Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Precision and accuracy of regional radioactivity quantitation using the maximum likelihood EM reconstruction algorithm

The imaging characteristics of maximum likelihood (ML) reconstruction using the EM algorithm for emission tomography have been extensively evaluated. There has been less study of the precision and accuracy of ML estimates of regional radioactivity concentration. The authors developed a realistic brain slice simulation by segmenting a normal subject's MRI scan into gray matter, white matter, and CSF and produced PET sinogram data with a model that included detector resolution and efficiencies, attenuation, scatter, and randoms. Noisy realizations at different count levels were created, and ML and filtered backprojection (FBP) reconstructions were performed. The bias and variability of ROI values were determined. In addition, the effects of ML pixel size, image smoothing and region size reduction were assessed. Hit estimates at 3,000 iterations (0.6 sec per iteration on a parallel computer) for 1-cm(2) gray matter ROIs showed negative biases of 6%+/-2% which can be reduced to 0%+/-3% by removing the outer 1-mm rim of each ROI. FBP applied to the full-size ROIs had 15%+/-4% negative bias with 50% less noise than hit. Shrinking the FBP regions provided partial bias compensation with noise increases to levels similar to ML. Smoothing of ML images produced biases comparable to FBP with slightly less noise. Because of its heavy computational requirements, the ML algorithm will be most useful for applications in which achieving minimum bias is important.
Promoter for Sindbis virus RNA-dependent subgenomic RNA transcription

Sindbis virus is a positive-strand RNA enveloped virus, a member of the Alphavirus genus of the Togaviridae family. Two species of mRNA are synthesized in cells infected with Sindbis virus; one, the 49S RNA, is the genomic RNA; the other, the 26S RNA, is a subgenomic RNA that is identical in sequence to the 3' one-third of the genomic RNA. Ou et al. (J.-H. Ou, C. M. Rice, L. Dalgarno, E. G. Strauss, and J. H. Strauss, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 79:5235-5239, 1982) identified a highly conserved region 19 nucleotides upstream and 2 nucleotides downstream from the start of the 26S RNA and proposed that in the negative-strand template, these nucleotides compose the promoter for directing the synthesis of the subgenomic RNA. Defective interfering (DI) RNAs of Sindbis virus were used to test this proposal. A 227-nucleotide sequence encompassing 98 nucleotides upstream and 117 nucleotides downstream from the start site of the Sindbis virus subgenomic RNA was inserted into a DI genome. The DI RNA containing the insert was replicated and packaged in the presence of helper virus, and cells infected with these DI particles produced a subgenomic RNA of the size and sequence expected if the promoter was functional. The initiating nucleotide was identical to that used for Sindbis virus subgenomic mRNA synthesis. Deletion analysis showed that the minimal region required to detect transcription of a subgenomic RNA from the negative-strand template of a DI RNA was 18 or 19 nucleotides upstream and 5 nucleotides downstream from the start of the subgenomic RNA.
Toward a Theory of Second-Order Consequence

