Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A novel Ocean Sentinel instrumentation buoy for wave energy testing

This paper presents a novel Ocean Sentinel instrumentation buoy that the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center (NNMREC) is developing with AXYS Technologies for the testing of wave energy converters (WECs). NNMREC is a Department of Energy sponsored partnership between Oregon State University (OSU), the University of Washington (UW), and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The Ocean Sentinel instrumentation buoy is a surface buoy based on the 6-meter NOMAD (Navy Oceanographic Meteorological Automatic Device) design. The Ocean Sentinel will provide power analysis and data acquisition, environmental monitoring, as well as an active converter interface to control power dissipation to an on-board electrical load. The WEC under test and the instrumentation buoy will be moored with approximately 100 meters separation, connected by a power and communication umbilical cable. The presentation of the paper will include the deployment and example testing of wave energy devices using the Ocean Sentinel instrumentation buoy.
Having Nature All Ways: Liberal and Transcendental Perspectives on American Environmentalism

Dans une premiere partie, l'A. evalue les conceptions de Roderick Nash dans son ouvrage sur Les droits de la nature. Nash se presente comme un ethicien et l'A. le classe dans la rubrique du liberalisme politique. En second lieu, l'A. introduit une conception alternative: il s'agit d'un modele religieux pour l'environnementalisme qui fait reference au transcendantalisme de Ralph Waldo Emerson. Les problemes theoriques et pratiques envisages par Emerson font curieusement miroir avec le debat contemporain. En fait, les idees d'Emerson sont d'une actualite brulante
Chromosomal loss of 3q26.3‐3q26.32, involving a partial neuroligin 1 deletion, identified by genomic microarray in a child with microcephaly, seizure disorder, and severe intellectual disability

Neuroligin 1 (NLGN1) is one of five members of the neuroligin gene family and may represent a candidate gene for neurological disorders, as members of this family are involved in formation and remodeling of central nervous system synapses. NLGN1 is expressed predominantly in the central nervous system, where it dimerizes and then binds with β‐neurexin to form a functional synapse. Mutations in neurexin 1 (NRXN1) as well as two other members of the neuroligin family, NLGN3 and NLGN4, have been associated with autism and mutations in NLGN4 have also been associated with intellectual disability, seizures, and EEG abnormalities. Genomic microarray is recommended for the detection of chromosomal gains or losses in patients with intellectual disability and multiple congenital anomalies. Results of uncertain significance are not uncommon. Parental studies can provide additional information by demonstrating that the imbalance is either de novo or inherited, and therefore is more or less likely to be causative of the clinical phenotype. However, the possibility that even inherited deletions and duplications may play a role in the phenotype of the proband cannot be excluded as many copy number variants associated with neurodevelopmental conditions show incomplete penetrance and may be inherited from an unaffected parent. Here, we report on a patient with a 2.2 Mb deletion at 3q26.3‐3q26.32—encompassing the terminal end of NLGN1 and the entire NAALADL2 gene—detected by genomic microarray, and confirmed by FISH and real‐time quantitative PCR. The same size deletion was subsequently found in her healthy, asymptomatic, adult mother. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Relapse of urinary tract infection in the presence of urinary tract calculi: the role of bacteria within the calculi.

Summary Bacteria inside urinary bladder calculi were shown to survive after exposure of the calculi to a 3 per cent. solution of iodine in alcohol, or a concentration of an antibiotic far in excess of that required to inhibit the growth of the isolated organism. Calculi were shown to be able to infect fluid culture media in which they were incubated, even if they had first been exposed to antimicrobial agents. The findings may help to explain the persistence of infection and the ineffectiveness of therapy of urinary tract infection in the presence of urinary tract calculi. This work was supported by a grant from the Commonwealth Fund (Bahia-Cornell Program).
Nuevos riesgos ambientales y derecho administrativo

