Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contribution of Interface States and Oxide Traps to the Negative Bias Temperature Instability of High-$k$ pMOSFETs

Negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) in MOSFETs with high-dielectric-constant (<i>k</i>) gate dielectrics has been investigated using a novel pulse NBTI measurement technique. This technique enabled the separation of the contribution of interface states (<i>N</i> <sub>it</sub>) from that of oxide traps (<i>N</i> <sub>ot</sub>) to NBTI behavior by varying the measurement time (<i>t</i> <sub>m</sub>) and the delay time (<i>t</i> <sub>R</sub>). The technique was demonstrated on devices fabricated with different postdeposition annealing (PDA) conditions. It was found that, regardless of the PDA condition, the <i>N</i> <sub>ot</sub> in high-<i>k</i> dielectric was more responsible for the NBTI behavior than the <i>N</i> <sub>it</sub>, but the contribution of <i>N</i> <sub>it</sub> to NBTI increased as the stress continued because the generation rate of <i>N</i> <sub>it</sub> was higher than that of <i>N</i> <sub>ot</sub>.
Time threshold dimensioning and overload control in FDDI networks

The author addresses the problem of selecting timer thresholds for the asynchronous priorities in a Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) system. Based on an approximate analysis for the throughput under overload, two methods are derived. The first one is designed to meet requirements for the ratios between throughputs of stations with different priorities, whereas the second method includes absolute throughput values. Additionally, a proposition for dimensioning the timer thresholds of traffic classes that are deferred under overload is presented. Some examples for the application of these methods to overload control in FDDI systems are given. The results indicate that FDDI's timed token protocol provides the possibility to guarantee bandwidth not only for synchronous traffic, but also for asynchronous traffic. The allocation of guaranteed bandwidth can be controlled easily by selecting the timer thresholds according to the rules derived. <<ETX>>
Export of North American Ozone Pollution to the North Atlantic Ocean

Measurement of the levels of ozone and carbon monoxide (a tracer of anthropogenic pollution) at three surface sites on the Atlantic coast of Canada allow the estimation of the amount of ozone photochemically produced from anthropogenic precursors over North America and transported to the lower troposphere over the temperate North Atlantic Ocean. This amount is greater than that injected from the stratosphere, the primary natural source of ozone. This conclusion supports the contention that ozone derived from anthropogenic pollution has a hemisphere-wide effect at northern temperate latitudes.
Field tests of avian host preference of Culex tarsalis Coq.

Summary In comparative tests with baited traps slowly rotated about a common vertical axis, comparable numbers of Culex tarsalis were attracted to birds of the same size whether of the same or different species, while the number attracted to birds of different size was proportional to their size. C. tarsalis engorgement rates were independent of attraction rates and size of bird, but they varied for different bird species and for different individuals of the same species. Engorgement rates on individual birds were usually consistent, with only a few instances of night-to-night differences. A combination of the host's attractiveness and acceptability to C. tarsalis undoubtedly influences the biting attack rates on avian hosts. A depression of the engorgement of C. tarsalis on chickens was found to be correlated with increased numbers of mosquitoes. C. tarsalis is attracted to and feeds on a wide range of avian and mammalian species exposed in traps under field conditions.
Uveal Melanoma: A Pathologist’s Perspective and Review of Translational Developments

The eye and periorbital soft tissue are derived from the neuroectodermal neural crest, leading to a wide range of tumor types that arise at this site. The uveal tract (iris, ciliary body, and choroid) normally contains melanocytes, and thus both benign nevi and malignant melanoma can arise there, the choroid being the most frequent site. Uveal melanoma (UM) in adults and retinoblastoma (in young children) are the 2 most common primary intraocular malignancies. Retinoblastoma is the most common eye cancer worldwide, but the most common ocular cancer in the United States and Europe is UM. This review will focus on UM and will include the epidemiology, pathologic findings, prognosis and treatment, and review of ongoing molecular discoveries aimed at elucidating the pathways that could lead to adjuvant therapy. These tumors are not uncommon to dedicated ocular pathologists and may occasionally be encountered by general pathologists as well. First, a short word about metastases to the uveal tract is in order, because of its importance in the differential diagnosis. Although the most common primary malignancy in the adult eye is UM, the most frequent adult intraocular malignancy identified in autopsy studies is metastatic carcinoma to the uveal tract. Metastases usually occur late, and the eye is thus rarely enucleated in this setting. However it is important to be aware of this as sometimes, the ophthalmologist cannot determine clinically if an amelanotic tumor represents melanoma or metastasis, possibly from an unknown primary. Shields and colleagues reported on their experience and found that the most common primary sites for uveal metastasis are breast, followed by lung, and then the gastrointestinal tract. Immunohistochemical stains for cytokeratin or more specific markers such as CK7, CK20, TTF-1, BRST-2, CDX2, and PSA may be helpful if there is no known primary. Metastases to the eye also occur in the orbit, eyelid, and rarely to the retina.
A novel transgenic mouse model produced from lentiviral germline integration for the study of β-thalassemia gene therapy

