Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Process variation effects on circuit performance: TCAD simulation of 256-Mbit technology [DRAMs]

This paper describes the first study of the complete sequence from process simulation to circuit performance and the corresponding sensitivities for 0.25-/spl mu/m technology. This is made possible by a combination of physically based process models and a systematic calibration involving SIMS, one-dimensional (1-D), and two-dimensional (2-D) device characteristics. Simulated nFET and pFET characteristics match hardware (HW) within 5-10% for both long-channel and nominal length devices. Simulated ring-oscillator performance is in good agreement with HW data. Sensitivities of device characteristics and the inverter gate delay to process variations (within 10%) are quantified. These investigations establish the correlation between process variations and circuit performance.
Nitrite and Nitrate in Human Health and Disease

Induction chemotherapy, as part of an integrated plan of management for locally advanced cancers, is being practiced throughout the world, but frequently teams are unaware of the work being undertaken in other institutions. This book aims to present the full range of management techniques used in induction chemotherapy within one accessible volume. It provides up-to-date information on pioneering and cutting edge practices and documents the advantages of integrated treatment schedules. Patient selection is discussed, and each of the cancer types for which induction therapy has proved important is considered in detail. All who are responsible for the treatment of patients with locally advanced cancers will find this book to be an invaluable source of information. It will be particularly interesting for specialist oncologists aiming to set up fully comprehensive cancer centers and for health administrators wishing to learn about the benefits of establishing such centers in strategic locations.
Bottom-up fabrication of ordered 2D and 3D gold nanoparticle assemblies showing collective or individual plasmon resonances

The fabrication of plasmonic metamaterials mainly relies on top-down methods which allow for a precise control of their geometrical dimensions and consequently their optical properties. Chemical routes to plasmonic nanostructures are challenged by the required accurateness for well-resolved optical responses but allow for the generation of extended nanostructured areas. We report on a self-assembly approach for the fabrication of plasmonic metamaterials whose optical properties can be dictated either by individual or collective plasmon resonance of their building blocks. For this purpose wet-chemically synthesized gold nanoparticles are equipped with a polymer shell and self-assembled into ordered 2D or 3D structures using alternating spin-coating and plasma treatment cycles.
Stochastic language model for analyzing document physical layout

Image segmentation is an important component of any document image analysis system. While many segmentation algorithms exist in the literature, very few i) allow users to specify the physical style, and ii) incorporate user-specified style information into the algorithm's objective function that is to be minimized. We describe a segmentation algorithm that models a document's physical structure as a hierarchical structure where each node describes a region of the document using a stochastic regular grammar. The exact form of the hierarchy and the stochastic language is specified by the user, while the probabilities associated with the transitions are estimated from groundtruth data. We demonstrate the segmentation algorithm on images of bilingual dictionaries.
An Efficient Matching Algorithm for Fuzzy RDF Graph

The rapid growth of RDF (Resource Description Framework) data shows a steady trendy of decentralization. Identify correspondences among these data sources is an important task. Concentrating on the RDF data with fuzzy information, in this paper, we propose a unified framework combined multiple measures of similarity for automatically solving the problem of fuzzy RDF data matching. For this purpose, syntactic and semantic similarities are calculated based on element labels of RDF graph. Motivated by the structural characteristics of fuzzy RDF graph, we introduce an effective similarity measure approach by interactively utilizing structural information, in which we take fuzzy edge values and edge similarities into consideration. It is proved that the iterative computation of the proposed similarity approach converges. Finally, we combine these results of the individual metrics and extract the correspondences on the basis of the total similarities. The experimental results show that our method can effectively identify correspondences among the fuzzy RDF graphs.
Cuestionario de autoevaluación de la seguridad integral para centros educativos

