Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A low-loss Ka-band LTCC circularly polarized microstrip antenna array with laminated waveguide feeding network

A new configuration of an integrated circularly (CP) polarized microstrip antenna array operating in Ka-band is presented in this paper. The array consists of 4×4 miter-corner-cut patch elements and is fed by a mixed feeding network consisting of microstrip line and laminated waveguide based on LTCC technology. The rotated corner-cut arrangement is applied to each 2×2 sub-array for increasing the axial ratio (AR) bandwidth. With the low loss laminated waveguide feeding network, the proposed new antenna array configuration exhibits its excellent flexibility in designing a broadband CP antenna array and its potential for a high gain integrated CP patch antenna array.
Depressed and Nondepressed Students: Differences in Interpersonal Perceptions

Abstract The purpose of this research was to study the patterns of interpersonal behavior of depressed students. Depressed participants rated themselves lower than non-depressed controls on assertiveness and initiation of interactions and significantly higher than controls on concern about what others think, introversion, and submissiveness. Depressed participants also scored significantly higher than controls on measures of dependency, self-criticism, and the need to please others. Ratings of depressed participants by their roommates were not correlated with depressed participants' self-reports. In contrast, most subscale self-ratings and roommate ratings for the nondepressed participants and their roommates were significantly correlated.
Microscopic and macroscopic entropy.

We consider physical systems in which microstates can be represented as symbol sequences. The internal correlations in a microstate give restrictions to its ``randomness,'' quantified by the measure entropy of that microstate. It is shown that, in the thermodynamic limit, the measure entropy for the microstates has an ensemble average equal to the thermodynamic entropy. A simple explanation is that the correlations necessary to generate the whole ensemble can be found in almost any one of its microstates. If microscopic phases are present, there are subensembles, each given by the statistics in almost any one of its microstates. The typical microstate in an equilibrium ensemble can be found by maximization of the measure entropy under energy constraints and general constraints on probability distributions for symbol sequences. The typical microstate does not contain information in correlations of lengths greater than interaction distance, a fact which simplifies the calculation of the entropy for systems with finite interaction length. We exemplify this by deriving the entropy for a monatomic ideal gas and the one-dimensional Ising model with an external field.
The I&kgr;B Kinase Inhibitor Nuclear Factor-&kgr;B Essential Modulator–Binding Domain Peptide for Inhibition of Injury-Induced Neointimal Formation

Objective—The activation of nuclear factor-&kgr;B (NF-&kgr;B) is a crucial step in the arterial wall's response to injury. The identification and characterization of the NF-&kgr;B essential modulator-binding domain (NBD) peptide, which can block the activation of the I&kgr;B kinase complex, have provided an opportunity to selectively abrogate the inflammation-induced activation of NF-&kgr;B. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the NBD peptide on neointimal formation. Methods and Results—In the rat carotid artery balloon angioplasty model, local treatment with the NBD peptide (300 &mgr;g/site) significantly reduced the number of proliferating cells at day 7 (by 40%; P<0.01) and reduced injury-induced neointimal formation (by 50%; P<0.01) at day 14. These effects were associated with a significant reduction of NF-&kgr;B activation and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 expression in the carotid arteries of rats treated with the peptide. In addition, the NBD peptide (0.01 to 1 &mgr;mol/L) reduced rat smooth muscle cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro. Similar results were observed in apolipoprotein E−/− mice in which the NBD peptide (150 &mgr;g/site) reduced wire-induced neointimal formation at day 28 (by 47%; P<0.01). Conclusion—The NBD peptide reduces neointimal formation and smooth muscle cell proliferation/migration, both effects associated with the inhibition of NF-&kgr;B activation.
High resolution 3D imaging of the inner ear with a modified fast spin‐echo pulse sequence

