Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improving Intensity-Based Lung CT Registration Accuracy Utilizing Vascular Information

Accurate pulmonary image registration is a challenging problem when the lungs have a deformation with large distance. In this work, we present a nonrigid volumetric registration algorithm to track lung motion between a pair of intrasubject CT images acquired at different inflation levels and introduce a new vesselness similarity cost that improves intensity-only registration. Volumetric CT datasets from six human subjects were used in this study. The performance of four intensity-only registration algorithms was compared with and without adding the vesselness similarity cost function. Matching accuracy was evaluated using landmarks, vessel tree, and fissure planes. The Jacobian determinant of the transformation was used to reveal the deformation pattern of local parenchymal tissue. The average matching error for intensity-only registration methods was on the order of 1 mm at landmarks and 1.5 mm on fissure planes. After adding the vesselness preserving cost function, the landmark and fissure positioning errors decreased approximately by 25% and 30%, respectively. The vesselness cost function effectively helped improve the registration accuracy in regions near thoracic cage and near the diaphragm for all the intensity-only registration algorithms tested and also helped produce more consistent and more reliable patterns of regional tissue deformation.
A population view of mental illness in South Australia: broader issues than location.

INTRODUCTION There is growing evidence in Australia and elsewhere to indicate that prevalence rates of mental illness are no higher in rural and remote areas than in urban areas. However, it is generally perceived that people from rural and remote areas are at heightened risk of mental illness, because many psychosocial determinants of health are magnified by factors related to remoteness. In this study we attempt to unpack the factors guiding prevalence rates of mental illness to determine if remoteness per se is an important determinant of mental illness. METHODS Analysis of data from a cross-sectional, population-based, computer-assisted telephone interview survey in 2000. Respondents included 2545 South Australian adults, aged 18 years or more. The mental illness measure was self-reported, medically confirmed depression, anxiety or stress related problems in the previous 12 months and receiving treatment. Remoteness was determined using the Accessibility and Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA). Psychosocial measures consisted of major stressful life events, perceived control of life events, socio-demographic characteristics and lifestyle behaviours. RESULTS Unadjusted odds of mental illness were lower among residents of accessible and remote/very remote areas than for those from highly accessible areas (OR [odds ratio] 0.67, 95% CI 0.50-0.91 and OR 0.73, 0.54-1.00). After controlling for the joint effects of stressful life events, perceived control of life events, socio-demographic characteristics and lifestyle behaviors, odds of mental illness did not vary by ARIA category (highly accessible [reference category]; accessible: OR 0.90 95% CI 0.60-1.31; moderately accessible: OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.45-1.43; remote/very remote: OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.44-1.03). The most important predictors of mental illness in the multivariate logistic model were female sex; smoking; low consumption of vegetables; low exercise; a physical condition; perceived lack of control with life in general, personal life, job security or health; and major stressful events such as family or domestic violence and the death of someone close. CONCLUSIONS Remoteness per se was not associated with mental illness, either directly or indirectly, as an important confounder in stressful life event/mental illness associations. Psychosocial factors were more important determinants of mental illness.
Seizure Disorders: The Changes With Age

Summary: Age has a profound influence on our approach to the convulsive disorders. Age is a variable which is an important determinant for risk factors for epilepsy. Age, as a surrogate of brain maturation, is a determinant of the specific characteristics of the seizure disorder in those with epilepsy, and age‐related changes in these manifestations can be identified. Age is a determinant for the occurrence of acute symptomatic seizures in several types of metabolic or central nervous system insults. Age is a determinant for prognosis, whether one considers remission, medication withdrawal in those entering remission, relapse following prolonged remission, or mortality. Last, age per se seems to be a risk factor for epilepsy independent of other factors. This seems particularly true for partial seizures.
The Use of Metoprolol and Glycopyrrolate to Prevent Hypotensive/Bradycardic Events During Shoulder Arthroscopy in the Sitting Position Under Interscalene Block

