Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spontaneous diabetic myonecrosis.

Diabetic muscle infarction is an unusual complication of late-stage diabetes. The first case was reported in 1965 by Angervall and Stener (1). There have been <100 cases reported since then (4). Clinical presentation is an acute atraumatic painful swelling of the affected muscle and a palpable mass. Diabetic muscle infarction has predilection for the quadriceps and thigh muscles and is found in diabetic subjects with established nephropathy and retinopathy (2). We report a case of spontaneous quadriceps necrosis in a type 2 diabetic patient on hemodialysis. A 59-year-old woman had a type 2 diabetes history of >20 years and unsatisfactory glycemic control despite insulin …
Improved Spatial Modulation for High Spectral Efficiency

Spatial Modulation (SM) is a technique that can enhance the capacity of MIMO schemes by exploiting the index of transmit antenna to convey information bits. In this paper, we describe this technique, and present a new MIMO transmission scheme that combines SM and spatial multiplexing. In the basic form of SM, only one out of MT available antennas is selected for transmission in any given symbol interval. We propose to use more than one antenna to transmit several symbols simultaneously. This would increase the spectral efficiency. At the receiver, an optimal detector is employed to jointly estimate the transmitted symbols as well as the index of the active transmit antennas. In this paper we evaluate the performance of this scheme in an uncorrelated Rayleigh fading channel. The simulations results show that the proposed scheme outperforms the optimal SM and V-BLAST (Vertical Bell Laboratories Layered space-time at high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). For example, if we seek a spectral efficiency of 8 bits/s/Hz at bit error rate (BER) of 10^-5, the proposed scheme provides 5dB and 7dB improvements over SM and V-BLAST, respectively.
Cochlear neuropathy and the coding of supra-threshold sound

Many listeners with hearing thresholds within the clinically normal range nonetheless complain of difficulty hearing in everyday settings and understanding speech in noise. Converging evidence from human and animal studies points to one potential source of such difficulties: differences in the fidelity with which supra-threshold sound is encoded in the early portions of the auditory pathway. Measures of auditory subcortical steady-state responses (SSSRs) in humans and animals support the idea that the temporal precision of the early auditory representation can be poor even when hearing thresholds are normal. In humans with normal hearing thresholds (NHTs), paradigms that require listeners to make use of the detailed spectro-temporal structure of supra-threshold sound, such as selective attention and discrimination of frequency modulation (FM), reveal individual differences that correlate with subcortical temporal coding precision. Animal studies show that noise exposure and aging can cause a loss of a large percentage of auditory nerve fibers (ANFs) without any significant change in measured audiograms. Here, we argue that cochlear neuropathy may reduce encoding precision of supra-threshold sound, and that this manifests both behaviorally and in SSSRs in humans. Furthermore, recent studies suggest that noise-induced neuropathy may be selective for higher-threshold, lower-spontaneous-rate nerve fibers. Based on our hypothesis, we suggest some approaches that may yield particularly sensitive, objective measures of supra-threshold coding deficits that arise due to neuropathy. Finally, we comment on the potential clinical significance of these ideas and identify areas for future investigation.
Capillary recruitment in a theoretical model for blood flow regulation in heterogeneous microvessel networks

