Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A critical size of silicon nano-anodes for lithium rechargeable batteries.

Due to the high theoretical capacity (ca. 4200 mAhg ) of Si when Li4.4Si is formed, it has been extensively investigated for use as a high-capacity anode material that can replace graphite, which is currently used (372 mAhg ). However, Si exhibits significant volume changes (> 360%) during Li alloying and dealloying. These changes cause cracking and crumbling of the electrode material and a consequent loss of electrical contact between individual particles and hence severe capacity drop. However, such mechanical strain induced by volume change can be reduced by employing smaller particles. To this end, synthetic methods such as spark ablation, aerogel techniques, and sputtering have been employed. Formation of crystalline Si nanoparticles requires higher temperatures due to the more covalent nature of these particles compared to Ge particles, and at low temperature amorphous phases become more common. The first commonly recognized successful production of Si nanoclusters was reported byHeath et al. They showed that Si nanocrystals capped with alkyl groups can be produced by reduction of SiCl4 and RSiCl3 (R=H, C8H17) according to the reaction SiCl4+RSiCl3+Na! Si+NaCl. This process was carried out at high temperature (385 8C) and high pressure (>100 atm) in a steel bomb fitted into a heating mantle. A process that utilizes SiCl4 reduction at room temperature under an inert atmosphere was initially reported by Kauzlarich et al. However, the drawback of their method was that the product obtained at room temperature was not fully crystallized and was severely capped with alkyl terminators. Moreover, an annealing process above 900 8C is required to obtain the crystalline phase. Similar solution syntheses have been reported at low or high temperature after reducing Si salts with LiAlH4 [13,14] or alkyl silanes. However, all of these methods produce a broad particle size distribution or involve aggregation of the nanoparticles. Furthermore, they all yield amounts of material too small for use in anode production for lithium secondary batteries. We now report a synthetic method using reverse micelles at high pressure and temperature in a bomb that produces Si nanoparticles (n-Si) with various particle sizes without aggregation and thus enables the optimal nanoparticle size for use in anode materials to be chosen. Figure 1 shows the XRD pattern and TEM images of n-Si prepared with trimethyloctadecylammonium bromide (OTAB) surfactant. The XRD pattern clearly shows forma-
Rab17‐mediated recycling endosomes contribute to autophagosome formation in response to Group A Streptococcus invasion

Autophagy plays a crucial role in host defence by facilitating the degradation of invading bacteria such as Group A Streptococcus (GAS). GAS‐containing autophagosome‐like vacuoles (GcAVs) form when GAS‐targeting autophagic membranes entrap invading bacteria. However, the membrane origin and the precise molecular mechanism that underlies GcAV formation remain unclear. In this study, we found that Rab17 mediates the supply of membrane from recycling endosomes (REs) to GcAVs. We showed that GcAVs contain the RE marker transferrin receptor (TfR). Colocalization analyses demonstrated that Rab17 colocalized effectively with GcAV. Rab17 and TfR were visible as punctate structures attached to GcAVs and the Rab17‐positive dots were recruited to the GAS‐capturing membrane. Overexpression of Rab17 increased the TfR‐positive GcAV content, whereas expression of the dominant‐negative Rab17 form (Rab17 N132I) caused a decrease, thereby suggesting the involvement of Rab17 in RE–GcAV fusion. The efficiency of GcAV formation was lower in Rab17 N132I‐overexpressing cells. Furthermore, knockdown of Rabex‐5, the upstream activator of Rab17, reduced the GcAV formation efficiency. These results suggest that Rab17 and Rab17‐mediated REs are involved in GcAV formation. This newly identified function of Rab17 in supplying membrane from REs to GcAVs demonstrates that RE functions as a primary membrane source during antibacterial autophagy.
MORPHOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR VARIATION ACROSS A MIGRATORY DIVIDE IN WILLOW WARBLERS, PHYLLOSCOPUS TROCHILUS

