Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Anaerobic treatment of raw domestic sewage at ambient temperatures using a granular bed UASB reactor

Results obtained in a 120 liter 2 m high UASB‐reactor with raw domestic sewage and using a granular sugar beet waste cultivated seed sludge, reveal the feasibility of this type of anaerobic treatment for domestic sewage. Under dry weather conditions 65‐85% COD reduction can be achieved at temperatures in the range of 8‐20°C and at hydraulic loads as high as 2 m3 · m−3 · day−1. In the case of heavy rainfall the COD‐reduction drops to 50‐70% and occasionally, viz.at very low influent COD, even below 50%. The net methane production amounts to 7.1‐7.3 m3 · PE−1 · year−1, and the excess sludge production ranges form 5.0‐8.6 kg TS · PE−1 · year−1. Regarding the results obtained anaerobic treatment of raw sewage not only looks an attractive proposition for tropic areas but also for moderate climatic areas.
Calciphylaxis: Pathogenesis and Therapy

Background: Calciphylaxis is a rare, painful and debilitating disease in which calcification of the skin and subcutaneous tissues or of internal organs can lead to skin necrosis, discolouration, and other skin lesions. The typical patient has end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and hyperparathyroidism. Selye originally characterized this syndrome in rats and distinguished it from other syndromes of abnormal calcification by the following sequence: sensitizers, latent period, and challengers. There has been recent debate regarding misdiagnosis and failure to differentiate this category of patients even in clinical studies. Objective: In this article the clinical manifestations of calciphylaxis are described; the importance of distinguishing this condition from other calcification syndromes is explained; risk factors, sensitizers, and challenges are reviewed; treatments of choice are discussed; and the merits of parathyroidectomy are evaluated. Conclusion: It is important to consider calciphylaxis in a differential diagnosis of calcification syndromes and in treating patients with ESRD and hyperparathyroidism, because early diagnosis and treatment can interrrupt the progression of the disease process; the disease is painful and debilitating; and inappropriate treatment such as corticosteroid administration may aggravate the condition. Skin biopsy is an important diagnostic tool when the condition is suspected. Parathyroidectomy may be justified because the untreated disease itself has significant rates of morbidity and mortality and because this treatment occasionally leads to dramatic clinical improvement.
Exposure to acrylamide and human cancer--a review and meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies.

BACKGROUND Acrylamide has been associated to cancer risk in rodents, but data on humans are inconclusive. We thus carried out a critical review and meta-analysis of studies of exposure to acrylamide and cancer. METHODS We identified 586 publications, 25 presented relevant results. We conducted meta-analyses of studies of dietary intake based on random-effects models by calculating pooled relative risks (RR) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI). We combined results of occupational studies according to a fixed-effect model. RESULTS The summary RRs for an increase of 10 μg/day of acrylamide intake were close to unity for all the cancers considered, ranging from 0.98 for esophageal cancer to 1.01 for colon, endometrial, ovarian and kidney cancer. None of the estimates was significant. Exclusion of one case-control study from Sweden resulted in a summary RR of kidney cancer of 1.04 (95% CI 1.00-1.08). The combined standardized mortality ratios for high occupational exposure were 1.67 (95% CI 0.83-2.99) for pancreatic cancer and 2.22 (95% CI 0.81-4.84) for kidney cancer. CONCLUSIONS Available studies consistently suggest a lack of an increased risk of most types of cancer from exposure to acrylamide. The main association that requires further monitoring involves kidney cancer.
Phase‐coupled oscillator models can predict hippocampal inhibitory synaptic connections

