Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparing algorithms for diffeomorphic registration: Stationary LDDMM and Diffeomorphic Demons

The stationary parameterization of diffeomorphisms is be- ing increasingly used in computational anatomy. In certain applications it provides similar results to the non-stationary parameterization alle- viating the computational charge. With this characterization for diffeo- morphisms, two different registration algorithms have been recently pro- posed: stationary LDDMM and diffeomorphic Demons. To our knowl- edge, their theoretical and practical differences have not been analyzed yet. In this article we provide a comparison between both algorithms in a common framework. To this end, we have studied the differences in the elements of both registration scenarios. We have analyzed the sen- sitivity of the regularization parameters in the smoothness of the final transformations and compared the performance of the registration re- sults. Moreover, we have studied the potential of both algorithms for the computation of essential operations for further statistical analysis. We have found that both methods have comparable performance in terms of image matching although the transformations are qualitatively different in some cases. Diffeomorphic Demons shows a slight advantage in terms of computational time. However, it does not provide as stationary LD- DMM the vector field in the tangent space needed to compute statistics or exact inverse transformations.
Time course of planning for object and action parameters in visually guided manipulation

Under visual guidance, subjects reached for and manipulated an object that variedin weight and surface texture (slipperiness). The manipulatory action was either grasping, lifting, or posting in a slot. The task was constrained or unconstrained with respect to speed, grasp pattern, and contact force. Initiation time (pre-reach), movement time (reach), and post-contact errors were measured, to examine planning for task performance at three points in time. Results indicate that in the constrained task, the manipulatory action was planned during the initiation time, but planning for object parameters was deferred until the reach interval. With relaxed task constraints, initiation times increased,and texture and manipulatory action had independent effects on premovement planning. Errors were affected interactively by all variables. The results suggest a planning process that unfolds over time, incorporating in turn the manipulatory action, object texture, and object weight. This unfolding accommodates variables proximate to the time where they will affect physical action.
On the Need of Objective Vigilance Monitoring: Effects of Sleep Loss on Target Detection and Task-Negative Activity Using Combined EEG/fMRI

Sleep loss affects attention by reducing levels of arousal and alertness. The neural mechanisms underlying the compensatory efforts of the brain to maintain attention and performance after sleep deprivation (SD) are not fully understood. Previous neuroimaging studies of SD have not been able to separate the effects of reduced arousal from the effects of SD on cerebral responses to cognitive challenges. Here, we used a simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) approach to study the effects of 36 h of total sleep deprivation (TSD). Specifically, we focused on changes in selective attention processes as induced by an active acoustic oddball task, with the ability to isolate runs with objective EEG signs of high (SDalert) or reduced (SDsleepy) vigilance. In the SDalert condition, oddball task-related activity appears to be sustained by compensatory co-activation of insular regions, but task-negative activity in the right posterior node of the default mode network is altered following TSD. In the SDsleepy condition, oddball task-positive activity was massively impaired, but task-negative activation was showing levels comparable with the control condition after a well-rested night. Our results suggest that loss of strict negative correlation between oddball task-positive and task-negative activation reflects the effects of TSD, while the actual state of vigilance during task performance can affects either task-related or task-negative activity, depending on the exact vigilance level.
On the guessability of binary biometric templates: A practical guessing entropy based approach

A security index for biometric systems is essential because biometrics have been widely adopted as a secure authentication component in critical systems. Most of bio-metric systems secured by template protection schemes are based on binary templates. To adopt popular template protection schemes such as fuzzy commitment and fuzzy extractor that can be applied on binary templates only, non-binary templates (e.g., real-valued, point-set based) need to be converted to binary. However, existing security measurements for binary template based biometric systems either cannot reflect the actual attack difficulties or are too computationally expensive to be practical. This paper presents an acceleration of the guessing entropy which reflects the expected number of guessing trials in attacking the binary template based biometric systems. The acceleration benefits from computation reuse and pruning. Experimental results on two datasets show that the acceleration has more than 6x, 20x, and 200x speed up without losing the estimation accuracy in different system settings.
Detailed motility evaluation of boar semen and its predictive value for reproductive performance in sows

