Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Recent progress in scaling InP HEMT TMIC technology to 850 GHz

In this paper, recent work on pushing InP HEMT amplifier technology to 850 GHz is reported. In particular, we have demonstrated on-wafer gain at this frequency. To our knowledge, this is the first time gain has been reported at this frequency. This achievement is possible by transistor scaling, frontside and backside feature scaling and detailed transistor modeling and design.
Loss of Assembly of the Main Basement Membrane Collagen, Type IV, but Not Fibril-forming Collagens and Embryonic Death in Collagen Prolyl 4-Hydroxylase I Null Mice*

Collagen prolyl 4-hydroxylases (C-P4Hs) catalyze the formation of the 4-hydroxyproline residues that are essential for the generation of triple helical collagen molecules. The vertebrate C-P4Hs I, II, and III are [α(I)]2β2, [α(II)]2β2, and [α(III)]2β2 tetramers with identical β subunits. We generated mice with targeted inactivation of the P4ha1 gene encoding the catalytic α subunit of C-P4H I to analyze its specific functions. The null mice died after E10.5, showing an overall developmental delay and a dilated endoplasmic reticulum in their cells. The capillary walls were frequently ruptured, but the capillary density remained unchanged. The C-P4H activity level in the null embryos and fibroblasts cultured from them was 20% of that in the wild type, being evidently due to the other two isoenzymes. Collagen IV immunofluorescence was almost absent in the basement membranes of the null embryos, and electron microscopy revealed disrupted basement membranes, while immunoelectron microscopy showed a lack of collagen IV in them. The amount of soluble collagen IV was increased in the null embryos and cultured null fibroblasts, indicating a lack of assembly of collagen IV molecules into insoluble structures, probably due to their underhydroxylation and hence abnormal conformation. In contrast, the null embryos had collagen I and III fibrils with a typical cross-striation pattern but slightly increased diameters, and the null fibroblasts secreted fibril-forming collagens, although less efficiently than wild-type cells. The primary cause of death of the null embryos was thus most likely an abnormal assembly of collagen IV.
Blood Pressure Components in Clinical Hypertension

This review offers a critical evaluation of the remarkable progress in antihypertensive therapy since its inception. Despite the introduction of newer, more sophisticated drugs, treatment results have remained stable. Problems impeding further improvement include limited patient compliance, clinical inertia, incomplete adherence to guidelines, and dependence on brachial artery cuff pressures for diagnosis, risk assessment, and treatment response. Brachial artery systolic and pulse pressures do not reliably represent aortic or carotid artery pressures, which are better risk predictors for the heart and brain. Mean pressure, which is the same throughout the arterial tree, is directly measurable by cuff oscillometry, and might become the best single risk predictor. Available drugs have limited ability to decrease the aortic stiffness that is responsible for the elevated systolic blood pressure of aging. Therefore, to improve risk assessment and therapeutic benefit, we might include mean blood pressure and pulse pressure into blood pressure measurements, pursue efforts to measure central blood pressure, and search for new drugs to reduce arterial stiffness.
Fluid Resuscitation Guided by Sublingual Partial Pressure of Carbon Dioxide During Hemorrhagic Shock in a Porcine Model