What factors are responsible for propagating electrical activity in the hippocampus? Using an intact, isolated hippocampus preparation, it is possible to observe spontaneous delta (≤ 4 Hz) waves of rhythmic field potentials. These rhythmic potentials are inhibitory in nature, mediated by GABAergic inhibitory potentials originating from a population of principal neurons. They start in the ventro‐temporal region and move longitudinally towards the dorso‐septal region with a phase lag of ≈ 10% between the extracellular recordings. We use the mathematical framework of phase‐coupled oscillators (PCO) to gain some insight into the underlying network system. A chain of 15 nearest‐neighbour bidirectionally coupled PCOs is used where each oscillator refers to a segment of the CA1 region of the hippocampus that can generate these slow field potentials. We find that ventro‐dorsal delta waves exist if there is a dominance in coupling strength in one direction. Without a one‐way coupling dominance, ventro‐dorsal waves can still exist, but then the coupling strengths need to be much larger. The relationship between entrained and intrinsic frequencies and the variation of propagation speeds along the longitudinal axis can be used to determine which case applies. Currently available experimental data supports one of the cases, predicting that there is a stronger ventral to dorsal inhibitory effect.
Concentration and quality of hospitals that care for elderly black patients.

BACKGROUND The reasons for racial differences in health care are not well known, but the characteristics of hospitals where people receive care may be an important factor in the quality of care that patients receive. Therefore, we sought to determine the proportion and volume of elderly black vs white patients treated at hospitals and examine the characteristics and performances of hospitals that care for disproportionately high volumes of black patients. METHODS We used 2004 Medicare data to calculate, for each hospital in our study, the volume and proportion of black patients discharged. We then examined the hospitals' structural characteristics and performances according to quality measures for patients with acute myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, and pneumonia. RESULTS The 5% of hospitals with the highest volume of black patients cared for nearly half of all elderly black patients, and the hospitals in the top quartile by volume of patients cared for nearly 90% of elderly black patients. Hospitals with a high volume of black patients were larger and were more often teaching hospitals located in the southern United States (P<.001 for each comparison) than those with a low volume of black patients. Hospitals with a high proportion of black patients had comparable characteristics. After adjusting for hospital characteristics, hospitals that treated a high vs low volume of black patients had worse performance summary scores for acute myocardial infarction (89.0 vs 90.7; P = .002) and pneumonia measures (76.9 vs 79.4; P<.001). Adjusting for hospital referral region eliminated the gap in performance scores for acute myocardial infarction but not for pneumonia. There were comparable differences in performance scores for hospitals that treated a high vs low proportion of black patients. CONCLUSIONS Hospital care for black patients in the United States is remarkably concentrated in a small percentage of hospitals, although the hospitals that care for a high proportion of black patients have only marginally worse quality of care than those that care for a low proportion of black patients. The level of concentration of black patients provides a fresh opportunity to improve care for black patients by targeting efforts toward a small group of hospitals.
Oxide-Relief and Zn-Diffusion 850-nm Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers With Extremely Low Energy-to-Data-Rate Ratios for 40 Gbit/s Operations

We demonstrate novel structures of a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) for high-speed (~40 Gbit/s) operation with ultralow power consumption performance. Downscaling the size of oxide aperture of VCSELs is one of the most effective ways to reduce the power consumption during high-speed operation. However, such miniaturized oxide apertures (~2 μm diameter) in VCSELs will result in a large differential resistance, optical single-mode output, and a small maximum output power (<; 1 mW). These characteristics seriously limit the maximum electrical-to-optical (E-O) bandwidth and device reliability. By the use of the oxide-relief and Zn-diffusion techniques in our demonstrated 850-nm VCSELs, we can not only release the burden imposed on downscaling the current-confined aperture for high speed with low-power consumption performance, but can also manipulate the number of optical modes inside the cavity to maximize the E-O bandwidth and product of bit-rate transmission distance in an OM4 fiber. State-of-the-art dynamic performances at both room temperature and 85 °C operations can be achieved by the use of our device. These include extremely high D-factors (~13.5 GHz/mA1/2), as well as record-low energy-to-data ratios (EDR: 140 fJ/bit) at 34 Gbit/s operation, and error-free transmission over a 0.8-km OM4 multimode fiber with a record-low energy-to-data distance ratio (EDDR: 175.5 fJ/bit.km) at 25 Gbit/s.
Experimental extraction of shared secret key from fluctuations of multipath channel at moving a mobile transceiver in an urban environment