Reliable estimates of boar fertility potential from semen evaluation could be a valuable tool for boar selection. The aim of this study was to investigate the morphology and the detailed motility parameters of diluted boar semen and to relate these to their predictive value concerning conception and farrowing rate, litter size and the number of live born piglets. In addition, the optimal time for evaluation of the motility of preserved semen with respect to its predictive effect on fertility was determined. One hundred ejaculates from 38 boars were evaluated morphologically by eosin-nigrosin staining and different motility characteristics were assessed using Computer Assisted Semen Analysis (CASA). The motility was determined at 15, 45 and 120 minutes after incubation at 37°C. The conception rate, farrowing rate, litter size and number of live born piglets were registered from 276 sows inseminated with these ejaculates. Different regression models were used to evaluate the predictive value of the semen characteristics on these fertility parameters, taking into account the effect of herd, parity and weaning to estrus interval. The motility characteristics of the spermatozoa varied significantly during the 15 to 120 minutes of incubation. The longer the incubation time, the more the velocity parameters along the actual cell path decreased, while the parameters of straightforward movement increased. The predictive value of individual semen parameters on conception and farrowing rate was very small. The predictive value of certain associations of different semen parameters, on the other hand, was significant. The percentage of motile spermatozoa had a significant (P<0.05) and positive effect on the total number of piglets born (litter size) and on the number of live born piglets, independent of the time of measurement (X 2 0.38-1.00 and 0.41-1.00, respectively). Accurate evaluation of the motility of a semen dose is therefore imperative for estimating its predictive value relating to fertility. In conclusion, since the time of evaluation after warming the samples significantly influences the motility parameters, CASA measurement should be done when the cells are completely acclimatized to 37°C. On the basis of the available data, a 45 min incubation period appeared to be sufficient. The percentage of motile spermatozoa, as assessed by CASA on diluted semen, offers detailed predictive information regarding litter size, irrespective of the time of measurement.
Transdermal Drug Delivery: Innovative Pharmaceutical Developments Based on Disruption of the Barrier Properties of the stratum corneum

The skin offers an accessible and convenient site for the administration of medications. To this end, the field of transdermal drug delivery, aimed at developing safe and efficacious means of delivering medications across the skin, has in the past and continues to garner much time and investment with the continuous advancement of new and innovative approaches. This review details the progress and current status of the transdermal drug delivery field and describes numerous pharmaceutical developments which have been employed to overcome limitations associated with skin delivery systems. Advantages and disadvantages of the various approaches are detailed, commercially marketed products are highlighted and particular attention is paid to the emerging field of microneedle technologies.
Control Strategies Based on Symmetrical Components for Grid-Connected Converters Under Voltage Dips

Low-voltage ride-through (LVRT) requirements demand wind-power plants to remain connected to the network in presence of grid-voltage dips. Most dips present positive-, negative-, and zero-sequence components. Hence, regulators based on symmetrical components are well suited to control grid-connected converters. A neutral-point-clamped topology has been considered as an active front end of a distributed power-generation system, following the trend of increasing power and voltage levels in wind-power systems. Three different current controllers based on symmetrical components and linear quadratic regulator have been considered. The performance of each controller is evaluated on LVRT requirement fulfillment, grid-current balancing, maximum grid-current value control, and oscillating power flow. Simulation and experimental results show that all three controllers meet LVRT requirements, although different system performance is found for each control approach. Therefore, controller selection depends on the system constraints and the type of preferred performance features.
Minimum time motion of a mobile robot with two independent, acceleration-driven wheels

This paper deals with the optimal control (time optimal) of a mobile robot moving in an unobstructed planar environment. The mobile robot is equipped with two independent acceleration-driven wheels so that accelerations are bounded. Using the mobile robot's configuration known through its position and orientation, the problem consists of determining the optimal control that allows the robot to move between two imposed configurations, the start and arrival taking place at zero velocity. Our approach is based on analytically extracting as much information as possible from the Pontryagin's maximum principle (PMP) before starting a numerical search. The recently reported numerical result, showing that this extremal control which is of "bang-bang" type and only requires four switch times or five sequences, is invalidated. We show a configuration space zone in which no extremal control using five sequences is optimal. We also show that there exist, in a part of this zone, extremal controls requiring seven sequences that are candidates for optimality.
The impacts of climate variability and change on severe thunderstorm environments in Australia

Severe thunderstorms present a relatively infrequent but significant threat to property and life in Australia during the spring and summer. These thunderstorms can produce hailstones over 2cm in diameter, winds in excess of 90kmh and less frequently tornadoes. Any of these phenomena can result in localised high impact severe events. Recent examples of this potential are illustrated by damage caused by the 1999 Sydney Hailstorm, 2008 Gap Microburst and the 2010 and 2011 Melbourne Hailstorms. This risk makes the implications of a changing and variable climate on severe thunderstorms important to understand. Recent studies into the impacts of anthropogenic climate change on severe weather events, including thunderstorms, suggest a potential increasing trend in both frequency and intensity for Australia. While current convective parameterisations in both global and regional climate models limit direct assessments of future convection, the use of environmental parameters to estimate changes in severe thunderstorm environments has been successful in other geographical regions. This study seeks an answer to the question “Is the frequency and distribution of severe thunderstorm environments in Australia likely to change in the future? ” A database of 1550 independent severe thunderstorm reports in Australia has been developed for the period March 2003 to April 2010. Severe thunderstorm reports are then used to identify relationships with their associated environments estimated using
Error-tolerant Finite-state Recognition with Applications to Morphological Analysis and Spelling Correction

