Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinicoeconomics and Outcomes Research Dovepress Measurement Properties of Paindetect by Average Pain Severity

Background: Since the burden of neuropathic pain (NeP) increases with pain severity, it is important to characterize and quantify pain severity when identifying NeP patients. This study evaluated whether painDETECT, a screening questionnaire to identify patients with NeP, can distinguish pain severity. Materials and methods: Subjects (n=614, 55.4% male, 71.8% white, mean age 55.5 years) with confirmed NeP were identified during office visits to US community-based physicians. The Brief Pain Inventory – Short Form stratified subjects by mild (score 0–3, n=110), moderate (score 4–6, n=297), and severe (score 7–10, n=207) average pain. Scores on the nine-item painDETECT (seven pain-symptom items, one pain-course item, one pain-irradiation item) range from-1 to 38 (worst NeP); the seven-item painDETECT scores (only pain symptoms) range from 0 to 35. The ability of painDETECT to discriminate average pain-severity levels, based on the average pain item from the Brief Pain Inventory – Short Form (0–10 scale), was evaluated using analysis of variance or covariance models to obtain unadjusted and adjusted (age, sex, race, ethnicity, time since NeP diagnosis, number of comorbidities) mean painDETECT scores. Cumulative distribution functions on painDETECT scores by average pain severity were compared (Kolmogorov–Smirnov test). Cronbach's alpha assessed internal consistency reliability. Results: Unadjusted mean scores were 15.2 for mild, 19.8 for moderate, and 24.0 for severe pain for the nine items, and 14.3, 18.6, and 22.7, respectively, for the seven items. Adjusted nine-item mean scores for mild, moderate, and severe pain were 17.3, 21.3, and 25.3, respectively; adjusted seven-item mean scores were 16.4, 20.1, and 24.0, respectively. All pair-wise comparisons of scores between pain-severity groups showed sizable and statistically significant differences (P,0.0001). Cumulative distribution functions showed distinct separation between severity (P,0.0001). Cronbach's alphas were 0.76 and 0.80 for the nine-and seven-item scales, respectively. Conclusion: This study provides strong psychometric evidence on the validity and reliability of painDETECT for distinguishing average pain severity in patients with NeP.
Deep Generative Image Models using a Laplacian Pyramid of Adversarial Networks

In this paper we introduce a generative parametric model capable of producing high quality samples of natural images. Our approach uses a cascade of convolutional networks within a Laplacian pyramid framework to generate images in a coarse-to-fine fashion. At each level of the pyramid, a separate generative convnet model is trained using the Generative Adversarial Nets (GAN) approach [11]. Samples drawn from our model are of significantly higher quality than alternate approaches. In a quantitative assessment by human evaluators, our CIFAR10 samples were mistaken for real images around 40% of the time, compared to 10% for samples drawn from a GAN baseline model. We also show samples from models trained on the higher resolution images of the LSUN scene dataset.
Fibre Bragg Grating sensor for shock wave diagnostics

We measured the response of short FBGs to a weak planar shock wave. The combined effect of the Photo-Elastic effect and the FBG strain was estimated theoretically depending on its orientation with respect to shock front (for 1550 nm FBG, parallel: 0.9 nm/kbar, perpendicular: -1.4 nm/kbar). The experimental results imply that the FBG/fibre survives for more than 1 μs at 5 kbar shock stress, and that our assumptions about the FBG behaviour under dynamic loading are valid, though more work is needed to fully quantify the effect.
Illumination and Reflectance Estimation with its Application in Foreground Detection

In this paper, we introduce a novel approach to estimate the illumination and reflectance of an image. The approach is based on illumination-reflectance model and wavelet theory. We use a homomorphic wavelet filter (HWF) and define a wavelet quotient image (WQI) model based on dyadic wavelet transform. The illumination and reflectance components are estimated by using HWF and WQI, respectively. Based on the illumination and reflectance estimation we develop an algorithm to segment sows in grayscale video recordings which are captured in complex farrowing pens. Experimental results demonstrate that the algorithm can be applied to detect the domestic animals in complex environments such as light changes, motionless foreground objects and dynamic background.
Suppressed bone remodeling in black bears conserves energy and bone mass during hibernation

