Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
All-Optical Programmable Disaggregated Data Centre Network Realized by FPGA-Based Switch and Interface Card

This paper reports an FPGA-based switch and interface card (SIC) and its application scenario in an all-optical, programmable disaggregated data center network (DCN). Our novel SIC is designed and implemented to replace traditional optical network interface cards, plugged into the server directly, supporting optical packet switching (OPS)/optical circuit switching (OCS) or time division multiplexing (TDM)/wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) traffic on demand. Placing the SIC in each server/blade, we eliminate electronics from the top of rack (ToR) switch by pushing all the functionality on each blade while enabling direct intrarack blade-to-blade communication to deliver ultralow chip-to-chip latency. We demonstrate the disaggregated DCN architecture scenarios along with all-optical dimension-programmable N × M spectrum selective Switches (SSS) and an architecture-on-demand (AoD) optical backplane. OPS and OCS complement each other as do TDM and WDM, which can support variable traffic flows. A flat disaggregated DCN architecture is realized by connecting the optical ToR switches directly to either an optical top of cluster switch or the intracluster AoD optical backplane, while clusters are further interconnected to an intercluster AoD for scaling out.
Modeling languages for real-time and embedded systems: requirements and standards-based solutions

Development of increasingly more sophisticated dependable real-time and embedded systems requires new paradigms since contemporary code-centric approaches are reaching their limits. Experience has shown that model-based engineering using domain-specific modeling languages is an approach that can overcome many of these limitations. This chapter first identifies the requirements for a modeling language to be used in the real-time and embedded systems domain. Second, it describes how the MARTE profile of the industry-standard UML language meets these requirements. MARTE enables precise modeling of phenomena such as time, concurrency, software and hardware platforms, as well as their quantitative characteristics.
Otolaryngology Service Usage in Children With Cleft Palate

Objectives: To determine the usage of otolaryngology services by children with cleft palate at a pediatric tertiary care facility. Design: Retrospective case series. Setting: Specialty clinic at a pediatric tertiary care hospital. Patients: Children born between January 1, 1999, and December 31, 2002, with the diagnosis of cleft palate or cleft lip and palate. A total of 41 female and 48 male patients were included. Main Outcome Measures: Total number of otolaryngology clinic visits and total number of otolaryngologic surgeries (tympanostomy tube placements and other otologic or upper airway procedures). Results: In the first 5 years of life, these children utilized an average of 8.2 otolaryngology clinic visits (SD = 5.0; range: 1-22) and underwent 3.3 tympanostomy tube surgeries (SD = 2.0; range: 0-10). Seventy-three had their first tube placed at the time of palate repair, and 4 at the time of lip repair. Fifty-one (57.3%) required other otologic or upper airway procedures, including tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy (27 children), removal of tympanostomy tubes (24 children), tympanomastoidectomy (3 children), and tympanoplasty (14 children). Of the children who underwent other procedures, they underwent a mean of 1.67 (SD = 0.84; range: 1-4) surgeries. Conclusions: Children with cleft palate are at increased risk for eustachian tube dysfunction, frequently utilize otolaryngology care, and typically receive multiple sets of tympanostomy tubes. This study found that children with cleft palate receive on average of approximately 3 sets of tympanostomy tubes, and the majority required another otologic or upper airway surgery.
Implementation of an after-school obesity prevention program: helping young children toward improved health

Obesity prevention programs that are delivered in after-school programs are needed as a focus on curriculum can make it difficult to include this health programming during the school day. The current study examined the implementation of 2 pilot programs in different after-school programs for young children. There were 36 children in the intervention groups and 18 children in comparison groups. Children learned about healthy eating and increasing involvement in physical activity. Lessons were based on the Traffic Light Diet. Results indicated improvement in children’s reports of their eating habits. Activity levels improved in 1 school, but not in the other. Parents and children were satisfied with the program and children demonstrated good knowledge of the interventions to promote healthy eating. Future studies should include larger sample sizes and evaluation of the effectiveness of different components of the intervention. Nurses can play a key role in disseminating information and designing and leading after-school programs to improve child knowledge about healthy eating and exercise. Nursing students may also benefit from assisting with conducting these types of programs to improve their experience in health prevention programming.
Problem solved? West Nile virus and transfusion safety.

