Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Electrically Steerable Single-Layer Microstrip Traveling Wave Antenna With Varactor Diode Based Phase Shifters

The design of electrically steerable traveling wave microstrip antenna arrays is presented. Varactor diode based phase shifters implemented on the same metallic layer as the patch elements are used to provide a variable progressive phase shift in the array. Two antennas for the 5.8 GHz ISM band, manufactured as single layer printed designs on a standard PTFE soft substrate, are demonstrated. A ten-element beam-tilting vertical array using transmission type phase shifters is realized, yielding between 11.8 to 13.9 dBi gain for the 0deg to 11deg beam tilt tuning range. Using wide phase tuning range reflection type phase shifters a five-element horizontally scanning array with -32deg to 32deg steering range and 10.9-11.3 dBi gain has been realized.
Adulthood EAS-temperament and carotid artery intima-media thickness: The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study

We examined the association between adulthood emotionality–activity–sociability temperament scale and preclinical atherosclerosis and, whether this association is mediated by cardiovascular risk factors (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and body-mass index (BMI)). The participants were a nationally representative sample of 537 men and 811 women from the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study aged 15–30 years at the baseline in 1992 and aged 24–39 years at the follow-up in 2001. Carotid atherosclerosis was assessed by ultrasound scans of the common carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) and brachial flow-mediated dilation (FMD). In men, there was an association between the temperament dimension activity and IMT (β = 0.08, p = 0.036) which was partially mediated by BMI (β decreased from 0.08 to 0.05; p-value of Sobel test = 0.002). However, after correction for multiple comparisons the association between IMT and the temperament dimension activity in men was only of borderline significance. In women, there were no associations between temperament and IMT or FMD. These results suggest that a highly active temperament may contribute to early signs of atherosclerosis in men and that body mass may mediate this association.
A new hybrid fast mode decision method for H.264/AVC intra coding

A new hybrid fast mode decision method for H.264/AVC intra coding is proposed in this paper. In the proposed algorithm, edge based filters are applied to some samples distributed in the block and each directional mode is related to a filtering result. After that, the absolute sum of Hadamard Transformed coefficients of the filtering results is utilized to help selecting the candidate prediction modes. In addition, local information is employed by using Most Probable Mode (MPM) from neighboring coded blocks which can significantly mitigate the increase of coding bits. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is able to provide a better coding performance than existing algorithms.
Thalamic deep brain stimulation for neuropathic pain after amputation or brachial plexus avulsion.

OBJECT Fifteen hundred patients have received deep brain stimulation (DBS) to treat neuropathic pain refractory to pharmacotherapy over the last half-century, but few during the last decade. Deep brain stimulation for neuropathic pain has shown variable outcomes and gained consensus approval in Europe but not the US. This study prospectively evaluated the efficacy at 1 year of DBS for phantom limb pain after amputation, and deafferentation pain after brachial plexus avulsion (BPA), in a single-center case series. METHODS Patient-reported outcome measures were collated before and after surgery, using a visual analog scale (VAS) score, 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), and University of Washington Neuropathic Pain Score (UWNPS). RESULTS Twelve patients were treated over 29 months, receiving contralateral, ventroposterolateral sensory thalamic DBS. Five patients were amputees and 7 had BPAs, all from traumas. A postoperative trial of externalized DBS failed in 1 patient with BPA. Eleven patients proceeded to implantation and gained improvement in pain scores at 12 months. No surgical complications or stimulation side effects were noted. In the amputation group, after 12 months the mean VAS score improved by 90.0% ± 10.0% (p = 0.001), SF-36 by 57.5% ± 97.9% (p = 0.127), UWNPS by 80.4% ± 12.7% (p < 0.001), and BPI by 79.9% ± 14.7% (p < 0.001). In the BPA group, after 12 months the mean VAS score improved by 52.7% ± 30.2% (p < 0.001), SF-36 by 15.6% ± 30.5% (p = 1.000), UWNPS by 26.2% ± 40.8% (p = 0.399), and BPI by 38.4% ± 41.7% (p = 0.018). Mean DBS parameters were 2.5 V, 213 microseconds, and 25 Hz. CONCLUSIONS Deep brain stimulation demonstrated efficacy at 1 year for chronic neuropathic pain after traumatic amputation and BPA. Clinical trials that retain patients in long-term follow-up are desirable to confirm findings from prospectively assessed case series.
Differential inhibition of the brain acetylcholinesterase molecular forms following sarin, soman and VX intoxication in laboratory rats.