A migratory divide is a narrow region in which two populations showing different migratory directions meet arid presumably also mate and hybridize. Banding of willow warblers, Phylloscopus trochilus, in Europe has demonstrated a migratory divide latitudinally across central Scandinavia. In autumn, southern birds migrate southwest to tropical West Africa, whereas northern birds migrate southeast to East and South Africa. The migratory divide is associated with concordant differences in size and plumage coloration. Based on morphology, we estimate the width of the transition zone between northern and southern willow warblers to be less than 350 km. We found indication of linkage disequilibria around the migratory divide, in that measures of body size were correlated with plumage coloration within the contact zone, but uncorrelated within the populations south or north of the contact zone. The presence of linkage disequilibria and the fact that several morphological clines occur together suggest that the hybrid zone is a result of secondary contact between populations that have differentiated in allopatry. This interpretation is in accord with the knowledge of the recolonization pattern of the Scandinavian peninsula after the last glaciation; animals and plants appeared to have colonized either from the south or from the north around the northern bay of the Baltic Sea. If northern and southern willow warblers resided in allopatric populations during late Pleistocene glaciations and the hybrid zone is a result of postglacial range expansions, we would expect some degree of genetic differentiation accumulated during the period in isolation. In contrast, northern and southern willow warblers are near panmictic in the frequencies of alleles of mitochondrial DNA and at two microsatellite loci. The observed pattern, clear morphological and behavioral differentiation without genetic differentiation at neutral loci, suggests either that the differences are maintained by strong selection on the expressed genes in combination with high levels of current gene flow or, in the case of weak gene flow, that the divergence in morphology and behavior is very recent.
Glycosidic Fraction of Flue-cured Tobacco Leaves: Its Separation and Component Analysis

The fraction containing glycosidic components was separated from flue-cured tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) leaves by a facile method. Some components of the fraction were isolated and elucidated to be syringin, coniferin, cichoriin, benzyl-β-D-glucoside, Blumenol A-β-D-glucoside, and 5,6-epoxy-5,6-dihydro-3-hydroxy-β-ionyl-β-D-glucoside. Syringin and coniferin were detected in the Nicotiana species for the first time.
The metabolism and availability of essential fatty acids in animal and human tissues.

Essential fatty acids (EFA), which are not synthesized in animal and human tissues, belong to the n-6 and n-3 families of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), derived from linoleic acid (LA, 18:2n-6) and alpha-linolenic acid (LNA, 18:3n-3). Optimal requirements are 3-6% of ingested energy for LA and 0.5-1% for LNA in adults. Requirements in LNA are higher in development. Dietary sources of LA and LNA are principally plants, while arachidonic acid (AA, 20:4n-6) is found in products from terrestrian animals, and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are found in products from marine animals. EFA are principally present in dietary triacylglycerols, which should be hydrolyzed by lipases in gastric and intestinal lumen. DHA seems to be released more slowly than the others. Its intestinal absorption is delayed but not decreased. Long-chain PUFAs are incorporated in noticeable amounts in chylomicron phospholipids. However, their uptake by tissues is no more rapid than uptake of shorter chain PUFA. In tissues, LA and LNA, which constitute the major part of dietary EFA, should be converted into fatty acids of longer and more unsaturated chain by alternate desaturation (delta 6, delta 5, delta 4)-elongation reactions. Animal tissues are more active in this biosynthesis than human tissues. Liver is one of the most active organs and its role is critical in providing less active tissues, particularly the brain, with long-chain PUFA secreted in VLDL (very low density lipoprotein). In liver, many nutritional, hormonal and physiological factors act on the PUFA biosynthesis. Dietary fatty acids exert a great influence and are often inhibitory. Dietary LNA inhibits delta 6 desaturation of LA. The desaturation products AA, EPA, and DHA inhibit delta 6 desaturation of LA and delta 5 desaturation of DGLA (dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid). With regard to hormones, insulin and thyroxin are necessary to delta 6 and delta 5 desaturation activities, whereas other hormones (glucagon, epinephrine, ACTH, glucocorticoids) inhibit desaturation. Concerning the physiological factors, the age of individuals is critical. In the fetus, the liver and the brain are capable of converting LA and LNA into longer-chain EFA, but these are also delivered by the mother, after synthesis in the maternal liver and placenta. Just after birth, in animals, the delta 6 desaturation activity increases in the liver and decreases in the brain. In aging, the capacity of the whole liver to desaturate LA and DGLA is equal at 1.5 and 25 months of age in rats fed a balanced diet throughout their life and the AA and DHA content of tissue phospholipids is unchanged in aging. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Characterization of photoresist etching in KOH silicon etchant using microneedle masking design

