Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Morphological descriptors for automatic detection of epileptiform events

The purpose of this study was to analyze morphological characteristics of electroencephalogram (EEG) signals in order to define a representation of epileptiform events that can distinguish them from other events occurring in the signal. There are several studies on parameterization of EEG signals, particularly for automatic detection of paroxysms related to epilepsy. Considering that during the automatic detection process the morphological characteristics pertaining to these events may get mixed up if only conventional descriptors are used, it was necessary to create a new set of parameters that reveal more differences between them. The parameters are fed to artificial neural networks and the individual and collective contribution of each parameter was evaluated by statistical process. The proposed method achieved a success rate of 80–90%, sensitivity and specificity between 85% and 96%.
Provably Good Early Detection of Diseases using Non-Sparse Covariance-Regularized Linear Discriminant Analysis

To improve the performance of Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) for early detection of diseases using Electronic Health Records (EHR) data, we propose \TheName{} -- a novel framework for \emph{\underline{E}HR based \underline{E}arly \underline{D}etection of \underline{D}iseases} on top of \emph{Covariance-Regularized} LDA models. Specifically, \TheName\ employs a \emph{non-sparse} inverse covariance matrix (or namely precision matrix) estimator derived from graphical lasso and incorporates the estimator into LDA classifiers to improve classification accuracy. Theoretical analysis on \TheName\ shows that it can bound the expected error rate of LDA classification, under certain assumptions. Finally, we conducted extensive experiments using a large-scale real-world EHR dataset -- CHSN. We compared our solution with other regularized LDA and downstream classifiers. The result shows \TheName\ outperforms all baselines and backups our theoretical analysis.
Product usability estimation using musculoskeletal model

This paper proposes an estimation method of product usability using a musculoskeletal model. The aim of this study is to estimate product usability based on tendon forces during an object manipulation. First, we explain the estimation method of product usability. The product usability is estimated quantitatively from the tendon forces. The mulculoskeletal model of the index finger and the thumb is constructed to calculate the tendon forces. We call this model the tendon skeletal model. The tendon forces are calculated based on grasping information using a tendon skeletal model. Next, the cylinder pinching simulation using the proposed method is shown. The simulation result is compared with the human experimental result to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The sensory evaluation of the subjective grasp effort was conducted with five subjects. The calculated score of the simulation reflects the questionnaire survey result by the subjects. As an application, we show the evaluation results of the cell-phone button pushing. The calculated score by the simulation is also compared with the human questionnaire score. These results indicate that the proposed method can be used for the quantitative evaluation of the product usability.
Combined Vildagliptin and Metformin Exert Better Cardioprotection than Monotherapy against Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Obese-Insulin Resistant Rats

Background Obese-insulin resistance caused by long-term high-fat diet (HFD) consumption is associated with left ventricular (LV) dysfunction and increased risk of myocardial infarction. Metformin and vildagliptin have been shown to exert cardioprotective effects. However, the effect of these drugs on the hearts under obese-insulin resistance with ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is unclear. We hypothesized that combined vildagliptin and metformin provide better protective effects against I/R injury than monotherapy in obese-insulin resistant rats. Methodology Male Wistar rats were fed either HFD or normal diet. Rats in each diet group were divided into 4 subgroups to receive vildagliptin, metformin, combined vildagliptin and metformin, or saline for 21 days. Ischemia due to left anterior descending artery ligation was allowed for 30-min, followed by 120-min reperfusion. Metabolic parameters, heart rate variability (HRV), LV function, infarct size, mitochondrial function, calcium transient, Bax and Bcl-2, and Connexin 43 (Cx43) were determined. Rats developed insulin resistance after 12 weeks of HFD consumption. Vildagliptin, metformin, and combined drugs improved metabolic parameters, HRV, and LV function. During I/R, all treatments improved LV function, reduced infarct size and Bax, increased Bcl-2, and improved mitochondrial function in HFD rats. However, only combined drugs delayed the time to the first VT/VF onset, reduced arrhythmia score and mortality rate, and increased p-Cx43 in HFD rats. Conclusion Although both vildagliptin and metformin improved insulin resistance and attenuate myocardial injury caused by I/R, combined drugs provided better outcomes than single therapy by reducing arrhythmia score and mortality rate.
Effective document clustering for large heterogeneous law firm collections