In 2002, just three years after its appearance in the Western Hemisphere, West Nile virus caused the largest outbreak of arboviral encephalitis ever recorded in the United States.1 Epidemiologic investigations that year revealed that West Nile virus could be transmitted by blood transfusion,2 and mathematical models suggested that hundreds of transmissions had occurred.3 By July 2003, shortly before a second seasonal outbreak of similar magnitude began, collaborations among blood-collection organizations, test-kit manufacturers, and government agencies culminated in near-universal screening of U.S. blood donations for West Nile virus with the use of newly developed nucleic acid amplification tests. In this issue .
Passive protective effect of chicken egg yolk immunoglobulins against experimental enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli infection in neonatal piglets

Passive protection of neonatal piglets against fatal enteric colibacillosis was achieved with powder preparations of specific antibodies against K88, K99, and 987P fimbrial adhesins of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli. The antibody powders were obtained by spray drying the water-soluble protein fraction of egg yolks from immunized hens after the lipid components were precipitated with an aqueous dispersion of acrylic resins (Eudragit L30D-55; Rohm pharma). The anti-K88, -K99, and -987P antibody preparations reacted specifically against the corresponding fimbrial antigens in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The orally administered antibodies protected in a dose-dependent fashion against infection with each of the three homologous strains of E. coli in passive immunization trials with a colostrum-deprived piglet model of enterotoxigenic E. coli diarrhea. Scanning electron microscopy revealed adherence of enterotoxigenic E. coli in intestinal epithelial surfaces of control piglets, whereas in treated piglets treated with high-titer antibodies, a resistance to bacterial adhesion was observed. An enzyme immunoassay with avidin-biotin complex demonstrated specific local antibody activity in target areas of the small intestines. In vitro, E. coli K88+, K99+, and 987P+ strains adhered equally to porcine duodenal and ileal epithelial cells but failed to do so in the presence of homologous anti-fimbrial antibodies. Absorption of egg yolk antibodies with fimbrial immunosorbent removed the anti-fimbrial antibody fraction and reduced significantly the protective nature of the antibody preparation in a passive immunization experiment, suggesting that anti-fimbrial antibodies were the active components.
A novel PRPF31 splice-site mutation in a Chinese family with autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa.

PURPOSE The autosomal dominant form of retinitis pigmentosa (ADRP) can be caused by mutations in 13 genes and a further locus for which the gene remains to be identified. This study was intended to identify mutations in a large Chinese pedigree with ADRP. METHODS A genome scan was conducted in the family. The whole coding sequences and the intron-exon boundaries of candidate genes were amplified and sequenced. The reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed to amplify the mutated mRNA. RESULTS The strongest evidence of linkage was detected with three adjacent microsatellite markers genotyped between D19S902 and D19S210 on chromosome 19q13.33-13.43. Within the region, a single nucleotide change (G>A) at position -1 of Intron 5 of PRPF31 was found. The consensus AG doublet of the Intron 5 splice acceptor was changed to AA. The mutation co-segregated with the disease phenotype, suggesting that it was the disease-causing mutation in this family. This splicing site mutation is predicted to cause an erroneous splicing of Exon 6. By RT-PCR, we found the mutated nucleotide of Intron 5 (A) and the first nucleotide of Exon 6 (G) was regarded as a new splice acceptor, resulting in 1 bp deletion of the first codon of Exon 6 (GAG-to-AG) at the mRNA level. This change led to a frameshift and truncated protein of 196 amino acids with 56 novel amino acids prior to a premature stop. CONCLUSIONS A novel splicing mutation (IVS5-1G>A) in the pre-mRNA splicing-factor gene PRPF31 causes retinitis pigmentosa in a large Chinese family. The mutation results in a truncated protein of PRPF31.
Volumetric contraction and methacrylate conversion in photo-polymerized amorphous calcium phosphate / methacrylate composites

