Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Symmetric write operation for 1T-1MTJ STT-RAM cells using negative bitline technique

In this paper, a new write assist technique is proposed to improve the write characteristics of 1T-1MTJ STT-RAM bitcell through a symmetric write operation. This is done by applying a negative voltage to the bitline during write `1' operation. The proposed technique is compared with the best previously proposed techniques. The simulation results using 65nm CMOS technology show that the proposed write assist technique results in 19% improvement in write energy compared to the boosted wordline technique. In addition, the proposed write assist technique leads to 12% and 48% reduction in the access transistor width compared with boosted wordline and balanced write techniques, respectively. Furthermore, the maximum voltage across the MTJ is reduced by 20% and 6% compared with boosted wordline and balanced write techniques, respectively.
Molecular Analysis of Human Prorenin Prosegment Variants in Vitro and in Vivo(*)

The aspartyl protease renin, an important modulator of blood pressure in humans, is present in the circulation not only in its active form, but also as an inactive precursor, prorenin, in which a 43-amino acid prosegment blocks access of the substrate to the active site of the enzyme. Site-directed mutagenesis of the prosegment has led to the following conclusions. 1) Maintenance of the enzymatically inactive state of prorenin requires a short peptide sequence between positions 10P and 20P (where P denotes prosegment and numbering is relative to amino terminus) of the prosegment; and 2) there is an inverse relationship between the ability of prosegment mutations to activate and their effect on the secretion of the various prorenins, suggesting that this same region of the prosegment plays a critical role in the biosynthesis of human prorenin. Since these results demonstrated that single amino acid mutations could activate human prorenin to varying degrees, mutations in this region of the renin gene could be clinically important in humans. To test this hypothesis, genomic screening was carried out on the corresponding region of the human renin gene (exon 2) in a cohort of patients selected for a likely familial component to their hypertension. While this study identified a novel polymorphism in exon 2 of the human renin gene, evidence was not obtained for either the presence of prosegment mutations or the association of the novel polymorphism with hypertension in the patient population studied. In conclusion, both structure-function studies and genetic screening suggest that mutation of the prorenin prosegment is an unlikely factor in activation of the renin-angiotensin system in humans.
Involvement of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor using excitatory amino acid neurotransmitters in control of pulsatile secretion of LH during sexual development in Holstein bull calves.

The neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying the development of pulsatile release of LH in bull calves are poorly understood. The hypothesis that endogenous excitatory amino acids, working through N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, are involved in the generation of pulsatile LH release during sexual maturation of bull calves was tested. Holstein bull calves were administered i.v. 0.001, 0.01 and 0.1 mg kg-1 body mass of MK-801, a specific noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist, on alternate days at 1, 12 and 24 weeks of age (n = 6 per dose), using a replicated 3 x 3 latin square design. Blood samples were obtained from jugular catheters at intervals of 10 min for 2 h before and 2 h after MK-801 treatment at 1 week and for periods of 4 h before and after MK-801 administration at 12 and 24 weeks of age. Plasma concentrations of LH were measured by a specific radioimmunoassay and pulsatile LH secretion was analysed using the Pulsar algorithm. Basal LH secretion at 1 week of age was low but was increased by 12 weeks (0.38 +/- 0.01 versus 1.38 +/- 0.11 ng ml-1; P < 0.001) with the establishment of frequent high amplitude pulses. Mean LH concentrations and pulse amplitude, but not frequency, were lower at 24 than at 12 weeks of age (0.88 +/- 0.08 versus 1.38 +/- 0.11 ng ml-1: P < 0.001, 1.74 +/- 0.14 versus 2.82 +/- 0.36 ng ml-1: P < 0.01, and 1.70 +/- 0.30 versus 1.70 +/- 0.41 in 4 h: P > 0.05, respectively). Administration of MK-801 did not affect LH secretion in 1- and 12-week-old calves. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Isolated from Countries in the Western Pacific Region

