Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Numerical Analysis of the Effect of the Chamber Width and Outlet Area on the Motion of an Air Arc Plasma

This paper is concerned with the investigation of the motion of an air arc plasma in a quenching chamber, in particular with the effect of different chamber widths and outlet areas. A simplified arc chamber of a low-voltage switch device is used for the analysis. Based on a set of governing equations, a 3-D air arc plasma model is constructed and solved by a commercial code. It is found that increasing both the chamber width and the outlet area leads to an increase in the arc speed, but the strength of the dependence varies, depending on the values of the chamber width and the outlet areas. The tail of the arc column becomes shorter as the chamber width is reduced. This is shown due to the reduction in the backward flow by the squeezing of the two flow vortices that occurs.
A low-profile dipole type passive UHF band RFID tag antenna

In this paper, a low-profile dipole type passive UHF radio frequency identification (RFID) tag antenna used in the UHF band is presented. The proposed antenna is anti-symmetrical about the origin and consists of meandered lines and two metal plates. The measured maximum read range of the proposed tag antenna is 6.5 meters at 915MHz. The proposed tag antenna size is 25 mm by 65 mm, and the operating bandwidth is from 902 to 928 MHz under 6dB power reflection coefficient condition. The performance analysis, Kurokawa's method and the Friis free-space formula, is presented along with the simulated and measured data.
Frequency-band Coded Orthogonal UWB Pulse Design based on Chirp Spread Spectrum for Cognitive NBI Suppression

In this paper, a novel frequency-band coded orthogonal UWB pulse design method based on chirp signal is presented. The basic idea of the new approach is that the chirp compression pulses located at different frequency-bands are used to synthesize the orthogonal pulses by coding with Pseudo Noise (PN) sequence in frequency domain. Auto-correlation and Cross-correlation property of the proposed UWB pulses are better than those of other conventional pulses. Furthermore, the new method also improves the efficiency of the instantaneous spectrum and energy of the transmitting UWB signal. In addition, by the aid of Cognitive Radio technology to adjust the sub-pulses frequency range at NBI bands, it is can be guaranteed the transmitting signal in accordance with FCC spectral mask and coexistence, interference avoidance with other traditional narrow band system. And simulation result showed that the proposed pulse could reduce the effect of narrow band interference on UWB system with litter complexity.
Somatoform Dissociation in Depersonalization Disorder

ABSTRACT Along with psychoform dissociation, somatoform dissociation has been put forth as a core aspect of dissociative states, possibly as reliable as psychoform dissociation in the screening for dissociative disorders. The goal of this study was to investigate the prominence and correlates of somatoform dissociation in one of the major Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text rev.) dissociative disorders, depersonalization disorder (DPD). A total of 54 adults with DPD and 47 healthy control participants free of lifetime Axis I and II disorders were administered the 20-item Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire (SDQ) as well as the Dissociative Experiences Scale, the Cambridge Depersonalization Scale, and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire–Short Form. Somatoform dissociation scores were statistically significantly, but clinically only modestly, elevated in the DPD as compared to the healthy control group. SDQ items significantly elevated in the DPD group were mostly perceptual in nature. Depersonalization scores were significantly correlated with somatoform dissociation in the DPD group, whereas absorption and amnesia scores were not. With respect to childhood interpersonal trauma, although emotional abuse was significantly associated with depersonalization severity, none of the 5 categories of trauma were significantly associated with somatoform dissociation in the DPD group. In conclusion, somatoform dissociation is modest in DPD, and the SDQ is a weak instrument for the screening of dissociation in this disorder, detecting only one third of the sample when using the traditional SDQ cutoff score of 30.
A pilot dose-finding clinical trial of creatine monohydrate augmentation to SSRIs/SNRIs/NASA antidepressant treatment in major depression

Creatine’s effects on brain energy metabolism raise the possibility of developing a new therapeutic strategy in depression focusing on the treatment of metabolic hypoactive brain areas. Previous creatine augmentation studies in patients with major depression showed a beneficial effect. Eighteen patients (14 women) with major depression not responding to previous 3 weeks of antidepressant treatment were enrolled into a pilot, dose finding, 4-week double-blind parallel augmentation study where creatine monohydrate 5 or 10 g daily or placebo was added to ongoing SSRIs/SNRIs/NASA treatment. Rating scales included the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and the Clinical Global Impression Severity scale. Overall, there was no difference between creatine administered at 5 or 10 g daily and its corresponding placebos. Two female patients on creatine augmentation, but none on the placebo, showed early improvement of more than 50% reduction in Hamilton Depression Rating Scale after 2 weeks of creatine treatment. No clinically relevant side effects were reported. This preliminary study seems to suggest that the strategy using creatine augmentation in major depressive women showing no ‘real-life response’ to 3 weeks of treatment with SSRIs/SNRIs/NASA treatment is of no advantage compared with placebo. However, such creatine augmentation may still induce a more rapid response in a small subgroup of these female patients.
The study of deep trench etch process for PCRAM

