Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Detached Dust Shell around the Massive Star HD 179821

We have used the Keck I telescope to resolve at three mid-IR wavelengths the emission from HD 179821 (= RAFGL 2343), a G-type supergiant of perhaps 30 M☉ with a detached dust shell. The shell is very approximately circular in shape with an inner diameter of ~3. ″3, corresponding to 3.0 × 1017 cm. We estimate that the star was losing ~4 × 10-4 M☉ yr-1 until about 1800 yr ago, when the mass loss slowed dramatically. During the past ~104 yr, the star has lost ~10% of its initial mass. The star lies about 0. ″35 off center and is closer to the brighter, northern hemisphere of the nebula, which can be explained if the outflow velocity V∞ deviates by +20% from the average in the southern hemisphere and -20% from the average in the northern hemisphere. The mass-loss rate (θ) may have been inversely correlated with the outflow velocity so that the momentum outflow was isotropic during the mass-loss phase. It also seems that totalV∞ was within a factor of 2 of L*/c, where L* is the current luminosity of the star; the mass loss may have been driven by radiation pressure. These results may help characterize the asymmetric circumstellar winds into which supernova explosions propagate.
Marvin: A Heuristic Search Planner with Online Macro-Action Learning

This paper describes Marvin, a planner that competed in the Fourth International Planning Competition (IPC 4). Marvin uses action-sequence-memoisation techniques to generate macro-actions, which are then used during search for a solution plan. We provide an overview of its architecture and search behaviour, detailing the algorithms used. We also empirically demonstrate the effectiveness of its features in various planning domains; in particular, the effects on performance due to the use of macro-actions, the novel features of its search behaviour, and the native support of ADL and Derived Predicates.
Pyramid-Based Visual Tracking Using Sparsity Represented Mean Transform

In this paper, we propose a robust method for visual tracking relying on mean shift, sparse coding and spatial pyramids. Firstly, we extend the original mean shift approach to handle orientation space and scale space and name this new method as mean transform. The mean transform method estimates the motion, including the location, orientation and scale, of the interested object window simultaneously and effectively. Secondly, a pixel-wise dense patch sampling technique and a region-wise trivial template designing scheme are introduced which enable our approach to run very accurately and efficiently. In addition, instead of using either holistic representation or local representation only, we apply spatial pyramids by combining these two representations into our approach to deal with partial occlusion problems robustly. Observed from the experimental results, our approach outperforms state-of-the-art methods in many benchmark sequences.
Exposure to maternal smoking during fetal life affects food preferences in adulthood independent of the effects of intrauterine growth restriction

Experimental animal studies have shown that nicotine exposure during gestation alters the expression of fetal hypothalamic neuropeptides involved in the control of appetite. We aimed to determine whether the exposure to maternal smoking during gestation in humans is associated with an altered feeding behavior of the adult offspring. A longitudinal prospective cohort study was conducted including all births from Ribeirão Preto (São Paulo, Brazil) between 1978 and 1979. At 24 years of age, a representative random sample was re-evaluated and divided into groups exposed (n = 424) or not (n = 1586) to maternal smoking during gestation. Feeding behavior was analyzed using a food frequency questionnaire. Covariance analysis was used for continuous data and the χ 2 test for categorical data. Results were adjusted for birth weight ratio, body mass index, gender, physical activity and smoking, as well as maternal and subjects’ schooling. Individuals exposed to maternal smoking during gestation ate more carbohydrates than proteins (as per the carbohydrate-to-protein ratio) than non-exposed individuals. There were no differences in the consumption of the macronutrients themselves. We propose that this adverse fetal life event programs the individual's physiology and metabolism persistently, leading to an altered feeding behavior that could contribute to the development of chronic diseases in the long term.
Transradial arterial access for coronary and peripheral procedures: Executive summary by the transradial committee of the SCAI

