Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance limit of long-distance WDM dispersion-managed transmission system using higher order dispersion compensation fibers

In conventional long-distance wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) dispersion-managed transmission systems, since both the dispersion-shifted fiber (DSF) and the standard single-mode fiber (SMF) have positive dispersion slope, perfect dispersion compensation can be achieved only for a single wavelength channel. The transmission window of such systems is severely limited by the interplay between the self-phase modulation and the residual dispersion. In contrast, WDM dispersion managed systems comprised of a SMF followed by a higher order dispersion compensation fiber (DCF) with opposite second- and third-order dispersions can clear out this drawback. We investigate the performance limit of 1D-, 2D-, and 40-Gb/s WDM systems employing the higher order DCF by extensive computer simulations.
Tell Me What Your Blood β-Carotene Level Is, I Will Tell You What Your Health Risk Is! The Viewpoint of the SUVIMAX Researchers

(a randomized, double-blind, primary placebo-controlled intervention trial conducted in France between 1994 and 2003 on 12,735 adults) showing that 7.5 years of low-dose antioxidant supplementation (including 6 mg -carotene/day) lowered the total cancer incidence and mortality rate in men but not in women [8] . A hypothesis to explain the gender difference observed in our study could be that men have lower baseline levels of certain antioxidants, especially -carotene. Likewise, the same type of argument could explain the protective effect of the antioxidant supplementation in the Chinese trial performed in a population with globally low serum -carotene levels. Moreover, randomized placebo-controlled primary prevention trials, in which  -carotene alone or in combination with other antioxidant supplements was given at high doses (20–30 mg/day) over long periods to wellnourished populations, have not been able to prove this potential beneficial effect, and 2 of these trials even suggested harmful effects [9–14] . The seemingly contradictory results of these randomized trials could be explained by the different doses (pharmacological vs. nutritional), the health status of the participants (healthy vs. selected for risk factors) and, in particular, the baseline -carotene status of the population (which differs by gender and/or nutritional status). Finally, after the publication of the negative effects of some of these trials, hopes that were raised in the 1980s Background
The impact of transceiver distortions on the spectral properties of random CDMA with constant envelope

This paper studies the robustness of spreading sequences designed for random code-division multiple-access (CDMA) schemes with continuous-time constant envelope (CE) against transmitter impairments. It is shown that by taking into account the impairments of a real implementation the investigated design algorithm finds a set of spreading waveforms with exactly constant envelope which would even satisfy the transmit signal spectrum requirements of the 3rd generation Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) standard. This shows that CE CDMA is compatible with linear CDMA while achieving higher power efficiency and supporting the usage of standard linear multiuser detection algorithms.
SOME COMMENTS ON THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS TO LATITUDE, SOLAR RADIATION, AND OTHER VARIABLES

There is abundant evidence that in general multiple sclerosis is more prevalent in high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere than in low latitudes (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Although the evidence is at present meager, a similar relationship may hold in the Southern Hemisphere (4). The meaning of this relationship has exercised many minds (5); race, climate, the distribution of trace elements, diet, and the availability of facilities for diagnosis have all been considered. The present paper demonstrates a high degree of correlation between the distribution of multiple sclerosis in U. S . veterans by birthplace, and latitude. An attempt is made to identify more meaningful variables correlated with latitude which may have a bearing on the etiology of the disease.
An Examination of DSM-IV Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms and Risk for Death by Suicide: A Psychological Autopsy Study

Objective: To clarify whether certain Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms are more prevalent among people who die by suicide, and thereby better predict suicide risk. Method: A psychological autopsy method with best informants was used to investigate DSM-IV BPD symptoms and suicide risk among people who died by suicide and met criteria for BPD (n = 62), and BPD control subjects (n = 35). Results: BPD symptoms in people who died by suicide were less likely to include affective instability and paranoid ideation–dissociative symptoms. The negative association between paranoid ideation–dissociative symptoms and suicide was independent of all other BPD symptoms, Cluster B comorbidity, and alcohol dependence. Conclusions: We found that discrete DSM-IV BPD symptoms differentiate people with BPD who die by suicide and those who do not. People with BPD who go on to die by suicide appear to constitute a specific subgroup of those who meet criteria for BPD, characterized by different general clinical presentation, but also by different characteristics within BPD.
Parental Bonding and Adult Attachment Styles in Different Types of Stalker *