The Wireless Key Distribution is one of the most promising and fast growing areas in modern applied cryptography. This area covers various techniques of secure secret key distribution between two legitimate users who share a common radio channel with unpredictable signal fading in a multipath environment. In essence, the pair of legitimate nodes uses their multipath radio channel as a source of common randomness to establish a shared encryption key. There are a number of studies have been presented in recent publications devoted to experimental implementation of the Wireless Key Distribution using random variations in the received power of fading signal. Despite a number of valuable benefits, there is a much fewer experimental verifications of phase method with all of them are limited to a key distribution within some indoor environments only. Apparently, this is due to the technical difficulties of precise synchronization of legitimate users' equipment to provide coherent carrier phase measurements in a microwave radio frequency range. In this regard, our experiments can be considered as the first experimental verification of secure Wireless Key Distribution by observing random variations in the carrier phase of multipath signal at moving a mobile user within a real outdoor environment. To perform this, we used wireless Internet transmission of concurrent service data to maintain a required level of synchronization of one stationary and one mobile legal nodes. Despite the humble key generation rates we have achieved in practice, our results show possibility of secure wireless key distribution between the base station and mobile subscriber in a cellular communications scenario.
Ground leakage current reduction in single-phase current source inverter topologies

This paper presents a grid-tied single phase photovoltaic microinverter based on Current Source Inverter (CSI) topology. The main topic of this work is related to the identification of a topology and a PWM strategy able to minimize the obvious issues of the basic CSI solution: efficiency and ground leakage current. The strong reduction of this last issue allows the use of the proposed solution in conjunction with Photovoltaic module in building integrated installations. Simulation results and a low voltage experimental validation present the effectiveness of the proposed solution in mitigating ground leakage currents.
A configurable dual-H type planar slot antenna applicable for communication well

A communication well is a well digged underground for data communication with base station using a specific antenna. To use communication wells, there is a need to design the specific antenna working at 836 MHz and 881 MHz frequency with each bandwidth of 50 MHz. The antenna should be embedded on the side of the well so that it does not take much room and the antenna should have a certain radiation direction. To meet requirements, a configurable dual-H type planar slot antenna with adjustable antenna directivity has been designed, fabricated and measured as part of out work. In this paper we studied the influence of edge structure on the antenna directivity and find out that antenna's radiation directivity is adjustable. By carefully designing the edge structure, we obtained the desired radiation pattern. All antenna parameters are optimized. Our work shows that the return loss of proposed antenna is -19 dB at 836 MHz and -15 dB at 881 MHz. The bandwidth spans from 800 MHz to 1 GHz. The measured maximum gain at each frequency is around 3 dB at a fixed direction. The measured results show that the propoesed antenna is applicable for communication wells.
Molecular phenotyping of human ovarian cancer stem cells unravels the mechanisms for repair and chemoresistance

A major burden in the treatment of ovarian cancer is the high percentage of recurrence and chemoresistance. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) provide a reservoir of cells that can self-renew, can maintain the tumor by generating differentiated cells [non-stem cells (non-CSCs)] which make up the bulk of the tumor and may be the primary source of recurrence. We describe the characterization of human ovarian cancer stem cells (OCSCs). These cells have a distinctive genetic profile that confers them with the capacity to recapitulate the original tumor, proliferate with chemotherapy, and promote recurrence. CSC identified in EOC cells isolated form ascites and solid tumors are characterized by: CD44+, MyD88+, constitutive NFκB activity and cytokine and chemokine production, high capacity for repair, chemoresistance to conventional chemotherapies, resistance to TNFα-mediated apoptosis, capacity to form spheroids in suspension, and the ability to recapitulate in vivo the original tumor. Chemotherapy eliminates the bulk of the tumor but it leaves a core of cancer cells with high capacity for repair and renewal. The molecular properties identified in these cells may explain some of the unique characteristics of CSCs that control self-renewal and drive metastasis. The identification and cloning of human OCSCs can aid in the development of better therapeutic approaches for ovarian cancer patients.
Inference for case–control studies when exposure status is both informatively missing and misclassified

