditions. To compare the antimicrobial activity to standard cleaning procedures also disinfection and wipe controls were performed. The results show that the antimicrobial test patterns we use have a strong efficacy. This could be shown reproducibly both with the standard method JIS Z 2801 as well as with our new test procedure.
Tigecycline: A Novel Broad-Spectrum Antimicrobial

OBJECTIVE: To review the literature on tigecycline, a novel antibiotic. DATA SOURCES: References were identified through MEDLINE (1966–February 2007) and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts(1970–February 2007) databases, using the key words tigecycline, glycylcycline, complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSI), complicated intraabdominal infections (cIAI), and in vitro. Additional articles for this review were identified by reviewing the bibliographies of articles cited. The package insert was also used as a reference. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION: In vitro, clinical, and pharmacokinetic studies evaluating tigecycline's safety and efficacy were selected. DATA SYNTHESIS: A tigecycline 100 mg intravenous loading dose followed by an intravenous infusion of 50 mg every 12 hours was shown in clinical trials to be as effective as comparator antibiotics in treating cSSSI and cIAI. Tigecycline has a broad spectrum of activity that includes many resistant bacteria with few treatment options, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and extended-spectrum β-lactamase—producing bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. In cSSSI studies, tigecycline was found to be noninferior to vancomycin plus aztreonam with test-of-cure rates of 86.5% and 88.6%, respectively. Tigecycline was also found to be noninferior to imipenem/ cilastatin in cIAI studies; clinical cure rates were 86.1% and 86.2%, respectively. In vitro activity has been demonstrated against other multidrug-resistant microorganisms of concern, such as Acinetobacterspp. Although it has a broad spectrum of activity, tigecycline has inadequate activity against Pseudomonasspp. Nausea and vomiting were the most frequently reported adverse effects. CONCLUSIONS: Tigecycline is approved for the treatment of cSSSI and cIAI infections. To date, little resistance to tigecycline has been reported; however, with widespread use of the drug, resistance will likely occur. Since published studies have not dealt with seriously ill patients, it is recommended that, until further studies have been completed, other agents be used in the treatment of these patients unless no option other than tigecycline exists.