Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Meandered corrugated waveguide low-pass filter

A novel meandered corrugated waveguide low-pass filter along with its associated novel design methodology is presented in this invited paper. The proposed filter uses 90° E-plane mitered bends in rectangular waveguide with different heights and lengths, to resemble the frequency behavior of the classical corrugated low-pass waveguide filter. This new topology allows to dramatically reduce the total length of the structure. The novel design method has been validated through the design of a meandered Chebyshev low-pass filter of order 29, achieving 42% of length reduction in comparison with its classical counterpart.
Hepatocellular carcinoma risk factors and disease burden in a European cohort: a nested case-control study.

BACKGROUND To date, no attempt has been made to systematically determine the apportionment of the hepatocellular carcinoma burden in Europe or North America among established risk factors. METHODS Using data collected from 1992 to 2006, which included 4,409,809 person-years in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition (EPIC), we identified 125 case patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, of whom 115 were matched to 229 control subjects. We calculated odds ratios (ORs) for the association of documented risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma with incidence of this disease and estimated their importance in this European cohort. RESULTS Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection (OR = 9.10, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.10 to 39.50 and OR = 13.36, 95% CI = 4.11 to 43.45, respectively), obesity (OR = 2.13, 95% CI = 1.06 to 4.29), former or current smoking (OR = 1.98, 95% CI = 0.90 to 4.39 and OR = 4.55, 95% CI = 1.90 to 10.91, respectively), and heavy alcohol intake (OR = 1.77, 95% CI = 0.73 to 4.27) were associated with hepatocellular carcinoma. Smoking contributed to almost half of all hepatocellular carcinomas (47.6%), whereas 13.2% and 20.9% were attributable to chronic HBV and HCV infection, respectively. Obesity and heavy alcohol intake contributed 16.1% and 10.2%, respectively. Almost two-thirds (65.7%, 95% CI = 50.6% to 79.3%) of hepatocellular carcinomas can be accounted for by exposure to at least one of these documented risk factors. CONCLUSIONS Smoking contributed to more hepatocellular carcinomas in this Europe-wide cohort than chronic HBV and HCV infections. Heavy alcohol consumption and obesity also contributed to sizeable fractions of this disease burden. These contributions may be underestimates because EPIC volunteers are likely to be more health conscious than the general population.
Design of a rectangular slot coupling for effective transition between two layers of SIW

An effective transition using rectangular slot coupling between two layers of Substrate Integrated Waveguide (SIW) is designed at 10.0 GHz. The analysis of the slot design is obtained by separated into two different cases of parametric study. First, the position of rectangular slot coupling. Second, the size of the rectangular slot coupling. The effective transition for the multilayer coupling are assessed based on the performance of return loss and insertion loss from S-parameters result. In order to validate the rectangular slot coupling design transition behavior based on full-wave simulation result, a simple equivalent modelling circuit is implemented using parallel lumped elements. The scattering parameters of the lumped parallel LC elements are calculated and evaluated based on the insertion loss at two frequency points. Results observed between LC model, simulation and measured data shows similar return loss less than -10 dB and insertion loss close to 0 dB. An agreement is observed over 9.2 GHz - 10.2 GHz of the frequency range where the most transition of effective coupling occurred at 10.0 GHz.
Comparison of mental distress in patients with low back pain and a population-based control group measured by Symptoms Check List – A case-referent study

Purpose: Mental distress is common in persons experiencing low back pain and who are sick-listed or at risk of being sick-listed. It is, however, not known how mental distress measured by the Symptoms Check List-90 differs between patients with low back pain and the general population. The objective of this study was to compare mental symptoms and distress as measured by the Symptoms Check List-90 in sick-listed or at risk of being sick-listed patients with low back pain with a population-based control group. Methods: Mental distress was compared in a group of patients with low back pain (n=770) and a randomly selected population-based reference group (n=909). Established Danish cut-off values for mental distress were used to evaluate the mental distress status in the low back pain and control group and logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios for the Global Severity Index and the symptom scales of the Symptoms Check List-90 while controlling for baseline demographic differences between the groups. Results: Group mean scores showed that all symptom scales and the Global Severity Index for both sexes were statistically elevated in the low back pain group, except for interpersonal sensitivity in women. When the scores were dichotomized to cases and non-cases of mental distress, a significantly higher prevalence of cases was observed in the low back pain group compared to the reference group on all symptom check list scales, except for paranoid ideation for both sexes and interpersonal sensitivity for women. The biggest between-group difference was observed for the somatization symptom scale. Conclusions: Low back pain patients who are sick-listed or at risk of being sick-listed, are more mentally distressed compared to a randomly selected sample of the general Danish population. Self-reported symptoms of somatization, anxiety, phobic anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, depression and hostility are all more common among patients with low back pain compared to the general population.
Perturb and observe based MPPT for solar power generation connected to AC load