Sudden profound hypotensive and/or bradycardic events (HBE) have been reported in >20% of patients undergoing shoulder arthroscopy in the sitting position under interscalene block anesthesia.Retrospective studies suggest that the administration of beta-blockers is safe and may decrease the incidence of these episodes. We performed a randomized, prospective study to evaluate prophylaxis of these events. One hundred fifty patients were randomized to one of three groups (placebo; prophylactic metoprolol to achieve a heart rate <60 bpm or a maximal dose of 10 mg; or prophylactic glycopyrrolate to achieve a heart rate >100 bpm or a maximal dose of 6 [micro sign]g/kg) immediately after the administration of the interscalene block. Blood pressure control was achieved with IV enalaprilat as needed. The incidence of HBE was 28% in the placebo group versus 5% in the metoprolol group (P = 0.004). The rate of 22% in the glycopyrrolate group was not significantly different from placebo. Preoperative heart rate and arterial blood pressure, intraoperative sedation score, IV fluids, and enalaprilat use were similar in those patients who had a HBE compared with those who did not. Many aspects of this clinical setting are similar to tilt-Table testingfor patients with recurrent vasovagal syncope, in which beta-adrenergic blockade with metoprolol has also been shown to be effective. We conclude that the Bezold-Jarisch reflex is the most likely mechanism for these events. Implications: Episodes of acute hypotension and bradycardia occur during shoulder arthroscopy in the sitting position under interscalene block. In this study, we demonstrate that metoprolol, but not glycopyrrolate, markedly decreases the incidence of these episodes when given prophylactically immediately after the administration of the block. (Anesth Analg 1998;87:1320-5)
Packet Pseudowire Encapsulation over an MPLS PSN

This document describes a pseudowire mechanism that is used to transport a packet service over an MPLS PSN in the case where the client Label Switching Router (LSR) and the server Provider Edge equipments are co-resident in the same equipment. This pseudowire mechanism may be used to carry all of the required layer 2 and layer 3 protocols between the pair of client LSRs. [STANDARDS-TRACK]
Multi-sensor fault recovery in the presence of known and unknown fault types

This paper proposes an efficient online, hybrid, Bayesian multi-sensor fusion algorithm for target tracking in the presence of modelled and unmodelled faults. The algorithm comprises two stages. The first stage attempts to remove modelled faults from each individual sensor estimate. The second stage de-emphasises estimates which have been subject to unanticipated faults and are still faulty despite undergoing the Stage 1 fault recovery process. The algorithm is a computationally efficient and decentralisable hybrid of two standard approaches to fault detection, namely model-based fault detection and majority voting. The algorithm is tested on two distinct simulated scenarios (1) when the target process model does not match reality and (2) in the presence of simultaneous modelled and unanticipated faults.
Transcriptional Activation of the p 34 cdc 2 Gene by cdc 2 Promoter Binding Factor / Nuclear FactorY in Fetal Rat Ventricular Myocytes

To determine how myocardial terminal differentiation is regulated by cell cycle control genes, we studied cdc2 expression in rat cardiac muscle and found that cdc2 mRNA and protein levels were reduced in neonatal compared with fetal ventricles and became undetectable in juvenile and adult ventricles. To further determine whether cdc2 downregulation is attributed to a decrease in transcription, transient expression assay was performed using the progressively truncated 6.2-, 1.8-, 1.1-, 0.7-, and 0.1-kb human cdc2 59 flanking regions. All five fragments activated reporter expression in fetal myocytes and were significantly less active in neonatal myocytes. The 0.1-kb fragment showed 65% of the activity of the 6.2-kb fragment. A protein binding site that contains an inverted CCAAT box was identified within the 0.1-kb fragment by DNase I footprint assay and named the cdc2 promoter binding factor (CPBF) site. Point mutations within the CPBF site that abolish CPBF binding significantly decreased both 0.1and 6.2-kb promoter activities. Competition and antibody supershift assays suggested that CPBF was identical or related to the transcription factor, nuclear factor Y (NF-Y). The 0.1-kb promoter activity was suppressed by a dominant-negative NF-Y mutant in fetal myocytes. Taken together, our results demonstrate that cardiac cdc2 expression is downregulated after birth and turned off when the juvenile stage is attained. A 0.1-kb promoter fragment of cdc2 contains major information for both cdc2 transcriptional activation and suppression in fetal and neonatal myocytes, respectively. NF-Y or its related factor plays a critical role in activating the 0.1-kb cdc2 promoter. (Circ Res. 1998;82:251-260.)
THE INFLUENCE OF THE CALIFORNIA MARINE LAYER ON BILL SIZE IN A GENERALIST SONGBIRD