Computational resources for research in legal environments have historically implied remote access to large databases of legal documents such as case law, statutes, law reviews and administrative materials. Today, by contrast, there exists enormous growth in lawyers' electronic work product within these environments, specifically within law firms. Along with this growth has come the need for accelerated knowledge management---automated assistance in organizing, analyzing, retrieving and presenting this content in a useful and distributed manner.In cases where a relevant legal taxonomy is available, together with representative labeled data, automated text classification tools can be applied. In the absence of these resources, document clustering offers an alternative approach to organizing collections, and an adjunct to search.To explore this approach further, we have conducted sets of successively more complex clustering experiments using primary and secondary law documents as well as actual law firm data. Tests were run to determine the efficiency and effectiveness of a number of essential clustering functions. After examining the performance of traditional or hard clustering applications, we investigate soft clustering (multiple cluster assignments) as well as hierarchical clustering. We show how these latter clustering approaches are effective, in terms of both internal and external quality measures, and useful to legal researchers. Moreover, such techniques can ultimately assist in the automatic or semi-automatic generation of taxonomies for subsequent use by classification programs.
Involvement of PIT-1-reactive cytotoxic T lymphocytes in anti-PIT-1 antibody syndrome.

CONTEXT Anti-pituitary-specific transcriptional factor 1 (PIT-1) antibody syndrome is characterized by acquired growth hormone (GH), prolactin (PRL), and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) deficiencies associated with circulating anti-PIT-1 antibodies. Although autoimmunity to PIT-1 has been suggested as a pathogenesis, the precise mechanism of the syndrome remains unclarified. OBJECTIVE To elucidate the involvement of antibody- or cell-mediated immunity in anti-PIT-1 antibody syndrome. MATERIALS AND METHODS To investigate a direct effect of anti-PIT-1 antibody on pituitary cells, cell proliferation, and cytotoxicity detection assays were performed using patient serum. Enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISpot) assay was performed to evaluate the involvement of PIT-1-reactive cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). An immunohistochemical analysis using anti-CD4 or anti-CD8 antibody was performed to examine tissue infiltration by CTLs. RESULTS Patient serum did not exhibit any inhibitory effect on cell proliferation and secretion of GH and PRL in GH3 cells. In addition, complement-dependent cytotoxicity was not detected in patient serum on GH3 cells or primary pituitary cells. The ELISpot assay revealed the presence of CTLs that specifically reacted to the recombinant PIT-1 protein in the patient's peripheral lymphocytes. CD8(+) cell infiltrations, which is the characteristic of CTLs, were observed in the pituitary gland, adrenal gland, stomach, thyroid gland, liver, and pancreas of the patient with anti-PIT-1 antibody syndrome. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that the anti-PIT-1 antibody is not a cause but a marker of anti-PIT-1 antibody syndrome, in which CTLs play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis.
Primary Unit for Statistical Analysis in Morphometry: Patient or Cell?

In a series of 16 oxyphilic follicular neoplasms of the thyroid (8 adenomas and 8 carcinomas), three different approaches for the analysis of morphometric data were evaluated. It was shown that the statistical design of morphometric studies is by nature nested due to subsampling of cells within each patient. Therefore, the most appropriate analysis would be to account for this hierarchical structure. However, related statistical methods are not at present well established, especially as far as classification rules are concerned. Therefore, the nested design is converted into the simple factorial one by considering only one kind of statistical unit – either patients or cells. The results of the study presented indicate that ignoring the patient as unit of analysis leads to a substantial error in statistical output, regardless of the particular procedure applied. Moreover, the size of the error can be neither diminished nor controlled. Choosing patients as primary units assures accurate results and also has an advantage of gaining some additional information by calculating several distributional estimates in each patient. However, this approach often requires a reduction of dimensions and, furthermore, is not encouraged in certain fields of quantitative cytology. Advantages and disadvantages of all approaches have been summarized and practical recommendations for their use have been worked out.
Surgical Management of 10 Genitofemoral Neuralgias at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center