Lentiviral-mediated gene therapy has been successfully applied in the treatment of β-thalassemia. In this study transgenic mice with stable expression of a lentivirus carrying the human β-globin gene were obtained. These animals provide a useful model to investigate the stable effect of gene therapy in β-thalassemia. Background β-thalassemia is one of the most common genetic diseases in the world and requires extensive therapy. Lentiviral-mediated gene therapy has been successfully exploited in the treatment of β-thalassemia and showed promise in clinical application. Using a human β-globin transgenic mouse line in a β-thalassemia diseased model generated with a lentiviral-mediated approach, we investigate the stable therapeutic effect on a common thalassemia syndrome. Design and Methods Human β-globin gene lentiviral vector was constr ucted, followed by subzonal microinjection into single-cell embryos of βIVS-2-654-thalassemia mice to generate a transgenic line. Human β-globin gene expression was examined with RT-PCR, Western-blotting and ELISA. The hematologic parameters and tissue pathology were investigated over time in founder mice and their off-spring. Results Transgenic mice with stable expression of the lentivirus carrying human β-globin gene were obtained. A marked improvement in red blood cell indices and a dramatic reduction in red blood cell anisocytosis, poikilocytosis and target cells were observed. Nucleated cell proportion was greatly decreased in bone marrow, and splenomegaly with extramedullary hematopoiesis was ameliorated. Iron deposition in liver was also reduced. There was a two-fold increase in the survival rate of the βIVS-2-654 mice carrying human β-globin transgene. Significantly, the germline integration of the lentiviral construct was obtained and stable hematologic phenotype correction was observed over the next two generations of the transgenic mice. Conclusions The generation of human β-globin transgenic mice in a βIVS-2-654-thalassemia mouse mediated with lentiviral vectors provides a useful model and offers an attractive means to investigate the transgenic stable therapeutic effect in β-thalassemia.
Resting-State Functional MRI: Everything That Nonexperts Have Always Wanted to Know

SUMMARY: Resting-state fMRI was first described by Biswal et al in 1995 and has since then been widely used in both healthy subjects and patients with various neurologic, neurosurgical, and psychiatric disorders. As opposed to paradigm- or task-based functional MR imaging, resting-state fMRI does not require subjects to perform any specific task. The low-frequency oscillations of the resting-state fMRI signal have been shown to relate to the spontaneous neural activity. There are many ways to analyze resting-state fMRI data. In this review article, we will briefly describe a few of these and highlight the advantages and limitations of each. This description is to facilitate the adoption and use of resting-state fMRI in the clinical setting, helping neuroradiologists become familiar with these techniques and applying them for the care of patients with neurologic and psychiatric diseases.
Nerve Activity-dependent Modulation of Calcineurin Signaling in Adult Fast and Slow Skeletal Muscle Fibers*