In this paper we have been design a solar photovoltaic system as a small scale renewable energy source where non renewable generation is not convenient. This system consists of solar PV panel and storage batteries. Here, we have used PV system as main energy source and the battery is used as back up energy source. The power generated from solar photovoltaic system is controlled by DC-DC buck converter. A modeling of this system is developed by using 8 bit PIC 18F4523microcontroller. Microcontroller is used to sense the VA input from solar panel to decide the output load constant. It realizes the intelligence of management and control solar photovoltaic system. P&O based MPPT improved efficiency of proposed system by 21.63%. A microcontroller based sine wave inverter with low cost and lowest harmonics is designed and implemented in our project. In our project, we have designed a sine wave inverter by using PIC16F72 microcontroller to generate 10 KHz PWM switching signal. and connected low powerelectronic appliances such as light, fan, and other home appliances etc. In our project we used IRFZ44MOSFET. For driving the MOSFET we used 6N137as a MOSFET driver. The sine inverter input is 12VDC and its output is 220VAC across a transformer where load is connected. The complete design is modeled and verified experimentally.
Causal relationship between stressful life events and the onset of major depression.

OBJECTIVE Stressful life events are associated with the onset of episodes of major depression. However, exposure to stressful life events is influenced by genetic factors, and these factors are correlated with those that predispose to major depression. The aim of this study was to clarify the degree to which stressful life events cause major depression. METHOD The authors assessed the occurrence of 15 classes of stressful life events and the onset of DSM-III-R major depression over a 1-year period in female twins ascertained from a population-based registry. The sample contained 24,648 person-months and 316 onsets of major depression. Stressful life events were individually rated on contextual threat and dependence (the degree to which the stressful life event could have resulted from the respondent's behavior). The nature of the relationship between stressful life events and major depression was tested by 1) discrete-time survival analysis examining the relationship between dependence and the depressogenic effect of stressful life events and 2) a co-twin control analysis. RESULTS While independent stressful life events were significantly associated with onsets of depression, when level of threat was controlled, the association was significantly stronger for dependent events. The odds ratio for onset of major depression in the month of a stressful life event was 5.64 in all subjects, 4.52 within dizygotic pairs, and 3.58 within monozygotic pairs. CONCLUSIONS Stressful life events have a substantial causal relationship with the onset of episodes of major depression. However, about one-third of the association between stressful life events and onsets of depression is noncausal, since individuals predisposed to major depression select themselves into high-risk environments.
The Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor α5 Subunit Plays a Key Role in Attention Circuitry and Accuracy

Stimulation of the prefrontal cortex by acetylcholine is critical for attention; however, the cellular mechanisms underlying its influence on attention pathways within the brain are not well understood. Pyramidal neurons in layer VI of the prefrontal cortex are believed to play an important role in this process because they are excited by acetylcholine and provide a major source of feedback projections to the thalamus. Here, we show using whole-cell electrophysiology that the relatively rare α5 subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor powerfully enhances nicotinic currents in layer VI pyramidal neurons in prefrontal cortical brain slices from adult mice. In addition, behavioral experiments using the five-choice serial reaction time test show that the presence of the nicotinic receptor α5 subunit also increases the accuracy of adult mice on this visual attention task under highly demanding conditions. Together, these findings demonstrate a novel and important role for the nicotinic receptor α5 subunit in adult brain circuitry required for attentional performance.
Development of a web-based monitoring device for the wired Metering Bus (M-Bus) as defined in EN13757-3