In striated muscle, the number of capillaries containing moving red blood cells increases with increasing metabolic demand. This phenomenon, termed capillary recruitment, has long been recognized, but its mechanism has been unclear. Here, a theoretical model for metabolic blood flow regulation in a heterogeneous network is used to test the hypothesis that capillary recruitment occurs as a result of active control of arteriolar diameters, combined with unequal partition of hematocrit at diverging microvascular bifurcations. The network structure is derived from published observations of hamster cremaster muscle in control and dilated states. The model for modulation of arteriolar diameters includes length‐tension characteristics of vascular smooth muscle and responses of smooth muscle tone to myogenic, shear‐dependent, and metabolic stimuli. Blood flow is simulated including nonuniform hematocrit distribution. Convective and diffusive oxygen transport in the network is simulated. Oxygen‐dependent metabolic signals are assumed to be conducted upstream from distal vessels to arterioles. With increasing oxygen demand, arterioles dilate, blood flow increases, and the numbers of flowing arterioles and capillaries, as defined by red blood cell flux above a small threshold value, increase. Unequal hematocrit partition at diverging bifurcations contributes to recruitment and enhances tissue oxygenation. The results imply that capillary recruitment, as observed in the hamster cremaster preparations, can occur as a consequence of local control of arteriolar tone and the resulting nonuniform changes in red blood cell fluxes, and provide an explanation for observations of sequential recruitment of individual capillaries in response to modulation of terminal arteriolar diameter.
Expression of Cocaine- and Amphetamine-Regulated Transcript Is Associated with Worse Survival in Small Bowel Carcinoid Tumors

Purpose: Cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) peptide exerts several regulatory functions acting both as neurotransmitter and hormone. We recently showed that CART is expressed in various neuroendocrine tumors, including small bowel carcinoids. The main objective of the present study was to examine whether CART expression is associated with survival in patients with small bowel carcinoid. Secondary aims were to assess whether CART expression is associated with other tumor characteristics or clinical symptoms. Experimental Design: Specimens from 97 patients with small bowel carcinoids were examined for CART expression using immunohistochemistry. A CART score was introduced on the basis of the proportion of CART immunoreactive cells. On inclusion, specimens were examined by routine histopathologic methods and detailed clinical patient data were retrieved. The effect of CART on cell viability was assessed in vitro using two intestinal tumor cell lines. Results: Expression of CART (P = 0.011) and increasing CART score (P = 0.033) were associated with worse disease-specific survival. Adjusting for age, disease stage, and tumor grade in multivariable analysis, CART expression was still associated with worse survival [Low CART HR, 5.47; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.71–42.46; and High CART HR, 9.44; 95% CI, 1.14–78.14]. CART expression was not associated with patient age, disease stage, tumor grade, or any presenting symptom. Supporting our clinical data, we found that CART promoted tumor cell viability in vitro in two different tumor cell lines. Conclusion: Expression of CART in small bowel carcinoid tumors is associated with worse survival. Clin Cancer Res; 18(13); 3668–76. ©2012 AACR.
Performance evaluation of intercarrier interference self-cancellation schemes for space time frequency block codes MIMO-OFDM system

Intercarrier interference (ICI) self-cancellation schemes were often employed in many OFDM systems as a simple and effective approach to suppress ICI caused by carrier frequency error. In this paper, we propose a space time frequency block coding technique MIMO-OFDM system with ICI self-cancellation of data conjugate method, which is capable of both error correction and ICI reduction produced by the frequency offsets. Then, the system performance of the data-conjugate method with diversity techniques is compared with those of the conventional data-conversion method. As results, it can be seen that the STFB codes MIMO-OFDM system with data-conjugate method can make remarkable improvement of the BER performance and it is better than data-conversion method and the conventional OFDM system.
Membrane properties and response to opioids of identified dopamine neurons in the guinea pig hypothalamus