ABSTRACT To avoid aggressive fluid resuscitation during hemorrhagic shock, fluid resuscitation is best guided by a specific measurement of tissue perfusion. We investigated whether fluid resuscitation guided by sublingual PCO2 would reduce the amount of resuscitation fluid without compromising the outcomes of hemorrhagic shock. Ten male domestic pigs weighing between 34 and 37 kg were used. Forty-five percent of estimated blood volume was removed during an interval of 1 h. The animals were then randomized to receive fluid resuscitation based on either sublingual PCO2 or blood pressure (BP). In the sublingual PCO2–guided group, resuscitation was initiated when sublingual PCO2 exceeded 70 Torr and stopped when it decreased to 50 Torr. In the BP-guided group, resuscitation was initiated when mean aortic pressure decreased to 60 mmHg and stopped when it increased to 90 mmHg. First, Ringer’s lactate solution (RLS) of 30 mL kg−1 was administered; subsequently, the shed blood was transfused if sublingual PCO2 remained greater than 50 Torr in the sublingual PCO2–guided group or mean aortic pressure was less than 90 mmHg in the BP-guided group. All the animals were monitored for 4 h and observed for an additional 68 h. In the sublingual PCO2–guided group, fluid resuscitation was required in only 40% of the animals. In addition, a significantly lower volume of RLS (170 ± 239 mL, P = 0.005 vs. BP-guided group) was administered without the need for blood infusion in this group. However, in the BP-guided group, all the animals required a significantly larger volume of fluid (955 ± 381 mL), including both RLS and blood. There were no differences in postresuscitation tissue microcirculation, myocardial and neurologic function, and 72-h survival between groups. During hemorrhagic shock, fluid resuscitation guided by sublingual PCO2 significantly reduced the amount of resuscitation fluid without compromising the outcomes of hemorrhagic shock.
Biology and adoptive cell therapy of Epstein‐Barr virus‐associated lymphoproliferative disorders in recipients of marrow allografts

Summary: Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV) is an ubiquitous herpesvirus which is carried as a latent infection of B lymphocytes and salivary gland epithelial cells in over 90% of normal adults. Latently infected IBV‐transformed B cells circulate at low frequency in the blood for the life of the host. These transformed B cells stimulate a heterogeneous and complex host cell response, ultimately leading to the development and maintenance of high frequencies of HLA‐restricted T cells specific for the EBV‐encoded nuclear antigens EBNA2–EBNA6 and the latency membrane proteins LMP‐1 and LMP‐2. Responses to latent EBV‐encoded proteins are hierarchical with responses to certain epitopes predominating, dependent upon the HLA genotype of the host. Profound suppression of T‐Cell immunity may permit the emergence of polyclonal, oligoclonal or monoclonal EBV antigen‐expressing lymphoproliferative disorders or malignant B‐cell lymphomas expressing these latent EBV antigens. Adoptive transfer of small numbers of peripheral blood mononuclear cells or HLA‐partially matched T cells from in vitro expanded EBV‐specific T‐cell lines derived from a seropositive marrow donor has induced durable regressions of bulky, widely metastatic monoclonal EBV lymphomas in a high proportion of cases. This review describes the current state of knowledge and hypothesis regarding the biology and immunology of EBV infection in the normal host, the features of donor, host and virus which contribute to the development of EBV‐associated lymphoproliferative diseases and the mechanisms whereby they are controlled by adoptive transfer of immune T cells.
Nutritional Supplementation Increases Rifampin Exposure among Tuberculosis Patients Coinfected with HIV

ABSTRACT Nutritional supplementation to tuberculosis (TB) patients has been associated with increased weight and reduced mortality, but its effect on the pharmacokinetics of first-line anti-TB drugs is unknown. A cohort of 100 TB patients (58 men; median age, 35 [interquartile range {IQR}, 29 to 40] years, and median body mass index [BMI], 18.8 [17.3 to 19.9] kg/m2) were randomized to receive nutritional supplementation during the intensive phase of TB treatment. Rifampin plasma concentrations were determined after 1 week and 2 months of treatment. The effects of nutritional supplementation, HIV, time on treatment, body weight, and SLCO1B1 rs4149032 genotype were examined using a population pharmacokinetic model. The model adjusted for body size via allometric scaling, accounted for clearance autoinduction, and detected an increase in bioavailability (+14%) for the patients in the continuation phase. HIV coinfection in patients not receiving the supplementation was found to decrease bioavailability by 21.8%, with a median maximum concentration of drug in serum (Cmax) and area under the concentration-time curve from 0 to 24 h (AUC0–24) of 5.6 μg/ml and 28.6 μg · h/ml, respectively. HIV-coinfected patients on nutritional supplementation achieved higher Cmax and AUC0–24 values of 6.4 μg/ml and 31.6 μg · h/ml, respectively, and only 13.3% bioavailability reduction. No effect of the SLCO1B1 rs4149032 genotype was observed. In conclusion, nutritional supplementation during the first 2 months of TB treatment reduces the decrease in rifampin exposure observed in HIV-coinfected patients but does not affect exposure in HIV-uninfected patients. If confirmed in other studies, the use of defined nutritional supplementation in HIV-coinfected TB patients should be considered in TB control programs. (This study has the controlled trial registration number ISRCTN 16552219.)
Benzyl Isothiocyanate–Mediated Inhibition of Histone Deacetylase Leads to NF-κB Turnoff in Human Pancreatic Carcinoma Cells

