Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Role of Noninvasive Techniques in Stroke Therapy

Noninvasive techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) have provided insight into understanding how neural connections are altered in consequence to cerebrovascular injury. The first part of this review will briefly survey some of the methodological issues and limitations related to noninvasive poststroke motor recovery studies. The second section will investigate some of the different neural mechanisms that underlie neurorehabilitation in stroke patients. The third part will explore our current understanding of motor memory processing, describe the neural structures that subserve motor memory consolidation, and discuss the current literature related to memory reconsolidation in healthy adults. Lastly, this paper will suggest the potential therapeutic applications of integrating noninvasive tools with memory consolidation and reconsolidation theories to enhance motor recovery. The overall objective of this work is to demonstrate how noninvasive technologies have been utilized in the multidisciplinary field of clinical behavioral neuroscience and to highlight their potential to be employed as clinical tools to promote individualized motor recovery in stroke patients.
The Effect of Pooling and Evaluation Depth on Metric Stability

The profusion of information retrieval effectiveness metrics has inspired the development of meta-evaluative criteria for choosing between them. One such criterion is discriminative power; that is, the proportion of system pairs whose difference in effectiveness is found statistically significant. Studies of discriminative power frequently find normalized discounted cumulative gain (nDCG) to be the most discriminative metric, but there has been no satisfactory explanation of which feature makes it so discriminative. In this paper, we examine the discriminative power of nDCG and several other metrics under different evaluation and pooling depths, and with different forms of score normalization. We find that evaluation depth is more important to metric behaviour and discriminative power than metric type; that evaluating beyond pooling depth does not seem to lead to a misleading system reinforcement effect; and that nDCG does seem to have a genuine, albeit slight, edge in discriminative power under a range of conditions.
Image Denoising Using Derotated Complex Wavelet Coefficients

A method for removing additive Gaussian noise from digital images is described. It is based on statistical modeling of the coefficients of a redundant, oriented, complex multiscale transform. Two types of modeling are used to model the wavelet coefficients. Both are based on Gaussian scale mixture (GSM) modeling of neighborhoods of coefficients at adjacent locations and scales. Modeling of edge and ridge discontinuities is performed using wavelet coefficients derotated by twice the phase of the coefficient at the same location and the next coarser scale. Other areas are modeled using standard wavelet coefficients. An adaptive Bayesian model selection framework is used to determine the modeling applied to each neighborhood. The proposed algorithm succeeds in providing improved denoising performance at structural image features, reducing ringing artifacts and enhancing sharpness, while avoiding degradation in other areas. The method outperforms previously published methods visually and in standard tests.
Specific Immunolabeling of Brain Macrophages and Microglial Cells in the Developing and Mature Chick Central Nervous System

The present study showed that the HIS-C7 monoclonal antibody, which recognizes the chick form of CD45, is a specific marker for macrophages/microglial cells in the developing and mature chick central nervous system (CNS). HIS-C7-positive cells were characterized according to their morphological features and chronotopographical distribution patterns within developing and adult CNS, similar to those of macrophages/microglial cells in the quail CNS and confirmed by their histochemical labeling with Ricinus communis agglutinin I, a lectin that recognizes chick microglial cells. Therefore, the HIS-C7 antibody is a valuable tool to identify brain macrophage and microglial cells in studies of the function, development, and pathology of the chick brain. CD45 expression differed between chick microglia (as revealed with HIS-C7 antibody) and mouse microglial cells (as revealed with an antibody against mouse form of CD45). Thus, a discontinuous label was seen on mouse microglial cells with the anti-mouse CD45 immunostaining, whereas the entire surface of chick microglial cells was labeled with the anti-chick CD45 staining. The functional relevance of these differences between species has yet to be determined.
An Electrophysiological Dissociation between Orbitofrontal Reality Filtering and Context Source Monitoring

