Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ice friction in speed skating: can klapskates reduce ice frictional loss?

PURPOSE Reducing ice friction was one of the motives for developing the klapskate. However, the magnitude of power dissipation that occurs with conventional skates when a skater plantar flexes his ankle and the tip of the blade is pressed into the ice has not been quantified previously. In this study, we examine how ice friction varies during a single stroke with conventional skates and estimate the reduction in ice friction that might be obtained with klapskates. METHODS Five elite speed skaters performed a series of trials at constant velocity and a series of maximal accelerations. Energy dissipated to ice friction during a stroke with conventional skates was analyzed using an instrumented skate and high-speed 3D kinematic analysis. The energy that would be dissipated when klapskates were used was estimated from the collected data with conventional skates. RESULTS The estimated difference in power loss between conventional and klapskates was less dramatic than has been suggested frequently. Pressing the tip of the blade into the ice comprises only 0.84 W of the total power dissipated by ice friction (54 W) during constant velocity speed skating. During an all-out acceleration, this power loss reached 4.55 W. CONCLUSION We conclude that only a minor part of the benefit of klapskates can be attributed to a reduction in ice friction. It is shown that this relatively small increase in ice friction is related to the large length of the skate blade.
Photoluminescent metal-organic polymer constructed from trimetallic clusters and mixed carboxylates.

The solvothermal reaction of zinc acetate dihydrate with a mixture of benzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid (H(2)BDC) and benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid (H(3)BTC) in a solution containing N,N'-dimethylformamide (DMF), absolute ethanol, and chlorobenzene gave rise to a metal-organic polymer, Zn(3). BDC.2BTC. 2NH(CH(3))(2). 2NH(2)(CH(3))(2). The structure of this polymer possesses a unique three-dimensional framework with tri-zinc clusters, and BDC and BTC units colinking the clusters. Moreover, this metal-organic polymer exhibits strong photoluminescence at room temperature, and the main emission band is at about 430 nm (lambda(ex) = 325 nm). Crystal data for this compound (C(17)H(20)N(2)O(8)Zn(1.5)): monoclinic, space group P2(1)/n, cell dimensions a = 11.6171(3) A, b = 14.2456(4) A, c = 12.6426(3) A, beta = 107.030(2) degrees, V = 2000.51(9) A(3), and Z = 4.
Compound Cycle of a Renewal Process and Applications

Abstract This paper presents a generic framework that is common to many stochastic models. For the virtual wait process in an M/G/1 queueing system, we obtain the expected number of events during a sojourn time above or below a state-space level. Similar quantities are derived for the “extended age” process in a standard G/M/1 queue. These results generalize the expected number of events in a busy period. We also apply the framework to a renewal model with a barrier. We obtain the expected number of renewals required to exceed the barrier.
Association analysis of GABA receptor subunit genes on 5q33 with heroin dependence in a Chinese male population

GABAA receptor subunit genes clustered on 5q33 play a role in the development of alcoholism and methamphetamine use disorder without psychosis. The present study explored the possible contribution of the same subunit genes to the development of heroin dependence. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the GABAA receptor subunits GABRB2, GABRA6, GABRA1, and GABRG2 were examined in 178 male Han Chinese heroin‐dependent and 170 male control subjects. A significant difference in allele frequency for the SNP rs211014 in the GABAAγ2 receptor subunit gene between cases and controls was identified (P = 0.015). A possible mechanism for the involvement of the GABA receptor subunit genes on 5q33 in the development of heroin dependence is discussed. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
L 2-cohomology of Spaces with Non-isolated Conical Singularities and Non-multiplicativity of the Signature

We study from a mostly topological standpoint, the L-signature of certain spaces with non-isolated conical singularities. The contribution from the singularities is identified with a topological invariant of the link fibration of the singularities. This invariant measures the failure of the signature to behave multiplicatively for fibrations for which the boundary of the fibre in nonempty. The result extends easily to cusp singularities and can be used to compute the L cohomology of certain noncompact hyper-kähler manifolds which admit geometrically fibered end structures.
Estimation des risques de maladies dues à des mutations génétique à partir de données familiales