mediante la convocatoria de ayudas económicas para la realización de proyectos de investigación, estudio y análisis sobre seguridad en Cataluña (2009). La investigación ha sido llevada a cabo por el Grupo de investigación EDURISC (http://edo.uab.cat/htm/linies_grupEDURISC_CAT.htm) del Centro de Investigación en Gobernanza del Riesgo (GRISC) (http://www.uab.es/servlet/Satellite/centre-de-recerca-en-governanca-delrisc-1285089368109.html) y el Equipo de Desarrollo Organizacional (EDO) (http://edo.uab.cat/index.htm). Agradecemos la colaboración de Jordi Sans Pinyol, responsable de Investigación del Instituto de Seguridad Pública de Cataluña. 2. Departamento de Pedagogía Aplicada de la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona: edificio G-6, despacho 247 08193 Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès). Correo electrónico joaquin.gairin@uab.cat Teléfono: 935 811 619. JOAQUÍN GAIRÍN SALLÁN (director)2 DIEGO CASTRO CEACERO ANNA DÍAZ VICARIO MANUEL ROSALES ACÍN XAVIER SENTINELLA I SOLÉ OLGA VÍTOLO GUZMÁN
Recipient Memory-Like Lymphocytes Remain Unresponsive to Graft Antigens After CAMPATH-1H Induction with Reduced Maintenance Immunosuppression

Background. Treatment with CAMPATH-1H at the time of transplantation allows reduced maintenance immunosuppression. We hypothesized that CAMPATH-1H induction would modulate the response of repopulating leukocytes to donor alloantigens. Methods. The phenotype, proliferative and stimulatory capacity of peripheral blood leukocytes from 14 renal transplant recipients treated with CAMPATH-1H and reduced immunosuppression with mycophenolate mofetil and tacrolimus were investigated for the first six months after transplantation. The impact of immunosuppressive drugs on leukocytes that escape depletion was also evaluated in vitro. Results. CAMPATH-1H therapy caused a significant decrease in the number of B and T cells, with CD4+ T central memory cells being the most resistant to depletion. The recovery of CD8+ T cells was faster than that of CD4+ T cells. Lymphopenia correlated with a decrease in both proliferative and effector responses, however, the recipient T cells remained responsive to third-party antigens. Dendritic cells (DC) were also depleted but to a lesser extent than lymphocytes; lymphoid DC were more resistant than myeloid DC; these changes correlated with decreased allostimulatory capacity. One of the patients experienced rejection that was treated successfully. The rejection was associated with a high proportion of CD4+ T effector memory cells and myeloid DC, increased proliferation and enhanced effector activity to donor antigens. In vitro studies confirmed that the reduced dose of immunosuppressive drugs used could prevent activated T cells from switching to the effector compartment, suppressing both their proliferation and effector activity. Conclusions. CAMPATH-1H induction combined with reduced maintenance immunosuppression is sufficient to control the effector phase of immune response to donor antigens.
Illusory Contours Do Not Pass through the Blind Spot

Our visual percepts are not fully determined by the physical stimulus input. That is why we perceive crisp bounding contours even in the absence of luminance-defined borders in visual illusions such as the Kanizsa figure. It is important to understand which neural processes are involved in creating these artificial visual experiences because this might tell us how we perceive coherent objects in natural scenes, which are characterized by mutual overlap. We have already shown using functional magnetic resonance imaging [Maertens, M. , & Pollmann, S. fMRI reveals a common neural substrate of illusory and real contours in v1 after perceptual learning. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 17, 15531564, 2005] that neurons in the primary visual cortex (V1) respond to these stimuli. Here we provide support for the hypothesis that V1 is obligatory for the discrimination of the curvature of illusory contours. We presented illusory contours across the portion of the visual field corresponding to the physiological blind spot. Four observers were extensively trained and asked to discriminate fine curvature differences in these illusory contours. A distinct performance drop (increased errors and response latencies) was observed when illusory contours traversed the blind spot compared to when they were presented in the normal contralateral visual field at the same eccentricity. We attribute this specific performance deficit to the failure to build up a representation of the illusory contour in the absence of a cortical representation of the blind spot within V1. The current results substantiate the assumption that neural activity in area V1 is closely related to our phenomenal experience of illusory contours in particular, and to the construction of our subjective percepts in general.
Design of secure access system of mobile bank based on PKI with smart card

