Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The hyperdense vessel sign on CT predicts successful recanalization with the Merci device in acute ischemic stroke

Background The success of mechanical clot retrieval for acute ischemic stroke may be influenced by the characteristics of the occlusive thrombus. The thrombus can be partly characterized by CT, as the hyperdense vessel sign (HVS) suggests erythrocyte-rich clot whereas fibrin-rich clot may be isodense. We hypothesized that the physical clot characteristics that determine CT density may also determine likelihood of retrieval with the Merci device. Methods We reviewed all acute stroke cases initially imaged with non-contrast CT before attempted Merci clot retrieval at a single center between 2004 and 2010. Each CT was blindly assessed for the presence or absence of the HVS, and post-retrieval angiograms were blindly assessed for reperfusion using the TICI scale. Results Of 67 patients analyzed (mean age 69; median NIHSS 19; 61% female), the HVS was seen in 42, and no HVS was present in 25. Successful recanalization was achieved in 79% of patients with the HVS (33/42), but in only 36% (9/25) of patients without HVS (p=0.001). The HVS was the only significant predictor of recanalization while accounting for age, treatment with IV-tPA, clot location, stroke etiology, time to treatment, and number of retrieval attempts. Conclusion The HVS in acute ischemic stroke was strongly predictive of successful recanalization using the Merci device. The HVS may indicate thrombi that are less adhesive compared with isodense clots that are more resistant to mechanical retrieval. The absence of HVS on pre-treatment CT may thus suggest the need for a more aggressive or alternative therapeutic approach.
Hedonic model of segmentation with horizontal differentiated housing

The purpose of this paper is to study how the hedonic equilibrium is modiﬁed when group-wise consumer heterogeneity with horizontal diﬀerentiated housing supply is assumed. We complete the hedonic segmentation analysis of Baudry and Maslianska¨ia-Pautrel (2011a,b) for vertical diﬀerentiation of housing supply by investigating the more realistic case of horizontal diﬀerentiation. Our results conﬁrm the segmentation of the hedonic price function at equilibrium and the discontinuity of the implicit price of environmental quality on the borders of the segments. We also demonstrate that horizontal diﬀerentiation can lead to a partial sorting of consumer demand for housing attributes at hedonic equilibrium. Finally we show that according to model speciﬁcation, the group-wise heterogeneity with horizontal diﬀerentiation can lead to modiﬁcation of welfare assessment related to changes in environmental quality.
A Continuum Modelling Study of Macro-Geometry choices and Their Impact on Excavation Damage Zone Development in Brittle Rock at Depth

ii Co-Authorship . iv Acknowledgements . v List of Figures . xii List of Tables . xx List of Abbreviations . xxi : Background Information . 1 1.1 Deep Geologic Repositories Within the Canadian Content . 1 1.1.1 Canadian Deep Geologic Repository . 1 1.1.1.1 Canadian DGR Geometry, Layout and Configuration . 2 1.1.2 Canadian DGR Site Selection Process . 7 1.1.3 Canadian DGR Host Rock – Crystalline versus Sedimentary . 9 1.1.3.1 Sedimentary Host Rock Properties . 9 1.1.3.2 Crystalline Host Rock Properties . 13 1.2 Categorizing Excavation Induced Damage . 13 1.3 The Impacts of Excavation Damage Zone Development on Nuclear Waste Placement Rooms, Storage Caverns and Shafts . 16 1.3.1 Importance of Understanding and Predicting EDZ Development . 16 1.3.2 Implications of an EDZ on the Stability of Underground Excavations . 17 1.3.2.1 Increased Fracture Propagation and Connectivity . 17 1.3.2.2 Brittle Rockmass Spalling . 18 1.3.2.3 Increased Spalling Leading to Tunnel Overbreak . 20 1.3. 3 Management of EDZ Development in Underground Excavations . 21 1.3. 3.1 Tunnel Shape and Profile Details . 21 1.3. 3.2 EDZ Cut-offs/Seals . 22 1.4 Summary of Thesis Variables (Part I). 25 1.4. 1 Placement Room and Cavern Shape Details . 25 1.4. 2 Insitu Stress Regime . 26 1.4. 2.1 Summary of Predicted DGR Insitu Stresses . 26 1.4. 2.2 Insitu Stress Values Used for Modelling Purposes . 27 1.4. 2.3 Implications of Placement Room Orientation . 28 1.4. 3 Blast Round Length and Excavation Methodology . 29 1.4. 4 Delineating the Extent of the EDZ Sub-Regions . 29 vii : Technical Review . 31 2.1 Failure Criterion . 31 2.1.1 Hoek-Brown Failure Criterion . 31 2.1.1.1 Original Conception . 31 2.1.1.2 Generalized Hoek-Brown Failure Criterion . 32 2.1.2 Mohr-Coulomb Failure Criterion . 33 2.1.2.1 Achieving Equivalent Mohr-Coulomb Failure Criterion . 34 2.2 Numerical Modelling Software . 36 2.2.1 RocScience Software RS Version 9.0 and RS Version 1.0 . 36 2.2.1.
A novel adaptive wrist actigraphy algorithm for sleep-wake assessment in sleep apnea patients.

