Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Overcoming the near-infra-red spectral range limit with Fabry-Perot silicon microcavity enabled by slotted micromirrors

In this work we report, a novel Fabry-Perot architecture and its implementation on silicon leading to an ultra-wideband spectral range, where the latter is not limited to the infrared range, but extended below 1100 nm and even to the visible range. The microcavity is constructed of two flat slotted mirrors. The microcavity is fabricated using deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) of silicon wafer. The structure is metalized with Aluminum to improve the mirrors reflectivity, while the mirror is partially transmitting; thanks to the slots in the mirrors. The characterization is carried out using tunable laser sources (TLS) around 1575 nm and 914 nm. The measured free spectral range (FSR) is 6.7 nm around 1575 nm and 2.2 nm around 914 nm. Two microcavities are characterized having 2-pm and 4-pm slot widths, and their quality factor is about 1300 and 2000, respectively at 1575 nm. The quality factor is 2555 for the 2 pm slotted mirrors structure at 914 nm demonstrating the operation below 1100 nm. The reported results open the door for MEMS microcavity operating below 1100 nm, which is a range of high interest for biomedical and food spectroscopy applications.
A serum microRNA signature for amyotrophic lateral sclersosis reveals convergent RNA processing defects and identifies presymptomatic mutation carriers.

This scientific commentary refers to ‘Serum microRNAs in patients with genetic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and pre-manifest mutation carriers’ by Freischmidt et al. (doi: 10.1093/brain/awu249). Defective RNA processing has occupied centre stage in the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) since the identification of TARDBP (also known as TDP-43) inclusions in 95% of cases and pathogenic mutations in RNA processing genes such as TARDBP , FUS and MATR3 (Sreedharan et al. , 2008; Vance et al. , 2009; Johnson et al. , 2014). FUS and TARDBP are known to regulate mRNA transcription, splicing, stability and transport (Tollervey et al. , 2011; Rogelj et al. , 2012) but they are also part of the large Drosha complex that regulates microRNA (miRNA) biogenesis (Gregory et al. , 2004). Dysregulation of miRNA expression has been shown in many cancers and more recently in Alzheimer’s disease and is predicted to play a mechanistic role and/or be an indirect biomarker of disease. In this issue of Brain , Freischmidt et al. (2014) report that levels of a specific subset of miRNAs are reduced in the serum of patients …
Frequency and phenotype of SPG11 and SPG15 in complicated hereditary spastic paraplegia

Background: Hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSP) are clinically and genetically highly heterogeneous. Recently, two novel genes, SPG11 (spatacsin) and SPG15 (spastizin), associated with autosomal recessive HSP, were identified. Clinically, both are characterised by complicated HSP and a rather similar phenotype consisting of early onset spastic paraplegia, cognitive deficits, thin corpus callosum (TCC), peripheral neuropathy and mild cerebellar ataxia. Objective: To compare the frequency of SPG11 and SPG15 in patients with early onset complicated HSP and to further characterise the phenotype of SPG11 and SPG15. Results: A sample of 36 index patients with early onset complicated HSP and a family history compatible with autosomal recessive inheritance was collected and screened for mutations in SPG11 and SPG15. Overall frequency of SPG11 was 14% (5/36) but was considerably higher in patients with TCC (42%). One patient with mental retardation and thinning of the corpus callosum was compound heterozygous for two novel SPG15 mutations. Additionally, several new polymorphisms and sequence variants of unknown significance have been identified in the SPG15 gene. Conclusions: TCC seems to be the best phenotypic predictor for SPG11 as well as SPG15. No clinical features could discriminate between SPG11 and SPG15. Therefore, priority of genetic testing should be driven by mutation frequency that appears to be substantially higher in SPG11 than in SPG15.
Adaptive Trading With Grammatical Evolution

This study reports on the performance of an on-line evolutionary automatic programming methodology for uncovering technical trading rules for the S&P 500 and Nikkei 225 indices. The system adopts a variable sized investment strategy based on the strength of the signals produced by the trading rules. Two approaches are explored, one using a single population of rules which is adapted over the lifetime of the data and another whereby a new population is created for each step across the time series. The results show profitable performance for the trading periods explored with clear advantages for an adaptive population of rules.
Product Functionality, Competition, and Multipurchasing

