Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improved Stress Reliability of Analog Metal–Insulator–Metal Capacitors Using $\hbox{TiO}_{2}/\hbox{ZrO}_{2}$ Dielectrics

We have studied the stress reliability of high-kappa Ni/TiO<sub>2</sub>/ZrO<sub>2</sub>/TiN metal-insulator-metal capacitors under constant-voltage stress. The increasing TiO<sub>2</sub> thickness on ZrO<sub>2</sub> improves the 125-<sup>deg</sup>C leakage current, capacitance variation (Delta<i>C</i>/<i>C</i>), and long-term reliability. For a high density of 26 fF/mum<sup>2</sup>, good extrapolated ten-year reliability of small Delta<i>C</i>/<i>C</i> ~ 0.71% is obtained for the Ni/10-nm-TiO<sub>2</sub>/6.5-nm- ZrO<sub>2</sub>/ TiN device at 2.5-V operation.
Dynamique gravitationnelle multi-echelle : formation et évolution des systèmes auto-gravitants non isolés

L'objet de cette these est l'etude de la formation et des proprietes des systemes auto-gravitants isoles et non isoles a l'aide de simulations numeriques d'effondrements gravitationnels de systemes a N corps. Dans une premiere partie, nous synthetisons les principaux resultats analytiques concernant le systeme d'equations couplees Boltzmann sans collisions - Poisson, qui modelise les systemes auto-gravitants non collisionnels, et leur extension en presence d'un champ exterieur, ainsi que certaines solutions analytiques. Dans une seconde partie, nous presentons les codes que nous avons utilises et nous introduisons des notions de calcul parallele et reparti, certains elements ayant ete parallelises a l'aide de la bibliotheque d'echange de messages M.P.I. Enfin, dans une derniere partie, nous exposons les differents resultats de nos simulations et leurs analyses. La premiere partie d'entre eux concerne l'approfondissement de l'etude des conditions initiales necessaires au declenchement des instabilites d'Antonov, ainsi que l'etude de la dynamique interne des systemes auto-gravitants isoles. La seconde partie concerne l'etude de ces systemes mis en orbites dans un potentiel exterieur, visant a etudier son influence sur le processus de formation des systemes auto-gravitants par effondrement gravitationnels.
DOA estimation of mixed signals under unknown mutual coupling

An efficient method to deal with direction of arrival (DOA) estimation of mixed signals under unknown mutual coupling is proposed. Several groups of signals are included in the mixed signals, where signals in the same group are coherent while in different groups are independent with each other. Our proposed method realizes high utilization ratio of array sensors based on the independence of different groups. By using subspace smoothing and multiple signal classification (MUSIC) algorithm, DOA and mutual coupling coefficients are estimated sequentially, where some transformation of steering vector is applied to reduce computational amount. Simulations verify the effectiveness of proposed method.
Childhood papillary thyroid carcinoma with miliary pulmonary metastases.

A 10-year-old boy, complaining of fatigue, presented with multiple bilaterally enlarged neck lymph nodes. Chest x-ray revealed multiple small nodules in the lung, which was confirmed on computed tomography (CT) analysis. Because of clinical suspicion of miliary tuberculosis, a bronchoalveolar lavage was performed. [. ]
Pregabalin in central neuropathic pain associated with spinal cord injury

Objective: To evaluate pregabalin in central neuropathic pain associated with spinal cord injury. Methods: A 12-week, multicenter study of patients randomized to either flexible-dose pregabalin 150 to 600 mg/day (n = 70) or placebo (n = 67), administered BID. Patients were allowed to remain on existing, stable pain therapy. The primary efficacy variable was the endpoint mean pain score, derived from patients’ last 7 days daily pain diary entries. Key secondary endpoints included pain responder rates, the SF-MPQ, sleep interference, mood, and the patient global measure of change. Results: The mean baseline pain score was 6.54 in the pregabalin group and 6.73 in the placebo group. The mean endpoint pain score was lower in the pregabalin group (4.62) than the placebo group (6.27; p < 0.001), with efficacy observed as early as week 1 and maintained for the duration of the study. The average pregabalin dose after the 3-week stabilization phase was 460 mg/day. Pregabalin was significantly superior to placebo in endpoint assessments on the SF-MPQ. The ≥30% and ≥50% pain responder rates were higher with pregabalin than placebo (p < 0.05). Pregabalin was associated with improvements in disturbed sleep (p < 0.001) and anxiety (p < 0.05), and more patients reported global improvement at endpoint in the pregabalin group (p < 0.001). Mild or moderate, typically transient, somnolence and dizziness were the most common adverse events. Conclusions: Pregabalin 150 to 600 mg/day was effective in relieving central neuropathic pain, improving sleep, anxiety, and overall patient status in patients with spinal cord injury.
Bias correction for the use of educational and psychological assessments as covariates in linear regression

