Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Thermal Reflow Engineered Cylindrical Polymer Waveguides for Optical Interconnects

Integrated polymer photonics brings low cost and high fabrication flexibility to optoelectronic industry. However, this platform needs to overcome several issues to be effective enough for practical applications. In this letter, we experimentally demonstrate a decrease of propagation losses and polarization sensitivity of polymer waveguide-based devices as a result of thermal treatment. Heating of poly(methyl methacrylate) strip optical waveguides above the glass transition temperature initiates a waveguide surface reflow due to a decrease of the polymer viscosity and surface tension energy. This results in a decrease of surface roughness and shape change from rectangular to cylindrical. Thus, scattering losses and polarization sensitivity are minimized.
Ethanol oxidation by hydroxyl radicals: role of iron chelates, superoxide, and hydrogen peroxide.

Oxygen-derived free radicals such as the hydroxyl radical (.OH) have been shown to mediate the oxidation of ethanol by a variety of oxy radical-generating systems. Among these are microsomal electron transport systems (both intact and purified, reconstituted systems), the coupled oxidation of hypoxanthine or xanthine by xanthine oxidase, and the model iron-ascorbate system. The sequence of reactions leading to the oxy radical-dependent oxidation of ethanol as well as other hydroxyl radical-scavenging agents by these various systems is believed to proceed through the formation of a common intermediate, namely, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), after dismutation of the superoxide anion radical (O2-.). The presence of iron, especially chelated iron, greatly enhances the production of . OH by serving as an oxidant for O2-. or a reductant for H2O2. Experiments were carried out to evaluate the role of iron, the chelating agent, O2-. , and H2O2 in the oxidation of ethanol by a variety of in vitro systems (chemical, enzymatic, and intact membrane bound) that can produce oxy radicals via different mechanisms. The generation of . OH by all the systems studied was sensitive to catalase, which indicates that H2O2 is the precursor of . OH. Superoxide radical appears to be the reducing agent in the hypoxanthine-xanthine oxidase system, indicating an iron-catalyzed Haber-Weiss reaction. In the ascorbate, reductase, and microsomal systems, superoxide radical does not appear to be the reducing agent. However, superoxide radical probably is the precursor of H2O2. While iron plays an important role in the production of . OH by the various systems, the effect of iron depends on the nature of the iron chelate. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Need for Better Diabetes Treatment: The Therapeutic Potential of NMDA Receptor Antagonists

Abstract Diabetes mellitus is the most common metabolic disorder in children and adolescents. Optimal control of blood glucose concentration is essential to prevent acute and diabetic long-term complications. The options to treat diabetes have clearly improved over the last decades, however, to date neither type 1 diabetes nor type 2 diabetes mellitus can be cured. Therefore, diabetes research aims at developing β-cell protective agents that prevent or even reverse diabetes onset. N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) are glutamate-gated ion channels that are widely expressed in the central nervous system (CNS) where they hold central roles in CNS function. NMDAR dysfunction is associated with several neurological and psychiatric disorders and therefore NMDAR modulators have several potential therapeutic indications. Only little is known about the role of pancreatic NMDA receptors. Our data provide evidence that inhibition of pancreatic NMDARs, either genetically or pharmacologically with the over-the-counter drug dextromethorphan, increases glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from mouse and human pancreatic islets, improves glucose tolerance in mice and individuals with diabetes and promotes islet cell survival under diabetogenic conditions. Thus, our data indicate for the first time that NMDAR antagonists could serve as adjunct treatment for diabetes mellitus. The development of a safe, blood glucose lowering and particularly β-cell protective medication would significantly enhance current diabetes treatment.
Effects of emotional prosody on skin conductance responses in French