Because of its relatively high solubility in aqueous media and its rapid transformation to hydroxyapatite, amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) has been utilized as the filler phase of resin-based bioactive composites that have remineralization potential. The objectives of this study were to determine how various methacrylate resins and various types of ACP fillers affect acrylic vinyl conversion and polymerization shrinkage (PS). Several types of photo-crosslinkable resin systems were prepared and admixed with a mass fraction of 40% of either unhybridized, silicaor zirconia-hybridized ACP. After visible light-activated photo-polymerization ACP composites were assessed by near infrared spectroscopy for degree of vinyl conversion and by mercury dilatometry for PS. It was found for these composites that vinyl conversion was independent of filler type but strongly dependent on the type and composition of the resin phase. PS, on the other hand, showed more complex dependence both on the resin type and composition and, in some cases, on the type of ACP. In order to obtain ACP/methacrylate-based composites with maximal vinyl conversion, resin type and composition are of primary importance. However, in order to minimize volume contraction on polymerization it appears necessary to consider both the resin and filler type of these bioactive composites. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.
Homologous sequences in non‐structural proteins from cowpea mosaic virus and picornaviruses

Computer analyses have revealed sequence homology between two non‐structural proteins encoded by cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV), and corresponding proteins encoded by two picornaviruses, poliovirus and foot‐and‐mouth disease virus. A region of 535 amino acids in the 87‐K polypeptide from CPMV was found to be homologous to the RNA‐dependent RNA polymerases from both picornaviruses, the best matches being found where the picornaviral proteins most resemble each other. Additionally, the 58‐K polypeptide from CPMV and polypeptide P2‐X from poliovirus contain a conserved region of 143 amino acids. Based on the homology observed, a genetic map of the CPMV genome has been constructed in which the 87‐K polypeptide represents the core polymerase domain of the CPMV replicase. These results have implications for the evolution of RNA viruses, and mechanisms are discussed which may explain the existence of homology between picornaviruses (animal viruses with single genomic RNAs) and comoviruses (plant viruses with two genomic RNAs).
Merkel Cell Carcinoma and Multiple Bowen's Disease: Incidental Association or Possible Relationship to Inorganic Arsenic Exposure?

An 81‐year‐old Japanese male was referred to our clinic in 1991 with multiple Bowen's disease. The associated hyperpigmentation of the trunk and extremities and palmo‐plantar keratotic nodules indicated that he had suffered from chronic arsenic poisoning. Interestingly, he was a native of Namikata in Ehime, Japan, where many residents have suffered from multiple Bowen's disease with internal malignancy. Arsenic exposure was strongly suspected. Two years later, Merkel cell carcinoma developed on the dorsum of his right hand, where Bowen's disease lesions were absent. Metastasis of this Merkel cell carcinoma led to his eventual death one year later. To our knowledge, this is the first report of Merkel cell carcinoma associated with multiple Bowen's disease. Chronic arsenic poisoning may be responsible for the association of these two rare skin neoplasms.
Underuse in Elderly Adults: An Underestimated Suboptimal Prescribing

Conflict of Interest: The editor in chief has reviewed the conflict of interest checklist provided by the authors and has determined that the authors have no financial or any other kind of personal conflicts with this paper. Author Contributions: Tsuzuki: Study design, acquisition of subjects and data, interpretation of data. Kagaya: Study design, interpretation of data, drafting the article. Takahashi and Watanabe: Acquisition of subjects and data. Shioya and Sakakibara: Study design, interpretation of data. Kanada and Saitoh: Study concept, revising the article critically for important intellectual content, final approval of the version to be published. Sponsor’s Role: No sponsor.
Planning and Control for Autonomous Excavation

This letter presents a novel planning and control approach for autonomous excavation that is independent of the soil composition and goes beyond a single dig. In contrast to the existing work, which is mostly based on position trajectories for the bucket motion, we define a single dig cycle directly by an end-effector force–torque trajectory. This trajectory applied to different types of soil, resulting in bucket motions that are used by expert operators to adapt to different terrain. Thereby, we can overcome the limitations of current approaches that suffer from the fact that soil interaction forces are dominant and immensely hard to predict or estimate. The end-effector forces and motion of the redundant excavator arm are controlled using a hierarchical optimization approach. Additionally, a large-scale iterative planner is proposed to consecutively execute single digs until a desired ground geometry is achieved. The shown simulation results include multidig excavations that precisely recreate the desired ground shapes. Practical tests are to follow.
Polypeptide release at sense and noncognate stop codons by localized charge-exchange alterations in translational release factors

