Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ocular Fundus Photography as an Educational Tool

Abstract The proficiency of nonophthalmologists with direct ophthalmoscopy is poor, which has prompted a search for alternative technologies to examine the ocular fundus. Although ocular fundus photography has existed for decades, its use has been traditionally restricted to ophthalmology clinical care settings and textbooks. Recent research has shown a role for nonmydriatic fundus photography in nonophthalmic settings, encouraging more widespread adoption of fundus photography technology. Recent studies have also affirmed the role of fundus photography as an adjunct or alternative to direct ophthalmoscopy in undergraduate medical education. In this review, the authors examine the use of ocular fundus photography as an educational tool and suggest future applications for this important technology. Novel applications of fundus photography as an educational tool have the potential to resurrect the dying art of funduscopy.
Analysis of hemodynamics in human skin using photothermal radiometry and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy

We present a novel methodology for quantitative analysis of hemodynamics in human skin in vivo. Our approach combines pulsed photothermal radiometry (i.e., time-resolved measurements of midinfrared emission from sample surface after exposure to a short light pulse) and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy in visible part of the spectrum. Experimental data are fitted with predictions of a numerical model of light transport in a four-layer skin model (i.e., inverse Monte Carlo), which allows assessment of the layer thicknesses, chromophore contents (e.g., melanin, oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobin), as well as scattering properties. The performance is tested in comparison analysis of healthy skin before and during application of a blood pressure cuff (at 200 mm Hg) for 5 minutes.
Some Notes on the Use of theWindowed Fourier Transform for Spectral Analysis of Discretely Sampled Data

The properties of the Gabor and Morlet transforms are examined with respect to the Fourier analysis of discretely sampled data. Forward and inverse transform pairs based on a fixed window with uniform sampling of the frequency axis can satisfy numerically the energy and reconstruction theorems; however, transform pairs based on a variable window or nonuniform frequency sampling in general do not. Instead of selecting the shape of the window as some function of the central frequency, we propose constructing a single window with unit energy from an arbitrary set of windows that is applied over the entire frequency axis. By virtue of using a fixed window with uniform frequency sampling, such a transform satisfies the energy and reconstruction theorems. The shape of the window can be tailored to meet the requirements of the investigator in terms of time/frequency resolution. The algorithm extends naturally to the case of nonuniform signal sampling without modification beyond identification of the Nyquist interval.
Post Disaster Governance, Complexity and Network Theory

This research aims to understand the organizational network typology of large-scale disaster intervention in developing countries and to understand the complexity of post-disaster intervention, through the use of network theory based on empirical data from post-tsunami reconstruction in Aceh, Indonesia, during 2005/2007. The findings suggest that the ‘ degrees of separation’ (or network diameter) between any two organizations in the field is 5, thus reflecting ‘small world’ realities and therefore making no significant difference with the real human networks, as found in previous experiments. There are also significant loops in the network reflecting the fact that some actors tend to not cooperate, which challenges post disaster coordination. The findings show the landscape of humanitarian actors is not randomly distributed. Many actors were connected to each other through certain hubs, while hundreds of actors make ‘scattered’ single ‘principal-client’ links. The paper concludes that by understanding the distribution of degree, centrality, ‘degrees of separation’ and visualization of the network, authorities can improve their understanding of the realities of coordination, from macro to micro scales.
Self-Biased Dual-Path Push-Pull Output Buffer Amplifier for LCD Column Drivers

A high-performance buffer amplifier topology for liquid crystal display drivers is presented. The proposed amplifier achieves fast driving performance and offers a rail-to-rail common-mode input range. Enhanced slewing and settling capabilities are achieved through a novel output stage performing dual-path push-pull operation. No additional biasing network is required to set the quiescent conditions of the class-AB output stage, since the output static current is inherently controlled by the input differential stage itself, without additional power dissipation. Experimental results demonstrate that the suggested buffer can drive a 1000-pF capacitive load with a 5.7-V/μs slew-rate and a 0.71-μs settling time, while drawing 32-μA overall quiescent current from a 5-V power supply.
Incremental maintenance of shortest distance and transitive closure in first-order logic and SQL