A fast spin‐echo pulse sequence is described that produces high resolution images of the inner ear without susceptibility artifacts. It uses thin overlapping slices that can be reformatted in multiple projections to provide a view of the 3D geometry of inner ear structures, such as the cochlea, vestibule, semicircular canals, and internal auditory canal. It has proven useful in screening adults for the presence of acoustic schwannoma and in identifying structural congenital lesions in children with sensorineural hearing loss.
Towards a conceptual framework for privacy protection in the use of interactive 360° video surveillance

Interactive 360° video technology has not been embraced for surveillance purposes despite its ability to eliminate blind spots, which is an important attribute of video surveillance. Further, privacy invasion due to video surveillance has a negative impact, and this urges for attention. Hence, the paper authors considered these two aspects and proposed a conceptual design framework with its rationale for privacy protection in use within the infrastructure of the interactive 360° video surveillance system. This conceptual integration framework takes into account the next essential factors: i) the utilization of the positive characteristics of 360° video to improve surveillance; ii) the protection of people's privacy; iii) the assistance needed in crime investigation and forensics; and iv) the ease and cost-effectiveness for deployment. These are factors of paramount significance for public safety and social order and they can be guaranteed with proactive approaches of design, based on the latest developments of Internet of Things technology and digital watermarking advancements.
Are low Danish fertility rates explained by changes in timing of births?

Aims: The most commonly used indicator of fertility, the period total fertility rate (TFRp), tends to underestimate actual fertility when women delay childbearing. The objective of this study was to examine to which extent fluctuations in Danish fertility rates result from changes in timing of births and, thus, whether the conventional TFRp is a distorted indicator of fertility quantum. In addition, we investigated whether such changes in timing explained the observed regional differences in the TFRp in Denmark. Methods: The study applied age-, period-, county-, and parity-specific data from the Danish Fertility of Women and Couples Dataset, 1980-2001. We evaluated fluctuations in period fertility rates by the tempo-adjusted TFR′ - a proposed variant of the conventional TFRp taking period changes in timing of births into account. Tempo-effects were given by the difference between TFRp and TFR′ , and these period measures were compared to actual cohort fertility. Results: Mean age at childbearing increased with more than 3 years over the period 1980-2001 leading to considerable differences between TFRp and TFR′ . A tempo-effect of up to 0.347 children per woman was observed. Comparisons with actual cohort fertility showed consistency with the TFR′. However, tempo-adjustment did not attenuate observed regional differences. Conclusion: This study indicates that the conventional TFRp consistently underestimates the fertility quantum in periods characterized by changes in timing of births, and that the TFR′ generally provides good indication of actual cohort quantum for the period in question. Considerable tempo-effects were observed within counties; however, differences between regions were not explained by changes in timing of births.
Proliferative effects of insulin analogues on mammary epithelial cells

Abstract Structural modification of insulin results in the generation of insulin analogues that show altered binding affinities to the insulin receptor and/or IGF-I receptor. As a consequence these insulin analogues may have increased mitogenic potency. Nine benign or malignant human mammary epithelial cells, which show different insulin receptor and IGF-I receptor expression patterns, were studied regarding mitogenicity of insulin and insulin analogues. Only insulin glargine showed a significantly higher proliferative effect on MCF-7 breast cancer cells compared to regular insulin among a panel of short- or long-acting insulin analogues, that are in clinical use.
High level functional verification closure

We present a methodology to obtain high level functional verification closure. We discuss the current advances in critical technologies that are part of the verification closure solution. Within this methodology, assertion specifications are the starting point and central to the collaboration required between various verification tasks to efficiently search for tests and allow automation to proceed. The goal of verification closure is to generate a complete set of tests that meet the design quality criteria established for the design.
Effect of corticosteroids and adult thymectomy on induction and recall of contact sensitivity in mice.