This study tested the hypothesis that calcineurin signaling is modulated in skeletal muscle cells by fluctuations in nerve-mediated activity. We show that dephosphorylation of NFATc1, MEF2A, and MEF2D transcription factors by calcineurin in all muscle types is dependent on nerve activity and positively correlated with muscle usage under normal weightbearing conditions. With increased nerve-mediated activity, calcineurin dephosphorylation of these targets was found to be potentiated in a way that paralleled the higher muscle activation profiles associated with functional overload or nerve electrical stimulation conditions. We also establish that muscle activity must be sustained above native levels for calcineurin-dependent dephosphorylation of MEF2A and MEF2D to be transduced into an increase in MEF2 transcriptional function, suggesting that calcineurin cooperates with other activity-linked events to signal via these proteins. Finally, examination of individual fiber responses to overload and nerve electrical stimulation revealed that calcineurin-MEF2 signaling occurs in all fiber types but most readily in fibers that are normally least active (i.e.those expressing IIx and IIb myosin heavy chain (MHC)), suggesting that signaling via this phosphatase is also dependent upon the activation history of the muscle cell.
A Framework for the Optimal  $k$ -Coverage Deployment Patterns of Wireless Sensors

The strategy for node deployment to achieve multiple connectivity and coverage plays an important role in various wireless senor network applications. To alleviate the operational cost, the number of nodes to be deployed needs to be reduced. While the optimal k-connectivity deployment patterns (k ≤ 6) and the multiple k-coverage problem (k ≤ 3) have been extensively studied for 2-D networks, a general method to identify the optimal deployment pattern for any given sensor coverage requirement has yet to be found. Considering the ease of sensor deployment and operation, the deployment patterns should be identical and symmetric in the deployment region. This implies that the Voronoi diagram of the optimal deployment is a regular tessellation. Based on the fact that there exist only three regular tessellations, we propose a framework, namely, range elimination scheme (RES), to compute the optimal k-coverage deployment pattern for any given k value to accommodate various wireless sensor application requirements. We apply RES to show the optimal k-coverage deployment patterns for 4 ≤ k 9. Our analytical and simulation results show that our proposed framework successfully identifies the optimal deployment patterns and significantly reduces the number of sensors to be deployed.
Microbiological and Clinical Aspects of Infection Associated with Stenotrophomonas maltophilia

SUMMARY The gram-negative bacterium Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is increasingly recognized as an important cause of nosocomial infection. Infection occurs principally, but not exclusively, in debilitated and immunosuppressed individuals. Management of S. maltophilia-associated infection is problematic because many strains of the bacterium manifest resistance to multiple antibiotics. These difficulties are compounded by methodological problems in in vitro susceptibility testing for which there are, as yet, no formal guidelines. Despite its acknowledged importance as a nosocomial pathogen, little is known of the epidemiology of S. maltophilia, and although it is considered an environmental bacterium, its sources and reservoirs are often not readily apparent. Molecular typing systems may contribute to our knowledge of the epidemiology of S. maltophilia infection, thus allowing the development of strategies to interrupt the transmission of the bacterium in the hospital setting. Even less is known of pathogenic mechanisms and putative virulence factors involved in the natural history of S. maltophilia infection and this, coupled with difficulties in distinguishing colonization from true infection, has fostered the view that the bacterium is essentially nonpathogenic. This article aims to review the current taxonomic status of S. maltophilia, and it discusses the laboratory identification of the bacterium. The epidemiology of the organism is considered with particular reference to nosocomial outbreaks, several of which have been investigated by molecular typing techniques. Risk factors for acquisition of the bacterium are also reviewed, and the ever-expanding spectrum of clinical syndromes associated with S. maltophilia is surveyed. Antimicrobial resistance mechanisms, pitfalls in in vitro susceptibility testing, and therapy of S. maltophilia infections are also discussed.
Formulario Nacional de Medicamentos de Cuba: Aplicación para Android

