Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improving the Performance of Visual Steering Commands for Multi-Dimensional Trade Space Exploration

Designers perform many tasks when developing new products and systems, and making decisions may be among the most important of these tasks. The trade space exploration process advocated in this work provides a visual and intuitive approach for formulating and solving single- and multi-objective optimization problems to support design decision-making. In this paper, we introduce an advanced sampling method to improve the performance of the visual steering commands that have been developed to explore and navigate the trade space. This method combines speciation and crowding operations used within the Differential Evolution (DE) algorithm to generate new samples near the region of interest. The accuracy and diversity of the resulting samples are compared against simple Monte Carlo sampling as well as the current implementation of the visual steering commands using a suite of test problems and an engineering application. The proposed method substantially increases the efficiency and effectiveness of the sampling process while maintaining diversity within the trade space.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
Viewers’ Perceptions of Objectified Images of Women in Alcohol Advertisements and Their Intentions to Intervene in Alcohol-Facilitated Sexual Assault Situations

Alcohol-facilitated sexual assault is a serious problem on college campuses, and bystander intervention has been shown to be a successful method in reducing sexual assaults. Although there are a number of factors associated with individuals’ intentions to intervene in sexual assault situations, the media’s cultural scripts that link alcohol consumption to sexual success may play a role. Alcohol advertisements, in particular, routinely portray women as sexual objects and often link alcohol consumption to sexual success; therefore, exposure to such content may be negatively associated with people’s intentions to intervene in alcohol-facilitated sexual assault situations. Thus, the current study investigated if exposure to and perceptions of objectified images of women in alcoholic beverage advertisements were associated with college students’ intentions to intervene in alcohol-facilitated sexual assault situations. Undergraduate college students (N = 1208) were randomly assigned to view three alcohol advertisements that either included highly-objectified or low-objectified women, and then they reported their perceptions of the women in each of the alcohol advertisements and their intentions to intervene in sexual assault situations. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that individuals’ perceptions of alcohol advertisements moderate the relationship between exposure to objectifying alcohol advertisements and intentions to intervene in sexual assault situations.
Treatment adherence in adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease: the collective impact of barriers to adherence and anxiety/depressive symptoms.

OBJECTIVE Knowledge of factors impacting adolescents' ability to adhere to their inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) regimen is limited. The current study examines the collective impact of barriers to adherence and anxiety/depressive symptoms on adolescent adherence to the IBD regimen. METHODS Adolescents (n = 79) completed measures of barriers to adherence, adherence, and anxiety/depressive symptoms at one of two specialty pediatric IBD clinics. RESULTS Most adolescents reported barriers to adherence and 1 in 8 reported borderline or clinically elevated levels of anxiety/depressive symptoms. Anxiety/depressive symptoms moderated the relationship between barriers to adherence and adherence. Post hoc probing revealed a significant, additive effect of higher anxiety/depressive symptoms in the barriers-adherence relationship, with adherence significantly lower among adolescents with higher barriers and higher anxiety/depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS In order to optimize adherence in adolescents, interventions should target not only barriers to adherence but also any anxiety/depressive symptoms that may negatively impact efforts to adhere to recommended treatment.
Bidirectional Alterations in Cerebellar Synaptic Transmission oftottering and rollingCa2+ Channel Mutant Mice

