Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Plane Equiangular 4-ARM Spiral Antenna with Conical Reflector Isolated or Fitted into a Structure.

We present an experimental study of the radiation characteristics of a plane equiangular 4-arm spiral antenna with a conical reflector, isolated in the first case. The centre of the spiral is confused with the apex of the cone (with varying angle). A compromise between gain and bandwidth is given. The optimized antenna is then fitted into a cylindrical cavity. When the spiral is on a level with the aperture of the cavity, the antenna is frequency-independant for a 1 : 2.66 bandwidth. When the spiral is included in the cavity, the antenna radiates as a circular aperture for a 1 : 1.71 bandwidth. E¿ and E¿ radiating patterns are equal. The antenna is no more frequency-independant. Isolated or embedded the realized antennas possess circular polarization and very good revolutionnary symmetry. Measurements of the current on the arms of the spiral allow the explanation of all results.
Evaluation of the growth of enterobacteria in fructooligosaccharides using the principal components analysis

Experimental data obtained from the literature concerning the growth rate of 35 different enterobacteria and acidification of the media using various carbohydrates as the substrates (glucose and the fructooligosaccharides Profeed P95, Raftilose P95 and Raftiline LS), were submitted to a multivariate statistical analysis of the principal components and clusters. The objective was to evaluate the degree of correlation between the substrates and the microorganisms, grouping them according to their affinities. When the growth rates of the enterobacteria were evaluated, strong correlation was observed between the substrates composed of short chain fructose oligosaccharides (Profeed P95 and Raftilose P95). The microorganisms could be separated into four groups, similarities being found between enterobacteria of the same genus and/or species. With respect to acidification of the medium, strong correlation was observed between glucose and Profeed, which have a greater percentage of glucose units in the chain. However, it was found poor correlation among microorganisms from the same genus and/or species, as well as between the enterobacteria species and fermentation of the carbohydrates.
Metabotropic glutamate receptor 4 (mGlu4)-positive allosteric modulators for the treatment of Parkinson's disease: historical perspective and review of the patent literature

Introduction: Metabotropic glutamate receptor 4 (mGlu4) is a group III GPCR and has been demonstrated to play a major role in a number of therapeutic areas within the CNS. As the orthosteric site of all glutamate receptors is highly conserved, modulating mGlu4 via allosteric modulation has emerged as a very attractive mode-of-action and has been validated preclinically in a number of animal models for Parkinson's disease, anxiety, pain, and neuroinflammation. Areas covered: In this review, the patent literature for mGlu4-positive allosteric modulators over the past 4 years will be provided. Patents from all companies are discussed and an overview of the chemical matter and relevant biological properties will be given. Expert opinion: Although there has yet to be an mGlu4-positive allosteric modulator progressed into clinical trials, there is a wealth of preclinical data from the primary literature that shows the promise of this emerging target. A number of academic and industry laboratories have recently published exciting patent data covering a multitude of chemical matter. Positive allosteric modulation of mGlu4 remains one of the more attractive non-dopaminergic therapies for Parkinson's disease, as well as emerging data for other indications such as pain, neuroinflammation, schizophrenia and diabetes, which could potentially make mGlu4 a significant therapeutic target going forward.
Alterations of T cell subsets in ALS: a systemic immune activation?

Rentzos M, Evangelopoulos E, Sereti E, Zouvelou V, Marmara S, Alexakis T, Evdokimidis I. Alterations of T cell subsets in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a systemic immune activation? Acta Neurol Scand: 2012: 125: 260–264. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.
Youth Smoking in the U.S.: Evidence and Implications

The one-third rise in the teen smoking rate in the 1990s has led to considerable interest in understanding the determinants of the youth smoking decision. We explore four aspects of this decision. First, we consider the demographic correlates of smoking participation, and find that smoking participation is not simply concentrated among the most disadvantaged youth; indeed, increasingly over time youth smoking is taking place among white, suburban youth with college educated parents and good grades. Second, we show that neither changes in demographic characteristics nor changes in attitudes towards smoking can explain the striking increase in smoking rates in the 1990s. Third, we document that price is a powerful determinant of smoking for high school seniors; using state fixed effects models on data for the 1991-1997 period we estimate an elasticity of smoking participation of -0.67, which suggest that the drop in cigarette prices in the early 1990s can explain 26% of the subsequent upwards smoking trend for seniors. But price is not important for younger teens, although we do find some evidence that restrictions on access to cigarette purchases can lower the quantity that younger teens smoke. Finally, we document that there is an important intertemporal correlation in the decision to smoke. In particular, we find that there is a significant correlation across cohorts in teen smoking and later smoking of adults, and that the taxes that teens face on cigarettes have a significant negative effect on their smoking later in life. These findings suggest that between 25 and 50% of the rise in youth smoking in the 1990s will persist into adulthood for this cohort; rough calculations suggest that the long run cost to the U.S. will be at least 1.6 million years of life lost from this youth smoking increase.
Using a genetic algorithm for optimizing the similarity aggregation step in the process of ontology alignment