ABSTRACT A total of 422 Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from eight countries were subjected to IS6110 and IS1081 DNA fingerprinting by means of restriction fragment analysis to characterize M. tuberculosis strains from each country. Chinese, Mongolian, Hong Kong, Filipino, and Korean isolates had comparatively more copies of IS6110 (proportion with eight or more copies; 95% ± 5%), while Thai, Malaysian, and Vietnamese isolates had fewer copies (proportion with eight or more copies, 60% ± 4%). We found a number of novel IS1081types in this study. One IS1081 type was present in 56% of Filipino isolates, had a specific 6.6-kb PvuII fragment in its IS6110 DNA fingerprint, and was termed the “Filipino family. ” The IS1081 types of Thai isolates had interposing characteristics between the characteristics of northeastern Asian and southeastern Asian IS1081 types. A 1.3-kb single-copy IS6110 fragment was found only in VietnameseM. tuberculosis isolates. Although M. tuberculosis isolates from each country had comparatively similar characteristics depending on the classification factor, each country's isolates showed characteristic DNA fingerprints and differed slightly from the isolates from the other countries in either the mode number of IS6110 copies or the distribution of IS1081types.
Effect of Stock Market Performance in Investment Attraction and Capital Accumulation

Despite the polarization of financial systems of economies in terms of capital concentration, financial market-based financial systems are leading the financial globalization and capital flows by attracting and distributing the investment through stock markets. This article studies the impact of stock markets on attracting investment to economy and capital flows in developing economies. Keywords: stock market, investment, capital, developing economy, transition economy.
Economic Versus Sociological Approaches to Legal Research: The Case of Bankruptcy@@@As We Forgive Our Debtors: Bankruptcy and Consumer Credit in America

This $250,000 study may be the most extensive empirical study of consumer bankruptcy ever undertaken, taking some six years to conduct. The authors describe the law and the statistics in clear, nontechnical language, combining a thorough statistical description of the social and economic position of consumer bankrupts with human portraits of the debtors and creditors whose journey has ended in bankruptcy court. The book devotes several chapters to hidden sub-groups in bankruptcy. One focuses on women, analyzing the desperate financial circumstances of single women and the increasing pressure on one-income families. Another reveals that more than half of the bankrupts are homeowners and discusses the anomalies in the way they are treated by current law. Other chapters examine the surprising role of medical debts in financial collapse and give a new account of the financial pressures on small businesses. The book also provides a detailed analysis of the position of various types of creditors of bankrupt persons.
Meta‐analysis to determine the incidence of obstetric anal sphincter damage

The reported incidence of anal sphincter injury after first (11·5–35·0 per cent) and subsequent (3·4–12·1 per cent) vaginal deliveries varies widely. In addition, the reported incidence of associated faecal incontinence ranges from zero to 68·2 per cent. The aim of this study was to perform a meta‐analysis of reported incidences of postpartum anal sphincter defect diagnosed by endoanal ultrasonography (EAUS) and associated incidences of faecal incontinence.
Self-Biased Differential Rectifier With Enhanced Dynamic Range for Wireless Powering

A self-biased cross-coupled differential rectifier is proposed with enhanced power-conversion efficiency (PCE) over an extended range of input power. A prototype is designed for ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) 433-MHz radio-frequency power-harvesting applications and is implemented using a 0.18- <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu\text{m}$</tex-math></inline-formula> CMOS technology. The proposed rectifier architecture is compared with the conventional cross-coupled rectifier. It demonstrates an improvement of more than 40% in the rectifier PCE and an input power range extension of more than 50% relative to the conventional cross-coupled rectifier. A sensitivity of −15.2-dBm (30- <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu\text{W}$</tex-math></inline-formula>) input power for 1-V output voltage and a peak PCE of 65% are achieved for a 50- <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\text{k}\Omega$</tex-math></inline-formula> load.
Frontal white matter anisotropy and symptom severity of late-life depression: a magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging study

Objectives: To investigate the disruption of neural circuits in the frontal lobes and limbic structures in late-life depressed patients compared with healthy controls, and to examine the correlation between the degree of microstructural abnormalities of white matter and clinical symptom severity in late-life depression. Methods: Thirteen patients with late-life depression and matched control subjects underwent diffusion tensor imaging. Fractional anisotropy (FA), an index of the integrity of white matter tracts, was determined in the white matter of frontal, temporal, and occipital brain regions and the corpus callosum. Results: A significant reduction was found in white matter FA values of widespread regions of the frontal and temporal lobes of depressed patients. Also, there was some evidence suggesting that white matter FA values of the inferior frontal brain region are inversely related to severity of depression. Conclusions: These results suggest the possible loss of integrity within frontal and temporal white matter fibre tracts and implicate the orbitofrontal circuit in symptom severity in late-life depression.
UC San Diego UC San Diego Previously Published Works