Memory influences behavior in multiple ways. One important aspect is to remember in what precise context in the past a piece of information was acquired (context source monitoring). Another important aspect is to sense whether an upcoming thought, composed of fragments of memories, refers to present reality and can be acted upon (orbitofrontal reality filtering). Whether these memory control processes share common underlying mechanisms is unknown. Failures of both have been held accountable for false memories, including confabulation. Electrophysiological and imaging studies suggest a dissociation but used very different paradigms. In this study, we juxtaposed the requirements of context source monitoring and reality filtering within a unique continuous recognition task, which healthy participants performed while high-resolution evoked potentials were recorded. The mechanisms dissociated both behaviorally and electrophysiologically: Reality filtering induced a frontal positivity, absence of a specific electrocortical configuration, and posterior medial orbitofrontal activity at 200–300 msec. Context source monitoring had no electrophysiological expression in this early period. It was slower and less accurate than reality filtering and induced a prolonged positive potential over frontal leads starting at 400 msec. The study demonstrates a hitherto unrecognized separation between orbitofrontal reality filtering and source monitoring. Whereas deficient orbitofrontal reality filtering is associated with reality confusion in thinking, the behavioral correlates of deficient source monitoring should be verified with controlled experimental exploration.
Improving Deep Learning using Generic Data Augmentation

Deep artificial neural networks require a large corpus of training data in order to effectively learn, where collection of such training data is often expensive and laborious. Data augmentation overcomes this issue by artificially inflating the training set with label preserving transformations. Recently there has been extensive use of generic data augmentation to improve Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) task performance. This study benchmarks various popular data augmentation schemes to allow researchers to make informed decisions as to which training methods are most appropriate for their data sets. Various geometric and photometric schemes are evaluated on a coarse-grained data set using a relatively simple CNN. Experimental results, run using 4-fold cross-validation and reported in terms of Top-1 and Top-5 accuracy, indicate that cropping in geometric augmentation significantly increases CNN task performance.
Audio haptic tools for navigation in non visual environments

Virtual haptic 3D environments for users that are blind or visually impaired hold great promise but also present significant challenges. A common problem is how to select and find objects, and thus different helping tools that assist the user during such tasks need further investigation. In this short paper a set of different such helping audio-haptic tool designs are described and evaluated within a memory game type environment.
HIV Seroincidence Estimates Among At-Risk Populations in Buenos Aires and Montevideo: Use of the Serologic Testing Algorithm for Recent HIV Seroconversion

Summary: Using the serological testing algorithm for recent HIV seroconversion, we estimated annualized incidences (per 100 person-years) of HIV-1 infection in different at-risk groups in Buenos Aires and Montevideo, during a 5-year period between 1998 and 2003. HIV-positive serum samples from 9 serosurveys conducted among men who have sex with men, patients attending clinics for a sexually transmitted infections consult (STIs), female commercial sex workers, injecting drug users (IDUs), noninjecting cocaine users (NICUs), asymptomatic women screened for HIV infection, and patients with tuberculosis were used. HIV incidences were as follows: 6.7 for men who have sex with men, 2.0 for STIs, 1.3 for female commercial sex workers, 0.0 for Argentinean IDUs, 10.3 for Uruguayan IDUs, 3.1 for Argentinean NICUs, 4.4 for Uruguayan NICUs, and 2.4 for patients with tuberculosis. Among asymptomatic women screened for HIV infection, incidence rose from 0.4 in 1998 to 4.6 in 1999 and to a high of 10.2 in the year 2000. Unexpectedly, high HIV incidences were detected among at-risk groups in Buenos Aires and Montevideo. This pattern shows an emerging HIV epidemic among heterosexuals stemming from core HIV-infected at-risk groups. There is an urgent need for development and implementation of specific prevention strategies to address this burgeoning epidemic.
Gender differences in coping responses for partners of problem drinkers