The electrophysiological properties and opioid responsiveness of the dopamine-containing neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the guinea pig hypothalamus were examined. Dopamine-containing neurons, identified immunocytochemically by the presence of tyrosine hydroxylase, had a mean length-to-width profile of 14.9 +/- 4.4 x 11.5 +/- 3.1 microns (N = 14). The Na+ action potential of these neurons was of short duration, and induction of repetitive firing (20-50 Hz) caused an afterhyperpolarization of 6-9 mV in amplitude, with a decay half-time of approximately 1.5 sec. Dopamine-containing cells exhibited a low threshold spike, which induced 1-4 Na+ action potentials. This potential had a threshold close to -65 mV, could not be induced without prior hyperpolarization and was not sensitive to TTX. Dopamine- containing neurons also exhibited a time- and voltage-dependent inward current at potentials negative to -70 mV, and Cs+ blocked this conductance. The mu-opioid agonist Tyr-D-Ala-Gly-mePhe-Gly-ol hyperpolarized (14 +/- 3 mV) dopamine neurons via induction of an outward current (93 +/- 44 pA near the resting membrane potential) which had a reversal potential similar to that expected for a selective potassium conductance. TTX (1 microM) did not block the opioid effects. These results show that dopamine neurons of the arcuate nucleus differ in their intrinsic conductances and their responsiveness to opioids from other CNS dopaminergic neurons. Furthermore, opioid activation of a potassium conductance resulted in a direct hyperpolarization of dopamine neurons of the arcuate nucleus, and we suggest that this mechanism may underlie the effects of opioids on dopamine-mediated prolactin release.
Korea’s 1997 Financial Crisis: Causes, Consequences and Prospects

Korea came to a 'suddden' financial crisis in November 1997 and since then has suffered from its sequels and implemented a vigorous structural reform in compliance with the IMF. The financial crisis erupted when the foreign investors and creditors suddenly started together to withdraw their investment and to cut back their short-term loans to Korea. There are many explanations and theories attempting to explain the underlying causes of Korea's financial crisis, but there is no consensus. Drawing the analogy between the economy's financial system and the human circulatory system, this paper introduces a 'stroke' hypothesis of Korea's financial crisis. That is, the Korea's crisis was similar to the human stroke, which happens with the sudden blockage of an artery in the brain by a blood clot or other debris carried in the bloodstream.
Large Pose 3D Face Reconstruction from a Single Image via Direct Volumetric CNN Regression

3D face reconstruction is a fundamental Computer Vision problem of extraordinary difficulty. Current systems often assume the availability of multiple facial images (sometimes from the same subject) as input, and must address a number of methodological challenges such as establishing dense correspondences across large facial poses, expressions, and non-uniform illumination. In general these methods require complex and inefficient pipelines for model building and fitting. In this work, we propose to address many of these limitations by training a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) on an appropriate dataset consisting of 2D images and 3D facial models or scans. Our CNN works with just a single 2D facial image, does not require accurate alignment nor establishes dense correspondence between images, works for arbitrary facial poses and expressions, and can be used to reconstruct the whole 3D facial geometry (including the non-visible parts of the face) bypassing the construction (during training) and fitting (during testing) of a 3D Morphable Model. We achieve this via a simple CNN architecture that performs direct regression of a volumetric representation of the 3D facial geometry from a single 2D image. We also demonstrate how the related task of facial landmark localization can be incorporated into the proposed framework and help improve reconstruction quality, especially for the cases of large poses and facial expressions. Code and models will be made available at http://aaronsplace.co.uk
Cleavage of Model Substrates by Arabidopsis thaliana PRORP1 Reveals New Insights into Its Substrate Requirements