The female Wistar rats were intoxicated (i.m.) with sarin, soman and VX in doses equal to 1xLD50 and pontomedullar areas of the brain were prepared, homogenized, centrifuged and in these samples, acetylcholinesterase (AChE, EC 3.1.1.7) activities were determined. In the same samples, AChE was separated using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and AChE molecular forms were detected and densitometrically evaluated. In control animals, AChE was separated into four forms differing in their electrophoretic mobility and their quantitative content in the sample. The form with lowest electrophoretic mobility represent the main part of AChE activity constituting the whole enzymatic activity. Following intoxication with the nerve agents mentioned, the whole AChE activity in the pontomedullar area of the brain was decreasing in intervals of ten minutes (soman and sarin) or one hour (VX). The AChE activity at the time of death (or terminal stage) was represented 5-30% of controls. Molecular forms of AChE were inhibited in different extent: the form with lowest electrophoretic mobility was diminished to zero level while the form with the highest mobility was practically unaffected, independently on the type of nerve agent. From quantitative expression of percentage content of the forms vs their activity we can imply that value of the total AChE activity represent the "mean" activity of the forms determined.
Minimal residual disease in peripheral blood at day 15 identifies a subgroup of childhood B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia with superior prognosis

Background Most minimal residual disease-directed treatment interventions in current treatment protocols for acute lymphoblastic leukemia are based on bone marrow testing, which is a consequence of previous studies showing the superiority of bone marrow over peripheral blood as an investigational material. Those studies typically did not explore the prognostic impact of peripheral blood involvement and lacked samples from very early time points of induction. Design and Methods In this study, we employed real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis to examine minimal residual disease in 398 pairs of blood and bone marrow follow-up samples taken from 95 children with B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated with the ALL IC-BFM 2002 protocol. Results We confirmed the previously published poor correlation between minimal residual disease in blood and marrow at early treatment time points, with levels in bone marrow being higher than in blood in most samples (median 7.9-fold, range 0.04–8,293-fold). A greater involvement of peripheral blood at diagnosis was associated with a higher white blood cell count at diagnosis (P=0.003) and with enlargement of the spleen (P=0.0004) and liver (P=0.05). At day 15, a level of minimal residual disease in blood lower than 10−4 was associated with an excellent 5-year relapse-free survival in 78 investigated patients (100% versus 69±7%; P=0.0003). Subgroups defined by the level of minimal residual disease in blood at day 15 (high-risk: ≥10−2, intermediate-risk: <10−2 and ≥10−4, standard-risk: <10−4) partially correlated with bone marrow-based stratification described previously, but the risk groups did not match completely. No other time point analyses were predictive of outcome in peripheral blood, except for a weak association at day 8. Conclusions Minimal residual disease in peripheral blood at day 15 identified a large group of patients with an excellent prognosis and added prognostic information to the risk stratification based on minimal residual disease at day 33 and week 12.
Collaborating Towards Learning , Using Social Spreadsheets for Health Education and Community Awareness

Technology Enabled Education has provided the world with new and improved ways of learning. Various frameworks in different education sectors have been established in order to facilitate easy and effective communication and dissemination of information amongst the masses. In our effort to do the same, we have discussed the use of a Cloud enabled Social Spreadsheet to introduce a new system for development of an on-line Community Health Resource Centre. Through this paper, we aim to present a framework for information sharing and learning by demonstrating some use-cases, its user interface and instructional design.
Family conflict, adherence, and glycaemic control in youth with short duration Type 1 diabetes