This paper addresses the increasingly encountered challenge of ontology alignment. Starting with basic similarity measures such as the syntactic similarity, represented by the Levenshtein or Jaro Distance, semantic similarities, which make use of WordNet and taxonomy similarities, our new system uses a genetic algorithm specially designed for the task of optimizing the aggregation of these measures. Assessment done by us in the last part of the paper demonstrates the usefulness of the genetic algorithm, which manage a consistent improvement of classical alignment methods.
Effect of Extraction Solvent/Technique on the Antioxidant Activity of Selected Medicinal Plant Extracts

Theeffects of four extracting solvents [absolute ethanol, absolute methanol, aqueous ethanol (ethanol: water, 80:20 v/v) and aqueous methanol (methanol: water, 80:20 v/v)] and two extraction techniques (shaking and reflux) on the antioxidant activity of extracts of barks of Azadirachta indica, Acacia nilotica, Eugenia jambolana, Terminalia arjuna, leaves and roots of Moringa oleifera, fruit of Ficus religiosa, and leaves of Aloe barbadensis were investigated. The tested plant materials contained appreciable amounts of total phenolic contents (0.31-16.5 g GAE /100g DW), total flavonoid (2.63-8.66 g CE/100g DW); reducing power at 10 mg/mL extract concentration (1.36-2.91), DPPH. scavenging capacity (37.2-86.6%), and percent inhibition of linoleic acid (66.0-90.6%). Generally higher extract yields, phenolic contents and plant material antioxidant activity were obtained using aqueous organic solvents, as compared to the respective absolute organic solvents. Although higher extract yields were obtained by the refluxing extraction technique, in general higher amounts of total phenolic contents and better antioxidant activity were found in the extracts prepared using a shaker.
The Au(111)/electrolyte interface: a tunnel-spectroscopic and DFT investigation.

Distance tunneling spectroscopy in combination with density functional theory calculations has been employed to derive a detailed model of the electric double layer for Au(111) in 0.1m H2SO4 at E + 0.8 V vs. SCE. At such positive potentials, the specifically adsorbed sulfate ions on gold form the wellknown ( ffiffiffi 3 p * ffiffiffi 7 p )R19.18 superstructure. Herein, we present for the first time experimental and theoretical evidence for the double-layer structure normal to the surface. In addition, the DFT calculations also allowed the determination of the absolute width of the tunnel gap. The structure of the electric double layer at metal– solution interfaces, which can be considered the site for electrochemical reactions, is still an area of intense research. This is particularly true for the solution side of the double layer, the knowledge of which stems mostly from thermodynamic data. Besides X-ray diffraction and infrared absorption methods, scanning tunneling spectroscopy is capable of yielding valuable structure information normal to the surface, which otherwise is difficult to obtain. However, while the imaging of electrode surfaces with STM in an electrochemical cell under operating conditions (under potential control) is by now a well-established technique, tunneling spectroscopy of the electrochemical interface is still in its infant stage. This situation is not the least caused by experimental problems, arising from the rather limited potential window set by the decomposition potential of aqueous solutions and by the fact that the tunnel voltage between tip and sample not only governs the tunneling process, but also the electrochemistry at the tip and sample surface. This problem is particularly relevant for the so-called current–voltage spectroscopy, in which the potential of the sample or tip (or of both) is varied. Such problems are less severe for distance tunneling spectroscopy, in which the tunneling current IT is recorded as a function of tip distance s, and the potentials of the sample and tip (and hence tunnel voltage) are held constant. At electrified interfaces the tunnel current decay with increasing distance from the surface is not strictly exponential, but shows a more complicated dependence on the distance and on the electrode potential. For example, Schindler et al. have shown that the effective barrier height (EBH) [Eq. (1)] varies with distance from a gold electrode surface in an “oscillatory” way, which has been interpreted as being due to the structure of interfacial water.
Pioneering Healthier Communities, West Michigan

In 2005, the Pioneering Healthier Communities initiative prompted the creation of the Activate West Michigan coalition. One of its earliest objectives was to increase fruit and vegetable consumption for people who lived in low-income, African American, and Latino communities in urban Grand Rapids. Because the existing food environment created barriers to this objective, the coalition created community and schoolyard gardens and farmers' markets. By 2008, the Activate West Michigan coalition had begun to improve the food environment by establishing nine community and schoolyard gardens and five farmers' markets.
FDTD calculation of whole-body average SAR in adult and child models for frequencies from 30 MHz to 3 GHz

