Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Construction of self-dual morphological operators and modifications of the median

The median operator is a nonlinear (morphological) image transformation which has become very popular because it can suppress noise while preserving the edges. It treats the foreground and background of an image in an identical way that is, it is a self-dual operator. Unfortunately, the median operator lacks the idempotence property: it is not a morphological filter. This paper gives a complete characterization of morphological operators on discrete binary images which are increasing, translation invariant, and self-dual. Furthermore, it presents a general method for the modification of an increasing operator such that it becomes activity-extensive. Such modifications lead to idempotent operators under iteration. The general procedure is illustrated by giving several modifications of the 3/spl times/3 median operator. <<ETX>>
The Assay of Factor VIII Related Antigen by an Immuno-Enzymatic Method

Dear Sir, We have read with interest the article by Ness and Perkins (1) on the development of an immuno-enzymatic method (ELISA), for the assay of factor Vlll-related antigen (VIII R: Ag), more sensitive than the Laurell technique (EIA). These authors mention the previous work of Bartlett et al. (2) whose ELISA microtechnique is of a comparable sensitivity to the EIA method, but fail to cite our technique of which we emphasised the simplicity, reproducibility and especially the sensitivity (3). The advantage of our technique have led us to use it routinely for the last 3 years. The correlation of the results with those of EIA is highly satisfactory. A double blind test involving 167 plasma samples from normal women or hemophilia A carriers gave a correlation coefficient of 0,91. The tests of inter or intraassay reproducibility are equally good (Table 1). The sensitivity is at least 65 times greater than for EIA and also greater than the sensitivity of the 2 recently-published competitive immunoenzymatic methods (1, 4). In fact in more than 200 assays we have always obtained a good linear relationship between the A415 ^
A study of the factors that affect the impulsive cosmetics buying of female consumers in Kaohsiung

Marketing products, vendors tend to incite consumers’ intention to buy impulsively through various methods of stimulation. This fact has led to the increasing complexity of the factors which determine impulsive buying. This research analyzed the factors which determine impulsive buying, and used questionnaires and a focus group survey in order to study the factors that determine female consumers’ impulsive purchases of cosmetics.
Extension of an energy-based life prediction method to low and combined cycle fatigue regimes

An energy-based fatigue life prediction method has been developed to accurately predict lifetimes of coupon specimens in excess of 105 cycles. The method has been shown to agree with empirically determined room temperature high-cycle fatigue data for both Al 6061-T6 and Ti-6Al-4V in uniaxial, bending, and shear at various stress ratios (R). As with any life prediction method, using a testing scheme to accurately predict fatigue performance from a reduced data set greatly reduces test time and material costs. For gas turbine engine components, this can account for a large portion of development costs, making the use of reduced order models very attractive. The stress state of these components can be difficult to characterize and simulate, as they are subjected to both low-cycle fatigue and high-cycle fatigue from both mechanical and vibrational loading. Mechanical loading is generally within the low-cycle fatigue regime and attributed to throttle excursions of various flight maneuvers or engine start-up/shut-down cycles over the course of a component’s lifetime, typically less than 105 cycles. Vibrational loading causes high-cycle fatigue, sometimes of a multiaxial stress state, and is attributed to various forced and free vibration sources manifested as high-order bending or torsion modes. Understanding the interaction of these two fatigue regimes, as combined cycle fatigue, is necessary to develop robust design techniques for gas turbine engine and turbomachinery in general. This study focuses on extending a previously developed energy-based fatigue life prediction method to account for both low-cycle fatigue and combined cycle fatigue of Al 6061-T6511 cylindrical test specimens subjected to various stress ratios, mean stresses, and high-cycle fatigue–low-cycle fatigue interaction.
Mechanism of interfacial interactions in particulate filled composites

