Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modeling and analysis of interference between phase-locked loops

We study the influence of the interference between the integrated closed-loop circuits such as PLL circuits based on circuit simulation. Two different types of oscillators which are the ring and the LC-tank oscillators are applied to this analysis. We investigate the influence of the shared analog supply of two PLLs and the capacitive connection between the loop filter of the PLL and the digital circuit of the other PLL. In the circuit simulations, we see that the output of the VCO becomes unstable without any external noise due to these interconnections. From these results, we present the guideline for the design of the low phase noise against the interference between PLLs.
RsmA and AmrZ orchestrate the assembly of all three type VI secretion systems in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Significance Bacteria evolved molecular weapons to help them thrive in polymicrobial environments. The type VI secretion system (T6SS) is a gun loaded with a great diversity of bacterial toxins. On contact with neighboring cells, toxins are fired, and in the absence of immunity, the prey is killed, allowing the attacker to prevail. Each bacterium can be equipped with several distinct T6SSs, and it is unclear whether they are simultaneously active or whether each has a specific role in a particular environment. Here we showed that production of the three Pseudomonas aeruginosa T6SSs is orchestrated by global regulators. We suggest it may be possible for simultaneous assembly of multiple T6SSs within a single cell, priming it to fight a wide variety of organisms. The type VI secretion system (T6SS) is a weapon of bacterial warfare and host cell subversion. The Gram-negative pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa has three T6SSs involved in colonization, competition, and full virulence. H1-T6SS is a molecular gun firing seven toxins, Tse1–Tse7, challenging survival of other bacteria and helping P. aeruginosa to prevail in specific niches. The H1-T6SS characterization was facilitated through studying a P. aeruginosa strain lacking the RetS sensor, which has a fully active H1-T6SS, in contrast to the parent. However, study of H2-T6SS and H3-T6SS has been neglected because of a poor understanding of the associated regulatory network. Here we performed a screen to identify H2-T6SS and H3-T6SS regulatory elements and found that the posttranscriptional regulator RsmA imposes a concerted repression on all three T6SS clusters. A higher level of complexity could be observed as we identified a transcriptional regulator, AmrZ, which acts as a negative regulator of H2-T6SS. Overall, although the level of T6SS transcripts is fine-tuned by AmrZ, all T6SS mRNAs are silenced by RsmA. We expanded this concept of global control by RsmA to VgrG spike and T6SS toxin transcripts whose genes are scattered on the chromosome. These observations triggered the characterization of a suite of H2-T6SS toxins and their implication in direct bacterial competition. Our study thus unveils a central mechanism that modulates the deployment of all T6SS weapons that may be simultaneously produced within a single cell.
In vivo molecular‐genetic imaging

Noninvasive in vivo molecular‐genetic imaging has developed over the past decade and involves nuclear (PET, gamma camera), magnetic resonance, and in vivo optical imaging systems. Although three different imaging strategies — “direct,” “indirect” and “surrogate” — are being used, most current in vivo molecular imaging strategies are “indirect” and involve the coupling of a “reporter gene” with a complimentary “reporter probe. ” Imaging the level of probe accumulation provides indirect information related to the level of reporter gene expression. Reporter gene constructs are driven by upstream promoter/enhancer elements; reporter gene expression can be “constitutive” leading to continuous transcription and used to identify the site of transduction and to monitor the level and duration of gene (vector) activity. Alternatively, reporter gene expression can be “inducible” leading to controlled gene expression. Controlled gene expression can be tissue‐specific and/or responsive to the level of endogenous promoters and transcription factors. Several examples of imaging endogenous biological processes in animals using reporter constructs, radiolabeled probes and PET imaging are reviewed, including: 1) imaging transcriptional regulation (e.g., p53‐dependent gene expression), 2) imaging weak promoters (cis‐ vs. trans‐reporter configurations), 3) imaging post‐transcriptional regulation of gene expression, 4) imaging protein‐protein interactions. The development of versatile and sensitive assays that do not require tissue sampling will be of considerable value for monitoring molecular‐genetic and cellular processes in animal models of human disease, as well as for studies in human subjects in the future. Non‐invasive imaging of molecular‐genetic and cellular processes will compliment established ex vivo molecular‐biological assays that require tissue sampling, and will provide a spatial as well as a temporal dimension to our understanding of various diseases. J. Cell. Biochem. Suppl. 39: 172–183, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Low Power and High Performance Ring Counter Using Pulsed Latch Technique