Certaines maladies a âge de debut variable sont dues a la presence de mutation(s) d'un gene. Pour ces maladies, l'estimation precise du risque cumule d'etre atteint a un certain âge chez les porteurs de la mutation (appele fonction de penetrance) permet une meilleure comprehension des mecanismes sous-jacents de la maladie et permet egalement de developper et d'ameliorer des strategies de prevention. L'estimation de la penetrance se fait a partir de donnees familiales recensees sur certains criteres plus ou moins complexes. Cependant, la plupart des etudes utilisent des methodes d'estimation qui ne tiennent pas compte du biais que represente ce recensement, ce qui implique des fonctions de penetrance fortement surestimees. Au cours de cette these, nous nous sommes interesses au developpement de methodes d'estimation de la fonction de penetrance corrigeant pour le recensement des familles. Dans un premier temps, nous avons etudie une methode permettant d'estimer la penetrance quel que soit le mode de recensement des familles. Nous nous sommes ensuite interesses plus particulierement au cas de familles recensees sur l'existence d'au moins un atteint par famille. Dans ce cadre, nous avons developpe une methode d'estimation, que nous avons appelee la PEL, et l'avons comparee a une methode deja existante, la methode prospective. Nous avons montre que la PEL etait moins biaisee que la methode prospective. Nous avons ensuite applique ces methodes a deux jeux de donnees, l'un portant sur des familles francaises et portugaises, atteintes de neuropathie amyloide hereditaire ; l'autre portant sur des familles atteintes de cancer du sein. Nous avons egalement mene une etude sur des familles suedoises atteintes de neuropathie amyloide hereditaire. La PEL est une methode parametrique basee sur un modele de Weibull et nous avons montre qu'elle n'etait pas adaptee lorsque la distribution des donnees s'eloignait fortement de ce modele. Nous avons donc developpe une methode non-parametrique, que nous avons appelee IDEAL, permettant l'estimation de la penetrance en tenant compte du recensement des familles et l'avons comparee a la PEL. Nous avons montre que IDEAL etait moins biaisee lorsque la loi des donnees etait eloignee d'une loi de Weibul.
Electrodermal correlates of hyperactivity in children.

Basal skin conductance, non-specific GSRs, and specific GSRs were studied during 2 experimental sessions with two groups of 12 hyperkinetic children each and a group of 12 matched normal controls. Hyperkinetic children were found to have lower basal skin conductance, fewer and smaller non-specific GSRs, and smaller specific GSRs than those of normal children. Stimulant drugs, which were administered to one group of hyperkinetic children, tended to raise basal level conductance and non-specific GSR activity toward the levels of normal children. A tentative neurophysiological hypothesis is offered to account for these data as well as the clinical observations that stimulant drugs are effective in the treatment of hyperkinetic children.
Traspaso del tipo de cambio y metas de inflación en el Perú

Un fenomeno ampliamente documentado es la disminucion del efecto traspaso del tipo de cambio a la inflacion en la mayoria de paises industrializados y en algunas economias emergentes. Una explicacion macroeconomica, que ha ganado popularidad al explicar esta regularidad, es que una tasa de inflacion baja y estable induce una disminucion del efecto traspaso. Mediante el analisis de un modelo VAR estructural, este articulo presenta evidencia sobre una reduccion similar del efecto traspaso en el Peru, hacia inicios de la decada del 2000. Se argumenta que la adopcion de un regimen creible de inflacion baja ha sido fundamental para reducir el traspaso del tipo de cambio.
Next Generation of Self-Management Education: Web-based Bipolar Disorder Program