Given a database, the view maintenance problem is concerned with the efficient computation of the new contents of a given view when updates to the database happen. We consider the view maintenance problem for the situation when the database contains a weighted graph and the view is either the transitive closure or the answer to the all-pairs shortest-distance problem (APSD). We give incremental algorithms for APSD, which support both edge insertions and deletions. For transitive closure, the algorithm is applicable to a more general class of graphs than those previously explored. Our algorithms use first-order queries, along with addition (+) and less-than (<) operations (FO(+,<)); they store O(n2) number of tuples, where n is the number of vertices, and have AC0 data complexity for integer weights. Since FO(+,<) is a sublanguage of SQL and is supported by almost all current database systems, our maintenance algorithms are more appropriate for database applications than nondatabase query types of maintenance algorithms.
Structure and semantics for expressive text kernels

Several Text Categorization applications require a representation beyond the standard bag-of-words paradigm. Kernel-based learning has approached this problem by (i) considering information about syntactic structure or by (ii) incorporating knowledge about the semantic similarity of term features. We propose a generalized framework consisting of a family of kernels that jointly incorporate syntactic and semantic similarity and demonstrate the power of this approach in a series of experiments.
Non-uniform clock mesh optimization with linear programming buffer insertion

Clock meshes are extremely effective at filtering clock skew from environmental and process variations. For this reason, clock meshes are used in most high performance designs. However, this robustness costs power. In this work, we present a mesh edge displacement algorithm that is able to reduce mesh wire length by 7.6% and overall power by 10.5% with a small mean skew improvement. We also present the first non-greedy buffer placement and sizing technique using linear programming (LP) and iterative buffer removal. We show that compared to prior methods, we can obtain 41% power reduction and an 27ps mean skew reduction on average when variation is considered compared to prior algorithms.
A novel insertion pathway of mitochondrial outer membrane proteins with multiple transmembrane segments

The central channel Tom40 of the preprotein translocase of outer membrane (TOM) complex is thought to be responsible for the import of virtually all preproteins synthesized outside the mitochondria. In this study, we analyze the topogenesis of the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor (PBR), which integrates into the mitochondrial outer membrane (MOM) through five hydrophobic transmembrane segments (TMSs) and functions in cholesterol import into the inner membrane. Analyses of in vitro and in vivo import into TOM component–depleted mitochondria reveal that PBR import (1) depends on the import receptor Tom70 but requires neither the Tom20 and Tom22 import receptors nor the import channel Tom40, (2) shares the post-Tom70 pathway with the C-tail–anchored proteins, and (3) requires factors of the mitochondrial intermembrane space. Furthermore, membrane integration of mitofusins and mitochondrial ubiquitin ligase, the MOM proteins with two and four TMSs, respectively, proceeds through the same initial pathway. These findings reveal a previously unidentified pathway of the membrane integration of MOM proteins with multiple TMSs.
The varroacidal action of propolis: a laboratory assay

The action of propolis (bee glue) against the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman has been investigated and showed narcotic and lethal effects. Length of narcosis and rate of mortality depended on the extraction procedure, concentration of propolis and contact time. Propolis extracted with 70% ethanol was found to be highly toxic, a 10% (w/v) propolis resulting in 100% mortality with a brief contact time of 5 s. In addition, the effect of propolis on the metabolic rate of the mites has been investigated calorimetrically. Even sublethal propolis concentrations without varroacidal effects and of only short lasting narcotic effects resulted in a significant reduction in the heat production rate, indicating weakening of the mites.
Towards an ocean salinity error budget estimation within the SMOS mission

The SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) mission will provide from 2008 onwards global sea surface salinity estimations over the oceans. This work summarizes several insights gathered in the framework of salinity retrieval studies, aimed to address an overall salinity error budget. The paper covers issues ranging from the impact of auxiliary data on SSS error to the potential exploitation of GNSS-R signals as surface's roughness descriptor, and establishes several guidelines to approach a quasi-realistic post-launch retrieval scenario. Having defined a retrieval setup, an error budget scheme has been built, listing the different contributions to the final retrieved SSS error. On-going activities refer to the fulfillment of the pending issues of the error budget, which are mostly relevant to residual bias mitigation techniques, and Sun and Faraday rotation effect characterization.
Neonatal Immunization with a Sindbis Virus-DNA Measles Vaccine Induces Adult-Like Neutralizing Antibodies and Cell-Mediated Immunity in the Presence of Maternal Antibodies1

Infants younger than age 9 mo do not respond reliably to the live attenuated measles vaccine due the immaturity of their immune system and the presence of maternal Abs that interfere with successful immunization. We evaluated the immune responses elicited by Sindbis virus replicon-based DNA vaccines encoding measles virus (MV) hemagglutinin (H, pMSIN-H) or both hemagglutinin and fusion (F, pMSINH-FdU) glycoproteins in neonatal mice born to naive and measles-immune mothers. Despite the presence of high levels of maternal Abs, neonatal immunization with pMSIN-H induced long-lasting, high-avidity MV plaque reduction neutralization (PRN) Abs, mainly IgG2a, that also inhibited syncytium formation in CD150+ B95-8 cells. IgG secreting plasma cells were detected in spleen and bone marrow. Newborns vaccinated with pMSINH-FdU elicited PRN titers that surpassed the protective level (200 mIU/ml) but were short-lived, had low syncytium inhibition capacity, and lacked avidity maturation. This vaccine failed to induce significant PRN titers in the presence of placentally transferred Abs. Both pMSIN-H and pMSINH-FdU elicited strong Th1 type cell-mediated immunity, measured by T cell proliferation and IFN-γ production, that was unaffected by maternal Abs. Newborns responded to measles DNA vaccines with similar or even higher PRN titers and cell-mediated immunity than adult mice. This study is the first demonstration that a Sindbis virus-based measles DNA vaccine can elicit robust MV immunity in neonates bypassing maternal Abs. Such a vaccine could be followed by the current live attenuated MV vaccine in a heterologous prime-boost to protect against measles early in life.
Dendritic Cells in Dengue Virus Infection: Targets of Virus Replication and Mediators of Immunity

Dendritic cells (DCs) are sentinels of the immune system and detect pathogens at sites of entry, such as the skin. In addition to the ability of DCs to control infections directly via their innate immune functions, DCs help to prime adaptive B- and T-cell responses by processing and presenting antigen in lymphoid tissues. Infected Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus mosquitoes transmit the four dengue virus (DENV) serotypes to humans while probing for small blood vessels in the skin. DENV causes the most prevalent arthropod-borne viral disease in humans, yet no vaccine or specific therapeutic is currently licensed. Although primary DENV infection confers life-long protective immunity against re-infection with the same DENV serotype, secondary infection with a different DENV serotype can lead to increased disease severity via cross-reactive T-cells or enhancing antibodies. This review summarizes recent findings in humans and animal models about DENV infection of DCs, monocytes, and macrophages. We discuss the dual role of DCs as both targets of DENV replication and mediators of innate and adaptive immunity, and summarize immune evasion strategies whereby DENV impairs the function of infected DCs. We suggest that DCs play a key role in priming DENV-specific neutralizing or potentially harmful memory B- and T-cell responses, and that future DC-directed therapies may help induce protective memory responses and reduce dengue pathogenesis.
A replenishment policy for items with price-dependent demand, time-proportional deterioration and no shortages

In this article, an order-level inventory system for deteriorating items has been developed with demand rate as a function of selling price. The demand and the deterioration rate are price dependent and time proportional, respectively. We have considered a perishable item that follows a three-parameter Weibull distribution deterioration. Shortages are not permitted in our model. The optimal solution is illustrated with a numerical example and the sensitivity analysis of parameters is carried out.
Lipopolysaccharide interference in erythropoiesis in mice

