Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Automatic Detection of Anatomical Structures in Digital Fundus Retinal Images

This paper proposes a novel system for the automatic detection of important anatomical structures such as the Optic Disc (OD), Blood Vessels and Macula in digital fundus retinal images. The novelty is in extraction of blood vessels and localization of macula. OD localization is done using Principle Component Analysis (PCA) followed by an active contour based approach for accurate segmentation of its boundary. A morphology based approach is proposed for Blood Vessel Detection (BVD). Macula is identified by combining BVD with the property that it is the darkest area in the vicinity of OD. The proposed method is tested on a set of 100 images and the results demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed system. Retinal Image Analysis is a key element in detecting retinopathies in patients. It assists in the automatic detection of pathologies such as diabetic retinopathy (DR), macular degeneration, and glaucoma. Optic Disc (OD), macula and retinal vasculature are all important anatomical structures in the retina. The OD localization and segmentation is a crucial task in an automated retinal image analysis system. It is required as a prerequisite for the detection of exudates and also helps in macula detection, as macula is the darkest area in the neighborhood of OD. Blood Vessel Detection (BVD) is an essential step in medical diagnosis of fundus images as it aids in the diagnosis of ocular diseases. Other applications of retinal vasculature extraction include the treatment of age-related macular degeneration, registration algorithms and personal identification in security applications. Macula is highly sensitive region of the retina responsible for detailed central vision. Macular oedema is a special case of DR caused by the leakage of blood vessels in the macula region. Macular oedema can be treated with laser if detected early enough. Identifying the macula region assumes utmost importance as a first step in the detection of macular oedema.
Action Recognition and Detection by Combining Motion and Appearance Features

We present an action recognition and detection system from temporally untrimmed videos by combining motion and appearance features. Motion and appearance provides two complementary cues for human action understanding from videos. For motion features, we adopt the Fisher vector representation with improved dense trajectories due to its rich descriptive capacity. For appearance feature, we choose the deep convolutional neural network activations due to its recent success in image based tasks. With this fused feature of iDT and CNN, we train a SVM classifier for each action class in one-vs-all scheme. We report both the recognition and detection results of our system on THUMOS
Erasmus exchange students : A behind-the-scenes view into an ELF community of practice

The present paper examines how some Erasmus exchange students studying temporarily at the University of Szeged or at the Charles University in Prague are socialized in(to) their new communities of practice. The paper adopts a language socialization perspective combined with a community of practice approach, and thus contributes to a vastly under-researched area within ELF. The paper reveals that the participants collect first hand experience of using ELF within their newly emerging Erasmus community of practice. Very importantly, though, ELF, is not the only language that they are using within the Erasmus community; and the Erasmus community is not the only community of practice which they orient themselves to. As will be shown, their experience of language socialization is a multifaceted one, characterized by pride and satisfaction, on the one hand, and dilemmas and regret, on the other.
Overexpression of Prostate-Specific TMPRSS2(exon 0)-ERG Fusion Transcripts Corresponds with Favorable Prognosis of Prostate Cancer

