Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Track-and-hold and comparator for a 12.5GS/s, 8bit ADC

This paper discusses the design and characterization of a track-and-hold amplifier (THA) and a comparator which are the essential building blocks of an 8bit, 12.5GS/s folding-interpolating analog to digital converter (ADC) with a 3GHz bandwidth. The circuits are implemented in a 0. 25µm, 190GHz SiGe BiCMOS process. The THA occupies an area of 0.5mm2. It features a SNDR of 47dB or 7.5bits ENOB for a 3GHz bandwidth, a hold time of 21ps with a droop rate of 11mV/80ps and a power dissipation of 230mW from a 3.3V supply. The comparator occupies an area of 0.38mm2 and exhibits an input sensitivity of ±2mV, an input offset voltage of 1.5mV, latch and recovery times of 19 and 21ps respectively and a power dissipation of 150mW from a 3.3V supply.
Regulation of the Bacterial Cell Wall: Effect of Antibiotics on Lipid Biosynthesis

Antibiotics that inhibit the biosynthesis of the cell wall, such as vancomycin, penicillin, d-cycloserine, and bacitracin, stimulate the incorporation of lysine into lipids that are extractable with n-butanol-6 M pyridinium acetate. Approximately 93% of this lysine is in lysylphosphatidylglycerol (LPG). The remaining lysine is incorporated in another as yet uncharacterized lipid. Because the lysine in the latter lipid is released by mild alkaline hydrolysis, it is not the C55-isoprenyl-pyrophospho-N-acetyl-muramyl pentapeptide. Vancomycin and penicillin stimulate the incorporation of lysine into both LPG and the minor lipid fractions, whereas treatment with d-cycloserine results in an increase only in LPG. Antibiotics that inhibit protein synthesis do not influence the incorporation of lysine into the lipid fractions. Analysis of the extracted lipids indicate that the incorporation of radioactive lysine into LPG is due to an enhancement in synthesis of LPG from phospholipids in the cytoplasmic membrane.
Model-free learning on robot kinematic chains using a nested multi-agent topology

This paper proposes a model-free learning scheme for the developmental acquisition of robot kinematic control and dexterous manipulation skills. The approach is based on a nested-hierarchical multi-agent architecture that intuitively encapsulates the topology of robot kinematic chains, where the activity of each independent degree-of-freedom (DOF) is finally mapped onto a distinct agent. Each one of those agents progressively evolves a local kinematic control strategy in a game-theoretic sense, that is, based on a partial (local) view of the whole system topology, which is incrementally updated through a recursive communication process according to the nested-hierarchical topology. Learning is thus approached not through demonstration and training but through an autonomous self-exploration process. A fuzzy reinforcement learning scheme is employed within each agent to enable efficient exploration in a continuous state–action domain. This paper constitutes in fact a proof of concept, demonstrating that global dexterous manipulation skills can indeed evolve through such a distributed iterative learning of local agent sensorimotor mappings. The main motivation behind the development of such an incremental multi-agent topology is to enhance system modularity, to facilitate extensibility to more complex problem domains and to improve robustness with respect to structural variations including unpredictable internal failures. These attributes of the proposed system are assessed in this paper through numerical experiments in different robot manipulation task scenarios, involving both single and multi-robot kinematic chains. The generalisation capacity of the learning scheme is experimentally assessed and robustness properties of the multi-agent system are also evaluated with respect to unpredictable variations in the kinematic topology. Furthermore, these numerical experiments demonstrate the scalability properties of the proposed nested-hierarchical architecture, where new agents can be recursively added in the hierarchy to encapsulate individual active DOFs. The results presented in this paper demonstrate the feasibility of such a distributed multi-agent control framework, showing that the solutions which emerge are plausible and near-optimal. Numerical efficiency and computational cost issues are also discussed.
Genetic diversity and differentiation at MHC genes in island populations of tuatara (Sphenodon spp.)

Neutral genetic markers are commonly used to understand the effects of fragmentation and population bottlenecks on genetic variation in threatened species. Although neutral markers are useful for inferring population history, the analysis of functional genes is required to determine the significance of any observed geographical differences in variation. The genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) are well‐known examples of genes of adaptive significance and are particularly relevant to conservation because of their role in pathogen resistance. In this study, we survey diversity at MHC class I loci across a range of tuatara populations. We compare the levels of MHC variation with that observed at neutral microsatellite markers to determine the relative roles of balancing selection, diversifying selection and genetic drift in shaping patterns of MHC variation in isolated populations. In general, levels of MHC variation within tuatara populations are concordant with microsatellite variation. Tuatara populations are highly differentiated at MHC genes, particularly between the northern and Cook Strait regions, and a trend towards diversifying selection across populations was observed. However, overall our results indicate that population bottlenecks and isolation have a larger influence on patterns of MHC variation in tuatara populations than selection.
How has research into cytokine interactions and their role in driving immune responses impacted our understanding of periodontitis?

