Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An iteratively refined circuital model of CRLH leaky-wave antennas derived from the mushroom structure

Metamaterial leaky-wave antennas (LWAs), which operate in their fundamental guided mode (ν = 0), have grown in popularity thanks to their full-space scanning possibilities [1]. Several technologies can be employed to practically implement this type of antennas, such us microstrip, CPW, CPS or mushroom-like periodically loaded waveguides [2]. In order to analyze these structures, equivalent circuit models may be used [1]. These models are able to accurately compute the propagation constant of the structure under analysis, but have some difficulties to obtain the radiation characteristics. Usually, time-consuming full-wave simulations are required for this last step. In this paper, a novel and efficient modal-based iterative circuital model is presented for the accurate analysis of the complex propagation constant related to mushroom-like CRLH LWAs.
Involvement of neurokinin receptors in the induction but not the maintenance of mechanical allodynia in rat flexor motoneurones.

1. Intrathecal (i.t.) injections of the (tachykinin) NK1 receptor agonist, substance P methyl ester (SPME; 20 pmol), or the NK2 receptor agonist, neurokinin A (NKA; 20 pmol), substantially decreased the cutaneous mechanical threshold and markedly enhanced the touch‐evoked response of posterior biceps femoris‐semitendinosus (PBF‐ST) spinal flexor motoneurones in decerebrate‐spinal rats. This cutaneous mechanical reflex allodynia was prevented by pretreatment with the NK1 antagonist RP 67580 (2.28 nmol, i.t.) and the NK2 antagonist MEN 10376 (0.7 nmol, i.t.), respectively. 2. Electrical stimulation of the sural nerve at C fibre strength or cutaneous application of the irritant, mustard oil, produced prolonged cutaneous mechanical allodynia in PBF‐ST motoneurones (15 min and > 1 h, respectively). Pretreatment with RP 67580 but not MEN 10376 prevented this, but when RP 67580 was administered 25 min after the application of mustard oil, the established hypersensitivity of the flexor motor reflex was not reversed. The enantiomer of RP 67580, RP 68651 was without effect. 3. Injection of bradykinin (60 microM, 80 microliters) into the gastrocnemius muscle increased the cutaneous mechanical hypersensitivity of PBF‐ST flexor motoneurones for 40‐50 min. MEN 10376, but not RP 67580, prevented this, but only when administered prior to the bradykinin injection. 4. These results suggest that the induction, but not the maintenance, of cutaneous mechanical allodynia in flexor motoneurones is NK receptor dependent, with cutaneous C fibre conditioning inputs acting via NK1 and muscle C fibre conditioning inputs via NK2 receptor subtypes.
Dietary cholesterol and cardiovascular disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND Dietary cholesterol has been suggested to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), which has led to US recommendations to reduce cholesterol intake. OBJECTIVE The authors examine the effects of dietary cholesterol on CVD risk in healthy adults by using systematic review and meta-analysis. DESIGN MEDLINE, Cochrane Central, and Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau Abstracts databases were searched through December 2013 for prospective studies that quantified dietary cholesterol. Investigators independently screened citations and verified extracted data on study and participant characteristics, outcomes, and quality. Random-effect models meta-analysis was used when at least 3 studies reported the same CVD outcome. RESULTS Forty studies (17 cohorts in 19 publications with 361,923 subjects and 19 trials in 21 publications with 632 subjects) published between 1979 and 2013 were eligible for review. Dietary cholesterol was not statistically significantly associated with any coronary artery disease (4 cohorts; no summary RR), ischemic stroke (4 cohorts; summary RR: 1.13; 95% CI: 0.99, 1.28), or hemorrhagic stroke (3 cohorts; summary RR: 1.09; 95% CI: 0.79, 1.50). Dietary cholesterol statistically significantly increased both serum total cholesterol (17 trials; net change: 11.2 mg/dL; 95% CI: 6.4, 15.9) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (14 trials; net change: 6.7 mg/dL; 95% CI: 1.7, 11.7 mg/dL). Increases in LDL cholesterol were no longer statistically significant when intervention doses exceeded 900 mg/d. Dietary cholesterol also statistically significantly increased serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (13 trials; net change: 3.2 mg/dL; 95% CI: 0.9, 9.7 mg/dL) and the LDL to high-density lipoprotein ratio (5 trials; net change: 0.2; 95% CI: 0.0, 0.3). Dietary cholesterol did not statistically significantly change serum triglycerides or very-low-density lipoprotein concentrations. CONCLUSION Reviewed studies were heterogeneous and lacked the methodologic rigor to draw any conclusions regarding the effects of dietary cholesterol on CVD risk. Carefully adjusted and well-conducted cohort studies would be useful to identify the relative effects of dietary cholesterol on CVD risk.
BFO control tuning of a PMSM high speed drive