In case–control studies, it is common for a categorical exposure variable to be misclassified. It is also common for exposure status to be informatively missing for some individuals, in that the probability of missingness may be related to exposure. Procedures for addressing the bias due to misclassification via validation data have been extensively studied, and related methods have been proposed for dealing with informative missingness based on supplemental sampling of some of those with missing data. In this paper, we introduce study designs and analytic procedures for dealing with both problems simultaneously in a 2×2 analysis. Results based on convergence in probability illustrate that the combined effects of missingness and misclassification, even when the latter is non‐differential, can lead to naïve exposure odds ratio estimates that are inflated or on the wrong side of the null. The motivating example comes from a case–control study of the association between low birth weight and the diagnosis of breast cancer later in life, where self‐reported birth weight for some women is supplemented by accurate information from birth certificates. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Role of Oxidative Stress in Intrauterine Growth Restriction

Aims: The objectives of this study were to determine the role of oxidative stress in intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and to investigate the possible molecular mechanism(s) leading to oxidant stress in IUGR. Methods: Parameters of the oxidative and antioxidant system were evaluated in maternal plasma, umbilical cord blood, and placental tissue of pregnant women with IUGR fetuses. The same samples were obtained from women with normal pregnancies and were evaluated. Results: The results of this study indicate that while the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and xanthine oxidase (XO) were higher in maternal plasma, umbilical cord plasma, and placental tissues of the patients with IUGR when compared to the control group [MDA: 142.8 ± 18.0 vs. 86.4 ± 22.5 nmol/ml, 151.6 ± 25.8 vs. 93.3 ± 7.4 nmol/ml, and 0.72 ± 0.19 vs. 0.42 ± 0.09 nmol/mg protein, respectively (for all p < 0.0005); XO: 1.251 ± 0.674 vs. 0.20 ± 0.019 mIU/ml (p < 0.0005), 1.97 ± 0.73 vs. 0.237 ± 0.143 mIU/ml (p < 0.0005), and 0.023 ± 0.0012 vs. 0.012 ± 0.004 mIU/ml (p < 0.025), respectively], the levels of antioxidant potential were identified to be lower in maternal plasma, umbilical cord plasma, and placental tissues of the patients with IUGR: 63.3 ± 11.9 vs. 198.0 ± 31.9 U/ml (p < 0.0005), 32.6 ± 3.7 vs. 206.5 ± 27.1 U/ml (p < 0.0005), and 0.56 ± 0.23 vs. 1.16 ± 0.29 U/ml (p < 0.0005), respectively. On the other hand, the activities of adenosine deaminase of the IUGR patients were higher than those of the control group in maternal plasma (204.8 ± 103.5 vs. 115.6 ± 31.8 U/l, p < 0.01) and umbilical cord blood samples (584.2 ± 285.2 vs. 147.9 ± 44.8 U/l, p < 0.0005) which may suggest that oxidative stress has a role in IUGR. Moreover, an increased superoxide dismutase activity in maternal plasma (128.2 ± 37.4 vs. 88.8 ± 16.6 U/ml, p < 0.005) and cord blood (162.1 ± 37.0 vs. 116.6 ± 20.7 U/ml, p < 0.005) and an increased glutathione peroxidase activity in maternal plasma (1.83 ± 0.26 vs. 1.47 ± 0.31 IU/ml, p < 0.01) and placental tissue (0.007 ± 0.0015 vs. 0.003 ± 0.0012 IU/ml, p < 0.0005) were detected, while decreased catalase activities in cord blood (23,717 ± 3,538 vs. 16,397 ± 2,771 IU/ml, p < 0.0005) and placental tissue (47.2 ± 17.2 vs. 70.7 ± 11.3 IU/ml, p < 0.005) were identified in IUGR groups. Conclusions: In the light of the results of this study, it can be stated that the oxidative stress increases in patients with IUGR. Providing high-risk patients with an antioxidant may be useful in the prevention or treatment of IUGR, although it is a condition with no certain treatment outcome.
Gene Expression Studies Using Microarrays

1. The rapid progression of the collaborative sequencing programmes that are unravelling the complete genome sequences of many organisms are opening pathways for new approaches to gene analysis. As the sequence data become available, the bottleneck in biological research will shift to understanding the role of each of these genes. Techniques that enable the analysis of large sets of genes in one experiment will elucidate the interactions of genes in diverse biological systems.
Highly sensitive photodetectors based on organic-inorganic heterostructure

We demonstrate hybrid Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) photodetector incorporating a thin layer of highly absorbing organic j-aggregate molecules. Due to nearly perfect emission-absorption spectral overlap between the organic-inorganic materials, more than threefold increase in the photoresponsivity was observed in such hybrid devices.
Contributions from radiation damping and surface scattering to the linewidth of the longitudinal plasmon band of gold nanorods: a single particle study.