STUDY OBJECTIVES Current actigraphic algorithms are relatively less accurate in detecting sleep and wake in sleep apnea patients than in people without sleep apnea. In the current study, we attempted to validate a novel automatic algorithm, which was developed for actigraphic studies in normal subjects and patients with obstructive sleep apnea by comparing it on an epoch-by-epoch basis to standard polysomnography. DESIGN Prospective cohort study. SETTING Multicenter, university hospital, sleep laboratories. PARTICIPANTS A total of 228 subjects from 3 different sleep centers (Skara, Boston, Haifa) participated. INTERVENTION AND MEASUREMENTS Simultaneous recording of polysomnography and Watch_PAT100, an ambulatory device that contains a built-in actigraph. The automatic sleep/wake algorithm is based on both the quantification of motion (magnitude and duration) and the various periodic movement patterns, such as those occurring in patients with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea. RESULTS The overall sensitivity and specificity to identify sleep was 89% and 69%, respectively. The agreement ranged from 86% in the normal subjects to 86%, 84%, and 80% in the patients with mild, moderate, and severe obstructive sleep apnea, respectively. There was a tight agreement between actigraphy and polysomnography in determining sleep efficiency (78.4 +/- 9.9 vs 78.8 +/- 13.4%), total sleep time (690 +/- 152 vs 690 +/- 154 epochs), and sleep latency (56.8 +/- 31.4 vs 43.3 +/- 45.4 epochs). While for most individuals the difference between the polysomnography and actigraphy was relatively small, for some there was a substantial disagreement. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that this actigraphy algorithm provides a reasonably accurate estimation of sleep and wakefulness in normal subjects and patients with obstructive sleep apnea on an epoch-by-epoch basis. This simple method for assessment of total sleep time may provide a useful tool for the accurate quantification of obstructive sleep apnea in the home environment.
Gametic incompatibilities between races of Drosophila melanogaster

Reproductive–isolating mechanisms between nascent species may involve sperm–egg recognition and have been best described in externally fertilizing organisms where such recognition is essential in preventing undesirable fertilizations. However, reproductive barriers in internally fertilizing species differ in significant ways, and a direct role for sperm–egg interactions has yet to be demonstrated. Females of many strains of Drosophila melanogaster from Zimbabwe, Africa, do not mate readily with cosmopolitan males. This polymorphism in mate choice is postulated to represent incipient speciation. We now report that, in one direction, crosses between the above populations produce far fewer offspring than reciprocal crosses due to a lower rate of egg hatch. We established that egg inviability in these crosses was due to defects in fertilization. Thus, even in taxa with internal fertilization, gametic incompatibility may be a mechanism relevant to reproductive isolation during incipient speciation.
Role for A Kinase-anchoring Proteins (AKAPS) in Glutamate Receptor Trafficking and Long Term Synaptic Depression*