Mobile bank is a combined production of radio communication technology and bank operations. However, problems from the secure aspect restrict its development. By analyzing the security requirements of mobile bank and researching PKI and its application based on smart card, the framework of secure access system based on PKI with smart card for Mobile Bank is designed for eliminating secure problems from mobile terminals and access network of public network.
A culture method for colonies of multiple myeloma cells

Although several methods have been claimed to culture colonies of human myeloma cells (Hamburger and Salmon, 1977; Tzaquirre et al., 1980; Salmon, 1982), their plating efficiencies are low and some doubts have been expressed about the nature of the colonies produced. We have developed a simple and efficient tissue culture procedure for growing myeloma cells as colonies from bone marrow aspirates and peripheral blood which enables us to dctermine the sensitivity of these cells to chemotherapeutic agents. The method utilizes a readily available cell line as a feeder layer, is adaptable for aqueous culture and does not permit the growth of normal B, T or granulocyte-macrophage colonies (GM-CFUc).
Visual landmark sequence-based indoor localization

This paper presents a method that uses common objects as landmarks for smartphone-based indoor localization and navigation. First, a topological map marking relative positions of common objects such as doors, stairs and toilets is generated from floor plan. Second, a computer vision technique employing the latest deep learning technology has been developed for detecting common indoor objects from videos captured by smartphone. Third, second order Hidden Markov model is applied to match detected indoor landmark sequence to topological map. We use videos captured by users holding smartphones and walking through corridors of an office building to evaluate our method. The experiment shows that computer vision technique is able to accurately and reliably detect 10 classes of common indoor objects and that second order hidden Markov model can reliably match the detected landmark sequence with the topological map. This work demonstrates that computer vision and machine learning techniques can play a very useful role in developing smartphone-based indoor positioning applications.
Stability of dopamine and epinephrine solutions up to 84 hours

Objectives The current practice of preparing fresh dopamine and epinephrine solutions every 24 hrs may lead to hemodynamic instability caused by the interruption of infusions with each change. We determined the stability of these catecholamines over an 84-hr period and whether stability was enhanced by dextrose-containing solutions. Setting Tertiary care teaching hospital. Design The stability of dopamine and epinephrine, each at three commonly used concentrations, was studied in three vehicles (10 gm/dl dextrose in water [D10W], 5 gm/dl dextrose in water [D5W], and 0.9% NaCl in water [NS]). To mimic clinical conditions, solutions were placed on syringe pumps infusing continuously into a closed system at ambient temperature for 84 hrs. Measurements Concentrations of dopamine in mg/ml and epinephrine in &mgr;g/ml were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography at 0, 24, 36, 48, 72, and 84 hrs. Results Dopamine and epinephrine concentrations did not change over the 84-hr period regardless of the vehicles in which the drugs were prepared. Conclusions Clinically relevant concentrations of dopamine and epinephrine remain stable in dextrose- and saline-containing solutions for ≥84 hrs. These data suggest that solutions of these catecholamines may safely be used in clinical practice beyond the currently recommended 24 hrs.
ATF3, an adaptive-response gene, enhances TGFβ signaling and cancer-initiating cell features in breast cancer cells

The activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) gene is induced by a variety of signals, including many of those encountered by cancer cells. We present evidence that ATF3 is induced by TGFβ in the MCF10CA1a breast cancer cells and plays an integral role for TGFβ to upregulate its target genes snail, slug and twist, and to enhance cell motility. Furthermore, ATF3 upregulates the expression of the TGFb gene itself, forming a positive-feedback loop for TGFβ signaling. Functionally, ectopic expression of ATF3 leads to morphological changes and alterations of markers consistent with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). It also leads to features associated with breast-cancer-initiating cells: increased CD24low–CD44high population of cells, mammosphere formation and tumorigenesis. Conversely, knockdown of ATF3 reduces EMT, CD24low–CD44high cells and mammosphere formation. Importantly, knocking down twist, a downstream target, reduces the ability of ATF3 to enhance mammosphere formation, indicating the functional significance of twist in ATF3 action. To our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating the ability of ATF3 to enhance breast cancer-initiating cell features and to feedback on TGFβ. Because ATF3 is an adaptive-response gene and is induced by various stromal signals, these findings have significant implications for how the tumor microenvironment might affect cancer development.
Saltcedar Water Use: Realistic and Unrealistic Expectations