The scattering spectra of single gold nanorods with aspect ratios between 2 and 4 have been examined by dark field microscopy. The results show that the longitudinal plasmon resonance (electron oscillation along the long axis of the rod) broadens as the width of the rods decreases from 14 to 8 nm. This is attributed to electron surface scattering. Analysis of the data using gamma = gamma(bulk) + Anu(F)/L(eff), where L(eff) is the effective path length of the electrons and nu(F) is the Fermi velocity, allows us to determine a value for the surface scattering parameter of A = 0.3. Larger rods with widths of 19 and 30 nm were also examined. These samples also show spectral broadening, which is attributed to radiation damping. The relative strengths of the surface scattering and radiation damping effects are in excellent agreement with recent work on spherical gold nanoparticles by Sönnichsen et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. , 2002, 88, 077402; and by Berciaud et al., Nano Lett. , 2005, 5, 515.
Language delay in a community cohort of young children.

OBJECTIVE To document the prevalence of expressive language delay in relation to age and gender in 12- to 39-month-old children. To document the characteristics, particularly social competence and emotional/behavioral problems, related to deficits in expressive language. METHOD Parents of an age- and sex-stratified random sample of children born at Yale New Haven Hospital between July 1995 and September 1997 who lived in the New Haven Meriden Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area were enrolled when their children were 12 to 39 months of age (79.8% participation;N = 1,189). The main outcome for these analyses is expressive language delay measured by the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory, short forms. RESULTS Expressive language delays range from 13.5% in 18- to 23-month-olds to 17.5% in children 30 to 36 months of age. By 18 to 23 months, children are more likely to experience delays if they come from environments characterized by low education, low expressiveness, poverty, high levels of parenting stress, and parents who report worry about their children's language problems. When social competence is adjusted for in the multivariable model, behavior problems are no longer associated with language delay, suggesting that poor social competence rather than behavior problems may be the critical early correlate of low expressive language development. CONCLUSIONS Expressive language delays are prevalent problems that appear to be associated with poor social competence. Given that such problems may be risk factors for social and emotional problems, early identification is critical.
Urined-Arabinitol/l-Arabinitol Ratio in Diagnosis of Invasive Candidiasis in Newborn Infants

ABSTRACT Infants treated in neonatal intensive care units suffer an increased risk for invasive candidiasis, but the diagnosis is sometimes difficult. d-arabinitol is a metabolite of most pathogenic Candida species. An elevated urine d-arabinitol/l-arabinitol (DA/LA) ratio is a sensitive sign of invasive candidiasis in children with cancer, but the method has not been previously evaluated for newborn infants. We therefore enrolled 117 infants in a neonatal intensive care unit, and 411 urine samples were obtained on filter paper. The DA/LA ratio was measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. For 81 infants with no suspicion of superficial or invasive candidiasis, the urine DA/LA ratio was 2.7 ± 0.7 (mean ± standard deviation [SD]). The upper cutoff level was set at 4.8 (mean plus 3 SD). Of 22 infants with mucocutaneous candidiasis and not given systemic antifungal treatment, two had elevated DA/LA ratios, which normalized after removal of intravascular catheters. Eight other infants were given empiric antifungal treatment but had negative cultures; five of these had repeatedly elevated DA/LA ratios. Six infants with culture-positive invasive candidiasis all had one or more samples with elevated ratios. For seven infants, three with suspected and four with confirmed invasive candidiasis (for which follow-up samples were available), ratios normalized during antifungal treatment. In conclusion, urine DA/LA ratio determination is a rapid test and can be used for newborns. It is possibly more sensitive than fungal blood cultures in the diagnosis of invasive candidiasis and can also be used for monitoring the effect of antifungal treatment.