The mechanism of stop codon recognition during translation has long been a puzzle. Only recently has it been established that a tripeptide in the bacterial release factors (RFs) 1 and 2 serves as the “anticodon” in deciphering stop codons in mRNA. However, the molecular basis of the accuracy of stop codon recognition is unknown. Although specific tripeptides in the RFs are primarily responsible for selective reading of cognate stop codons, charge-flip variant RF proteins, altered at conserved Glu residues adjacent to the tripeptide-anticodon, are shown here to be crucial to codon recognition. Changes of these Glu residues are capable of triggering polypeptide release at noncognate stop codons and also at sense codons. These changes also reverse the growth inhibition by RFs containing “harmful” tripeptide-anticodon changes. These findings suggest that electrostatic interactions involving negative charges in domain C of the RFs mediate their accurate docking in the ribosome. Our results also establish that the charge flipping creates a phenotype/translation termination by “codon bypassing” via relaxed positioning of the RF tripeptide-anticodon in the decoding pocket of the ribosome.
Nutritional effects of autoxidized fats in animal diets

1. Beef fat oxidized to a peroxide value of 109 μmoles/g (218 m-equiv./kg), with a reduction in iodine value of 3.4 units, was incorporated at a 5% level in the diet of day-old chicks (diet 2) and stored for 8 weeks at room temperature during feeding. Similar diets containing fresh fat (diet 1, peroxide value zero) or oxidized fat in which the peroxide had been largely destroyed by heating (diet 3, peroxide value 2 μmoles/g) were also used. The diets contained adequate but not excessive levels of all vitamins, including stabilized vitamin A, except that for half of the chicks the supplement of stabilized vitamin E was omitted. 2. No further oxidation of the dietary lipid occurred during storage, and the initially high peroxide value in diet 2 decreased rapidly. The natural vitamin E decreased by more than 50% in diet 2, but remained unaffected in diets 1 and 3. 3. The chicks grew normally, with no difference in weight gain or feed conversion between the groups, the only differences attributable to the diets being marginally lower vitamin A levels accumulated in the livers of the birds on diet 2 and ajustdetectablyhigher liver weight in the birds on diet 3. 4. One of the twelve chicks receiving oxidized fat (diet 2) without synthetic vitamin E developed encephalomalacia. There was no other suggestion of performance being inferior as a consequence of the absence of the vitamin E supplement. 5. No difference could be detected in the flavour of the chickens, either freshly roasted or reheated.
Researchers probe the aging brain in health and disease.

San Diego—“By the time you’re 80 years old, you’ve learned everything.Youonlyhave to remember it,” quipped comedianGeorgeBurns at various points throughout his lengthy career. Holdingon tomemorieswithage is fundamental to one’s sense of well-being. But although aging is a risk factor for dementias that bring about serious and disabling memory decline, a good portion of older adults remain sharp and quick-witted into their 90s and beyond, experiencing perhaps only minor or annoying alterations in memory and cognitive function. So what distinguishes a healthy aging brain from one in the grips of a dementing illness? Researchers at the annual 2013 Society forNeurosciencemeetingheldhere in November presented insights into how the brain ages normally across a life span and howthosealterationscomparewithchanges thatoccur inbrainsaffectedby injuryorneurodegeneration.
LOW REYNOLDS NUMBER STABILITY OF MHD PLANE POISEUILLE FLOW OF AN OLDROYD FLUID

The linear stability of plane Poiseuille flow at low Reynolds number of a con- ducting Oldroyd fluid in the presence of a transverse magnetic field has been investigated numerically. Spectral tau method with expansions in Chebyshev polynomials is used to solve the Orr-Sommerfeld equation. It is found that viscoelastic parameters have destabi- lizing effect and magnetic field has a stabilizing effect in the field of flow. But no instabil- ities are found.
The vertical distribution of iron stable isotopes in the North Atlantic near Bermuda