The deep trench (DT) is the key process to form the diode array in the diode-selected Phase Change Random Access Memory (PCRAM). In this work, the DT has been successfully developed with common etch chamber. We investigated the influence of different etch schemes on the DT profile. It is demonstrated Si etch with hard mask scheme can deliver better DT profile than that with soft mask. The gas impact on the DT profile is also studied. Bowing free profile is got after F-based gas decrease and necking profile is much improved with N2 gas decrease. At last the correlation between Si damage and DT profile is also showed.
Intrinsically unstructured proteins by design—electrostatic interactions can control binding, folding, and function of a helix‐loop‐helix heterodimer

Intrinsically disordered proteins that exist as unordered monomeric structures in aqueous solution at pH 7 but fold into four‐helix bundles upon binding to recognized polypeptide targets have been designed. NMR and CD spectra of the monomeric polypeptides show the hallmarks of unordered structures, whereas in the bound state they are highly helical. Analytical ultracentrifugation data shows that the polypeptides bind to their targets to form exclusively heterodimers at neutral pH. To demonstrate the relationship between binding, folding, and function, a catalytic site for ester hydrolysis was introduced into an unordered and largely inactive monomer, but that was structured and catalytically active in the presence of a specific polypeptide target. Electrostatic interactions between surface‐exposed residues inhibited the binding and folding of the monomers at pH 7. Charge–charge repulsion between ionizable amino acids was thus found to be sufficient to disrupt binding between polypeptide chains despite their inherent propensities for structure formation and may be involved in the folding and function of inherently disordered proteins in biology. Copyright © 2013 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An Efficient Technique for Nearest-Neighbor Query Processing on the SPY-TEC

The SPY-TEC (spherical pyramid-technique) was proposed as a new indexing method for high-dimensional data spaces using a special partitioning strategy that divides a d-dimensional data space into 2d spherical pyramids. In the SPY-TEC, an efficient algorithm for processing hyperspherical range queries was introduced with a special partitioning strategy. However, the technique for processing k-nearest-neighbor queries, which are frequently used in similarity search, was not proposed. In this paper, we propose an efficient algorithm for processing nearest-neighbor queries on the SPY-TEC by extending the incremental nearest-neighbor algorithm. We also introduce a metric that can be used to guide an ordered best-first traversal when finding nearest neighbors on the SPY-TEC. Finally, we show that our technique significantly outperforms the related techniques in processing k-nearest-neighbor queries by comparing it to the R*-tree, the X-tree, and the sequential scan through extensive experiments.
New research findings on adolescent reproductive health in Africa.

Available evidence indicates that sub-Saharan Africa has some of the worst indicators associated with adolescent reproductive health in the world. Data indicates that by age 20 at least 80% of the continents youth have become sexually active. In many sub-Saharan African countries first sexual exposure takes place outside marriage under circumstances of low and inaccurate knowledge of sexual and reproductive health and with very little use of family planning or other protective measures. This pattern of high risk sexual behavior is associated with an increased incidence of sexually transmitted diseases HIV/AIDS unwanted pregnancy unsafe abortion and high fertility rates among youths in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the high burden of ill-health associated with adolescent reproductive health in Africa there is very little understanding of what needs to be done to reduce the scale of the problem. Increasingly some of the most pervading social cultural and economic determinants that fuel adolescent sexuality in African have become seriously entrenched and have shown no signs of abating. With persisting poverty facing many countries in Africa and the increasing activism of pro-life groups and various cultural and religious gatekeepers much of what was gained in the 1990s in promoting adolescent sexual and reproductive health in Africa have been showing signs of reversal. Although many government in Africa view with concern the regions continued rapid population growth high birth rates and escalating rates of HIV infection there has been little political will to address the problem in a realistic manner. (excerpt)
Understanding Gay Identity Development Within the College Environment

Using grounded theory methodology, the experiences of 11 self-identified gay male college studentswere explored to understand how the environment contributed to the exploration and development of a gay identity. One central category (finding empowerment) and 5 integrative categories (self-acceptance, disclosure to others, environmental influences, individual factors, and exploring multiple identities) emerged from the research. Findings suggested that one's sexual identity is complexly integrated and often at odds with other aspects of the individual's identity.
Metric-Driven RoSy Fields Design