The hypothesis is tested that birds in hotter and drier environments may have larger bills to increase the surface area for heat dissipation. California provides a climatic gradient to test the influence of climate on bill size. Much of California experiences dry warm/hot summers and coastal areas experience cooler summers than interior localities. Based on measurements from 1488 museum skins, song sparrows showed increasing body‐size‐corrected bill surface area from the coast to the interior and declining in the far eastern desert. As predicted by Newton's convective heat transfer equation, relative bill size increased monotonically with temperature, and then decreased where average high temperatures exceed body temperature. Of the variables considered, distance from coast, average high summer temperature, and potential evapotranspiration showed a strong quadratic association with bill size and rainfall had a weaker negative relationship. Song sparrows on larger, warmer islands also had larger bills. A subsample of radiographed specimens showed that skeletal bill size is also correlated with temperature, demonstrating that bill size differences are not a result of variation in growth and wear of keratin. Combined with recent thermographic studies of heat loss in song sparrow bills, these results support the hypothesis that bill size in California song sparrows is selected for heat dissipation.
Pressure-Induced Renal Injury in Angiotensin II Versus Norepinephrine-Induced Hypertensive Rats

The susceptibility to renal perfusion pressure (RPP)–induced renal injury was investigated in angiotensin II (Ang II)– versus norepinephrine (NE)-infused hypertensive rats. To determine the magnitude of RPP-induced injury, Sprague-Dawley rats fed a 4% salt diet were instrumented with a servocontrolled aortic balloon occluder positioned between the renal arteries to maintain RPP to the left kidney at baseline levels whereas the right kidney was exposed to elevated RPP during a 2-week infusion of Ang II IV (25 ng/kg per minute), NE IV (0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 &mgr;g/kg per minute on days 1, 2, and 3 to 14, respectively), or saline IV (sham rats). Over the 14 days of Ang II infusion, RPP averaged 161.5±8.0 mm Hg to uncontrolled kidneys and 121.9±2.0 mm Hg to servocontrolled kidneys. In NE-infused rats, RPP averaged 156.3±3.0 mm Hg to uncontrolled kidneys and 116.9±2.0 mm Hg to servocontrolled kidneys. RPP averaged 111.1±1.0 mm Hg to kidneys of sham rats. Interlobular arterial injury and juxtamedullary glomerulosclerosis were largely RPP dependent in both models of hypertension. Superficial cortical glomerulosclerosis was greater and RPP dependent in NE- versus Ang II-infused rats, which was primarily independent of RPP. Outer medullary tubular necrosis and interstitial fibrosis were also primarily RPP dependent in both models of hypertension; however, the magnitude of injury was exacerbated in Ang II-infused rats. We conclude that elevated RPP is the dominant cause of renal injury in both NE- and Ang II-induced hypertensive rats and that underlying neurohumoral factors in these models of hypertension alter the pattern and magnitude of RPP-induced renal injury.
Use of Macadamia Nutshell in the Production of Eucalyptus Salign Particleboards

