Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Diplexer Based on the Spatial Filtering Property of Planar Anisotropic Transmission-Line Metamaterials

The objective of this work is to investigate the possible use of metamaterials to achieve frequency diplexing. The metamaterial of interest is a planar anisotropic metamaterial proposed by Balmain et al. in [1]. It was shown in [2] that this metamaterial is magnetically anisotropic and could be described by a diagonal permeability tensor. For a certain range of frequencies, two of the three diagonal elements of the permeability tensor become opposite in sign. Under this condition, plane-wave propagation is governed by a hyperbolic dispersion equation and the metamaterial could be referred to as a hyperbolic metamaterial [3]. As a result, under point-source excitation, resonance cones form as a consequence of the singularity associated with the characteristic surface of the hyperbolic dispersion equation. Since the resonance cone angle, which describes the direction of power flow [4], varies with the frequency of the propagating wave, the phenomenon may properly be termed “spatial filtering. ” The diplexer presented in this work exploits this inherent spatial filtering property of the hyperbolic metamaterial to achieve frequency diplexing.
Six-minute walk distance predictors, including CT scan measures, in the COPDGene cohort.

BACKGROUND Exercise tolerance in COPD is only moderately well predicted by airflow obstruction assessed by FEV(1). We determined whether other phenotypic characteristics, including CT scan measures, are independent predictors of 6-min walk distance (6MWD) in the COPDGene cohort. METHODS COPDGene recruits non-Hispanic Caucasian and African American current and ex-smokers. Phenotyping measures include postbronchodilator FEV(1) % predicted and inspiratory and expiratory CT lung scans. We defined % emphysema as the percentage of lung voxels < -950 Hounsfield units on the inspiratory scan and % gas trapping as the percentage of lung voxels < -856 Hounsfield units on the expiratory scan. RESULTS Data of the first 2,500 participants of the COPDGene cohort were analyzed. Participant age was 61 ± 9 years; 51% were men; 76% were non-Hispanic Caucasians, and 24% were African Americans. Fifty-six percent had spirometrically defined COPD, with 9.3%, 23.4%, 15.0%, and 8.3% in GOLD (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease) stages I to IV, respectively. Higher % emphysema and % gas trapping predicted lower 6MWD (P < .001). However, in a given spirometric group, after adjustment for age, sex, race, and BMI, neither % emphysema nor % gas trapping, or their interactions with FEV(1) % predicted, remained a significant 6MWD predictor. In a given spirometric group, only 16% to 27% of the variance in 6MWD could be explained by age, male sex, Caucasian race, and lower BMI as significant predictors of higher 6MWD. CONCLUSIONS In this large cohort of smokers in a given spirometric stage, phenotypic characteristics were only modestly predictive of 6MWD. CT scan measures of emphysema and gas trapping were not predictive of 6MWD after adjustment for other phenotypic characteristics.
Immunological Basis of Vaccination

Equine veterinarians are faced with new commercial vaccines, new efficacy claims, and potential side effects, combined with an increased awareness of the questionable efficacy of established vaccines. These complex issues require of equine veterinarians a more comprehensive understanding of vaccine immunology in order to be able to judge this information. The future promises further change and controversy. The aim of this paper is to provide a review of the basic immunological processes that are critical to an understanding of the process of vaccination. Currently a wide variety of vaccines are available for use in horses but the efficacy of these products varies widely despite the fact that many of these vaccines are similar in design, containing killed organisms or toxoids combined with simple adjuvants. A significant reason for this is that this single type of vaccination strategy will stimulate only one array of immune responses. In the case of infections like tetanus, the inactivated toxoid vaccine generates neutralizing antibodies that are highly successful in providing long-term complete protection. However, in the case of viral infections, such as equine influenza virus, current inactivated virus vaccines fail to induce the complete spectrum of immune responses required for lasting and effective protection. The first step to overcoming the limitations of current vaccines is understanding what type of immune responses are required to protect against a specific pathogen.
Hormone replacement therapy and malignancy