El objetivo de este trabajo investigativo, consiste en determinar los mecanismos que contempla el derecho administrativo para materializar el principio de precaucion, enfocado a la eficiente proteccion del medio ambiente. En resumen, se trata de analizar el funcionamiento y la estructura de las diferentes herramientas juridicas que se aplican para prevenir la causacion de riesgos en el medio ambiente El enfoque conceptual que se empleo, se baso en el concepto de analisis juridico del riesgo ambiental para realizar una aproximacion a la naturaleza de este, exponer los mecanismos de evaluacion de riesgos dentro del derecho administrativo, y finalizar con un analisis del papel que cumple la administracion en el manejo, control y represion frente a la causacion de estos riesgos ambientales.
Major ampullate spidroins from Euprosthenops australis: multiplicity at protein, mRNA and gene levels

Spider dragline silk possesses extraordinary mechanical properties. It consists of large fibrous proteins called spidroins that display modular structures. It is known to consist of two proteins: the major ampullate spidroin (MaSp) 1 and MaSp2. This study analyses MaSp sequences from the nursery‐web spider Euprosthenops australis. We have identified a previously uncharacterized MaSp2 sequence and a new MaSp‐like spidroin, which display distinct homogenous submotifs within their respective Gly‐rich repeats. Furthermore, a group of MaSp1 cDNA clones show unexpected heterogeneity. Genomic PCR identified several MaSp1 gene variants within individual spiders, which suggests the presence of a gene cluster in E. australis. Finally, the evolution of spidroin genes is discussed in relation to phylogenetic analysis of nonrepetitive C‐terminal domains from diverse species.
An FPGA Implementation of Intelligent Visual Based Fall Detection

(cid:1) Abstract — Falling has been one of the major concerns and threats to the independence of the elderly in their daily lives. With the worldwide significant growth of the aging population, it is essential to have a promising solution of fall detection which is able to operate at high accuracy in real-time and supports large scale implementation using multiple cameras. Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is a highly promising tool to be used as a hardware accelerator in many emerging embedded vision based system. Thus, it is the main objective of this paper to present an FPGA-based solution of visual based fall detection to meet stringent real-time requirements with high accuracy. The hardware architecture of visual based fall detection which utilizes the pixel locality to reduce memory accesses is proposed. By exploiting the parallel and pipeline architecture of FPGA, our hardware implementation of visual based fall detection using FGPA is able to achieve a performance of 60fps for a series of video analytical functions at VGA resolutions (640x480). The results of this work show that FPGA has great potentials and impacts in enabling large scale vision system in the future healthcare industry due to its flexibility and scalability.
Antigenic Polymorphism and Naturally Acquired Antibodies to Plasmodium vivax Merozoite Surface Protein 1 in Rural Amazonians

ABSTRACT Merozoite surface protein 1 of Plasmodium vivax (PvMSP-1), a major target for malaria vaccine development, contains six highly polymorphic domains interspersed with conserved sequences. Although there is evidence that the sequence divergence in PvMSP-1 has been maintained over 5 million years by balanced selection exerted by the host's acquired immunity, the variant specificity of naturally acquired antibodies to PvMSP-1 remains poorly investigated. Here, we show that 15 recombinant proteins corresponding to PvMSP-1 variants commonly found in local parasites were poorly recognized by 376 noninfected subjects aged 5 to 90 years exposed to malaria in rural Amazonia; less than one-third of them had detectable immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to at least one variant of blocks 2, 6, and 10 that were expressed, although 54.3% recognized the invariant 19-kDa C-terminal domain PvMSP-119. Although the proportion of responders to PvMSP-1 variants increased substantially during subsequent acute P. vivax infections, the specificity of IgG antibodies did not necessarily match the PvMSP-1 variant(s) found in infecting parasites. We discuss the relative contribution of antigenic polymorphism, poor immunogenicity, and original antigenic sin (the skew in the specificity of antibodies elicited by exposure to new antigenic variants due to preexisting variant-specific responses) to the observed patterns of antibody recognition of PvMSP-1. We suggest that antibody responses to the repertoire of variable domains of PvMSP-1 to which subjects are continuously exposed are elicited only after several repeated infections and may require frequent boosting, with clear implications for the development of PvMSP-1-based subunit vaccines.
Explorando sistemas dinámicos 3d no lineales