We develop an account of logical consequence for the second-order language of set theory in the spirit of Boolos's plural interpretation of monadic second-order logic. There is little doubt that a second-order axiomatization of Zermelo-Fraenkel set the- ory plus the axiom of choice (ZFC) is desirable. One advantage of such an ax- iomatization is that it permits us to express the principles underlying the first-order schemata of separation and replacement. Another is its almost-categoricity: M is a model of second-order ZFC if and only if it is isomorphic to a model of the form � Vκ, ∈∩ (Vκ × Vκ)� ,f orκ a strongly inaccessible ordinal. We obtain similar benefits when we allow for the existence of Urelemente. The axioms of second-order ZFC with Urelemente (ZFCU) are not able to specify the structure of the universe up to isomorphism, but McGee has recently shown that, pro- vided one takes the range of its quantifiers to be unrestricted, the addition of an axiom that states that the Urelemente form a set to the axioms of ZFCU will characterize the structure of the universe of pure sets up to isomorphism. 1 In sum, there is much to be gained from the ability to employ second-order quantification in the context of set theory. What is much more controversial is that we can, with a clear conscience, develop set theory within a second-order language. The standard interpretation of second- order quantification takes second-order variables to range over the sets of individuals which first-order variables range over. This interpretation may be convenient for the development of second-order arithmetic but it will not do for the purpose of develop- ing set theory in a second-order language. The reason is not difficult to state. When we do set theory, we take our first-order variables to range over all sets. But if we take our second-order variables to range over sets of sets in the range of the first-order vari- ables, then second-order comprehension will fail. A simple instance of second-order comprehension such as ∃X∀y (Xy←→ y / ∈ y) will be false on account of Russell's
Home-based Early Intervention on Auditory and Speech Development in Mandarin-speaking Deaf Infants and Toddlers with Chronological Aged 7–24 Months

Background:Early auditory and speech development in home-based early intervention of infants and toddlers with hearing loss younger than 2 years are still spare in China. This study aimed to observe the development of auditory and speech in deaf infants and toddlers who were fitted with hearing aids and/or received cochlear implantation between the chronological ages of 7–24 months, and analyze the effect of chronological age and recovery time on auditory and speech development in the course of home-based early intervention. Methods:This longitudinal study included 55 hearing impaired children with severe and profound binaural deafness, who were divided into Group A (7–12 months), Group B (13–18 months) and Group C (19–24 months) based on the chronological age. Categories auditory performance (CAP) and speech intelligibility rating scale (SIR) were used to evaluate auditory and speech development at baseline and 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months of habilitation. Descriptive statistics were used to describe demographic features and were analyzed by repeated measures analysis of variance. Results:With 24 months of hearing intervention, 78% of the patients were able to understand common phrases and conversation without lip-reading, 96% of the patients were intelligible to a listener. In three groups, children showed the rapid growth of trend features in each period of habilitation. CAP and SIR scores have developed rapidly within 24 months after fitted auxiliary device in Group A, which performed much better auditory and speech abilities than Group B (P < 0.05) and Group C (P < 0.05). Group B achieved better results than Group C, whereas no significant differences were observed between Group B and Group C (P > 0.05). Conclusions:The data suggested the early hearing intervention and home-based habilitation benefit auditory and speech development. Chronological age and recovery time may be major factors for aural verbal outcomes in hearing impaired children. The development of auditory and speech in hearing impaired children may be relatively crucial in the first year's habilitation after fitted with the auxiliary device.
Automatic Predicate Argument Analysis of the Penn TreeBank

One of the primary tasks of Information Extraction is recognizing all of the different guises in which a particular type of event can appear. For instance, a meeting between two dignitaries can be referred to as A meets B or A and B meet, or a meeting between A and B took place/was held/opened/convened/finished/dragged on or A had/presided over a meeting/conference with B
BUCKLING PROPERTIES OF PRE-STRESSED MULTI-WALLED CARBON NANOTUBES

Pre-stressed multi-walled carbon nanotubes (PS-MWCNTs) have (a) interwall distances less than 0.34 nm, (b) highest Young’s moduli, and (c) interlayer shear strengths several orders higher than those of normal MWCNTs. In this paper, the buckling behaviors of PS-MWCNTs with two to six layers have been studied using both molecular mechanics simulation and continuum mechanics models. Considering the interlayer distance as the key factor, we reveal three features of the buckling behavior of PS-MWCNTs subjected to axial loading: (1) the buckling membrane force is not a monotonic function of interlayer distance, depending on the nanotube index (i.e. diameter); (2) the buckling membrane force increases as the interlayer distance decreases for PS-MWCNTs with fixed intertube chirality, which is a combined effect of interlayer distance and tube diameter; and (3) for PS-MWCNTs with the same innermost tube, the buckling membrane force increases as the number of walls increases. Furthermore, molecular mechanics simulation and the multi-shell continuum model agree on the trend of the buckling membrane force as a function of interlayer distance, tube chirality index, and number of layers. These results can serve as a bridge between the molecular simulation and the continuum model for the buckling behaviors of PS-MWCNT.
Diabetes Screening With Hemoglobin A1c Versus Fasting Plasma Glucose in a Multiethnic Middle-School Cohort