Purpose: To gain insight in the mechanism and clinical relevance of TMPRSS2-ERG expression in prostate cancer, we determined the specific characteristics of fusion transcripts starting at TMPRSS2 exon 1 and at a more upstream and less characterized exon 0. Experimental Design: We used quantitative PCR analysis to investigate expression of wild-type TMPRSS2(exon 0) and TMPRSS2(exon 1) and of ERG fusion transcripts. Expression was tested in normal tissue samples, in prostate cancer cell lines and xenografts, and in fresh-frozen clinical prostate cancer samples (primary tumors and recurrences). Expression in clinical samples was correlated with disease progression. Results: TMPRSS2(exon 0) and TMPRSS2(exon 1) transcripts were similarly androgen regulated in prostate cancer cell lines, but the expression levels of TMPRSS2(exon 1) were much higher. Comparison of expression in different tissues showed TMPRSS2(exon 0) expression to be much more prostate specific. In androgen receptor–positive prostate cancer xenografts, TMPRSS2(exon 1) transcripts were expressed at similar levels, but TMPRSS2(exon 0) transcripts were expressed at very variable levels. The same phenomenon was observed for TMPRSS2-ERG fusion transcripts. In clinical prostate cancers, the expression of TMPRSS2(exon 0)-ERG was even more variable. Expression of TMPRSS2(exon 0)-ERG transcripts was detected in 55% (24 of 44) of gene fusion–positive primary tumors but only in 15% (4 of 27) of gene fusion–positive recurrences and at much lower levels. Furthermore, in primary tumors, expression of TMPRSS2(exon 0)-ERG transcripts was an independent predictor of biochemical progression-free survival. Conclusion: The expression of TMPRSS2(exon 0)-ERG fusion transcripts in prostate cancer is associated with a less-aggressive biological behavior. (Clin Cancer Res 2009;15(20):6398–403)
Relationship between Sedentariness and Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity in Youth: A Multivariate Multilevel Study

This study aimed to jointly analyse moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentariness, and their correlates, in children within their school contexts, using a multivariate multilevel approach. The sample comprises 499 Portuguese children (284 girls) from 23 schools. MVPA and sedentary time were estimated by accelerometer. A set of predictor variables from both child and school levels was tested. Overall, schools explained a small amount of the total variance in both MVPA (5.6%) and sedentariness (3.2%), and a correlation coefficient of −0.45 (p < 0.05) was found between MVPA and sedentariness at the child level. Number of siblings and socioeconomic status (SES) were significantly associated with both sedentariness (SES: β = 2.372 ± 1.183; siblings: β = −8.127 ± 2.759) and MPVA (SES: β = −1.535 ± 0.421; siblings: β = 2.822 ± 0.977), but with opposite signs. Body Mass Index (BMI) (β = −4.804 ± 1.898) and sex (male) (β = 21.561 ± 3.496) were only associated with MVPA. None of the school correlates were statistically significant in their joint effects to simultaneously explain sedentariness and MVPA. These results suggest that although MVPA and sedentariness may be different constructs, they are correlated and this should be taken into account when designing strategies to reduce children’s sedentariness and increase their MVPA. In addition, the small effect of the school context on this relationship highlights the important roles of child and family characteristics.
Cell‐based delivery of cytokines allows for the differentiation of a doxycycline inducible oligodendrocyte precursor cell line in vitro

Stem cells, having the property of self renewal, offer the promise of lifelong repair of damaged tissue. However, somatic tissue‐committed primary stem cells are rare and difficult to expand in vitro. Genetically modified stem‐like cells with the ability to expand conditionally provide a valuable tool with which to study stem cell biology, especially the cellular events of proliferation and differentiation. In addition, stem cells may be appropriate candidates for therapeutic applications.
Prevalence and Types of Pitfall in the Assessment of Mitral Isthmus Linear Conduction Block

Background—To identify and understand clinically encountered pitfalls in the assessment of transmitral conduction block using differential coronary sinus and left atrial appendage pacing techniques in patients with left mitral isthmus linear ablation. Methods and Results—All the available assessments of mitral isthmus block were thoroughly reviewed in 271 mitral isthmus ablation procedures undertaken among 236 patients from October 2008 to April 2011. Bidirectional block was established in 186 of 271 (69%) procedures. Careful evaluation of electrograms recorded on the multipolar coronary sinus and ablation catheters was undertaken to identify and understand the characteristics of pitfall, if any. Pitfall was encountered in 55 of 271 (20%) procedures among 51 patients and categorized into 6 types (types 1, 3, 4, and 5 led to spurious diagnosis of block; types 2 and 6 led to erroneous diagnosis of absence of block). There were 14, 10, 17, 2, 15, and 3 (total=61) cases of pitfall types 1 through 6, respectively. Operator recognized 42 of 61 (69%) pitfalls intraprocedurally. Recognition of types 1 and 5 was difficult because of indiscernible electrograms at usual amplifier settings or presence of slow conduction mimicking block. Conclusions—Every fifth assessment of bidirectional block across mitral isthmus linear lesion using differential coronary sinus and left atrial appendage pacing techniques encounters a pitfall, which can lead to erroneous clinical diagnosis of block or absence of block. Recognition of pitfall during the procedure is feasible and necessitates careful distinction of far-field left atrium from the local coronary sinus electrograms besides appropriate adjustments in catheter position and pacing outputs.
Effects of a Multimodal Exercise Program in Motor Fitness, Functional Motor Asymmetry and Intermanual Transfer of Learning: Study with Portuguese Older Adults of Diferent Contexts