This pilot study investigates the effects of emotional prosody in French, as resulting by listeners' electrodermal activity. Differently from responses to standard perception tasks, skin conductance responses (SCRs) are automatic, thus allowing evaluating spontaneous reactions of subjects to external stimuli in a non-invasive way. Based on an identification task on 20 listeners, a set of 4 sentences was selected for the skin conductance study. The sentences were composed of words whose meanings were not emotionally laden. They were uttered with four prosodic patterns each conveying four basic emotions (neutral, joy, anger, sadness). The corpus included 36 stimuli, i.e., 4 natural stimuli and 32 stimuli in which the tempo and pitch range of the whole utterances were independently manipulated. In the skin conductance study, ten listeners rated the arousal and valence of each stimulus a 5-points Likert scale. At the same time, SCRs were collected. Results collected so far indicate that: (1) emotional prosody has an effect on the peripheral nervous system activity, even in absence of visual cues (e.g., images, facial expressions); (2) amplitude of SCRs is triggered by auditory stimuli varying both in valence and intensity and (3) SCRs are modulated by manipulation of the prosodic cues.
Training in and use of diagnostic techniques among CAM practitioners: an Australian study.

OBJECTIVES This study aimed to determine the extent to which complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners in Australia are trained in and use CAM and Western medical diagnostic techniques, and the influence this may have on their role as primary contact practitioners. DESIGN A 45-item questionnaire was mailed to members of the Australian Natural Therapists' Association and the Australian Traditional Medicine Society. RESULTS We received 617 responses (22%). Respondents reported high frequency of training in and use of Western case history taking, observation, taking blood pressure and pulses, palpation, postural assessment, orthopaedic testing, in addition to naturopathic case history taking, iris diagnosis, and face, tongue, and nail diagnosis. We found a significant relationship between the confidence practitioners had in identifying clients requiring referral and their training in these areas. CONCLUSIONS Despite the reported high frequency of training in and use of Western medical and CAM diagnostic techniques, 32% of respondents reported a lack of confidence in identifying patients requiring referral. This could compromise the safety of clients and the effectiveness of practice.
Duration of Alloantigen Presentation and Avidity of T Cell Antigen Recognition Correlate with Immunodominance of CTL Response to Minor Histocompatibility Antigens1

CD8 T lymphocytes (CTL) responsive to immunodominant minor histocompatibility (minor H) Ags are thought to play a disproportionate role in allograft rejection in MHC-identical solid and bone marrow transplant settings. Although many studies have addressed the mechanisms underlying immunodominance in models of infectious diseases, cancer immunotherapy, and allograft immunity, key issues regarding the molecular basis of immunodominance remain poorly understood. In this study, we exploit the minor H Ag system to understand the relationship of the various biochemical parameters of Ag presentation and recognition to immunodominance. We show that the duration of individual minor H Ag presentation and the avidity of T cell Ag recognition influence the magnitude and, hence, the immunodominance of the CTL response to minor H Ags. These properties of CTL Ag presentation and recognition that contribute to immunodominance have implications not only for tissue transplantation, but also for autoimmunity and tumor vaccine design.
Increased Rates of Donation With Laparoscopic Donor Nephrectomy

ObjectiveTo examine the impact of laparoscopic nephrectomy and recipient education on the proportion of kidney recipients who could identify a potential live donor, and on the live donor (LD) transplantation rate. Summary Background DataLaparoscopic donor nephrectomy (LDN) results in less postoperative surgical pain, a shorter hospital stay, and quicker recovery than the standard open donor nephrectomy (ODN). The authors hypothesized that the availability of this less invasive surgical technique would enhance the willingness of family and friends to donate. MethodsThe study population consisted of 3,298 end-stage renal disease patients referred for kidney transplant evaluation between November 1991 and February 2000, divided into three groups. The first group received no formal LD education and had only ODN available. The second group received formal education about the LD process and had only ODN available. The third group had both formal LD education and LDN available. Records were examined to determine what proportion of each group had any potential donors tissue-typed, and the rate at which they received an LD transplant. ResultsBefore LDN availability and formal LD education, only 35.1% of referrals found a potential donor, and only 12.2% received an LD transplant within 3 years. Institution of a formal education program increased the volunteer rate to 39.0%, and 16.5% received an LD transplant. When LDN became available, 50% of patients were able to find at least one potential donor, and within 3 years 24.7% received an LD transplant. Regression analysis indicated that availability of LDN was independently associated with a 1.9 relative risk of receiving an LD transplant. Kaplan-Meier death-censored 1- and 3-year graft survival rates for ODN transplants were 95.8% and 90.6%, versus 97.5% and 94.8% for LDN. ConclusionsThe availability of LDN and an LD family education program has doubled the live donor transplantation rate, and outcomes remain excellent.
Main Scenarios of Spatial Distribution of Charged and Neutral Components in ${\rm SF}_{6}$ Plasma