The effect of cortisone acetate on specific cell mediated immunity in mice was investigated using contact sensitivity to oxazolone. A long-acting cortisone acetate preparation was found to be much more effective than a soluble preparation in suppressing temporarily the recall response to oxazolone. The long-acting preparation was also effective in inhibiting the induction of sensitivity when injected before (but not after) oxazolone. Removal of the thymus either before or after sensitization did not significantly enhance the effects of cortisone acetate, and it is therefore suggested that cortisone acetate acts independently of the thymus-derived lymphocyte population.
A Novel Host-Parasite Lipid Cross-talk

Schistosome infections are characterized by prominent T cell hyporesponsiveness during the chronic stage of infection. We found that schistosome-specific phosphatidylserine (PS) activated TLR2 and affected dendritic cells such that mature dendritic cells gained the ability to induce the development of IL-10-producing regulatory T cells. Using mass spectrometry, schistosomal lysophosphatidylserine (lyso-PS) was identified as the TLR2-activating molecule. This activity appears to be a unique property of schistosomal lyso-PS, containing specific acyl chains, because neither a synthetic lyso-PS (16:0) nor PS isolated from the mammalian host activates TLR2. Taken together, these findings provide evidence for a novel host-parasite interaction that may be central to long term survival of the parasite and limited host pathology with implications beyond parasitology.
A triple-band microstrip fed monopole antenna using defected ground structure for WLAN and Wi-MAX applications

A compact triple-band monopole antenna with dimension 30 × 40× 1.6 mm3 fed by a 50 Ω microstrip line is proposed in this paper. The signaling plane consists of a microstrip feed line and a radiating element. The radiating element contains two branches and two stubs. The branches of the radiating element are used to make the circuit to radiate at 2.3 GHz and 3.9 GHz. The stubs help in making the circuit to radiate at 5.3 GHz. Thus the proposed antenna is capable of radiating triple band of frequencies which meets the specifications of WLAN 2.4/5.3 GHz and Wi-MAX 3.9 GHz. The VSWR values are 1.2, 1.9 and 1.1 at 2.3 GHz, 3.9 GHz and 5.3 GHz respectively. The simulated return loss values at the desired frequencies are -19 dB at 2.3 GHz, -25 dB at 3.9 GHz and -38 dB at 5.3 GHz. The ground plane is designed with a defected ground structure with two inverted L shaped strips that helps to enhance the bandwidth of the system. The bandwidth of the proposed triple band antenna are (2.2 - 2.4) GHz, (3.7 - 3.92) GHz and (5.2 - 5.4) GHz. The radiation pattern of the proposed antenna is bi-directional in H-plane and unidirectional in E-plane which is suitable for WLAN and Wi-MAX applications.
A Prospective Study of Problem and Regular Nonproblem Gamblers Living in the Community

Little is known about the life course of gambling problems and there have been no prospective studies of problem gambling. This article describes a study of 77 problem gamblers and 66 nonproblem gamblers recruited from a national prevalence survey in New Zealand in 1991 and reassessed in 1998. While most 1991 problem gamblers were nonproblematic at follow-up, a significant minority had developed more serious problems. Multiple logistic regression analysis identified more severe gambling problems, hazardous drinking, and a preference for track betting as the strongest independent predictors of subsequent problem gambling. These findings contradict conventional notions that pathological gambling is invariably a chronic or chronically relapsing disorder. The findings have implications for the interpretation of previous research, conduct of future research, and problem gambling policy and treatment.
Using probabilistic roadmaps in changing environments

In this paper, we examine how a path planning problem can be solved in changing environments using probabilistic roadmap planners. A probabilistic roadmap is built in static environment where all obstacles are known in advance, but we show that a roadmap can be built in such a way that it works well even when new obstacles are added to the workspace. However, our experiments show that the roadmap graph must be built carefully. We compare three different methods that are used to decide which edges are added to the roadmap graph to connect the nodes. One of these is a distance‐based method, which we present in this paper. In the tests, we built a roadmap by using only the static obstacles. Then, we added additional obstacles to the environment and tested how well the roadmap still worked. The tests showed that our distance‐based method worked quickly and that it produced roadmaps, which could be used to find a path amid additional obstacles with a high success rate.Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Crystal Structure of NblA from Anabaena sp. PCC 7120, a Small Protein Playing a Key Role in Phycobilisome Degradation*