In this paper a new online adjustable adaptive field weakening, based on the Bacterial foraging optimization algorithms is presented. In the traction and electric vehicle applications, the high speed mode is important. Effectively the Field weakening technique is needed. However in the environment supported by the system, many parameters can influence on the global control technique, like temperature, dust or vibration. Well, to resolve these problems a new adaptive control technique, support this variations, is presented in this paper.
Multi-Agent Modeling to Understand the Impact of Stakeholders' Decisions in a Residential Land Development Project in Southern Alberta

The objective of this project is to build a multi-agent system to simulate the decision making process of stakeholders in a residential land development project and the influence of such decisions on land-use resources. The environment over which decisions are made is Strathmore, Alberta, where competition for land-use resources is increasing as a result of its proximity to the City of Calgary. The stakeholders simulated as agents are the citizens, the town planner and the developer. Interviews were conducted with representatives of each group to gather information about their goals, decision making process and influence. Simulations were performed over 30 years with a one year interval to mimic different land development scenarios. The model generates a series of land-use maps showing the changes in the environment based on the goals and decisions of agents. Conceptual and operational validation is currently done with experts. When fully tested, this model will represent a valuable tool to better understand the complex interactions among several stakeholders involved in the land redesignation process and forecast the cumulative impact of their decisions on the environment.
The ATCA intraday variability survey of extragalactic radio sources

We present the results of an Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) survey for intra-day variability (IDV) of the total and polarized flux densities of 118 compact, flat spectrum, extragalactic radio sources from the Parkes 2.7 GHz Survey. A total of 22 total flux density IDV sources were discovered and 15 sources were found to show IDV of their polarized flux density. We discuss the statistical properties of the IDV sources, including the distribution of source modulation indices, and the dependence of the variability amplitude on source spectral index and on Galactic position. We suggest interstellar scintillation (ISS) in the Galactic interstellar medium as the most likely mechanism for IDV. Even so, the inferred high brightness temperatures cannot be easily explained.
Eff Directly in OCaml

The language Eff is an OCaml-like language serving as a prototype implementation of the theory of algebraic effects, intended for experimentation with algebraic effects on a large scale. We present the embedding of Eff into OCaml, using the library of delimited continuations or the multicore OCaml branch. We demonstrate the correctness of the embedding denotationally, relying on the tagless-final-style interpreter-based denotational semantics, including the novel, direct denotational semantics of multi-prompt delimited control. The embedding is systematic, lightweight, performant and supports even higher-order, 'dynamic' effects with their polymorphism. OCaml thus may be regarded as another implementation of Eff, broadening the scope and appeal of that language.
La paléogénétique en tant qu’approche archéométrique au cours des 30 dernières années