OBJECTIVE To characterize middle-school students from the HEALTHY study with glycemic abnormalities, specifically high-risk hemoglobin A1c (A1C) (hrA1C; A1C = 5.7–6.4%) and impaired fasting glucose (IFG; fasting plasma glucose [FPG] = 100–125 mg/dL). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS History was collected by self-report, physical measurement was collected by trained study staff, and fasting blood was drawn by trained phlebotomists and analyzed centrally. RESULTS At baseline, among 3,980 sixth graders, 128 (3.2%) had hrA1C and 635 (16.0%) had IFG. Compared with A1C <5.7%, hrA1C was associated with non-Hispanic black race/ethnicity, family history of diabetes, and higher measurements of BMI, waist circumference, and fasting insulin. Compared with FPG <100 mg/dL, IFG was associated with Hispanic ethnicity; increased BMI, waist circumference, and fasting insulin; higher frequency of high blood pressure; and higher mean triglycerides. Two years later, children with hrA1C persisted as hrA1C in 59.4%, and one child (0.8%) developed A1C ≥6.5%; children with IFG persisted with IFG in 46.9%, and seven children (1.1%) developed FPG ≥126 mg/dL. Those with hrA1C compared with IFG had a higher BMI in sixth grade, which persisted to eighth grade. CONCLUSIONS In the HEALTHY study cohort, hrA1C and IFG define different groups of youth with differentially increased diabetes risk markers. IFG is approximately fivefold more common, but hrA1C is more persistent over time. Optimal screening strategies for diabetes in youth remain unresolved.
OPTIMAL TEMPERATURE FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF SEVERE TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY: EFFECT OF HYPOTHERMIA ON INTRACRANIAL PRESSURE, SYSTEMIC AND INTRACRANIAL HEMODYNAMICS, AND METABOLISM

OBJECTIVE We studied the effect of hypothermia on intracranial pressure, systemic and intracranial hemodynamics, and metabolism in patients with severe traumatic brain injury to clarify the optimal temperature for hypothermia, with a view toward establishing the proper management techniques for such patients. METHODS The study was performed in 31 patients with severe head injury (Glasgow Coma Scale score as high as 5). All patients were sedated, paralyzed, ventilated, and cooled to 33 degrees C. Brain temperature, core temperature, intracranial pressure, cerebral perfusion pressure, jugular venous oxygen saturation, mixed venous oxygen saturation, cardiac output, oxygen delivery, oxygen consumption, and resting energy expenditure were monitored continuously. RESULTS Intracranial pressure decreased significantly at brain temperatures below 37 degrees C and decreased more sharply at temperatures 35 to 36 degrees C, but no differences were observed at temperatures below 35 degrees C. Cerebral perfusion pressure peaked at 35.0 to 35.9 degrees C and decreased with further decreases in temperature. Jugular venous oxygen saturation and mixed venous oxygen saturation remained in the normal range during hypothermia. Resting energy expenditure and cardiac output decreased progressively with hypothermia. Oxygen delivery and oxygen consumption decreased to abnormally low levels at rectal temperatures below 35 degrees C, and the correlation between them became less significant at less than 35 degrees C than that when temperatures were 35 degrees C or higher. Brain temperature was consistently higher than rectal temperature by 0.5 +/- 0.3 degrees C. CONCLUSION These results suggest that, after traumatic brain injury, decreasing body temperature to 35 to 35.5 degrees C can reduce intracranial hypertension while maintaining sufficient cerebral perfusion pressure without cardiac dysfunction or oxygen debt. Thus, 35 to 35.5 degrees C seems to be the optimal temperature at which to treat patients with severe traumatic brain injury.
The Rise Time of Type Ia Supernovae from the Supernova Legacy Survey