La constante expansion del campo de las telecomunicaciones, se ha fortalecido con el uso creciente de dispositivos moviles. Esto ha potenciado el manejo de aplicaciones que aprovechan las caracteristicas y ventajas de los sistemas operativos de un computador personal, con la versatilidad de un dispositivo movil. Su caracteristica interaccion con el usuario las hace especialmente llamativas como complemento en el desarrollo de areas como el cuidado de la salud y la Medicina. El uso de estas tecnologias se enmarca dentro del concepto de Salud movil o mHealth . El abordaje del uso y la aplicacion de las tecnologias de la informacion y la comunicacion en la salud publica suponen beneficios en materia de innovacion, en el ambito socio-sanitario y en la economia de cualquier pais. Varias aplicaciones se destacan en este ambito, algunas de las mas nombradas son Medscape, Epocrates y Drugs.com Medical, entre otras. En Cuba se publica, desde el ano 2003, la version impresa del Formulario Nacional de Medicamentos. Adicionalmente, se dispone de una version web, que forma parte de los recursos de informacion de la Biblioteca Virtual en Salud de Infomed. Ahora, con el uso de las nuevas tecnologias, se extiende a los dispositivos con sistema operativo Android. La aplicacion consta de una base de datos con 750 farmacos empleados en el Sistema Nacional de Salud de Cuba y 500 principios activos. La informacion esta organizada por orden alfabetico, presentaciones, categorias farmacologicas y riesgos para grupos especiales, entre otras modalidades. A traves de su opcion de busqueda se pueden localizar los medicamentos y plantas medicinales, ya sea por el nombre o por el contenido. Incluye ademas un sistema de escaneo digital para la identificacion de gran numero de farmacos por su codificacion de barras y brinda informacion necesaria como las categorias de riesgo para lactancia y embarazo.
Volume expansion using pentastarch does not change gastric-arterial CO2 gradient or gastric intramucosal pH in patients who have sepsis syndrome

Objective In hypovolemic patients with sepsis syndrome, to determine the effects of colloid volume infusion using 10% pentastarch on abnormal gastric tonometer measurements (gastric intramucosal CO2 tension, gastric intramucosal-arterial Pco2 gradient, and gastric intramucosal pH [pHi]) and on cardiac index, global oxygen delivery, and hemoglobin. Design Prospective prepost intervention study. Setting Tertiary care, university-affiliated 15-bed general systems intensive care unit. Patients Patients were studied who had sepsis syndrome, who had pulmonary arterial catheters in place, who were hypovolemic (pulmonary arterial occlusion pressure [PAOP] <15 mm Hg), and who had a gastric arterial Pco2 gradient >10 mm Hg. Interventions Baseline measurements of gastric intramucosal CO2 tension, gastric intramucosal-arterial Pco2 gradient, and pHi, as well as arterial lactate, pulmonary arterial occlusion, central venous and systemic arterial pressures, thermodilution cardiac output, and temperature. Boluses of 500 mL pentastarch were administered to a total of 1000 mL or until PAOP was >18 mm Hg. Measurements were repeated at 30 mins and 120 mins postinfusion of pentastarch. Main Results Volume infusion using pentastarch did not change gastric Pco2, gastric-arterial Pco2 gradient, or pHi. Volume expansion with pentastarch significantly increased cardiac index, global oxygen delivery, and PAOP. Administration of pentastarch decreased hemoglobin and arterial lactate at 30 mins but not at 120 mins. Conclusions Volume expansion using a colloidal solution of 10% pentastarch does not change abnormal intramucosal CO2 tension, gastric-arterial Pco2 gradient, or pHi in critically ill hypovolemic patients who have sepsis syndrome despite increasing cardiac index, oxygen delivery, and pulmonary artery occlusion pressure.
La publicidad viral y una teoría de teorías: ¿hacia un modelo esférico de comunicación en red?

Una busqueda por las bases de datos bibliograficos y documentales de los ambitos de las ciencias de la informacion, comunicacion y empresariales sobre el concepto de publicidad viral o marketing viral puede reportarnos hoy cerca de dos centenares de resultados. En el buscador Google, en cambio, aparecen mas de ocho millones de entradas. El interes academico en el tema es reciente y va a remolque del profesional, pero constata la emergencia de una nueva �o reinventada- herramienta de comunicacion empresarial indisociable a todas luces de la consolidacion de las tecnologias de la informacion y de la comunicacion (TIC). Abstract Con este paper se pretende, en primer lugar, profundizar en el marco teorico de la publicidad viral a partir de una revision bibliografica que tenga en cuenta la interseccion entre teorias de comunicacion y teorias de redes; y, en segundo lugar, presentar una propuesta de actualizacion del modelo clasico de Wilbur Schramm (1963) que incorpore la dimension de red social digital, fundamental para el desarrollo de cualquier accion publicitaria viral. Sera esta dimension, vertebrada a partir de las diferentes redes sociales que se activan con los reenvios de los mensajes virales (asentadas sobre los ejes del espacio y el tiempo digital) la que representara graficamente el volumen del nuevo modelo. Este va mas alla de un modelo circular porque se dan dos tipos de respuesta -la respuesta publicitaria esperada por el anunciante y el reenvio del mensaje- y porque el receptor se convierte en misor/transmisor e inicia una nueva esfera de comunicacion a partir de su red social.
Flavobacterium beibuense sp. nov., isolated from marine sediment.