La finalidad de la Visualizacion Cientifica es ayudar en la comprension y el analisis de determinados problemas cientificos. Un modelo matematico utilizado muy frecuentemente para la representacion de problemas reales en muchas disciplinas es el de los sistemas dinamicos. Es posible encontrarlos en ecoloǵia, electronica, mecanica no lineal, dinamica de fluidos, matematica, economia, etc. En la mayoŕia de los casos, estos sistemas no son resolubles en forma anaĺitica, por lo que su adecuada comprension solo puede realizarse por medio de simulaciones computacionales, las cuales se representan de un modo natural, eficiente y mas agradable por medios graficos. Los modelos matematicos de sistemas dinamicos son variados: funciones iteradas, ecuaciones diferenciales ordinarias, automatas, campos vectoriales, dinamica de fluidos, etc. Nosotros por el momento nos concentramos en sistemas dinamicos continuos representados mediante ecuaciones diferenciales ordinarias, autonomas en un primer paso. Campos vectoriales o flujo pueden ser considerados equivalentes, pero inducen puntos de vista levemente diferentes en la literatura de visualizacion cientifica. Numerosas tecnicas han sido propuestas para visualizar sistemas dinamicos [8]. Principalmente, basadas en trayectorias, en LIC, y en propiedades derivadas, como la topoloǵia o la vorticidad. Nuestra ĺinea de investigacion tiene como base un framework integrador (seccion 2), y la busqueda e implementacion de tecnicas para explorar sistemas dinamicos, especialmente los sistemas no lineales tridimensionales.
A model of ion track structure based on classical collision dynamics.

The energy deposition in ion tracks as a function of radial distance is calculated on the basis of classical collision dynamics and using empirical range-energy relationships for electrons. The calculations show that the energy density (i.e. energy deposited per unit mass) varies according to an inverse-square function with distance from the track centre. The maximum extension, the 'penumbra radius', is a power function of the ion's kinetic energy divided by its mass. Comparison with experimental data demonstrates the applicability of the model for ion specific energies greater than 1 MeVu-1.
Quantitative ultrasonometry of the calcaneus in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

OBJECTIVES To evaluate bone quality by means of quantitative ultrasonometry (QUS) in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). METHODS Seventy children [37 with oligoarticular JIA, mean age (+/-s.d.) 10.54 +/- 3.42 yr; and 33 with polyarticular rheumatoid factor negative JIA, mean age (+/- s.d.) 11.33 +/- 2.88 yr] were enrolled. Quantitative ultrasonometry was measured on both heels with a Cuba Clinical portable device. Body height, weight and body mass index were recorded together with disease duration and cumulative dose of prednisone. RESULTS The lowest QUS parameters were observed in children with polyarticular JIA (P< 0.001 and 0.01 when compared with reference data and oligoarticular JIA, respectively). In children with oligoarticular JIA, the QUS values were also significantly lower in comparison with the reference data (P< 0.002). The QUS parameters were strongly influenced by body height, and to a lesser degree by body weight. In children with polyarticular JIA, there were significant inverse correlations between QUS parameters and disease duration [r=-0.57, P< 0.01 for broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA) and r = - 0.67, P< 0.01 for velocity of sound (VOS)]. Similarly, there were inverse correlations between QUS and cumulative dose of prednisone (r = - 0.48, P< 0.05 for BUA and r =- 0.50, P < 0.01 for VOS, respectively). Similar results were obtained when BUA and VOS were adjusted for height. CONCLUSIONS Disease duration and cumulative dose of prednisone in children with polyarticular JIA are risk factors of stunted growth and decreased QUS values of bone quality.
Male circumcision for HIV prevention: from evidence to action?