Objective: Education and self-management training assist patients with bipolar disorder to take control of their condition and to reduce disability, but the timeliness and availability of the education are important. A free Web-based bipolar education program has been recently developed to provide accessible evidence-based information for patients, carers and health professionals. The present paper describes the nine-module program, reports usage data and user profiles, and overviews the aims and methodology of a randomized controlled trial to measure its impact. Methods: Customized Web reports were developed to measure usage of the Web-based program, and to profile its users on a month-by-month basis. Data on the percentage of completers of each module were also collected. A randomized controlled trial evaluating the program in people with newly diagnosed bipolar disorder was also commenced. Results: More than 8000 visitors used the online program in its first 6 months. Users were predominantly female, of a broad cross-section of ages, 43.5% with bipolar disorder, and with the remainder describing themselves as health professionals, carers/family/friends of a person with bipolar disorder or members of the general public. The majority (76%) completed the sessions they commenced. Conclusions: The Web-based education program is attracting a steady stream of users and is exhibiting good completion rates. This preliminary support for the program's utility requires validation from our randomized controlled trial before definite conclusions can be drawn.
Glutamate‐ and GABA‐containing neurons in the mouse and rat brain, as demonstrated with a new immunocytochemical technique

Antisera were raised against γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) or glutamate (Glu) conjugated to bovine serum albumin with glutaraldehyde. After purification, these antisera reacted strongly with fixed GABA or Glu, but not significantly with other amino acids fixed with glutaraldehyde to brain macromolecules. The antisera were used to demonstrate the distributions of Glu‐like and GABA‐like immunoreactivities (Glu‐LI and GABA‐LI) in parts of the perfusion‐fixed mouse and rat brain, including the olfactory bulb, cerebral neocortex, thalamus, basal ganglia, lower brain stem, and cerebellum.
Fault clustering technique for 3D memory BISR

Three Dimensional (3D) memory has gained a great momentum because of its large storage capacity, bandwidth and etc. A critical challenge for 3D memory is the significant yield loss due to the disruptive integration process: any memory die that cannot be successfully repaired leads to the failure of the whole stack. The repair ratio of each die must be as high as possible to guarantee the overall yield. Existing memory repair methods, however, follow the traditional way of using redundancies: a redundant row/column replaces a row/column containing few or even one faulty cell. We propose a novel technique specifically in 3D memory that can overcome this limitation. It can cluster faulty cells across layers to the same row/column in the same memory array so that each redundant row/column can repair more “faults”. Moreover, it can be applied to the existing repair algorithms. We design the BIST and BISR modules to implement the proposed repair technique. Experimental results show more than 71% enhancement of the repair ratio over the global 3D GESP solution and 80% redundancy-cost reduction, respectively.
Genetic variability of the gene cluster CALHM1–3 in sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

Perturbations of calcium homeostasis have been associated with several neurodegenerative disorders. A common polymorphism (rs2986017) in the CALHM1 gene, coding for a regulator of calcium homeostasis, is a genetic risk factor for the development of Alzheimer disease (AD). Although some authors failed to confirm these results, a meta-analysis has shown that this polymorphism modulates the age at disease onset. Furthermore, a recent association study has explored the genetic variability of CALHM1 gene and two adjacent paralog genes (CALHM3 and CALHM2) in an Asian population. Since several lines of evidence suggest that AD and prion diseases share pathophysiologic mechanisms, we investigated for the first time the genetic variability of the gene cluster formed by CALHM1 and its paralogs in a series of 235 sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) patients, and compared the genotypic and allelic frequencies with those presented in 329 controls from the same ancestry. As such, this work also represents the first association analysis of CALHM genes in sCJD. Sequencing analysis of the complete coding regions of the genes demonstrated the presence of 10 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) within the CALHM genes. We observed that rs4918016-rs2986017-rs2986018 and rs41287502-rs41287500 polymorphic sites at CALHM1 were in linkage disequilibrium. We found marginal associations for sCJD risk at CALHM1 polymorphic sites rs41287502 and rs41287500 [coding for two linked missense mutations (p.(Met323Ile); (Gly282Cys)], and rs2986017 [p.(Leu86Pro)]. Interestingly, a TGG haplotype defined by the rs4918016-rs2986017-rs2986018 block was associated with sCJD. These findings underscore the need of future multinational collaborative initiatives in order to corroborate these seminal data.
Gene silencing in cancer in association with promoter hypermethylation.