Cyanobacterial light-harvesting complexes, the phycobilisomes, are proteolytically degraded when the organisms are starved for combined nitrogen, a process referred to as chlorosis or bleaching. Gene nblA, present in all phycobilisome-containing organisms, encodes a protein of about 7 kDa that plays a key role in phycobilisome degradation. The mode of action of NblA in this degradation process is poorly understood. Here we presented the 1.8-Å crystal structure of NblA from Anabaena sp. PCC 7120. In the crystal, NblA is present as a four-helix bundle formed by dimers, the basic structural units. By using pull-down assays with immobilized NblA and peptide scanning, we showed that NblA specifically binds to the α-subunits of phycocyanin and phycoerythrocyanin, the main building blocks of the phycobilisome rod structure. By site-directed mutagenesis, we identified amino acid residues in NblA that are involved in phycobilisome binding. The results provided evidence that NblA is directly involved in phycobilisome degradation, and the results allowed us to present a model that gives insight into the interaction of this small protein with the phycobilisomes.
An adaptive quantum-inspired genetic QoS multicast routing algorithm and its application

Quality-of-Service (QoS) routing is an NP complete problem and one of the key enabling techniques for multimedia wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Aiming at solving the problem of the large computational complexity of an exhaustive search over all the paths in QoS routing for WSNs, an adaptive quantum-inspired genetic routing algorithm with improved population initialization, adaptive quantum gate operation, crossover and mutation is presented to improve the computing performance. The application results have demonstrated that the proposed algorithm has high speed of convergence and good global search capability.
Comparison of ICA and WT with S-transform based method for removal of ocular artifact from EEG signals

Ocular artifacts are most unwanted disturbance in electroencephalograph (EEG) signals. These are characterized by high amplitude but have overlap-ping frequency band with the useful signal. Hence, it is difficult to remove the ocular artifacts by traditional filtering methods. This paper proposes a new approach of artifact removal using S-transform (ST). It provides an instantaneous time-frequency repre-sentation of a time-varying signal and generates high magnitude S-coefficients at the instances of abrupt changes in the signal. A threshold function has been defined in S-domain to detect the artifact zone in the signal. The artifact has been attenuated by a suitable multiplying factor. The major advantage of ST-fil- tering is that the artifacts may be removed within a narrow time-window, while preserving the frequency information at all other time points. It also preserves the absolutely referenced phase information of the signal after the removal of artifacts. Finally, a com-parative study with wavelet transform (WT) and in-dependent component analysis (ICA) demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Updated survival analyses after prolonged follow‐up of the phase 2, multicenter CREST study of bortezomib in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma

The Clinical Response and Efficacy Study of Bortezomib in the Treatment of Relapsing Multiple Myeloma (CREST) demonstrated substantial activity with two dose levels of bortezomib (1·0 and 1·3 mg/m2), alone or with dexamethasone, in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. We present updated survival analyses after prolonged follow‐up (median >5 years). One‐ and 5‐year survival rates were 82% and 32%, respectively, in the 1·0 mg/m2 group (n = 28), and 81% and 45%, respectively, in the 1·3 mg/m2 group (n = 26). Notable survival, response, and time‐to‐progression data suggest that a bortezomib starting dose of 1·3 mg/m2 is preferred. If bortezomib dose reduction is required, the 1·0 mg/m2 dose still offers patients a substantial survival benefit.
A Simulation Tool for Industrial Ecology: Creating a Board Game