Language Signals Power 2 Abstract Power can be gained through appearances: People who exhibit behavioral signals of power are often treated in a way that allows them to actually achieve such power (Ridgeway, Berger, & Smith, 1985; Smith & Galinsky, 2010). In the current paper we examine power signals within interpersonal communication, exploring whether use of concrete versus abstract language is seen as a signal of power. Since power activates abstraction (e.g., Smith & Trope, 2006), perceivers may expect higher-power individuals to speak more abstractly and therefore will infer that speakers who use more abstract language have a higher degree of power. Across a variety of contexts and conversational subjects in six experiments, participants perceived respondents as more powerful when they used more abstract language (versus more concrete language). Abstract language use appears to affect perceived power because it seems to reflect both a willingness to judge and a general style of abstract thinking.
Overshadowing by fixed- and variable-duration stimuli

Two experiments investigated the effect of the temporal distribution form of a stimulus on its ability to produce an overshadowing effect. The overshadowing stimuli were either of the same duration on every trial, or of a variable duration drawn from an exponential distribution with the same mean duration as that of the fixed stimulus. Both experiments provided evidence that a variable-duration stimulus was less effective than a fixed-duration cue at overshadowing conditioning to a target conditioned stimulus (CS); moreover, this effect was independent of whether the overshadowed CS was fixed or variable. The findings presented here are consistent with the idea that the strength of the association between CS and unconditioned stimulus (US) is, in part, determined by the temporal distribution form of the CS. These results are discussed in terms of time-accumulation and trial-based theories of conditioning and timing.
Relationships between Cycling Hypoxia, HIF-1, Angiogenesis and Oxidative Stress

Abstract Dewhirst, M. W. Relationships between Cycling Hypoxia, HIF-1, Angiogenesis and Oxidative Stress. This Failla Lecture focused on the inter-relationships between tumor angiogenesis, HIF-1 expression and radiotherapy responses. A common thread that bonds all of these factors together is microenvironmental stress caused by reactive oxygen and nitrogen species formed during tumor growth and angiogenesis or in response to cytotoxic treatment. In this review we focus on one aspect of the crossroad between oxidative stress and angiogenesis, namely cycling hypoxia. Understanding of the relative importance of this feature of the tumor microenvironment has recently expanded; it influences tumor biology in ways that are separate from chronic hypoxia. Cycling hypoxia can influence angiogenesis, treatment responses and metastatic behavior. It represents an important and relatively less well understood feature of tumor biology that requires additional research.
Cuticle Biosynthesis in Rapidly Growing Internodes of Deepwater Rice

Submergence induces rapid elongation of deepwater rice (Oryza sativa L.) internodes. This adaptive feature allows deepwater rice to grow out of the water and to survive flooding. The growth response of submerged deepwater rice plants is, ultimately, elicited by gibberellin (GA). Little attention has been given to the synthesis and role of the cuticle during plant growth. We investigated two questions regarding the cuticle in rapidly elongating deepwater rice internodes: (a) how does cuticle formation keep pace with internodal growth, which can reach rates of up to 5 mm/h; and (b) does the cuticle contribute to tissue stress in rice internodes? Treatment with GA for 48 h caused an up to 60-fold increase in the incorporation of [14C]palmitic acid and an up to 6-fold increase in the incorporation of [14C]oleic acid into the cuticle of growing internodes. GA also caused a qualitative change in the incorporation pattern of palmitic acid into several cutin monomers, the most prominent of which was tentatively identified by thin-layer chromatography as a derivative of dihydroxyhexadecanoic acid. Rapidly growing plant organs exhibit longitudinal tissue stress: the epidermal cell layer is under tension with a tendency to contract, whereas the internal cells are under compression with a tendency to expand. As a result of tissue stress, longitudinally sliced sections of elongating internodes bend outward upon isolation from the plant. Treating rapidly growing rice internodes with cutinase reduced such outward bending, indicating that the cuticle contributes to tissue stress. Based on these results, we propose that rapidly elongating structures such as deepwater rice internodes constitute an excellent system to study cuticle formation at the biochemical and cellular level.
Soluble Receptor for Advanced Glycation End-products Levels in Chronic Heart Failure and Its Correlation to Left Ventricular Ejection Function