NF-κB/p65 is constitutively activated in pancreatic cancers, where it plays a critical role in the transcriptional activation of multiple cell survival genes. We have previously shown the apoptosis-inducing effects of benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC) in pancreatic cancer cells. We hypothesized that inhibition of NF-κB/p65 could be the mechanism of BITC-induced apoptosis. Therefore, the effect of BITC on NF-κB/p65 was evaluated in BxPC-3, Capan-2, and normal HPDE-6 cells by Western blotting, transcriptional and DNA-binding activity, and immunohistochemistry in the xenografted tumors. Our results reveal a remarkable decrease in the phosphorylation of NF-κB/p65 at Ser536 in both BxPC-3 and Capan-2 cells by BITC treatment. The expression of NF-κB/p65 was downregulated significantly in BxPC-3 cells, whereas it remained unchanged in Capan-2 cells. BITC treatment caused a significant decrease in NF-κB transcriptional and DNA-binding activity in both BxPC-3 and Capan-2 cells. A drastic decrease was observed in the expression and reporter activity of cyclin D1 in both the cell lines. Moreover, BITC also caused a significant decrease in the expression and activity of histone deacetylase (HDAC) 1 and HDAC3 in BxPC-3 and HDAC3 in Capan-2 cells. Overexpression of HDAC1 or HDAC3 abrogated the effects of BITC. BITC treatment did not cause any change in HDAC expression in normal HPDE-6 cells. Immunohistochemical analysis of tumors from BITC-treated mice showed significantly reduced staining for NF-κB, cyclin D1, HDAC1, and HDAC3 compared with control. Our results suggest inhibition of HDAC1/HDAC3 by BITC as a plausible mechanism of NF-κB inactivation, resulting in the in vitro and in vivo growth suppression of pancreatic cancer cells. Mol Cancer Ther; 9(6); 1596–608. ©2010 AACR.
SUBFOVEAL CHOROIDAL THICKNESS IN RETINAL ANGIOMATOUS PROLIFERATION

Purpose: To investigate the subfoveal choroidal thickness in patients with retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP). Methods: In consecutive patients with RAP, subfoveal choroidal thickness was retrospectively measured by the use of enhanced depth imaging spectral domain optical coherence tomography in comparison with age-matched control subjects. Results: Nineteen eyes of 19 patients with RAP and 32 eyes of 32 control subjects were included in this study. No significant differences were found between the eyes with RAP and the control eyes regarding age, gender, spherical equivalent, and axial length. Mean subfoveal choroidal thickness in 19 eyes with RAP was significantly less than that in the control eyes (129.5 ± 35.8 &mgr;m vs. 201.3 ± 55.0 &mgr;m, P < 0.0001). The difference in mean subfoveal choroidal thickness between eyes with Stage 2 RAP (132.8 ± 38.2 &mgr;m) and eyes with Stage 3 RAP (126.4 ± 36.6 &mgr;m) was not significant, though each measurement was significantly less than that in the control eyes (P < 0.001 and P = 0.002, respectively). Conclusion: Eyes with RAP had a significantly thinner subfoveal choroid compared with normal eyes. Such morphologic features may be related to the pathologic mechanism of RAP.
Trophic Cascades in a Formerly Cod-Dominated Ecosystem

Removal of top predators from ecosystems can result in cascading effects through the trophic levels below, completely restructuring the food web. Cascades have been observed in small-scale or simple food webs, but not in large, complex, open-ocean ecosystems. Using data spanning many decades from a once cod-dominated northwest Atlantic ecosystem, we demonstrate a trophic cascade in a large marine ecosystem. Several cod stocks in other geographic areas have also collapsed without recovery, suggesting the existence of trophic cascades in these systems.
Sequence Alignment Guided By Common Motifs Described By Context Free Grammars