A stress analysis was carried out in order to determine the local stress distribution around spherical particles in particulate filled composites. The results were introduced into the criteria for micromechanical deformations and the conditions for the initiation of each mechanism were calculated. Results of the calculations have shown that shear yielding, and possibly crazing, do not depend on thermal stresses and adhesion, but debonding does. The results of the analysis were in accordance with literature and experimental data. The calculated debonding stresses correspond to the observed values, but both debonding and yield stress depend strongly on composition, a phenomenon the analysis does not account for. The discrepancy can be explained with matrix/filler interaction and the role of the interphase. The results indicate that although stress analysis helps to predict deformation and failure in particulate filled composites, it must be further refined to find more exact solutions and the effect of inte.
Transforming growth factor β1 and additional renoprotective effect of combination ACE inhibitor and angiotensin II receptor blocker in hypertensive subjects with minor renal abnormalities: a 24-week randomized controlled trial

Objective To verify the benefit of renin–angiotensin system blockade in hypertension, the effects of 24 weeks’ losartan and ramipril treatment, both alone and in combination, on urinary albumin excretion (UAE) and circulating transforming growth factor β1 (TGFβ1) have been evaluated in hypertensive subjects with minor renal abnormalities. Design and methods Fifty-one patients with stage 1 and 2 essential hypertension and with UAE ≥20 mg/24 h but with maintained renal function have been included. After a 4-week run-in with placebo administration, a randomized double-blind, three-arm double-dummy trial was used. All the hypertensives (HT) were allocated randomly to three treatment arms (17 patients for each group) and they were single-matched for age, gender, body mass index (BMI), systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Active treatment consisted of losartan (50 mg/day), ramipril (5 mg/day) and combined (losartan 50 mg/day plus ramipril 5 mg/day) for 24 weeks. Hydrochlorothiazide 12.5 mg/day was added in HT patients with uncontrolled blood pressure (≥140/90 mmHg) during the active treatment period. In all patients UAE, by immunonephelometric assay; circulating TGFβ1 by a solid-phase specific sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); and blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine and creatinine clearance and potassium, by routine laboratory methods, were determined after placebo treatment and 24 weeks follow-up. Results The three treatment groups were comparable for gender, age, BMI, blood pressure, UAE and renal function measurements. During the active treatment period it was necessary to add hydrochlorothiazide in five patients – two each of the losartan and ramipril groups and one of the combined group. At the end of treatment, significant (P < 0.05) reductions in systolic, diastolic and mean blood pressure, UAE and TGFβ1 levels were observed in all the groups. No change in renal function measurements were observed. The absolute and percentage reduction in UAE and TGFβ1 were significantly higher in the combined group than in the losartan or ramipril groups. No significant changes in absolute and percentage reduction of systolic, diastolic and mean blood pressure were found. All treatment regimens were well tolerated with few and transient side-effects. Conclusion These data indicate an additional renoprotective effect of dual blockade of the renin–angiotensin system (RAS) in hypertensive patients with minor renal abnormalities. In addition, the contemporaneus and marked decrease in TGFβ1 and UAE levels in hypertensives treated with combined therapy might indicate the presence of a subset of subjects who may benefit from complete RAS blockade.
Response of Reinforced Concrete Beams at High Strain Rates

A closed-loop servohydraulic testing machine was used to conduct high rate tests on reinforced concrete beams. Seven pairs of singly reinforced beams (without shear reinforcement) were tested under displacement control. From each pair, one beam was tested at a "static" rate (piston velocity = 0.00071 cm/sec) and the other at a "high" rate (piston velocity = 38 cm/sec). The total number of cracks reduced significantly at the high rate. Peak load and energy absorption capacity were found to increase with the rate of straining. For three of the pairs tested, final failure mode shifted from shear failure at the static rate to flexural failure at the high rate. This phenomenon is the opposite of the brittle transition in the mode of failure reported by some other researchers.
Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention for HIV Prevention Among Injection Drug Users and Cocaine Smokers not in Treatment

This study compared the effectiveness for altering sexual and drug use risk behaviors of an innovative cognitive-behavioral intervention with a standard intervention developed by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Participants were 254 female and 488 male injection drug users and cocaine smokers not currently in treatment who were randomly assigned to receive one of the two interventions. Although a 6-month follow-up revealed some significant decreases in risk behaviors across both intervention groups, no significant differences were revealed in the effectiveness of the two interventions in creating changes in sex risk or drug using behaviors.
Minimal dark matter in type III seesaw