We compare the rise times of nearby and distant Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) as a test for evolution using 73 high-redshift spectroscopically confirmed SNe Ia from the first 2 years of the 5 year Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS) and published observations of nearby SNe. Because of the "rolling" search nature of the SNLS, our measurement is approximately 6 times more precise than previous studies, allowing for a more sensitive test of evolution between nearby and distant SNe. Adopting a simple t2 early-time model (as in previous studies), we find that the rest-frame B rise times for a fiducial SN Ia at high and low redshift are consistent, with values 19.10 ± 0.2 and 19.58 days, respectively; the statistical significance of this difference is only 1.4 σ. The errors represent the uncertainty in the mean rather than any variation between individual SNe. We also compare subsets of our high-redshift data set based on decline rate, host galaxy star formation rate, and redshift, finding no substantive evidence for any subsample dependence.
Wear measurement of polyethylene components in total knee replacement

The total knee replacement (TKR) was designed to provide final-stage treatment for patients to replace the damaged biological tissues and help the patient to carry out daily normal activities. Determination of wear of the polyethylene knee inserts has been an important subject in improving the longevity of TKR. Accurate wear measurement methodologies are essential to differentiate between the performance of different materials and designs because the geometry changes can be small and can consist of both wear and creep. The aim of this study was to develop a coordinate based threedimensional volumetric determination methodology using CMM and Micro-CT measurement techniques. The validation of the methodology was carried out using a FE model and computational volume removal test. Afterwards, the volumetric determination method was used to calculate the volume loss from computational and experimental tests of volume removal and creep deformation. Finally, the methodology was applied to evaluate both simulator and retrieval specimens. The studies indicated the presented volumetric determination methodology was not dependent on pre-wear data, CAD model or original design drawings and can be used for both simulator and retrieval analysis at relevant levels of wear and creep. It can also be applied to the biotribological study of other polyethylene components, since wear and damage can be assessed visually and volumetrically. The comparison between CMM and Micro-CT methods suggested that the CMM has higher accuracy and better repeatability. Whilst the methods developed in this thesis were suitable for laboratory and computational wear determination, they are not suitable for all specimens in retrieval study due to the greater amount of wear and damage on the surface.
Edinburgh Research Explorer Identification of Matrices Having a Sparse Representation

We consider the problem of recovering a matrix from its action on a known vector in the setting where the matrix can be represented efﬁciently in a known matrix dictionary. Connections with sparse signal recovery allows for the use of efﬁcient reconstruction techniques such as Basis Pursuit. Of particular interest is the dictionary of time-frequency shift matrices and its role for channel estimation and identiﬁcation in communications engineering. We present recovery results for Basis Pursuit with the time-frequency shift dictionary and various dictionaries of random matrices.
Fluoroquinolone-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates from Russia: molecular mechanisms implicated.

OBJECTIVES During a longitudinal study of the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae, a number of high-level fluoroquinolone-resistant isolates were obtained from the sexually transmitted diseases clinic in the Moscow region in 2002. The aim of the present study was to determine the molecular mechanisms of resistance and to assess the clonal relationship of these strains METHODS For the 32 clinical strains of N. gonorrhoeae studied, the MIC values were determined for four fluoroquinolones. The gyrA, parC, por and mtrR genes were studied for the presence of mutations associated with fluoroquinolone resistance. RESULTS We detected strains of N. gonorrhoeae showing high-level resistance to fluoroquinolones (21 strains, with MICs 1-32 mg/L). Mutations in gyrA and parC known to cause fluoroquinolone resistance were detected in a majority of strains. There were four strains (among 21) without known changes in gyrA and parC. However, amino acid changes in the Por protein and mutations in the promoter or encoding region of the mtrR gene were detected in three of them. One strain had no alteration in gyrA, parC, por or mtrR. CONCLUSIONS The present study documents the first case of fluoroquinolone-resistant N. gonorrhoeae in Russia.
Teaching Tactics and Dialog in AutoTutor