XXIII RESUMO XXV LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS XXVII CHAPTER I 29 GENERAL INTRODUCTION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS 31 CHAPTER II 47 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 49 CHAPTER III 71 PRE-EXPERIMENTAL AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES 71 Pre-experimental Study – 1 73 Visuomotor Memory in Older Adults: Comparison of Practitioners and NonPractitioners of Physical Exercise 73 Pre-experimental Study – 2 93 Interrelations between the Modified Baecke Questionnaire and Accelerometry in Assessing the Physical Activity of Portuguese Older Adults 93 Experimental Study – 3 121 Effects of a Multimodal Exercise Program in Motor Fitness and Functional Motor Asymmetry: Study with Portuguese Older Adults of Different Contexts 121 Experimental Study – 4 165 Effects of a Multimodal Exercise Program in Pedal Dexterity and Balance: Study with Portuguese Older Adults of Different Contexts 165 Experimental Study – 5 199 Effects of a Multimodal Exercise Program in the Intermanual Transfer of Learning 199
Can happiness boost self-worth? : Exploring the impact of subjective well-being on the global self-esteem

Consistent with the contention that happiness leads to desirable outcomes (Diener, 2012), the current study examines the relationship of subjective well-being (SWB) to self-esteem of Filipino adolescents. The cognitive and affective domains of SWB were utilized as determinants of global self-esteem through regression analyses. Findings of the study showed that gender, and all dimensions of SWB significantly predicted the appraisal of self-worth among the respondents, with life satisfaction as its strongest predictor. From these results, premises of the broaden-and-build theory was confirmed as it elaborates how adolescents’ appreciation of self profits from positive emotions and satisfaction with life. Implications of the results are discussed.
Mining dependency in distributed systems through unstructured logs analysis

Dependencies among system components are crucial to locating root errors in a distributed system. In this paper, we propose an approach to mine intercomponent dependencies from unstructured logs. The technique requires neither additional system instrumentation nor any application specific knowledge. In the approach, we first parse each log message into its log key and parameters. Then, we find dependent log key pairs belong to different components by leveraging co-occurrence analysis and parameter correspondence. After that, we use Bayesian decision theory to estimate the dependency direction of each dependent log key pair. We further apply time delay consistency to remove false positive detections. Case studies on Hadoop show that the technique successfully identifies the dependencies among the distributed system components.
SUBSPACE CORRECTION METHODS FOR TOTAL VARIATION AND l1−MINIMIZATION

This paper is concerned with the numerical minimization of energy functionals in Hilbert spaces involving convex constraints coinciding with a semi-norm for a subspace. The optimization is realized by alternating minimizations of the functional on a sequence of orthogonal subspaces. On each subspace an iterative proximity-map algorithm is implemented via oblique thresholding, which is the main new tool introduced in this work. We provide convergence conditions for the algorithm in order to compute minimizers of the target energy. Analogous results are derived for a parallel variant of the algorithm. Applications are presented in domain decomposition methods for singular elliptic PDEs arising in total variation minimization and in accelerated sparse recovery algorithms based on l1-minimization. We include numerical examples which show efficient solutions to classical problems in signal and image processing.
Deadbeat control with multi-sampling compensation for medium-voltage motor drives by cascaded multi-cell inverter using FPGA based hardware controller