In response to growing U.S. interest, the Society for Coronary Angiography and Interventions recently formed a Transradial Committee whose purpose is to examine the utility, utilization, and training considerations related to transradial access for percutaneous coronary and peripheral procedures. With international partnership, the committee has composed a comprehensive overview of this subject presented herewith. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Self-regulation Model of Illness Applied to Smoking Behavior in Lung Cancer

Thirteen to 20% of lung cancer patients continue to smoke after diagnosis. Guided by Self-regulation Theory, the purpose of this study was to examine illness perceptions over time in a sample of lung cancer patients. This prospective 1-group descriptive longitudinal design study included participants 18 years or older, with a lung cancer diagnosis within the past 60 days who self-reported smoking within the past 7 days. At baseline, patients completed a sociodemographics and tobacco use history questionnaire. The Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised (IPQ-R) was repeated at 3 time points (baseline, 2-4 weeks, and 6 months). Fifty-two participants provided data for the IPQ-R at baseline, 47 at 2 to 4 weeks, and 29 at 6 months. Differences between mean scores for each illness representation attribute of the IPQ-R at repeated time points were calculated by within-subjects repeated-measures analysis of variance and Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Tests. Identity (baseline vs 2-4 weeks: P = .026; baseline vs 6 months: P = .005) and acute/chronic timeline (P = .018) mean scores significantly increased over time; personal and treatment control mean scores significantly decreased over time (P = .007 and P = .047, respectively). Understanding the context in which a patient perceives disease and smoking behavior may contribute to developing interventions that influence behavior change.
Level of presence or engagement in one experience as a function of disengagement from a concurrent experience

Abstract : It is uncertain what effect presence has on virtual environments (VEs) but it is believed to enhance both learning and enjoyment. To date, there exists only subjective methods of measuring the level of presence in VEs. In order to effectively utilize VE technology, it is necessary to gain a greater understanding of presence and the factors that affect it. Therefore, we need to develop a quantifiable method of measuring presence. This metric would provide a framework for design requirements for predictable, repeatable performance in VEs. To investigate a proposed new metric, 70 individuals participated in an experiment based on the dual task paradigm of attention theory. The purpose of the experiment was to determine the level of presence or engagement in one experience as a function of disengagement from a concurrent experience. Participants received two simultaneous experiences, one virtual, the other real, and were given quizzes on each to determine their focus of attention at various stages. Results indicate (1) HMDs occlude all but one of concurring experiences preventing the dividing of attentional resources. (2) Including sound increases the level of engagement in an experience and allows for dividing of attentional resources between concurrent experiences. (3) Responses to previously established presence questionnaires correlate strongly with this new measurement of engagement indicating that this method does have validity. (4) Primed participants exhibit a decrease in levels of engagement in both experiences due to the focus of attention being divided.
Variational Iteration Method for Nonlinear Age-Structured Population Models Using Auxiliary Parameter

In this paper, we apply He’s variational iteration method (VIM) coupled with an auxiliary parameter which proves very effective to control the convergence region of an approximate solution. Moreover, a convenient way is considered for choosing a suitable auxiliary parameter via a residual function. The proposed algorithm is tested on some nonlinear age-structured population models, and numerical results explicitly reveal the complete reliability, efficiency, and accuracy of the suggested technique. It is observed that the approach may be implemented on other nonlinear models of physical nature.
Nonlinearity of Mechanochemical Motions in Motor Proteins

The assumption of linear response of protein molecules to thermal noise or structural perturbations, such as ligand binding or detachment, is broadly used in the studies of protein dynamics. Conformational motions in proteins are traditionally analyzed in terms of normal modes and experimental data on thermal fluctuations in such macromolecules is also usually interpreted in terms of the excitation of normal modes. We have chosen two important protein motors — myosin V and kinesin KIF1A — and performed numerical investigations of their conformational relaxation properties within the coarse-grained elastic network approximation. We have found that the linearity assumption is deficient for ligand-induced conformational motions and can even be violated for characteristic thermal fluctuations. The deficiency is particularly pronounced in KIF1A where the normal mode description fails completely in describing functional mechanochemical motions. These results indicate that important assumptions of the theory of protein dynamics may need to be reconsidered. Neither a single normal mode nor a superposition of such modes yields an approximation of strongly nonlinear dynamics.
Trajectories of Quality of Life among Chinese Patients Diagnosed with Nasopharynegeal Cancer

