Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modeling of the Movement of the Endoscopy Capsule inside G . I . Tract based on the Captured Endoscopic Images

Wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) is a noninvasive way to provide excellent images of the lumen of the intestines as the capsule moving along in the gastrointestinal (G.I.) tract. However, the biggest drawback of this technology is its incapability of localizing of the capsule when an abnormality is found by the video source. Existing localization methods based on radio frequency (RF) and magnetic field suffer a great error due to the non-homogeneity of the human body and uncertainly of the movement of the endoscopic capsule. To complement the existing localization techniques, in this paper, we developed a series of image processing and visualization based algorithms to model the movement of the endoscopic capsule. First, a 3D map of the G.I. tract is generated to navigate the transition of the capsule. Then, by comparing the local similarity and feature points matching between the consecutive frames, the speed and rotation angels of the capsule can be roughly estimated. Finally, by mapping the pattern of the capsule’s movement onto the 3D G.I. tract map, we are able to simulate the entire transition of the endoscopic capsule in the 3D space. The experimental results show that the proposed method has a good estimation of the movement of the capsule.
Continuity of care and patient satisfaction in a family practice clinic.

BACKGROUND Continuity is a tenant central to family practice. Continuity is associated with improved satisfaction in populations that can easily change providers. However, little is known about the importance of continuity where patients are assigned providers. METHODS A pretested survey was distributed to patients of a family practice residency clinic in a military medical center for a week's period. Results were analyzed using chi2, unpaired t test, correlation matrices, and linear regression for patient satisfaction. RESULTS The response rate was 68.3%. Responders were not more likely to be seeing their primary care provider (PCP). Regression analysis revealed that 12% of patient satisfaction was associated with long-term continuity rates, 23% by PCP satisfaction, and 17% by how easy it was to make the appointment. For high clinic users (>10 visits/year), 78% of patient satisfaction is determined by PCP satisfaction and long-term continuity rates. A subset of patients (13%) values choice of appointment time or other providers over PCP continuity. Satisfaction is not diminished in this group despite low long-term continuity (P <.05 for all results). CONCLUSIONS Patient satisfaction is associated with continuity, especially for high clinic users. Although continuity is important, a subset of patients values the ability to see other providers and to change providers.
Who should share what?: item-level social influence prediction for users and posts ranking

People and information are two core dimensions in a social network. People sharing information (such as blogs, news, albums, etc.) is the basic behavior. In this paper, we focus on predicting item-level social influence to answer the question Who should share What, which can be extended into two information retrieval scenarios: (1) Users ranking: given an item, who should share it so that its diffusion range can be maximized in a social network; (2) Web posts ranking: given a user, what should she share to maximize her influence among her friends. We formulate the social influence prediction problem as the estimation of a user-post matrix, in which each entry represents the strength of influence of a user given a web post. We propose a Hybrid Factor Non-Negative Matrix Factorization (HF-NMF) approach for item-level social influence modeling, and devise an efficient projected gradient method to solve the HF-NMF problem. Intensive experiments are conducted and demonstrate the advantages and characteristics of the proposed method.
Dedicated-Relay vs. User Cooperation in Time-Duplexed Multiaccess Networks

The performance of user cooperation that results when users forward packets for each other in a multiaccess network is ompared to that of dedicated-relay cooperation which results from using a dedicated wireless relay when the users do not cooperate. Using the total transmit and processing power consumed at all nodes as a cost metric, the outage probabilities achieved by dynamic decode-and-forward (DDF) and amplify-and-forward (AF) are compared for the two networks. A geometry-inclusive high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) outage analysis in conjunction with area-averaged numerical simulations shows that in a K-user time-duplexed multiaccess network, user and dedicated-relay cooperation achieve a maximum diversity per user of K and 2, respectively, under both DDF and AF. However, when accounting for energy costs of processing and communication, dedicated-relay cooperation can be more energy efficient than user cooperation, i.e., dedicated-relay cooperation achieves coding (SNR) gains, particularly in the low SNR regime, that override the diversity advantage of user cooperation.
The utility of radiological imaging in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