Due to the difficulty of the specific absorption rate (SAR) measurement in an actual human body for electromagnetic radio-frequency (RF) exposure, in various compliance assessment procedures the incident electric field or power density is being used as a reference level, which should never yield a larger whole-body average SAR than the basic safety limit. The relationship between the reference level and the whole-body average SAR, however, was established mainly based on numerical calculations for highly simplified human modelling dozens of years ago. Its validity is being questioned by the latest calculation results. In verifying the validity of the reference level with respect to the basic SAR limit for RF exposure, it is essential to have a high accuracy of human modelling and numerical code. In this study, we made a detailed error analysis in the whole-body average SAR calculation for the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method in conjunction with the perfectly matched layer (PML) absorbing boundaries. We derived a basic rule for the PML employment based on a dielectric sphere and the Mie theory solution. We then attempted to clarify to what extent the whole-body average SAR may reach using an anatomically based Japanese adult model and a scaled child model. The results show that the whole-body average SAR under the ICNIRP reference level exceeds the basic safety limit nearly 30% for the child model both in the resonance frequency and 2 GHz band.
Development of a Cinfinity-continuous small-signal model for a MOS transistor in normal operation

An explicit and single-piece model for MOSFET's has been developed. The expressions for the dc current and total charges are C/sub /spl infin//-continuous through all regions of normal operation. The correctness and the advantages of the new model are checked by comparing with HSPICE simulations. Good agreement with the dc and charge models implemented in HPSPICE has been found. Besides, the small-signal parameters show smoother transitions between the different regions. Therefore, the advantages of the new model for circuit simulation are demonstrated. >
The anti‐diabetic activity of Bifidobacterium lactis HY8101 in vitro and in vivo

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of Bifidobacterium lactis HY8101 on insulin resistance induced using tumour necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) in rat L6 skeletal muscle cells and on the KK‐AY mouse noninsulin‐dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) model.
Public speaking in social phobia: a pilot study of self-ratings and observers' ratings of social skills.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this pilot study was to investigate whether patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD) differ from controls in the quality of skill-related behaviors displayed during a speech and in overall behavioral adequacy as perceived by observers and by the patients themselves. DESIGN A total of 18 SAD patients and 18 controls were screened by a diagnostic interview and took part in a 3-minute speech of their own choosing. For each videotaped speech, observers rated the adequacy of the skill-related behaviors and overall performance adequacy. After the experiment, participants were asked to rate their own overall performance adequacy. RESULTS The results showed that SAD patients exhibited significantly worse voice intonation and fluency of the speech, however no differences were found in global self-ratings. Moreover, the performance evaluations of the SAD group were consistent with the observers, while the controls evaluated their performance lower than the observers. CONCLUSIONS The results are inconsistent with the cognitive model, because patients with SAD did not underestimate their performance. Compared with spontaneous interactions, the clear rules established for such social situations as speeches may result in less cognitive distortion for SAD patients.
Angiogenesis spectrum in the stroma of B‐cell non‐Hodgkin's lymphomas. An immunohistochemical and ultrastructural study

Abstract: Samples of lymph nodes from 88 patients with B‐cell non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma (B‐NHL) grouped by the Working Formulation (WF) and from 15 patients with benign lymphadenopathies were investigated immunohistochemically and ultrastructurally for changes in angiogenesis and stromal distribution of two subendothelial basement membrane (BM) components, namely laminin and type IV collagen. The microvessel number was usually low in lymphadenopathies, and increased significantly in low‐grade B‐NHL. Intermediate‐grade tumors displayed a further significant increase that was mainly due to their diffuse subtypes rather than to the follicular subtype. High‐grade B‐NHL showed the highest counts. By contrast with the lymphadenopathies studied, the stroma of B‐NHL reacted intensely with both BM components, whose linear co‐expression was significantly associated with low‐grade and follicular intermediate‐grade B‐NHL, while expression of laminin alone in a granular pattern was detected in diffuse intermediate‐grade and high‐grade tumors. Ultrastructural analysis revealed immature vessels more frequently in diffuse intermediate‐grade, and in high‐grade B‐NHL. These in situ data suggest that angiogenesis occurring in B‐NHL increases along their progression path, and emphasize the importance of angiogenesis as an epigenetic phenomenon of B‐NHL progression.
[Transplantation of retinal cells].