Objective This secondary longitudinal analysis describes distinct quality of life trajectories during eight months of radiation therapy (RT) among patients with nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) and examines factors differentiating these trajectories. Methods 253 Chinese patients with NPC scheduled for RT were assessed at pre-treatment, and 4 months and 8 months later on QoL (Chinese version of the FACT-G), optimism, pain, eating function, and patient satisfaction. Latent growth mixture modelling identified different trajectories within each of four QoL domains: Physical, Emotional, Social/family, and Functional well-being. Multinomial logistic regression compared optimism, pain, eating function, and patient satisfaction by trajectories adjusted for demographic and medical characteristics. Results We identified three distinct trajectories for physical and emotional QoL domains, four trajectories for social/family, and two trajectories for functional domains. Within each domain most patients (physical (77%), emotional (85%), social/family (55%) and functional (63%)) experienced relatively stable high levels of well-being over the 8-month period. Different Physical trajectory patterns were predicted by pain and optimism, whereas for Emotion-domain trajectories pain, optimism, eating enjoyment, patient satisfaction with information, and gender were predictive. Age, appetite, optimism, martial status, and household income predicted Social/family trajectories; household income, eating enjoyment, optimism, and patient satisfaction with information predicted Functional trajectories. Conclusion Most patients with NPC showed high stable QoL during radiotherapy. Optimism predicted good QoL. Symptom impacts varied by QoL domain. Information satisfaction was protective in emotional and functional well-being, reflecting the importance in helping patients to establish a realistic expectation of treatment impacts.
Clopidogrel improves aspirin response after off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery

Abstract We sought to assess the incidence of aspirin resistance after off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) surgery, and investigate whether clopidogrel can improve aspirin response and be safely applied early after OPCAB surgery. Sixty patients who underwent standard OPCAB surgery were randomized into two groups. One group (30 patients) received mono-antiplatelet treatment (MAPT) with aspirin 100 mg daily and the other group received dual antiplatelet treatment (DAPT) with aspirin 100 mg daily plus clopidogrel 75 mg daily. Platelet aggregations in response to arachidonic acid (PLAA) and adenosine diphosphate (ADP) (PLADP) were measured preoperatively and on days 1 to 6, 8 and 10 after the antiplatelet agents were administered. A PLAA level above 20% was defined as aspirin resistance. Postoperative bleeding and other perioperative variables were also recorded. There were no significant differences between the two groups in baseline characteristics, average number of distal anastomosis, operation time, postoperative bleeding, ventilation time and postoperative hospital stay. However, the incidence of aspirin resistance was significantly lower in the DAPT group than that in the MAPT group on the first and second day after antiplatelet agents were given (62.1% vs. 32.1%, 34.5% vs. 10.7%, respectively, both P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in postoperative complication between the two groups. DAPT with aspirin and clopidogrel can be safely applied to OPCAB patients early after the procedure. Moreover, clopidogrel reduces the incidence of OPCAB-related aspirin resistance.
Sparse and Scale-Invariant Methods in Image Processing. (Méthodes parcimonieuses et invariantes d'échelle en traitement d'image)