Multi-cell inverter include an array of single-phase inverters capable of handling higher voltage ratings with lower rating power electronics devices. In this paper, a deadbeat control combined with a multi-sampling compensation method is proposed to control a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) fed by a multi-cell inverter and realize real time digital feedback control using FPGA based hardware controller. This digital control is characterized by a very fast transient response, low switching losses, and a proper compensation for load disturbances and cyclical fluctuations.
Bovine Lactoferrin Inhibits Dengue Virus Infectivity by Interacting with Heparan Sulfate, Low-Density Lipoprotein Receptor, and DC-SIGN

Bovine lactoferrin (bLF) presents in milk and has been shown to inhibit several viral infections. Effective drugs are unavailable for the treatment of dengue virus (DENV) infection. In this study, we evaluated the antiviral effect of bLF against DENV infection in vivo and in vitro. Bovine LF significantly inhibited the infection of the four serotypes of DENV in Vero cells. In the time-of-drug addition test, DENV-2 infection was remarkably inhibited when bLF was added during or prior to the occurrence of virus attachment. We also revealed that bovine LF blocks binding between DENV-2 and the cellular membrane by interacting with heparan sulfate (HS), dendritic cell-specific intercellular adhesion molecule 3-grabbing non-integrin (DC-SIGN), and low-density lipoprotein receptors (LDLR). In addition, bLF inhibits DENV-2 infection and decreases morbidity in a suckling mouse challenge model. This study supports the finding that bLF may inhibit DENV infection by binding to the potential DENV receptors.
Can the Inpatient Hospital Setting Be a Golden Opportunity to Improve Colon Cancer Screening Rates in the United States?

Background. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the United States. Despite efforts to increase colorectal cancer screening, the rate of compliance with the recommended screening remains relatively suboptimal according the American Cancer Society (53%). Purpose. To assess whether the time of hospitalization is a suitable opportunity for patients to receive counseling and for recruiting patients to undergo screening colonoscopy for colon cancer. Method. In 2009, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of hospitalized adults age 50 to 80 years in order to assess their responses on a modified version of the Health Information National Trends Survey. We conducted χ2 analyses on these data to examine the differences in patients’ knowledge of colorectal cancer screening and prior adherence to screening guidelines and to assess whether they would be willing to undergo a screening in the near future if prompted by their physicians. Results. We enrolled a total of 332 participants to complete the study questionnaire. About 94% of the subjects had heard about colon cancer, and 83.4% had heard of any screening tests to detect colorectal cancer. About 66% of subjects reported the colonoscopy to be the most effective screening test for colon cancer. Approximately 55% of the total sample group adhered to recommended screening guidelines for colon cancer using the colonoscopy. Conclusions. The time of hospitalization is a potential “golden opportunity” to counsel patients and promote colon cancer screening.
Epidemiology of Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans in Alberta, Canada, from 1988 to 2007

BACKGROUND There have only been a few population‐based, epidemiologic studies assessing dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP). OBJECTIVE To assess the epidemiology of DFSP in Alberta, Canada, over a 20‐year period. METHODS A population‐based, retrospective analysis of all cases of DFSP in Alberta was conducted using data from the Alberta Cancer Registry. Sex‐, age‐, and anatomical location–specific incidence rates and trends were determined. RESULTS The overall age‐standardized incidence rate of DFSP remained stable at 0.93 per 100,000. DFSP prevalence was highest in individuals aged 20 to 39 (46.8%), followed by those aged 40 to 59 (34.0%), 60 and older (14.7%), and lastly younger than 20 (4.5%). The mean age at diagnosis was 41.1 (women) and 43.1 (men). The incidence of DFSP in men and women has shown a dramatic shift such that incidence in women has increased 3.2% per year, whereas in men it has decreased 2.7% per year. In women, DFSP incidence increased on the trunk and decreased on the upper extremities. CONCLUSION The age‐standardized incidence of DFSP observed is nearly twice as high as previously reported and has remained stable. The incidence is increasing in women and decreasing in men. DFSP primarily affects young to middle‐aged adults and most commonly presents on the trunk.
Epidemiology of Candidemia in a Turkish tertiary care hospital