BACKGROUND & AIMS This prospective study evaluates the role of radiological modalities in establishing the diagnosis of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). METHODS Consecutive patients with biopsy-proven nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) were enrolled (2000-2001). Patients with other liver diseases and significant alcohol consumption (>20 g/day) were excluded. Clinicodemographic data were gathered at the time of liver biopsy. Each biopsy specimen was assessed by a hepatopathologist. Each patient underwent a limited abdominal ultrasonography (US), computerized tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Films were interpreted by a radiologist who used a predetermined radiological protocol. Each radiological study was reread by the same radiologist and a second radiologist. RESULTS Patients with NASH had greater aspartate aminotransferase levels (P = 0.03), greater ferritin levels (P = 0.05), more hepatocyte ballooning (P < 0.0001), and more fibrosis (P = 0.002). None of the radiological features distinguished between NASH and other types of NAFLD. No radiological modality detected the presence of hepatocyte ballooning, Mallory's hyaline, or fibrosis, which are important features in the diagnosis of NASH. The presence of >33% fat on liver biopsy was optimal for detecting steatosis on radiological imaging. CONCLUSIONS Differences between NASH and nonprogressive NAFLD were not apparent with any radiological modality. Of the pathologic features important for establishing the diagnosis of NASH, only the severity of steatosis was reflected in these radiological modalities. Good intraobserver agreement was evident for each modality (US, CT, and MRI) that was superior to interobserver agreement.
Renin and the (pro)renin receptor in the renal collecting duct: Role in the pathogenesis of hypertension

The intrarenal renin–angiotensin system (RAS) plays a critical role in the pathogenesis and progression of hypertension and kidney disease. In angiotensin (Ang) II‐dependent hypertension, collecting duct renin synthesis and secretion are stimulated despite suppression of juxtaglomerular (JG) renin. This effect is mediated by the AngII type I receptor (AT1R), independent of blood pressure. Although the regulation of JG renin has been extensively studied, the mechanisms by which renin is regulated in the collecting duct remain unclear. The augmentation of renin synthesis and activity in the collecting duct may provide a pathway for additional generation of intrarenal and intratubular AngII formation due to the presence of angiotensinogen substrate and angiotensin‐converting enzyme in the nephron. The recently described (pro)renin receptor ((P)RR) binds renin or prorenin, enhancing renin activity and fully activating the biologically inactive prorenin peptide. Stimulation of (P)RR also activates intracellular pathways related to fibrosis. Renin and the (P)RR are augmented in renal tissues of AngII‐dependent hypertensive rats. However, the functional contribution of the (P)RR to enhanced renin activity in the collecting duct and its contribution to the development of hypertension and kidney disease have not been well elucidated. This review focuses on recent evidence demonstrating the mechanism of renin regulation in the collecting ducts and its interaction with the (P)RR. The data suggest that renin–(P)RR interactions may induce stimulation of intracellular pathways associated with the development of hypertension and kidney disease.
Virtual reality as an assistive technology to support the cognitive development of people with Intellectual and multiple disabilities