The more functionalities a good offers, the greater is its perceived quality. Equilibrium prices in standard spatial competition models depend solely on quality differences. We assume that new functionalities are more appreciated the closer a product is to a consumer's ideal variety. Prices are then increasing in functionality levels. Furthermore, we endogenize whether consumers buy only one of two varieties (single‐purchase) or both (multipurchase). Under multipurchase, there might be a hump‐shaped relationship between equilibrium prices and functionality levels. Therefore, it could be optimal for each supplier to sacrifice sales and set prices so high that multipurchase is eliminated.
Definitive radiotherapy plus regional hyperthermia for high-risk and very high-risk prostate carcinoma: Thermal parameters correlated with biochemical relapse-free survival.

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of definitive radiotherapy (RT) plus regional hyperthermia (HT) and investigate the potential contribution of HT to clinical outcomes in patients with prostate carcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS Following our institution's treatment protocol, HT was combined with RT to improve clinical outcomes in selected patients with high-risk or very high-risk prostate cancer. Data from 82 patients treated with RT plus HT and 64 patients treated with RT alone were retrospectively analysed. RESULTS Median follow-up duration was 61 months. The 5-year biochemical disease-free survival (bDFS) rate for the 82 patients treated with RT plus HT was 78%, whereas bDFS for the 64 patients treated with RT alone was 72%; this difference was not significant. Among the 75 patients treated with RT plus HT who underwent intra-rectal temperature measurements, higher thermal parameters were significant prognostic indicators of improved bDFS by univariate analysis. A higher CEM43 °CT90 thermal parameter and a T stage of T1-2 were significant prognostic factors based on multivariate analysis. The 5-year bDFS rates for the 40 patients with a higher CEM43 °CT90 and the 64 patients treated with RT alone were significantly different, whereas 5-year bDFS for the 35 patients with a lower CEM43 °CT90 and the 64 patients treated with RT alone were not. CONCLUSIONS The addition of HT with higher thermal parameters to RT may improve bDFS for patients with high-risk or very high-risk prostate cancer. These findings also demonstrate the importance of careful selection of treatable patients with higher thermal parameters.
At a crossroads : higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean

In this study, authors investigate three important aspects of higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean: quality, variety, and equity. A good higher education system offers quality, variety, and equity to maximize students’ potential given their innate ability, interests, motivation, and academic readiness at the end of high school. Since people differ in these aspects, and the economy needs various types of skills, a variety of offerings allows students to find their best match. A good higher education system trains engineers as well as technicians, economists as well as administrative assistants. In addition, a good higher education system offers quality programs that maximize students’ potential, given their best match. Since the mere availability of variety and quality does not guarantee students’ access to or success in them, a higher education system displays equity when students have access to equal opportunities. Chapter one describes the recent higher education expansion. It documents the magnitude of the expansion, describes the ‘new’ students, and examines patterns of higher education spending in the region relative to other regions. It examines a variety of private returns to higher education and provides evidence regarding public returns. Chapter two presents equity, quality, and variety indicators in higher education. It describes the recent equity gains, presents evidence regarding to quality, and documents the variety of programs and HEIs in the region. Chapter three focuses on wage-based returns to higher education, both complete and incomplete. It documents returns’ recent average decline and their heterogeneity among fields and HEIs. Chapter four examines the demand-side drivers of the recent expansion. It studies the admission and funding mechanisms in the region, and explores student sorting across programs and HEIs and HEIs’ changes throughout the expansion. It also studies the unintended consequences of funding mechanisms. Chapter five examines the supply-side drivers of the expansion. It documents the supply-side growth in the region and studies the opening of new programs and the competitive strategies used by various HEI types. Chapter six provides a summary of institutional arrangements related to current higher education policy in the region. Chapter seven concludes with policy implications from the analysis conducted in the report.
The labor market in the US, 2000–2020