This article reviews the mechanisms of gene silencing in cancer and clinical applications of this phenomenon. The silencing of genes, especially tumor-suppressor genes, is a key event in the development of cancer. The silencing can be effected by a disabling mutation or by a shutting down of the promoter region, the site at which transcription of the gene begins.
User Experience Test For A Knowledge-based Tool

This study is built on the prior work done on a proposed knowledge-based tool in facilitating course exemption process in Institution of Higher Learning in Malaysia. In this study, an experiment is carried out in the faculty and the purpose of the experiment is to allow end users to evaluate the prototype, at the same time gather further requirements from the end users. This experiment is carried out at a business faculty and ten respondents who made up of dean, associate deans and program leaders are involved in the experiment to evaluate the usability of the tool. The evaluation report shows that the respondents are not fully satisfied with the proposed tool although the idea of developing the tool is good. However, they find the tool useful and help to increase the efficiency of their work. Even though the proposed knowledgebased tool, which contains knowledge-based engine, is not meant to replace program leaders, it is supposed to facilitate and make recommendation to the program leaders during the course exemption process. It is believed by doing so; the program leaders are able to conduct their work efficiently and effectively.
Ile-177 and Ser-180 in the S1 Segment Are Critically Important in Kv1.1 Channel Function*

Ile-177 and Ser-180 are conserved residues in the first transmembrane segment (S1) of theShaker, Shab, Shaw, and Shalsubfamilies of voltage-gated K+ channels. Here we report that the mutation of these residues in Kv1.1 to leucine, proline, or arginine abolished the expression of outward potassium currents inXenopus oocytes. Co-injection of these mutant cRNAs and wild type Kv1.1 cRNA into Xenopus oocytes exerted a potent dominant negative effect resulting in the suppression of Kv1.1-encoded currents. Transient transfection experiments of COS-7 cells revealed that the S1 mutants directed the synthesis of Kv1.1 polypeptides. Quantitative co-immunoprecipitation assays revealed that most of the S1 mutants co-assembled and formed both homo- and heteromultimeric complexes. Furthermore, the mutated polypeptides could reach the plasma membranes of transfected Sol8 cells. We conclude that mutations of Ile-177 and Ser-180 do not interfere with either the assembly of multimeric channel complexes or the targeting of these complexes to the plasma membrane. It is likely that these residues are involved in helix-helix interactions that are critical to the proper functioning of voltage-gated potassium channels.
Expression of human adenosine deaminase in murine hematopoietic cells

Multiple replication-defective retrovirus vectors were tested for their ability to transfer and express human adenosine deaminase in vitro and in vivo in a mouse bone marrow transplantation model. High-titer virus production was obtained from vectors by using both a retrovirus long terminal repeat promoter and internal transcriptional units with human c-fos and herpes virus thymidine kinase promoters. After infection of primary murine bone marrow with one of these vectors, human adenosine deaminase was detected in 60 to 85% of spleen colony-forming units and in the blood of 14 of 14 syngeneic marrow transplant recipients. This system offers the opportunity to assess methods for increasing efficiency of gene transfer, for regulation of expression of foreign genes in hematopoietic progenitors, and for long-term measurement of the stability of expression in these cells.
Fluoride varnish in the prevention of dental caries in children and adolescents: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE To develop a scientifically current and evidence-based protocol for the use of fluoride varnish for the prevention of dental caries among high-risk children and adolescents. METHODS Previous systematic reviews on this topic were used as the basis for the current review. Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL and several other relevant bibliographic databases were searched for English-language articles, with human subjects, published from 2000 to 2007. RESULTS A total of 105 articles were identified by the literature search; relevance was determined by examining the title, abstract and body of the article. Seven original research studies met the inclusion criteria. These articles were read and scored independently by 2 reviewers, and evidence was extracted for systematic review. RECOMMENDATIONS The following recommendations were developed on the basis of the evidence: 1. For high-risk populations (e.g., people with low socioeconomic status, new immigrants and refugees, First Nations and Inuit children and adolescents), fluoride varnish should be applied twice a year, unless the individual has no risk of caries, as indicated by past and current caries history. This schedule of application would permit sealants to be checked biannually to ensure retention. 2. Single-dose packages of fluoride varnish should be used for children; the varnish in such packages should be stirred vigorously before application, to ensure that any precipitated fluoride is redissolved. 3. There is good evidence of the complementary efficacy of preventive strategies such as sealants and varnish, as well as toothbrushing and nutritional counselling; oral health care programs should therefore include as many complementary strategies as possible.
Quantal evoked depolarizations underlying the excitatory junction potential of the guinea‐pig isolated vas deferens