Hereditary ataxic mice, tottering(tg) and rolling Nagoya (tgrol), carry mutations in the P/Q-type Ca2+ channel α1A subunit gene. The positions of the mutations and the neurological phenotypes are known, but the mechanisms of how the mutations cause the symptoms and how the different mutations lead to various onset and severity have remained unsolved. Here we compared fundamental properties of excitatory synaptic transmission in the cerebellum and roles of Ca2+ channel subtypes therein among wild-type control, tg, and tgrol mice. The amplitude of EPSC of the parallel fiber–Purkinje cell (PF-PC) synapses was considerably reduced in ataxictgrol . Although the amplitude of the parallel fiber-mediated EPSC was only mildly decreased in young non-ataxic tg mice, it was drastically diminished in adult ataxic tg mice of postnatal day 28–35, showing a good correlation between the impairment of the PF-PC synaptic transmission and manifestation of ataxia. In contrast, the EPSC amplitude of the climbing fiber–Purkinje cell (CF-PC) synapses was preserved in tg, and it was even increased intgrol , which was associated with altered properties of the postsynaptic glutamate receptors. The climbing fiber-mediated EPSC was more dependent on other Ca2+ channel subtypes in mutant mice, suggesting that such compensatory mechanisms contribute to maintaining the CF-PC synaptic transmission virtually intact. The results indicate that different mutations of the P/Q-type Ca2+ channel not only cause the primary effect of different severity but also lead to diverse additional secondary effects, resulting in disruption of well balanced neural networks.
Emerging disinfection by-products’ formation potential in raw water, wastewater, and treated wastewater in Thailand

Abstract Raw water (RW) from the Bangkok and Sing Buri water treatment plants located on the Chao Phraya River, river water, domestic wastewater (WW), and treated wastewater (TWW) from two wastewater treatment plants in Thailand were collected three times to investigate disinfection by-products’ (DBPs) formation potential (FP) including trihalomethane FP (THMFP), iodo-THMFP (I-THMFP), haloacetonitriles FP (HANFP), and trichloronitromethane FP (TCNMFP). High THMFP levels were observed in river water, WW, and TWW. Considering average value, the THMFP of TWW was about two times higher than that of RW. Relatively high levels of I-THMFP were found in WW and TWW. The I-THMFP of TWW was three to seven times higher than that of RW. The HANFP of TWW was one to three times higher than that of RW. High levels of TCNMFP were found in WW and TWW. TCNMFP of TWW was six to thirteen times higher than that of RW. The discharge of TWW to RW must be prevented and controlled. The moderately positive linear relationship was obtained between dissolved organic carbon and TCNMFP in TWW. Considering measured weight concentration, THMFP was found as the highest DBPs. The highest lethal concentration 50-weighted and lowest cytotoxicity-weighted concentrations of DBPs were determined for HANFP.
Learning of tactile frequency discrimination in humans

Learning is based on the remodeling of neural connections in the brain. The purpose of the present study was to examine the extent to which training‐induced improvements in tactile frequency discrimination in humans are correlated with an increase of cortical representations in the primary somatosensory cortex. Healthy male subjects (n = 16) were trained in a tactile frequency discrimination task of the left ring finger. During the first 15 days of training, there was a steep improvement in frequency discrimination, which generalized from the trained finger to its homologue on the opposite hand, and to a lesser extent, to the other fingers on both hands. During the following 15 days of training, there was only a minor improvement in tactile frequency discrimination. Retention of improved performance in frequency discrimination 30 days after training was demonstrated for all digits. Cortical finger representation in the primary somatosensory cortex, as measured by magnetic source imaging, did not change during training. Because of the generalized training effect and the lack of detectable increase in the cortical field evoked from the trained finger, we assume that skill improvement was mediated predominantly by regions outside the primary somatosensory cortex. Hum. Brain Mapping 18:260–271, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Syllable Frequency and Stress Priming Interact in Reading Italian Aloud

In current theories of word reading the structure and operations of the phonological buffer are quite underspecified. We investigated this issue by running a reading aloud experiment in Italian. We adopted a priming paradigm, with three-syllabic words as primes and targets and we jointly manipulated two effects ascribed to the stage of phonological and phonetic encoding, that is stress priming and syllable frequency. Target words varying for the frequency of their initial syllable were preceded by words congruent or incongruent for the stress pattern. The results showed an interaction between syllable frequency and stress prime, with the stress congruency effect larger for the targets with low-frequency first syllable. This result suggests that, in reading aloud, stress assignment and syllable computation have a tight time dynamics in the phonological output buffer, and that the process at the level of phonology-to-phonetic interface operates interactively.
Differentiated adipose‐derived stem cells act synergistically with RGD‐modified surfaces to improve neurite outgrowth in a co‐culture model