As the largest economy in the world, the US labor market is crucial to the economic well-being of citizens worldwide as well as, of course, that of its own citizens. Since 2000 the US labor market has undergone substantial changes, both reflecting the Great Recession, but also resulting from some striking trends. Most interesting have been a remarkable drop in the labor force participation rate, reversing a nearly 50-year trend; the nearly full recovery of unemployment from the depths of the Great Recession; and the little-known continuing growth in post-inflation average earnings.
Release of Histamine from Human Leukocytes by One Preparation of IgG Oligomers *

In preliminary experiments aimed at investigating the effect of covalently cross‐linked human myeloma subclass proteins on histamine release from human leukocytes, we observed one preparation (designated here IgG‐HR) made from pooled, purified immunoglobulin G which consistently released histamine from these cells. Dimers and trimers, but not monomers isolated from columns of Sephadex G‐200 and Ultrogel AcA22 following incubation of immunoglobulin G (Nordic Laboratories) with dimethyl suberimidate, released histamine from cells of all donors tested. In contrast, cells from the same donors showed variable responsiveness to dimers of IgE (prepared by similar techniques) or to anti‐IgE, IgG‐HR failed to release histamine from a “basophil‐rich” mononuclear cell preparation depleted of most of the erythrocytes, platelets, neutrophils and eosinophils by centrifugation through a Ficoll‐Hypaque cushion. The data suggest that IgG‐HR was releasing histamine indirectly from basophils by first interacting with another cell. IgG oligomers prepared from different sources of pooled, purified IgG failed to release histamine. Although we did not have sufficient IgG‐HR to adequately define this releasing activity, we feel that the data represent a potentially novel, if rare, mechanism of mediator release involving basophils and another cell.
Syndrome of occipitoatlantoaxial hypermobility, cranial settling, and chiari malformation type I in patients with hereditary disorders of connective tissue.

OBJECT Chiari malformation Type I (CM-I) is generally regarded as a disorder of the paraxial mesoderm. The authors report an association between CM-I and hereditary disorders of connective tissue (HDCT) that can present with lower brainstem symptoms attributable to occipitoatlantoaxial hypermobility and cranial settling. METHODS The prevalence of HDCT was determined in a prospectively accrued cohort of 2813 patients with CM-I. All patients underwent a detailed medical and neuroradiological workup that included an assessment of articular mobility. Osseous structures composing the craniocervical junction were investigated morphometrically using reconstructed 3D computed tomography and plain x-ray images in 114 patients with HDCT/CM-I, and the results were compared with those obtained in patients with CM-I (55 cases) and healthy control individuals (55 cases). RESULTS The diagnostic criteria for Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and related HDCT were met in 357 (12.7%) of the 2813 cases. Hereditability was generally compatible with a pattern of autosomal dominant transmission with variable expressivity. The diagnostic features of HDCT/CM-I were distinguished from those of CM-I by clinical stigmata of connective tissue disease, a greater female preponderance (8:1 compared with 3:1, p < 0.001), and a greater incidence of lower brainstem symptoms (0.41 compared with 0.11, p < 0.001), retroodontoid pannus formation (0.71 compared with 0.11, p < 0.001), and hypoplasia of the oropharynx (0.44 compared with 0.02, p < 0.001). Measurements of the basion-dens interval, basion-atlas interval, atlas-dens interval, dens-atlas interval, clivus-atlas angle, clivus-axis angle, and atlas-axis angle were the same in the supine and upright positions in healthy control individuals and patients with CM-I. In patients with HDCT/CM-I, there was a reduction of the basion-dens interval (3.6 mm, p < 0.001), an enlargement of the basion-atlas interval (3.0 mm, p < 0.001), and a reduction of the clivus-axis angle (10.8 degrees, p < 0.001), clivus-atlas angle (5.8 degrees, p < 0.001), and atlas-axis angle (5.3 degrees, p < 0.001) on assumption of the upright position. These changes were reducible by cervical traction or returning to the supine position. CONCLUSIONS The identification of HDCT in 357 patients with CM-I establishes an association between two presumably unrelated mesodermal disorders. Morphometric evidence in this cohort-cranial settling, posterior gliding of the occipital condyles, and reduction of the clivus-axis angle, clivus-atlas angle, and atlas-axis angle in the upright position-suggests that hypermobility of the occipitoatlantal and atlantoaxial joints contributes to retroodontoid pannus formation and symptoms referable to basilar impression.
Increasing the Tolerance of DCD Hearts to Warm Ischemia by Pharmacological Postconditioning