A realidade virtual possui inumeras aplicacoes potenciais para o tratamento e desenvolvimento de pessoas com deficiencia intelectual e multipla. Uma combinacao do tratamento cognitivo tradicional e metodos baseados em realidade virtual pode oferecer uma abordagem efetiva, segura e interativa ao tratamento de individuos com deficiencias. Baseado nisso, um metodo computacional foi proposto para desenvolver um sistema de realidade virtual para auxiliar no desenvolvimento cognitivo e da coordenacao motora grossa dessas pessoas, de modo que as tornem mais autonomas e capazes de fazer tarefas diarias, melhorando a participacao na comunidade, assim como a inclusao social, a partir da simulacao e treinamento de tarefas comuns que as pessoas geralmente executam diariamente. Uma das principais preocupacoes deste trabalho foi desenvolver com o custo mais baixo possivel, utilizando dispositivos padroes e acessiveis _a maioria das pessoas. Alem disso, uma manipulacao baseada na mao feita com marcadores de realidade aumentada foi proposta, para proporcionar uma experiencia do mundo real, pois, considerando as dificuldades cognitivas e motoras dos participantes, uma interacao feita com suas proprias maos seria mais facil, mais intuitiva e efetiva para as pessoas com deficiencias. Os resultados dos experimentos demonstraram a eficacia e viabilidade do uso de tecnologias de realidade virtual para o treinamento cognitivo e motor de pessoas com deficiencia intelectual e multipla, mostrando que os participantes conseguiram executar a tarefa 40% mais rapidos em media no estudo de caso 1, que basicamente _e um simulador onde o participante deve fazer compras em um mercado, e tambem mostrando uma melhora de 41% em relacao aos erros cometidos no estudo de caso 2, no qual o paciente deve passar por uma serie de desafios que treinam sua coordenacao motora grossa e equilibrio. Baseado na analise dos dados feita apos a intervencao e tambem baseado na observacao da fisioterapeuta, foi possivel provar que metodos baseados em realidade virtual podem ser eficazes no desenvolvimento de habilidades cognitivas e motoras de pessoas com deficiencia intelectual.
Interference, aging, and visuospatial working memory: the role of similarity.

OBJECTIVE Older adults' performance on working memory (WM) span tasks is known to be negatively affected by the buildup of proactive interference (PI) across trials. PI has been reduced in verbal tasks and performance increased by presenting distinctive items across trials. In addition, reversing the order of trial presentation (i.e., starting with the longest sets first) has been shown to reduce PI in both verbal and visuospatial WM span tasks. We considered whether making each trial visually distinct would improve older adults' visuospatial WM performance, and whether combining the 2 PI-reducing manipulations, distinct trials and reversed order of presentation, would prove additive, thus providing even greater benefit. METHOD Forty-eight healthy older adults (age range = 60-77 years) completed 1 of 3 versions of a computerized Corsi block test. For 2 versions of the task, trials were either all visually similar or all visually distinct, and were presented in the standard ascending format (shortest set size first). In the third version, visually distinct trials were presented in a reverse order of presentation (longest set size first). RESULTS Span scores were reliably higher in the ascending version for visually distinct compared with visually similar trials, F(1, 30) = 4.96, p = . 03, η² = . 14. However, combining distinct trials and a descending format proved no more beneficial than administering the descending format alone. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that a more accurate measurement of the visuospatial WM span scores of older adults (and possibly neuropsychological patients) might be obtained by reducing within-test interference.
Imaging vector fields using line integral convolution

Imaging vector fields has applications in science, art, image processing and special effects. An effective new approach is to use linear and curvilinear filtering techniques to locally blur textures along a vector field. This approach builds on several previous texture generation and filtering techniques[8, 9, 11, 14, 15, 17, 23]. It is, however, unique because it is local, one-dimensional and independent of any predefined geometry or texture. The technique is general and capable of imaging arbitrary two- and three-dimensional vector fields. The local one-dimensional nature of the algorithm lends itself to highly parallel and efficient implementations. Furthermore, the curvilinear filter is capable of rendering detail on very intricate vector fields. Combining this technique with other rendering and image processing techniques ? like periodic motion filtering ? results in richly informative and striking images. The technique can also produce novel special effects.
Journal of Translational Medicine Human Primary Osteoclasts: in Vitro Generation and Applications as Pharmacological and Clinical Assay

