Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
High-Power Photodiode-Integrated-Connected Array Antenna

We present a novel optical feeding technique to achieve efficient excitation of an ultrawideband-connected array (CA) antenna. The passive fiber optic feed allows for preservation of the theoretical bandwidth and low profile of elementary connected dipole elements. In order to improve effective radiated power, high-power charge compensated modified unitravelling carrier photodiodes are integrated into an antenna array for the first time. Circuit and full-wave simulations, which include all required antenna and feed components, are conducted for the optimization of the array's performance. A 9 × 12 element CA is populated with a 1-D array of four photodiode-integrated active elements to demonstrate the concept. The optically fed array is confirmed experimentally to have a 3-dB bandwidth of approximately 7–17 GHz, in good agreement with simulations.
Happy with Health Care?

The American Association of Health Plans (the main HMO trade association), in making the case against patients' rights legislation, points to polling data that show Americans are basically satisfied with managed care plans. Although large majorities, including those with HMOs, do say they are “satisfied” with their health care plans, HMO members are less satisfied than members of other types of plans. And if we look beyond personal-satisfaction ratings, we find plenty of evidence for public concern about HMOs in particular and the health care system in general. Americans are supportive of HMO regulation, and despite their willingness to say they are “satisfied” with their health care plans, they harbor a lot of worries about the future—treatment that could be denied them, costs that could ruin them, and loss of coverage. The public sees the need for major change not just in HMOs but in the health care system as a whole. As HMO lobbyists scramble for new arguments against legislation, they will likely persist in misrepresenting and misusing polling data to make their case.
Molecular cloning, purification, and serological characterization of MPT63, a novel antigen secreted by Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Proteins that are actively secreted by Mycobacterium tuberculosis generate immune responses in the infected host. This has prompted the characterization of protein components of mycobacterial culture filtrates to develop subunit vaccines and immunodiagnostic reagents. Fractionation of filtrates of M. tuberculosis cultures has yielded an abundant protein called MPT63, which has an apparent molecular mass of 18 kDa. We report the molecular cloning and nucleotide sequence of the mpt63 gene, purification of recombinant MPT63 antigen from Escherichia coli cells, and serological characterization of MPT63. Nucleotide sequence analysis of mpt63 identified an open reading frame encoding a protein of 159 amino acids (aa) consisting of a 29-aa secretion signal peptide and a 130-aa mature MPT63 protein. Recombinant MPT63 protein, purified from E. coli cells, and native MPT63, purified from M. tuberculosis culture filtrates, were indistinguishable in serological assays. Thus, the recombinant protein constitutes a valuable reagent for immunological studies. MPT63 evoked humoral immune responses in guinea pigs infected with virulent M. tuberculosis by the aerosol route. The mpt63 gene is found only in species of the M. tuberculosis complex, as shown by DNA hybridization experiments. Moreover, polyclonal antibody against MPT63 does not cross-react with proteins of a common environmental mycobacterial species, Mycobacterium avium. The absence of cross-reactive epitopes makes MPT63 an attractive candidate as an M. tuberculosis complex-specific diagnostic reagent. In particular, evaluation of MPT63 as an M. tuberculosis complex-specific reagent for diagnostic skin testing is under way.
Inequality of Opportunity in Individuals' Wages and Households' Assets in Egypt

Inequality has often been cited as one of the leading sources of discontent in Egypt and one of the causes of the 2011 revolution. However, there is no consensus on how much inequality exists or what its root causes are. In this paper, we attempt to contribute to filling this gap by estimating the extent to which factors related to the circumstances a person is born into contribute to inequality of opportunity in earnings as well as in wealth or asset distribution. We use three rounds of the Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey (ELMPS), spanning the period 1998 to 2012, to conduct the analysis. Our results indicate that circumstances account for a lower bound of 9%-11% of inequality of opportunity in earnings and 30%-33% with respect to inequality of asset distribution. We also find that area of birth and father’s education level are the two most important circumstantial factors contributing to inequality of opportunity. Our interpretation of the results is that the two measures are complementary in that earnings are associated with flows, and assets are the stock of that and other flows over a longer period of time. In that sense, inequality of opportunity in earnings gives a better indication of inequality in the short run, while inequality in the household assets distribution gives a better sense of inequality in the long run. This interpretation has important policy implications, suggesting the need for two courses of action to bring about a more egalitarian society: the first is to limit excessive variations in current earnings and the other is to narrow the degree of wealth concentration.
Implementation Of The National Program Comunity Empowerment "Plan Strategic Community Development (RESPEK)" (Case Studi In Sota Disctrict Merauke)