The Metering Bus, also known as M Bus, is a European standard EN13757-3 to read out metering devices, like electricity, water, gas or heat meters. Although real-life M Bus networks can reach a significant size and complexity, there are only very simple protocol analyzers available. Therefore developers and installers do not have an easy and low cost possibility to analyze real bus signals. This led to the design and implementation of a web-based monitoring tool for the M Bus together with a physical bus interface to measure and records the bus signals. Therefore, in the first place a circuit was designed, which transforms the voltage and current modulated M-Bus signals to a voltage signal, which can be read out by a standard Analog-Digital-Converter (ADC). Once captured, the bus signals are displayed using a web server, which furthermore analyzes and classifies the frame fragments. As an additional feature an oscilloscope functionality is included into the tool. This makes the analyzer a powerful tool with high compatibility and flexibility. This contribution concentrates on the development of an interface circuit to read the Wired M-Bus and how the data can be regained. This article describes the general concepts from the design of the M-Bus sniffer as well as some details about the implementation and the underlying signal processing. The implementation is divided into two major parts: The implementation of the Sniffer-Driver both in hardware and software and the adaption of this driver to an existing head unit including the user interface.
Occurrence of self-reported asthma among Swedish bakers.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to estimate the risk of bakers to develop asthma. METHODS A retrospective cohort study was performed among persons trained as bakers in Swedish trade schools in 1959-1989 (N = 2923). One group of referents (I) comprised persons who followed another program in the trade schools (N = 1258), and another (II) was randomly selected from the population register (N = 1258). A questionnaire on physician-diagnosed asthma, year of onset of asthma, asthma-like symptoms, consumption of antiasthmatic drugs, change of work due to asthma, familial atopy, and work history was mailed to all the participants. The incidence rates for persons trained as bakers were estimated separately for time as a baker and time in other occupations. RESULTS The response rate was about 75% in all three groups. There were no differences in the prevalence of asthma, asthma-like symptoms, consumption of antiasthmatic drugs, or familial atopy between the groups. Of the bakers, 2.5% had changed work due to asthma, significantly more than the referents (1.1% of reference groups I and II had changed, P < 0.05). The incidence rate for asthma among the men not working as bakers was 0.9-1.9 cases per 1000 person-years; male bakers had an incidence rate of 3.0. The relative risk for male bakers compared with all the referents was 1.8 (95% confidence interval 1.3-2.6). Women had an incidence rate of 2.3-3.0 cases per 1000 person-years, and there was no increased relative risk during work as a baker. CONCLUSIONS Male Swedish bakers, mainly those working during the 1970s and 1980s, have an approximately doubled risk to develop asthma.
Checkpoint responses to unusual structures formed by DNA repeats

DNA sequences that are prone to adopting non‐B DNA secondary structures are associated with hotspots of genomic instability. The fine mechanisms by which alternative DNA structures induce phenomena such as repeat expansions, chromosomal fragility, or gross chromosomal rearrangements are under intensive studies. It is well established that DNA damage checkpoint responses play a crucial role in maintaining a stable genome. It is far less clear, however, whether and how the checkpoint machinery responds to alternative DNA structures. This review discusses the role of the interplay between DNA damage checkpoints and alternative DNA structures in genome maintenance. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Phenotypic Changes in Dentition of Runx2 Homozygote-null Mutant Mice

Genetic and molecular studies in humans and mice indicate that Runx2 (Cbfa1) is a critical transcriptional regulator of bone and tooth formation. Heterozygous mutations in Runx2 cause cleidocranial dysplasia (CCD), an inherited disorder in humans and mice characterized by skeletal defects, supernumerary teeth, and delayed eruption. Mice lacking the Runx2 gene die at birth and lack bone and tooth development. Our extended phenotypic studies of Runx2 mutants showed that developing teeth fail to advance beyond the bud stage and that mandibular molar organs were more severely affected than maxillary molar organs. Runx2 (−/−) tooth organs, when transplanted beneath the kidney capsules of nude mice, failed to progress in development. Tooth epithelial-mesenchymal recombinations using Runx2 (+/+) and (−/−) tissues indicate that the defect in mesenchyme cannot be rescued by normal dental epithelium. Finally, our molecular analyses showed differential effects of the absence of Runx2 on tooth extracellular matrix (ECM) gene expression. These data support the hypothesis that Runx2 is one of the key mesenchymal factors that influences tooth morphogenesis and the subsequent differentiation of ameloblasts and odontoblasts.
Processed foods and the nutrition transition: evidence from Asia

This paper elucidates the role of processed foods and beverages in the ‘nutrition transition’ underway in Asia. Processed foods tend to be high in nutrients associated with obesity and diet‐related non‐communicable diseases: refined sugar, salt, saturated and trans‐fats. This paper identifies the most significant ‘product vectors’ for these nutrients and describes changes in their consumption in a selection of Asian countries. Sugar, salt and fat consumption from processed foods has plateaued in high‐income countries, but has rapidly increased in the lower–middle and upper–middle‐income countries. Relative to sugar and salt, fat consumption in the upper–middle‐ and lower–middle‐income countries is converging most rapidly with that of high‐income countries. Carbonated soft drinks, baked goods, and oils and fats are the most significant vectors for sugar, salt and fat respectively. At the regional level there appears to be convergence in consumption patterns of processed foods, but country‐level divergences including high levels of consumption of oils and fats in Malaysia, and soft drinks in the Philippines and Thailand. This analysis suggests that more action is needed by policy‐makers to prevent or mitigate processed food consumption. Comprehensive policy and regulatory approaches are most likely to be effective in achieving these goals.
Ceramide enrichment of the plasma membrane induces CD81 internalization and inhibits hepatitis C virus entry