Peripheral nerve damage is a problem encountered after trauma and during surgery and the development of synthetic polymer conduits may offer a promising alternative to autografts. In order to improve the performance of the polymer to be used for nerve conduits, poly‐ε‐caprolactone (PCL) films were chemically functionalized with RGD moieties, using a chemical reaction previously developed. In vitro cultures of dissociated dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons provide a valid model to study different factors affecting axonal growth. In this work, DRG neurons were cultured on RGD‐functionalized PCL films. Adult adipose‐derived stem cells differentiated to Schwann cells (dASCs) were initially cultured on the functionalized PCL films, resulting in improved attachment and proliferation. dASCs were also co‐cultured with DRG neurons on treated and untreated PCL to assess stimulation by dASCs on neurite outgrowth. Neuron response was generally poor on untreated PCL films, but long neurites were observed in the presence of dASCs or RGD moieties. A combination of the two factors enhanced even further neurite outgrowth, acting synergistically. Finally, in order to better understand the extracellular matrix (ECM)–cell interaction, a β1 integrin blocking experiment was carried out. Neurite outgrowth was not affected by the specific antibody blocking, showing that β1 integrin function can be compensated by other molecules present on the cell membrane. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Radiofrequency ablation as a substitute for surgery in elderly patients with nonresected breast cancer: pilot study with long-term outcomes.

PURPOSE To determine the efficacy and tolerance of ultrasonography (US)-guided percutaneous radiofrequency (RF) ablation with endocrine therapy in elderly patients with breast cancer who decline or are not candidates for surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS Internal ethics committee approval was obtained, and patients gave informed written consent. Women older than 70 years with breast carcinoma, who had undergone neoadjuvant endocrine therapy within the past 6 months, underwent US-guided RF ablation while under local anesthesia and sedation. Only tumors measuring 3 cm or smaller and situated at least 1 cm from the skin, nipple, and chest wall were selected. Multitine electrodes were used. Endocrine therapy was continued for a total of 5 years, and breast irradiation was not performed. Clinical follow-up included US, mammography, and dynamic contrast material-enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging every 2 months for 6 months and then every 6 months until 5 years. Primary end points were RF ablation efficacy at 1 year on the basis of DCE MR imaging follow-up and procedural tolerance. The secondary end point was delayed local efficacy at the end of endocrine therapy (5 years) on the basis of DCE MR imaging follow-up. RESULTS Twenty-one women were treated from December 2004 to April 2010 (median age, 79 years; age range, 70-88 years). Efficacy was demonstrated at 1 year, with only one patient presenting with a local relapse. No general complications were noted. Skin burn occurred in four patients, with spontaneous healing after a maximum of 2 months. Ten patients were followed up for 5 years, with three additional patients presenting with cancer recurrence outside the ablation zone at 30, 48, and 60 months-including two with lobular carcinoma. Four patients died during the full follow-up, two of breast cancer-related causes and two of unrelated causes. CONCLUSION RF ablation in elderly patients with nonresected breast cancer is well tolerated and efficient at 1-year follow-up. The technique is not recommended for lobular carcinoma.
Compact hashing for mixed image-keyword query over multi-label images

Recently locality-sensitive hashing (LSH) algorithms have attracted much attention owing to its empirical success and theoretic guarantee in large-scale visual search. In this paper we address the new topic of hashing with multi-label data, in which images in the database are assumed to be associated with missing or noisy multiple labels and each query consists of a query image and several textual search terms, similar to the new "Search with Image" function introduced by the Google Image Search. The returned images are judged based on the combination of visual similarity and semantic information conveyed by search terms. In most of the state-of-the-art approaches, the learned hashing functions are universal for all labels. To further enhance the hashing efficiency for such multi-label data, we propose a novel scheme "boosted shared hashing". Our basic observation is that image labels typically form cliques in the feature space. Hashing efficacy can be greatly improved by making each hashing function more targeted at and only shared across such cliques instead of all labels in conventional hashing methods. In other words, each hashing function is deliberately designed such that it is especially effective for a subset of labels. The targeted, but sparse association between labels and hash bits reduces the computation and storage when indexing a new datum, since only a small number of relevant hashing functions become active given the labels. We develop a Boosting-style algorithm for simultaneously optimizing the label subset and hashing function in a unified framework. Experimental results on standard image benchmarks like CIFAR-10 and NUS-WIDE show that the proposed hashing scheme achieves substantially superior performances over conventional methods in terms of accuracy under the same hash bit budget.
Polymer Solar Cells