1 The effects of a putative gap junction uncoupling agent, heptanol, on the intracellularly recorded junction potentials of the guinea‐pig isolated vas deferens have been investigated. 2 After the stimulation‐evoked excitatory junction potentials (EJPs) had been suppressed by heptanol (2.0 mm) to undetectable levels, a different pattern of evoked activity ensued. This consisted of transient depolarizations that were similar to EJPs in being stimulus locked and in occurring at a fixed latency, but differed from EJPs in that they occurred intermittently and had considerably briefer time courses. 3 Analysis of the amplitudes and temporal parameters of the rapid residual depolarizations revealed a close similarity with spontaneous EJPs (SEJPs). There was no statistically significant difference between the rise times, time constants of decay and durations of the rapid residual depolarizations and of SEJPs. 4 Selected evoked depolarizations were virtually identical to SEJPs occurring in the same cell. Evoked depolarizations of closely similar amplitude and time course also occurred, usually within a few stimuli of each other. 5 These depolarizations appear to represent the individual quantal depolarizations that normally underlie the EJP and are therefore termed ‘quantal excitatory junction potentials’ (QEJPs) to distinguish them from both EJPs and SEJPs. 6 We examined the possibility that heptanol revealed QEJPs by disrupting electrical coupling between cells in the smooth muscle syncytium. Heptanol (2.0 mm) had no effect on the amplitude distribution, time courses, or the frequency of occurrence of SEJPs. Intracellular input impedance (Rin) of smooth muscle cells was left unaltered by heptanol. 7 ‘Cable’ potentials of the vas deferens, recorded using the partition stimulation method, also remained unchanged in the presence of heptanol. Thus, heptanol appeared not to modify syncytial electrical properties of the smooth muscle in any significant way. 8 Our observations show directly that the quantal depolarizations underlying the EJP in syncytial smooth muscle are SEJP‐like events. However, no unequivocal statement can be made about the mechanism by which heptanol unmasks QEJPs from EJPs.
Pure type systems with explicit substitution

We define an extension of pure type systems with explicit substitution. We show that the type systems with explicit substitution are strongly normalizing iff their ordinary counterparts are. Subject reduction is shown to fail in general but a weaker, though still useful, subject reduction property is established. A more complicated extension is proposed for which subject reduction does hold in general.
A low voltage low power four quadrant analog multiplier using submicron technology

This paper presents a new four quadrant voltage mode analog multiplier using square rooting circuit. The proposed circuit can work for low voltage and low power applications as it uses flipped voltage follower cell. The circuit is designed using 0. 18μm CMOS technology and its simulations have been carried out using Cadence Virtuoso environment. The circuit is operated under the supply voltage of 1V and the differential input signals peak to peak voltages of 40mV. The worst case power consumption has been measured from the simulation results as 14μW. Moreover −3dB bandwidth of the circuit has been found to be 530MHz. the operation of the multiplier as a frequency doubler is also verified.