Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Discriminant face images taking both the feature correlation and Fisher criterion into account

Xu et al (A novel method for Fisher discriminant Analysis. Pattern Recognition, 2004, 37 (2): 381–384) proposed an interesting Fisher discriminant analysis method that not only requires that discriminant vectors have large Fisher criterion values but also requires that resultant features have small statistical correlation to each other. Indeed, this method is motivated by the following cognition: greater the Fisher criterion value is, more powerful the discriminant vector is and a set of uncorrelated features allow the set of features to contain more information of the original samples. However, when applied to appearance-based face recognition it encounters two problems. The first problem is that scatter matrices involved in the algorithm usually are very large and memory consuming. The second problem is that the method might suffer the small sample size (SSS) problem. In this paper, in order to overcome the two problems and take advantage of the idea of the method we propose a new discriminant method that is directly applicable for image data. This new method not only is free of the SSS problem but also achieves a good recognition performance.
Advances in haploidentical stem cell transplantation

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation from haploidentical donors is an attractive method of transplantation due to the immediate donor availability, ease of stem cell procurement and the possibility to collect additional donor cells for cellular therapy, if needed. Historically, maintaining T-cells in the graft has been associated with very high rates of graft-versus-host disease, while T-cell depleted haploidentical transplantation has been limited by a higher incidence of graft rejection and delayed immune reconstitution post-transplant. Recent approaches attempt to maintain the T-cells in the graft while effectively preventing the development of graft-versus-host disease post-transplant. Selective depletion of alloreactive T-cells post-transplant using high-dose post-transplant cyclophosphamide is under investigation as a promising alternative in haploidentical transplantation. While engraftment has improved and graft-versus-host disease is controlled with this approach, future directions should focus on optimizing conditioning regimens and the prevention of disease relapse post-transplant.
A brief‐duration combination chemotherapy for elderly patients with poor‐prognosis non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma

Curative combination chemotherapy is available for many patients with aggressive non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL); however, treatment of elderly patients with these regimens is difficult due to excessive toxicity. From 1983 to 1988 the authors treated 26 patients 65 years and older with aggressive NHL with a novel 8‐week chemotherapy regimen containing bleomycin, etoposide, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, methotrexate with leucovorin, and prednisone (BECALM), designed to preserve dose intensity and minimize toxicity. Median age was 75 years. Histologic types included the following: 20 intermediate grade (16 large noncleaved cell; two large cleaved cell; one intermediate grade, unspecified); six high grade (four small noncleaved cell; one immunoblastic sarcoma B‐cell; one high grade, unspecified). Twenty‐one patients were Stage III or IV. Twenty‐two of 26 patients had one or more of the following: tumor greater than 10 cm; multiple extranodal sites; lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) 400 IU/1 or greater; small noncleaved cell histologic type. Chemotherapy consisted of bleomycin 20 U intravenously (IV) weeks 1 and 7; etoposide 75 mg/m2 IV every day × 3 days on week 4; cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m2 IV weeks 1, 4, 7; doxorubicin 40 mg/m2 IV weeks 1, 7; methotrexate 50 mg/m2 IV weeks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8 with oral leucovorin rescue; prednisone 60 mg orally for 10 days on weeks 1, 4, 7. Eighteen patients completed the 8‐week treatment course. There were 13 complete responses (CR); seven patients remain in continuous CR at a median follow‐up of 37.5 months. There have been five relapses, including one late relapse; and one patient died of an intercurrent illness in CR. Overall and actual event‐free survivals are 38% and 27%, respectively. The major toxicities were neutropenic fever and mucositis. There were four treatment‐related deaths. The authors conclude that BECALM chemotherapy can be administered to elderly patients with aggressive NHL. Although neurotoxicity and cumulative toxicity from bleomycin and anthracycline are avoided, the regimen remains moderately toxic, particularly with respect to myelosuppression. Treatment results compare favorably with other reported regimens in this group of patients with multiple poor prognostic features.
Risk factors for Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in kidney transplant recipients and appraisal of strategies for selective use of chemoprophylaxis