An estimated 2.5 million people were newly infected with HIV in 2007, of whom two-thirds live in subSaharan Africa [1]. In the context of the urgent need for intensified and expanded HIV prevention efforts, the conclusive results of three randomized controlled trials (RCT) showing that male circumcision reduces the risk of HIVacquisition by approximately 60% [2–4] are both promising and challenging. Translation of these research findings into public health policy is complex and will be context specific. To guide this translation, we estimate the global prevalence and distribution of male circumcision, summarize the evidence of an impact on HIV incidence, and highlight the major public health opportunities and challenges raised by these findings.
Frege on Identity and Identity-Statements: A Reply to Thau and Caplan

In ‘What's Puzzling Gottlob Frege? ’ Michael Thau and Ben Caplan argue that, contrary to the common wisdom, Frege never abandoned his early view that, as he puts it in Begriffsschrift, a Statement of identity ‘expresses the circumstance that two names have the same content’ and thus asserts the existence of a relation between names rather than a relation between (ordinary) objects. The arguments at the beginning of ‘On Sense and Reference’ do, they agree, raise a problem for that view, but, they insist, Frege does not, as the ‘standard’ Interpretation has it, take these arguments to refute it. Rather, they claim, Frege is out to defend (a version of) his earlier view against these objections: indeed, the defense he there offers is pretty much the same defense offered in Begriffsschrift against what are pretty much the same objections.
Relationship of contraction capacity to metabolic changes during recovery from a fatiguing contraction.

The relationship between changes in muscle metabolites and the contraction capacity was investigated in humans. Subjects (n = 13) contracted (knee extension) at a target force of 66% of the maximal voluntary contraction force (MVC) to fatigue, and the recovery in MVC and endurance (time to fatigue) were measured. Force recovered rapidly [half-time (t 1/2) less than 15 s] and after 2 min of recovery was not significantly different (P greater than 0.05) from the precontraction value. Endurance recovered more slowly (t 1/2 approximately 1.2 min) and was still significantly depressed after 2 and 4 min of recovery (P less than 0.05). In separate experiments (n = 10) muscle biopsy specimens were taken from the quadriceps femoris muscle before and after two successive contractions to fatigue at 66% of MVC with a recovery period of 2 or 4 min in between. The muscle content of high-energy phosphates and lactate was similar at fatigue after both contractions, whereas glucose 6-phosphate was lower after the second contraction (P less than 0.05). During recovery, muscle lactate decreased and was 74 and 43% of the value at fatigue after an elapsed period of 2 and 4 min, respectively. The decline in H+ due to lactate disappearance is balanced, however, by a release of H+ due to resynthesis of phosphocreatine, and after 2 min of recovery calculated muscle pH was found to remain at a low level similar to that at fatigue. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Antisense therapy for angioplasty restenosis. Some critical considerations.

The high affinity of even relatively short sequences of DNA for their target mRNA suggests that antisense agents represent an ideal method of suppressing specific gene products both in vitro and in vivo. In experiments performed thus far, an effect on the target mRNA in cultured vascular cells and in the vessel wall can be documented. The in vitro activity, toxicity, and pharmacokinetic data of antisense oligonucleotides are encouraging, and the in vivo animal experiments demonstrating suppression of neointimal formation are very promising. If animals trials presently under way show continued suppression not only of intimal formation but also of loss of lumen caliber after a single application, then effective delivery of antisense oligonucleotides is a realistic possibility. Nevertheless, some words of caution regarding the use of antisense oligonucleotides are warranted. Potential nonspecific effects of antisense oligonucleotides should be carefully considered in studies in which antisense agents are used to define biological functions of specific genes. In particular, demonstration that the target mRNA has been suppressed does not prove that other sequences within the mRNA pool have not also been suppressed. Critical control measures include adding back the target mRNA or protein and demonstrating similar biological effects with antisense sequences, which also suppress target gene expression directed at different regions of the target mRNA. At the clinical level, the systemic effects of antisense oligonucleotides, the dosage required, the timing of administration compared with mechanical intervention, and the toxicity of breakdown products all need to be established. In addition, the most appropriate targets for antisense use in restenosis remain largely obscure. Indiscriminate suppression of cell-cycle genes or proto-oncogenes may be as acutely toxic as current anticancer chemotherapy if the site delivery is not completely localized. Furthermore, much of the clinical evidence suggests that restenosis is a chronic process, continuing to develop weeks to months after the procedure. If this is the case, then the current approaches that rely on a transient, local application of an antisense agent may fail. If, however, a target gene is identified that is specific to vascular tissue, then repeated administration of an antisense agent may be tolerated via a systemic route. This approach has proved successful in targeting mutated genes with little suppression of closely related genes and with minimal systemic toxicity. An alternative approach is to transfect the target tissue with a gene that makes it susceptible to systemic delivery of a drug that is not normally toxic to mammalian cells. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Surgical techniques for cesarean delivery: what are the best practices?