Two broad classes of RNase P trim the 5' leader of precursor tRNAs (pre-tRNAs): ribonucleoprotein (RNP)- and proteinaceous (PRORP)-variants. These two RNase P types, which use different scaffolds for catalysis, reflect independent evolutionary paths. While the catalytic RNA-based RNP form is present in all three domains of life, the PRORP family is restricted to eukaryotes. To obtain insights on substrate recognition by PRORPs, we examined the 5' processing ability of recombinant Arabidopsis thaliana PRORP1 (AtPRORP1) using a panel of pre-tRNASer variants and model hairpin-loop derivatives (pATSer type) that consist of the acceptor-T-stem stack and the T-/D-loop. Our data indicate the importance of the identity of N-1 (the residue immediately 5' to the cleavage site) and the N-1:N+73 base pair for cleavage rate and site selection of pre-tRNASer and pATSer. The nucleobase preferences that we observed mirror the frequency of occurrence in the complete suite of organellar pre-tRNAs in eight algae/plants that we analyzed. The importance of the T-/D-loop in pre-tRNASer for tight binding to AtPRORP1 is indicated by the 200-fold weaker binding of pATSer compared to pre-tRNASer, while the essentiality of the T-loop for cleavage is reflected by the near-complete loss of activity when a GAAA-tetraloop replaced the T-loop in pATSer. Substituting the 2'-OH at N-1 with 2'-H also resulted in no detectable cleavage, hinting at the possible role of this 2'-OH in coordinating Mg2+ ions critical for catalysis. Collectively, our results indicate similarities but also key differences in substrate recognition by the bacterial RNase P RNP and AtPRORP1: while both forms exploit the acceptor-T-stem stack and the elbow region in the pre-tRNA, the RNP form appears to require more recognition determinants for cleavage-site selection.
Multi-frequency wrapper design and optimization for embedded cores under average power constraints

This paper presents a new method for designing test wrappers for embedded cores with multiple clock domains. By exploiting the use of multiple shift frequencies, the proposed method improves upon a recent wrapper design method that requires a common shift frequency for the scan elements in the different clock domains. The authors presented an integer linear programming (ILP) model that could be used to minimize the testing time for small problem instances. An efficient heuristic method that is applicable to large problem instances, and which yields the same (optimal) testing time as ILP for small problem instances was also presented. Compared to recent work on wrapper design using a single shift frequency, lower testing times were obtained and the reduction in testing time is especially significant under power constraints.
Kernel-Kernel communication in a shared-memory multiprocessor

SUMMARY In the standard kernel organization on a bus-based multiprocessor, all processors share the code and data of the operating system; explicit synchronization is used to control access to kernel data structures. Distributed-memory multicomputers use an alternative approach, in which each instance of the kernel performs local operations directly and uses remote invocation to perform remote operations. Either approach to interkernel communication can be used in a large-scale shared-memory multiprocessor. In the paper we discuss the issues and architectural features that must be considered when choosing between remote memory access and remote invocation. We focus in particular on experience with the Psyche multiprocessor operating system on the BBN Butterfly Plus. We find that the Butterfly architecture is biased towards the use of remote Invocation for kernel operations that perform a significant number of memory references, and that current architectural trends are likely to increase this bias in future machines. This conclusion suggests that straightforward parallelization of existing kernels (e.g. by using semaphores to protect shared data) is unlikely in the future to yield acceptable performance. We note, however, that remote memory access is useful for small, frequently-executed operations, and is likely to remain so.
Ad-hoc invocation of semantic Web services

We present the Web service description framework (WSDF), which provides both a representation mechanism and a runtime system architecture for semantically enriched Web Services. We analyze existing languages such as BPEL4WS and OWL-S before addressing their deficiencies in our proposal. Our approach allows a client to invoke a service based solely on a shared ontology, i.e. without prior knowledge on the API, providing an important building block towards a global, flexible information infrastructure. Another main point is that WSDF can be applied to clients and services written in a conventional object oriented programming language. This is achieved by lifting data structures to an ontology level in which rich logical statements about services can be formalized. We also present a detailed system architecture that covers planning, invocation, and the automatic processing of the service results, which is accomplished using the observer design pattern and by asserting the result in the respective model. Furthermore, the required annotations can be specified conveniently by placing comments in the source code.
A flexible IO scheme for grid workflows

Summary form only given. Computational grids have been proposed as the next generation computing platform for solving large-scale problems in science, engineering, and commerce. There is an enormous amount of interest in applications, called grid workflows in which a number of otherwise independent programs are run in a "pipeline". In practice, there are a number of different mechanisms that can be used to couple the models, ranging from loosely coupled file based IO to tightly coupled message passing. We propose a flexible IO architecture that provides a wide range of mechanisms for building grid workflows without the need for any source code modification and without the need to fix them at design time. Further, the architecture works with legacy applications. We evaluate the performance of our prototype system using a workflow in computational mechanics.
Site Specificity of Atherosclerosis: Site-Selective Responses to Atherosclerotic Modulators