Abstract: Attachment theory is one of the earliest and most vigorously promoted explanations of the psychological processes that underlie stalking behavior. Insecure attachment has been proposed as impairing the management of relationships, thus increasing the propensity to stalk. The current study explored the parental bonding and adult attachment styles of 122 stalkers referred to a specialist forensic clinic. Stalkers were grouped according to two common classification methods: relationship and motivation. Compared to general community samples, stalkers were more likely to remember their parents as emotionally neglectful and have insecure adult attachment styles, with the degree of divergence varying according to stalker type and mode of classification. In offering support for the theoretical proposition that stalking evolves from pathological attachment, these findings highlight the need to consider attachment in the assessment and management of stalkers. Also emphasized is the importance of taking classification methods into account when interpreting and evaluating stalking research.
Natural inflation with pseudo Nambu-Goldstone bosons.

We show that a pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson, with a potential of the form V(d) = A’[1 f cos(+/f)], can naturally give rise to an epoch of infiation in the early universe. Successful inflation can be achieved if f - mpl and A - rn~u~. Such mass scales arise in particle physics models with a large gauge group that becomes strongly interacting at a scale * A, e.g., as can happen in the hidden sector of superstring theories. The density fluctuation spectrum is non-scale-invariant, with extra power on large length scales.
Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery in Heart Failure Patients with Chronic Reversible and Irreversible Myocardial Dysfunction: Effect on Heart Rate Variability

It is unknown whether surgical revascularization of viable and chronic reversibly dysfunctional myocardium in patients with heart failure is associated with a favorable effect on the autonomic control of heart rate. We studied 38 coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) patients with an ejection fraction of 36 ± 7%. Before CABG, the patients underwent 48-hour ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring to measure heart rate variability (HRV), echocardiography to assess left ventricular function, and positron emission tomography and low-dose dobutamine echocardiography to assess viability. Six months after CABG, ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring and echocardiography were repeated to assess HRV and recovery of left ventricular function. In spite of viable myocardium and recovery of left ventricular function following CABG, HRV indices were reduced 6 months postoperatively. A potential prognostic benefit gained by revascularizing patients with viability may occur in spite of deteriorated autonomic control of heart rate.
Pax6 Influences the Time and Site of Origin of Glial Precursors in the Ventral Neural Tube

Neuroepithelial precursors in the ventral ventricular zone (VZ) of the spinal cord generate motor neurons (MNs) and interneurons, and then a subset of precursors starts to produce oligodendrocyte progenitors (OLPs). We show that OLPs originate in the ventral-most part of the Pax6-positive VZ, which at earlier times generates somatic (Isl2/Lim3-positive) MNs. In Small eye (Pax6-deficient) mice, the origin of OLPs is shifted dorsally and both OLPs and Isl2/Lim3 MNs are delayed. We suggest that somatic MNs and OLPs are generated sequentially from a common set of MN-OL precursors whose position in the VZ is influenced by Pax6. Neuron-glia fate switching might be a preprogrammed property of these precursors or a response to feedback from newly generated neurons. OLs developed normally in explants of Isl1(-/-) spinal cords, which lack MNs, arguing against feedback control and suggesting that the neuron-glia switch is an intrinsic developmental program in a specific subset of neural precursors.
Doherty Goes Digital: Digitally Enhanced Doherty Power Amplifiers