ABSTRACT Decreased physical activity in mammals increases bone turnover and uncouples bone formation from bone resorption, leading to hypercalcemia, hypercalcuria, bone loss and increased fracture risk. Black bears, however, are physically inactive for up to 6 months annually during hibernation without losing cortical or trabecular bone mass. Bears have been shown to preserve trabecular bone volume and architectural parameters and cortical bone strength, porosity and geometrical properties during hibernation. The mechanisms that prevent disuse osteoporosis in bears are unclear as previous studies using histological and serum markers of bone remodeling show conflicting results. However, previous studies used serum markers of bone remodeling that are known to accumulate with decreased renal function, which bears have during hibernation. Therefore, we measured serum bone remodeling markers (BSALP and TRACP) that do not accumulate with decreased renal function, in addition to the concentrations of serum calcium and hormones involved in regulating bone remodeling in hibernating and active bears. Bone resorption and formation markers were decreased during hibernation compared with when bears were physically active, and these findings were supported by histomorphometric analyses of bone biopsies. The serum concentration of cocaine and amphetamine regulated transcript (CART), a hormone known to reduce bone resorption, was 15-fold higher during hibernation. Serum calcium concentration was unchanged between hibernation and non-hibernation seasons. Suppressed and balanced bone resorption and formation in hibernating bears contributes to energy conservation, eucalcemia and the preservation of bone mass and strength, allowing bears to survive prolonged periods of extreme environmental conditions, nutritional deprivation and anuria. Highlighted Article: Hibernating bears have suppressed bone remodeling, contributing to energy conservation, eucalcemia and the preservation of bone mass and strength, promoting survival during prolonged periods of extreme environmental conditions.
Expanding the spatial resolution of acrylic films for data storage applications

Noticeable refractive index modulations (difference between the refractive index of high-density areas and the index of low-density areas ~8x10-3) can be created by photostructuration of acrylic films. The light pattern created by the interference of two plane waves induces inhomogeneous polymerization and mass diffusion processes, due to concentration gradients of monomer and dye, giving rise "in situ" to a structuration of the material at the microscopic scale. As the species involved in the initiation mechanism are gradually consumed as the hologram builds up, the incident dose is determined in order to reach full completion of the reaction at the end of the recording, i.e. to obtain stable gratings. This property makes photopolymers attractive materials for number of applications, especially in holography. A great advantage of these materials over other recording systems is that no chemical or heating post-treatment is required after illumination to reveal the hologram. Diffraction efficiencies of ca 80 % were obtained at 514 nm for transmission holograms with a fringe spacings between 0.2 and 5 μm. 675 mJ/cm2 corresponding to a bleaching of the dye of 85% allows non-destructive reading at an active wavelength (green light). Miscellaneous photonic parameters (chemical composition, intensity, dose.) were tested by grating recording. Taking into account all these data, improvement of the material is possible in view of data storage applications.
What lies between Design Intent Coverage and Model Checking?

Practitioners of formal property verification often work around the capacity limitations of formal verification tools by breaking down properties into smaller properties that can be checked on the sub-modules of the parent module. To support this methodology, we have developed a formal methodology for verifying whether the decomposition is indeed sound and complete, that is, whether verifying the smaller properties on the submodules actually guarantees the original property on the parent module. In practice, however designers do not write properties for all modules and thereby our previous methodology was applicable to selected cases only. In this paper we present new formal methods that allow us to handle RTL blocks in the analysis. We believe that the new approach will significantly widen the scope of the methodology, thereby enabling the validation engineer to handle much larger designs than admitted by existing formal verification tools
The Role of Heparan Sulfate and Perlecan in Bone-regenerative Procedures