OBJECTIVE To review current knowledge on cytokine interactions and the cytokine-mediated links between innate and adaptive immunity that are relevant to the pathophysiology of periodontitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS A structured review of the literature was undertaken to identify relevant research publications using a Medline search from 1950 to September 2010. The focus of the search was on the functional role of cytokines, i.e. their actions and responses relevant to the pathogenesis of periodontal disease rather than more descriptive studies of their expression in tissues and body fluids. It was not possible to conduct a traditional systematic review with a focussed question due to the heterogeneity of published research. RESULTS There is enormous heterogeneity in the periodontal literature in terms of experimental approaches. We have the deepest understanding of the role of the pro-inflammatory cytokines [e.g. interleukin (IL)-1β, tumour necrosis factor-α, IL-6] with accumulating data on T-cell regulatory cytokines (e.g. IL-12, IL-18), chemokines and cytokines which mediate bone cell development and function (e.g. receptor activator of NF-κB ligand, osteoprotegerin). It is clear that there are multiple, overlapping and complex functional links between cytokines with regulatory control exerted at a number of levels and involving numerous cell types (both immune cells and resident cells in the periodontium). CONCLUSION Cytokines appear to interact functionally in networks in the periodontium and integrate aspects of innate and adaptive immunity. However, our understanding is far from complete, particularly how molecular and cellular pathways relate to disease pathogenesis. We should adopt consistent experimental approaches to gain better insight into the totality of cytokine networks and how they drive immune responses in the periodontium.
Separable functions of Nef disrupt two aspects of T cell receptor machinery: CD4 expression and CD3 signaling

The Nef protein alters T cell receptor (TCR) signaling in T cells and is critical for the pathogenesis of AIDS. We used a transient expression assay in a human CD4+ T cell line to analyze the interaction of Nef with the TCR machinery. We show that, in addition to down‐regulating CD4 expression on the cell surface, Nef blocks a receptor‐proximal event in CD3 signaling. Analysis of a large number of mutant Nef proteins demonstrated that the effects of Nef on CD4 expression and on CD3 signaling are separable. The ability of Nef to block CD3 signaling was selectively abolished by mutations in the central part of the Nef protein and in particular by those known to disrupt the SH3 binding surface in the structured core of Nef. In contrast, the ability of Nef to down‐regulate CD4 expression was selectively abolished by two clusters of mutations, one in the N‐terminal and one in the C‐terminal region of Nef. These two regions correspond to the two flexible loops in Nef as predicted by solution NMR analysis. We show that this general functional organization is conserved between the Nef proteins of the human and simian immunodeficiency viruses (HIV‐1 and SIV). Our data demonstrate that Nef has at least two independent mechanisms to alter TCR function and thus may interfere with a range of T cell responses.
Geographic variation in female mate-copying in the species complex of a unisexual fish, Poecilia formosa

Summary The Amazon molly, Poecilia formosa, is a gynogenetic, all-female fish. Its mating system relies on heterospecific matings with males of closely related sexual species. In mixed populations, males mate with conspecific sexual females and heterospecific asexual females. Such matings are not isolated dyadic interactions but rather elements of a communication network, because multiple females can observe these interactions. This is the only known case of heterospecific mate-copying and, thus, a system in which the potential for mate-copying could be influenced by the presence of another species. Here we show that mate-copying is exhibited by the sexual species P. mexicana and P. latipinna, and the asexual P. formosa . Both sexual and asexual females copy each other’s mate choice decisions in sympatry, but females from allopatric populations do not show heterospecific mate-copying. Males benefit from heterospecific matings with Amazon mollies because these increase their attractiveness to the conspecific sexual females. In mixed shoals, mate-copying potentially imposes costs as it increases a male’s attractiveness to heterospecific females. We argue that the net-effect of mate-copying is beneficial to males because the relative strength of mate-copying is lower in Amazon mollies. We hypothesize that an added benefit to males lies in the signal value of copulations.
Medication reconciliation as a medication safety initiative in Ethiopia: a study protocol