Efficiency enhancement techniques for high-power amplification systems are now mature technologies, with Doherty power amplifiers (PAs) being widely used in field-deployed wireless base stations. A typical Doherty PA consists of two parallel amplifiers (a carrier amplifier, biased in class-AB, and a peaking amplifier, biased in class-C), an input analog splitter, and a nonisolated output power combiner. The operation of the Doherty PA is based on an active load modulation mechanism, which allows the carrier and peaking amplifiers to operate into optimal load-impedance trajectories that vary according to the amplitude of the input signal. This, in principle, results in increasing the average efficiency of the Doherty PA without compromising its linearity.
Absorptive Capacities and the Impact of FDI on Economic Growth

This paper analyzes the necessary local conditions required for the existence of positive spillovers from multinationals' entry and it consists of a unified study of absorptive capacities. We start from the idea that FDI speeds up the diffusion of technologies across countries. Yet, the question that arises is: to what extent are these advanced technologies absorbed and successfully internalized by the receiving countries such that they materialize in welfare gains? The impact of FDI depends on the country specific absorptive capacity. We first interact FDI individually with different growth determinants and we find that the contribution of FDI to economic growth is positive and significant depending on the level of human capital and the development of financial markets, but its presence in developing countries must complement rather than substitute a set of other growth determinants. Then we test the robustness of the linear interaction terms relative to each other and we analyze the set of conditions that are most beneficial for FDI.
Structural Basis for Potent Cross-Neutralizing Human Monoclonal Antibody Protection against Lethal Human and Zoonotic Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Challenge

ABSTRACT Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) emerged in 2002, and detailed phylogenetic and epidemiological analyses have suggested that it originated from animals. The spike (S) glycoprotein has been identified as a major component of protective immunity, and 23 different amino acid changes were noted during the expanding epidemic. Using a panel of SARS-CoV recombinants bearing the S glycoproteins from isolates representing the zoonotic and human early, middle, and late phases of the epidemic, we identified 23 monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) with neutralizing activity against one or multiple SARS-CoV spike variants and determined the presence of at least six distinct neutralizing profiles in the SARS-CoV S glycoprotein. Four of these MAbs showed cross-neutralizing activity against all human and zoonotic S variants in vitro, and at least three of these were mapped in distinct epitopes using escape mutants, structure analyses, and competition assays. These three MAbs (S109.8, S227.14, and S230.15) were tested for use in passive vaccination studies using lethal SARS-CoV challenge models for young and senescent mice with four different homologous and heterologous SARS-CoV S variants. Both S227.14 and S230.15 completely protected young and old mice from weight loss and virus replication in the lungs for all viruses tested, while S109.8 completely protected mice from weight loss and clinical signs in the presence of viral titers. We conclude that a single human MAb can confer broad protection against lethal challenge with multiple zoonotic and human SARS-CoV isolates, and we identify a robust cocktail formulation that targets distinct epitopes and minimizes the likely generation of escape mutants.
PageRank based semantic similarity measure on a graph based Turkish WordNet

Semantic similarity of texts is one of the important areas of Natural Language Processing, and there are several approaches to measure similarity: statistical, WordNet based, and hybrid. For all of these approaches, a lexical knowledge is used such as corpus or semantic network. WordNet is one of the most preferred and mature lexical knowledge base. In this study, we have focused on measuring semantic similarity of Turkish words with a graph based Turkish WordNet. In order to measure semantic similarities, a PageRank based application was chosen. For testing the success of the proposed system, RG65 standard similarity dataset was translated to Turkish and used as benchmark data. Similarity results of the translated RG65 dataset are computed using Turkish WordNet. Result of the computation shows ρ=0.543 correlation with human judgement. Taking into account that Turkish WordNet is very limited in term of number of words and there is no study in this area for Turkish language, it is considered that also the low success for this study is acceptable.
ERK Inhibition Attenuates 5-HT-Induced Contractions in Fetal and Adult Ovine Carotid Arteries