Numerical modeling and theoretical analyses of spatial distribution with detailed set of plasmachemical processes in elegas have been made for a wide range of pressures. Evolution of main charged and neutral particles in time and space has been obtained. It is shown that at low pressures, the Boltzmann distribution holds for both electrons and negative ions and separation of the plasma into two regions with an almost flat profile of the electron density. At high pressures, electronegativity of plasma is extremely high and the self-consistent electric field is determined not only by the electrons, as in the conventional plasma, but also by the ions of both signs. This leads to an abnormally small potential drop in the plasma and nonmonotonic ion profiles.
Health characteristics of adults 55 years of age and over: United States, 2000-2003.

OBJECTIVE This report highlights the health characteristics of four age groups of older adults-55-64 years, 65-74 years, 75-84 years, and 85 years and over-providing estimates by sex, race and Hispanic origin, poverty status, health insurance status, and marital status. METHODS The estimates in this report were derived from the 2000-2003--National Health Interview Surveys' Family and Sample Adult questionnaires. Estimates are based on interviews with 39,990 sample adults aged 55 years and over. RESULTS Overall, prevalence rates for fair or poor health, chronic health conditions (with the exception of diabetes), sensory impairments, and difficulties with physical and social activities increased with advancing age, doubling or even tripling between the age groups 55-64 and 85 years and over. About one in five adults aged 55-64 years were in fair or poor health, rising to about one-third of adults aged 85 years and over. Men and women were about equally likely to be in fair or poor health across the age groups studied, but women were more likely to have difficulty in physical or social activities. Sociodemographic variations in health were noted across the age groups studied, with the most consistent and striking results found for poverty status and health insurance coverage. Poor and near poor adults and those with public health insurance were, by far, the most disadvantaged groups of older adults in terms of health status, health care utilization, and health behaviors. CONCLUSIONS Health status, health care utilization, and health-promoting behaviors among adults aged 55 and over vary considerably by age and other sociodemographic characteristics. Identifying these variations can help government and private agencies pinpoint areas of greatest need and greatest opportunity for extending years of healthy life among the Nation's seniors.
Incidence and recall of influenza in a cohort of Glasgow healthcare workers during the 1993–4 epidemic: results of serum testing and questionnaire

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advocate annual influenza immunisation for all healthcare workers in contact with vulnerable patients.1 The health departments in the United Kingdom, however, advise immunising only people with risk factors.2 Little evidence exists to support or refute a policy of immunisation for such healthcare workers, and, although influenza outbreaks have been documented, epidemiological data concerning influenza in healthcare workers are lacking. We aimed principally to determine the incidence of influenza in a cohort of healthcare workers. As prevention of cross infection is one of the main arguments in favour of immunisation of healthcare workers, we also estimated the proportion of asymptomatic infection by linking recall of illness with serological results. The study population consisted of all 970 healthcare workers at four acute hospitals in Glasgow who had serum stored for a routine post-vaccination test for antibody to hepatitis B between 1 February and 26 …
Network Monitoring with Software Defined Networking: Towards OpenFlow network monitoring