The use of aggregate scores on item response assessments as a proxy for an underlying trait in an econometric model generally produces biased estimators. I show that if the number of items on the assessment is proportional to the square root of the sample size then standard inferential procedures for the linear regression model are incorrect. I propose a bias-corrected estimator based on nonparametric estimation of the bias term which produces valid inference under relatively weak conditions. I also demonstrate the finite sample performance in a Monte Carlo study and implement the procedure for a wage regression using data from the NLSY 1979. JEL codes: C14, C38, C39, C55
Bone Mineral Density and Parathyroid Hormone as Independent Risk Factors for Mortality in Community‐Dwelling Older Adults: A Population‐Based Prospective Cohort Study in Brazil. The São Paulo Ageing & Health (SPAH) Study

Previous studies have shown a relationship between osteoporosis and increased mortality risk. However, none of these studies performed a concomitant evaluation of the parathyroid hormone (PTH)‐calcium‐vitamin D axis and bone mass to accurately determine the contribution of each of these parameters to survival in older subjects. Thus, we sought to investigate the association between bone parameters and mortality in a longitudinal, prospective, population‐based cohort of 839 elderly subjects. Clinical data (including history of fractures and cardiovascular events) were assessed using a specific questionnaire. Laboratory exams, including serum 25OHD and PTH, were also performed. Bone mineral density (BMD) at the lumbar spine and hip were evaluated using DXA. All analyses were performed at baseline (2005 to 2007). Mortality was recorded during follow‐up. Multivariate Cox proportional regression was used to compute hazard ratios for all‐cause and cardiovascular mortality. Over a mean 4.06 ± 1.07 years, there were 132 (15.7%) deaths. These individuals were compared to 707 subjects who were alive at the end of the coverage period for mortality data collection. In a multivariate Cox proportional hazards model, age (HR 1.32; 95% CI, 1.13 to 1.55; p = 0.001, for each 5‐year increase), male gender (HR 1.90; 95% CI, 1.30 to 2.79; p = 0.001), recurrent falls (more than two in the previous year; HR 1.65; 95% CI, 1.06 to 2.56; p = 0.026), diabetes mellitus (HR 2.17; 95% CI, 1.46 to 3.21; p < 0.001), low physical activity score (HR 1.78; 95% CI, 1.14 to 2.79; p = 0.011), prior cardiovascular event (HR 1.76; 95% CI, 1.18 to 2.63; p = 0.006), total hip BMD (HR 1.41; 95% CI, 1.15 to 1.72; p = 0.001, per each 1 SD decrease), and intact PTH (iPTH) (HR 1.06; 95% CI, 1.04 to 1.08; p < 0.001, per each 10 pg/mL increase) were independently associated with all‐cause mortality. The subjects in the highest quartile of PTH (>49 pg/mL) were at a higher risk of cardiovascular death (HR 3.09; 95% CI, 1.36 to 6.99; p = 0.007) compared with the subjects in the lowest quartile (<26 pg/mL). Low BMD and higher PTH were significantly associated with mortality in community‐dwelling older adults. These findings support the notion that careful screening of these bone parameters might lead to better management of older patients and improve outcomes in this population. © 2016 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Significance of time awake for predicting pilots' fatigue on short‐haul flights: implications for flight duty time regulations

