Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multi‐sensor synthesis of the mesoscale structure of a cold‐air comma cloud system

A multiscale study of a cold‐air comma cloud that produced an area of heavy rain and locally severe weather has been undertaken by synthesising data from a research microwave Doppler radar and VHF and UHF Doppler wind profilers, along with routinely available radar‐network, satellite, in situ and mesoscale‐model data. The rain area was generated in the exit region of an upper‐level jet characterised by laminated velocity perturbations. Some of the perturbations were attributable to inertia‐gravity wave activity. The rain area itself is shown to have been composed of a well‐organised set of mesoscale rainbands each being due to a mixture of upright and slantwise convection. The existence of the multiple rainbands may have been related to the multi‐layered atmospheric structure upwind. Each of the rainbands had cold‐frontal and warm‐frontal portions, so as to form a series of mini warm sectors stacked along the axis of the comma cloud at roughly 70 km intervals. The multiple rainbands were accompanied by multiple fingers of overrunning low‐θw air from part of a dry intrusion originating from just below a major tropopause fold. The fold contained an intense potential‐vorticity maximum which appeared to be the focus of the overall system. The operational mesoscale version of the Met. Office's Unified Model, with its 12 km grid, is shown to have resolved many but not all of the key features of the rainbands. It is suggested that further improvements in very‐short‐range forecasting of important local detail could be achieved by further increasing its resolution and assimilating more mesoscale observational data. Copyright © 2002 Royal Meteorological Society
A dynamic mathematical model for microbial removal of pyritic sulfur from coal

A dynamic mathematical model has been developed to describe microbial desulfurization of coal by Thiobacillus ferrooxidans. The model considers adsorption and desorption of cells on coal particles and microbial oxidation of pyritic sulfur on particle surfaces. The influence of certain parameters, such as microbial growth rate constants, adsorption‐descrption constants, pulp density, coal particle size, initial cell and solid phase substrate concentration on the maximum rate of pyritic sulfur removal, have been elucidated. The maximum rate of pyritic sulfur removal was strongly dependent upon the number of attached cells per coal particle. At sufficiently high initial cell concentrations, the surfaces of coal particles are nearly saturated by the cells and the maximum leaching rate is limited either by total external surface area of coal particles or by the concentration of pyritic sulfur in the coal phase. The maximum volumetric rate of pyritic sulfur removal (mg S/h cm3 mixture) increases with the pulp density of coal and reaches a saturation level at high pulp densities (e.g. 45%). The maximum rate also increases with decreasing particle diameter in a hyperbolic form. Increases in adsorption coefficient or decreases in the desorption coefficient also result in considerable improvements in this rate. The model can be applied to other systems consisting of suspended solid substrate particles in liquid medium with microbial oxidation occurring on the particle surfaces (e.g., bacterial ore leaching). The results obtained from this model are in good agreement with published experimental data on microbial desulfurization of coal and bacterial ore leaching.
Femtosecond relaxation dynamics of photo-excited carriers in Si nanoparticles embedded in SiO2 matrix

We show that full saturation of the interface-located trap states by the photogenerated carriers under the femtosecond excitation in nano-Si/SiO2 results in the increase of the free carriers' lifetime and the quantum yield of the luminescence. The observed increase of the quantum yield is unexpected, in contrast to the commonly observed decrease under nanosecond excitation.
A Novel Messenger Ribonucleic Acid Homologous to Human MAGE-D Is Strongly Expressed in Rat Sertoli Cells and Weakly in Leydig Cells and Is Regulated by Follitropin, Lutropin, and Prolactin.