In order to determine the local epidemiology of candidemia, Candida strains isolated between 1994 and 2000 were identified to species level; antifungal resistance patterns and DNA fingerprints were analyzed. Identification of Candida strains (n: 140) was performed with germ tube test and carbohydrate assimilation reactions. Minimal inhibitory concentrations were determined using a commercial test for 5‐flucytosine and the broth macrodilution method according to NCCLS for fluconazole and amphotericin B. Molecular relatedness was determined by restriction endonuclease analysis of genomic DNA followed by probe hybridization. C. albicans (37.2%), C. parapsilosis (32.2%), and C. tropicalis (12.2%) comprised 114 (81.4%) of 140 isolates. Susceptibility tests did not reveal resistance to amphotericin B in any of the Candida isolates. Fluconazole resistance was detected in one isolate of C. krusei, and 5‐flucytosine resistance in two C. tropicalis isolates and one C. albicans isolate. Significantly higher frequency of clusters with identical strains in C. parapsilosis and C. tropicalis was detected compared to C. albicans. Pediatric wards are particularly important in the nosocomial transmission of non‐albicans candida species.
Investigating the quality of social work. An experience of self-assessment with Italian social workers

Evaluating the quality of social work practice is becoming increasingly important for various reasons, among which are changes in the welfare system and the reduction of resources. Meanwhile, it is acknowledged that evaluating the quality of social work is a highly complex task. Different meanings are attributed to the concept of quality and the concept of quality in itself is linked to the notion of social work identity, nature and aims, which is an object in transition. Although performance appraisal systems are spreading, a common understanding about what is ‘good social work practice’ is lacking, also within the professional community. In Italy, social workers seem missing in the arena of investigating and indicating which criteria can be used to evaluate social work practice. To counteract this weakness, a participative research-intervention project was developed from 2006 to 2011, aimed at supporting social workers in evaluating their work. During workshops with practitioners a self-evaluation tool was designed by means of asking social workers for the possible criteria to be used to define ‘good social work practice’. This paper presents the structure and methods adopted throughout such project, focusing on both the self-assessment questionnaire and the emerging notions of quality of social work.
Low-temperature bonding of photodiodes on glass substrate using Au stud bumps and its application to microsensors with three-dimensional structure

We report successful bonding of photodiodes on glass substrate using Au stud bumps by Au-Au surface-activated bonding at a relatively low bonding temperature of 150°C. A glass substrate with the flip-chip bonded photodiode chips was then vertically stacked on a Si substrate with the bonded laser diode chip using Au-Au surface-activated bonding. Applying this technique, compact and thin optical microsensors with three-dimensional structure (2.8 mm × 2.8 mm × 1 mm thick) were fabricated. The feasibility of measuring velocity was demonstrated using prototype microsensors.
Nutritional Factors Affecting Mental Health

Dietary intake and nutritional status of individuals are important factors affecting mental health and the development of psychiatric disorders. Majority of scientific evidence relating to mental health focuses on depression, cognitive function, and dementia, and limited evidence is available about other psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia. As life span of human being is increasing, the more the prevalence of mental disorders is, the more attention rises. Lists of suggested nutritional components that may be beneficial for mental health are omega-3 fatty acids, phospholipids, cholesterol, niacin, folate, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12. Saturated fat and simple sugar are considered detrimental to cognitive function. Evidence on the effect of cholesterol is conflicting; however, in general, blood cholesterol levels are negatively associated with the risk of depression. Collectively, the aims of this review are to introduce known nutritional factors for mental health, and to discuss recent issues of the nutritional impact on cognitive function and healthy brain aging.