European regulations restrict the duration of the maximum daily flight duty period for pilots as a function of the duty start time and the number of scheduled flights. However, late duty end times that may include long times awake are not specifically regulated. In this study, fatigue levels in pilots finishing their duty late at night (00:00–01:59 hour) were analysed and compared with pilots starting their duty early (05:00–06:59 hour). Fatigue levels of 40 commercial short‐haul pilots were studied during a total of 188 flight duty periods, of which 87 started early and 22 finished late. Pilots used a small handheld computer to maintain a duty and sleep log, and to indicate fatigue levels immediately after each flight. Sleep logs were checked with actigraphy. Pilots on late‐finishing flight duty periods were more fatigued at the end of their duty than pilots on early‐starting flight duty periods, despite the fact that preceding sleep duration was longer by 1.1 h. Linear mixed‐model regression identified time awake as a preeminent factor predicting fatigue. Workload had a minor effect. Pilots on late‐finishing flight duty periods were awake longer by an average of 5.5 h (6.6 versus 1.1 h) before commencing their duty than pilots who started early in the morning. Late‐finishing flights were associated with long times awake at a time when the circadian system stops promoting alertness, and an increased, previously underestimated fatigue risk. Based on these findings, flight duty limitations should consider not only duty start time, but also the time of the final landing.
New Pathogenic and Therapeutic Concepts in Systemic Sclerosis

Abstract Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease of unknown origin. The clinical hallmarks are progressive fibrosis of skin and internal organs and vasculo-pathic changes in the form of digital ulcers and pulmonary arterial hypertension. The chronicity and heterogeneity of the disease has hampered research in SSc in the past, but new research tools and animal models have contributed to a greater understanding of the pathogenesis of SSc and resulted in new findings in the fields of genomics, cytokine expression, autoantibodies and abnormalities of blood progenitor or effector cells. As a consequence, targeted therapeutic compounds such as imatinib are currently under clinical investigation. Whilst the search for an effective “targeted therapy” is still ongoing, autologous stem cell transplantation represents a “multi-target” approach aiming at “resetting” the immune system. This review gives an overview of the translation from pathogenic findings into therapeutical application.
A sea‐going continuous culture system for investigating phytoplankton community response to macro‐ and micro‐nutrient manipulations

Continuous cultures can provide refined insights on the response of phytoplankton communities to small changes in nutrient flux, however are logistically more challenging to perform at sea than batch cultures. Here we describe the design and successful testing of a new continuous culture system for shipboard experiments using natural phytoplankton communities. Using this system, we studied the effects of nitrate amendments in coastal waters of the Pacific Northwest, and low‐level iron additions in High Nitrate, Low Chlorophyll (HNLC) waters of the subarctic Pacific. With nitrate amendments the coastal phytoplankton community showed proportional increases in chlorophyll biomass and appeared to achieve dynamic steady state as biomass, nutrient drawdown, and photo‐physiology stabilized after 4 d. In contrast, biomass did not reach steady state with iron amendment in the 10‐d HNLC experiment, however a major transition in dominant phytoplankton from small autotrophic flagellates to the toxigenic diatom Pseudo‐nitzschia was observed. This new continuous culture design demonstrated high precision in flow rates, good mixing within culture vessels, and was simple to operate at sea. This system provides an effective platform for investigating small changes in macro‐ and micro‐nutrient flux on the growth of individual phytoplankton species and, in turn, the trajectory of planktonic ecosystems.
Tunable RF filters using thin film barium strontium titanate based capacitors

Tunable lowpass and bandpass filters based on barium strontium titanate (BST) capacitors are reported. For the lowpass filter, 40% tunability was achieved at 9 V. Intermodulation distortion generated by the lowpass filters was also measured and predicted using a nonlinear model for the BST capacitors. The bandpass filter showed 45% tunability with an applied DC bias of 10 V.
The Impact of Power boundary Management on the Design of Company-initiated Open Innovation Platform

Open innovation recognizes potential opportunities and advantages gained from leveraging knowledge and innovations found outside an organization‟s formal boundaries. With the intensive use of Internet-based tools, organizations are actively involved in using Open Innovation Platform (OIP) to attract external knowledge. However, developing a company-initiated OIP is a challenging task because usage of OIP depends on the voluntary participation of external users, which makes companies cannot follow the protocol of developing traditional IS. Furthermore, a company's institutional properties may also impact the design company-initiated OIP. In this research, we focus on one type of organizational property, namely power boundary, and explore its impact on the design of a company-initiated OIP over time. From qualitative analysis of two versions of OIP in a single company, we develop a theoretical model depicting how the changes of power boundary of a firm influence the design of a company-initiated OIP over time. This result generates theoretical and empirical insights into the OIP design and power boundary and thus has important implications for both scholars and practitioners.
Heterogeneity of hemolytic efficiency and isoelectric point of streptolysin O