La paleogenetique, l’etude genetique des organismes et populations du passe, est devenue possible quand les methodes de la biologie moleculaire ont permis l’analyse de l’ADN preserve en etat tres degrade et en tres faible quantite dans certains restes biologiques anciens comme des ossements, des dents, des poils, ou encore des tissus mous de momies. Ces etudes ont contribue de maniere tres significative a l’archeologie, la paleontologie, la paleopathologie ou encore la paleoecologie. Plus recemment, le progres des methodes de sequencage de l’ADN a conduit a un nouveau saut quantique de ce domaine puisque le sequencage de nouvelle generation rend possible non seulement l’analyse de quelques genes mais aussi de genomes entiers des organismes du passe augmentant de plusieurs ordres de grandeur la quantite d’informations que l’on peut obtenir. Ceci a permis une revision de notre vision des dernieres etapes de l’evolution humaine et du peuplement de l’Eurasie et de l’Amerique, mais aussi des processus de domestication des animaux et de certaines plantes, de l’evolution des populations sauvages animales et vegetales en reponse aux changements climatiques, de l’evolution des pathogenes responsables d’epidemies, etc. La paleogenomique a ainsi deja reussi a revolutionner l’idee que nous nous sommes faite de l’evolution recente de notre espece, et on peut legitimement attendre d’elle d’autres tres belles contributions a l’archeologie.
Implementing antimicrobial stewardship in the Australian private hospital system: a qualitative study.

OBJECTIVE To explore organisational factors and barriers contributing to limited uptake of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) in Australian private hospitals and to determine solutions for AMS implementation. METHODS A qualitative study using a series of focus group discussions was conducted in a large private hospital making use of a semistructured interview guide to facilitate discussion among clinical and non-clinical stakeholders. A thematic analysis using five sequential components that mapped and interpreted emergent themes surrounding AMS implementation was undertaken by a multidisciplinary team of researchers. RESULTS Analysis revealed that autonomy of consultant specialists was perceived as being of greater significance in private hospitals compared with public hospitals. Use of an expert team providing antimicrobial prescribing advice and education without intruding on existing patient-specialist relationships was proposed by participants as an acceptable method of introducing AMS in private hospitals. There was more opportunity for nursing and pharmacist involvement, as well as empowering patients. Opportunities were identified for the hospital executive to market an AMS service as a feature that promoted excellence in patient care. CONCLUSIONS Provision of advice from experts, championing by clinical leaders, marketing by hospital executives and involving nurses, pharmacists and patients should be considered during implementation of AMS in private hospitals.
Frequency and clinical significance of delusions across cultures

ABSTRACT– The pattern of delusions in a cross‐cultural hospital population was studied. It was found that there were cultural differences in persecutory, grandiose and religious, and sexual and fantastic delusions, accounted for mainly by the relatively higher frequencies in the African and West Indian cultural groups. These phenomena can be understood in terms of the cultural backgrounds of these groups. It is further argued that similarly defined persecutory delusions have a wide clinical significance that goes beyond schizophrenia in some cultural groups.
Differential Susceptibility to Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Infection of Myeloid and Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells

ABSTRACT Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection of dendritic cells (DCs) plays an important role in HIV-1 transmission and pathogenesis. Here, we studied the susceptibility of ex vivo-isolated CD11c+ myeloid DCs (MDCs) and CD123+ plasmacytoid DCs (PDCs) to HIV-1 infection and the function of these cells early after infection. Both DC subsets were susceptible to CCR5- and CXCR4-using HIV-1 isolates (BaL and IIIB, respectively). However, MDCs were more susceptible to HIV-1BaL infection than donor-matched PDCs. In addition, HIV-1BaL infected MDCs more efficiently than HIV-1IIIB, whereas PDCs were equally susceptible to both isolates. While exposure to HIV-1 alone resulted in only weak maturation of DCs, Toll-like receptor 7/8 ligation induced full maturation in both infected and uninfected DCs. Maturation did not increase HIV-1 replication in infected DCs, and infected DCs retained their ability to produce tumor necrosis factor alpha after stimulation. Both HIV-1 isolates induced alpha interferon production exclusively in PDCs, irrespective of productive infection. In conclusion, PDCs and MDCs were susceptible to HIV-1 infection, but neither displayed functional defects as a consequence of infection. The difference in susceptibility of PDCs and MDCs to HIV-1 may have implications for HIV-1 transmission and DC-mediated transfer of HIV-1 to T cells.
Diagnosis of Allergic Fungal Sinusitis