This paper discussed on photoresist etching characterization in 5 % KOH etchant. The work that has been done at UTHM clean room, consists of three main experiment parameters which are bake time, spin speed, and UV expose time. The mask pattern used in this work is based on microneedle array masking design. The observations were done in term of, photoresist thickness and percentage photoresist remaining after wet etching process. The positive resist, PR-2000 was used for the work and grid approximation based on high resolution imaging microscope was used as statistical technique to characterize the effect. The obtained etching behaviors on every microneedle masking array will be useful to assist in developing recipes to fabricate microneedle microstructure.
Síntesis de voz en el dialecto venezolano por medio de la concatenación de difonos.

En este trabajo se presenta un sistema de sintesis de voz venezolana. Este sistema esta basado en el metodo de concatenacion de difonos para lo cual se utilizo una base de 794 difonos (Rodriguez et al. 2003) que permite generar cualquier enunciado en espanol venezolano. Se describe como generar la base de datos de difonos.
A2Ba: Adaptive Background Modelling for Visual Aerial Surveillance Conditions

Background modelling algorithms are widely used to define a part of an image that most time remains stationary in a video. In surveillance tasks, this model helps to recognize those outlier objects in an area under monitoring. Set up a background model on mobile platforms (UAVs, intelligent cars, etc.) is a challenging task due camera motion when images are acquired. In this paper, we propose A 2 Ba, a robust method to support instabilities caused by aerial images fusing different information about image motion. We used frame difference as first approximation, then age of pixels is estimated. This latter gives us an invariability level of a pixel over time. Gradient direction of ages and an adaptive weight are used to reduce impact from camera motion on background modelling. We tested A 2 Ba simulating several conditions that impair aerial image acquisition such as intentional and unintentional camera motion. Experimental results show improved performance compared to baseline algorithms GMM and KDE.
Modification of Sexual Activities in the Era of Aids

Data were gathered from students enrolled in sociology of sexuality classes at an English language College Enseignant General et Professional (CEGEP) in Montreal, Canada in 1981, 1983, 1985 and 1988. The purpose was to ascertain whether young Canadian adults were adjusting their sexual behavior in the direction advocated by the 3 safer sex guidelines promoted in the Canadian AIDS prevention campaigns of 1985 and 1989. The guidelines included 1) abstaining from vaginal and anal intercourse, 2) engaging in a mutually monogamous relationship where the sexual and drug history of the partner is known and there is no potential exposure to HIV, or 3) alternatively guideline to 2, using condoms. Another goal was to establish a data base of cross sections of young adults who were highly motivated to obtain information about sexuality. Reports of samples from 1981 and 885 are those of sexual conduct prior to educational campaigns. By 1988, the students were aware of HIV transmission and prevention. The response rate was 94% for the self-administered questionnaire. The survey included 564 respondents in 1981, 241 in 1983, 234 in 1985, and 259 in 1988. Comparisons were made to the general population at CEGEP. There were no gender, age, or linguistic differences among the population surveyed. The underlying assumption was that people have sufficient knowledge to act in a manner to reduce transmission of HIV. Knowledge of HIV in 1988 was based on 10 questions adapted from the work of Joseph, and DiClemente, Zorn, and Temoshok. 4 independent variables were included in the analysis: year of survey, gender, standards of permission for coitus, and current relationship. Dependent variables were based on 7 dichotomized indicators of compliance with the safer sex guidelines on abstention, mutual monogamy, or condom use. Based on logic analysis an log linear technique, the most parsimonious model was developed and the changes in the relationship between the dependent and independent variables were examined. The results confirm and expand upon earlier findings. Knowledge about AIDS is accurate but does not lead to effective risk reduction. There was no significant change in the safe sex guidelines in 1988. Young adults were found to be not protecting themselves from sexual transmission of HIV in the following ways. 1) There is only temporary abstention from coitus. 2) There is no decrease in multiple partner sex. 3) There is no decrease in nonrelationship coitus. 4) There is no evidence of a shift away from permissiveness prior to marriage or permissiveness whether there is affection or not. The only evidence of safer sex is an increase in the likelihood that condoms have been used at some time.
Cooperation and competition based on free market in swarm system architectures for air defense