We have cloned a novel complementary DNA whose expression was decreased in rat Sertoli cell cultures after treatment with FSH. This complementary DNA encodes a protein of 570 amino acids and shares 92% homology with the human MAGE-D protein. In contrast to other MAGE genes (A, B, or C), we have shown that MAGE-D expression was ubiquitous in healthy rat tissues. In the seminiferous tubules, the MAGE-D was expressed in Sertoli cells but not in germ cells as demonstrated by RT-PCR and in situ hybridization, whereas for the other MAGE genes, expression has been shown to be restricted to germ cells. Interestingly, MAGE-D was also detected for the first time in the female gonad by Northern blotting. In MLTC-1 cells (mouse Leydig tumor cell line-1), LH and PRL stimulated MAGE-D expression. Using hypophysectomized rats, it was confirmed that FSH decreased MAGE-D expression, whereas LH and PRL increased MAGE-D messenger RNA level in the whole testis most probably through a direct action on Leydig cells. As MAGE-D .
Deliberate self-poisoning in adolescents.

BACKGROUND Adolescent suicide has become increasingly more prevalent in recent years, with self-poisoning being a frequent means of suicide attempt. OBJECTIVE To investigate the factors associated with adolescent self-poisoning. METHODS Data on adolescents referred for intentional self-poisoning to the Adolescent Medical Unit during the years 1990-1998 were evaluated retrospectively. Data were obtained from the hospital medical records and included the following factors: sociodemographic data, educational status, agent and route of intake, motivation for overdose, and the extent of serious suicidal intent. RESULTS We evaluated 324 cases of adolescent self-poisoners aged 12-18 years (mean +/- SD 14.8 +/- 1.5 years). The female/male ratio was 8:1. Most of the patients were attending school and lived in urban areas. Oral ingestion was the only route of intake; 84.5% of the patients ingested drugs and 10.5% non-medicinal compounds. The drug most commonly taken was acetaminophen. The non-medicinal compounds were mostly pesticides and household materials. The suicide attempts were most frequently associated with transient depression, stemming from defects in child-family communication. As based on clinical psychiatric evaluation, patients who had ingested polydrugs and non-medical compounds evidenced a significantly greater suicidal intent (chi 2 = 11.9, P < 0.001) compared to those who took only one or two kinds of drugs. CONCLUSIONS We found that self-poisoning attempts occur most frequently in depressed females at junior high and high school, usually in the context of family dysfunction. Non-medicinal agents and polydrug ingestion are major risk factors for evaluating the seriousness of the suicidal intent.
Step-response optimisation techniques for low-power, high-load, three-stage operational amplifiers driving large capacitive loads

Two simple efficient techniques to optimise the closed-loop transient response of three-stage amplifiers for large capacitive load applications are proposed and developed. The proposed approaches exploit a current comparator in the inner amplifier nodes to sense the input voltage transients and to switch on an auxiliary driving device providing slew-rate enhancement and settling time improvement without extra static power dissipation. SPECTRE simulations are carried out on a three-stage amplifier adopting a recently proposed reversed-nested Miller compensation strategy with a voltage follower and two nulling resistors, for which a novel design methodology is provided as well. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the two proposed techniques, showing a symmetrical step response with a significant improvement in large-signal speed performance. Both proposed solutions are suitable for any particular three-stage amplifier topology and are also independent of the adopted compensation network.
The Effect of Aloe Vera Extract on the Sperm Quality in Male Diabetic Rats

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder which can be diagnosed by the hyperglycemia resulting from defects in insulin secretion and performance or both. Diabetes reduces the process of spermatogenesis and makes this phenomenon disordered. The objective of the present study is to investigate the effects of Aloe Vera extract on the production and quality of sperms of male diabetic rats. In the study, 24 diabetic adult male Wistar rats each with a weight of about 200-250 gr were provided. Rats became diabetic by the injection of 50 mg / kg/IPstreptozotocin. Then, rats divided into four groups randomly: the first group: diabetic control group which received daily distilled water orally, the second group: the diabetic group which received daily 400 mg / kg Aloe Vera extract orally. The third group, the healthy control group which daily distilled water orally, and the fourth group: the healthy group received daily 400 mg / kg distilled water orally. After 30 days of treatment, the rats were weighed in and then, the blood glucose was measured by glucometer through tails. Then, they were anesthetized using ether and a blood sample was extracted from the animal for investigating the testosterone levels,then testes and epididymis removed for investigating the quality of sperms, caudal part of epididymis was cut and placed in T6 environment, then the sperms were investigated in terms of morphology, number and motion. The testes, after tissue processing and the preparation of paraffin sections, were stained into sectionsusing Hematoxyline-Eosin. Then, the prepared slides were investigated by OLYMPUS Microscope and OLYSIA software program. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS and ANOVA test. According to the obtained results, the average body weight, spermatogonia cells, Sertoli cells, Leydig cells, seminiferous tubule diameter and the epithelium diameter of seminiferous tubule, serum levels of blood glucose, sperm motility (fast and slow) and the sperm number in the diabetic control group indicated a significant difference (p 0.05) compared to other groups. The obtained results indicated that Aloe Vera extract, regarding its antioxidant properties, could prevent from the damage to the testicular tissue of rats and improve the spermatogenesis by control of the serum levels of blood glucose.
Tolerance is overcome in beef insulin‐transgenic mice by activation of low‐affinity autoreactive T cells