The purpose of this study was to determine how the preconditions of policy implementation to support policy implementation Respect Program, and how communication between organizations, resources, executive attitudes and bureaucratic structures that occur in the implementation of policy in the Respect program Sota District Merauke. The method used is descriptive qualitative research. Source of data obtained are from interviews, observation and documentation of research focusing on the implementation of the Respect in Sota District. The results showed precondition Respect program delivery policy implementation in general fall into the category of pretty, but still so many things that need to be addressed. Dissemination activities have been carried out but implementation at the village level results are not optimal. Community participation is still passive and complementary. Communication between organizations constrained limits of authority between provincial and district governments, resources available adequate but are constrained by the rules of the rules that limit. The attitude of the implementing agencies in accordance with the requirements and have high motivation, fragmentation does not cause bottlenecks in policy. Bureaucratic structure has been prepared in accordance with the PTO, but is still constrained in the monitoring and evaluation system is not running properly.
Nowcasting: estimating developments in median household income and risk of poverty in 2014 and 2015

The at-risk-of-poverty rate (AROP) is one of the three indicators used for monitoring progress towards the Europe 2020 poverty and social exclusion reduction target. Timeliness of this indicator is crucial for monitoring of the social situation and of the effectiveness of tax and benefit policies. However, partly due to the complexity of EU-SILC data collection, estimates of the number of people at risk of poverty are published with a significant delay. This paper extends and updates previous work on estimating (â€˜nowcastingâ€™) indicators of poverty risk using the tax-benefit microsimulation model EUROMOD. The modelâ€™s routines are enhanced with additional adjustments to the EU-SILC based input data in order to capture changes in the employment characteristics of the population since the data were collected. The nowcasting method is applied to twenty-five EU Member States. AROP rates are estimated up to 2015 for twenty countries and 2014 for the remaining five countries. The performance of the method is assessed by comparing the predictions with actual EU-SILC indicators for the years for which the latter are available.
Metaplastic breast carcinomas are basal‐like tumours

Aims : Recently, an immunohistochemical panel comprising antibodies against HER2, oestrogen receptor (ER), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and cytokeratin (CK) 5/6 was reported to identify basal‐like breast carcinomas, as defined by cDNA microarrays. Our aim was to analyse a series of metaplastic breast carcinomas (MBCs) using this panel plus two other basal markers (CK14 and p63) and progesterone receptor (PR), to define how frequently MBCs show a basal‐like immunophenotype.
Predictive ability of the CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores for stroke after transcatheter aortic balloon-expandable valve implantation: an Italian Transcatheter Balloon-Expandable Valve Implantation Registry (ITER) sub-analysis.