Virus entry is a major step in which host‐cell lipids can play an essential role. In this report, we investigated the importance of sphingolipids in hepatitis C virus (HCV) entry. For this purpose, sphingomyelin present in the plasma membrane of target cells was hydrolysed into ceramide by sphingomyelinase treatment. Interestingly, ceramide enrichment of the plasma membrane strongly inhibited HCV entry. To understand how ceramide affected HCV entry, we analysed the effect of ceramide enrichment of the plasma membrane on three cell‐surface molecules identified as entry factors for HCV: CD81 tetraspanin, scavenger receptor BI and Claudin‐1. These proteins, which we found to be mainly associated with detergent‐soluble membranes in Huh‐7 cells, were not relocated in detergent‐resistant microdomains after sphingomyelin hydrolysis into ceramide. Importantly, ceramide enrichment of the plasma membrane led to a 50% decrease in cell‐surface CD81, which was due to its ATP‐independent internalization. Our results strongly suggest that the ceramide‐induced internalization of CD81 is responsible for the inhibitory effect of ceramide on HCV entry. Together, these data indicate that some specific lipids of the plasma membrane are essential for HCV entry and highlight plasma membrane lipids as potential targets to block HCV entry.
INVITED REVIEW SERIES: TUBERCULOSIS

The Stop TB Strategy and the Global Plan to Stop TB were launched in 2006 to achieve the tuberculosis (TB)related Millennium Development Goals and the StopTB Partnership targets,and to address new challenges such as that of HIV-associated TB and multi-drug-resistant TB. This paper reviews the historical and recent progress in TB control to show what has changed since the introduction of directly observed therapy (DOTS) in the mid-1990s, why we needed the new strategy and what the global agenda is today. Major progress was seen in most countries in the last two decades. Globally, the estimated rates of TB prevalence and mortality are declining,but not quickly enough to reach the 2015 Stop TB Partnership targets of halving TB prevalence and death rates compared with 1990. In 2007, it was estimated that more than one-third of TB patients were not detected or properly treated under proper conditions. Enhancing case detection, while maintaining high treatment success rates, is essential to achieve the 2015 targets. The ultimate goal of TB control is the elimination of the disease as a public health problem. The Stop TB Partnership aims at eliminatingTB by 2050 by reaching a global incidence of disease of less than one case per million population. This target will not be achieved unless TB control efforts are further intensified and effective and affordable new technologies to prevent both disease and infection are developed and rapidly introduced in all countries worldwide.
Responses to Online GSTM1 Genetic Test Results among Smokers Related to Patients with Lung Cancer: A Pilot Study

Providing smokers with personal genetic test results indicating increased lung cancer risk may increase uptake of effective smoking cessation services. Using the internet may increase reach and enable real-time assessment of how people process genetic risk information away from the clinic setting. We therefore explored smokers' responses to Web-delivered GSTM1 genetic test results indicating higher or lower lung cancer risk. Participants were smokers (n = 44) biologically related to patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer. Measures were assessed at baseline, before and immediately after receipt of online genetic test results, and at 6-month follow-up. Outcomes included accurate comprehension of results, regret about being tested, cessation-related cognitions (e.g., perceived response efficacy), and uptake of free smoking cessation services (nicotine replacement therapy, printed self-help materials, telephone counseling sessions). Twenty-two “relative smokers” received a GSTM1-missing (higher risk) and 22 a GSTM1-present (lower risk) result. All relative smokers with GSTM1-missing results and 55% of those with GSTM1-present results accurately interpreted their results. No relative smokers regretted having taken the test. Relative smokers receiving GSTM1-missing results reported lower confidence that quitting could reduce lung cancer risk (perceived response efficacy) than those receiving GSTM1-present results. There were no other significant between-group differences. Uptake of smoking cessation services was high (e.g., 91% nicotine replacement therapy uptake). Genetic test results may not influence uptake of free smoking cessation services because of ceiling effects. Further research is needed to determine the risks and benefits of Web-based disclosure of genetic test results. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2009;18(7):1953–61)
New Persistent Back-End for the ATLAS online information service

The Trigger and Data Acquisition (TDAQ) and detector systems of the ATLAS experiment deploy more than 3000 computers, running more than 15000 concurrent processes, to perform the selection, recording and monitoring of the proton collisions data in ATLAS. Most of these processes produce and share operational monitoring data used for inter-process communication and analysis of the systems. Few of these data are archived by dedicated applications into conditions and histogram databases. The rest of the data remained transient and lost at the end of a data taking session. To save these data for later, offline analysis of the quality of data taking and to help investigating the behavior of the system by experts, the first prototype of a new Persistent Back-End for the Atlas Information System of TDAQ (P-BEAST) was developed and deployed in the second half of 2012. The modern, distributed, and Java-based Cassandra database has been used as the storage technology and the CERN EOS for long-term storage. This paper provides details of the architecture and the experience with such a system during the last months of the first LHC Run. It explains why that very promising prototype has failed and how it was reimplemented using the Google C++ protobuf technology. It finally presents the new architecture and details of the service, which will be used during second LHC Run.