This thesis is compiled in two parts. Each part is an independent piece of work intended for separate publication. Consequently each part has separate page numbering. The lirst part is a literature review with relevant appendices attached. The second part is a research report incorporating the collection and analysis of data. This research report also has its own appendices. A general appendices section at the end of the thesis supplies documentation not included in either the literature review or the study. The literature review is to be submitted to the Clinical Psychology Review. and the research report to the Journal of Family Psychology. Each of these Journals require American Psychological Association (APA) formatting and American spelling. which have therefore been adopted throughout both pieces of work. For further information concerning the required fonnatting for submissions to the Clinical Psychology Review, please refer to "Instructions to Authors" in appendix G of the general appendices at the end of the thesis. For further information concerning the required fonnatting for submissions to the Journal of Family Psychology, please refer to "Instructions to Authors" in appendix H of the general appendices at the end of the thesis.
Baseline Serum Cholesterol Is Associated with a Response to Pegylated Interferon Alfa-2b and Ribavirin Therapy for Chronic Hepatitis C Genotype 2

Background. HCV infection is associated with lipid disorders because this virus utilizes the host lipid metabolism to sustain its life cycle. Several studies have indicated that higher concentrations of serum cholesterol and LDL before treatment are important predictors of higher rates of sustained virological response (SVR). However, most of these studies involved patients infected with HCV genotype 1. Thus, we performed a multi-institutional clinical study to evaluate the impact of lipid profiles on SVR rates in patients with HCV genotype 2. Methods. A total of 100 chronic hepatitis C patients with HCV genotype 2 who received peg-IFN alfa-2b and ribavirin therapy were consecutively enrolled. The significance of age, sex, BMI, AST level, ALT level, WBC, hemoglobin, platelet count, gamma-glutamyltransferase, total cholesterol level (TC), LDL level, HCV RNA, and histological evaluation was examined for SVR using logistic regression analysis. Results. The 100 patients infected with HCV genotype 2 were divided into 2 groups, an SVR group and a non-SVR group. Characteristics of each group were subsequently compared. There was no significant difference in the level of HCV RNA, BMI, platelet, TG, or stage of fibrosis between the groups. However, there were significant differences in the levels of TC and LDL-C. In multivariate logistic regression analysis using baseline characteristics, high TC level was an independent and significant risk factor (relative risk 18.59, P = 0.015) for SVR. Conclusion. Baseline serum total cholesterol levels should be considered when assessing the likelihood of sustained treatment response following the course of peg-IFN and ribavirin therapy in patients with chronic HCV genotype 2 infection.
Src Homology 2 Domain-based High Throughput Assays for Profiling Downstream Molecules in Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Pathways*S

Src homology 2 (SH2) domains are evolutionary conserved small protein modules that bind specifically to tyrosine-phosphorylated peptides. More than 100 SH2 domains have been identified in proteins encoded by the human genome. The binding specificity of these domains plays a critical role in signaling within the cell, mediating the relocalization and interaction of proteins in response to changes in tyrosine phosphorylation states. Here we developed an SH2 domain profiling method based on a multiplexed fluorescent microsphere assay in which various SH2 domains are used to probe the global state of tyrosine phosphorylation within a cell and to screen synthetic peptides that specifically bind to each SH2 domain. The multiplexed, fluorescent microsphere-based assay is a recently developed technology that can potentially detect a wide variety of interactions between biological molecules. We constructed 25-plex SH2 domain-GST fusion protein-conjugated fluorescent microsphere sets to investigate phosphorylation-mediated cell signaling through the specific binding of SH2 domains to activated target proteins. The response of HeLa, COS-1, A431, and 293 cells and four breast cancer cell lines to epidermal growth factor and insulin were quantitatively profiled using this novel microsphere-based, multiplexed, high throughput assay system.
Helicobacter pylori infection is positively associated with an increased BMI, irrespective of socioeconomic status and other confounders: a cohort study