OBJECTIVE:This is a retrospective review of the charts of 10 patients with genitofemoral neuralgia who underwent neurectomy at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center between 1967 and 2000. Operations associated with these neuralgias and postoperative pain outcomes were analyzed. METHODS:The charts of 10 patients with genitofemoral neuralgias were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS:The distribution of the 10 genitofemoral neuralgias with regard to right or left side and sex was found to be equal. L1 and L2 nerve blocks had resulted in a complete or substantial decrease in pain before neurectomy was recommended. Of six iatrogenic injuries (60%), gynecological surgery, including two hysterectomy procedures, resulted in a total of three genitofemoral neuralgias (50%), and vasectomy procedures antedated two nerve injuries (33%). Four (40%) of the 10 patients had injury to the genitofemoral nerve after blunt abdominal trauma. Genitofemoral neurectomy was performed in all genitofemoral neuralgia patients after conservative therapy had failed. This procedure resulted in considerable pain relief in all 10 patients, whether their injury was the result of iatrogenic causes or trauma. CONCLUSION:Genitofemoral neuralgias are infrequent conditions; however, 10 patients were accrued and analyzed in this study, and most had considerable or complete pain relief after neurectomy.
A study of compressive strength between zirconia framework and veneering ceramic as a function of thermal expansion coefficient using Shell–Nielsen test method

This study investigated the adhesion between zirconia framework and four veneering ceramic (VC) materials with varying coefficients of thermal expansions (CTE). Zirconia rods (N = 40) (ICE Zirkon) (diameter: 4 mm, height: 20 mm) were milled and sintered. After firing, the zirconia rods were air-abraded and cleaned. They were randomly assigned to receive four VCs (n = 10/group), namely (a) Vita VM9 (VZ; 9–9.2 × 10−6 K−1), (b) Cerabien ZR (CZ; 9.1 × 10−6 K−1), (c) Matchmaker ZR (MM; 9.4 × 10−6 K−1), and (d) Ice Zirconia Ceramic (IZ; 9.6 × 10−6 K−1). The VCs were then fired onto zirconia rods (height: 2 mm, thickness: 2 mm) circumferentially and were thermocycled for 6000 times (5/55 °C, dwell time: 30 s). Specimens were loaded from the top of the zirconia rods (0.5 mm/min) in a universal testing machine until debonding. Shell–Nielsen bond strength values were calculated (MPa). Failure types were evaluated under SEM. The data were statistically analyzed (one-way ANOVA, Tukey’s; α = 0.05). Weibull distribution values including the Weibull modulus (m) (0.05) was calculated. The highest mean bond strength (MPa) was obtained for CZ (42.08 ± 4.08), followed by VZ (41.77 ± 4.92), MM (40.7 ± 3.64), and IZ (40.05 ± 5.78). While mean bond strength for VZ, MM, and IZ were not significantly different (p > 0.05), CZ was significantly higher than that of IZ (p < 0.05). The lowest shape value was for VZ (m = 16.94) and the highest for MM (m = 20.16). Mainly, adhesive failures followed by mixed failures were observed. VCs with a greater mismatch of CTE with the zirconia framework exhibited similar Shell–Nielsen bond strength to those with fewer mismatches. CTE mismatch did not affect the results of CZ (9.1 × 10−6 K−1) and IZ (9.6 × 10−6 K−1).
Effective load sharing on heterogeneous networks of workstations

We consider networks of workstations which are not only time-sharing, but also heterogeneous with a large variation in the computing power and memory capacities of different workstations. Many load sharing schemes mainly target sharing CPU resources, and have been intensively evaluated in homogeneous distributed environments. However the penalties of data accesses and movement in modern computer systems, such as page faults, have grown to the point where the overall performance of distributed systems cannot be further improved without serious considerations concerning memory resources in the design of load sharing policies. Considering both system heterogeneity and effective usage of memory resources, we design and evaluate load sharing policies in order to minimize both CPU idle times and the number of page faults in heterogeneous distributed systems. Conducting trace-driven simulations, we show that load sharing policies considering both CPU and memory resources are robust and effective in heterogeneous systems. We also show that the functionality and the nature of load sharing policies are quite independent on several memory demand distributions of workloads.
Evaluation of Efficacy and Human Health Risk of Aerial Ultra-Low Volume Applications of Pyrethrins and Piperonyl Butoxide for Adult Mosquito Management in Response to West Nile Virus Activity in Sacramento County, California