To gain insight into the factors controlling the maintenance or loss of T cell self tolerance we produced beef insulin (BI)‐transgenic BALB/c mice. Transgenic mice express BI under control of the human insulin promoter and secrete physiological amounts of beef insulin. Although these mice are tolerant to BI, as evidenced by the lack of insulin‐specific IgG antibody production following intraperitoneal immunization, tolerance is not complete. Footpad immunization results in a weak antigen‐specific T cell proliferative response, indicating the presence of self‐ reactive BI‐specific T cells in the periphery. These T cells are functional in vivo, providing support for IgG1, IgG2a, and IgG2b BI‐specific antibody production, but require higher concentrations of antigen than nontransgenic T cells (both in vivo and following recall responses in vitro) to become activated. In vitro, BI‐specific T cell proliferation in BI‐transgenic mice can be largely restored by addition of interleukin‐2, indicating that a significant component of T cell tolerance is mediated by anergy. To characterize the autoreactive T cells that become activated when tolerance is broken, BI‐specific T cell hybridomas were generated from transgenic mice and compared to a panel of hybridomas previously derived from nontransgenic BALB/c mice. The majority of BI‐transgenic hybridomas recognized the immunodominant A1–14 beef insulin peptide but with lower avidity than BALB/c hybridomas. Consistent with this, none of the dominant T cell receptor rearrangements found in the BALB/c BI‐specific T cell receptor repertoire were found in the transgenic hybridomas. These results indicate that, despite evidence for clonal inactivation of many BI‐specific T cells in BI‐transgenic mice, loss of tolerance results from activation of low‐affinity antigen‐specific T cells that appear to have escaped this process.
Application of a Normally OFF Silicon Carbide Power JFET in a Photovoltaic Inverter

Conventional wisdom that the SiC JFET is only a normally on device has recently been superseded by the first practical normally off SiC JFET. This new true enhancement mode, three-terminal, pure-SiC design provides designers with a normally off solution that retains all the benefits of the normally on SiC JFET. With only a simple change in series gate impedance, the EM SiC JFET can be used with common IC drivers and is a drop-in replacement for current silicon power devices in most applications. The device characteristics for the normally off SiC JFET are superior to MOSFETs and IGBTs and offer the possibility of efficiency improvements from reduced conduction and switching losses. The work presented in this paper demonstrates the drop-in replacement of 4 IGBTs with 4 normally off SiC JFET in a commercially available solar inverter based on a full-bridge topology. While demonstration as a drop-in replacement device was the main goal, system efficiency for operation with each device was observed and compared and an immediate improvement observed for the SiC JFET.
Dedicated technology threshold voltage tuning for 6T SRAM beyond N7

As scaling continues for FinFET technology nodes, variability in combination with targeted lower supply voltages results in reduced SRAM stability margins. In this paper, threshold voltage tuning from the technological side is used to enable low SRAM Vmin with minimum impact on logic performance. Furthermore, lower overall system energy consumption can be achieved by the lower Vmin. This exercise is crucial for the enablement of future technology nodes where single VTH masks could become a necessity.
Dietary Patterns and Risk of Adenocarcinoma of the Lung in Males: A Factor Analysis in Uruguay