The benefits of oestrogen replacement therapy are well established in the relief of menopausal symptoms (Campbell & Whitehead 1977). The longer term benefits of a profound reduction in ischaemic heart disease (Hammond et al. 1979; Henderson et al. 1986; Henderson et al. 1988a; Pagini-Hill et al. 1988) and osteoporosis (Weiss et al. 1980) are of greater impact epidemiologically. However, apprehension and controversy still surround the possible risk association that such treatment may have with malignancy. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may affect endocrine sensitive tissues such as the breast, endometrium and, to a lesser extent, the ovary. Whilst there are data on the possible effect of HRT on the development of breast, endometrial and ovarian carcinomata, there are few studies on the very real need for HRT in women who have been successfully treated for these conditions and advice and subsequent treatment remains controversial. There have been many studies examining the relative risks of a woman developing carcinoma of the breast whilst taking hormone replacement therapy. Early work demonstrating a higher risk of breast cancer development in women treated with replacement oestrogens (Bergkvist et al. 1989) aroused concern but it soon became apparent that the increased risks were observed only in women who had received injectable oestrogen and were not seen in women receiving oral conjugated oestrogens (Hulka et al. 1982). The overall risk of a woman developing carcinoma of the breast whilst taking 0.625 mg/d or less conjugated oestrogen is between 1-01 (Creasman 1991) and 1.1 (Dupont &Page 1991). Some authors have suggested that there may be an increase in the incidence of breast carcinoma after prolonged use (Hoover et al. 1981; Brinton et al. 1986; Steinberg et al. 1991). However, the mortality from breast cancer in users of hormone replacement therapy does not differ from the general population with a risk ratio (RR) of 1.0 (Hunt et al. 1990). If women in whom the mitogenic action of oestrogen is greatest could be identified, it might be possible to reduce the risks even further. The risk is known to be greater in women with a family history of breast carcinoma (Steinberg et al. 1991) suggesting the need to be more cautious. However, data suggest that there is no increased risk with HRT use in women in whom there is histologically proven benign breast disease without atypia and indeed they may have a lower risk (Dupont et al. 1989). No data are available in women diagnosed as having in situ carcinoma, either ductal (DCIS), or lobular (LCIS) therefore it would seem prudent at this time not to treat these women. Further, what treatment regimens should be offered to women after treatment of early stage carcinoma of the breast? Again evidence is circumstantial. In support of
Robot navigation using sensors with fuzzy characteristics

A fuzzy controller for navigating a robot tracking a wire is developed. The robot is part of a tick eradication system that works by attracting ticks using CO2 emitted from a tube and collecting and killing them with an acaricide impregnated cloth. The authors show that using sensors with fuzzy characteristics to track a wire in the CO2 tube produces a fuzzy controller that bypasses the fuzzification step resulting in a simple and effective controller.
Microarray Analysis of Differentially Expressed microRNAs in Allergic Rhinitis

Background Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a common disease characterized by chronic inflammation of the nasal mucosa, but we have not fully understood the mechanism responsible for the development of AR. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short endogenous noncoding RNAs regulating protein translation through a mechanism known as RNA interference. To understand the molecular mechanisms of miRNA involved in the pathogenesis of AR, expressed miRNAs in AR were investigated through genomewide microarray analysis. Methods Mammalian miRNA microarrays containing whole human mature and precursor miRNA sequences were used for analyzing eight samples of nasal mucosa of AR and eight samples of nonallergic patients. Quantitative reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of some different expressed miRNAs was used to confirm the array results. Results The miRNA microarray chip analysis identified 421 miRNAs differentially expressed in the nasal mucosa of AR, and a total of 9 miRNAs were identified in the AR group with twofold change compared with control samples (p < 0.05). These included up-regulated miRNAs, hsa-hsa-miR-7, and hsa-miRPlus-E1194, and down-regulated miRNAs, hsa-miR-498, hsa-miR-187, hsa-miR-874, hsa-miR-143, hsa-miR-886–3p, hsa-miR-224, and hsa-miR-767–5p. RT-PCR results also confirmed that part of differentially expressed miRNAs as hsa-miR-224, hsa-miR-187, and hsa-miR-143 were down-regulated in AR. Conclusion The report indicated that many miRNA expressions were altered in AR and differentially expressed miRNAs appear to be involved in the development of AR. The study of miRNAs may lead to a better understanding about the roles of identified miRNAs in the pathogenesis of AR; this would be considered in future therapeutic strategies.
Enhancement of Feature Engineering for Conditional Random Field Learning in Chinese Word Segmentation Using Unlabeled Data

