Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Unmanned ground operations using semantic image segmentation through a Bayesian network

This paper discusses the machine vision element of a system designed to allow automated taxiing for Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) around civil aerodromes. The purpose of the computer vision system is to provide direct sensor data which can be used to validate vehicle position, in addition to detect potential collision risks. This is achieved through the use of a singular monocular sensor. Untrained clustering is used to segment the visual feed before descriptors of each cluster (primarily colour and texture) are then used to estimate the class. As the competency of each individual estimate can vary based on multiple factors (number of pixels, lighting conditions and even surface type) a Bayesian network is used to perform probabilistic data fusion, in order to improve the classification results. This result is shown to perform accurate image segmentation in real-world conditions, providing information viable for map matching.
[Psychotropic drug use in the Belgian non-institutionalized population].

OBJECTIVE To assess psychotropic drug utilization in the general population of Belgium, and the pattern of use in individuals with mental disorders. METHOD A representative random sample of non-institutionalized inhabitants from Belgium aged 18 or older (n = 2419) were interviewed between April 2001 and June 2002. Individuals were asked about any psychotropic drug use in the past 12 months, even if they used the drug(s) just once. The interview took place by means of the World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WMH-CIDI). RESULTS Slightly more than 19% reported that they had used any psychotropic drug in the past 12 months; 11% had a 12-month mental disorder. The extent of psychotropic drug utilization varied according to the nature of the disorders: 60% in mood disorders, 53% in alcohol disorders, and 39% in anxiety disorders. Thirty nine percent of the respondents with a mood disorder consumed an antidepressant drug in the past year; 23% of the respondents with an anxiety disorder consumed an anxiolytic drug in the past 12 months. Among those who reported that they used antidepressants, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors were most commonly consumed (SSRI). CONCLUSION These data do not provide evidence for any over-consumption of psychopharmacological agents in Belgium. By contrast, they question the appropriateness of pharmacological treatments, in which under-treatment seems to be coupled with a high use of non-specific medications.
Dominant effects of tubulin overexpression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The consequences of altering the levels of alpha- and beta-tubulin in Saccharomyces cerevisiae were examined by constructing fusions of the structural genes encoding the tubulins to strong galactose-inducible promoters. Overexpression of beta-tubulin (TUB2) was lethal: cells arrested in the G2 stage of the cell cycle exhibited an increased frequency of chromosome loss, were devoid of microtubules, and accumulated beta-tubulin in a novel structure. Overexpression of the major alpha-tubulin gene (TUB1) was not lethal and did not affect chromosome segregation. The rate of alpha-tubulin mRNA and protein synthesis was increased, but the protein did not accumulate. Overexpression of both alpha- and beta-tubulin together resulted in arrested cell division, and cells accumulated excess tubules that contained both alpha- and beta-tubulin. Transient overexpression of both tubulins resulted in a high frequency of chromosome loss. These data suggest that strong selective pressure exists to prevent excess accumulation of microtubules or beta-tubulin and suggest a model by which this goal may be achieved by selective degradation of unassembled alpha-tubulin. Furthermore, the phenotype of beta-tubulin overexpression is similar to the phenotype of a beta-tubulin deficiency. These results add to a number of recent studies demonstrating that mutant phenotypes generated by overexpression can be informative about the function of the gene product.
Understanding the purchase intention towards remanufactured product in closed-loop supply chains: An empirical study in China

Purpose – The paper aims to explore the reasons underlying the key assumption in the closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) literature that consumers' purchase intention is lower for remanufactured products than for new products. It aims to complement the predominantly operation-focused CLSC research by examining consumers' perception of and behavior relating to remanufactured products. Design/methodology/approach – A theoretical model is developed by integrating the concepts of perceived benefits and product knowledge with the theory of planned behavior and the theory of perceived risk. Then the model is examined through an empirical study in the Chinese automobile spare parts industry involving 288 respondents and using structural equation modeling. Findings – The results indicate that purchase intention is directly influenced by purchase attitude followed by perceived behavioral control and indirectly influenced by perceived risk, perceived benefit and product knowledge via attitude. Therefore, effective meas.
Use of topical cyclosporin A in a primary Sjögren's syndrome mouse model.