The Receptor for Advanced Glycation End-products (RAGE), a multi-ligand member of the immunoglobulin superfamily, is a ubiquitous receptor present on epithelial, neuronal, vascular and inflammatory cells. AGEs have been implicated in vascular and myocardial dysfunction and in development of atherosclerosis but little are known about the role of the AGE-RAGE system in heart failure. The main objective of the study was to assess sRAGE plasma levels in patients with Chronic Heart Failure (CHF) focusing on patients with severe reduction of left ventricle function. We measured sRAGE plasma levels in 389 patients with CHF and 319 stable patients with Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). Patients with CHF had significantly lower values of soluble RAGE in respect to stable CAD population. The linear regression analysis showed that LVEF (Left Ventricularv Ejection Fraction) significantly correlated with sRAGE plasma concentrations; sRAGE plasma levels were significantly lower in patients with severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction compared with those with ejection Fraction ≥ 30%. Our data support a positive correlation between soluble RAGE plasma levels and left ventricular ejection fraction in the CHF population; we demonstrated that in subjects with CHF and severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction, soluble RAGE plasma concentrations were significantly lower in comparison with patients with moderate left ventricular dysfunction. This study suggests the possibility that soluble RAGE can be considered a new element to be used in prognostic stratification in patients affected by CHF.
The effect of stress and Nembutal on plasma levels of gonadotropins and prolactin in ovariectomized rats.

The stress of etherization and bleeding produced an elevation within 2 min in the plasma levels of prolactin, LH, and FSH in ovariectomized rats. Quantitatively the elevation was greatest in the case of prolactin, less for LH, and least for FSH. A second exposure to ether and bleeding one hour later produced a further elevation in prolactin and no further change in LH and FSH. The levels of prolactin and LH but not FSH had declined to control, nonstress (decapitated) levels within one hr. Nembutal blocked the stressinduced elevations of plasma prolactin and LH but did not affect the levels of FSH. The effect of Nembutal is thought to be on the CNS since the Nembutalized rats responded to hypothalamic extract or ovine LRF with dramatic elevations in plasma LH, indicating that the pituitary was still responsive to releasing factors. It is concluded that stress can induce a rapid release of pituitary FSH and LH as well as prolactin in the rat. (Endocrinology 90: 707, 1972)
Virtual Machine Introspection

Due to exposure to the Internet, virtual machines (VMs) as forms of delivering virtualized infrastructures and resources represent a first point-of-target for security attackers who want to gain access into the virtualization environment. In-VM monitoring approach can be compromised in the event of a successful VM compromise. Virtual Machine Introspection (VMI) takes a different approach of monitoring the guest VMs externally. This paper presents a review on VMI focusing on the typical usages of integrating VMI with other virtualization security techniques.
Hepatitis B and liver transplantation: 2008 update

The ultimate goal of treatment is suppression of viral replication to undetectable HBV‐DNA levels prior to and after liver transplantation (LT) to prevent infection of the newly transplanted liver. Most published data are available from therapy with lamivudine (LAM) in pre‐ and post‐transplant HBV patients. Add‐on therapy with adefovir dipivoxil (ADV) in pre‐transplant LAM‐resistant patients has been shown to represent an effective antiviral strategy leading to hepatic recompensation in many cases and, eventually, removal from the waiting list. Newer nucleos(t)ide analogues such as entecavir, tenofovir and telbivudine have shown lower resistance rates than LAM and more antiviral potency in studies in the non‐transplant setting. Combined hepatitis B immune globulin (HBIG) and nucleos(t)ide analogue therapy have been widely adopted as the most effective treatment strategy against recurrent HBV disease after LT. Many programs have evaluated lower doses or a shorter duration of HBIG and intramuscular versus intravenous routes of administration. Active immunisation using recombinant HBV vaccines, including the S, pre‐S1 and pre‐S2 regions, and those with immunostimulatory adjuvants, seem to be more immunogenic than the currently available vaccines and have been used in studies to replace HBIG. Furthermore, it has been shown that immune memory against HBV can be adoptively transferred from organ donors to transplant recipients. Nucleos(t)ide analogue combination therapies might provide an alternative to the current treatment paradigm with costly HBIG; however, experience with this new treatment regimen is very limited and controlled clinical studies are urgently warranted to investigate its safety and efficacy and to determine which nucleos(t)ide analogue combinations will be the most promising in the long term after LT. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Single-nephron adaptations to partial renal ablation in the dog.