In this thesis, we present new techniques based on the notions of sparsity and scale invariance to design fast and efficient image processing applications. Instead of using the popular l1-norm to model sparsity, we focus on the use of non-convex penalties that promote more sparsity. We propose to use a first-order approximation to estimate a solution of non-convex proximal operators, which permits to easily use a wide rangeof penalties. We address also the problem of multi-sparsity, when the minimization problem is composed of various sparse terms, which typically arises in problems that require both a robust estimation to reject outliers and a sparse prior. These techniques are applied to various important problems in low-level computer vision such as edgeaware smoothing, image separation, robust integration and image deconvolution. We propose also to go beyond sparsity models and learn non-local spectral mapping with application to image denoising. Scale-invariance is another notion that plays an important role in our work. Using this principle, a precise definition of edges can be derived which can be complementary to sparsity. More precisely, we can extractinvariant features for classification from sparse representations in a deep convolutional framework. Scale-invariance permits also to extract relevant pixels for sparsifying images. We use this principle as well to improve optical ow estimation on turbulent images by imposing a sparse regularization on the local singular exponents instead of regular gradients.
An efficient VLSI dictionary machine

A binary tree machine which can handle all the dictionary machine and priority queue operations as well as some other data queries is designed in this paper. This machine supports operations like Insert, Delete, Extract-Min/Max, Membership and Near and their redundant forms. If the number of keys present in the tree is n, then each of the operations takes O(log n) steps, and can be fed into the tree in a pipeline manner at a constant rate. A machine with N&equil;2**s-1 processors can store upto N-s data elements. The output is generated at a fixed interval. It does not use any horizontal wires as in some previous designs. Moreover, this approach does not require any sorted-order, is potentially applicable to non-binary tree structures, and is significantly simpler to implement than all the previous designs.
Heterogeneity of the Abnormal Prion Protein (PrPSc) of the Chandler Scrapie Strain

The pathological prion protein, PrPSc, displays various sizes of aggregates. In this study, we investigated the conformation, aggregation stability and proteinase K (PK)-sensitivity of small and large PrPSc aggregates of mouse-adapted prion strains. We showed that small PrPSc aggregates, previously thought to be PK-sensitive, are resistant to PK digestion. Furthermore, we showed that small PrPSc aggregates of the Chandler scrapie strain have greater resistance to PK digestion and aggregation-denaturation than large PrPSc aggregates of this strain. We conclude that this strain consists of heterogeneous PrPSc.
Identification, retinoid binding, and x-ray analysis of a human retinol-binding protein

Two cellular retinol-binding proteins (CRBP I and II) with distinct tissue distributions and retinoid-binding properties have been recognized thus far in mammals. Here, we report the identification of a human retinol-binding protein resembling type I (55.6% identity) and type II (49.6% identity) CRBPs, but with a unique H residue in the retinoid-binding site and a distinctively different tissue distribution. Additionally, this binding protein (CRBP III) exhibits a remarkable sequence identity (62.2%) with the recently identified ι-crystallin/CRBP of the diurnal gecko Lygodactylus picturatus [Werten, P. J. L. , Röll, B. , van Alten, D. M. F. & de Jong, W. W. (2000) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 97, 3282–3287 (First Published March 21, 2000; 10.1073/pnas.050500597)]. CRBP III and all-trans-retinol form a complex (Kd ≈ 60 nM), the absorption spectrum of which is characterized by the peculiar fine structure typical of the spectra of holo-CRBP I and II. As revealed by a 2.3-Å x-ray molecular model of apo-CRBP III, the amino acid residues that line the retinol-binding site in CRBP I and II are positioned nearly identically in the structure of CRBP III. At variance with the human CRBP I and II mRNAs, which are most abundant in ovary and intestine, respectively, the CRBP III mRNA is expressed at the highest levels in kidney and liver thus suggesting a prominent role for human CRBP III as an intracellular mediator of retinol metabolism in these tissues.
Electrical impedance cardiogram in derivation of systolic time intervals.