Tissue engineering, grafting procedures, regeneration, and tissue remodeling are developing therapeutic modalities with great potential medical value, but these regenerative modalities are not as effective or predictable as clinicians and patients would like. Greater understanding of growth factors, cytokines, extracellular matrix molecules, and their roles in cell-mediated healing processes have made these regenerative therapies more clinically viable and will continue advancing the fields of tissue engineering and grafting. However, millions of oral and non-oral bone-grafting procedures are performed annually, and only a small percentage yield the most desirable results. Here we review the heparan-sulfate-decorated extracellular biomolecule named perlecan and the research relating to its potential as an adjunct in bone-regenerative procedures. The review includes an overview of bone graft substitutes and biological adjuncts to bone-regenerative procedures in medicine as they apply to periodontal disease, alveolar ridge augmentation, and barrier membrane therapy. Perlecan is discussed as a potential biological adjunct in terms of growth factor sequestration and delivery, and promoting cell adhesion, proliferation, differentiation, and angiogenesis. Further, we propose delivery and application schemes for perlecan and/or its domains in bone-regenerative procedures, with particular emphasis on its heparan-sulfate-decorated domain I. The perlecan molecule, with its heparan sulfate glycosylation, may provide a multi-faceted approach for the delivery of a more comprehensive stimulus than other single potential adjuncts currently available for bone-regenerative procedures.
A comparison of measured 8 /spl times/ 8 MIMO systems with a popular stochastic channel model at 5.2 GHz

We compared the average capacities of measured 8 /spl times/ 8 MIMO systems with the capacities calculated from a popular stochastic MIMO model. This model separated the influence of fading from the correlation at transmit (TX) and receive (RX) arrays. By using directional RX antennas and a virtual 20 /spl times/ 10 TX array with omni antennas, the MIMO channel at different RX positions in an outdoor office scenario at 5.2 GHz was measured. For low correlation at the receiver and transmitter the model fits very well. But for high correlation at both receive and transmit side, considerable discrepancy arose. In these cases, we found that the entries in the fading matrices are not independent identically distributed with mean power of unity, as assumed in the model.
Detecting Everyday Action Deficits in Alzheimer’s Disease Using a Nonimmersive Virtual Reality Kitchen

Abstract Alzheimer’s disease (AD) causes impairments affecting instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). Transdisciplinary research in neuropsychology and virtual reality has fostered the development of ecologically valid virtual tools for the assessment of IADL, using simulations of real life activities. Few studies have examined the benefits of this approach in AD patients. Our aim was to examine the utility of a non-immersive virtual coffee task (NI-VCT) for assessment of IADL in these patients. We focus on the assessment results obtained from a group of 24 AD patients on a task designed to assess their ability to prepare a virtual cup of coffee, using a virtual coffee machine. We compared performance on the virtual task to an identical daily living task involving the actual preparation of a cup of coffee, as well as to global cognitive, executive, and caregiver-reported IADL functioning. Relative to 32 comparable, healthy elderly (HE) controls, AD patients performed worse than HE controls on all tasks. Correlation analyses revealed that NI-VCT measures were related to all other neuropsychological measures. Moreover, regression analyses demonstrated that performance on the NI-VCT predicted actual task performance and caregiver-reported IADL functioning. Our results provide initial support for the utility of our virtual kitchen for assessment of IADL in AD patients. (JINS, 2014, 20, 1–10)
Cortico-basal ganglia networks subserving goal-directed behavior mediated by conditional visuo-goal association