In this work, the performance of ring counter is improved using pulsed latch technique. In high speed and low power VLSI applications where heavy pipelining is used, there is requirement of low power edge triggered flip flops. The migration from flip flop to pulsed latch has become great success in low power VLSI application. The proposed circuit has been designed using Cadence Virtuoso in 90 nm CMOS technology. The pulse latch technique reduces the power consumption significantly in the designed circuit and overall there is an improvement in power delay product. The proposed circuit also require less number of transistors for its implementation as compared to conventional version.
Phage Tail-Like (High-Molecular-Weight) Bacteriocins of Budvicia aquatica and Pragia fontium (Enterobacteriaceae)

ABSTRACT Electron microscopic analysis of contractile phage tail-like bacteriocins of three Pragia fontium strains and one Budvicia aquatica strain was performed. Fonticin and aquaticin are remarkably heat sensitive but trypsin resistant. Simultaneous production of contractile and flexible phage tail-like bacteriocins in the P. fontium 64613 strain is shown for the first time.
Conservative management of idiopathic scoliosis--guidelines based on SOSORT 2006 Consensus.

BACKGROUND Idiopathic scoliosis, defined as a lateral curvature of the spine of above 10 degrees (Cobb angle), is seen in 2-3% of the growing age population, while curves above 20 degrees , requiring conservative treatment, are found in 0.3-0.5%. In our observation, both under-treatment of progressive curves and over-treatment of stable cases are common during conservative management of scoliosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS A model of therapeutic management is presented based on the experience of Polish clinicians specialising in the treatment of scoliosis as well as the effects of work of a panel of experts of SOSORT (Society on Scoliosis Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Treatment). The model comprises the indications for conservative treatment according to age, curve type and size and Risser grading. The aetiology, classifications, usefulness of the Lonstein and Carlson factor of progression and other methods of determining the probability of scoliosis progression, as well as the psychological aspects of conservative management are presented. RESULTS Based on the knowledge of the natural history of idiopathic scoliosis, factors of progression and on the SOSORT experts' opinion, guidelines are proposed for clinicians treating children and adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis, including the timing and course of brace treatment and the types of exercises. CONCLUSIONS Uniform practical guidelines developed by experts may represent an essential step towards establishing standards of conservative scoliosis care in our country.
Representation of the visual field in the second visual area in the Cebus monkey

The representation of the visual field in the second visual area (V2) was reconstructed from multiunit visual responses and anatomical tracers. Receptive field plotting was performed during multiple recording sessions in seven Cebus apella monkeys under N2 O/O2 and immobilized with pancuronium bromide. V2 forms a continuous belt of variable width around striate cortex (V1) except at the most anterior portion of the calcarine sulcus. In each hemisphere V2 contains a visuotopic representation of the contralateral visual hemifield. The representation of the vertical meridian is adjacent to that of V1 and forms the posterior border of V2. The representation of the fovea of V2 is adjacent to that of V1. The representation of the horizontal meridian (HM) is continuous with that of V1; then it splits to form the anterior border of V2, both dorsally and ventrally. The lower quadrant of the visual field is represented dorsally and the upper quadrant ventrally. The visual topography of V2 is coarser than that of V1. In V2, receptive fields corresponding to recording sites separated by a cortical distance of up to 4 mm may represent the same portion of the visual field.
Deriving 2D TOA/TDOA IEEE 802.11 g/n/ac location accuracy from an experimentally verified fading channel model

In indoor environments Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) values are strongly affected by multipath propagation effects resulting in a location accuracy that is often not very reliable. More accurate ranging techniques such as Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) could be integrated into IEEE 802.11 g/n/ac chip sets requiring hardware modifications. Performance evaluation of five TOA/TDOA estimation algorithms (IFT, group delay, ESPRIT, MUSIC, MinNorm) is carried out employing a stochastic radio channel model conform to WiFi g/n/ac. Mean errors and standard deviations are calculated as a function of coherence bandwidth and Rician K-factor. Localization performance parameters are validated by various measurements in indoor environments. Based on an experimentally verified 1D-simulation model the 2D-location accuracy has been evaluated. It can be shown that even in case of moderate system bandwidths and low Rice coefficients, i.e. WiFi n-std and K > 1, location accuracies in the sub-meter range with TOA setups can be obtained. Typically location accuracy achieved with TDOA setups is only half of the accuracy that can be achieved employing TOA systems. But even in this case significant improvement compared with RSSI-methods for WiFi n/ac could be achieved.
Smoldering arteries? Low-grade inflammation and coronary heart disease.

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Phase II study of bevacizumab in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer or peritoneal serous cancer.