Abstract Saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) is a widespread invasive plant found in riparian corridors and floodplains in 16 western states. In addition to being associated with such problems as increased soil salinity and decreased plant diversity, saltcedar has been reported to be a prolific water user. Popular press articles widely report that each individual saltcedar tree can use as much as 757 L (200 gallons) per day. Consequently massive control and removal efforts are underway to reduce transpirational water loss and increase water salvage for arid and semiarid environments. Although the potential economic benefits of these control efforts are touted, it has not been proven whether such water savings are possible on a stream level. The original citation for the 757-L estimate does not list the experimental design or techniques used to arrive at this value. We use three lines of evidence—peer-reviewed scientific literature, sap flux rates and sap wood area, and potential evaporation rates—to demonstrate the improbability that saltcedar, or any other woody species, can use this much water per tree on a daily basis. A more realistic estimate of maximum tree-level daily water use derived from sap flux measurements would be < 122 L · d−1 (32.2 gallons). Estimates of water salvage would be grossly overestimated using the popular water use value (757 L · d−1), and economic benefits from saltcedar control based solely on water salvage are questionable.
When to switch for antiretroviral treatment failure in resource-limited settings?

Thanks to the leadership of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and massive financial support from programmes such as the Global Fund and the US Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) the number of HIV-infected individuals accessing antiretroviral therapy (ART) in resource-limited settings has tripled from 2001 to 2005. An estimated 1.3 million HIV-infected individuals were on ART in 2005 representing 20% of those in need of treatment. Contrary to initial fears numerous reports have now been published describing successful early outcomes in many ART patient populations. This is as a result of a number of factors including the fact that the majority of patients are treatment naive that a low prevalence of primary drug resistance still prevails and that adherence is better than expected particularly in patients receiving treatment free of charge. (excerpt)
Three‐dimensional automated nanoparticle tracking using Mie scattering in an optical microscope

The forward scattering of light in a conventional inverted optical microscope by nanoparticles ranging in diameter from 10 to 50 nm has been used to automatically and quantitatively identify and track their location in three‐dimensions with a temporal resolution of 200 ms. The standard deviation of the location of nominally stationary 50‐nm‐diameter nanoparticles was found to be about 50 nm along the light path and about 5 nm in the plane perpendicular to the light path. The method is based on oscillating the microscope objective along the light path using a piezo actuator and acquiring images with the condenser aperture closed to a minimum to enhance the effects of diffraction. Data processing in the time and spatial domains allowed the location of particles to be obtained automatically so that the technique has potential applications both in the processing of nanoparticles and in their use in a variety of fields including nanobiotechnology, pharmaceuticals and food processing where a simple optical microscope maybe preferred for a variety of reasons.
A Novel Approach to Incremental Functional Diagnosis for Complex Electronic Boards

Incremental functional diagnosis aims at minimising the number of tests to be executed to perform the diagnosis, to limit efforts and costs. Iteratively the test to be executed is selected and based on the collected outcome, either the faulty component is identified or a new test is performed. This paper proposes a novel approach based on the syndromes occurrence probability, that defines how i) to process syndromes compatible with the partial syndrome being incrementally collected and ii) to select the next test. The proposal is evaluated and compared against a number of existing techniques based on machine-learning strategies, outperforming them.
Bilateral lesions of suprachiasmatic nuclei affect circadian rhythms in [3H]‐thymidine incorporation into deoxyribonucleic acid in mouse intestinal tract, mitotic index of corneal epithelium, and serum corticosterone