Introduction Surgical technique has evolved from tradition, apprenticeship and, in some part, from scientific investigation. Cesarean delivery is the most common surgical procedure performed on women. The last 100 years have witnessed a remarkable decrease in maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality from all causes. Cesarean delivery has evolved from a perimortem procedure to a routine, and perhaps even elective, one to be performed “on demand. ” Yet, little has changed in the surgical aspects of cesarean delivery. The purpose of this monograph is to review all aspects of cesarean delivery technique and identify scientifically supported strategies to optimize outcome for mother and baby. Skin Incision The type of skin incision is chosen to optimize access to the surgical field, thereby minimizing maternal morbidity while producing a maximal cosmetic effect. Until 1900, vertical skin incisions were used exclusively in obstetric and gynecologic procedures. In 1896, Kustner and Rapin began using transverse skin incisions. Pfannenstiel popularized the transverse incision, claiming that it eliminated incisional hernias. Our specialty has moved away from the routine use of vertical skin incisions, with more than 90% of open procedures performed through some type of transverse incision. The vertical skin incision is reserved for limited and specific indications. Vertical skin incisions are used because of superior access to the surgical field and the potential for extending the incision upwards if complications are encountered. Concern has been expressed that these skin incisions are at increased risk of dehiscence compared to transverse incisions; however, Correspondence: Aviva Lee-Parritz, MD, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Boston Medical Center, 85 E. Concord Street, 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02118. E-mail: aviva.leeparritz@bmc.org No extramural support was provided for this manuscript. The author has no commercial associations or conflict of interest related to the content of this manuscript. CLINICAL OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY Volume 47, Number 2, 286–298 © 2004, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
A hybrid method of FDTD and vector parabolic equation for radio wave propagation prediction in tunnels

In this paper, a hybrid FDTD/vector parabolic equation (VPE) method is proposed to model the radio wave propagation in rectangular tunnels. The FDTD method is applied to the areas with obstacles or antennas, while the VPE method is applied to model the empty tunnels with a long distance. By using the advantages of the two methods, the numerical efficiency is increased and the influence of antennas is considered. The result of the hybrid method is compared with the full FDTD simulation result and the measurement results taken in a corridor. This method is effective to model radio wave propagation in tunnels with antenna relay and obstacles.
Mimicking Morphogenesis for Robust Behaviour of Cellular Architectures

Morphogenesis is the process that underpins the self-organised development and regeneration of biological systems. The ability to mimick morphogenesis in artificial systems has great potential for many engineering applications, including production of biological tissue, design of robust electronic systems and the co-ordination of parallel computing. Previous attempts to mimick these complex dynamics within artificial systems have relied upon the use of evolutionary algorithms that have limited their size and complexity. This paper will present some insight into the underlying dynamics of morphogenesis, then show how to, without the assistance of evolutionary algorithms, design cellular architectures that converge to complex patterns.
Cryptococcal antigen test.

To the Editor. — In their CLINICAL NOTE "False-Negative Cryptococcal Antigen Test," Stamm and Polt (1980; 244:1359) point out correctly that prozones may occur in the slide latex agglutination (SLA) test for cryptococcal antigen in both serum and CSF specimens. Bloomfield et al, 1 in describing the test, did not advise against diluting CSF before testing, and in our subsequent 17 years of experience with SLA testing, we have observed a very occasional prozone reaction in CSF. Our current practice is to dilute all specimens through 1:16 in screening for cryptococcal antigen. Of course, if cryptococci are seen in India ink preparations, the diagnosis is made regardless of serologic results, although we certainly agree that "a CSF specimen with positive findings in India ink examination but negative results for the LA test should be diluted and retested" for both confirmation and prognosis. We admit to some concern about the discontinuation of