PURPOSE We evaluated the efficacy and safety of bevacizumab in patients with platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC) or peritoneal serous carcinoma (PSC) who had experienced disease progression during, or within 3 months of discontinuing, topotecan or liposomal doxorubicin. PATIENTS AND METHODS No more than three prior treatment regimens were allowed. Patients received single-agent bevacizumab 15 mg/kg intravenously every 3 weeks. Response was assessed by computed tomography (CT) scan every 6 weeks using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST). RESULTS Of 44 patients treated, 83.7% were primarily platinum resistant, 59.1% had received liposomal doxorubicin, 25% topotecan, 15.9% both agents, and 47.7% had received three prior chemotherapy regimens. A median of five (range, two to 16) bevacizumab doses were administered. Partial responses were observed in seven patients (15.9%). Median progression-free survival was 4.4 months (95% CI, 3.1 to 5.5 months), with a median survival duration of 10.7 months at study termination. Bevacizumab-associated grade 3 to 4 events included hypertension (9.1%), proteinuria (15.9%), bleeding (2.3%), and wound-healing complications (2.3%). The incidence of GI perforation (GIP; 11.4%) was higher than reported in bevacizumab trials of other tumor types. GIP occurred in 23.8% of patients receiving three prior chemotherapy regimens, compared with 0% of patients receiving two prior chemotherapy regimens (P < .01). A trend toward higher risk of GIP was observed for patients with bowel wall thickening or bowel obstruction on CT scan. Arterial thromboembolic events occurred in three patients (6.8%). Three deaths were related to bevacizumab treatment. CONCLUSION Bevacizumab has single-agent activity in patients with platinum-resistant EOC or PSC. A higher than expected incidence of GIP was noted in these heavily pretreated patients.
Monetary incentives for provision of syphilis screening, Yunnan, China

Abstract Problem Early detection of syphilis-infected people followed by effective treatment is essential for syphilis prevention and control. Approach Starting in 2010 the local health authority in Yunnan province, China, developed a network of 670 service sites for syphilis testing, diagnosis and treatment or for testing-only with referral for further diagnosis and treatment. Point-of-care tests for syphilis and syphilis interventions were integrated into the existing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention and control programme. To improve the syphilis services, a pay-for-performance scheme was introduced in which providers were paid for testing and treating patients. Local setting Yunnan province is the region hardest hit by HIV infection and disproportionately burdened with syphilis cases in China. Relevant changes The proportion of attendees at voluntary counselling and testing clinics who were tested for syphilis increased from 46.2% (32 877/71 162) in 2010 to 98.2% (68 012/69 259) in 2015. Syphilis-infected cases treated with the recommended therapy increased from 26.6% (264/993) in 2010 to 82.5% (453/549) in 2015 at designated testing, diagnosis and treatment sites. Lessons learnt The strategy greatly increased the uptake of syphilis testing and treatment among people at risk. Introduction of point-of-care tests for syphilis increased coverage of the testing services. Introduction of a pay-for-performance scheme seemed to motivate health-care providers to undertake syphilis intervention services.
THE FINE STRUCTURE OF MOTOR NERVE ENDINGS AT FROG MYONEURAL JUNCTIONS

Both simple tubular elements as well as the typical synaptic vesicles are common features of the ultrastructure of motor nerve endings at frog myoneural junctions. ’ The tubules usually lie in the axoplasm near the nonsynapsing portion of the axolemma, whereas the vesicles usually appear clustered towards, and even abutting on, the synapsing portion of the axolemma. Interspersed amongst this vesicle population, short tubular elements are also seen. ’ These latter tubules have a diameter of 400 to 600 A , about that of a vesicle, while the simple tubules referred to above are usually smaller in diameter, varying from about 250 to 400 A . The reason for the existence of these short tubular elements has never been seriously examined, although if vesicles were formed by budding off from the simple tubules, as has been proposed for the endoplasmic reticulum of other cells,’ then the short, large diameter tubules might arise as a result of a faulty budding-off process. The purpose of the experiments to be reported here was to gain further information about these intracellular membrane systems in the nerve endings. Two methods have been employed. First, in the hope of better preserving the tubular system in the nerve endings, frog sartorius muscles were fixed in acrolein. ‘ This fixative has recently been shown to preserve both the T iubules and their connections to the sarcolemma in this muscle.s ‘ Second, independent information about possible tubular connections to the axolemma was sought by soaking muscles in Ringer solution’ containing colloidal particles of thorium dioxide (100 A diameter) prior to fixation. The rationale behind this second approach was similar to that of Huxley,8 Page’ and Birks’ in demonstrating the T-tubule-sarcolemmal connection in this muscle; namely, that if tubules in the nerve endings were connected to the axolemma, and if they opened into extracellular space, these particles should diffuse into them. The subsequent detection of particles in the tubules by electron microscopy would then provide presumptive evidence for their connection to the cell surface in life. The overall preservation of nerve ending ultrastructure is not noticeably improved by fixation with acrolein as compared with osmium tetroxide,
Immunolocalization of Acyl-Coenzyme A:CholesterolO-Acyltransferase in Macrophages*