Aims Behavioural support around diabetes management tasks is linked to glycaemic outcomes. In this study we investigated the relationship between diabetes‐related parental behaviours (conflict around and involvement in treatment tasks), adherence to blood glucose monitoring (BGM), and glycaemic control in youth with short duration Type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM).
Free will and illusion

1. INTRODUCTION PART I: METAPHYSICAL AND ETHICAL FOUNDATIONS 2. THE CORE CONCEPTION 3. WHY NOT COMPATIBILISM? 4. WHY NOT LIBERTARIAN FREE WILL? 5. WHY NOT HARD DETERMINISM? 6. THE FUNDAMENTAL DUALISM PART II: THE ROLE OF ILLUSION 7. THE POSITIVE IMPORTANCE OF ILLUSION 8. EXPLORATIONS IN THE LAND OF ILLUSION 9. WHY NOT REACTIVE NATURALISM? 10. SOME FURTHER BENEFITS 11. SOME ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS 12. CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX.
In vitro assessment of engineered nanomaterials using a hepatocyte cell line: cytotoxicity, pro-inflammatory cytokines and functional markers

Abstract Effects on the liver C3A cell line treated with a panel of engineered nanomaterials (NMs) consisting of two zinc oxide particles (ZnO; coated 100 nm and uncoated 130 nm), two multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), one silver (Ag < 20 nm), one 7 nm anatase, two rutile TiO2 nanoparticles (10 and 94 nm) and two derivatives with positive and negative covalent functionalisation of the 10 nm rutile were evaluated. The silver particles elicited the greatest level of cytotoxicity (24 h LC50 – 2 µg/cm2). The silver was followed by the uncoated ZnO (24 h LC50 – 7.5 µg/cm2) and coated ZnO (24 h LC50 – 15 µg/cm2) particles with respect to cytotoxicity. The ZnO NMs were found to be about 50–60% soluble which could account for their toxicity. By contrast, the Ag was <1% soluble. The LC50 was not attained in the presence of any of the other engineered NMs (up to 80 µg/cm2). All NMs significantly increased IL-8 production. Meanwhile, no significant change in TNF-α, IL-6 or CRP was detected. Urea and albumin production were measured as indicators of hepatic function. These markers were only altered by the coated and uncoated ZnO, which significantly decreased albumin production.
HPRS-103 (exogenous avian leukosis virus, subgroup J) has an env gene related to those of endogenous elements EAV-0 and E51 and an E element found previously only in sarcoma viruses

The avian leukosis and sarcoma virus (ALSV) group comprises eight subgroups based on envelope properties. HPRS-103, an exogenous retrovirus recently isolated from meat-type chicken lines, is similar to the viruses of these subgroups in group antigen but differs from them in envelope properties and has been assigned to a new subgroup, J. HPRS-103 has a wide host range in birds, and unlike other nontransforming ALSVs which cause late-onset B-cell lymphomas, HPRS-103 causes late-onset myelocytomas. Analysis of the sequence of an infectious clone of the complete proviral genome indicates that HPRS-103 is a multiple recombinant of at least five ALSV sequences and one EAV (endogenous avian retroviral) sequence. The HPRS-103 env is most closely related to the env gene of the defective EAV-E51 but divergent from those of other ALSV subgroups. Probing of restriction digests of line 0 chicken genomic DNA has identified a novel group of endogenous sequences (EAV-HP) homologous to that of the HPRS-103 env gene but different from sequences homologous to EAV and E51. Unlike other replication-competent nontransforming ALSVs, HPRS-103 has an E element in its 3' noncoding region, as found in many transforming ALSVs. A deletion found in the HPRS-103 U3 EFII enhancer factor-binding site is also found in all replication-defective transforming ALSVs (including MC29, which causes rapid-onset myelocytomas).
SEXISM AND GENDER ROLE PORTRAYALS IN SPANISH TV COMMERCIALS