This work proposes a unified view of several features based on frequent strings extracted from unlabeled data that improve the conditional random fields (CRF) model for Chinese word segmentation (CWS). These features include character-based n-gram (CNG), accessor variety based string (AVS) and its variation of left-right co-existed feature (LRAVS), term-contributed frequency (TCF), and term-contributed boundary (TCB) with a specific manner of boundary overlapping. For the experiments, the baseline is the 6-tag, a state-of-the-art labeling scheme of CRF-based CWS, and the data set is acquired from the 2005 CWS Bakeoff of Special Interest Group on Chinese Language Processing (SIGHAN) of the Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL) and SIGHAN CWS Bakeoff 2010. The experimental results show that all of these features improve the performance of the baseline system in terms of recall, precision, and their harmonic average as F1 measure score, on both accuracy (F) and out-of-vocabulary recognition (FOOV). In particular, this work presents compound features involving LRAVS/AVS and TCF/TCB that are competitive with other types of features for CRF-based CWS in terms of F and FOOV, respectively.
Effect of Cortical Magnetic Stimulation on cognition and upper extremity reaction time

Cortical Magnetic Stimulation (CMS) is a painless, noninvasive tool useful for mapping cortical organization in a clinical environment. A recent report warned of temporary impairment of cognitive function coupled with a reduction in reaction time after CMS, while previous assessment of cognitive function before and after CMS revealed no effects at all. We have designed a study to determine if clinical mapping investigations employing CMS have any effect on short term attention, concentration, memory, or upper extremity motor reaction time, and if any observed effects are due to the presence of cortical stimulation. Data presented show no significant changes in cognitive function or reaction time after CMS but a trend toward reduced reaction times is noted.
Actin mechanics and fragmentation 1 Actin mechanics and fragmentation

Cell physiological processes require the regulation and coordination of both mechanical and dynamical properties of the actin cytoskeleton. Here we review recent advances in understanding the mechanical properties and stability of actin filaments and how these properties are manifested at larger (network) length scales. We discuss how forces can influence local biochemical interactions, resulting in the formation of mechanically sensitive dynamic steady states. Understanding the regulation of such force-activated chemistries and dynamic steady states reflects an important challenge for future work that will provide valuable insights as to how the actin cytoskeleton engenders mechanoresponsiveness of living cells. ___________________________________ I. Actin Cytoskeleton The non-covalent polymerization of the cytoskeleton protein actin (Figure 1) into linear filaments powers a variety of nonmuscle cell movements underlying their migration, division and assembly into multicellular tissue (1). Crosslinking proteins arrange filaments into higher-order assemblies such as parallel bundles of filopodia and microvilli, isotropic networks of the cortex and contractile bundles in the lamella that provide cells with mechanical integrity, sensing and shape (2-4). Contractile myosin motor proteins generate force and work output (i.e. motility and transport) along filament tracks, in both muscle and non-muscle cells (5). Actin filaments grow and shrink from their ends through subunit addition and loss, respectively. Accordingly, the overall assembly dynamics and turnover of the actin cytoskeleton in cells is influenced by factors that modulate the filament end concentration. Nucleating proteins and complexes generate new filament ends, often branching from existing filament templates (1). Capping proteins bind filament ends and slow or inhibit subunit http://www.jbc. org/cgi/doi/10.1074/jbc.R115.636472 The latest version is at JBC Papers in Press. Published on May 8, 2015 as Manuscript R115.636472 Copyright 2015 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc. at U niersity of C hago L irary on M ay 1, 2015 hp://w w w . jb.org/ D ow nladed from Actin mechanics and fragmentation
Measles virus specific antibody in infants in a highly vaccinated society

Measles virus specific antibody levels were measured in infants from 2 to 12 months of age. The sera were tested by hemagglutination‐inhibition (HI), neutralization (NT), and enzyme immunoas‐say (EIA) methods. The results of this study indicate that in the population examined, infants at an early age have very low or no immunity of maternal origin to measles virus‐93% of the infants were without detectable neutralizing antibody (NT liter ≤10) at 6 months of age, and by the end of the first year of life 100% had no neutralizing antibody.
Measurement properties of the Clinical Risk Index for Babies--reliabilty, validity beyond the first 12 hours, and responsiveness over 7 days.