Background Data on the association of Helicobacter pylori infection and BMI are conflicting. The fact that both H. pylori infection and BMI are associated with low socioeconomic status (SES) makes this relationship difficult to characterize. Materials and methods We aimed to evaluate the association between BMI and H. pylori infection after adjusting for multiple covariates. We analyzed a cohort of 235 107 individuals aged 18 years or older, who performed a 13C urease breath test (13C-UBT), from 2007 to 2014. Data on BMI, age, sex, SES, ethnicity, and medications were extracted from a nationwide population-based database. BMIs were classified according to the WHO recommendations: underweight (<18.5 kg/m2), normal weight (18.5–24.9 kg/m2), overweight (25–29.9 kg/m2), obese class I (30–34.9 kg/m2), and obese class II or more (>35 kg/m2). Study results The positivity rate for H. pylori among underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obese class I and class II or more was 55.6, 58.5, 63.0, 64.5, and 65.5%, respectively (P<0.001, Plinear trend 0.007). The association between BMI and H. pylori infection was significant across all SES, sex, ethnicity, and age categories. After adjusting for age, sex, ethnicity, and SES, being overweight and obese class I and class II or more were associated significantly with H. pylori positivity: odds ratio 1.13 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.11–1.15], 1.14 (95% CI: 1.11–1.17), and 1.15 (95% CI: 1.11–1.19), respectively, P value less than 0.001 for all. Conclusion Among individuals who were referred to a 13C-UBT by primary care physician, after adjusting for multiple covariates including SES, we found a positive association between H. pylori infection and an increased BMI.
Using grouping genetic algorithm to mine diverse group stock portfolio

In this paper, to increase the diversity of stock portfolios, the diverse group stock portfolio mining algorithm is proposed based on the grouping genetic algorithm. Each chromosome is represented by grouping part, stock part and stock portfolio part. The fitness function that consists of portfolio satisfaction, group balance and diversity factor is designed to evaluate quality of chromosomes. The diversity factor is used to make the numbers of stock categories in groups as similar as possible. The genetic operations are then executed on population to generate offspring for finding a near-optimal group stock portfolio. Finally, experiments on a real financial data were made to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Generating Pattern-Based Entailment Graphs for Relation Extraction

Relation extraction is the task of recognizing and extracting relations between entities or concepts in texts. A common approach is to exploit existing knowledge to learn linguistic patterns expressing the target relation and use these patterns for extracting new relation mentions. Deriving relation patterns automatically usually results in large numbers of candidates, which need to be filtered to derive a subset of patterns that reliably extract correct relation mentions. We address the pattern selection task by exploiting the knowledge represented by entailment graphs, which capture semantic relationships holding among the learned pattern candidates. This is motivated by the fact that a pattern may not express the target relation explicitly, but still be useful for extracting instances for which the relation holds, because its meaning entails the meaning of the target relation. We evaluate the usage of both automatically generated and gold-standard entailment graphs in a relation extraction scenario and present favorable experimental results, exhibiting the benefits of structuring and selecting patterns based on entailment graphs.
Thoracodorsal artery scapular tip autogenous transplant: vascularized bone with a long pedicle and flexible soft tissue.