This study examines the portrayal of men and women in a sample of Spanish television commercials, attempting to extend past investigations developed in other countries (i.e. USA, United Kingdom and Canada). Traditionally, television commercials have served to reinforce conventional sex role stereotypes. Together with sex role stereotypes, there have been studies of other variables related to the sexist content of commercials. Thus, the present paper focuses on concepts such as gender role, the degree of sexism and the way the central figures inter-relate socially. The objective is to determine whether there is a link among each of these three variables with, firstly, the gender of the central figure of the commercial and secondly, with the type of product advertised. Este estudio analiza la imagen de hombres y mujeres en una muestra espanola de anuncios de television, extendiendo asi investigaciones realizadas en otros paises como EE.UU. y Canada. Tradicionalmente, los anuncios de television han servido para reforzar los roles tradicionales. Junto con estos estereotipos se analizan el rol de genero, nivel de sexismo y el modo en que se interrelacionan las figuras principales de los anuncios. El objetivo es determinar si existe relacion entre estas variables y el genero del personal principal del anuncio y el tipo de producto anunciado.
A importância do agachamento completo na performance de sprint : uma nova abordagem metodológica baseada na velocidade de execução

v ÍNDICE GERAL . vi LISTA DE ABREVIATURAS . vii ÍNDICE DE TABELAS . viii ÍNDICE DE FIGURAS. ix INTRODUÇÃO . 10 METODOLOGIA. 13 Sujeitos . 13 Desenho Experimental . 14 Análise Estatística . 16 RESULTADOS . 17 DISCUSSÃO . 20 CONCLUSÃO . 23 BIBLIOGRAFIA . 24
Aneuploidy fraction but not DNA index is important for the prognosis of patients with stage I and II breast cancer--10-year results.

BACKGROUND Individual assessment of the prognosis of patients with breast cancer is crucial for the selection of risk-adapted adjuvant therapy and in follow-up. Parameters from DNA flow-cytometry have been shown to provide significant prognostic information, but published results are in conflict and there are only a few investigations with long-term follow-up. The aim of this study is to clarify the impact of tumor DNA data on the clinical course of stage I and stage II breast cancer patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS Several flow-cytometry DNA analyses were performed on tumor samples derived from 191 breast cancer patients entered in a controlled clinical trial after a median follow-up of more than 10 years. In addition to DNA index (DNI) and the percentage of cells in S phase (SPF), an index, designated aneuploidy fraction (AF), was determined. It ascertains the percentage of aneuploid cells out of all cells in the DNA flow-cytometry histogram, and its reproducibility has been tested by measurements of AF in two different samples of the same tumor. Univariate analyses and, in the 122 patients for whom complete information was available, a Cox model, were performed to investigate the individual prognostic impact of flow-cytometry parameters compared with established clinical factors. RESULTS AF proved to be a very valuable prognostic indicator both in univariate and multivariate analyses, whereas DNI and SPF failed to provide independent prognostic information. The combination of AF and lymph node status clearly identifies different prognostic subgroups in operable breast cancer. CONCLUSIONS Routine evaluation of patients with breast cancer should include tumor DNA flow-cytometry. Aneuploidy fraction is a valuable tool in assessing an individual patient's prognosis and thus can help in the choice of the appropriate adjuvant treatment strategy. Whether it, rather than DNI and SPF should be used, as we found, needs to be validated in a larger prospective investigation.
Interspecific competition between two generalist parasitoids that attack the leafroller Epiphyas postvittana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

Abstract Two generalist parasitoids, Dolichogenidea tasmanica (Cameron) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and Therophilus unimaculatus (Turner) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) attack early instars of tortricid moths, including the light brown apple moth, Epiphyas postvittana (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). The two parasitoids co-exist in natural habitats, while D. tasmanica is dominant in vineyards, whereas T. unimaculatus occurs mainly in adjacent native vegetation. This difference suggests possible competition between the two species, mediated by habitat. Here, we report on the extent of interspecific differences in host discrimination and the outcome of interspecific competition between the two parasitoids. The parasitoids did not show different behavioural responses to un-parasitized hosts or those that were parasitized by the other species. Larvae of D. tasmanica out-competed those of T. unimaculatus, irrespective of the order or interval between attacks by the two species. The host larvae that were attacked by two parasitoids died more frequently before a parasitoid completed its larval development than those that were attacked by a single parasitoid. Dissection of host larvae parasitized by both species indicated that first instars of D. tasmanica attacked and killed larval T. unimaculatus.
Une hiérarchie de forçage pour les tournois indécomposables