Action is often executed according to information provided by a visual signal. As this type of behavior integrates two distinct neural representations, perception and action, it has been thought that identification of the neural mechanisms underlying this process will yield deeper insights into the principles underpinning goal-directed behavior. Based on a framework derived from conditional visuomotor association, prior studies have identified neural mechanisms in the dorsal premotor cortex (PMd), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC), and basal ganglia (BG). However, applications resting solely on this conceptualization encounter problems related to generalization and flexibility, essential processes in executive function, because the association mode involves a direct one-to-one mapping of each visual signal onto a particular action. To overcome this problem, we extend this conceptualization and postulate a more general framework, conditional visuo-goal association. According to this new framework, the visual signal identifies an abstract behavioral goal, and an action is subsequently selected and executed to meet this goal. Neuronal activity recorded from the four key areas of the brains of monkeys performing a task involving conditional visuo-goal association revealed three major mechanisms underlying this process. First, visual-object signals are represented primarily in the vlPFC and BG. Second, all four areas are involved in initially determining the goals based on the visual signals, with the PMd and dlPFC playing major roles in maintaining the salience of the goals. Third, the cortical areas play major roles in specifying action, whereas the role of the BG in this process is restrictive. These new lines of evidence reveal that the four areas involved in conditional visuomotor association contribute to goal-directed behavior mediated by conditional visuo-goal association in an area-dependent manner.
Fibre Dissection and Sectional Study of the Major Porcine Cerebral White Matter Tracts

White matter anatomy is the basis for numerous applications in neurology, neurosurgery and fundamental neuroscience. Although the porcine brain is frequently used as experimental model in these fields of research, the description of its white matter is not as thorough as in the human brain or other species. Thus, the aim of this study is to describe the porcine white matter tracts in a complex manner. Two stepwise dissection protocols adapted from human anatomy were performed on six adult pig brain hemispheres prepared according to the Klingler method. Other four hemispheres were sectioned along section planes that were chosen similar to the Talairach coordinate system. As a result, three commissural tracts, seven association tracts and one projection tract were identified: corpus callosum, fornix, commissura rostralis, the short‐association tracts, fasciculus longitudinalis superior, fasciculus uncinatus, fasciculus longitudinalis inferior, fasciculus occipitofrontalis inferior, cingulum, tractus mamillothalamicus and capsula interna. They were described and illustrated from multiple points of view, focusing on their trajectory, position, dimensions and anatomical relations. All in all, we achieved a three‐dimensional understanding of the major tracts. The results are ready to be applied in future imagistic or experimental studies.
Smartphone Forensics Analysis: A Case Study

Abstract—Smartphone forensics is a sub-set of digital forensics, and refers to the investigation and acquisition of artefacts in mobile phones. New threats to mobile phones made forensic science a challenging endeavour in the last couple of years. Number of mobile users is increasing worldwide and createstremendous problems and challenges. The literature relevant to Smartphone forensics, as explored in this paper, focuses on the architecture of Smartphone operating systems and anti-forensics techniques. It also addresses the digital evidence of Smartphone applications. In this paper, through a consideration of types of crimes involving Smartphone’s, a real case study from the Sultanate of Oman is presented. This case study undertakes practical experiments to identified sources for evidence that can later be used in the judiciary system.
The Seoul Metropolitan Lifestyle Intervention Program and Metabolic Syndrome Risk: A Retrospective Database Study

Since 2011, the Seoul Metabolic Syndrome Management (SMESY) program has been employed as a community-wide, lifestyle modification intervention in Seoul, Korea. We aimed to determine if the SMESY intervention would be significantly associated with improvements in metabolic syndrome (MetS) risk factors. This retrospective database study included data from 25,449 participants aged 30–64 years between 1 January 2013 and 30 June 2013. In the SMESY program, 3 risk-stratified groups by the number of MetS factors were followed for 12 months with different intensity and timeframe of intervention. Among the high-(n = 7116) and moderate-risk groups (n = 14,762), all MetS factors (except triglycerides among the moderate-risk group) as well as MetS z-scores significantly improved over 12 months (all p < 0.05). Among the low-risk group (n = 3571), all factors aggravated significantly over 12 months (all p < 0.05). We observed temporal associations between the implementation of the SMESY program and improvements in MetS risk factors. However, such improvements differed by risk-stratified group, being most robust for the high-risk group, modest for the moderate-risk group, and aggravated for the low-risk group. Thus, more intensive interventions targeting different risk-stratified groups are needed, given a better understanding of the increase in risk factors observed in the low-risk group.
Leukocyte migration and activation in the lungs.