Currently, the active materials used for the fabrication of solar cells are mainly inorganic. Materials such as silicon (Si), gallium-arsenide (GaAs), cadmium-telluride (CdTe), and cadmium-indium-selenide (CIS). Nevertheless, the large production cost for the silicon solar cells is one of the major drawback in this field. This chapter is dedicated to a critical presentation of another type of photovoltaics, called polymer, or plastic, solar cell technology. Polymer solar cells have attracted significant attention in the past few years due to their potential of providing environmentally safe, lightweight, flexible, and efficient solar cells.
Microvascular cerebral blood flow fluctuations in association with apneas and hypopneas in acute ischemic stroke

Abstract. In a pilot study on acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients, unexpected periodic fluctuations in microvascular cerebral blood flow (CBF) had been observed. Motivated by the relative lack of information about the impact of the emergence of breathing disorders in association with stroke on cerebral hemodynamics, we hypothesized that these fluctuations are due to apneic and hypopneic events. A total of 28 patients were screened within the first week after stroke with a pulse oximeter. Five (18%) showed fluctuations of arterial blood oxygen saturation (≥3 % ) and were included in the study. Near-infrared diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) was utilized bilaterally to measure the frontal lobe CBF alongside respiratory polygraphy. Biphasic CBF fluctuations were observed with a bilateral increase of 27.1 % ± 17.7 % and 29.0 % ± 17.4 % for the ipsilesional and contralesional hemispheres, respectively, and a decrease of −19.3 % ± 9.1 % and −21.0 % ± 8.9 % for the ipsilesional and contralesional hemispheres, respectively. The polygraph revealed that, in general, the fluctuations were associated with apneic and hypopneic events. This study motivates us to investigate whether the impact of altered respiratory patterns on cerebral hemodynamics can be detrimental in AIS patients.
Treatment of pelvic inflammatory disease.

A few data are clear regarding the treatment of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). First, antibiotics are better than no antibiotics [1]. Second, chlamydial PID produces more long-term sequelae than does PID caused by other microbes [2], in part because Chlamydia trachomatis produces few clinical signs, and there is late clinical recognition of the infection. Third, to date, within a given etiologic group, the duration of symptoms (and not the particular antibiotic regimen) appears to be the largest determinant of infertility [3, 4]. Fourth, the recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that treatment needs to be effec-
BitStore : An Incentive-Compatible Solution for Blocked Downloads in BitTorrent

As many as 30% of all files shared on public BitTorrent networks suffer from the lack of “seeders” (peers that have complete copies of the file being shared); peers attempting to download such a file (“leechers”) may have to wait indefinitely to obtain certain file chunks that are not distributed in the file’s network of peers (the “swarm”). We call this the Blocked Leecher Problem (BLP). To alleviate BLP, we propose BitStore, a larger, secure network of BitTorrent users (not necessarily all sharing the same content) where nodes offer their resources (such as disk space and bandwidth) for public use. Peers sharing any file can use the storage network to maintain replicas for each chunk of the file. Any leecher seeking chunks that are absent from in its own swarm can query the public network, locate the node storing the said chunks, and retrieve them. BitStore also provides robust incentives for nodes contributing resources: In return for storing and serving chunks, such nodes can negotiate micropayments using a second-price auction. Peers who receive these credits may later use them to retrieve blocks they need from the storage network. This paper quantifies the BLP, presents an overview of the BitStore design, and discusses various challenges related to storage management and incentives.
Muscle Relaxation Does Not Alter Hypnotic Level During Propofol Anesthesia