Le travail presente dans cette these est une etude structurelle des tournois. Nous nous interessons plus particulierement aux tournois indecomposables pour la somme lexicographique. Les chapitres 1 et 2 sont consacres a la caracterisation de classes de tournois definis en interdisant certains types de sous-structures. Nous regardons ensuite (chapitre 3) l'interet algorithmique des theoremes de structure precedemment obtenus. Nous donnons notamment un algorithme lineaire de test d'isomorphisme pour la classe des tournois sans diamant (tournois a 4 elements possedant un seul 3-cycle). Dans le chapitre 4, nous abordons un autre aspect structurel lie au renversement d'arcs: partant d'un tournoi t indecomposable, nous transformons celui-ci de proche en proche en renversant certains arcs de facon a obtenir un tournoi t' possedant les memes sous tournois a 3 elements que t. Nous trouvons dans cette problematique les travaux de m. C. Golumbic, m. Habib, a. Boussairi et al. Les principaux resultats que nous obtenons sont: 1. L'existence d'une hierarchie sur les arcs d'un tournoi, induite par le forcage des renversements -2. La caracterisation des tournois de hierarchie maximale -3. La caracterisation des tournois minimaux pour la hierarchie d'un arc donne (tournois arc-critiques) et -4. La caracterisation, a l'aide d'une operation de recollement, de la classe des tournois arc-critiques. Ces resultats nous definissent alors des structures sous-jacentes aux tournois indecomposables
ZigBee indoor positioning system precision parameter study based on BP neural network

With the developing of wireless sensor networks (WSNs), more application approach have greatly encouraged the use of sensors for multi-target tracking. The high efficiency detection and location monitoring are crucial requirements for multi-target tracking in a WSN of indoor environment, especially the situation without the GPS application. In this paper, we proposed an indoor tracking model using Zigbee of IEEE 802.15. 4 compliant radio frequency to monitor targets in a special way. Our motivation is to manipulate the erratic or unstable received signal strength indicator (RSSI) signals to deliver the stable and precise position information in the indoor environment. Based on BP neural network methodology, the selective algorithm for WSN parameters A and n values is demonstrated in this paper. An improvement Euclidian distance centroid location algorithm based on statistical uncorrelated vectors to minimize the noise in RSSI values has also been proposed here. Much more experiments about multi-target detection and location to verify the BPNN methodology can effectively improve selecting those A and n parameters in the WSN network. The system architecture, hardware and software organization, as well as the solutions for multiple-targets tracking, RSSI interference and location accuracy have been introduced in details.
Imaging of b-Cell Mass and Function

In both type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus, b-cell mass (BCM), which exclusively produces insulin, is lost. Various therapeutic strategies are being developed that target BCM to restore its function by promoting b-cell neogenesis and regeneration or by preventing its apoptosis. To this end, it is essential to identify biomarkers of BCM. Of the various imaging platforms, radionuclide-based imaging methods using radioligands that directly target BCM appear promising. In particular, the vesicular monoamine transporter type 2 (VMAT2), which is expressed almost exclusively by b-cells and found in close association with insulin, can be noninvasively imaged with PET and 11C-dihydrotetrabenazine or its derivatives. Despite the major limitation that b-cells are low in abundance (1%22%) and dispersed throughout the pancreas, VMAT2 PET is sensitive enough to detect VMAT2 signal and to allow kinetic model–based quantification of VMAT2 binding within the pancreas. However, these techniques are still in early stages, and careful further evaluations and technical developments are needed before they can be clinically used as a valid biomarker of BCM.