Leukocyte migration is critical for our survival. Patients with profound neutropenia or congenital disorders of neutrophil function are prone to life-threatening infections [1, 2]. Paradoxically, neutrophil migration and activation in the lungs is widely believed to be one of the fundamental contributing factors to the acute lung injury that occurs in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) [3, 4]. This point of view is supported by observations that neutrophil depletion prevents lung injury in sheep [5]; that neutrophils and their oxidative products contribute to endothelial cell injury in vitro and lung injury in vivo [6]; and that neutrophils and their products accumulate in lung fluids of patients with ARDS [7]. On the other hand, more recent evidence that leukocyte migration does not injure the lungs of normal humans [8] or animals [9] has led to a more balanced perspective on the effects of neutrophil migration in the lungs. Nevertheless, important questions remain about the circumstances in which neutrophil activation and migration in the lungs causes injury to the lung endothelial and epithelial barriers, leading to increased protein permeability in the airspaces, and sustained abnormalities in gas exchange and lung function. In this issue, JONES et al. [10] provide new information about the relationship between neutrophil migration and activation in the lungs of humans with bronchiectasis or bacterial pneumonia. Autologous 111 In-labelled neutrophils accumulated in the lungs (presumably airways) of four out of five patients with bronchiectasis, but not in the lungs of patients with acute bacterial pneumonia studied 3‐4 days after the onset of symptoms. In contrast, neutrophil metabolic activity, measured by positron emission scanning using 18 2-fluoro-2-D-glucose (18FDG), was greatest in the patients with pneumonia and undetectable in the lungs of patients with bronchi
Gastric carcinoma: 5 year experience of a single institute.

PURPOSE Gastric cancer (GC) is the most common cause of cancer death registered in cancer institute. Background clinical information is important for cancer prevention and therefore we here present characteristics and outcome of GC patients, more than half coming from northern parts of Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS we retrospectively studied records patients with pathologic diagnosis of GC referred to the Medical Oncology Department of the Cancer Institute from 1998 to 2003. RESULTS Four hundred and thirteen patients were registered with GC with the average age of 58 and a male to female ratio of 3/1. Tumor stage based on AJCC was stage 2(12.5%), stage 3(22%), stage 4(63%) and 2% unknown. Most common site of involvement was cardia (43%). Median survival time of all patients (with or without treatment) was 10 months overall. Gastrectomy was performed for 214 patients(39% with positive surgical margins), and 175 of the gastrectomised patients received chemotherapy. Median survival with surgery only was 7 months but 20 months with both surgery and chemotherapy. Only 21 patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Median survival of patients who had response to preoperative chemotherapy was 30 months. By multivariate analysis lower extent of disease (p=0.0024), free surgical margin (p=0.0017), and chemotherapy (p=0.001) were associated with better prognosis. CONCLUSIONS Only curative resection with free margins was associated with a survival benefit in this study. More than 80% of patients were diagnosed in locally advanced or metastatic stage of disease and even with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and salvage surgery the outcome was poor. Clearly more efforts need to be given to early detection of lesions to allow a better cure rate.
Are People Willing to Pay to Reduce Others'Incomes?

This paper studies utility interdependence in the laboratory: subjects can pay to reduce ("burn") other subjects' money. Most of them do. The price elasticity of burning is mostly less than unity. There is a strong correlation between wealth, or rank, and the amounts by which subjects are burnt. Many burners, especially disadvantaged ones, care about whether another person "deserves" the money he has. Deservingness is not simply a matter of relative payoff.