OBJECTIVES Stroke incidence after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) still represents a concern. This multicentre study aimed at investigating the hypothesis that CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores may be used to predict perioperative stroke after TAVI. METHODS The Italian Transcatheter Balloon-Expandable Valve Implantation Registry (ITER) is a multicentre, prospective registry of patients undergoing balloon-expandable TAVI using Edwards Sapien and Sapien XT prosthesis between 2007 and 2012. The primary end-point of this study was the 30-day stroke rate. Secondary safety end-points were all the major adverse events based on Valve Academic Research Consortium (VARC-2) criteria. RESULTS One thousand nine hundred and four patients were enrolled in the registry. Mean age was 81.6 ± 6.2 years and 1147 (60.2%) patients were female; mean CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores were 2.2 ± 0.8 and 4.4 ± 1.1, respectively. Fifty-four (2.8%) patients had a stroke within 30 days. At multivariable logistic regression analysis, CHA2DS2-VASc (OR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.03-1.78; P = 0.031) and previous cardiac surgery (OR: 1.96, 95% CI: 1.06-3.6; P = 0.033) but not CHADS2 (OR: 1.05, 95% CI: 0.76-1.44; P = 0.77) were found to be independent predictors of in-hospital stroke. A CHA2DS2-VASc score ≥5 was strongly related to the occurrence of in-hospital stroke (OR: 2.51, 95% CI: 1.38-4.57; P= 0.001). However, CHA2DS2-VASc score showed only poor accuracy for in-hospital stroke with a trend for better accuracy when compared with CHADS2 score (area under the curve: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.59-0.63 vs 0.51; 95% CI: 0.49-0.54, respectively, P = 0.092). CONCLUSIONS In TAVI patients, CHA2DS2-VASc provided a strong correlation for in-hospital stroke but with low accuracy. Dedicated scores to properly tailor procedures and preventive strategies are needed.
Raytran: a Monte Carlo ray-tracing model to compute light scattering in three-dimensional heterogeneous media

A model of radiation transfer in three-dimensional (3D) heterogeneous media is designed and evaluated. This model implements state-of-the-art Monte Carlo ray-tracing techniques and is dedicated to the study of light propagation in terrestrial environments. It is designed as a virtual laboratory, where scenes of arbitrary complexity can be described explicitly and where the relevant radiative processes can be represented in great detail, at spatial scales relevant to simulate actual measurements. The approach capitalizes on the existing understanding of the elementary radiative processes and recognizes that the major difficulty in accurately describing the radiation field after its interaction with a typical terrestrial scene results from the complexity of the structure and the diversity of the properties of the elements of the scene. The output of the model can be customized to address various scientific investigations, including the determination of absorption profiles or of light-scattering distributions. The performance of the model is evaluated through detailed comparisons with laboratory measurements of an artificial target as well as with other established reflectance models for plant canopies.
Gadolinium blocks the delayed rectifier potassium current in isolated guinea‐pig ventricular myocytes

The effect of Gd3+ on the delayed rectifier potassium current (IK) in single guinea‐pig ventricular myocytes was tested using whole‐cell patch‐clamp techniques. It was found that Gd3+ blocked 70% of the IK tail current at a concentration of 100 microM. The EC50 was 24 microM. Action potential durations were, however, reduced, consistent with a predominant effect on depolarizing L‐type Ca2+ current (Ica.L). In the presence of 5 microM nifedipine Gd3+ prolonged the action potential. Using carbon fibres to stretch cells we observed that 10 microM Gd3+ was not effective in reducing a large stretch‐activated increase in resting calcium. Modelling studies using the OXSOFT HEART program suggest that this lack of response is influenced by blockade of repolarizing current but is best reproduced by additional blockade of Ca2+ extrusion via the Na(+)ࢤCa2+ exchanger. When Gd3+ is used as a blocker of stretch‐activated channels its actions upon both Ica.L and IK must therefore be accounted for.
Small Molecule Regulators of Protein Arginine Methyltransferases*