We introduce a new problem, context-free grammars (CFG)-guided pairwise sequence alignment, whose most immediate application is the alignment of RNA sequences that share motifs described by context-free grammars. Such motifs include common RNA secondary (sub)structures (such as stem-loops) that are recognizable in sequences. The problem aims to align given sequences by including, from a given set of weighted motifs, any number of motifs in any common order possible in the sequences aligned to maximize the resulting score. The score is a function of included motifs (there is a given score for each motif which is the same for every variation of the same motif), and a set of ordinary pairwise sequence alignments where these motifs are not included (non-motifmatching regions). The main differences of this new problem from existing constrained sequence alignment problems are that the new problem allows using more complex motifs that are described by context free grammars, and considers multiple such motifs that can be found in given sequences in many different orders from which a score-optimal order is sought. We present a dynamic programming solution for this problem. Our definitions and results can be generalized to local and/or multiple sequence alignment problems guided by context free grammars for various scoring schemes.
Article from Policy Perspectives

Recently, the Utah Education Policy Center (UEPC) at the University of Utah completed a study of charter schools in Utah for the Utah State Legislature. In this study, we collected data from surveys of charter and district administrators and charter and district board as well as parents, and interviews with a broad spectrum of charter school, district, and state administrators and board members from across Utah. We gathered information about charter school purpose, authorization, governance, laws and regulations, training and technical assistance, as well as the reasons parents enroll or withdraw their children from charter schools. This article addresses the primary conclusions of the report, including policy considerations relevant to Utah’s charter school program. This article is excerpted from the full study report, which is available at http://elp.ed.utah.edu/policy/index.htm .
General Path Planning Methodology for Leader-Follower Robot Formations

This paper describes a robust algorithm for mobile robot formations based on the Voronoi Fast Marching path planning method. This is based on the propagation of a wave throughout the model of the environment, the wave expanding faster as the wave's distance from obstacles increases. This method provides smooth and safe trajectories and its computational efficiency allows us to maintain a good response time. The proposed method is based on a local-minima-free planner; it is complete and has an O(n) complexity order where n is the number of cells of the map. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm generates good trajectories.
Students' meaning making in a mobile assisted Chinese idiom learning environment

In recent years, we witness the rise of communicative and contextualized language learning approaches that is concomitant with developments of Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL). In this paper, we present a pilot study in MALL that emphasizes "creative learner outputs" and contextualized meaning making. In learning Chinese idioms, students used smartphones on a one-device-per-person basis to capture photos of the real-life contexts pertaining to the idioms, and to construct sentences with them. Subsequently, in-class or online discussions took place, which would enhance the students' understanding in the proper usage of the idioms. The learning design is grounded in the seamless learning model that encompass in-class formal learning and out-of-class informal setting, and personal and social learning spaces. The students' ongoing, open-ended, personal-to-social meaning making process and artifacts have indeed shown some indicators of "seamless language learning" that has the potential of transforming language learning into an authentic learning experience.
Sleep and Psychiatric Disorders: A Meta-analysis

• We reviewed the literature on sleep in psychiatric disorders and evaluated the data by meta-analysis, a statistical method designed to combine data from different studies. A total of 177 studies with data from 7151 patients and controls were reviewed. Most psychiatric groups showed significantly reduced sleep efficiency and total sleep time, accounted for by decrements in non-rapid eye movement sleep. Rapid eye movement sleep time was relatively preserved in all groups, and percentage of rapid eye movement sleep was increased in affective disorders. Reduction in rapid eye movement sleep latency was seen in affective disorders but occurred in other categories as well. Although no single sleep variable appeared to have absolute specificity for any particular psychiatric disorder, patterns of sleep disturbances associated with categories of psychiatric illnesses were observed. Overall, findings for patients with affective disorders differed most frequently and significantly from those for normal controls.
Hodgkin Lymphoma: Pathology, Pathogenesis, and a Plethora of Potential Prognostic Predictors

Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) encompasses 2 unique clinicopathologic entities, classical Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL) (∼95% of cases) and nodular lymphocyte predominant HL (∼5% of cases). Both subtypes demonstrate a paucity of surreptitious (in CHL) neoplastic B cells within a background of reactive inflammatory cells underscoring both the relatedness of these 2 entities to each other, as well as their distinction from other types of lymphoid neoplasia. Clinically, they are primarily nodal diseases that disseminate in a predictable manner to contiguous nodal regions. The biology of HL as a whole, as well as the genetic and pathologic features that distinguish CHL from nodular lymphocyte predominant HL and other lymphomas has been the subject of a wealth of investigation in recent decades. The aim of this review is to detail the pathologic features of HL and to highlight the recent insights into its molecular basis and the myriad prognostic markers being described.
Antioxidant capacity and oxygen radical diseases in the preterm newborn.

BACKGROUND Bronchopulmonary dysplasia, intraventricular hemorrhage, necrotizing enterocolitis, and retinopathy of prematurity may be different manifestations of oxygen radical diseases of prematurity (ORDP). OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that the antioxidant capacity of cord blood serum will predict risk of ORDP. DESIGN An inception cohort of premature neonates was followed up from birth until discharge or death to determine if outcome was related to cord blood serum antioxidant capacity, as determined by a manual assay measuring the relative inhibition of oxidation of 2,2'-azino-di-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline)-6 sulfonic acid (ABTS). Possible correlations between antioxidant capacity and various perinatal factors were also tested. SETTING Level 3 newborn intensive care unit. PATIENTS All inborn very low-birth-weight neonates from whom cord blood was available and for whom maternal consent was obtained were included. Newborns who died in the first week of life or who had major congenital malformations were excluded. A convenience sample of newborns weighing more than 1500 g was used to perfect assay and explore confounders. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Significant ORDP was defined as the presence of intraventricular hemorrhage greater than grade 2, retinopathy of prematurity greater than stage 1, bronchopulmonary dysplasia at the postconceptional age of 36 weeks, or necrotizing enterocolitis with the hypothesis that neonates with ORDP will have lower antioxidant capacity in cord blood serum. RESULTS Serum antioxidant capacity at birth correlated with gestational age for the entire sample of 41 neonates and for the 26 neonates born before 32 weeks' gestation. After correction for gestational age, cord serum antioxidant capacity did not correlate with maternal smoking, preeclampsia, chorioamnionitis, cord pH Apgar scores, or any of the ORDP studied. CONCLUSION Cord serum antioxidant capacity correlates with gestational age but does not predict ORDP risk.
Automatic outer and inner breast tissue segmentation using multi-parametric MRI images of breast tumor patients

The objectives of the study were to develop a framework for automatic outer and inner breast tissue segmentation using multi-parametric MRI images of the breast tumor patients; and to perform breast density and tumor tissue analysis. MRI of the breast was performed on 30 patients at 3T-MRI. T1, T2 and PD-weighted(W) images, with and without fat saturation(WWFS), and dynamic-contrast-enhanced(DCE)-MRI data were acquired. The proposed automatic segmentation approach was performed in two steps. In step-1, outer segmentation of breast tissue from rest of body parts was performed on structural images (T2-W/T1-W/PD-W without fat saturation images) using automatic landmarks detection technique based on operations like profile screening, Otsu thresholding, morphological operations and empirical observation. In step-2, inner segmentation of breast tissue into fibro-glandular(FG), fatty and tumor tissue was performed. For validation of breast tissue segmentation, manual segmentation was carried out by two radiologists and similarity coefficients(Dice and Jaccard) were computed for outer as well as inner tissues. FG density and tumor volume were also computed and analyzed. The proposed outer and inner segmentation approach worked well for all the subjects and was validated by two radiologists. The average Dice and Jaccard coefficients value for outer segmentation using T2-W images, obtained by two radiologists, were 0.977 and 0.951 respectively. These coefficient values for FG tissue were 0.915 and 0.875 respectively whereas for tumor tissue, values were 0.968 and 0.95 respectively. The volume of segmented tumor ranged over 2.1 cm3–7.08 cm3. The proposed approach provided automatic outer and inner breast tissue segmentation, which enables automatic calculations of breast tissue density and tumor volume. This is a complete framework for outer and inner breast segmentation method for all structural images.