Anaemia is a common problem in septic patients. We tested whether lipopolysaccharide suppressed erythropoiesis and interfered with erythropoietin. Male mice (strain C57BL/6, n = 76) were injected Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (serotype O127:B8; 20 mg.kg−1 intraperitoneally) or vehicle, followed by either erythropoietin (5000 IU.kg−1 intraperitoneally) or vehicle, and killed after 24 or 72 h. Femur bone marrow cells were stained for Ter‐119, CD71 and C‐Kit antigen using specific flow cytometry gates for proerythroblasts, basophilic, polychromatic and orthochromatic erythroblasts, and peripheral blood reticulocytes were counted. Erythropoietin stimulated erythropoiesis, as evidenced by increased reticulocytes after 72 h by 197% and proerythroblasts by 50% (p < 0.05). Lipopolysaccharide alone decreased proerythroblasts by 53% and basophilic erythroblasts by 75% (p < 0.05). Orthochromatic erythroblasts doubled after lipopolysaccharide exposure (p < 0.05) without any increase in reticulocytes. Lipopolysaccharide completely suppressed erythropoietin’s stimulatory effects and evoked a maturation block at the late stage of erythropoiesis. Lipopolysaccharide could cause anaemia in sepsis.
Regional variation in fire weather controls the reported occurrence of Scottish wildfires

Fire is widely used as a traditional habitat management tool in Scotland, but wildfires pose a significant and growing threat. The financial costs of fighting wildfires are significant and severe wildfires can have substantial environmental impacts. Due to the intermittent occurrence of severe fire seasons, Scotland, and the UK as a whole, remain somewhat unprepared. Scotland currently lacks any form of Fire Danger Rating system that could inform managers and the Fire and Rescue Services (FRS) of periods when there is a risk of increased of fire activity. We aimed evaluate the potential to use outputs from the Canadian Fire Weather Index system (FWI system) to forecast periods of increased fire risk and the potential for ignitions to turn into large wildfires. We collated four and a half years of wildfire data from the Scottish FRS and examined patterns in wildfire occurrence within different regions, seasons, between urban and rural locations and according to FWI system outputs. We used a variety of techniques, including Mahalanobis distances, percentile analysis and Thiel-Sen regression, to scope the best performing FWI system codes and indices. Logistic regression showed significant differences in fire activity between regions, seasons and between urban and rural locations. The Fine Fuel Moisture Code and the Initial Spread Index did a tolerable job of modelling the probability of fire occurrence but further research on fuel moisture dynamics may provide substantial improvements. Overall our results suggest it would be prudent to ready resources and avoid managed burning when FFMC > 75 and/or ISI > 2.
Fucoidan Inhibits the Proliferation of Human Urinary Bladder Cancer T24 Cells by Blocking Cell Cycle Progression and Inducing Apoptosis

Although fucoidan has been shown to exert anticancer activity against several types of cancer cell lines, no reports have explored fucoidan-affected cell growth in human urinary bladder cancer cells. In this study, we investigated the anti-proliferative effects of fucoidan in human bladder cancer T24 cells. Our results indicated that fucoidan decreased the viability of T24 cells through the induction of G1 arrest and apoptosis. Fucoidan-induced G1 arrest is associated with the enhanced expression of the Cdk inhibitor p21WAF1/CIP1 and dephosphorylation of the pRB along with enhanced binding of p21 to Cdk4/6 as well as pRB to the transcription factor E2Fs. Further investigations showed the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria to cytosol, proving mitochondrial dysfunction upon fucoidan treatment with a corresponding increase in the Bax/Bcl-2 expression ratio. Fucoidan-triggered apoptosis was also accompanied by the up-regulation of Fas and truncated Bid as well as the sequential activation of caspase-8. Furthermore, a significant increased activation of caspase-9/-3 was detected in response to fucoidan treatment with the decreased expression of IAPs and degradation of PARP, whereas a pan-caspase inhibitor significantly suppressed apoptosis and rescued the cell viability reduction. In conclusion, these observations suggest that fucoidan attenuates G1-S phase cell cycle progression and serves as an important mediator of crosstalk between caspase-dependent intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathways in T24 cells.
From Reaction To Prediction Experiments with Computational Models of Turn-Taking