The Tutoring Research Group at the University of Memphis has developed a computer tutor (called AutoTutor) that simulates the discourse patterns and pedagogical strategies of a typical human tutor. The dialog tactics were based on a previous project that dissected 100 hours of naturalistic tutoring sessions. AutoTutor is currently targeted for college students in introductory computer literacy courses, who learn the fundamentals of hardware, operating systems, and the Internet. Instead of merely being an information delivery system, AutoTutor serves as a discourse prosthesis (or collaborative scaffold) that assists the student in actively constructing knowledge. A dialog manager coordinates the conversation that occurs between a learner and a pedagogical agent, whereas lesson content and world knowledge are represented in a curriculum script and latent semantic analysis. The agent is a talking head with discourse- sensitive facial expressions and synthesized speech. Evaluations of AutoTutor have shown that the tutoring system improves learning and memory of the lessons by . 5 to . 6 standard deviation units. This article describes the components of AutoTutor and contrasts two versions that follow somewhat different teaching tactics.
Contact stresses in meshing spur gear teeth: Use of an incremental finite element procedure

Abstract : Contact stresses in meshing spur gear teeth are examined. The analysis is based upon an incremental finite element procedure that simultaneously determines the stresses in and the contact region between the meshing teeth. The teeth themselves are modeled by two-dimensional plane strain elements. Friction effects are included, with the friction forces assumed to obey Coulomb's law. The analysis also assumes that the displacements are small and that the tooth materials are linearly elastic. The analysis procedure is validated by comparing its results with those for the classical two contacting semicylinders obtained from the Hertz method. Agreement is excellent.
Prevalence of Lassa Virus Disease (LVD) in Nigerian children with fever or fever and convulsions in an endemic area

Background Convulsions with fever in children are a common neurologic emergency in the tropics, and determining the contribution of endemic viral infections can be challenging. In particular, there is a dearth of data on the prevalence and clinical differentiation of Lassa virus disease (LVD) in febrile children in endemic areas of Nigeria, which has multiple lineages of the virus. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and presentation of LVD in febrile children with and without convulsions. Methodology/Principal findings This was a prospective study of consecutive febrile children aged ≥1 month– 15 years admitted to the Children’s Emergency Room of Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital over a period of 1 year. Febrile children with convulsions (Cases) were compared with those without convulsions (Controls). LVD was defined by the presence of a positive Lassa virus RT-PCR test. Rates were compared between groups using χ2 or Fisher’s exact tests and p <0.05 taken as significant. 373 (40.9%) of 913 admissions had fever. Of these, 108/373 (29%) presented with convulsions. The overall prevalence of LVD was 13/373 (3.5%; 95% CI = 1.9%, 5.7%) in febrile admissions, 3/108 (2.8%) in Cases and 10/265 (3.8%) in Controls [(Odds Ratio (95% Confidence Interval) (OR (95% CI)) of LVD in Cases versus Controls = 0.73 (0.2, 2.7)]. Only vomiting (OR (95% CI) = 0.09 (0.01, 0.70)) and bleeding (OR (95% CI) = 39.56 (8.52, 183.7)) were significantly associated with an increased prevalence of LVD. Conclusions/Significance LVD is an important cause of fever, including undifferentiated fever in children in endemic areas, but it is not significantly associated with convulsions associated with fever. Its prevalence, and lack of clinical differentiation on presentation, underscores the importance of a high index of suspicion in diagnosis. Screening of febrile children with undifferentiated fever in endemic areas for LVD could be an important medical and public health control measure.