Using thin-layer agarose gel isoelectric focusing overlaid with thin-layer erythrocyte agar plates, we found that crude streptolysin O (SLO) consisted of a variety of hemolytic components with different isoelectric points (pIs) and that the distribution of pIs in crude SLO was different even in samples which were produced from a single strain of Streptococcus pyogenes under similar conditions. All of the hemolytic components in crude SLO were shown to have the properties of SLO with respect to their susceptibility to oxygen and anti-SLO serum and their molecular weight. The SLO components showed a single molecular weight of 64,000, but they exhibited various pIs ranging from pH 5.4 to 8.3, with major components showing a pI of 6 and/or 7.5. Further examination revealed the slope of the hemolytic titration curve to be dissimilar among the samples of crude SLO. Since the slope of the hemolytic titration curve of a component appears to be based on its hemolytic efficiency, the value of the slope was designated its hemolytic efficiency index. When SLO was purified by isoelectric focusing, the pI of the components was correlated with its hemolytic efficiency index; hemolytic components with lower pIs exhibited a lower hemolytic efficiency index. These results indicate that SLO consists of heterogeneous components with different pIs and suggest that the differences in hemolytic efficiency indices of SLO components are due to the different electrical charges of SLO molecules, which are related to their polymerization and affect hemolytic efficiency.
Performance Analysis of IEEE 802.11 DCF under Limited Load

The goal of effective distributed network control is that each wireless node operates near its maximum capacity, with bounded queue delay. This "optimum" operating point, where maximum throughput is achieved, is usually located well below the saturation point. The choice of optimum operating point requires knowledge of MAC performance below saturation, hence a limited load model of MAC operation needs to be studied for useful insights. In this paper, we extend the analytical model of IEEE 802.11 DCF from (G. Bianchi, 2000) to study throughput performance under limited load, where the node's transmit queue may be at times empty
Internet-Vision Based Vehicle Model Query System Using Eigenfaces and Pyramid of Histogram of Oriented Gradients

This paper presents a new framework and feature set for vehicle model query system. By giving model names or manufacturer names as keywords, the desired vehicle images can be queried from target videos or vehicle image databases using internet-vision approach. In this framework, sample images are automatically retrieved from internet via search engine or car related website. Logos and frontal masks are segmented and are used for recognizing the manufacturer name and model of the vehicles, respectively. Eigenfaces and Pyramid Histogram of Oriented Gradients (PHOG) are proposed as features for recognition process. The experiments show that the proposed method can provide recognition rate of 98.2 % for manufacturer logo recognition process, and 94.00% for vehicle model recognition process. The performance of the entire framework of our proposed query system is also evaluated via precision and recall which are obtained as 87.67% and 80.00%, respectively.
RADIO OBSERVATIONS OF HD 80606 NEAR PLANETARY PERIASTRON