Expression of N-methyl d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-dependent homosynaptic long term depression at synapses in the hippocampus and neocortex requires the persistent dephosphorylation of postsynaptic protein kinase A substrates. An attractive mechanism for expression of long term depression is the loss of surface AMPA (α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazale-4-propionate) receptors at synapses. Here we show that a threshold level of NMDA receptor activation must be exceeded to trigger a stable loss of AMPA receptors from the surface of cultured hippocampal neurons. NMDA also causes displacement of protein kinase A from the synapse, and inhibiting protein kinase A (PKA) activity mimics the NMDA-induced loss of surface AMPA receptors. PKA is targeted to the synapse by an interaction with the A kinase-anchoring protein, AKAP79/150. Disruption of the PKA-AKAP interaction is sufficient to cause a long-lasting reduction in synaptic AMPA receptors in cultured neurons. In addition, we demonstrate in hippocampal slices that displacement of PKA from AKADs occludes synaptically induced long term depression. These data indicate that synaptic anchoring of PKA through association with AKAPs plays an important role in the regulation of AMPA receptor surface expression and synaptic plasticity.
The role of dendritic cells in Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection

The immune response against Mycobacterium tuberculosis is multifactorial, involving a network of innate and adaptive immune responses. Characterization of the immune response, a clear understanding of the dynamics and interplay of different arms of the immune response are critical to allow the development of better tools for combating tuberculosis. Dendritic cells (DCs) are one of the key cells in bridging innate and adaptive immune response through their significant role in capturing, processing and presenting antigens. The outcome of interaction of M. tuberculosis with DCs is not fully understood and the available reports are contradictory were some findings reported that DCs strengthen the cellular immune response against mycobacterium infection whereas others reported M. tuberculosis impairs the function of DCs were infected DCs are poor stimulators of M. tuberculosis Ag-specific CD4 T cells. Other studies showed that the outcome depends on M. tuberculosis strain type and type of receptor on DCs during recognition. In this review I shall highlight the recent findings in the outcome of interaction of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with DCs.
High-Speed H.264/AVC CABAC Decoding

The decoding of context-based adaptive binary arithmetic coding (CABAC) imposes a heavy performance requirement on H.264/AVC decoding systems particularly for large-scale video sequences. As a simple approach of elevating the operating frequency is not sufficient to meet the performance requirement, this paper proposes an efficient approach to accelerate the decoding, which is effective under relatively low operating frequency. Since the CABAC decoding procedure is highly sequential and has strong data dependencies, it is difficult to exploit parallelism and pipeline schemes. The proposed approach resolves the difficulties by modifying the operation chain based on a thorough analysis, eventually enabling both parallel operations and pipelining. More specifically, 1) several context models are simultaneously loaded from memory while context selection is performed in parallel and 2) bin-level pipelining is enabled by employing a small storage to remove structural hazards and data dependencies. Experimental results show that the proposed approach leads to the real-time decoding of HD sequences
What are the Effects of Fiscal Policy Shocks?

We propose and apply a new approach for analyzing the effects of fiscal policy using vector autoregressions. Specifically, we use sign restrictions to identify a government revenue shock as well as a government spending shock, while controlling for a generic business cycle shock and a monetary policy shock. We explicitly allow for the possibility of announcement effects, i.e., that a current fiscal policy shock changes fiscal policy variables in the future, but not at present. We construct the impulse responses to three linear combinations of these fiscal shocks, corresponding to the three scenarios of deficit-spending, deficit-financed tax cuts and a balanced budget spending expansion. We apply the method to US quarterly data from 1955-2000. We find that deficit-financed tax cuts work best among these three scenarios to improve GDP, with a maximal present value multiplier of five dollars of total additional GDP per each dollar of the total cut in government revenue five years after the shock.
Transcription profiles of the ductus arteriosus in Brown-Norway rats with irregular elastic fiber formation.

BACKGROUND Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is one of the most common congenital cardiovascular defects in children. The Brown-Norway (BN) inbred rat presents a higher frequency of PDA. A previous study reported that 2 different quantitative trait loci on chromosomes 8 and 9 were significantly linked to PDA in this strain. Nevertheless, the genetic or molecular mechanisms underlying PDA phenotypes in BN rats have not been fully investigated yet. METHODS AND RESULTS It was found that the elastic fibers were abundant in the subendothelial area but scarce in the media even in the closed ductus arteriosus (DA) of full-term BN neonates. DNA microarray analysis identified 52 upregulated genes (fold difference >2.5) and 23 downregulated genes (fold difference <0.4) when compared with those of F344 control neonates. Among these genes, 8 (Tbx20, Scn3b, Stac, Sphkap, Trpm8, Rup2, Slc37a2, and RGD1561216) are located in chromosomes 8 and 9. Interestingly, it was also suggested that the significant decrease in the expression levels of the PGE2-specfic receptor, EP4, plays a critical role in elastogenesis in the DA. CONCLUSIONS BN rats exhibited dysregulation of elastogenesis in the DA. DNA microarray analysis identified the candidate genes including EP4 involved in the DNA phenotype. Further investigation of these newly identified genes will hopefully clarify the molecular mechanisms underlying the irregular formation of elastic fibers in PDA.
Association of Pretreatment ASPECTS Scores with tPA‐Induced Arterial Recanalization in Acute Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion

The Alberta Stroke Program Early CT‐Score (ASPECTS) assesses early ischemic changes within the middle cerebral artery (MCA) and predicts poor outcome and increased risk for thrombolysis‐related symptomatic ICH. We evaluated the potential relationship between pretreatment ASPECTS and tPA‐induced recanalization in patients with MCA occlusions.
incurvata 13 , a Novel Allele of AUXIN RESISTANT 6 , Reveals a Speci fi c Role for Auxin and the SCF Complex in Arabidopsis Embryogenesis , Vascular Speci fi cation , and Leaf Flatness 1

Auxin plays a pivotal role in plant development by modulating the activity of SCF ubiquitin ligase complexes. Here, we positionally cloned Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) incurvata13 (icu13), a mutation that causes leaf hyponasty and reduces leaf venation pattern complexity and auxin responsiveness. We found that icu13 is a novel recessive allele of AUXIN RESISTANT6 (AXR6), which encodes CULLIN1, an invariable component of the SCF complex. Consistent with a role for auxin in vascular specification, the vascular defects in the icu13 mutant were accompanied by reduced expression of auxin transport and auxin perception markers in provascular cells. This observation is consistent with the expression pattern of AXR6, which we found to be restricted to vascular precursors and hydathodes in wild-type leaf primordia. AXR1, RELATED TO UBIQUITIN1CONJUGATING ENZYME1, CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENIC9 SIGNALOSOME5A, and CULLIN-ASSOCIATED NEDD8-DISSOCIATED1 participate in the covalent modification of CULLIN1 by RELATED TO UBIQUITIN. Hypomorphic alleles of these genes also display simple venation patterns, and their double mutant combinations with icu13 exhibited a synergistic, rootless phenotype reminiscent of that caused by loss of function of MONOPTEROS (MP), which forms an auxin-signaling module with BODENLOS (BDL). The phenotypes of double mutant combinations of icu13 with either a gainof-function allele of BDL or a loss-of-function allele of MP were synergistic. In addition, a BDL:green fluorescent protein fusion protein accumulated in icu13, and BDL loss of function or MP overexpression suppressed the phenotype of icu13. Our results demonstrate that the MP-BDL module is required not only for root specification in embryogenesis and vascular postembryonic development but also for leaf flatness.
The point to point trajectory planning based on the ant lion optimiser

This paper proposes a new method to optimise trajectory for the robot arm. Quadrinomial and quintic polynomials are utilised in joint space to describe point to point trajectory. The ant lion optimiser (ALO) is introduced to ensure searching the global optimal. Dynamic weight is adopted to improve the search ability of the new algorithm. Considering a maximum pre-defined joint torque of the robot manipulator and the ability to avoid obstacles in the work space, the objective function is given for ALO to minimising motion space and time. The simulation is accomplished for different situation with or without obstacle in the workspace to verify the validity of the new algorithm. The different simulation results generated by ALO, GA and QPSO are given to inspect ALOs accuracy. The results show ALO has extremely strong ability to find the global optimal and even less time consumed compared with GA and QPSO.
Live migration of virtual machine based on full system trace and replay