Here we report the identification of small molecules that specifically inhibit protein arginine N-methyltransferase (PRMT) activity. PRMTs are a family of proteins that either monomethylate or dimethylate the guanidino nitrogen atoms of arginine side chains. This common post-translational modification is implicated in protein trafficking, signal transduction, and transcriptional regulation. Most methyltransferases use the methyl donor, S-adenosyl-l-methionine (AdoMet), as a cofactor. Current methyltransferase inhibitors display limited specificity, indiscriminately targeting all enzymes that use AdoMet. In this screen we have identified a primary compound, AMI-1, that specifically inhibits arginine, but not lysine, methyltransferase activity in vitro and does not compete for the AdoMet binding site. Furthermore, AMI-1 prevents in vivo arginine methylation of cellular proteins and can modulate nuclear receptor-regulated transcription from estrogen and androgen response elements, thus operating as a brake on certain hormone actions.
Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills for the Photoselective Vaporization of the Prostate Procedure: A Pilot Study.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Photoselective vaporization of the prostate (PVP) is a frequently performed procedure by postgraduate trainees (PGTs). However, there is no PVP-specific objective assessment tool to evaluate the acquisition of PVP skills. The aim of the present study was to develop and validate an objective structured assessment of technical skills tool for the PVP procedure (PVP-OSATS). METHODS This study was conducted in two phases. Phase I included the development of PVP-OSATS and assessment of its reliability and construct validity. Panel discussion among experts led to the development of the PVP-OSATS tool with 12 parameters, each scored from 1 (worst) to 5 (best) with a maximum score of 60. Laser prostatectomy experts and PGTs from postgraduate years (PGY) 4 and 5 were recruited. Inter-rater reliability, using Cohen's and Fleiss's kappa, was calculated for all parameters. To assess for construct validity, PGTs were compared with experts. Phase II included assessment of the concurrent validity of this novel tool. This was performed by recruiting Quebec urology PGTs between PGY-3 and -5 to test their PVP skills during the semiannual objective structured clinical examination using the validated GreenLight(™) simulator. RESULTS During phase I,116 intraoperative PVP-OSATS assessments were collected; 102 for PGTs and 14 for experts. Cohen's and Fleiss's kappa was adequate (k ≥ 0.6) for all 12 parameters, confirming adequate inter-rater reliability. There was significant difference between PGTs and experts in all PVP-OSATS parameters (p ≤ 0.01) except in respect to anatomical landmarks and instrument damage. During phase II, there was significant positive correlation between PVP-OSATS scores inside the operating room and global scores obtained by the GreenLight simulator (r = 0.814; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION This study reports inter-rater reliability, construct, and concurrent validity of PVP-OSATS as a novel PVP-specific objective assessment tool.
The impact of infection after total hip arthroplasty on hospital and surgeon resource utilization.

BACKGROUND Deep infection following total hip arthroplasty is a devastating complication for the patient and a costly one for patients, surgeons, hospitals, and payers. The purpose of this study was to compare revision total hip arthroplasty for infection, revision total hip arthroplasty for aseptic loosening, and primary total hip arthroplasty with respect to their impact on hospital and surgeon resource utilization and referral patterns to a tertiary-care hospital. METHODS Clinical, demographic, and economic data were obtained for twenty-five consecutive patients with an infection after a total hip replacement who underwent a two-stage revision arthroplasty (Group 1) performed by one of two surgeons, between March 2001 and December 2002, at a single institution. Similar data were collected during the same time-period for a cohort of twenty-five consecutive patients who underwent revision of both components because of aseptic loosening (Group 2) and twenty-five consecutive patients who underwent a primary hip arthroplasty (Group 3). Quantitative and categorical variables were compared among the groups. Referral patterns were examined by reviewing the primary diagnosis for all patients referred to our institution for a revision total hip arthroplasty during a five-year period. RESULTS Revision procedures for infection were associated with longer operative time, more blood loss, and a higher number of complications compared with revisions for aseptic loosening or primary total hip arthroplasty (p < 0.02 for all). Revisions for infection were also associated with a higher total number of hospitalizations, total number of days in the hospital, total number of operations, total hospital costs, total outpatient visits, and total outpatient charges during the twelve-month period following the index procedure (p < 0.001 for all). The incidence of referrals to our institution for a diagnosis of infection following total hip arthroplasty increased significantly over a five-year period (Spearman rank correlation, 1.0; p = 0.0083), while referral rates for revision for causes other than infection remained relatively constant (Spearman rank correlation, 0.500; p = 0.3910). CONCLUSIONS The treatment of patients with an infection after a total hip arthroplasty is associated with significantly greater hospital and physician resource utilization compared with the treatment of patients who have a revision because of aseptic loosening or who have a primary total hip arthroplasty. We believe that the lack of incremental reimbursement associated with these procedures results in strong financial disincentives for physicians and hospitals to provide treatment for patients with an infection after a total hip arthroplasty.
Distributed spectrum access in dense 5G networks