Donation after circulatory death (DCD) offers a potential additional source of cardiac allografts. We used a porcine asphyxia model to evaluate viability of DCD hearts subjected to warm ischemic times (WIT) of 20–40 min prior to flushing with Celsior (C) solution. We then assessed potential benefits of supplementing C with erythropoietin, glyceryl trinitrate and zoniporide (Cs), a combination that we have shown previously to activate ischemic postconditioning pathways. Hearts flushed with C/Cs were assessed for functional, biochemical and metabolic recovery on an ex vivo working heart apparatus. Hearts exposed to 20‐min WIT showed full recovery of functional and metabolic profiles compared with control hearts (no WIT). Hearts subjected to 30‐ or 40‐min WIT prior to C solution showed partial and no recovery, respectively. Hearts exposed to 30‐min WIT and Cs solution displayed complete recovery, while hearts exposed to 40‐min WIT and Cs solution demonstrated partial recovery. We conclude that DCD hearts flushed with C solution demonstrate complete recovery up to 20‐min WIT after which there is rapid loss of viability. Cs extends the limit of WIT tolerability to 30 min. DCD hearts with ≤30‐min WIT may be suitable for transplantation and warrant assessment in a transplant model.
Nationwide Decline in Incidence of Hip Fracture

This epidemiologic study determined the trend in the number and incidence (per 100,000 persons) of hip fracture among older adults in Finland, an EU country with a well‐defined white population of 5.2 million, between 1970 and 2004. The results show that the alarming rise in the fracture incidence from early 1970s until late 1990s has been now followed by declining fracture rates. Reasons for this are largely unknown, but a cohort effect toward a healthier aging population and increased average body weight and improved functional ability among elderly Finns could partly explain the phenomenon.
Effects of nephrectomy and adrenalectomy on the renin-angiotensin system of transgenic rats TGR(mRen2)27.

The transgenic rat TGR(mRen2) develops severe hypertension with high renin activity in the adrenal and low renin activity in the kidney. To clarify the role of the adrenal gland as a source of circulating renin in TGR rats, we investigated the effects of nephrectomy (NEPEX) and adrenalectomy (ADX) on the adrenal and plasma renin-angiotensin system. TGR rats had a high basal plasma renin concentration (PRC; 18.2 +/- 1.0 ng angiotensin-I (AngI)/ml.h) compared with Harlan Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats (7.4 +/- 0.5 ng AngI/ml.h; P < 0.01) and SD rats of the Hannover strain from which the TGR rat was derived (5.3 +/- 0.6 ng AngI/ml.h, P < 0.01); TGR rats also had high adrenal renin (83.3 +/- 8.9) compared with Harlan SD rats (5.5 +/- 0.7; P < 0.01) and Hanover SD rats (6.1 +/- 0.6 ng AngI/ml.h). NEPEX markedly increased PRC (82.4 +/- 18.8 ng AngI/ml.h, P < 0.01) and adrenal renin levels (386.3 +/- 43.9 ng AngI/adrenal.h; P < 0.01) in TGR rats. ADX significantly lowered control levels of PRC and plasma AngII in the TGR rats (19.0 +/- 1.2 to 7.7 +/- 1.2 ng AngI/ml.h and 33.5 +/- 5.6 to 12.8 +/- 2.1 pg/ml, respectively) and suppressed the increases in PRC (119.4 +/- 20.2 to 61.8 +/- 4.0 ng AngI/ml.h) and plasma AngII (95.8 +/- 9.8 to 55.1 +/- 4.3 pg/ml; P < 0.01) caused by NEPEX in TGR rats. However, the levels of PRC and plasma AngII remained high after NEPEX/ADX in TGR rats. Our results suggest that the adrenal gland is one of the main sources of circulating renin in the TGR rat, but other extrarenal sources of plasma renin also exist in these animals.
One versus Two Venous Anastomoses in Microvascular Free Flap Surgery