This paper reports Very Large Array observations at 325 and 1425 MHz (λ90 cm and λ20 cm) during and near the periastron passage of HD 80606b on HJD 2454424.86 (2007 November 20). We obtain flux density limits (3σ) of 1.7 mJy and 48 μJy at 325 and 1425 MHz, respectively, equivalent to planetary luminosity limits of 2.3 × 1024 erg s−1 and 2.7 × 1023 erg s−1. Unfortunately, these are several orders of magnitude above the nominal Jovian value (at 40 MHz) of 2 × 1018 erg s−1. The motivation for these observations was that the planetary magnetospheric emission is driven by a stellar wind–planetary magnetosphere interaction so that the planetary luminosity would be elevated near periastron. We estimate that, near periastron, HD 80606b might be as much as 3000 times more luminous than Jupiter. Recent transit observations of HD 80606b provide reasonably stringent constraints on the planetary mass and radius, and, because of the planet's highly eccentric orbit, its rotation period is likely to be “pseudo-synchronized” to its orbital period, allowing a robust estimate of the former. Consequently, we are able to make relatively robust estimates of the emission frequency of the planetary magnetospheric emission and find it to be around 60–90 MHz. While this is too low for our reported observations, we compare HD 80606b to other high-eccentricity systems and assess the detection possibilities for both near-term and more distant future systems. Of the known high-eccentricity planets, only HD 80606b is likely to be detectable, as the others (HD 20782B and HD 4113) are both lower mass and longer rotational periods, which imply weaker magnetic field strengths. We find that both the forthcoming “EVLA low band” system, which will operate as low as 65 MHz, and the Low Frequency Array may be able to improve upon our planetary luminosity limits for HD 80606b, and do so at a more optimum frequency. If the low-frequency component of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA-lo) and a future lunar radio array are able to approach their thermal noise limits, they should be able to detect an HD 80606b-like planet, unless the amount by which the planet's luminosity increases is substantially less than the factor of 3000 that we estimate; for the SKA-lo, which is to be located in the southern hemisphere, future planetary surveys will have to find southern hemisphere equivalents of HD 80606b.
INVOLVEMENT OF SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM INHIBITION IN THE HYPOTENSIVE EFFECT OF BROMOCRIPTINE IN SPONTANEOUSLY HYPERTENSIVE RATS

The hypertensive effect of bromocriptine in young (6 week old) spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) was studied. Blood pressure and plasma norepinephrine level in bromocriptine‐treated SHR were significantly lower than those in vehicle‐treated SHR after 3 weeks of treatment (5 mg/kg per day, i.p.), while no significant decrease of blood pressure or plasma norepinephrine level was observed after 2 weeks of treatment. These results suggest the involvement of sympathetic nervous system inhibition in the hypotensive effect of bromocriptine in SHR.
Social Support Moderates Caregiver Life Satisfaction Following Traumatic Brain Injury

Social support is an important determinant of adjustment following traumatic brain injury (TBI) sustained by a family member. The present study examined the extent to which social support moderates the influence of characteristics of the person with injury on caregiver subjective well-being. Sixty pairs of individuals who had sustained a moderate to severe TBI and their caregivers (N = 120) participated. Years postinjury ranged from 0.3 to 9.9 (M = 4.8, SD = 2.6). Cognitive, functional, and neurobehavioral functioning of participants with TBI were assessed using neuropsychological tests and rating scales. Caregiver life satisfaction and perceived social support were assessed using self-report questionnaires. Results indicated that time since injury was unrelated to life satisfaction. Neurobehavioral disturbances showed an inverse relation with life satisfaction. Social support emerged as an important moderator of life satisfaction. Only among caregivers with low social support was cognitive dysfunction adversely related to life satisfaction. Similarly, a trend suggested that patient unawareness of deficit was associated with caregiver life dissatisfaction only among caregivers with low social support. In contrast, these characteristics were unrelated to life satisfaction among caregivers with adequate social support.
Serial data link interface for memory applications

A time-based serial data link architecture utilizing Pulse-Amplitude Modulation (PAM) technique combined with Pulse-Position Modulation (PPM) technique is presented in this paper. The proposed time-based link combines the PAM technique with the PPM technique in order to increase the number of transmitted bits per symbol without altering the bandwidth of the transmitted signal. The proposed timing correction technique used at the receiver side allows increasing the total number of the AM transmitted bits per symbol without affecting the recovery of the pulse-position modulation bits. The proposed link can replace the SerDes link in transmitting high speed data in modern mobile memory architectures in order to relax the interface design while using low frequency clock signal. A 5-bit 4-Gb/s serial data link has been designed and simulated in 130 nm CMOS technology using 800 MHz as a clock signal. A 2.5 inch Fr4 channel has been used as a transmission media in order to evaluate the link performance for mobile memory applications. The power consumption of the designed link is less than 84 mW.
Adjuvant chemotherapy use and outcomes of patients with high‐risk versus low‐risk stage II colon cancer

Adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) is frequently considered in patients with stage II colon cancer who are considered to be at high risk. However, to the authors' knowledge, the survival benefits associated with AC in these patients remain largely unproven. In the current study, the authors sought to examine the use of AC in patients with AJCC stage II colon cancer and to compare the impact of AC on outcomes in patients with high‐risk versus low‐risk disease in a population‐based setting.