In the period 1996–2004, a hospital-based case-control study on diet and adenocarcinoma of the lung in men was conducted in Montevideo, Uruguay. The study included 200 cases and 800 controls, frequency matched on age, residence, and interviewers. Factor analysis (principal components) was used to identify the major food patterns associated with adenocarcinoma. The analysis of food groups led to the identification of 4 patterns, arbitrarily labeled as Western, starchy vegetables, prudent, and milk/coffee. Whereas the Western pattern (OR 1.94, 95% CI 1.08–3.45) and the milk/coffee pattern (OR 2.30, 95% CI 1.35–3.90) were positively associated with risk of adenocarcinoma of the lung, the starchy vegetables (OR 0.49, 95% 0.28–0.86) and prudent patterns (OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.32–0.92) were significantly protective against this malignancy. The results suggests that adenocarcinoma of the lung could be considered a different nosologic entity, compared with the other histologies of lung cancer.
Glutaminyl‐Cyclase Expression in the Bovine/Porcine Hypothalamus and Pituitary

The expression of the glutaminyl cyclase (QC), an enzyme responsible for the post‐translational modification of N‐terminal pyroglutamyl residues of neuropeptide precursors, was examined in bovine/porcine hypothalamic and pituitary tissue by means of immunocytochemistry and in situ hybridization. In the anterior pituitary a distinct pattern of QC immunoreactivity and mRNA expression was found associated exclusively with somatotrophs. In corticotrophs of the pars intermedia QC expression was undetectable, whereas a small portion of putative pars tuberalis cells in the rostra1 part of the pars distalis were heavily labelled. The neurointermediate lobe was devoid of signals for QC mRNA, but showed significant QC‐immunoreactivity on secretory granules of axonal nerve endings. Also nuclei of the hypothalamus were found to be positive for QC‐immunoreactivity. Intense labelling was observed in the nucleus supraopticus and nucleus paraventricularis. Staining of the nucleus periventricularis was found to be moderate, whereas no labelling of perikarya in the nucleus arcuatus, the preoptic area and the nucleus suprachiasmaticus was detectable. Moreover, varicose fibers stained positive for QC‐immunoreactivity and could be identified in the main transport route from the hypothalamus to the pars neuronalis (tractus hypothalamo hypophysialis). These results suggest that the enzyme is transported via the same routes as its substrate/product to the median eminence or the neural lobe. Furthermore, the mapping of the cellular QC distribution reveals a strikingly distinctive expression pattern, that should be useful for the identification of yet undiscovered places of peptide synthesis and processing.
Intrusion Detection by Intelligent analysis of data across multiple gateways in real-time.

Current firewalls and intrusion detection systems are generally designed to protect a single gateway in order to provide protection for machines residing behind the gateway on an internal network. When considering a network incorporating multiple gateways across a range of IP addresses exposed to the Internet, interesting data can be gathered with regard to the types of scans occurring across these gateways from the outside. The validity of using a central server to amalgamate, reduce and analyse the log files of each gateway is investigated in order to examine the activities of the scans across multiple gateways and port numbers. The results from this analysis can then be used to act against an attack through heuristic driven rule creation.
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) CMV retinitis in HIV-positive patients in the pre-HAART era

Objective: To evaluate the measurement of intraocular antibody production and detection of DNA by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for diagnosis of the causative microorganism in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and necrotizing retinitis. Methods: Paired serum and aqueous humour samples obtained from 28 patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and necrotizing retinitis, seen between January 1987 and March 1992, were analysed for intraocular antibody production against cytomegalovirus (CM V), varicella zoster virus, herpes simplex virus, Epstein-Barr virus, and T. gondii. Specific antibody titres in the inflamed eye and in the circulation were related to total immunoglobulin G content in the aqueous humour and serum. In addition, PCR analysis was performed in 15 samples. Results were compared to the final diagnosis which was based on the subsequent clinical course. Results were also related to parameters describing the immune state of the patients: CD4 count, time between diagnosis of an AIDS defining illness and retinitis, and time of survival following the diagnosis of retinitis. Results: In 11 (39%) out of 28 patients we found local intraocular antibody production which correlated with the final diagnosis (one out of two cases with acute retinal necrosis, three out of five cases with Toxoplasma retinitis, and eight out of 21 patients with CMV retinitis). In all 13 patients with CMV retinitis PCR analysis detected CMV DNA. In one patient with the clinical diagnosis of Toxoplasma retinitis, Toxoplasma DNA could be determined, whereas in the same sample CMV DNA was also found. In yet another patient with Toxoplasma
Error analysis for the gyro north seeking system