Live migration of virtual machines (VM) across distinct physical hosts provides a significant new benefit for administrators of data centers and clusters. Previous migration schemes focused on transferring the runtime memory state of the VM. Those approaches employed memory pre-copy algorithm to synchronize the migrating VM states, which make VM live migration cost much network traffic and application downtime, especially for memory intensive workloads. This paper describes the design and implementation of a novel approach CR/TR-Motion that adopts checkpointing/recovery and trace/replay technology to provide fast, transparent VM migration. With execution trace logged on the source host, a synchronization algorithm is performed to orchestrate the running source and target VM until they get a consistent state. We also give a formalized characterization about the migration evaluation metrics and make a mathematical analysis about our algorithm. Our scheme can greatly reduce the migration downtime and network bandwidth consumption. Experimental measurements show that our approach can drastically reduce migration overheads compared with pre-copy algorithm: up to 72.4% on application observed downtime, up to 31.5% on total migration time and up to 95.9% on the data to synchronize the VM state, while the application performance overhead due to migration is less than 8.54% on average.
Can spouses be trusted? A look at husband/wife proxy reports

This paper examines biases that may occur when models of couple behavior are estimated using one partner’s report of own and of spouse’s desired family size rather than independent reports obtained from both partners. When estimates of random measurement error are incorporated in a model of couple fertility expectations, proxy reports are valid indicators of spouse desires. In particular, there is little evidence that proxy reports are affected by systematic errors arising from projection of own beliefs onto the spouse. For desired family size, random measurement error in both proxy and self reports is of far greater concern than is systematic error.
Rhythmic cortical neurons increase their oscillations and sculpt basal ganglia signaling during motor learning

The function and modulation of neural circuits underlying motor skill may involve rhythmic oscillations (Feller, ; Marder and Goaillard, ; Churchland et al., ). In the proposed pattern generator for birdsong, the cortical nucleus HVC, the frequency and power of oscillatory bursting during singing increases with development (Crandall et al., ; Day et al., ). We examined the maturation of cellular activity patterns that underlie these changes. Single unit ensemble recording combined with antidromic identification (Day et al., ) was used to study network development in anesthetized zebra finches. Autocovariance quantified oscillations within single units. A subset of neurons oscillated in the theta/alpha/mu/beta range (8–20 Hz), with greater power in adults compared to juveniles. Across the network, the normalized oscillatory power in the 8–20 Hz range was greater in adults than juveniles. In addition, the correlated activity between rhythmic neuron pairs increased with development. We next examined the functional impact of the oscillators on the output neurons of HVC. We found that the firing of oscillatory neurons negatively correlated with the activity of cortico‐basal ganglia neurons (HVCXs), which project to Area X (the song basal ganglia). If groups of oscillators work together to tonically inhibit and precisely control the spike timing of adult HVCXs with coordinated release from inhibition, then the activity of HVCXs in juveniles should be decreased relative to adults due to uncorrelated, tonic inhibition. Consistent with this hypothesis, HVCXs had lower activity in juveniles. These data reveal network changes that shape cortical‐to‐basal ganglia signaling during motor learning. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 73: 754–768, 2013
Real‐time observation of transient focal ischemia and hyperemia in cat brain

Gradient‐recalled echo‐planar (T2‐weighted) imaging was used to noninvasively monitor regional blood oxygenation state changes in real time during transient episodes of focal ischemia in cat brain. Varying ischemic intervals (12 s to 30 min) were caused by middle cerebral artery occlusion. A rapid signal drop was noted upon occlusion, due to deoxygenation of static blood in the ischemic tissues. Upon successful reperfusion, the signal intensity recovered immediately and increased above (overshot) the baseline level before slowly returning to normal. The “overshoot” response was strongly dependent on the duration of the ischemic interval and is thought to reflect reactive hyperemia.
Investigating the influence of software inspection process parameters on inspection meeting performance

The question of whether inspection meetings justify their cost has been discussed in several studies. However, it is still open as to how modern defect detection techniques and team size influence meeting performance, particularly with respect to different classes of defect severity. The influence of software inspection process parameters (defect detection technique, team size, meeting effort) on defect detection effectiveness is investigated, i.e. the number of defects found for 31 teams which inspected a requirements document, to shed light on the performance of inspection meetings. The sets of defects reported by each team after the individual preparation phase (nominal-team performance) and after the team meeting (real-team performance) are compared. The main findings are that nominal teams perform significantly more effectively than real teams for all defect classes. This implies that meeting losses are on average higher than meeting gains. Meeting effort was positively correlated with meeting gains, indicating that synergy effects can only be realised if enough time is available. With regard to meeting losses, existing reports are confirmed that for a given defect, the probability of being lost in a meeting decreases with an increase in the number of inspectors who detected this defect during individual preparation.