M.G. J. de Boer, F.P. Kroon, S. le Cessie, J.W. de Fijter, J.T. van Dissel. Risk factors for Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in kidney transplant recipients and appraisal of strategies for selective use of chemoprophylaxis. Transpl Infect Dis 2011: 13: 559–569. All rights reserved
New way to take control of a structural grain size in the formation of nanomaterials by extrusion

Production of nanomaterials by formation of extreme plastic deformation ECAP (Equal‐Channel Angular Pressing) is a way of preparing nano‐structures of engineering materials. A development of a nanostructure in steel AISI 309 (EN X15CrNiSi20.20) with the technology of ECAP, and a new method for determination of the grain size are analysed here. In this study, we also make a comparison, analysis and prediction of the grain size with other technologies. Samples of steel of AISI 309 type were deformed by ECAP method using up to 35 passes.
Gender classification in two Emotional Speech databases

Gender classification is a challenging problem, which finds applications in speaker indexing, speaker recognition, speaker diarization, annotation and retrieval of multimedia databases, voice synthesis, smart human-computer interaction, biometrics, social robots etc. Although it has been studied for more than thirty years, by no means it is a solved problem. Processing emotional speech in order to identify speakerpsilas gender makes the problem even more interesting. A large pool of 1379 features is created including 605 novel features. A branch and bound feature selection algorithm is applied to select a subset of 15 features among the 1379 originally extracted. Support vector machines with various kernels are tested as gender classifiers, when applied to two databases, namely: the Berlin database of Emotional Speech and the Danish Emotional Speech database. The reported classification results out perform those obtained by state-of-the-art techniques, since a perfect classification accuracy is obtained.
Study of Active Ingredients in Black Soybean Sprouts and Their Safety in Cosmetic Use

Active ingredients in different lengths of black soybean sprouts were extracted with water. Concentrations of the main proteins and polysaccharides were determined by the Forint phenol assay and phenol-sulfuric acid assay, respectively. Anti-oxidizing capacities of the extracts were measured in vitro using the DPPH scavenging test and whitening capacity was measured in vitro using the tyrosinase inhibition test. The effects of the bean sprout extracts on human skin fibroblasts damnified by H2O2 were studied using an MTT colorimetric assay. The safety of the extracts was determined using the red blood cell (RBC) test, chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay and human patch test. Results show that DPPH radical scavenging rates at different shoot lengths were all greater than 95%, while the tyrosinase inhibition capacity of the extracts reached 98%. Hemolysis rate in all extracts were lower than 10%, below the 20% regulatory limit for the RBC test. No signs of allergic reactions were observed in the human patch tests. The optimum extract was obtained from bean sprouts grown to 0.5 cm. Extracts of black bean sprouts are safe and can be used as additives in anti-aging and whitening cosmetic products.
Parametric Study of Adhesively Bonded Single Lap Joints by the Taguchi Method

The single lap joint is the most studied joint in the literature in terms of both theory and practice. It is easy to manufacture and the lap shear strength is a useful parameter for strength assessment and quality control. Simple design rules exist such as the one described in ASTM 1002 standard or in a recent paper by Adams and Davies. A previous study by the present authors gave a simple predictive equation considering the type of adhesive, i.e. ductile or brittle, the adherend yield strength and the overlap length. However, other factors also affect the joint strength such as the adherend and adhesive thicknesses and the surface preparation which have not previously been addressed in the literature. In order to quantify the influence of the adhesive (toughness and thickness), the adherend (yield strength and thickness), the overlap and the surface preparation on the lap shear strength, the experimental design technique of Taguchi was used in the present study. An experimental matrix of eighteen tests was designed and each test was repeated three times. The influence of the six previously-mentioned variables could be assessed using the statistical software Statview®. In this paper a simple predictive equation is proposed for the design of single lap joints.
The efficacy and safety of brivaracetam at different doses for partial-onset epilepsy: a meta-analysis of placebo-controlled studies