Network monitoring is becoming more and more important as more Internet Service Providers and Enterprise networks deploy real-time services, like voice and video. Network operators need to have an up-to-date view of the network and to measure network performance with metrics like link usage, packet loss and delay, in order to assure the quality of service for such applications. Obtaining accurate and meaningful network statistics helps the service providers to estimate the "health" of their network, to find service degradation due to congestion and could even use them for routing optimization. Finally, a more accurate picture of the nature of the Internet traffic is important for continued research and innovation. In this thesis, Software Defined Networking is used as a unified solution to measure link utilization, packet loss and delay. Currently, there is no single solution capable to measure all the mentioned metrics, but a collection of multiple different methods. They all need separate infrastructure which needs additional installations and expenses. Furthermore, those methods are not capable to meet all the requirements for a monitoring solution, some are not accurate or granular enough, others are adding additional network load or lack scalability. Software Defined Networking is still in an early development stage. Unfortunately, obtaining network statistics is a problem that has not been discussed very much. Nevertheless, OpenFlow protocol is already gaining a lot of popularity and it could be used as a unified monitoring solution. Its built-in features are already sufficient to provide accurate measurements. This thesis explores what are the current monitoring methods with and without Software Defined Networking and how monitoring could be archived in an OpenFlow enabled topology. It proposes methods to measure link usage, packet loss and delay. In terms of link usage statistics several approaches are proposed to reduce the generated overhead. Furthermore, the thesis also suggests how to measure how packet loss in networks that use OpenFlow.
Signal separation of gas sensor data for application in counterfeit detection

For the purpose of detection of counterfeits a metal-oxide gas sensor array is applied to measure the odor bouquet of textile probes. Since this has to be done in arbitrary environments the sensor data has to be processed to separate the probe signal from environmental influences. In this article we propose a method for signal separation based on independent component analysis of multi gas sensor array data.
TOR kinase pathway and 14‐3‐3 proteins regulate glucose‐induced expression of HXT1, a yeast low‐affinity glucose transporter

Expression of HXT1, a gene encoding a Saccharomyces cerevisiae low‐affinity glucose transporter, is regulated by glucose availability, being activated in the presence of glucose and inhibited when the levels of the sugar are scarce. In this study we show that 14‐3‐3 proteins are involved in the regulation of the expression of HXT1 by glucose. We also demonstrate that 14‐3‐3 proteins, in complex with Reg1, a regulatory subunit of Glc7 protein phosphatase, interact physically with Grr1 (a component of the SCF–Grr1 ubiquitination complex), a key player in the process of HXT1 induction by glucose. In addition, we show that the TOR kinase pathway participates actively in the induction of HXT1 expression by glucose. Inhibition of the TOR kinase pathway by rapamycin treatment abolishes HXT1 glucose induction. A possible involvement of PP2A protein phosphatase complex, through the Cdc55 B‐subunit, in the glucose induction of HXT1 is also discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Axonal loss in multiple sclerosis lesions: Magnetic resonance imaging insights into substrates of disability

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) monitoring of disease progression in multiple sclerosis is limited by the lack of correlation of abnormalities seen on T2‐weighted imaging, and disability. We studied the histopathology of multiple sclerosis lesions, as depicted by MRI, in a large postmortem sample, focusing on axonal loss. Tissue samples from 17 patients were selected immediately postmortem for histopathological analysis on the basis of T2‐weighted imaging, including normal appearing white matter and T1 hypointense lesions. In each region, we measured magnetization transfer ratios (MTR), T1 contrast ratio, myelin, and axonal density. T2 lesions (109 samples) were heterogeneous with regard to MRI appearance on T1 and MTR, whereas axonal density ranged from 0% (no residual axons) to 100% (normal axonal density). Of 64 T2 lesions, 17 were reactive (mild perivascular inflammation only), 21 active, 15 chronically active, and 11 chronically inactive. MTR and T1 contrast ratio correlated strongly with axonal density. Also in normal appearing white matter (24 samples), MTR correlated with axonal density. In conclusion, postmortem tissue sampling by using MRI revealed a range of pathology, illustrating the high sensitivity and low specificity of T2‐weighted imaging. T1 hypointensity and MTR were strongly associated with axonal density, emphasizing their role in monitoring progression in multiple sclerosis.
The Ferrier lecture, 1980