Abstract The Sacramento and Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District (SYMVCD, also referred to as “the District”) conducts surveillance and management of mosquitoes in Sacramento and Yolo counties in California. Following an increase in numbers and West Nile virus (WNV) infection rates of Culex tarsalis and Culex pipiens, the District decided on July 26, 2007, to conduct aerial applications of Evergreen® EC 60-6 (60% pyrethrins: 6% piperonyl butoxide) over approximately 215 km2 in the north area of Sacramento County on the nights of July 30, July 31, and August 1, 2007. At the same time, the District received notification of the first human WNV case in the area. To evaluate the efficacy of the applications in decreasing mosquito abundance and infection rates, we conducted pre- and post-trapping inside and outside the spray zone and assessed human health risks from exposure to the insecticide applications. Results showed a significant decrease in abundance of both Cx. tarsalis and Cx. pipiens, and in the minimum infection rate of Cx. tarsalis. Human-health risks from exposure to the insecticide were below thresholds set by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
You Can't Paint Yourself into a Corner

Thomassen posed the following problem: SupposeGis a planar graph andW? V(G) such that the distance between any two vertices inWis at least 100. Can a 5-coloring ofWbe extended to a 5-coloring ofG? It is known that no 4-coloring result of this nature can hold. We provide a best possible solution to Thomassen's problem as well as some generalizations.
Guided access cavity preparation using cone-beam computed tomography and optical surface scans - an ex vivo study.

AIM To evaluate ex vivo, the accuracy of a preparation procedure planned for teeth with pulp canal obliteration (PCO) using a guide rail concept based on a cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scan merged with an optical surface scan. METHODOLOGY A total of 48 teeth were mounted in acrylic blocks. An apical canal preparation was created to simulate remnants of an apical root canal that acted as the target for a drill path. The test blocks were surface scanned, and merged with a CBCT scan, and a guide rail was made. A pathway for the bur was created through a metal sleeve within the guide rail into dentine. The distance was measured between the centres of the performed drill path and the apical target by two examiners. A maximum distance of 0.7 mm was defined based on the radius of the bur (0.6 mm) and the radius of a root canal just visible on a radiograph (0.1 mm). The t-test was used for evaluation, and intra- and inter-examiner reproducibility was expressed by intraclass correlation coefficients. RESULTS The mean distance between the drill path and the target was significantly lower than 0.7 mm, and null hypothesis H0 : μ = 0.7 was rejected (CI 95%: 0.31;0.49, P < 0.001). Intra- and inter-examiner agreements reached excellent levels. CONCLUSIONS The combined use of CBCT and optical scans for the precise construction of a guide rail led to a drill path with a precision below a risk threshold. The present technique may be a valuable tool for the negotiation of partial or complete pulp canal obliteration.
In vivo stimulation and restoration of the immune response by the noninflammatory fragment 163-171 of human interleukin 1 beta

The synthetic nonapeptide VQGEESNDK, corresponding to the fragment 163- 171 of human IL-1 beta, showed in vivo immunomodulatory capacities qualitatively and quantitatively comparable to those of the mature human IL-1 beta protein. In fact, both IL-1 beta and the 163-171 fragment stimulated the immune response of normal mice and restored immune reactivities of immunocompromised animals. In addition, the synthetic IL-1 peptide was as efficient as the entire protein in inducing tumor rejection and radioprotection. On the other hand, the 163-171 fragment did not cause any of several inflammation-associated metabolic changes inducible by the whole IL-1 beta molecule in vivo: hypoferremia, hypoglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, increase in circulating corticosterone, SAA and fibrinogen, decrease in hepatic drug- metabolizing enzymes. Furthermore, at variance with IL-1 beta, the 163- 171 peptide did not show the toxic effects causing shock and death in adrenalectomized mice. Thus, these results confirm our previous in vitro observations that functional domains are identifiable within the multipotent cytokine IL-1 beta, and demonstrate the biological relevance of this finding in a variety of in vivo systems. The identification of a selectively active fragment of a cytokine may thus represent a significant step towards a better directed and more rational immunotherapeutic approach.
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Research Department August 2006 Sequential Equilibria with Infinite Histories