Alternative raw materials have been studied for the total or partial replacement of wood in wood panels, in order to decrease the use of wood and to recovery waste. The present study tested the influence on the physico-mechanical properties of the panels produced with particles of Eucalyptus saligna and macadamia nutshell. For this were produced panels in proportions of 0%, 30%, 60% and 100% with respect to the macadamia nutshells. With the obtained results it was noticed that the increasing of the nutshell proportion led to a decrease in the dimensional stability, internal bonding and bending strength. These results were primarily due to the geometry of the particles of macadamia nutshell, besides being thicker, not allowing a good interaction between them and the adhesive, they were shorter, reducing the bending strength.
The Relationship between Locomotive Syndrome and Depression in Community-Dwelling Elderly People

Locomotive syndrome (LS) is a concept that refers to the condition of people requiring healthcare services because of problems associated with locomotion. Depression is a major psychiatric disease among the elderly, in addition to dementia. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between LS and depression. The study participants were 224 healthy elderly volunteers living in a rural area in Japan. LS was defined as scores ≥ 16 on the 25-question Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale (GLFS-25). Depression was defined as scores ≥ 5 on the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). Height and body weight were measured. The prevalence of LS and depression was 13.9% and 24.2%, respectively. Compared with the non-LS group, the LS group was older, was shorter, had a higher BMI, and had higher GDS-15 scores. Logistic regression analysis showed that participants with GDS-15 scores ≥ 6 had higher odds for LS than those with GDS-15 scores < 6 (odds ratio [OR] = 4.22). Conversely, the depression group had higher GLFS-25 scores than the nondepression group. Participants with GLFS-25 scores ≥ 5 had higher odds for depression than those with GLFS-25 scores < 5 (OR = 4.53). These findings suggest that there is a close relationship between LS and depression.
Perceived age as a predictor of old age mortality: a 13-year prospective study.

OBJECTIVES To examine whether in older people perceived age is associated with risk of total mortality independent of chronological age. DESIGN Prospective population-based study (Evergreen project) with mortality surveillance for 13 years after the baseline. SETTING Face-to-face interview among community-dwelling residents of the city of Jyväskylä, Finland. SUBJECTS 395 men and 770 women aged 65-84 years at baseline. MEASURES Perceived physical age and perceived mental age were rated either as younger, the same or older in comparison with subject's chronological age. Death dates were received from the official register of the province of Central Finland. Confounders used were chronological age, education in years, number of long-term illnesses, self-rated health, depression score (Beck's 13-item depression scale), and cognitive status. RESULTS Mortality rates per 1,000 person-years from the older to younger perceived physical age category were 99, 65 and 59 in men, and 81, 54 and 36 in women. In the perceived mental age categories, correspondingly, mortality rates were 139, 63 and 64 in men, and 82, 55 and 44 in women. The fully adjusted relative risk (RR) of death over 13 years with the perceived younger physical age category as referent was 1.42 (95% CI 1.00-2.02) in the older category and 1.28 (1.03-1.60) in the same age category (P=0.049). The crude RR of mortality for perceived mental age categories was 1.56 (1.09-2.23) in the older and 1.10 (0.92-1.31) in the same age as compared with the younger category (P=0.046). Adding cognitive status into the model diminished the predictive value of the model (P=0.545). CONCLUSIONS Perceived age predicted worsening of health as described as mortality. Perceived age may indicate general well-being and faith in the future, potentially reflecting changes in health.
Observations of dual slantwise circulations above a cool undercurrent in a mesoscale convective system

A series of mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) was observed in the UK during one of the Intensive Observation Periods (IOP 3) in the Convective Storm Initiation Project (CSIP). A detailed case‐study of one of the MCSs, involving some novel interpretation of single Doppler radar data, reveals the evolution of stacked slantwise circulations associated with elevated upright convection. A feature of this occasion was the existence near the surface of a strong undercurrent of cool air flowing against the direction of travel of the storm. The air feeding both the upright and slantwise ascent originated not from near the surface but, rather, from layers between 1 and 3 km. The upright convection was intense at first and was accompanied by a region of dry subsidence surrounding it, together with the alternating layers of slantwise ascent and descent within the storm's precipitation area. When the elevated upright convection weakened, vigorous slantwise motions continued for some time, but their slope decreased from the initial 1 in 4 to 1 in 9. The lowermost layer of slantwise descent corresponded to a moderately intense rear‐inflow jet. The rear‐inflow jet did not penetrate the cool undercurrent and reach the surface; instead, beneath where it impacted the warm air capping the undercurrent, the undercurrent took on the structure of a gravity wave without stagnation. The raised head of the undercurrent lifted overlying air of high wet‐bulb potential temperature sufficiently to overcome the convective inhibition. Copyright © 2010 Royal Meteorological Society
TWINS AMONG THE LOW-MASS SPECTROSCOPIC BINARIES