Micropuncture and histological studies were performed in dogs to characterize single-nephron adaptations to partial renal ablation. Dogs underwent sham surgery (group 1, n = 6), three-fourths nephrectomy (group 2, n = 10), or seven-eighths nephrectomy (group 3, n = 6). Single-nephron glomerular filtration rate (SNGFR) was 71.0 +/- 4.2 nl/min in group 1, 132.5 +/- 9.6 nl/min in group 2, and 161.8 +/- 12.4 nl/min in group 3 (P less than 0.05). There were parallel increases in single-nephron glomerular plasma flow rate (GPF), with a mean value of 235.3 +/- 20.1 nl/min in group 1, 442.4 +/- 34.4 nl/min in group 2, and 569.6 +/- 73.7 nl/min in group 3 (P less than 0.05, group 1 vs. groups 2 and 3). Glomerular capillary pressure, estimated from the sum of proximal tubule stop-flow pressure and arterial oncotic pressure, was 63.2 +/- 1.9 mmHg in group 1, 73.5 +/- 2.0 mmHg in group 2, and 77.9 +/- 2.2 mmHg in group 3 (P less than 0.05, group 1 vs. groups 2 and 3). The mean glomerular transcapillary hydraulic pressure gradient (delta P) in group 2 was not different from group 1 (46.8 +/- 1.3 vs. 43.9 +/- 1.8 mmHg, NS); however, it was significantly increased in group 3 (50.0 +/- 1.4 mmHg; P less than 0.05). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Diaphragmatic Shortening after Thoracic Surgery in Humans Effects of Mechanical Ventilation and Thoracic Epidural Anesthesia

BackgroundDiaphragmatic function is believed to be inhibited after thoracic surgery and may be improved by thoracic epidural anesthesia. MethodsDiaphragmatic function after a thoracotomy was monitored by implanting one pair of sonomicrometry crystals and two electromyogram (EMG) electrodes on the costal diaphragm of six patients undergoing an elective pulmonary resection. Crystals and EMG electrodes remained in place for 12–24 h. ResultsDuring mechanical ventilation, costal diaphragmatic length (as a percent of rest length; %LFRC)decreased passively as tidal volume (VT) Increased (%LFRC = 2.81 + 1.12 × 10-2 VT (ml), r = 0.99). During spontaneous ventilation, the costal shortening (2.1 ± 2.3 %LFRC) was less than during mechanical ventilation (7.9 ± 3.0 %LFRC, P < 0.05) at the same VT. Comparing spontaneous ventilation before and 30 min after thoracic epidural anesthesia, there were Increases of VT (390 ± 78 to 555 ± 75 ml), vital capacity (1.37 ± 0.16 to 1.68 ± 0.21 1), and esophageal (-8.5 ± 1.5 to −10.6 ± 1.7 cmH2O), gastric (-0.7 ± 0.8 to ±0.8 ± 0.8 cmH2O), and transdiaphragmatic (7.7 ± 1.5 to 11.5 ± 1.9 cmH2O) pressures, but diaphragmatic EMG and shortening fraction remained constant. In three of six patients, epidural anesthesia produced paradoxical segment lengthening upon inspiration. ConclusionsThoracotomy and pulmonary resection produce a marked reduction of active diaphragmatic shortening, which is not reversed by thoracic epidural anesthesia despite improvement of other indices of respiratory function.