Investigations into the role of the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) in the coordination of circadian rhythms have presented differing results. Several reports have shown that ablation of the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCNA) alters the phase and amplitude of rhythms but does not abolish them. The present study investigates the effect of SCNA on the rhythms in cell proliferation in various regions of the intestinal tract as measured by the incorporation of [3H]‐thymidine into deoxyribonucleic acid, in the mitotic activity of the corneal epithelium, and in serum corticosterone levels. The study involved mice with verified lesions of the SCN (six to 13 mice per time point) and control groups of both sham‐operated and unoperated mice (seven of each per time point). The mice were killed in groups that represented seven time points over a single 24 hr span (3 hr intervals with the 0800 hr sampled both at start and end of the series). The tissues examined were the tongue, esophagus, gastric stomach, and colon for DNA synthesis, the corneal epithelium for mitotic index, and blood serum for corticosterone level. The most consistent result of SCNA was a phase advance in the rhythms in cell proliferation in the tongue, esophagus, gastric stomach, colon, and corneal epithelium. A reduction in rhythm amplitude occurred in the tongue, esophagus, and corneal epithelium; however, there was an amplitude increase for the stomach, colon, and serum corticosterone. The mesor (rhythm‐adjusted mean) was increased by SCNA in all tissues except the corneal epithelium. These findings further support the role of the suprachiasmatic nuclear area in the control of rhythms in cell proliferation and corticosterone production, by acting as a “phaseresetter” and as a modulator of rhythm amplitude.
Studies in finger joint replacement. A review of the present position.

Surgeons and engineers in collaboration studied biomechanical disturbances in the rheumatoid hand. Experiments with freshly amputated fingers, combined with mathematical models of finger movement, have established that there is a pin-axis of flexionextension in the metacarpophalangeal (MP) joint. Forces active on normal and abnormal joint restraints have been examined, bearing forces and their resultant shear lines on the phalanx and metacarpal have been described, and the knowledge combined to consider the effectiveness of the various man-made joint substitutes currently available. It is concluded that prosthetic substitution of the rheumatoid MP joint provides better function than fusion of the MP joints, but that prostheses are not suitable for long-term use in a solitary joint in an otherwise normal hand.
Pneumonia caused by Mycobacterium smegmatis in a patient with a previous gastrectomy

Mycobacterium smegmatis pneumonia is rare, with only five cases reported in literature. The authors report a case in an adult male with a history that includes total gastrectomy. A transbronchial biopsy revealed non-caseating granuloma. Broncho-alveolar lavage culture identified M smegmatis. This case meets all 2007 American Thoracic Society criteria for the diagnosis of atypical mycobacterial pneumonia. The patient responded to a long course of trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and ciprofloxacin.
EnterococcalInfections And Its Antimicrobial Resistance With Special Reference To VRE And HLAR In A Tertiary Care Hospital In Eastern India

Enterococci have traditionally been regarded as low grade pathogen , have emerged as an increasingly important cause of nosocomial infections in the last decade.Despite increasing reports of VRE in different countries ,there is scanty data on this issue from india especially in the Eastern zone. A total of 157 enterococci were isolated from various clinical specimens (urine,pus& wound swabs,blood and throat swabs body fluids), received in the Microbiology laboratory of a tertiary care hospital in eastern India during the period between July2010 to June2011. Out of 157 enterococcal isolates52 showed vancomycin resistance by Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method. Of the 52 isolates 11 showed vancomycin resistance with an MIC >6μg/ml and 2 showed teicoplanin resistance with an MIC >8μg/ml done by agar dilution method following CLSI guidelines. Thelevel of resistance were further evaluated by determining MIC using “E" Test strip of vancomycin and teicoplanin. Out of 11 VancomycinResistance Enterococci (VRE),9 were characterized as VanB and 2 were found to be VanA phenotype.Out of 10 uncommon enterococcal isolates(07E.casseliflavus& 03 E.gallinarum) 09 showed increased MIC to vancomycin (02 04μg/ml). 41.4% isolates showed high level aminoglycoside resistance.