OBJECTIVES Clinical Risk Index for Babies (CRIB) is a simple instrument used to measure clinical risk and illness severity in very low birth-weight infants. We assessed its reliability, validity beyond the first 12 hrs after birth, and responsiveness to individual change in condition after 7 days. DESIGN Cohort study. SETTING Three tertiary and three nontertiary UK hospitals. PATIENTS Three hundred ninety-eight infants whose birth weight was <1501 g or who were born before a 31-wk gestation period. INTERVENTIONS Inter- and intrarater reliability of data extraction were assessed by Pearson and intraclass correlation. To validate CRIB, we tested the correlation between clinical risk and illness severity with the risk of: a) death; b) prolonged treatment with supplemental oxygen; and c) disability at 2 yrs. Logistic regression models were fitted to assess validity and responsiveness. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Reliability coefficients ranged from 0.76 (95% confidence interval, 0.71 to 0.81) to 0.97 (0.94 to 1.00). Throughout the first week, CRIB correlated with the risk of death (p < .001), prolonged treatment with oxygen (p < .001), and disability (p < .001 to p = .033). Improved condition, represented by a reduction in CRIB within the first week, was independently associated with lower risks of each adverse outcome, p < . 05. CONCLUSIONS During the first week, CRIB was reliable, valid, and responsive. These properties support the use of CRIB in the stratification of infants by risk and illness severity in cohort studies, and they also indicate that CRIB may have the potential to be used in other ways in the future.
Human psychopharmacology of Ecstasy (MDMA): a review of 15 years of empirical research

MDMA (3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine) or ‘Ecstasy’ was scheduled as an illegal drug in 1986, but since then its recreational use has increased dramatically. This review covers 15 years of research into patterns of use, its acute psychological and physiological effects, and the long‐term consequences of repeated use. MDMA is an indirect monoaminergic agonist, stimulating the release and inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin (5‐HT) and, to a lesser extent, other neurotransmitters. Single doses of MDMA have been administered to human volunteers in double‐blind placebo‐controlled trials, although most findings are based upon recreational MDMA users. The ‘massive’ boost in neurotransmitter activity can generate intense feelings of elation and pleasure, also hyperactivity and hyperthermia. This psychophysiological arousal may be exacerbated by high ambient temperatures, overcrowding, prolonged dancing and other stimulant drugs. Occasionally the ‘serotonin syndrome’ reactions may prove fatal. In the days after Ecstasy use, around 80% of users report rebound depression and lethargy, due probably to monoaminergic depletion. Dosage escalation and chronic pharmacodynamic tolerance typically occur in regular users. Repeated doses of MDMA cause serotonergic neurotoxicity in laboratory animals, and there is extensive evidence for long‐term neuropsychopharmacological damage in humans. Abstinent regular Ecstasy users often display reduced levels of 5‐HT, 5‐HIAA, tryptophan hydroxylase and serotonin transporter density; functional deficits in learning/memory, higher cognitive processing, sleep, appetite and psychiatric well‐being, and, most paradoxically, ‘loss of sexual interest/pleasure’. These psychobiological deficits are greatest in heavy Ecstasy users and may reflect serotonergic axonal loss in the higher brain regions, especially the frontal lobes, temporal lobes and hippocampus. These problems seem to remain long after the recreational use of Ecstasy has ceased, suggesting that the neuropharmacological damage may be permament. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
MECHANICS OF POROUS CONTINUA

bons, hydrocarbon polymers, ethylene copolymers, styrenics, acrylics, polyacrylonitrile and copolymers, other C-C main chain polymers, polyethers, polyamides, polyesters, main chain aromatics, and polymer blends. Data for approximately 200 polymers are presented. Each sample is fully identified as to origin, molecular weight, molecular weight distribution and treatment immediately before the test. Specific volume under ambient conditions is also given for each polymer. This book is a careful and complete compendium of pressure-volume-temperature data of polymers.
Utilisation of Case-Based Reasoning for Semantic Web Services Composition