Designing rotational symmetries on surfaces is an important task for a wide range of graphics applications. This work introduces a rigorous and practical algorithm for automatic N-RoSy design on arbitrary surfaces with user deﬁned ﬁeld topologies. The user has full control of the number, positions and indices of the singularities, the turning numbers of the loops, and is able to edit the ﬁeld interactively. We formulate N-RoSy ﬁeld construction as designing a Riemannian metric, such that the global symmetry of the metric is compatible with the local symmetry of N-RoSy. We prove the compatibility condition using discrete parallel transportation. The complexity of N-RoSy ﬁeld design is caused by curvatures. In our work, we propose to simplify the Riemannian metric to make it ﬂat almost everywhere. This approach greatly simpliﬁes the process and improves the ﬂexibility, such that, it can design N-RoSy ﬁelds with single singularity, and mixed-RoSy. This approach can also be generalized to construct regular remeshing on surfaces. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, we apply our design system to pen-and-ink sktetching and geometry remeshing. Furthermore, based on our remeshing results with high global symmetry, we generate Celtic knots on surfaces directly.
Heterogene Sensordatenfusion zur robusten Objektverfolgung im automobilen Straßenverkehr

Future driver assistance systems will require not only information about the current state of a vehicle but also a perception and modelling of the environment. Depending on the complexity of the assistance function it will have a variable scale of details. Safety systems - like automatic breaking - have to meet the highest requirements. The geometric as well as the dynamic parameters of potential collision partners have to be calculated as precisely as possible. Because no state-of-the-art sensor device is able to meet the whole variety of requirements, a sensor data fusion of heterogenous sensors is therefore essential. Here the advantages of radar sensors measuring the dynamic properties of objects can be combined with the advantages of optical sensors measuring their geometric dimension. In order to achieve an optimal fusion, however, different aspects have to be considered. Three of those are covered by this thesis and will be presented after a detailed bibliography: The processing of asynchronous sensor data, an improved sensor model for optical sensors in particular, and finally a fusion architecture for a varying observability of the state vector. This thesis will show different possibilities to modify a Kalman filter architecture in order to stabilize object tracking especially when the perspective is changing - which is typical for overtaking manoeuvres. The advantages of the proposed algorithms will be demonstrated on the basis of real sensor data.
A Framework for Thinking About the Role of HIT in Supporting Decision-Making in Pediatrics

Evidence-based decision-making is central to the practice of pediatrics. Clinical trials and other biomedical research provide a foundation for this process, and practice guidelines, drawing from their results, inform the optimal management of an increasing number of childhood health problems. However, many clinicians fail to adhere to guidelines. Clinical decision support delivered using health information technology, often in the form of electronic health records, provides a tool to deliver evidence-based information to the point of care and has the potential to overcome barriers to evidence-based practice. An increasing literature now informs how these systems should be designed and implemented to most effectively improve outcomes in pediatrics. Through the examples of computerized physician order entry, as well as the impact of alerts at the point of care on immunization rates, the delivery
Insecticidal Activity of Bacillus laterosporus

ABSTRACT The Bacillus laterosporus strains 921 and 615 were shown to have toxicity for larvae of the mosquitoes Aedes aegypti, Anopheles stephensi, and Culex pipiens. The larvicidal activity of B. laterosporus was associated with spores and crystalline inclusions. Purified B. laterosporus 615 crystals were highly toxic for Aedes aegypti and Anopheles stephensi.
ATECAR: An Asian American Community-Based Participatory Research Model on Tobacco and Cancer Control

In the past few decades, community-based participatory research, which underscores the indispensable role of the community in all phases of the research process, has been recognized as a viable approach to working constructively with communities to achieve mutually beneficial goals. This article presents a history of the Asian Tobacco Education, Cancer Awareness and Research’s pioneering efforts in conducting community-based participatory research among Asian Americans in the Delaware Valley region of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Information about project background, target populations, and the rationale for the conduct of community-based participatory research in American communities is provided. It also delineates the manner in which the principles of community-based participatory research were applied as guides for the development of partnership infrastructures, research programs, and the challenges and barriers that were encountered. Facilitating factors in partnership building, and implications of employing this model in this ethnically and racially diverse population, are further discussed.
Action of the efferent vestibular system on primary afferents in the toadfish, Opsanus tau.