We explore the possibility of a new dark matter candidate in the supersymmetric type III seesaw mechanism where a neutral scalar component of the Y = 0 triplet can be the lightest supersymmetric particle. Its thermal abundance can be in the right range if non-standard cosmology such as kination domination is assumed. The enhanced cross-section of the dark matter annihilation to W+W− can leave detectable astrophysical and cosmological signals whose current observational data puts a lower bound on the dark matter mass. The model predicts the existence of a charged scalar almost degenerate with the dark matter scalar and its lifetime lies between 5.5 cm and 6.3 m. It provides a novel opportunity of the dark mater mass measurement by identifying slowly-moving and highly-ionizing tracks in the LHC experiments. If the ordinary lightest supersymmetric particle is the usual Bino, its decay leads to clean signatures of same-sign dilepton and di-charged-scalar associated with observable displaced vertices which are essentially background-free and can be fully reconstructed.
Amino acid runs in eukaryotic proteomes and disease associations

We present a comparative proteome analysis of the five complete eukaryotic genomes (human, Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Arabidopsis thaliana), focusing on individual and multiple amino acid runs, charge and hydrophobic runs. We found that human proteins with multiple long runs are often associated with diseases; these include long glutamine runs that induce neurological disorders, various cancers, categories of leukemias (mostly involving chromosomal translocations), and an abundance of Ca2 + and K+ channel proteins. Many human proteins with multiple runs function in development and/or transcription regulation and are Drosophila homeotic homologs. A large number of these proteins are expressed in the nervous system. More than 80% of Drosophila proteins with multiple runs seem to function in transcription regulation. The most frequent amino acid runs in Drosophila sequences occur for glutamine, alanine, and serine, whereas human sequences highlight glutamate, proline, and leucine. The most frequent runs in yeast are of serine, glutamine, and acidic residues. Compared with the other eukaryotic proteomes, amino acid runs are significantly more abundant in the fly. This finding might be interpreted in terms of innate differences in DNA-replication processes, repair mechanisms, DNA-modification systems, and mutational biases. There are striking differences in amino acid runs for glutamine, asparagine, and leucine among the five proteomes.
Expression‐patterns of the RNA component (hTR)and the catalytic subunit (hTERT) of human telomerase in nonneoplastic prostate tissue, prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia, and prostate cancer

Telomerase, a ribonucleoprotein, is composed of a RNA component (hTR) and two protein subunits. One of these subunits, the catalytic subunit (human telomerase reverse transcriptase, hTERT), represents a reverse transcriptase. hTERT‐expression is closely correlated with telomerase activity. The telomerase is thought to be involved in immortalization process. By adding hexamic repeats to the end of chromosomal DNA, the telomeres, the enzyme is able to stop progresssive telomeric DNA loss that occurs during cell division due to the end replication problem that stops the mitotic clock.
Somatostatin in the Pontine Reticular Formation Modulates Fear Potentiation of the Acoustic Startle Response: An Anatomical, Electrophysiological, and Behavioral Study

The amplitude of the acoustic startle response (ASR) in rats is increased in the presence of a cue that has previously been paired with an aversive stimulus such as a footshock. This phenomenon is called fear-potentiated startle and is a model to study the neuronal and neurochemical mechanisms of the acquisition and expression of fear. The present study investigated the role in fear-potentiated startle of somatostatin in the caudal pontine reticular nucleus (PnC) by a combination of anatomical, electrophysiological, and behavioral methods. The PnC is an essential part of the primary startle circuit and is also the recipient of modulatory influences. First, we showed that the central gray (CG), which is involved in fear conditioning, is the main source of somatostatinergic input to the PnC. In the second experiment, we iontophoretically applied the somatostatin receptor agonist sandostatin on PnC neurons and extracellularly recorded the activity of PnC neurons. Sandostatin had no effect on tone-evoked or spontaneous activity, but markedly attenuated the increase of neuronal activity seen after the administration of glutamate. In our third experiment, we injected different doses of sandostatin into the PnC of awake rats. Sandostatin blocked fear potentiation of the ASR but had no effect on the baseline ASR amplitude. The present study indicates that the somatostatinergic projection from the CG to the PnC is important for the modulation of fear-potentiated startle. We present a possible neural circuitry for the expression of fear-potentiated startle based on these data and previous findings.
Disoprofol (ICI 35868) for Total Intravenous Anaesthesia