Growth and differentiation-related pathways are much more active in immature than in mature, fully differentiated smooth muscle. Because mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) are intimately involved with growth and differentiation, and the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) subfamily of MAPKs are involved in some contractile responses, the present studies examined the hypothesis that ERKs play an important and age-dependent role in smooth muscle contraction. The MAPK inhibitors PD098059 and UO126 both inhibited serotonin (5-HT) concentration response relations more effectively in carotid arteries from term fetal lambs, than in corresponding arteries from mature non-pregnant adult sheep. This inhibition involved significant decreases in both the pD2 (adult: 2-fold; fetus: 4- to 15-fold) and the maximum efficacy (adult: 15-19%; fetus: 34-39%) of 5-HT. Accompanying this age-dependent effect on contraction, quantitative Western blot assays revealed that ERK1 and ERK2 abundances were 39% and 164% greater, respectively, in fetal than in adult carotid arteries. The abundance of the putative ERK target, caldesmon, however, was about 7-fold greater in adult than in fetal arteries. Together, the present results support the view that ERK abundance and activity is upregulated in fetal relative to adult arteries, and that one consequence of this upregulation is that the contribution of ERKs to contraction, at least that initiated by 5-HT2a receptors, is greater in fetal than adult carotid arteries. Whereas the phosphorylation mechanisms through which ERKs augment contraction remain uncertain and controversial, the present results suggest that emphasis should be shifted away from caldesmon and toward other critical contractile proteins, and how these proteins may contribute differently to development of agonist-induced contractile force in immature and mature arteries.
Predicting propulsive forces using distributed sensors in a compliant, high DOF, robotic fin

Engineered robotic fins have adapted principles of propulsion from bony-finned fish, using spatially-varying compliance and complex kinematics to produce and control the fin’s propulsive force through time. While methods of force production are well understood, few models exist to predict the propulsive forces of a compliant, high degree of freedom, robotic fin as it moves through fluid. Inspired by evidence that the bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) has bending sensation in its pectoral fins, the objective of this study is to understand how sensors distributed within a compliant robotic fin can be used to estimate and predict the fin’s propulsive force. A biorobotic model of a bluegill sunfish pectoral fin was instrumented with pressure and bending sensors at multiple locations. Experiments with the robotic fin were executed that varied the swimming gait, flapping frequency, stroke phase, and fin stiffness to understand the forces and sensory measures that occur during swimming. A convolution-based, multi-input-single-output (MISO) model was selected to model and study the relationships between sensory data and propulsive force. Subsets of sensory data were studied to determine which sensor modalities and sensor placement locations resulted in the best force predictions. The propulsive forces of the fin were accurately predicted using the linear MISO model on intrinsic sensory data. Bending sensation was more effective than pressure sensation for predicting propulsive forces, and the importance of bending sensation was consistent with several results in biology and engineering studies. It was important to have a spatial distribution of sensors and multiple sensory modalities in order to predict forces across large changes to dynamics. The relationship between propulsive forces and intrinsic sensory measures is complex, and good models should allow for temporal lags between forces and sensory data, changes to the model within a fin stroke, and changes to the model through gait transitions.
Characterization of genotoxic response to 15 multiwalled carbon nanotubes with variable physicochemical properties including surface functionalizations in the FE1‐Muta(TM) mouse lung epithelial cell line