Introduction Medication related adverse events are common, particularly during transitions of care, and have a significant impact on patient outcomes and healthcare costs. Medication reconciliation (MedRec) is an important initiative to achieve the Quality Use of Medicines, and has been adopted as a standard practice in many developed countries. However, the impact of this strategy is rarely described in Ethiopia. The aims of this study are to explore patient safety culture, and to develop, implement and evaluate a theory informed MedRec intervention, with the aim of minimising the incidence of medication errors during hospital admission. Methods and analyses The study will be conducted in a resource limited setting. There are three phases to this project. The first phase is a mixed methods study of healthcare professionals' perspectives of patient safety culture and patients' experiences of medication related adverse events. In this phase, the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture will be used along with semi-structured indepth interviews to investigate patient safety culture and experiences of medication related adverse events. The second phase will use a semi-structured interview guide, designed according to the 12 domains of the Theoretical Domains Framework, to explore the barriers and facilitators to medication safety activities delivered by hospital pharmacists. The third phase will be a single centre, before and after study, that will evaluate the impact of pharmacist conducted admission MedRec in an emergency department (ED). The main outcome measure is the incidence and potential clinical severity of medication errors. We will then analyse the differences in the incidence and severity of medication errors before and after initiation of an ED pharmacy service.
Dissipativity-Based Sliding Mode Control of Switched Stochastic Systems

This technical brief is concerned with dissipativity analysis and dissipativity-based sliding mode control (SMC) of continuous-time switched stochastic systems. Firstly, a sufficient condition is proposed to guarantee the mean-square exponential stability and strict dissipativity for the switched stochastic system. Then, an integral-type sliding surface function is designed for establishing a sliding mode dynamics, which can be formulated by a switched stochastic system with an external disturbance/uncertainty. Dissipativity analysis and synthesis are both investigated for the sliding mode dynamics, and consequently sufficient conditions are derived, which pave the way for solving the dissipativity analysis and control problems. Moreover, a SMC law is synthesized to drive the system trajectories onto the predefined sliding surface in a finite time. Finally, the efficiency of the theoretical findings is demonstrated by an illustrative example.
Modulation of cellular immunity by antibodies against calreticulin

Although caltreticulin (CRT) is mainly a residential ER protein, it is also expressed on the membrane surface of various types of cells exhibiting multiple functions. We report here that intraperitoneal administration of a soluble recombinant CRT fragment (rCRT/39‐272) led to a substantial decrease in delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) responses in BALB/c mice and EAE in C57BL/6 mice. In the recall response against keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) in vitro, draining lymph node cells from the rCRT/39‐272‐treated mice produced less IFN‐γ but more IL‐4 as compared with the cells from the control group. The immunomodulating effect of intraperitoneally administered rCRT/39‐272 was attributed to anti‐CRT Abs thereby induced, because, in passive transfer experiments, the CRT‐specific antiserum could suppress DTH in BALB/c mice. B‐cell‐deficient μMT mice were not susceptible to rCRT/39‐272‐mediated DTH suppression. Furthermore, CRT appears on the surface of murine T cells soon after activation and remains detectable (at relatively low level) by flow cytometry for approximately 5 days in vitro. Anti‐CRT Abs were able to inhibit AKT phosphorylation, proliferation, and cytokine production by activated murine T cells. We propose that cell surface CRT could play a role in the function of effector T cells and may be considered a target for immunological manipulation.
Small-Signal Modeling, Stability Analysis and Design Optimization of Single-Phase Delay-Based PLLs

Generally speaking, designing single-phase phaselocked loops (PLLs) is more complicated than three-phase ones, as their implementation often involves the generation of a fictitious orthogonal signal for the frame transformation. In recent years, many approaches to generate the orthogonal signal have been proposed, the simplest perhaps being the transfer delay-based method. In the transfer delay-based PLL (TD-PLL), the orthogonal signal is generated by delaying the original single-phase signal by T/4 (one-quarter of a period). The phase shift caused by the transfer delay block, however, will not be exactly 90° under off-nominal grid frequencies, which results in errors in the estimated quantities by the TD-PLL. To alleviate this issue, an improved version of TD-PLL, called the nonfrequency-dependent TD-PLL (NTD-PLL), has recently been proposed. The NTD-PLL uses another T/4 delay unit in its feedback path to make the PLL immune to grid frequency variations. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the accurate small-signal modeling of the TD-PLL and NTD-PLL has not yet been carried out, and no detailed analysis of their performance has been presented. The main aim of this paper is to address these issues and explore new methods to enhance their performance. The stability analysis, control design guidelines, and performance comparison with the state-of-the-art PLLs are presented as well.
Effectiveness of antiretroviral treatment in a South African program: a cohort study.