SUMMARY The reliability and use of the differentiated electrical impedance cardiogram (dZ/dt) in calculating systolic time intervals were assessed in 185 subjects under varying conditions. In the first phase, simultaneous recording of carotid pulse, dZ/dt, electrocardiogram and phonocardiogram (PCG) was obtained in 50 normal volunteers under controlled conditions. In the second phase dZ/dt, electro-cardiogram and phonocardiogram were obtained initially, and carotid pulses, electrocardiograms, and phonocardiograms were recorded immediately afterwards. Serial recordings were obtained in 35 subjects at sea-level, and at 3658 m altitude after 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10 days of induction. The subjects returned to sea-level and daily studies were carried out days 2 and 3. It was found that the impedance ventricular ejection time (LVET.) and the ventricular ejection time derived from the carotid pulse (LVETc) were within 10 ms of each other in all recordings and a close correlation was obtained between the two (R = 0.976). The impedance pre-ejection period (PEPZ) obtained by direct measurement (from the onset of the Q wave of the electrocardiogram to the onset of dZ/dt wave form) also had an excellent correlation with carotid pre-ejection period (PEP,) obtained by the formula QS2 - LVETc (R = 0.91), where QS2 represents electromechanical systole.
Psychosocial Correlates of Parenting Stress in Aust ralian Parents with a Daughter Adopted from China

Ms Melissa Fick is a Masters in Clinical Psychology student at Macquarie University. She developed an interest in adoption research while employed as an adoption caseworker. She has a keen interest in evidence based adoption policy and procedure and was involved in the accreditation of a non-government adoption agency. Melissa has also worked with families whose children have been removed for the purpose of child protection and with homeless youth.
In crescentic IgA nephropathy, fractional excretion of IgG in combination with nephron loss is the best predictor of progression and responsiveness to immunosuppression.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between proteinuric markers (urinary excretion of IgG, alpha2-macroglobulin, alpha1-microglobulin) and serum creatinine (sCr), histologic lesions, progression, and immunosuppression responsiveness in crescentic IgA nephropathy. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS Fractional excretion of IgG (FEIgG) and of alpha1-microglobulin and urinary excretion of alpha2-macroglobulin were evaluated in 37 patients, 23 treated with steroids and cyclophosphamide. For assessment of the effective tubular load of proteins in surviving nephrons, new markers that take into account not only the absolute excretion value but also nephron loss were obtained dividing proteinuric markers for percentage of nonobsolescent glomeruli (surviving glomeruli [SG]). For each parameter, low- and high-risk groups were defined according to cutoffs with the highest sensitivity and specificity for progression (ESRD/doubling sCr) assessed by receiver operating characteristic analysis; follow up was 60 +/- 40 mo. RESULTS FEIgG/SG is the most powerful progression predictor: 5 versus 83% in all patients; in treated patients, 0 versus 89%, increased to 0 versus 100% by sCr and FEIgG/SG in combination (low risk: both markers or only one below cutoff (n = 15); high risk: both markers above cutoff (n = 8). The nonprogressors showed at last observation 65% proteinuria reduction and 10% sCr reduction. CONCLUSIONS In crescentic IgA nephropathy, FEIgG/SG, which evaluates altered size selectivity in relation to nephron loss, is the best progression predictor. In treated patients, progression prediction was increased by FEIgG/SG and sCr in combination. Treatment may be restricted to low-risk patients.
Practical loss-resilient codes

We present randomized constructions of linear-time encodable and decodable codes that can transmit over lossy channels at rates extremely close to capacity. The encod-ing and decoding algorithms for these codes have fast and simple software implementations. Partial implementationsof our algorithms are faster by orders of magnitude than the best software implementations of any previous algorithm forthis problem. We expect these codes will be extremely useful for applications such as real-time audio and video transmission over the Internet, where lossy channels are common and fast decoding is a requirement. Despite the simplicity of the algorithms, their design andanalysis are mathematically intricate. The design requires the careful choice of a random irregular bipartite graph,where the structure of the irregular graph is extremely important. We model the progress of the decoding algorithmby a set of differential equations. The solution to these equations can then be expressed as polynomials in one variable with coefficients determined by the graph structure. Based on these polynomials, we design a graph structure that guarantees successful decoding with high probability