This paper presents the notion of error-tolerant recognition with finite-state recognizers along with results from some applications. Error-tolerant recognition enables the recognition of strings that deviate mildly from any string in the regular set recognized by the underlying finite-state recognizer. Such recognition has applications to error-tolerant morphological processing, spelling correction, and approximate string matching in information retrieval. After a description of the concepts and algorithms involved, we give examples from two applications: in the context of morphological analysis, error-tolerant recognition allows misspelled input word forms to be corrected and morphologically analyzed concurrently. We present an application of this to error-tolerant analysis of the agglutinative morphology of Turkish words. The algorithm can be applied to morphological analysis of any language whose morphology has been fully captured by a single (and possibly very large) finite-state transducer, regardless of the word formation processes and morphographemic phenomena involved. In the context of spelling correction, error-tolerant recognition can be used to enumerate candidate correct forms from a given misspelled string within a certain edit distance. Error-tolerant recognition can be applied to spelling correction for any language, if (a) it has a word list comprising all inflected forms, or (b) its morphology has been fully described by a finite-state transducer. We present experimental results for spelling correction for a number of languages. These results indicate that such recognition works very efficiently for candidate generation in spelling correction for many European languages (English, Dutch, French, German, and Italian, among others) with very large word lists of root and inflected forms (some containing well over 200,000 forms), generating all candidate solutions within 10 to 45 milliseconds (with an edit distance of 1) on a SPARCStation 10/41. For spelling correction in Turkish, error-tolerant recognition operating with a (circular) recognizer of Turkish words (with about 29,000 states and 119,000 transitions) can generate all candidate words in less than 20 milliseconds, with an edit distance of 1.
Genetic Editing with CRISPR Cas9: recent Biomedical and Biotechnological Applications

The use of a novel and powerful technology that allows for the precise editing of the genetic material of various organisms is becoming widespread. This technology derives from bacterial and archaeal defense machinery and is called CRISPR Cas9. Unlike other gene editing tools that exclusively rely on proteins, CRISPR Cas9 utilizes interactions between the target DNA and an RNA sequence that guides the Cas9 enzyme to alter the structure of a target gene. Various genome locations can be edited thanks to the ease of programming different guide RNA sequences, facilitating its use and implementation. Furthermore, the non-active version of the Cas9 protein, guided by its corresponding RNA, can be utilized for visualization processes of genetic material or, more recently, for the regulation of the transcription process. Considering the recent advances and possibilities in biomedical and biotechnological research, we must understand that the exploration of this technology is just beginning, and its eventual applications will influence the world around us on multiple levels. In this review, we describe the biological foundations of the functioning of the Cas9 nuclease, together with selected applications of its use in editing and regulating specific sections of the genetic material of various organisms. We also discuss some bioethical issues surrounding this subject.
Medical Policy Radiofrequency Ablation of Miscellaneous Solid Tumors Excluding Liver Tumors

Radiofrequency ablation may be MEDICALLY NECESSARY to treat localized renal cell carcinoma that is no more than 4 cm in size when either of the following criteria is met: • In order to preserve kidney function in individuals with significantly impaired renal function (i.e., the individual has one kidney or renal insufficiency defined by a glomerular filtration rate [GFR] of less than 60 mL/min per m2) when the standard surgical approach (i.e., resection of renal tissue) is likely to substantially worsen existing kidney function; OR • The individual is not considered a surgical candidate.
Effectiveness of Virtual Simulation on Self-Efficacy, Learning and Self-Confidence among Nursing Students in North India - A Randomised Control Trial

Though use of virtual simulation in nursing started during 2020 due to Covid pandemic, virtual simulation is burgeoning which demands for evidence for its effectiveness. A randomised control trial was conducted among nursing students to study the effectiveness of virtual simulation on self-efficacy, learning, and confidence. Multicentre, randomisation with balanced allocation [1:1], parallel-group study was conducted with 140 students from 2 institutions which were selected by using computer-generated random tables. After pretest, virtual simulation on Myocardial Infarction Management Bundle (MIMB) was given to experimental group. Post-test was conducted on 32 and 62 of pre-test using self-efficacy scale and modified learning and self-confidence scale. The study findings showed that virtual simulation was more effective in improving self-efficacy (F= 44.591, p=<0.001 and F= 111.20, p=<0.001) and learning and self-confidence (f=37.011, p=<0.001, F=104.244, p=<0.001) than traditional teaching method.
The Submergence Tolerance Regulator SUB1A Mediates Crosstalk between Submergence and Drought Tolerance in Rice[W][OA]