Objective: This meta-analysis systematically assessed the efficacy and safety of different doses of brivaracetam (BRV) compared with placebo as adjunctive therapy for adults with partial-onset epilepsy. Methods: Electronic and clinical trials databases were searched for randomized controlled trials of BRV published up to May 2015. We assessed the risk of bias of the included studies using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. The outcomes of interest included 50% responder rates, seizure freedom, the incidence of withdrawal and treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs). Results: Five trials met the inclusion criteria. Compared with placebo, 20, 50, 100 and 150 mg/day BRV was associated with significantly higher 50% responder rates. In addition, the effect of 50 mg BRV on seizure freedom was significantly different than that of placebo. Both fatigue and nasopharyngitis were significantly associated with 20 mg BRV, whereas fatigue and irritability were associated with 50 mg BRV. Somnolence was associated with 150 mg BRV. No significant differences were observed for the other common TEAEs. Conclusion: The use of BRV at doses > 5 mg/day resulted in statistically significant reduction in seizure frequency in respect to the 50% responder rate. BRV was reasonably tolerated by patients. These findings warrant confirmation in future studies.
Propyl gallate‐induced platelet aggregation in patients with end‐stage renal disease: The influence of the haemodialysis procedure

Background: Platelet dysfunction is a well‐established disturbance in haemodialysis (HD) patients. Propyl gallate is a synthetic platelet activator with the property to stimulate platelet aggregation. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of a single haemodialysis session on propyl gallate‐induced platelet aggregation.
Structure of the human dimeric ATM kinase

ABSTRACT DNA-double strand breaks activate the serine/threonine protein kinase ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) to initiate DNA damage signal transduction. This activation process involves autophosphorylation and dissociation of inert ATM dimers into monomers that are catalytically active. Using single-particle electron microscopy (EM), we determined the structure of dimeric ATM in its resting state. The EM map could accommodate the crystal structure of the N-terminal truncated mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), a closely related enzyme of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-related protein kinase (PIKK) family, allowing for the localization of the N- and the C-terminal regions of ATM. In the dimeric structure, the actives sites are buried, restricting the access of the substrates to these sites. The unanticipated domain organization of ATM provides a basis for understanding its mechanism of inhibition.
Categorical versus dimensional models of eating disorders: an examination of the evidence.

OBJECTIVE Eating disorders have been conceptualized as discrete syndromes or categories and as dimensions that differ in degree among individuals. Until recently, researchers have not directly addressed which of these models, categorical versus dimensional, is most valid. METHODS The primary objective of this review was to examine the evidence related to the validity of dimensional versus categorical models of eating disorders. RESULTS Findings from a series of taxometric studies have suggested that a conceptual representation of eating disorders may involve a latent taxon, related to binge eating (and possibly purging), and one or more dimensions. These studies found that binge eating was identified as a factor that does not occur on a continuum with anorexia nervosa, restricting subtype. Restricting subtype anorexia is continuous with normalcy, however. DISCUSSION These findings should be viewed as preliminary evidence that may have implications for the etiology, assessment, prevention, and treatment of eating disorders.
Performance Evaluation of Bluetooth Systems With LDI, Modified LDI, and NSD Receivers

Bluetooth is a popular short-range low-power radio standard for wireless personal area networks. Bluetooth transmitters employ Gaussian frequency shift keying (GFSK) and simple block codes for error correction. Recently, two new receiver designs for Bluetooth devices, which are the so-called modified limiter-discriminator detector with integrate-and-dump filtering (LDI) and noncoherent sequence detection (NSD), have been proposed in the literature. While the modified LDI receiver is a concatenation of a conventional LDI detector with an improved error-correction decoder, the NSD receiver fully takes into account the memory introduced by the GFSK. Both receivers have been shown to improve the Bluetooth system performance in terms of physical-layer metrics such as bit-error rate and packet-error rate. In this paper, we present a comprehensive performance evaluation considering practically more relevant metrics such as throughput, delay, and delay jitter at the medium-access control layer. To this end, we develop an evaluation framework, which includes the spatial distribution of Bluetooth devices, path loss, fading, realistic data traffic models, scheduling, automatic repeat request, and baseband packet selection. Our numerical and simulation results verify that the newly introduced Bluetooth receivers, especially NSD, offer a significant performance enhancement for Bluetooth systems in terms of practically relevant measures.
Sleep‐apnoea and autonomic dysfunction: a cardiopressor and pupillometric study