OBJECTIVE To demonstrate that the 3 reconstructive advantages of the thoracodorsal artery scapular tip transplant (Tdast), a long pedicle, independently mobile tissue components, and the 3-dimensional nature of the scapular tip, will improve the quality and success of complex reconstructions by avoiding vein grafting, preventing the need for 2 separate transplants, and facilitating bony inset. DESIGN Prospective case series. SETTING Tertiary care academic medical center. PATIENTS Twenty-one patients (male to female ratio, 16:5; mean age, 52 years) underwent reconstruction of the upper, middle, and lower face from 2001 through 2006. Indications for reconstruction were tumor ablation in 11 patients, secondary reconstruction in 4 patients, osteoradionecrosis in 4, and posttraumatic reconstruction in 2. Seventeen patients underwent radiation. INTERVENTIONS All patients underwent harvest of an autogenous transplant of scapular tip bone and latissimus dorsi soft tissue based on the thoracodorsal artery. The mean bone length was 5.2 cm (range, 2.5-9.0 cm), and the mean cutaneous surface area was 68 cm² (range, 20-250 cm²). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Reduction of vein grafting, avoidance of 2 transplants, use of the triangular shape of the scapular tip in reconstruction, complications, and shoulder function. RESULTS The success rate of transplantation was 100%. The use of this transplant avoided vein grafting in 16 patients and the need for 2 separate transplants in 11 patients, and the 3-dimensional nature of the scapular tip facilitated inset in 13 patients. In 14 patients, more than 1 of these reconstructive advantages was achieved. In 6 patients, all 3 were accomplished. Eleven patients experienced a complication. The major complication rate was 33%, and the minor complication rate was 33%. The mean Constant-Murley test of shoulder function score was 87 of 100 (range, 74-100). CONCLUSIONS The Tdast is an excellent choice for reconstruction in the head and neck as an alternative to procedures requiring vein grafting and multiple free tissue transplants, or in which the 3-dimensional contour of the scapular tip aids in reconstruction. The complication rate should be assessed in the context of the risk factors of the patient population and the outcome with respect to stable employment, increasing body mass index, and maintenance of shoulder function.
Architecture-sensitive heuristics for prioritizing critical code anomalies

The progressive insertion of code anomalies in evolving software systems might lead to architecture degradation symptoms. Code anomalies are particularly harmful when they contribute to the architecture degradation. Although several approaches have been proposed aiming to detect anomalies in the source code, most of them fail to assist developers when prioritizing code anomalies critical to the architectural design. Blueprints of the architecture design are artifacts often available in industry software projects. However, such blueprints are rarely explored to support the prioritization of code anomalies in terms of their architecture relevance. This paper proposes and evaluates 2 sets of blueprint-based heuristics for supporting the prioritization of critical code anomalies. The prioritization is based on their potential impact on revealing architectural drift problems. The heuristics allow developers prioritizing critical code anomalies by exploiting architectural information provided in the blueprint. The contributions of this paper include: (i) a set of architecture sensitive heuristics to support developers when prioritizing critical code anomalies; (ii) an evaluation of the proposed heuristics in terms of their prioritization accuracy in 3 systems; and (iii) an empirical analysis on how the blueprints’ information might enhance the prioritization of critical code anomalies, as opposed to existing heuristics strictly based on source code analysis.
Noise Exposure Assessment in a Dental School

Objectives This cross-sectional study was performed in the Dental School of Prince of Songkla University to ascertain noise exposure of dentists, dental assistants, and laboratory technicians. A noise spectral analysis was taken to illustrate the spectra of dental devices. Methods A noise evaluation was performed to measure the noise level at dental clinics and one dental laboratory from May to December 2010. Noise spectral data of dental devices were taken during dental practices at the dental services clinic and at the dental laboratory. A noise dosimeter was set following the Occupational Safety and Health Administration criteria and then attached to the subjects' collar to record personal noise dose exposure during working periods. Results The peaks of the noise spectrum of dental instruments were at 1,000, 4,000, and 8,000 Hz which depended on the type of instrument. The differences in working areas and job positions had an influence on the level of noise exposure (p < 0.01). Noise measurement in the personal hearing zone found that the laboratory technicians were exposed to the highest impulsive noise levels (137.1 dBC). The dentists and dental assistants who worked at a pedodontic clinic had the highest percent noise dose (4.60 ± 3.59%). In the working areas, the 8-hour time-weighted average of noise levels ranged between 49.7-58.1 dBA while the noisiest working area was the dental laboratory. Conclusion Dental personnel are exposed to noise intensities lower than occupational exposure limits. Therefore, these dental personnel may not experience a noise-induced hearing loss.