In order to enhance the accuracy of gyro north seeking system and to make sure how the error sources influence on the final accuracy of the system. Four coordinate systems were established by considering the error sources of the gyro north seeking system; the attitude of the gyro coordinate system versus the geography coordinate system was calculated by way of direction-cosine matrix. Then the component of the local Earth rotation rate, which is the function of the initial azimuth angle of the input axis line of the gyro, error sources, and angle positions, was achieved. The initial azimuth angle representation was attained by harmonic analysis method. Aiming at the representation, the error of the azimuth angle was analyzed by error propagation method. Finally the influence of error source over the north seeking system accuracy is achieved
Comparison of routine care self-reported and biometrical data on hypertension and diabetes: results of the Utrecht Health Project.

BACKGROUND Information on the prevalence of diseases is commonly gathered by questionnaires. Although the method is relatively inexpensive and efficient as opposed to physical examinations, the validity of the information collected is often questioned. The objective of this study was to assess the value of biometrical data complementary to self-reported questionnaire information for estimating the prevalence of hypertension and diabetes in the population at large and to examine factors that affect the accuracy of self-reporting. METHODS Baseline data of 4950 adult participants of the Utrecht Health Project, a community-based prospective cohort study, were used to calculate sensitivity and specificity of self-reported hypertension and diabetes with the results of blood pressure measurements and blood glucose levels, corrected for current medication use, as the reference standard. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to determine which participants' characteristics independently predicted the accuracy of self-reports. RESULTS Overall sensitivity was 34.5% for self-reported data on hypertension and 58.9% for diabetes, while overall specificity was high for both conditions (96.4 and 99.4%, respectively). The agreement between self-reported and biometrical data was higher for diabetes than for hypertension and varied per subgroup. CONCLUSIONS The use of self-reported data to estimate the prevalence of hypertension and diabetes may lead to underestimated prevalence estimates and biased associations with risk factors due to differential misclassification. Adding biometrical measurements to self-reported questionnaire information will assure the validity of the data. The magnitude of the additional value of biometrical data depends on the condition studied and the characteristics of the population under investigation.
Valine requirements for immune and growth responses in broilers from 3 to 6 weeks of age

1. Four experiments were conducted to evaluate valine (Val) requirements in Ross 508 broilers from 3 to 6 weeks of age. Common diets were fed to broilers until 3 weeks of age. 2. Growth and carcass measurements were taken in all experiments. Immune responsiveness measurements were taken in Experiments 1 and 2. 3. Birds given 7·2 g Val/kg of diet in Experiment 1 had more abdominal fat than birds given 8·2 g Val/kg of diet, but there were no differences in growth or other carcass measurements. Because growth performance was not reduced in birds given 7·2 g Val/kg of diet, Val concentration was reduced to 6·4 g Val/kg of diet in Experiments 2 and 3. 4. Increasing Val from 6·4 to 8·7 g Val/kg of diet resulted in linear increases for BW gain, feed efficiency and Val intake in male birds, and Val intake in female birds. Quadratic responses to increasing dietary Val were not observed in any experiment. There were no effects of Val on innate or adaptive immunity. 5. A nonessential amino acid mixture containing the same nitrogen content as the L-Val additions in Experiment 4 was added and tends to support the idea that the responses to Val were specific and not due to increases in total nitrogen. 6. Dose responses to Val resulted in male, but not female, birds given 7·3 g Val/kg of diet having improved BW gain and feed efficiency compared with birds receiving 6·4 g Val/kg of diet.