Rice plants encounter a sequence of environmental perturbations in the natural progression of a flash flood: submergence, reoxygenation, and dehydration. The master regulator of submergence tolerance, SUB1A, coordinates acclimation to all three stresses, providing enhanced tolerance to oxidative stress and dehydration, as well as submergence. Submergence and drought are major constraints to rice (Oryza sativa) production in rain-fed farmlands, both of which can occur sequentially during a single crop cycle. SUB1A, an ERF transcription factor found in limited rice accessions, dampens ethylene production and gibberellic acid responsiveness during submergence, economizing carbohydrate reserves and significantly prolonging endurance. Here, we evaluated the functional role of SUB1A in acclimation to dehydration. Comparative analysis of genotypes with and without SUB1A revealed that SUB1A enhanced recovery from drought at the vegetative stage through reduction of leaf water loss and lipid peroxidation and increased expression of genes associated with acclimation to dehydration. Overexpression of SUB1A augmented ABA responsiveness, thereby activating stress-inducible gene expression. Paradoxically, vegetative tissue undergoes dehydration upon desubmergence even though the soil contains sufficient water, indicating that leaf desiccation occurs in the natural progression of a flooding event. Desubmergence caused the upregulation of gene transcripts associated with acclimation to dehydration, with higher induction in SUB1A genotypes. SUB1A also restrained accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in aerial tissue during drought and desubmergence. Consistently, SUB1A increased the abundance of transcripts encoding ROS scavenging enzymes, resulting in enhanced tolerance to oxidative stress. Therefore, in addition to providing robust submergence tolerance, SUB1A improves survival of rapid dehydration following desubmergence and water deficit during drought.
Chronic and acute stress, gender, and serotonin transporter gene-environment interactions predicting depression symptoms in youth.

BACKGROUND Many recent studies of serotonin transporter gene by environment effects predicting depression have used stress assessments with undefined or poor psychometric methods, possibly contributing to wide variation in findings. The present study attempted to distinguish between effects of acute and chronic stress to predict depressive symptoms at age 20 among 346 youth varying in polymorphisms of the 5HTT gene who had been assessed at ages 15 and 20. METHODS Interview measures assessed major acute life events between 15 and 19, and multiple interviews and questionnaires with youths and their parents at youth age 15 provided an index of chronic family stress. Lg alleles were reclassified as S. RESULTS Chronic family stress at age 15 predicted higher depression scores at 20 among those with one or two S alleles, and the effects of genetic moderation were significant only for females. Gene-environment interactions with acute stress were nonsignificant. CONCLUSIONS Careful measurement and separation of the effects of chronic and acute stress, and gender, are encouraged in the study of mechanisms of the stress-depression association.
Changing Diet Breadth in the Early Upper Palaeolithic of Southwestern France

Archaeological applications of foraging theory models require that variables derived from ecological considerations be translated into archaeological terms. Here, we explore some of the potential difficulties that may exist in the archaeological measurement of diet breadth, a key variable in many foraging theory approaches. We then examine seven ungulate assemblages from the early Upper Palaeolithic site of Le Flageolet I (Dordogne, France) in this light, and show that these assemblages incorporate distinctly different relationships between numbers of specimens and numbers of taxa. While some of the differences involved may be caused by differential specimen fragmentation, the entire pattern of similarities and differences in richness appears to reflect changing maximum diet breadths through time. 1998 Academic Press
Early prognostic factors for disability in multiple sclerosis, a European multicenter study

The effects of initial clinical variables on short‐term prognosis are analyzed in a cross‐sectional study of 574 multiple sclerosis patients from 7 centers in 5 European countries. Patients with a primary progressive course had a 2.3 higher mean disability score (EDSS) than the primary remittent group after a mean duration of disease of 6.6 years. High age at onset was associated with a primary progressive course, and was also related to increased risk of a rapid shift to a secondary progressive course. Among the remittent patients without a secondary progressive course a high age at onset was significantly correlated to a higher disability score. In the whole remittent group the presence of pyramidal and cerebellar symptoms at onset predicted both a high disability score and a rapid shift to a secondary progression, while the effect was reverse for sensory and visual symptoms. No difference between the sexes was found.