The main factors limiting the performance of the peripheral parts of the visual system can be specified, and doing this clarifies the nature of the interpretive tasks that must be performed by the central parts of the system. It is argued that the critical factor that hinders development of better resolving power is the difficulty of confining light within the waveguide-like outer segment, and that for sensitivity this critical factor is the thermal decomposition of photosensitive pigments. Knowledge of these limits makes many surprising details of the eye intelligible. Understanding the difficulties posed by the narrow dynamic range of nerve fibres may give similar insight into the coding of the retinal image for transmission to the brain. Our level of understanding changes when we come to the visual cortex, for although we do not lack good anatomical and neurophysiological data, these do not make the principles of operation self-evident in the way that the structure of the eye immediately suggests that it is an image-forming device. The cortex converts the representation of the visual field that it receives into reliable knowledge of the world around us, and the trouble may be that we lack good models of how this can be done. A system that can respond to single quanta and resolve almost to the diffraction limit is unlikely to employ grossly inefficient methods for those higher functions upon which its whole utility depends, and so it is worth seeking out the limiting factors. The quality of human performance at certain higher perceptual tasks is high compared with the limit of reliable statistical inference; hence much of the sample of information available in a visual image must be effectively utilized. But there are strong limitations on the connectivity in the cortex, so that one is forced to consider how the relevant information can be collected together. Three stages of dealing with the visual image are proposed: the improvement of the cortical map in primary visual cortex by processes analogous to spatial and temporal interpolation ; the detection of linking features in this map; and the concentration of this information by non-topographical mapping in adjacent visual areas.
Association of filtered sodium load with medullary volumes and medullary hypoxia in hypertensive African Americans as compared with whites.

BACKGROUND African Americans develop hypertension earlier with more target manifestations than whites despite having a higher glomerular filtration rate (GFR) for any level of serum creatinine. STUDY DESIGN & PARTICIPANTS: This study tested the hypothesis that increased GFR and sodium reabsorption in African Americans is associated with increased metabolic work and medullary hypoxia in 49 nondiabetic patients with essential hypertension (29 whites and 20 African Americans) following a constant-sodium diet (150 mEq/d) and renin-angiotensin system blockade. PREDICTORS Ethnicity, age, measured GFR, sodium excretion, and body mass index. OUTCOMES We examined cortical and medullary volumes and blood flows using multidetector computed tomography and intrarenal deoxyhemoglobin (R2*) using blood oxygen level-dependent magnetic resonance. RESULTS Blood pressure and sodium excretion were similar, whereas African Americans were more obese and had higher iothalamate GFRs. Renal cortical volumes did not differ, but medullary volumes adjusted for body size and age were higher in African Americans (32.3 ± 11.2 vs 25.1 ± 7.4 cm(3)/m(2) body surface area; P < 0.001). Sodium reabsorption and blood flows were higher in African Americans. Basal cortical deoxyhemoglobin values were similar between ethnic groups, whereas medullary R2* was higher in African Americans (39.7 ± 5.1 vs 36.3 ± 6.5/s; P = 0.02), but decreased to levels similar to whites after furosemide treatment. Levels of the circulating isoprostane prostaglandin F(2α) were higher in African Americans and daily urinary prostaglandin F(2α) excretion in African Americans correlated directly with renal blood flow (R = 0.71; P < 0.01). LIMITATIONS Studies were limited to treated volunteers with normal kidney function without knowledge of prior nutrient intake. CONCLUSIONS These data show for the first time that increased sodium reabsorption in obese African American patients with hypertension was associated with enlarged medullary volumes, functional hypoxia related to solute reabsorption, and a direct relationship between blood flows and urinary isoprostane levels. Our results support a model of increased oxygen consumption and oxidative stress in African Americans that may accelerate hypertension and target-organ injury compared with white patients with essential hypertension.