Osteoclasts are cells of hematopoietic origin with a unique property of dissolving bone; their inhibition is a principle for treatment of diseases of bone loss. Protocols for generation of human osteoclasts in vitro have been described, but they often result in cells of low activity, raising questions on cell phenotype and suitability of such assays for screening of bone resorption inhibitors. Here we describe an optimized protocol for the production of stable amounts of highly active human osteoclasts. Mononuclear cells were isolated from human peripheral blood by density centrifugation, seeded at 600,000 cells per 96-well and cultured for 17 days in α-MEM medium, supplemented with 10% of selected fetal calf serum, 1 µM dexamethasone and a mix of macrophage-colony stimulating factor (M-CSF, 25 ng/ml), receptor activator of NFκB ligand (RANKL, 50 ng/ml), and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1, 5 ng/ml). Thus, in addition to widely recognized osteoclast-generating factors M-CSF and RANKL, other medium supplements and lengthy culture times were necessary. This assay reliably detected inhibition of osteoclast formation (multinucleated cells positive for tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase) and activity (resorbed area and collagen fragments released from bone slices) in dose response curves with several classes of bone resorption inhibitors. Therefore, this assay can be applied for monitoring bone-resorbing activity of novel drugs and as an clinical test for determining the capacity of blood cells to generate bone-resorbing osteoclasts. Isolation of large quantities of active human osteoclast mRNA and protein is also made possible by this assay.
Downstaging of TURBT-Based Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer by Radical Cystectomy Predicts Better Survival

Differences between clinical (cT) and pathological tumor (pT) stage occur often after radical cystectomy (RC) for muscle-invasive bladder cancer. In order to evaluate the impact of downstaging on recurrence and survival, we selected patients from a large, contemporary, population-based series of 1,409 patients with MIBC. We included all patients who underwent RC (N=643) and excluded patients who received (neo)adjuvant therapy, those with known metastasis at time of diagnosis, and those with nonurothelial cell tumors. Disease outcomes were defined as recurrence-free survival (RFS) and relative survival (RS), as a good approximation of bladder cancer-specific survival. After applying the exclusion criteria, 375 patients were eligible for analysis. Tumor downstaging was found to be common after RC; in 99 patients (26.4%), tumor downstaging to non-muscle-invasive stages at RC occurred. Hydronephrosis at baseline and positive lymph nodes at RC occurred significantly less often in these patients. In 62 patients, no tumor was left in the cystectomy specimen. pT stage was pT1 in 20 patients and pTis in 17 patients. Patients with tumor downstaging have about a 30% higher RFS and RS compared to those without. Consequently, tumor downstaging is a favorable marker for prognosis after RC.
Barriers to managing child and adolescent mental health problems: a systematic review of primary care practitioners’ perceptions

Background Mental health problems are common and typically have an early onset. Effective treatments for mental health problems in childhood and adolescence are available, yet only a minority of children who are affected access them. This is of serious concern, considering the far-reaching and long-term negative consequences of such problems. Primary care is usually the first port of call for concerned parents so it is important to understand how primary care practitioners manage child and adolescent mental health problems and the barriers they face. Aim To ascertain primary care practitioners’ perceptions of the barriers that prevent effective management of child and adolescent mental health problems. Design and setting A systematic review of qualitative and quantitative literature in a primary care setting. Method A database search of peer-reviewed articles using PsycINFO, MEDLINE®, Embase, and Web of Science, from inception (earliest 1806) until October 2014, was conducted. Additional studies were identified through hand searches and forward-citation searches. Studies needed to have at least one search term in four categories: primary care, childhood/adolescence, mental health, and barriers. Results A total of 4151 articles were identified, of which 43 were included (30 quantitative studies and 13 qualitative studies). The majority of the barriers related to identification, management, and/or referral. Considerable barriers included a lack of providers and resources, extensive waiting lists, and financial restrictions. Conclusion The identification of a broad range of significant barriers highlights the need to strengthen the ability to deal with these common difficulties in primary care. There is a particular need for tools and training to aid accurate identification and management, and for more efficient access to specialist services.
Happiness in the neonatal intensive care unit: Merits of ethnographic fieldwork