The next generation of radio access networks is expected to offer users flexible radio access to a wide range of frequency bands and radio access technologies (RATs) in dense deployments. In this context, we investigate novel lightweight algorithms for spectrum access in ultra-dense networks. We pose the problem as a network utility maximization and apply Lagrange duality to devise distributed algorithms for users to jointly select access nodes and spectrum bands. Leveraging our theoretical framework, we further propose a heuristic scheme for spectrum access based on the expected long-term user data rate per RAT, hence on a measure of the RATs' traffic load. Numerical examples show that our schemes achieve significant throughput gains on top of the gains achievable by network densification.
A double-blind placebo-controlled study of botulinum toxin in upper limb spasticity after stroke or head injury

Objective: To assess dose–response relationships to a single dose of botulinum toxin ‘A’ in upper limb spasticity associated with stroke or head injury. Design: A double-blind placebo-controlled randomized dose ranging study. Setting: A regional centre for neuroscience and a neurorehabilitation outpatient clinic. Subjects: Twenty-one hemiplegic patients with troublesome upper limb spasticity. Nineteen with stroke and two with head injury. Main outcome measures: Spasticity (modified Ashworth), range of movement, posture (postural alignment and finger curl), disability (upper body dressing time and Frenchay Arm Test), patient-reported global assessment scale. Results: Combining data from all doses of botulinum toxin there was a significant reduction in spasticity at the wrist and fingers associated with a greater range of passive movement at the wrist and less finger curl at rest. There was a tendency for a further reduction in spasticity at elbow and wrist to occur with increasing dose but not for finger spasticity or curl. Effects present at six weeks were lost by 12 weeks except for a small improvement in elbow range of movement at the 1500 Mu dose. There was no change in upper limb disability but a significant increase in patients' global assessment of benefit. Conclusion: Botulinum toxin produced beneficial effects in spasticity and passive range of movement in the hemiplegic upper limb. Increasing the dose increased the magnitude of response for impairments in some muscle groups but had little effect on duration of response.
Managing immunity in resistant cancer patients correlates to survival: results and discussion of a pilot study

Abstract Many cancer patients do not die due to impaired organ functions, but as a result of reduced general conditions, such as cachexia, sarcopenia, depression, infections, or stress. Reduced general health may be caused by immune modifying cytokines released from the tumor into the body. Improvement of immunity would not only reduce cancer side effects through inhibiting cytokine release from the tumor into the blood, but also, according to a new hypothesis, modify the cancer stem cells (CSC) in the tumor, which are believed to drive cancer growth and metastasis. We reported previously several investigations with a dietary fermented soy formulation (FSWW08) in cancer patients, where we saw a) strong reduction of cancer symptoms, b) broken resistance to chemotherapy, and c) a strong reduction of chemotherapy’s toxic side effects, when taken in combination. This publication reports two new findings from a pilot study with postsurgical, treatment resistant patients conducted over four years. First, neither treatment resistance nor side effects were observed. Second, more patients have survived than expected. The improved health and immunity is detected together with increased CSC differentiation, suggesting lower aggressiveness, which was corroborated by increased gene expressions, particularly of steroidal hormones, MAPkinase, NF-κB, and tumor suppressor factor p53, a typical marker of “stemness” or cell differentiation. Although limited by its small, homogenous sample size, the results of this pilot study illustrate the relationship between CSCs differentiation, and the clinical symptoms of immunity, which influence survival outcomes and raise the clinical potential of measuring CSCs in ovarian, prostate, and breast cancers. The improved survival rates are also seen in larger cohort studies, which show similar gene expression profiles, which were induced by FSWW08 in the treatment resistant cancer patients in this study.