The purpose of this study was to evaluate disoprofol as the hypnotic for total intravenous anaesthesia. Sixty women undergoing minor gynaecological surgery participated and were randomly assigned to four groups (N= 15 in each group). Disoprofol, 2 mg/kg was given i.v. to induce anaesthesia after a bolus injection of either fentanyl 1.875 μg/kg or alfentanil 18.75 μg/kg. Vecuronium, 0.06 mg/kg, was given for muscle relaxation when indicated. One‐half of the patients received acute premedication with midazolam, 5 mg i.v. Anaesthesia was maintained with a continuous infusion of disoprofol 150 μg/kg/min and either fentanyl 0.125 μg/kg/min or alfentanil 1.25 μg/kg/min. These drug combinations were compatible and produced good operating conditions. Awakening time was significantly shorter for women who received no premedication and was not affected by the narcotic used. Respiration returned more quickly when fentanyl was the narcotic given and was not affected by premedication. Both hypotension and bradycardia were seen in some patients, but other side effects were infrequent. This total intravenous anaesthesia technique was very well accepted by the patients and the nurses who cared for them in the postoperative period.
The Inheritance of Apomixis in Poa pratensis Confirms a Five Locus Model with Differences in Gene Expressivity and Penetrancew⃞

The genetic control of apomixis was studied in numerous segregating progenies originated from intercrossing and selfing of obligate sexual and facultative apomictic parents in Poa pratensis by means of the flow cytometric seed screen. The data support a novel model with five major genes required to control asexual seed formation: the Apospory initiator (Ait) gene, the Apospory preventer (Apv) gene, a Megaspore development (Mdv) gene, the Parthenogenesis initiator (Pit) gene, and the Parthenogenesis preventer (Ppv) gene. Differences in expressivity and interactions of these genes are responsible for the wide variation of the mode of reproduction. Apospory and parthenogenesis as well as the initiator and preventer genes of these components segregate independently. The genotypes with the highest expressivity of apospory and parthenogenesis were assigned as Ait-/apvapv/Pit-/ppvppv, those with intermediate expressivity as Ait-/Apv-/Pit-/Ppv-, and those with low expressivity as aitait/apvapv/pitpit/ppvppv. Among the self progenies of obligate sexual individuals, plants with a low capacity for apospory and/or parthenogenesis occurred, indicating that the sexual parents were heterozygous for the preventer genes and homozygous for the recessive initiator alleles (aitait/Apv-/pitpit/Ppv-). The dominant allele Ait exhibits incomplete penetrance. The degree of expressivity of apospory and parthenogenesis was constant among several harvest years of F1 plants.
Virtual Self-Modeling: The Effects of Vicarious Reinforcement and Identification on Exercise Behaviors

Social cognitive theory is often implemented when researchers develop treatments and campaigns for health behavior change. Immersive virtual environment technology (IVET) enables novel explorations of health behavior modeling. In Study 1, participants were randomly assigned to one of three treatments: vicarious reinforcement, in which a virtual representation of the physical self (VRS) gained or lost weight in accordance with participants' physical exercise; an unchanging VRS; or no virtual representation. The reinforcement group performed significantly more exercise in a voluntary phase than those in other conditions. Study 2 separated reward (weight loss) from punishment (weight gain) and also explored model identification by contrasting the effects of a VRS with a VRO (virtual representation of an other); participants exercised significantly more when they viewed the VRS, regardless of whether reward or punishment was shown. In Study 3, participants were exposed to either a VRS running on a treadmill, a VRO running, or a VRS loitering, and we examined effects 24 hours after the experiment. Follow-up surveys revealed that participants in the VRS-running condition demonstrated significantly higher levels of exercise than those in other conditions. We discuss implications for media use and health communication.
Clinical features and long-term surgical outcomes in 39 patients withtumor-related trigeminal neuralgia compared with 360 patients with idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia

Abstract Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare clinical features, long-term surgical outcomes between patients with idiopathic and tumor-related trigeminal neuralgia (TN), and to identify factors associated with the maintenance of permanent pain-free state. Methods: Between January 2003 and December 2013, 360 patients with idiopathic TN and 39 patients with tumor-related TN who had undergone microsurgery were retrospectively studied. Kaplan–Meier survival curves were generated and compared by Log-rank test, and the possible prognostic factors were analyzed by the Cox proportional-hazards regression. Results: Patients with tumor-related TN exhibited a younger age of pain onset (46.28 ± 18.18y vs. 53.03 ± 11.90y, p = .006), a briefer symptom duration (3.20 ± 4.38y vs. 7.01 ± 6.04y, p = .000), and much more preoperative neuropathic deficits (61.54%% vs. 24.17%%, p = .000), as compared with patients with idiopathic TN. Using Kaplan–Meier analysis, we found microsurgery was effective in 72.3% of patients with idiopathic TN, and in 86.4% of cases with tumor-related TN at six years follow-up postoperatively. Prognostic analysis suggested that a clear-cut neurovascular compression in patients with idiopathic TN (HR = 3.098, 95%CI: 1.800–5.311; p = .000) and total tumor removal in patients with tumor secondary TN (HR = 7.662, 95%CI: 0.098–36.574; p = .044) were positively correlated with excellent long-term outcomes. Conclusions: The occurrences of TN at younger age, a shorter duration and preponderance of preclinical neuropathic symptoms are the characteristics of TN patients secondary to intracranial tumor, in contrast to patients with TN caused by a compressed vessel. Microsurgery is an effective and safe treatment modality for TN regardless of the disease etiology, the involvement of a clear-cut vascular offender and total tumor resection are the most important predictors of excellent outcome for microsurgery in idiopathic and tumor-related TN patients, respectively.
Effects of aqua-treadmill exercise on selected blood parameters and on heart-rate variability of horses.

The objectives of the present study were to investigate the effects of Aquatraining of horses (aqua-treadmill exercise; treadmill manufactured by Equitech - L.u.S. Equipment, Warendorf, Germany) on selected blood parameters [lactic acid concentration (mmol/l), haemoglobin content (g/l)] and on heart-rate variability (HRV) [heart rate (beats per min; b.p.m.), standard deviation of all NN-intervals (SDNN; ms), normalized power of the low and high frequency band (LFnorm, Hfnorm; au), % recurrence, % determinism and ratio(corr)]. Seven horses performed six exercise tests with different work loads (walking (x = 1.56 +/- 0.08 m/s) and trotting (x = 2.9 +/- 0.13 m/s): dry, water above the carpus and water above the elbow). The standardized test-protocol was: 5 min warm-up at walk while the water was pumped in, followed by the 20-min exercise period at walk or trot, followed by a 5-min walk while pumping out the water. Blood samples were taken prior to each test at rest in the stable, as well as exactly 5 min after the end of the 20-min exercise period. Electrocardiograms were recorded during rest and the 20-min exercise period. Compared to rest, neither the chosen velocities, the two water levels, nor the dry tests led to a significant increase of the lactic acid concentration in any horse. The haemoglobin content showed a significant increase as a result of exercise. Significant differences could be found between the heart rates at rest and the six exercise tests and between the mean of the levels 'walking' and the mean of the levels 'trotting'. An exercise-induced change of HRV was characterized by a decreasing SDNN, a significantly higher LFnorm (sympathetic influence) combined with a significantly lower HF(norm) power (parasympathetic activity) and a rising degree of order (significantly higher % determinism and nearly unchanged % recurrence) and stability (significantly rising ratio(corr)) of the recurrence plot. In conclusion, the used training-protocol for aqua-treadmill exercises only represents a medium-sized aerobic work load for horses, but the different levels of burden were indicated especially by changes in HRV.