Deciding when to take (or not to take) the turn in a conversation is an important task. It has been stressed in the descriptive literature that such decisions must involve prediction , as they often seem to be made before a transition place has been reached. In computational systems, however, turn-taking is normally a reaction to parameters like pause length. In this paper, we report on experiments that try to bridge this gap. We describe an experiment (using controlled stimuli) that shows human performance at prediction of turn-taking decisions and then show that a model au-tomatically induced from data can reach a similar level of performance. We then describe a series of experiments on spontaneous dialogue data where we combine pause thresholds with syntactic and prosodic information to make turn-taking decisions, succes-sively reducing the pause threshold until reaction becomes prediction . All our classiﬁers improve signiﬁcantly over the baselines; prediction however is shown to be the hardest task, and we discuss additional information sources that could improve it.
A review of the design and analysis of reinforced thermoplastic pipes for offshore applications

The development and recent applications of reinforced thermoplastic pipes for offshore oil and gas applications are reviewed. The design and materials of reinforced thermoplastic pipes are presented. Reinforced thermoplastic pipes have been increasingly accepted as an important alternative to traditional metallic offshore pipes due to their distinct advantages such as a higher stiffness to weight ratio, improved fatigue resistance and better corrosion resistance. Their potential applications can be extended to deep-water risers. Loading conditions which could be experienced by them for offshore applications are described. Existent studies and analyses of offshore pipes under these loading conditions are discussed. Based on this discussion, this article outlines the limitations of the current studies of reinforced thermoplastic pipes and future work to improve the analysis and design of reinforced thermoplastic pipes is recommended.
Screening of In Vivo Activated Genes in Enterococcus faecalis during Insect and Mouse Infections and Growth in Urine

Enterococcus faecalis is part of the commensal microbiota of humans and its main habitat is the gastrointestinal tract. Although harmless in healthy individuals, E. faecalis has emerged as a major cause of nosocomial infections. In order to better understand the transformation of a harmless commensal into a life-threatening pathogen, we developed a Recombination-based In Vivo Expression Technology for E. faecalis. Two R-IVET systems with different levels of sensitivity have been constructed in a E. faecalis V583 derivative strain and tested in the insect model Galleria mellonella, during growth in urine, in a mouse bacteremia and in a mouse peritonitis model. Our combined results led to the identification of 81 in vivo activated genes. Among them, the ef_3196/7 operon was shown to be strongly induced in the insect host model. Deletion of this operonic structure demonstrated that this two-component system was essential to the E. faecalis pathogenic potential in Galleria. Gene ef_0377, induced in insect and mammalian models, has also been further analyzed and it has been demonstrated that this ankyrin-encoding gene was also involved in E. faecalis virulence. Thus these R-IVET screenings led to the identification of new E. faecalis factors implied in in vivo persistence and pathogenic potential of this opportunistic pathogen.
Effects of automation and task load on task switching during human supervision of multiple semi-autonomous robots in a dynamic environment

The present study assessed the impact of task load and level of automation (LOA) on task switching in participants supervising a team of four or eight semi-autonomous robots in a simulated ‘capture the flag’ game. Participants were faster to perform the same task than when they chose to switch between different task actions. They also took longer to switch between different tasks when supervising the robots at a high compared to a low LOA. Task load, as manipulated by the number of robots to be supervised, did not influence switch costs. The results suggest that the design of future unmanned vehicle (UV) systems should take into account not simply how many UVs an operator can supervise, but also the impact of LOA and task operations on task switching during supervision of multiple UVs. The findings of this study are relevant for the ergonomics practice of UV systems. This research extends the cognitive theory of task switching to inform the design of UV systems and results show that switching between UVs is an important factor to consider.