A taxonomic study was carried out on strain F44-8(T), which was isolated from a crude-oil-degrading consortium, enriched from marine sediment of the Beibu Gulf, PR China. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain F44-8(T) showed highest similarities to those of Flavobacterium frigoris LMG 21922(T) (93.3 %), Flavobacterium terrae R2A1-13(T) (93.3 %) and Flavobacterium gelidilacus LMG 21477(T) (93.1 %). Sequence similarities to other members of the genus Flavobacterium were <93.0 %. The dominant fatty acids of strain F44-8(T) were iso-C(15 : 0), summed feature 3 (iso-C(15 : 0) 2-OH and/or C(16 : 1)ω7c), iso-C(15 : 1) G and iso-C(17 : 0) 3-OH. The DNA G+C content of strain F44-8(T) was 38.6 mol%. These results are consistent with characteristics of members of the genus Flavobacterium. Strain F44-8(T) could, however, be readily distinguished from all known Flavobacterium species by a number of phenotypic features. Therefore, according to the phenotypic and 16S rRNA gene sequence data, strain F44-8(T) represents a novel species in the genus Flavobacterium, for which the name Flavobacterium beibuense sp. nov. is proposed (type strain F44-8(T) =CCTCC AB 209067(T) =LMG 25233(T) =MCCC 1A02877(T)).
Cloning and Preliminary Characterization of a Calcium-binding Protein Closely Related to Nucleolin on the Apical Surface of Inner Medullary Collecting Duct Cells*

Calcium stone crystal attachment to the urinary epithelium plays an essential role in the development of kidney stones by allowing small crystals to be retained in the kidney until they become macroscopic. We among others have described attachment of stone crystals to cultured renal epithelia (Wiessner, J. H., Kleinman, J. G., Blumenthal, S. S., Garancis, J. C., and Mandel, G. S. (1987) J. Urol. 138, 640–643). To isolate protein(s) that may participate in crystal attachment, apical membranes of cultured renal inner medullary collecting duct were biotinylated, the cells were lysed with detergent, the lysate was subjected to hydroxyapatite chromatography, and fractions were incubated with calcium oxalate monohydrate. Electrophoresis of material solubilized from the crystals showed several selectively adsorbed protein bands. A 110-kDa band stained positively for biotin and for glycosides and bound45Ca. The amino acid sequence of this band was determined to be that of a protein closely related to rat nucleolin (nucleolin-related protein; NRP). NRP was cloned and sequenced and was 83% homologous with the previously sequenced nucleolar protein nucleolin. Using temperature-induced phase partitioning with Triton X-114, NRP was associated with both the insoluble membrane skeleton pellet and the soluble aqueous phase but not the soluble detergent phase. This association with the membrane skeleton was increased in the presence of calcium. Thus, NRP is associated with the apical membranes of cultured renal tubular cells and is bound to membrane skeletal elements in a calcium-dependent fashion. The physiological role of NRP remains to be determined; however, a pathophysiological role may be that of mediating the attachment to the renal tubular epithelium of calcium stone crystals.
A low noise front end trans-impedance amplifier channel for a pulsed time-of-flight laser radar

A low noise front end trans-impedance amplifier for a pulsed time-of-flight laser range finder receiver is presented. The architecture is based on unipolar-to-bipolar pulse shaping immediately at the input of the receiver channel, where the received unipolar current pulse is converted to a bipolar current to be fed to the trans-impedance amplifier (TIA). An extensively wide dynamic range is achieved using the proposed pulse shaping scheme and TIA realization. As the timing point is located at the first zero crossing point of the bipolar signal, the non-idealities of the TIA have little effect on it. Simulations show the walk error of the TIA channel to be less than ±40ps in the dynamic range 1:100000. The input-referred noise current and bandwidth are 72nA and 415MHz, respectively.