Allergic fungal sinusitis is a noninvasive disease first recognized approximately one decade ago. It accounts for approximately 6% to 8% of all chronic sinusitis requiring surgical intervention and has become a subject of increasing interest to otolaryngologists and related specialists. Although certain signs and symptoms, as well as radiographic, intraoperative, and pathologic findings, may cause the physician to suspect allergic fungal sinusitis, no standards have been defined for establishing the diagnosis. It is extremely important to recognize allergic fungal sinusitis and differentiate it from chronic bacterial sinusitis and other forms of fungal sinusitis because the treatments and prognoses for these disorders vary significantly. To delineate a set of diagnostic criteria, we prospectively evaluated our most recent 15 patients with allergic fungal sinusitis. An allergy evaluation confirmed atopy through a strong history of inhalant mold allergies, an elevated total immunoglobulin E level, or a positive result of a skin test or radioallergosorbent test to fungal antigens in 100% of patients. All 15 patients had nasal polyposis, and 8 of 15 had asthma. There was a unilateral predominance in 13 of 15 cases. A characteristic computerized tomography finding of serpiginous areas of high attenuation in affected sinuses was seen in all patients, and 12 of 15 patients had some degree of radiographic bone erosion. Pathologic examination uniformly revealed eosinophilic mucus without fungal invasion into soft tissue; Charcot-Leyden crystals and peripheral eosinophilic were each observed in 6 of 15 patients. Every patient had fungus identified on fungal smear, although only 11 of 15 fungal cultures were positive. Therefore, for the diagnosis of allergic fungal sinusitis to be established, the following criteria should be met: (1) type I hypersensitivity confirmed by history, skin tests, or serology; (2) nasal polyposis; (3) characteristic computed tomography signs; (4) eosinophilic mucus without fungal invasion into sinus tissue; and (5) positive fungal stain of sinus contents removed during surgery. Radiographic bone erosion does not necessarily imply invasive disease, and a positive fungal culture, although desirable, is not necessary to confirm the diagnosis. Unilateral predominance of disease, a history of asthma, Charcot-Leyden crystals, and peripheral eosinophilla corroborate the diagnosis but are not always present. Perhaps because of the novelty of the disease, much misunderstanding surrounds allergic fungal sinusitis. Misdiagnosis is common, recurrence rates are high, and proper treatment remains elusive. Before proceeding with other advances, a common understanding of the diagnosis of allergic fungal sinusitis is mandatory.
Regeneration of 10 Gbps BPSK signals through phase sensitive amplification coupled with injection locking

Phase squeezing using phase sensitive amplifier (PSA) typically involves an increase in amplitude noise which when propagated through a multi span link may couple it back into phase through nonlinear processes in the fiber. Through our work we propose and demonstrate a combination of semiconductor optical amplifier based-PSA and injection locking (IL) of semiconductor laser to squeeze both amplitude and phase noise thereby improving the quality of regeneration. We also investigate the effect of the sequence of the two squeezing processes on the quality of regeneration. We conclusively prove that, under optimal operating conditions, appropriate sequencing of amplitude squeezing and phase squeezing is indeed capable of obtaining a better overall noise performance.
A Naive Bayes machine learning approach to risk prediction using censored, time‐to‐event data

Predicting an individual's risk of experiencing a future clinical outcome is a statistical task with important consequences for both practicing clinicians and public health experts. Modern observational databases such as electronic health records provide an alternative to the longitudinal cohort studies traditionally used to construct risk models, bringing with them both opportunities and challenges. Large sample sizes and detailed covariate histories enable the use of sophisticated machine learning techniques to uncover complex associations and interactions, but observational databases are often ‘messy’, with high levels of missing data and incomplete patient follow‐up. In this paper, we propose an adaptation of the well‐known Naive Bayes machine learning approach to time‐to‐event outcomes subject to censoring. We compare the predictive performance of our method with the Cox proportional hazards model which is commonly used for risk prediction in healthcare populations, and illustrate its application to prediction of cardiovascular risk using an electronic health record dataset from a large Midwest integrated healthcare system. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Early abnormalities of brainstem auditory evoked potentials in Friedreich's ataxia