Macrophages in atherosclerotic lesions accumulate large amounts of cholesteryl-fatty acyl esters (“foam cell” formation) through the intracellular esterification of cholesterol by acyl-coenzyme A:cholesterolO-acyltransferase (ACAT). In this study, we sought to determine the subcellular localization of ACAT in macrophages. Using mouse peritoneal macrophages and immunofluorescence microscopy, we found that a major portion of ACAT was in a dense reticular cytoplasmic network and in the nuclear membrane that colocalized with the luminal endoplasmic reticulum marker protein-disulfide isomerase (PDI) and that was in a similar distribution as the membrane-bound endoplasmic reticulum marker ribophorin. Remarkably, another portion of the macrophage ACAT pattern did not overlap with PDI or ribophorin, but was found in as yet unidentified cytoplasmic structures that were juxtaposed to the nucleus. Compartments containing labeled β-very low density lipoprotein, an atherogenic lipoprotein, did not overlap with the ACAT label, but rather were embedded in the dense reticular network of ACAT. Furthermore, cell-surface biotinylation experiments revealed that freshly harvested, non-attached macrophages, but not those attached to tissue culture dishes, contained ∼10–15% of ACAT on the cell surface. In summary, ACAT was found in several sites in macrophages: a cytoplasmic reticular/nuclear membrane site that overlaps with PDI and ribophorin and has the characteristics of the endoplasmic reticulum, a perinuclear cytoplasmic site that does not overlap with PDI or ribophorin and may be another cytoplasmic structure or possibly a unique subcompartment of the endoplasmic reticulum, and a cell-surface site in non-attached macrophages. Understanding possible physiological differences of ACAT in these locations may reveal an important component of ACAT regulation and macrophage foam cell formation.
Reliable Operation of SiC JFET Subjected to Over 2.4 Million 1200-V/115-A Hard Switching Events at 150 $^{\circ}\hbox{C}$

A requirement for the commercialization of power SiC transistors is their long-term reliable operation under hard switching conditions and high temperatures encountered in the field. Normally ON 1200-V vertical-channel implanted-gate SiC JFETs, designed for high-power bidirectional (four-quadrant) solid-state circuit breaker applications, were repetitively pulsed hard switched at 150°C from a 1200-V blocking state to an on-state current of 115 A, which is in excess of 13 times the JFET's 250-W/cm2 rated current at 150°C. The JFETs were fabricated in seven photolithographic levels with a single masked ion implantation forming the p+ gates and guard rings and with no epitaxial regrowth. The pulsed testing was performed using a low-inductance RLC circuit. In this circuit, the energy initially stored in a capacitor is discharged in a load resistor through the JFET under test. The JFET hard switch stressing included over 2.4 million 1200-V/115-A hard switch events at 150°C and at a repetition rate of 10 Hz. The peak energies and powers dissipated by the JFET at each hard switch event were 73.2 mJ and 68.2 kW, respectively. The current rise rate was 166 A/μs, and the pulse FWHM was 1.8 μs. After over 2.4 million hard switch events at 150°C, the JFET blocking voltage characteristics remained unchanged while the on-state current conduction slightly improved, which indicate reliable operation.
Transfer-Function Measurement with Sweeps

Transfer-function measurements using sweeps as excitation signals rather than pseudonoise signals show significantly higher immunity against distortion and time variance. Capturing binaural room impulse responses for high-quality auralization purposes requires a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) greater than 90 dB, which is unattainable with maximum-length sequence (MLS) measurements because of loudspeaker nonlinearity, but it is fairly easy to reach with sweeps due to the possibility of complete rejection of harmonic distortion. Before investigating the differences and practical problems of measurements with MLS and sweeps and arguing why sweeps are the preferable choice for the majority of measurement tasks, the existing methods of obtaining transfer functions are reviewed. The continual need to use preemphasized excitation signals in acoustical measurements is also addressed. A method to create sweeps with arbitrary spectral contents, but constant or prescribed frequency-dependent temporal envelope, is presented. Finally, the possibility of simultaneously analyzing transfer functions and harmonics is investigated.