We report an analysis of twins of spectral types F or later in the 9th Catalog of Spectroscopic Binaries (SB9). Twins, the components of binaries with mass ratio within 2% of 1.0, are found among the binaries with primaries of F and G spectral type. They are most prominent among the binaries with periods less than 43 days, a cutoff first identified by Lucy. Within the subsample of binaries with P < 43 days, the twins do not differ from the other binaries in their distributions of periods (median P ∼ 7 days), masses, or orbital eccentricities. Combining the mass-ratio distribution in the SB9 in the mass range 0.6–0.85 M☉ with that measured by Mazeh et al. for binaries in the Carney–Latham high proper motion survey, we estimate that the frequency of twins in a large sample of spectroscopic binaries is about 3%. Current theoretical understanding indicates that accretion of high specific angular momentum material by a protobinary tends to equalize its masses. We speculate that the excess of twins is produced in those star-forming regions where the accretion processes were able to proceed to completion for a minority of protobinaries. This predicts that the components of a young twin may appear to differ in age and that, in a sample of spectroscopic binaries in a star formation region, the twins are, on average, older than the binaries with mass ratios much smaller than 1.
Optimal distributed detection of multiple hypotheses using blind algorithm

In a parallel distributed detection in order to design the optimal fusion rule, the fusion center needs to have perfect knowledge of the performance of the local detectors as well as the prior probabilities of the hypotheses. Such knowledge is not available in most practical cases. In this paper, we propose a blind technique for the M-ary distributed detection problem. We derive the probability mass function of the local decisions and use this result to develop maximum likelihood estimates of unknown parameters. We also derive analytically the overall detection performance for both binary and M-ary distributed detection and discuss the difference of the overall detection performance obtained using the estimated values of unknown parameters and their true values. Finally, we demonstrate the applicability of our results through numerical examples.
Improvement on Stability Analysis for Linear Systems Under State Saturation

This note considers the problem of stability analysis for linear systems under state saturation. With the introduction of set coverage that gives less constraint on the free matrix G , a less conservative sufficient global asymptotic stability condition is obtained and the corresponding iterative linear matrix inequality algorithm is given. A numerical example is given to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Silent genes and rare males: A fresh look at pheromone blend response specificity in the European corn borer moth, Ostrinia nubilalis

Abstract The response of male moths from two pheromone races of the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis, was measured in a flight tunnel assay to different ratios of structurally different compounds that comprise the sex pheromone of the Asian corn borer, Ostrinia furnacalis. For both O. nubilalis races, between 1 and 5% of the males completed upwind flights to two different blends of the O. furnacalis pheromone components (the 2:1 Z/E12-14:OAc female-produced blend, and a 97:3 Z/E mix), confirming that rare males exist in the O. nubilalis populations that can detect and respond to mixtures of the O. furnacalis pheromone components. Rare males that responded to the O. furnacalis blends also responded to their own O. nubilalis blends (97:3 or 1:99 Z/E11-14:OAc), indicating that rare O. nubilalis males are not preferentially sensitive to mixtures of the O. furnacalis compounds, but rather that they have a broad range of response specificity, which includes recognition of a wide range of conspecific female-produced ratios, and also recognition of heterospecific mixtures. The results support the hypothesis that saltational shifts in pheromone blend composition (Roelofs et al., 2002) can lead to the evolution of a new species-specific communication system, in part because the broad response specificity of some males includes the ability to respond in an agonistic manner to novel mixtures of compounds.