With the rapid proliferation of Web services as the medium of choice to securely publish application services beyond the firewall, the importance of accurate, yet flexible matchmaking of similar services gains importance both for the human user and for dynamic composition engines. In this article, we present a novel approach that utilizes the case based reasoning methodology for modelling dynamic Web service discovery and matchmaking, and investigate the use of case adaptation for service composition. Our framework considers Web services execution experiences in the decision making process and is highly adaptable to the service requester constraints. The framework also utilizes OWL semantic descriptions extensively for implementing both the components of the CBR engine and the matchmaking profile of the Web services.
Prevalence of menopausal symptoms among women with a history of breast cancer and attitudes toward estrogen replacement therapy.

PURPOSE To determine the prevalence and severity of vasomotor, gynecologic, and other symptoms among breast cancer patients, their health concerns, beliefs about estrogen replacement therapy (ERT), and willingness to take estrogen under medical supervision. MATERIALS AND METHODS A questionnaire was mailed to 320 women aged 40 to 65 years and diagnosed with in situ or invasive locoregional breast cancer in the years 1988 to 1992. RESULTS Of 222 eligible respondents, 190 were postmenopausal. The prevalence of symptoms among the postmenopausal women was as follows: hot flashes, 65%; night sweats, 44%; vaginal dryness, 48%; dyspareunia, 26%; difficulty sleeping, 44%; and feeling depressed, 44%. The latter two symptoms increased in frequency with increasing severity of vasomotor symptoms (P for trend < or = .001). Forty-one percent of menopausal women perceived that they had experienced, since their breast cancer diagnosis, a physical or emotional problem related to menopause. Of these women, 50% felt they needed treatment. Overall, 31% of postmenopausal women would consider taking estrogen. Those who perceived that they had experienced a menopausal problem were more likely to consider estrogen than those who did not (42% v 22%, P = .003). The proportions willing to take estrogen increased with increasing severity of symptoms, particularly feelings of depression and sleep disturbance (P for trend = .008 and .007, respectively). Awareness that estrogen decreases the risks of heart disease and osteoporosis was not associated with an increased willingness to take it. However, beliefs that estrogen increases the risks of recurrent breast cancer and uterine cancer were associated with a decreased willingness to take it (P = .003 and .08, respectively). CONCLUSION Vasomotor symptoms have a significant impact on the quality of life of breast cancer patients. Clinical trials to determine the safest and the most effective ways to relieve these symptoms are needed.
IMP3, a New Biomarker to Predict Progression of Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia Into Invasive Cancer

The expression of IMP3, an oncofetal protein, has been strongly associated with aggressive cancers. In this study, we investigated whether IMP3 can serve as a biomarker to predict invasive squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) II and III. A total of 1249 patients with no dysplasia, CINs, or invasive SCC were studied for IMP3 expression. The 710 patients with CIN II and III in their cervical biopsies were further evaluated for invasive cancer-free survival analysis. The role of IMP3 in the regulation of cell proliferation and migration of HeLa cervical cancer cells was examined by modification of IMP3 expression with small interference RNA. Compared with CIN I or cervical tissues without dysplasia, IMP3 expression was significantly increased not only in invasive SCC but also most importantly in a subset of CIN III cases with concurrent invasive SCC. Importantly, invasive cancer was found only in patients with IMP3-positive CIN II and III, whereas no invasive cancer was detected in patients with IMP3-negative CIN II and III in their follow-up resections (P<0.0001). Reduction of IMP3 expression in cervical cancer cells significantly reduced cell migration without altering cell proliferation. IMP3 plays a critical role in the development of invasive SCC from cervical dysplasia. IMP3 can be used at the time of initial diagnosis of CIN to identify a group of patients with an increased chance of developing invasive cancer.