Algorithms to perform distributed Command and Control functions in Ground based Air Defense Systems of Systems are presented and analyzed. In previous research we presented the benefits of using swarm architectures for this type of application in terms of no single point of failure, lower detectability and higher scalability. Here we propose some Free Market distributed algorithms based on the principles of negotiation and competition among the swarm of agents performing air defense missions. In our research, parameter optimization as well as experimental results in tactical scenarios are obtained through simulation.
Paper-Based Capacitive Touchpad Using Home Inkjet Printer

In this paper, an inkjet-printed paper-based capacitive touchpad is proposed. This touchpad detects finger contact by sensing the change in effective capacitance caused by the skin electrical impedance. A low-cost flexible disposable touchpad with nine capacitive buttons is fabricated, using paper as a substrate. The use of home inkjet printing technology with silver nanoparticle ink makes the fabrication process simple, fast, cheap, and environmentally friendly. The performance of the proposed touchpad is measured with a microcontroller, and tests are conducted for both the cases of finger and touch pen operation. The measured capacitance of the non-touched state is 228-236 pF, whereas the measured capacitance of the touched state is 340-564 pF. The differences in the capacitance of each state are sufficiently large to indicate that a finger has made contact with the touchpad. The sensitivity of the proposed sensor is evaluated, and the parameters of the proposed sensor are compared with those of other paper-based touch pads.
Moving towards an adaptive enterprise intrusion detection and prevention system

In this paper, we describe our plans to create a smarter network defense system through the collection and analysis of network signatures generated by real security threats. To meet this goal, we plan to create software agents interconnected to a central behavior analysis database service where each software agent records attack meta-information collected during previous intrusion attempts. The central database warehouses and analyzes the meta-information collected by the interconnected agents. The agents can then utilize both instantaneous and historical data by integrating rules derived from the data collection and analysis process into intrusion prevention policies. The result is a modular and scalable network defense system that should be more responsive and adaptable to imminent threats.
Joint assessment of dependent discrete disease state processes

In multiple sclerosis, the primary clinical measure of disability level is an ordinal score, the expanded disability severity scale score. In relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, measures of relapse are additionally of interest. Multiple sclerosis patients are typically assessed with regard to both the expanded disability severity scale and relapse state at each follow-up visit. As both are discrete measures, the two can be viewed as jointly dependent Markov processes. One of the main goals of multiple sclerosis research is to accurately model, over time, both transitions between expanded disability severity scale states and change in relapse state. This objective requires a number of significant modeling decisions, including decisions about whether or not the combination of specific disease states is warranted and assessment of the dependence structure between the two disease processes. Historically, such decisions are often made in an ad hoc manner and are not formally justified. We propose novel use of Bayes factors and Bayesian variable selection in the assessment of jointly dependent Markovian processes in multiple sclerosis. Methods are assessed using both simulated data and data collected from the Partners Multiple Sclerosis Center in Boston, MA.
Critical Study: Joseph Levine's Purple Haze

Cook discovered Cook’s Strait. And Joe Levine discovered Levine’s Gap, the now famous ‘‘explanatory gap’’ that yawns between all of science and the felt qualitative characters of our sensations. Levine has developed his theme over the years, not always in the same direction; Purple Haze is the culminating discussion to date. It is a very rich work. It contains, as preliminaries, a nice contribution to the irritatingly nontrivial problem of characterizing materialism, a useful discussion of mental causation, and a critique of David Chalmers’ wellknown conceivability argument for mind-body dualism (which argument the unwary reader might have expected Levine to endorse). But let us move straight on to the Gap.
50-nm T-gate metamorphic GaAs HEMTs with f/sub T/ of 440 GHz and noise figure of 0.7 dB at 26 GHz