We studied five children with classic Friedreich's ataxia, using an audiologic test battery to determine the primary site of auditory dysfunction. None of the children had any hearing complaints, and all were tested soon after onset of symptoms. The audiologic test battery consisted of brainstem auditory evoked potential test, tympanometry, and acoustic reflex measurements. The results indicated that the brainstem was the primary site of auditory dysfunction.
The SiCoSSyS approach to SoS engineering

This paper presents a methodology and tools for SoS engineering. The approach is based on the experience acquired in several developments made in the context of the SiCoSSyS project. It considers that the nature of SoS requires (1) the participation of a diversity of people with different backgrounds and profiles, and (2) to cope with the heterogeneity of systems. These goals can be achieved by model-driven engineering methods and tools. In our work we have applied as well an agent-based modeling approach for the definition of domain-specific languages that constitute the main tool for specification, simulation and deployment of solutions.
The study of signal strength threshold for VoIP handoff process in 802.11g/n networks

In standard IEEE 802.11 based systems, when the wireless client migrates away from the radio range of the currently associated Access Point (AP), network applications temporarily loose connectivity till the client is able to re-associate itself with a new AP. The delay that occurs during the break-off interval can vary from a few hundreds of microseconds to a few seconds. However, delay sensitive applications such as Voice over IP (VoIP) or streaming multimedia applications usually are unable to tolerate such long connectivity delays that fall beyond the range of 50-200 ms. This results in dropped calls or frozen video frames. To improve the deficiency, this paper proposes the preliminary study of managing the signal strength threshold to minimize handoff time by investigating the effect of changing the threshold at AP. Although different solutions are available in the literature, most of them proposed changes that were outside the purview of the current 802.11 standards. Our study requires no additional support from the network. The outcome of this paper indicates the good insight of using the signal strength threshold to control the handoff time for VoIP application.
[Geographic Patterns of Mortality and Socioeconomic Inequalities in Mortality in Spain].

BACKGROUND Estimates of socioeconomic inequalities in mortality coming from individual data sources were only available from Madrid, the Basque Country and the city of Barcelona. The aim of this study was to show the geographical pattern of mortality in different socio-economic groups, as well as that of inequalities in mortality in the whole Spanish territory. METHODS All people aged 25 and older in the 2001 census were followed for seven years and two months to determine their vital status (196 470 401 person-years at risk and 2,379,558 deaths). The socioeconomic variable was educational level. Age-adjusted mortality rate was estimated for women and men in every province and in each category of educational level. Inequalities in mortality in each province have been estimated by the ratio of mortality in subjects with primary or lower level of education compared to subjects with university education. RESULTS In women, the lowest rate ratios -between 1.06 and 1.16- are observed in Palencia, Segovia, Guadalajara, Avila and Castellon and the highest -between 1.53 and 1,75- in Malaga, Las Palmas, Ceuta, Melilla and Toledo. In men, the lowest rate ratios -between 1.00 and 1.12- are observed in Guadalajara, Teruel, Cuenca, La Rioja and Ávila and the highest -between 1.47 and 1,73- in Las Palmas, Cantabria, Murcia, Melilla and Ceuta. CONCLUSIONS The geographical pattern of mortality rates in Spain varies by educational level. Inequalities in mortality by education have the lowest magnitude in central peninsular provinces.
A Novel Split-Step Parabolic-Equation Package for Surface-Wave Propagation Prediction Along Multiple Mixed Irregular-Terrain Paths

A novel MATLAB™-based split-step parabolic-equation (SSPE) propagation package is introduced for the prediction of electromagnetic surface-wave attenuation along multiple mixed irregular and lossy paths. The impedance boundary condition is implemented via the discrete mixed Fourier transform (DMFT). Irregular terrain modeling is handled via coordinate transformation. Tests are performed along sea paths including smooth and hilly islands. Comparisons with ITU Recommendations and a Finite-Element-Method (FEM) based numerical propagator are given.