Electromyographic (EMG) activity can contaminate electroencephalographic signals. Paralysis may therefore reduce the Bispectral Index (BIS) by alleviating artifact from muscles lying near the electrodes. Paralysis may also reduce signals from muscle stretch receptors that normally contribute to arousal. We therefore tested the hypothesis that nondepolarizing neuromuscular block reduces BIS. Ten volunteers were anesthetized with propofol at a target effect site concentration of 3.8 ± 0.4 &mgr;g/mL. A mivacurium infusion was adjusted to vary the first twitch (T1) in a train-of-four to 80%, 30%, 20%, 15%, 10%, 5%, or 2% of the prerelaxant intensity. At each randomly assigned T1, we measured BIS and frontal-temporal EMG intensity. BIS averaged 95 ± 4 before induction of anesthesia, and decreased significantly to 40 ± 5 after propofol administration. However, there were no significant differences at the designated block levels. Frontal-temporal EMG intensity averaged 47 ± 3 dB before induction of anesthesia, and decreased significantly to 27 ± 1 dB after propofol administration. However, there were no significant differences at the designated block levels. These data suggest that the BIS level and EMG tone are unaltered by mivacurium administration during propofol anesthesia.
Neurons in hippocampal afferent zones of rat striatum parse routes into multi‐pace segments during maze navigation

Hippocampal ‘place’ neurons discharge when rats occupy specific regions within an environment. This finding is a cornerstone of the theory of the hippocampus as a cognitive map of space. But for navigation, representations of current position must be implemented by signals concerning where to go next, and how to get there. In recordings in hippocampal output structures associated with the motor system (nucleus accumbens and ventromedial caudate nucleus) in rats solving a plus‐maze, neurons fired continuously from the moment the rat left one location until it arrived at the next goal site, or at an intermediate place, such as the maze centre. While other studies have shown discharges during reward approach behaviours, this is the first demonstration of activity corresponding to the parsing of complex routes into sequences of movements between landmarks, similar to the lists of instructions we often employ to communicate directions to follow between points on a map. As these cells fired during a series of several paces or re‐orientation movements, perhaps this is homologous to ‘chunking’. The temporal overlaps in the activity profiles of the individual neurons provide a possible substrate to successively trigger movements required to arrive at the goal. These hippocampally informed, and in some cases, spatially selective responses support the view of the ventral striatum as an interface between limbic and motor systems, permitting contextual representations to have an impact on fundamental action sequences for goal‐directed behaviour.
Bit-Level Soft-Decision Decoding of Triple-Parity Reed-Solomon Codes through Automorphism Groups

This paper discusses bit-level soft decoding of triple-parity Reed-Solomon (RS) codes through automorphism permutation. A new method for identifying the automorphism groups of RS binary images is first developed. The new algorithm runs effectively, and can handle more RS codes and capture more automorphism groups than the existing ones. Utilizing the automorphism results, a new bit-level soft-decision decoding algorithm is subsequently developed for general (n,n-3,4) RS codes. Simulation on (31,28,4) RS codes demonstrates an impressive gain of more than 1 dB at the bit error rate of 10-5 over the existing algorithms.
Acute Hemorrhagic Pericarditis in a Child with Pneumonia Due to Chlamydophila pneumoniae

ABSTRACT Chlamydophila pneumoniae is mainly responsible for respiratory tract infections but has also been associated with endocarditis and myocarditis. We report a case of pneumonia in a child with hemorrhagic pericardial effusion with a positive result by a new C. pneumoniae TaqMan PCR, suggesting a pericardial inflammation directly induced by C. pneumoniae. C. pneumoniae should be suspected in patients with community-acquired pneumonia and concurrent pericarditis. Empirical treatment with azithromycin seems feasible.