Isolated alterations in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) have been described in obstructive sleep‐apnoea syndrome (OSAS), but the exact natur and degree of ANS involvement in OSAS is as yet uncharted. In the present study we evaluated some autonomic nervous functions in 13 OSAS patients using cardiopressor and pupillometric tests. Almost all showed only slight alterations of ANS function, generally in the form of a hypofunction of both sympathetic and parasympathetic branches. Pupillometry was more sensitive than cardiovascular indexes in detecting neurovegetative involvement which correlated with some respiratory indices The data suggest that autonomic involvement in OSAS is ascribable to metabolic changes (hypoxia, hypercapnia) rather than to primary “neurogenic” alterations.
Disentangling the effects of Corticotrophin Releasing Factor and GABA release from the ventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis on ethanol self-administration in mice

Excessive alcohol use causes a great deal of harm and negative health outcomes. Corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF), a stress-related neuropeptide, has been implicated in binge ethanol intake and ethanol dependence. CRF containing neurons in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNSTCRF) can control ethanol consumption. These BNSTCRF neurons also release GABA, raising the question, is it CRF or GABA release or both that is controlling alcohol consumption. Here, we used viral vectors to separate the effects of CRF and GABA release from BNSTCRF neurons on the escalation of ethanol intake in an operant self-administration paradigm in male and female mice. We found that CRF deletion in BNST neurons reduces ethanol intake in both sexes, with a stronger effect in males. For sucrose self-administration there was no effect of CRF deletion. Suppression of GABA release, via knockdown of vGAT, from BNSTCRF produced a transient increase in ethanol operant self-administration following in male mice, and reduced in motivation to work for sucrose on a progressive ratio schedule of reinforcement in a sex-dependent manner. Together, these results highlight how different signaling molecules from the same populations of neurons can bidirectionally control behavior. Moreover, they suggest that BNST CRF release is important for high intensity ethanol drinking that precedes dependence, whereas GABA release from these neurons may play a role in regulating motivation.
Ankylosing Spondylitis in Iran; Late Diagnosis and Its Causes

Background: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic destructive and inflammatory disease of the axial skeleton manifested by back pain and progressive stiffness of the spine. Objectives: The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to evaluate and identify factors leading to delayed diagnosis of AS in Iranian patients. Patients and Methods: Sixty patients, (53 males, 7 females) with a diagnosis of AS according to the modified New York criteria were recruited. Diagnosis delay was defined as the interval between a patient’s first spondyloarthritic symptoms [inflammatory back pain (IBP), inflammatory arthritis, enthesopathy and uveitis] and a correct diagnosis of AS. Results: The average age of patients at diagnosis of AS was 36.4 ± 4.5 years and the average of delay in diagnosis was 6.2 ± 3.5 years. The most common diagnosis at the first visit was disc herniation (68.3%). Delay in diagnosis of Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA-B27) positive and negative patients were 4.6 ± 2.2 years and 10.1 ± 3.2 years, respectively (P = 0.0001). Diagnosis delay in patients with morning stiffness and IBP were significantly shorter than that of patients without these symptoms (P = 0.0001 and P = 0.001, respectively). Patients with uveitis had the shortest diagnosis delay (P = 0.02). The Bath Ankylosing spondylitis disease activity index (BASDAI) was not significantly different in early (< 3years) and late (> 3years) diagnosis (3.3 ± 0.9 and 3.6 ± 0.7, respectively) (P = 0.18), but the Both ankylosing spondylitis functional index (BASFI) was significantly different between them (3.3 ± 1.0 and 4.1 ± 0.7 respectively) (P = 0.001). Conclusions: In this study, delay in diagnosis was similar to other studies. Educating physicians to careful history taking especially in the case of IBP, non-musculoskeletal symptoms such as uveitis and precise physical examination are important in early diagnosis.
Removal of a residual portion of a uterine septum in women of advanced reproductive age: obstetric outcome.