BACKGROUND The effectiveness of the South African government's expanding antiretroviral treatment program is unknown. Observational studies of treatment effectiveness are prone to selection bias, rarely compare patients receiving antiretroviral treatment with similar patients not receiving antiretroviral treatment, and underestimate mortality rates unless patients are actively followed up. METHODS We followed up 14 267 patients in the Public Sector Anti-Retroviral Treatment project in Free State, South Africa, for up to 20 months after enrollment. A total of 3619 patients received highly active triple antiretroviral treatment (HAART) for up to 19 months (median, 6 months; interquartile range, 3-9 months) after enrollment. Patients' clinical data were linked with the national mortality register. Marginal structural regression models adjusted for baseline and time-varying covariates. RESULTS Of 4570 patients followed up for at least 1 year, 53.2% died. Eighty-seven percent of patients who died had not received HAART. HAART was associated with lower mortality (hazard ratio, 0.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.11-0.18) and with the presence of tuberculosis (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.46-0.81) after adjusting for age, sex, weight, clinic, district, CD4 cell count, cotrimoxazole therapy, tuberculosis at baseline, and previous antiretroviral therapy. Cotrimoxazole therapy was associated with lower mortality (hazard ratio, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.32-0.42). Each month of HAART was associated with an increase in CD4 cell count of 15.1 cells/microL (95% CI, 14.7-15.5 cells/microL) and with an increase in body weight of 602 g (95% CI, 548-658 g). CONCLUSIONS HAART provided through these South African government health services seems as effective as that provided in high-income countries. Delays starting HAART contributed to high mortality rates. Faster expansion and timely commencement of HAART are needed.
Biological fate of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT); binding in vitro of BHT to liver microsomes.

The binding of 14C-labeled butylated hydroxytoluene (14C-BHT) to the liver microsomes was studied in vitro. Binding of 14C-BHT to microsomal macromolecules was linear with time and protein concentration. Oxygen and dihydronicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) were necessary for this binding, while carbon monoxide or SKF-525A inhibited it. It is indicated that a cytochrome P-450-linked monooxygenase system mediated the binding. In addition the binding was more pronounced in the liver microsomes from animals pretreated with inducers (phenobarbital or BHT) of microsomal monooxygenase system. From the effects of pretreatment with these inducers, it is suggested that a cytochrome P-450 with a high BHT oxidase activity is mainly responsible for the metabolic activation of BHT in the liver microsomes. The microsomes in the brain, kidneys and spleen were devoid of BHT-binding capacity, but in the lung microsomes the binding capacity was about 40% of that in the liver microsomes.
The Problem of Social Cost

This paper is concerned with those actions of business firms which have harmful effects on others. The standard example is that of a factory the smoke from which has harmful effects on those occupying neighbouring properties. The economic analysis of such a situation has usually proceeded in terms of a divergence between the private and social product of the factory, in which economists have largely followed the treatment of Pigou in The Economics of Welfare. The conclusions to which this kind of analysis seems to have led most economists is that it would be desirable to make the owner of the factory liable for the damage caused to those injured by the smoke, or alternatively, to place a tax on the factory owner varying with the amount of smoke produced and equivalent in money terms to the damage it would cause, or finally, to exclude the factory from residential districts (and presumably from other areas in which the emission of smoke would have harmful effects on others). It is my contention that the suggested courses of action are inappropriate, in that they lead to results which are not necessarily, or even usually, desirable.
Businesses as Buildings: Metrics for the Architectural Quality of Internet Businesses

Metrics for the architectural quality of Internet businesses are essential in gauging the success and failure of e-commerce. This study proposes six dimensions of architectural metrics for Internet businesses:internal stability, external security, information gathering, order processing, system interface, andcommunication interface. The metrics are based on the three constructs that have been used to evaluate buildings in the real world. The structural construct indicates that Internet businesses need to be stable internally and secure externally. The functional construct implies that Internet businesses should provide convenient functions in the information-gathering and order-processing phases. Finally, the representational construct indicates that they need to provide a pleasant interface both to the systemand to those using it. For each of the six metrics, we have constructed questionnaires to measure the perceived level of architectural quality and identified feature lists that may be closely related to the perceived quality level. Large-scale empirical studies were conducted both to validate the proposed metrics and to explore their relevance across four Internet business domains. The validity of the metrics has been obtained in three ways. First, the content validity of the metrics was assured by pretests and pilot survey. Second, the results fromthe confirmatory factor analysis showed that the metrics had high convergent and discriminant validities. Finally, the reliability coefficients were found to be high enough to establish the reliability of the proposed metrics. The relevance of the metrics has been explored in two ways. Structural equation models were used to test the causal relations between the three constructs and user satisfaction, as well as customer loyalty, in four domains. Correlation analyses were used to explore the relations between the perceived architectural quality and objective design features in four domains. This paper ends with the implications and limitations of the study results.
Transition-metal oxides in the self-interaction-corrected density-functional formalism.

We present a method for performing fully self-consistent, ab initio, self-interaction\char21{}corrected, local-spin-density calculations. We demonstrate that the formalism correctly predicts that MnO, FeO, CoO, NiO, and CuO are antiferromagnetic insulators, and that VO is a nonmagnetic metal. The band gaps and moments are drastically improved compared with the local-spin-density approximation.