This paper develops recursive methods for considering stationary sequential equilibria in games with private actions and signals (private monitoring games), where play is assumed not only to continue forever into the future, but is also assumed to have occurred forever into the past. In particular, we develop set-based methods for constructing all pure strategy equilibria of the subclass of strategies where each players’ action, but not his beliefs, depends only on what he observed in the previous k periods. We then connect equilibria of games with infinite histories to the more traditional games with a start date. We show that each k-history dependent sequential equilibrium in a game with infinite history defines a simple correlated equilibrium for a game with a starting date. Further, for any correlation device which signals fictitious private k-period histories, we derive setbased necessary and sufficient conditions for this correlation device to deliver a correlated equilibrium of the game with a start date when coupled with a k-history dependent sequential equilibrium in the infinite history game. Since sequential equilibria are examples of correlated equilibria (with degenerate signaling devices) these methods deliver simple necessary and sufficient conditions for constructing all k-history dependent pure strategy sequential equilibria of private monitoring games with a start date. ∗The authors thank Narayana Kocherlakota, Peter DeMarzo, David Levine, George Mailath, Stephen Morris, Larry Samuelson, seminar participants at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and the 2006 meetings of the Society for Economic Dynamics for helpful comments as well as the excellent research assistance of Roozbeh Hosseini. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis or the Federal Reserve System.
The effects of allografts of thymic epithelial reticular cells on the lymphoid tissues of neonatally thymectomized mice.

Neonatal thymus placed in a Millipore diffusion chamber for one week loses its cortical cells, while the epithelial reticular cells remain viable. Grafts of these remnants in neonatally thymectomized mice are completely reconstituted from cells of the thymectomized host. Evidence is presented which suggests that the bone marrow may be a source of cells which reform the thymus cortex. These remnant grafts result in lymphoid reconstitution of neonatally thymectomized mice. The grafted animals also reject allografts of skin and lymphoma cells in a normal manner. However, these C3H mice, neonatally thymectomized and reconstituted with allografts of AKR thymic epithelial reticular cells, are tolerant to grafts of AKR lymphoma cells.
Energy Restriction during Childhood and Early Adulthood and Ovarian Cancer Risk

Dietary energy restriction may protect against cancer. In parts of the Netherlands, mostly in larger cities, periods of chronically impaired nutrition and even severe famine (Hunger Winter 1944–1945) existed during the 1930s and World War II (1940–1945). We studied the association between energy restriction during childhood and early adulthood on the risk of ovarian cancer later in life. In 1986, the Netherlands Cohort Study was initiated. A self-administered questionnaire on dietary habits and other cancer risk factors was completed by 62,573 women aged 55–69 years at baseline. Follow-up for cancer was established by record linkage to the Netherlands Cancer Registry. After 16.3 years of follow-up, 364 invasive epithelial ovarian cancer cases and 2220 subcohort members (sampled from the total cohort directly after baseline) with complete information confounders were available for case-cohort analyses. In multivariable analysis, ovarian cancer risk was lower for participants with an unemployed father during the 1930s (Hazard Ratio (HR), 0.70; 95% Confidence Interval (CI), 0.47–1.06) compared to participants with an employed father as well as for participants living in a city during World War II (HR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.54–0.90) compared to participants living in the country-side. Residence in a Western City during the famine (Hunger Winter) was not associated with a decreased risk. Our results show a relation between proxy variables for modest energy restriction over a longer period of time during childhood or early adulthood and a reduced ovarian cancer risk.