BACKGROUND To learn more about the obstetric outcome after initial septum resection and remnant septum (< or =1 cm) resection. METHODS In 94 patients with septate uteri who underwent uterine septum resection, the reproductive efficiency was analysed in a prospective observational study. The reproductive outcome was analysed after initial resection and (if required) consecutive procedures. RESULTS A total of 94 women were enrolled in the study; all had had two or more miscarriages. The septum was completely removed during the first hysteroscopy in 58 (62%) cases. A residual septum was observed in 36 (38%) patients. Subsequent operative hysteroscopy was performed in the cases (29/36; 80.5%) involving repeated miscarriage and unsuccessful conception. The minimum observation time was 24 months. The difference in delivery rate after the first hysteroscopy between those with a normalized uterine cavity (26/58; 44.8%) and those with remnants (7/36; 19.4%) was statistically significant (P < 0.05). In fact, following the normalization of the uterine cavity, 62.1% (18/29) of the patients delivered, as compared with 19.4% of those (7/36) with a residue and Kaplan-Meyer curves revealed a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Women with a remnant uterine septum have an increased chance of successful pregnancy with an improved obstetric outcome after normalization of the uterine cavity.
Fabrication of Efficient NiO Photocathodes Prepared via RDS with Novel Routes of Substrate Processing for p‐Type Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells

p-type dye sensitized solar cells (p-DSCs) derived from nickel oxide (NiO) photocathodes have been obtained via rapid discharge sintering (RDS) of parent metal oxide nanoparticles deposited onto differently treated substrates utilizing a plasma atmosphere with microwave radiation as heat source. This method produces NiO thin films (0.6 < l < 6 mu m) with mesoporous features and large surface areas as required for efficient dye-loading and high photocurrents. Erythrosine B (ERY) was used to sensitize the oxide in the visible spectrum. We have analyzed and compared the photoelectrochemical performances of the p-DSCs assembled with the various types of NiO samples prepared by RDS techniques with different treatments of the supporting substrate prior to, or during, spray deposition of the NiO nanoparticles. The best photovoltaic performances were obtained when the transparent conducting substrate (TCS) was heated during spraying. We believe that this is because the charge transfer through the NiO film and the charge collection at the TCS/NiO film interface were the most efficient with this sample. To our knowledge, the photovoltaic performances reported here are the best achieved with the commercial dye ERY as sensitizer.
Adhesion-Based Cell Sorter With Antibody-Coated Amino-Functionalized-Parylene Surface

An adhesion-based cell-separation device is developed for the extraction of rare cells from a cell mixture. The cell-separation principle mimics leukocyte recruitment from blood vessels in our body, where leukocytes are decelerated by antigen-antibody interaction at the sites of inflammation or injury. Separation of cell mixture can be accomplished by simply introducing the sample plug through an antibody-immobilized microchannel without any pre- or postprocessing. A new class of amino-functionalized parylene (diX AM) is employed in order to provide amino group on the channel-wall surface. The amount of immobilized biomolecules on diX AM surface is characterized through quartz-crystal-microbalance measurements. The number density of immobilized biotin is as large as , which indicates an amount of amino group enough to immobilize biotin and other biomolecules in a closely packed state. It is shown by the measurement of cell velocity in the CD31-coated diX AM microchannel that the flowing velocity of human endothelial cells are reduced by up to 70% due to specific adhesion of CD31 antigens and antibodies. The results are further analyzed by using a 2-D membrane-peeling model, with which the cell velocity can be estimated under different conditions of antibody number density and bulk mean velocity. Based on the experimental results, a cell-separation device for treating a 1- cell-mixture plug is designed and microfabricated. A mixture of human endothelial cells and leukocytes is successfully separated into plugs of each cell type within a shorter period of time as compared to conventional cell-separation methods which require sample preprocessing.