GaAs-based transistors with the highest f/sub T/ and lowest noise figure reported to date are presented in this letter. A 50-nm T-gate In/sub 0.52/Al/sub 0.48/As/In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As metamorphic high-electron mobility transistors (mHEMTs) on a GaAs substrate show f/sub T/ of 440 GHz, f/sub max/ of 400 GHz, a minimum noise figure of 0.7 dB and an associated gain of 13 dB at 26 GHz, the latter at a drain current of 185 mA/mm and g/sub m/ of 950 mS/mm. In addition, a noise figure of below 1.2 dB with 10.5 dB or higher associated gain at 26 GHz was demonstrated for drain currents in the range 40 to 470 mA/mm at a drain bias of 0.8 V. These devices are ideal for low noise and medium power applications at millimeter-wave frequencies.
Diagnosis and treatment of pediatric viral myocarditis

Acute myocarditis is characterized by the rapid development of life-threatening congestive heart failure and arrhythmias. Although the initial stages of this disorder apparently result from direct cytopathic effects on the atrial and ventricular myocardium, later stages of progressive decompensation may result from immune-mediated myocyte destruction. There has been recent improvement in understanding the role of this immunologic cascade. As a result, treatment now begins earlier in the course of the disease and can target both the virus and the immune response. Our ability to implement mechanical support in children as a bridge to transplant or recovery, even in children presenting in the final stages of their disease, has led to an improved outcome regarding morbidity and mortality.
Stenting of Symptomatic Atherosclerotic Lesions in the Vertebral or Intracranial Arteries (SSYLVIA): Study Results

Background and Purpose— Stroke rates in patients with symptomatic intracranial stenosis may be as high as 10% to 24% per year on medical therapy. This multicenter, nonrandomized, prospective feasibility study evaluated the NEUROLINK System for treatment of vertebral or intracranial artery stenosis. Methods— Patients were 18 to 80 years old with symptoms attributed to a single target lesion of ≥50% stenosis. Patients received 5 neurological examinations before and in the year after the procedure, and another angiogram at 6 months. Results— In 61 patients enrolled, 43 (70.5%) intracranial arteries (15 internal carotid, 5 middle cerebral, 1 posterior cerebral, 17 basilar, 5 vertebral) and 18 (29.5%) extracranial vertebral arteries (6 ostia, 12 proximal to the posterior inferior cerebellar artery [PICA]) were treated. In the first 30 days, 4 patients (6.6%) had strokes and no deaths occurred. Successful stent placement was achieved in 58/61 cases (95%). At 6 months, stenosis of >50% occurred in 12/37 (32.4%) intracranial arteries and 6/14 (42.9%) extracranial vertebrals, 4 in the vertebral ostia. Seven (39%) recurrent stenoses were symptomatic. Four of 55 patients (7.3%) had strokes later than 30 days, 1 of which was in the only patient not stented. Conclusions— The NEUROLINK System is associated with a high rate of successful stent deployment. Strokes occurred in 6.6% of patients within 30 days and in 7.3% between 30 days and 1 year. Although restenoses occurred in 35% of patients, 61% were asymptomatic. Further trials involving the NEUROLINK System are warranted.
Overshadowing of subsequent events and recovery thereafter

Four experiments using a conditioned lick suppression preparation with rats were conducted to examine whether overshadowing of subsequent events could be obtained in Pavlovian backward conditioning (i.e. unconditioned stimulus [US] before conditioned stimulus [CS]), and to determine whether such overshadowing could be reversed without further training with the overshadowed CS, as has been reported in overshadowing of antecedent events. In Experiment 1, a backward-conditioned CS overshadowed a second backward-conditioned CS. Two posttraining manipulations, extinction of the overshadowing CS (Experiment 2) and shifting of the temporal relationship of the overshadowing CS to the US (Experiment 3), increased responding to the overshadowed CS. These results constitute the first unambiguous demonstration of stimulus competition between subsequent events using first-order conditioning, and they show that, like overshadowing with forward conditioning, such overshadowing is due, at least in part if not completely, to a failure to express information that had been acquired.