This article presents a board game that was developed for use as a simulation tool in teaching the basic concepts of industrial ecology (IE). The game, with the automobile industry as its theme, includes realistic numbers and displays a variety of IE principles. The objectives of the simulation, however, transcend the automobile industry and apply to other manufacturing industries. They include: pollution prevention, design for environment (in several forms, including design for disassembly), environmental management, and life‐cycle assessment. The game has already been played by engineering and business professors, graduate students in environmental engineering, government representatives, and industry executives. A statistical analysis performed on pre‐ and post‐game questionnaires indicates that the game is an effective teaching tool.
Cooperation of distributed intelligent sensors in intelligent environment

We propose an architecture of intelligent space based on distributed intelligent sensors. Intelligent space is an environmental system able to support humans in informative and physical ways. Since an intelligent space should adapt to the various sizes and shapes of an environment, an architecture based on distributed intelligent sensors is designed. The proposed architecture satisfies not only scalability but also reconfigurability, modularity, easy maintenance, and affinity problems in building an intelligent space. Intelligent sensors are distributed among a space and they provide functions based on position information. According to the particular situation, cooperation among intelligent sensors or cooperation among function modules in the intelligent sensors are performed. Selected demonstrations are described in the paper.
Exploring Temporal Context for Collaborative Filtering

Author(s): Elsisy, Amr | Advisor(s): Papalexakis, Vagelis | Abstract: Thousands of new users join social media website everyday, generating huge amounts of new data. Twitter users for example, generate millions of new posts per day. This can flood our users with huge amounts of information, and thus overload them with information that for the most part they are not interested in. To fix this problem, we need to only show our users information relative to them, such as posts from people they are following. This thesis focuses on how to make accurate recommendations to each user, on which users/pages to follow, thus helping the user view information that is important to them. In particular, we focus on exploring the following research questions: 1) which features yield the best recommendation accuracy, and 2) given those features, what is the best granularity for them, that captures the underlying dynamics, leading to high accuracy.
Molecular Abnormalities of the Glutamate Synapse in the Thalamus in Schizophrenia

Abstract: Schizophrenia has been associated with dysfunction of glutamatergic neurotransmission. Synaptic glutamate activates pre‐ and postsynaptic ionotropic NMDA, AMPA, and kainate and metabotropic receptors, is removed from the synapse via five cell surface‐expressed transporters, and is packaged for release by three vesicular transporters. In addition, there is a family of intracellular molecules enriched in the postsynaptic density (PSD) that target glutamate receptors to the synaptic membrane, modulate receptor activity, and coordinate glutamate receptor‐related signal transduction. Each family of PSD proteins is selective for a given glutamate receptor subtype, the most well characterized being the NMDA receptor binding proteins PSD93, PSD95, NF‐L, and SAP102. Besides binding glutamate receptors, many of these proteins also interact with cell surface proteins like cell adhesion molecules, ion channels, cytoskeletal elements, and signal transduction molecules. Given the complexity of the glutamate neurotransmitter system, there are many locations where disruption of normal signaling could occur and give rise to abnormal glutamatergic neurotransmission in schizophrenia. Using multiple cohorts of postmortem tissue, we have examined these synaptic molecules in schizophrenic thalamus. The expression of NR1 and NR2C subunit transcripts is decreased in the thalamus in schizophrenia. Interestingly, three intracellular PSD molecules that link the NMDA receptor to signal transduction pathways are also abnormally expressed. Additionally, several of the cell surface and vesicular transporters are abnormal in the schizophrenic thalamus. While occasional findings of abnormal receptor expression are made, the most dramatic and consistent alterations that we have found in the thalamus in schizophrenia involve the family of intracellular signaling/scaffolding molecules. We propose that schizophrenia has a glutamatergic component that involves alterations in the intracellular machinery that is coupled to glutamate receptors, in addition to abnormalities of the receptors themselves. Our data suggest that schizophrenia is associated with abnormal glutamate receptor‐related intracellular signaling in the thalamus, and point to novel targets for innovative drug discovery.