Abstract—Atherosclerosis is a complex disease process that affects very specific sites of the vasculature. It is recognized that hemodynamic forces are largely responsible for dictating which vascular sites are either susceptible or resistant to developing atherosclerosis. In addition, a number of systemic and local factors also modulate the pathogenesis of the disease. By studying the development of atherosclerosis in mice, investigators have gained insights into the molecular mechanisms of this disease, although studies have largely focused on a single vascular site. Here, we review those recent studies in which vascular site-specific effects on atherosclerosis were reported when more than 1 site was examined. We assess the hypothesis that regional differences in the hemodynamic profile prime the endothelial phenotype to respond distinctly to such systemic risk factors as hypercholesterolemia, genetics, immune status, gender, and oxidative stress. Because a given treatment may differentially affect the development of atherosclerotic lesions throughout the vasculature, the sites chosen for study are critically important. By accounting for the complex interplay of factors that may operate at these different sites, a more complete understanding of the overriding mechanisms that control the initiation and progression of the atherosclerotic lesion may be realized.
Intrinsically Variable Blind Thrust Faulting

We propose that most fault slip rate variability across a range of time and spatial scales is due to intrinsic faulting processes, rather than extrinsic changes in surface loads or stress boundary conditions. This hypothesis is tested by comparing very high geologic resolution slip histories of blind thrust faults from three transects in the Northern Apennines, Italy. We investigated whether these slip histories document synchronous, or independent, behavior of the disconnected, blind thrust faults that core mountain front anticlines bordering the Po foreland. The slip history for these thrusts is reconstructed by applying forward structural modeling to deformed growth strata and fluvial terraces preserved on the limbs of the growing anticlines. We present a new age model using magnetostratigraphy and cyclostratigraphy for a section of growth strata exposed in the Panaro River and supplement this with age models for two other published transects. The blind thrust fault at each transect exhibits variable slip behavior over the past 3 Myr, but for most of that time the variability was both asynchronous and independent of boundary condition changes, such as Plio‐Pleistocene sediment accumulation variability. However, a major deceleration in slip rates at all three locations is temporally coincident with the overfilling of the Po foreland beginning in the early Pleistocene. We attribute the deceleration to a switch from shortening on shallowly detached thrusts to shortening on a crustal‐scale basement‐involved fault. This switch has implications for the time and spatial scales at which extrinsic boundary conditions may contribute to deformation variability.
On Consistent Surrogate Risk Minimization and Property Elicitation

Surrogate risk minimization is a popular framework for supervised learning; property elicitation is a widely studied area in probability forecasting, machine learning, statistics and economics. In this paper, we connect these two themes by showing that calibrated surrogate losses in supervised learning can essentially be viewed as eliciting or estimating certain properties of the underlying conditional label distribution that are sufficient to construct an optimal classifier under the target loss of interest. Our study helps to shed light on the design of convex calibrated surrogates. We also give a new framework for designing convex calibrated surrogates under low-noise conditions by eliciting properties that allow one to construct ‘coarse’ estimates of the underlying distribution.
Preconditioned MHSS iteration methods for a class of block two-by-two linear systems with applications to distributed control problems

We construct a preconditioned modified Hermitian and skew-Hermitian splitting (PMHSS) iteration scheme for solving and preconditioning a class of block two-by-two linear systems arising from the Galerkin finite element discretizations of a class of distributed control problems. The convergence theory of this class of PMHSS iteration methods is established and the spectral properties of the PMHSS-preconditioned matrix are analysed. Numerical experiments show that the PMHSS preconditioners can be quite competitive when used to precondition Krylov subspace iteration methods such as GMRES.