Research has focused on the destructive effects of distress on professionals who work in ethically complex wards such as neonatal intensive units (NICUs). This article examines the accounts of health professionals, including nurses, pediatricians and assistant nurses, of their work at a NICU in Iceland. The aim is to understand how health professionals, who work under stressful conditions in an ethically sensitive ward, can counteract the negative sides of work too such a degree that they experience happiness. The collection of data was based on the ethnographic fieldwork, and the methods used were participant observation and semi-structured interviews. The professionals evaluated their wellbeing in line with conventional definitions of happiness. Working with children and opportunities to help others, engage in social relations and experience professional pride contributed to their happiness at work. Nonetheless, they did not dismiss the difficult experiences, and when confronted with these the professionals negotiated their meanings and the goals and priorities of work. In contrast to the findings of much quantitative and survey-based research, the professionals attributed constructive meanings to stress and argued that the positive experiences at work buffered the negative ones. Research on happiness would benefit from multifaceted methodological and theoretical perspectives. Thanks to its openness to the unforeseen, controversial, contradictory, and ambiguous aspects of human life, ethnography can contribute to happiness research and research on job satisfaction.
Deletion of a HoxD enhancer induces transcriptional heterochrony leading to transposition of the sacrum

A phylogenetically conserved transcriptional enhancer necessary for the activation of Hoxd‐11 was deleted from the HoxD complex of mice by targeted mutagenesis. While genetic and expression analyses demonstrated the role of this regulatory element in the activation of Hoxd‐11 during early somitogenesis, the function of this gene in developing limbs and the urogenital system was not affected, suggesting that Hox transcriptional controls are different in different axial structures. In the trunk of mutant embryos, transcriptional activation of Hoxd‐11 and Hoxd‐10 was severely delayed, but subsequently resumed with appropriate spatial distributions. The resulting caudal transposition of the sacrum indicates that proper vertebral specification requires a precise temporal control of Hox gene expression, in addition to spatial regulation. A slight time delay in expression (transcriptional heterochrony) cannot be compensated for at a later developmental stage, eventually leading to morphological alterations.
ASCA Observations of the Absorption Line Features from the Superluminal Jet Source GRS 1915+105

We have carried out a precise energy spectral analysis of the superluminal jet source GRS 1915+105 observed with ASCA six times from 1994 to 1999. The source was so bright that most SIS data suffered from event pileup. We have developed a new technique to circumvent the pileup effect, which enabled us to study the spectrum in detail and at high resolution (ΔE/E ≈ 2%). In the energy spectra of 1994 and 1995, resonant absorption lines of Ca XX Kα, Fe XXV Kα, Fe XXVI Kα, as well as blends of the absorption lines of Ni XXVII Kα + Fe XXV Kβ and Ni XXVIII Kα + Fe XXVI Kβ, were observed. Such absorption lines have not been found in other objects, except for iron absorption lines from GRO J1655-40, another superluminal jet source. We carried out a "curve of growth" analysis for the absorption lines and estimated column densities of the absorbing ions. We found that a plasma of moderate temperature (0.1-10 keV) and cosmic abundance cannot account for the observed large equivalent widths. The hydrogen column density of such plasma would be so high that the optical depth of Thomson scattering would be too thick (NH ≳ 1024 cm-2). We require either a very high kinetic temperature of the ions (≳100 keV) or extreme overabundances (≳100 Z☉). In the former case, the ion column densities have reasonable values of 1017-1018 cm-2. We modeled the absorber as a photoionized disk which envelops the central X-ray source. Using a photoionization calculation code, we constrain physical parameters of the plasma disk, such as the ionization parameter, radius, and density. Estimated parameters were found to be consistent with those of a radiation-driven disk wind. These absorption line features may be peculiar to superluminal jet sources and related to the jet formation mechanism. Alternatively, they may be common characteristics of supercritical edge-on systems.