Carbon nanotubes vary greatly in physicochemical properties. We compared cytotoxic and genotoxic response to 15 multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) with varying physicochemical properties to identify drivers of toxic responses. The studied MWCNT included OECD Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN) (NM‐401, NM‐402, and NM‐403), materials (NRCWE‐026 and MWCNT‐XNRI‐7), and three sets of surface‐modified MWCNT grouped by physical characteristics (thin, thick, and short I–III, respectively). Each Groups I–III included pristine, hydroxylated and carboxylated MWCNT. Group III also included an amino‐functionalized MWCNT. The level of surface functionalization of the MWCNT was low. The level and type of elemental impurities of the MWCNT varied by <2% of the weight, with exceptions. Based on dynamic light scattering data, the MWCNT were well‐dispersed in stock dispersion of nanopure water with 2% serum, but agglomerated and sedimented during exposure. FE1‐Muta(TM) Mouse lung epithelial cells were exposed for 24 hr. The levels of DNA strand breaks (SB) were evaluated using the comet assay, a screening assay suitable for genotoxicity testing of nanomaterials. Exposure to MWCNT (12.5–200 µg/ml) did not induce significant cytotoxicity (viability above 92%). Cell proliferation was reduced in highest doses of some MWCNT after 24 hr, and was associated with generation of reactive oxygen species and high surface area. Increased levels of DNA SB were only observed for Group II consisting of MWCNT with large diameters and high Fe2O3 and Ni content. Significantly, increased levels of SB were only observed at 200 µg/ml of MWCNT‐042. Overall, the MWCNT were not cytotoxic and weakly genotoxic after 24 hr exposure to doses up to 200 µg/ml. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 56:183–203, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
“Self-Locating” Peritoneal Catheter Displaced Into an Inguinal Hernia

Our patient is a 48-year-old male (body mass index: 25.5 kg/ m2) with a lung-heart transplantation 10 years previous and end-stage renal disease secondary to calcineurin inhibitors nephrotoxicity. He underwent insertion of a “self-locating” peritoneal catheter (containing 2 cuffs and a 163-mm-long intraperitoneal portion) using infraumbilical minilaparotomy. Immediate postoperative abdominal radiography confirmed the appropriate placement of the catheter. One month later, the patient began automated nocturnal intermittent peritoneal dialysis (ANIPD) without daytime dialysate dwell. Five months after starting ANIPD, the patient presented progressive right inguinal swelling. Computed tomographic (CT) peritoneography shows an uncomplicated right indirect inguinal hernia, which contains the tip of the “self-locating” catheter, without leakage signs (Figure 1). One day later, physical examination and abdominal radiography showed that the terminal end of the catheter had returned to the rectovesical bottom without specific maneuvers or laxatives. Peritoneal dialysis (PD) was suspended temporarily and the inguinal hernia repaired through open surgery, without surgical manipulation of the catheter, which remained well-positioned and functional.
A randomized trial of in-home visits for disability prevention in community-dwelling older people at low and high risk for nursing home admission.

BACKGROUND In-home preventive visits with multidimensional geriatric assessments can delay the onset of disabilities in older people. METHODS This was a stratified randomized trial. There were 791 participants, community-dwelling people in Bern, Switzerland, older than 75 years. The participants' risk status was based on 6 baseline predictors of functional deterioration. The intervention consisted of annual multidimensional assessments and quarterly follow-up in-home visits by 3 public health nurses (nurses A, B, and C), who, in collaboration with geriatricians, evaluated problems, gave recommendations, facilitated adherence with recommendations, and provided health education. Each nurse was responsible for conducting the home visits in 1 ZIP code area. RESULTS After 3 years, surviving participants at low baseline risk in the intervention group were less dependent in instrumental activities of daily living (ADL) compared with controls (odds ratio, 0.6; 95% confidence interval, 0.3-1.0; P = .04). Among subjects at high baseline risk, there were no favorable intervention effects on ADL and an unfavorable increase in nursing home admissions (P= .02). Despite the similar health status of subjects, nurse C identified fewer problems in the subjects who were visited compared with those assessed by nurses A and B. Subgroup analysis revealed that among low-risk subjects visited by nurses A and B, the intervention had favorable effects on instrumental ADL (P = .005) and basic ADL (P = .009), reduced nursing home admissions (P = .004), and resulted in net cost savings in the third year (US $1403 per person per year). Among low-risk subjects visited by nurse C, the intervention had no favorable effects. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that this intervention can reduce disabilities among elderly people at low risk but not among those at high risk for functional impairment, and that these effects are likely related to the home visitor's performance in conducting the visits.