This paper traces the history of transplantation of dissociated retinal epithelial and/or photoreceptor cells. It describes our most recent results on the long term allotransplantation of cultured, tritiated thymidine labeled pigmented retinal epithelial cells into the retina of albino rabbits immunosuppressed with cyclosporine. Cultured rabbit retinal epithelial cells survive for months after transplantation, resume phagocytosis of host outer segments and form junctional complexes with each other and with host retinal epithelium. It also describes long term transplantation of photoreceptors (rods) from normal rats into the almost receptorless retina of a congenic dystrophic rat. These rods maintain primitive outer segments and appear to form synapses on host retinal neurons. The results suggest that cellular reconstruction of the degenerated retina may become a feasible undertaking.
Clinicopathologic differences among patients with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia

Mendez et al.1 found that distinguishing between pathologically confirmed bvFTD and AD can be determined by personality changes, problem-solving, and episodic memory deficits. This could have implications on future bvFTD diagnostic criteria. The higher incidence of episodic memory problems in AD raises the controversial issue: is a memory deficit a reliable diagnostic criterion in distinguishing between the pathologies? There is increasing evidence that an episodic memory deficit is a poor diagnostic predictor for bvFTD and AD, even in pathologically proven cases.2–5 Closer inspection of the authors' findings reveals that their neuropsychological memory measures confirm these findings by showing no episodic memory difference between bvFTD and AD. The authors based their recommendation on the binary informant-based decision of episodic memory deficits presence, which does not converge with their more objective neuropsychological findings. This discrepancy is concerning. The recommendation to discriminate between bvFTD and AD on the basis of memory deficits may not be warranted by their data. The authors should have mentioned this caveat in their publication.
Transfer of immunity to Nematospiroides dubius: co‐operation between lymphoid cells and antibodies in mediating worm expulsion

The effect of transferring immune serum (IS) and immune mesenteric lymph node cells (IMLNC) either alone or in combination was studied in NIH mice infected with partially radiation attenuated (5 krad) N. dubius. It was demonstrated that immunity to N. dubius could be transferred with IS and with IMLNC. However, considerably greater protection was transferred to recipient mice when they received both IS + IMLNC. Animals treated in this way had fewer worms than either of the other groups from as early as day 9 onwards, suggesting that a substantial proportion of the worms in mice given IS + IMLNC was retained in the intestinal tissues. The few surviving worms which completed the tissue phase of their development were then rejected by the fourth week of infection. Dose response data showed that as few as 1 × 107 IMLNC could cause a significant reduction in worm numbers when given in combination with IS. These experiments indicate that both antibodies (IS) and sensitized lymphoid cells (IMLNC) are required for effective resistance to N. dubius.
Effects of synthetic oxytocin with and without preservatives upon coronary blood flow in the dog.

These studies include evaluation in anesthetized dogs of the effects of preservative-free synthetic oxytocin, of the commercial preparation of synthetic oxytocin with ethanol and chlorobutanol as preservatives (Syntocinon) and of a synthetic oxytocin-chlorobutanol mixture. Also, the effects of the preservatives, ethanol and chiorobutanol, were investigated separately and in combination. Parameters recorded included phasic coronary blood flow, mean coronary blood flow, myocardial contractile force, heart rate and coronary perfusion pressure. Oxytocin alone in the dog directly constricted the coronary vasculature without modifying other cardiovascular parameters. A biphasic flow response was observed when the commercial preparation was administered. Also, when pure oxytocin was mixed with chlorobutanol, the preparation elicited a biphasic response essentially identical with that seen with the commercial preparation. The preservatives, when administered individually and in combination, were without effect on coronary blood flow. These findings indicate that preservative-free synthetic oxytocin is a coronary vasoconstrictor in the dog and suggest that an interaction occurs between oxytocin and chlorobutanol, the product of which produces a transient increase in coronary blood flow followed by a more prolonged decrease in flow.
Isolated Medial Column Stabilization Improves Alignment in Adult-acquired Flatfoot

In some patients with painful flatfoot, realignment and arthrodesis of the medial naviculocuneiform and first tarsometatarsal joints can be done to correct alignment and relieve symptoms. The primary purpose of this radiographic study was to assess the ability of isolated medial column arthrodesis to improve hindfoot alignment. We also assessed the ability of the procedure to correct radiographic parameters of overall foot structure in acquired flatfoot. Preoperative and postoperative radiographs of 19 patients who had naviculocuneiform and/or tarsometatarsal realignment and arthrodesis for adult-acquired flatfoot were examined by two reviewers. All parameters improved, with the lateral talometatarsal angle approaching normal. A decrease in talonavicular subluxation in the axial plane suggests passive improvement in hindfoot position without direct manipulation of any hindfoot bones or joints. These observations provide evidence for a link between stability of the midfoot and alignment of the hindfoot. In carefully selected patients, medial column realignment may restore normal anatomy without fusing essential joints. Modern clinical outcome studies are the next step in the objective evaluation of this procedure. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic study, Level IV (case series-no, or historical, control group) See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.