Spinalized toadfish were held in a lucite chamber and perfused through the mouth with running seawater. Primary vestibular afferents and vestibular efferent axons and somas were studied with glass microelectrodes. Vestibular semicircular canal afferent and efferent axons were visually identified and penetrated with glass microelectrodes. Afferents responded to pulses of injected current with trains of action potentials, whereas efferents responded with only a single spike. This differential response to injected current served to further distinguish these two classes of nerve fibers that share the same canal nerve for part of their course. When current pulses were injected into efferent somadendritic recording sites, cells responded with trains of action potentials similar to those seen in other central nervous system neurons. Semicircular canal afferents were spontaneously active and occupied the same spectrum of regularity as vestibular afferents recorded in other species. Behavioral arousal evoked by lightly touching the fish on the snout or over the eye resembled spontaneous arousal observed in the field and consisted of eye withdrawal, fin erection, and attempted swimming. Efferent vestibular neurons were spontaneously active and increased their frequency of discharge when the fish was behaviorally aroused. Most efferents were briskly activated by behavioral arousal, but the time constant of the decay of their responses was variable ranging from 100 to 600 ms. Not only touch, but multimodal stimuli were capable of increasing the level of spontaneous activity of efferent vestibular neurons. The shortest latency to behavioral activation was 160 ms. Vestibular primary afferents also manifested increase in neuronal activity with behavioral activation. Irregularly discharging afferents were much more responsive than regularly discharging afferents. One rare case of transient inhibition in a regularly discharging afferent is illustrated. Severing the efferent vestibular nerve blocked behavioral activation in vestibular primary afferents. Electrical stimulation of the efferent vestibular nerve produced excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) at latencies within the monosynaptic range in vestibular primary afferents. These monosynaptic EPSPs could produce action potentials in primary afferents or could sum with subthreshold depolarizations produced by current passed through the microelectrode to initiate impulses. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Broadband and Wavelength-Dependent Chalcogenide Optical Fiber Couplers

We present optical fiber couplers made of As<sub>2</sub>Se<sub>3</sub> glass. Broadband and wavelength-dependent couplers are fabricated from fibers of engineered core/cladding diameter ratios. Coupling ratios at the through-cross ports ranging from 50%–50% down to 1%–99% are achieved. The transparency of As<sub>2</sub>Se<sub>3</sub> glass over the spectral range of 1.5–12.0 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> makes it a material of prime interest for the fabrication of mid-infrared couplers.
Understanding the immune response to seasonal influenza vaccination in older adults: a systems biology approach

Annual vaccination against seasonal influenza is recommended to decrease disease-related mortality and morbidity. However, one population that responds suboptimally to influenza vaccine is adults over the age of 65 years. The natural aging process is associated with a complex deterioration of multiple components of the host immune system. Research into this phenomenon, known as immunosenescence, has shown that aging alters both the innate and adaptive branches of the immune system. The intricate mechanisms involved in immune response to influenza vaccine, and how these responses are altered with age, have led us to adopt a more encompassing systems biology approach to understand exactly why the response to vaccination diminishes with age. Here, the authors review what changes occur with immunosenescence, and some immunogenetic factors that influence response, and outline the systems biology approach to understand the immune response to seasonal influenza vaccination in older adults.
Stable frequency of HIV-1 transmitted drug resistance in patients at the time of primary infection over 1996–2006 in France

Background:Transmission of drug-resistant variants is influenced by several factors, including the HIV-1 RNA levels in HIV-1-infected patients. Our study describes the transmitted drug-resistant virus among 1446 French patients diagnosed at the time of primary infection and included from 1996 to 2006 along with the proportion of chronically infected treated patients in the French Hospital Database on HIV (FHDH). Methods:Genotypic resistance tests were performed at the time of primary infection. The proportion of patients with viral load <500 copies/ml among treated patients, enrolled in the FHDH, was calculated. Results:Over 1996–2006, the proportion of transmitted resistant viruses to at least one antiretroviral was estimated as 10.9%. When considering class resistance, there was an increase in transmission of nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-resistant virus from 0.6% in 1996–1998 to 4.4% in 1999 (P = 0.034), whereas no change was evidenced for either nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor or protease inhibitor resistance. In the FHDH, the proportion of patients receiving combination antiretroviral therapy (cart) increased from 27.7% in 1996 to 81.4% in 2006 and the proportion of viral load <500 copies/ml in treated patients increased from 17.0% in 1996 to 85.3% in 2006. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that 25.5% of patients harboured HIV-1-non-B virus at the time of primary infection in 2005–2006 compared to 10% in 1996–1998. Conclusion:In this large study of patients at the time of primary infection, the frequency of acquired resistant virus was stable over time, over 5% for nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor and nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor. One explanation for this stability may be the increasing number of treated patients in virological success.
Objective measurement of binocular fixation misalignment.

The amount of deviation from central fixation during binocular fusion of a vertical border was compared with conventional fixation disparity measured at the same time, forced convergence serving as the independent variable. Fixation eccentricity was measured objectively by monitoring a scleral blood vessel with a video camera and by analyzing the movement, greatly magnified, on a video screen. Fixation disparity was measured conventionally by interocular nonius alignment of vertically dissociated line segments. The results agree well with previous comparisons of these responses, in which the fixation eccentricity was measured by using a technique based on the effect of retinal stimulus location on border enhancement. As in the previous experiment, the fixation misalignment was found to be many times larger than the corresponding disparity for most forced convergence values. The large discrepancy between actual fixation misalignment and fixation disparity has thus been documented objectively as well as subjectively.