Seawater dissolved iron isotope ratios (δ56Fe) have been measured in the North Atlantic near Bermuda. In a full‐depth profile, seawater dissolvedδ56Fe is isotopically heavy compared to crustal values throughout the water column (δ56FeIRMM‐014 = +0.30‰ to +0.71‰). Iron isotope ratios are relatively homogenous in the upper water column (between +0.30‰ to +0.45‰ above 1500 m), and δ56Fe increases below this to a maximum of +0.71‰ at 2500 m, decreasing again to +0.35‰ at 4200 m. The δ56Fe profile is very different from the iron concentration profile; in the upper water column [Fe] is variable while δ56Fe is relatively constant, and in the deeper water column δ56Fe varies while [Fe] remains relatively constant. The δ56Fe profile is also not well correlated with other hydrographic tracers in the North Atlantic such as temperature, salinity, or the concentrations of oxygen, phosphate, silica, and CFC‐11. The dissimilarity betweenδ56Fe profiles and profiles of [Fe] and other hydrographic tracers shows that Fe isotope ratios provide a unique sort of information about ocean chemistry, and they suggest that Fe isotopes may therefore be a valuable new tool for tracing the global sources, sinks, and biogeochemical cycling of Fe.
A Study of the Particle Yen

WE BEGAN our study of the particle yen with the observation that most dictionaries attribute a double pronunciation to the character with which it is written. ' As yen' it stands for an interrogative word, "how? why? "; as yen2 it represents the final particle whose meaning we have construed to be equivalent to that of a very general preposition, such as yii A, plus a third person pronoun. This correlation of meaning with tone is maintained, among others, by Legge in the vocabularies of the Chinese Classics, 1861-72; Lobscheid in A Chinese and English Dictionary, 1871; Gabelentz in Chinesische Grammatik, 1881; Giles in his Chinese-English Dictionary, 1892; and Couvreur in his Dictionnaire Classique (3rd. ed.), 1911. All these are supported by the great K'ang-hsi Dictionary, 1716, and present what we may call the accepted view. But the distinction is not always made. Mateer's Course of Mandarin Lessons, 1892, gives on p. 445 the pronunciation yen' for the " final affirmative particle " and " initial interrogative particle. " Soothill's Pocket Dictionary (10th ed.), 1917, does the same, despite the author's assertion in his preface that " Dr. Giles' Dictionary is responsible for sounds and tones. " If these citations are not mere typographical errors, we have here the traces of a " one-tone tradition" to which we shall return later. Most startling, perhaps, to the conservative student of Chinese will appear the references made in Williams' Syllabic Dictionary. In the edition of 1874, pp. 1082/3, we find yen' given as the pronunciation of the " final affirmative particle," and yen2 given for the " initial interrogative " and the " final adverb. " Williams based his work on the Wu-fang yiian-yin ijI, first published in 1700, and the two editions of the latter in the Library of Congress, which the writer has been able to examine, show that there is no question of a typographical error here. The Wu-fang yian-yin
Targeting RNA Binding Proteins Involved in Neurodegeneration

Dysfunctions at the level of RNA processing have recently been shown to play a fundamental role in the pathogenesis of many neurodegenerative diseases. Several proteins responsible for these dysfunctions (TDP-43, FUS/TLS, and hnRNP A/Bs) belong to the nuclear class of heterogeneous ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs) that predominantly function as general regulators of both coding and noncoding RNA metabolism. The discovery of the importance of these factors in mediating neuronal death has represented a major paradigmatic shift in our understanding of neurodegenerative processes. As a result, these discoveries have also opened the way toward novel biomolecular screening approaches in our search for therapeutic options. One of the major hurdles in this search is represented by the correct identification of the most promising targets to be prioritized. These may include aberrant aggregation processes, protein-protein interactions, RNA-protein interactions, or specific cellular pathways altered by disease. In this review, we discuss these four major options together with their various advantages and drawbacks.