Background: The authors' goal was to determine whether one or two venous anastomoses results in superior blood flow through microvascular free flaps. Methods: During flap harvest, blood velocity was measured in each of two venae comitantes using Doppler ultrasonography. Next, one of the two veins was occluded with a microvascular clamp and blood velocity was measured in the open vein. The clamp was then removed and placed on the other vein, and blood velocity was measured in the first vein. The pedicle was divided and microvascular anastomosis of either one or two veins was performed. Venous blood velocity was then compared between flaps with one versus two venous anastomoses. Results: Eighty-one free flaps were performed. Before pedicle division, the peak venous blood velocity in each of the two venae comitantes averaged 6.3 ± 4.8 cm/second. When one of the veins was occluded, the peak venous blood velocity increased to 19.5 ± 17.3 cm/second (p < 0.00001). One venous anastomosis was performed in 69 flaps and two venous anastomoses were performed in 12 flaps. The mean blood velocity in flaps in which one venous anastomosis was performed was greater than the mean blood velocity in either vein when two venous anastomoses were performed (13.1 ± 7.3 cm/second versus 7.5 ± 4.3 cm/second, respectively; p = 0.001). Conclusions: When one vena comitans is occluded, blood velocity in the second vena comitans increases significantly. Venous blood velocity is significantly greater after a single venous anastomosis than in either of two veins when two venous anastomoses are performed. These results argue against routinely performing two venous anastomoses.
User Collaboration in Open Source Software Development

Open source development is labelled with free source, fast evolution and extensive user collaboration. Previous studies primarily touched on user activities in a few well-known open source projects but lack the empirical data to represent important issues facing the open source development community. This paper reports on a survey-based study that investigated user collaboration in open source development. Among the many interesting results, we found open source users themselves to be very experienced software developers. They are highly motivated to make their own contributions, work closely with developers on various tasks, and use electronic communication tools extensively. Users with different development experience and contributing to different category of projects tend to exhibit different motivations and behaviours. These findings confirm the differences between traditional and open source user collaboration and their implications for future open source evolution and management are given and discussed in this paper.
Mid-life job insecurity associated with subjective well-being in old age: results from the population-based MONICA/KORA study.

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to examine prospectively the influence of exposure to job insecurity during working life on subjective well-being (SWB) after retirement, an association which has not been studied to date. METHOD Data were derived from the prospective population-based MONICA/KORA study conducted in southern Germany. Participants were recruited and data were collected during three independent surveys between 1984-1995 (T1) and followed up in 2009 (T2). The study sample consisted of 1801 employed participants (1146 male/ 655 female) aged 41-72 years at T1 and ≥ 65 years at T2, without missing data. Self-administered questionnaires and clinical examinations were used to assess job insecurity and risk factors at T1 and SWB at T2. Mean follow-up was 19.6 years. Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the association of job insecurity with SWB after retirement. We accounted for an extensive set of sociodemographic, lifestyle-, health- and work-related risk factors. RESULTS At T1, 39.5% of the participants reported job insecurity, which was associated with a 1.40-fold [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.08-1.82] risk of low SWB at T2 in models adjusted for sociodemographic and lifestyle- and health-related conditions at T1. Additional adjustment for a set of work-related risk factors at T1 had little effect on this association. CONCLUSIONS Exposure to job insecurity at midlife was associated with low SWB in retirement, even after controlling for an extensive set of risk factors. This shows that the negative effects of unstable working conditions might persist well into retirement, long after cessation of employment.
Combination therapy of malaria.

To the Editor:— The recent preliminary communication by Berman (207:128, 1969) suggests that the chloroquine-pyrimethamine-sulfisoxazole therapy reigmen forPlasmodium falciparummalaria should be given wider use as an alternative to the presently advocated quininepyrimethamine regimen. He supports this thesis with data showing a more rapid reduction in fever duration and no increase in recurrence rate with the chloroquine treatment. I have recently reviewed the records of 160 patients following the chloroquine regimen and 250 patients following the quinine regimen during July through October 1968. Both groups were similar in age, race, and location of duty in South Vietnam, and cases were uncomplicated byP vivaxor other medical or surgical conditions. In the two groups studied, I found no significant difference in time of onset of illness to time of treatment, duration of fever, or duration of symptoms. Although as Berman states, time of medication is six days for