PURPOSE A new animal model, the NFS/sld mutant mouse, was used for primary Sjögren's syndrome to investigate the efficacy of topical and systemic cyclosporin A (CyA) in preventing inflammation of the exocrine glands. METHODS Cyclosporin A was applied topically (0.01% and 0.1%, three times a day) or administered orally (10 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg, once a day) to mice from 6 to 16 weeks of age, after which the mice were killed. RESULTS Topical CyA reduced lacrimal gland and submandibular gland inflammation without causing pathologic changes in other organs. Flow cytometry showed that CD44 expression of CD4 T cells from the submandibular lymph nodes was downregulated, whereas that of Mel14+ was upregulated. Using a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assay, we determined that topical CyA significantly decreased the expression of mRNA of IL-2 and T-cell receptor-constant beta-chain. CONCLUSIONS Topical CyA may be clinically useful in reducing the lymphocyte infiltration of lacrimal glands associated with Sjögren's syndrome.
Liver transplantation improves hepatic myelopathy: evidence by three cases.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Hepatic myelopathy is a rare complication of chronic liver disease, causing progressive spastic paraparesis. Today, no therapy of this disorder has been established. Commonly used therapeutic strategies for hepatic encephalopathy aiming at the reduction of plasma ammonia levels such as protein restriction, oral neomycin, lactulose, or ornithine aspartate fail to improve the symptoms of hepatic myelopathy. The aim of this study was to find out whether orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) may improve hepatic myelopathy. METHODS Follow-up examinations of 3 patients with severe hepatic myelopathy before and after OLT. RESULTS In all 3 patients, the neurologic status improved significantly after liver transplantation. The grade of improvement was related to the time interval between onset of the first symptoms of hepatic myelopathy and liver transplantation. CONCLUSIONS Early recognition of hepatic myelopathy is important because timely liver transplantation as an established therapy for end-stage liver disease offers the chance of complete recovery from hepatic paraparesis.
The estimation of geoacoustic properties from broadband acoustic data, focusing on instantaneous frequency techniques

The compressional wave velocity and attenuation of marine sediments are fundamental to marine science. In order to obtain reliable estimates of these parameters it is necessary to examine in situ acoustic data, which is generally broadband. A variety of techniques for estimating the compressional wave velocity and attenuation from broadband acoustic data are reviewed. The application of Instantaneous Frequency (IF) techniques to data collected from a normal-incidence chirp profiler is examined. For the datasets examined the best estimates of IF are obtained by dividing the chirp profile into a series of sections, estimating the IF of each trace in the section using the first moments of the Wigner Ville distribution, and stacking the resulting IF to obtain a composite IF for the section. As the datasets examined cover both gassy and saturated sediments, this is likely to be the optimum technique for chirp datsets collected from all sediment environments.
Project Title : Computational Modeling and Simulation of Film-Condensation Project Number : AOARD-14080 Investigators

1. Development of Computational methodology for simulation of film-condensation: COMPLETED 2. Development and testing of a level set method based code for film-condensation in 2D Cartesian coordinate: COMPLETED 3. Develop proper computational set-up for the present numerical simulation: COMPLETED 4. A detailed analysis of the results obtained by a parametric study of the film-condensation in a plane channel: COMPLETED 5. An attempt will be made to develop another code in 3D cylindrical coordinate for the filmcondensation in a pipe: IN-PROGRESS
Newcastle Disease as a Model for Paramyxovirus-Induced Neurological Syndromes : Pathogenesis of the Respiratory Disease and Preliminary Characterization of the Ensuing Encephalitis

severe pneumonitis from which most birds recovered. Several days later, many of these birds developed severe encephalitic signs, largely referable to inflammatory changes in the cerebellum. During the pneumonic stage, virus was easily isolated in relatively high titers from the brains of all chickens, and viral products were easily detected in Purkinje neurons. However, when the encephalitis developed, virus was isolated irregularly and in low titers from brains, and morphological evidence for the presence of viral products could no longer be obtained. The encephalitic disease is discussed in relation to encephalitic syndromes induced by other neurotrophic viruses.
Effect of Tiered Prescription Copayments on the Use of Preferred Brand Medications

Background and Objective. Health plans are increasingly using more open drug formularies that offer differential prescription copayments as an incentive to enrollees to use brands that plans prefer. How much this financial incentive affects use of preferred brands has not been widely reported. The aim of this study was to estimate the effect of tiered copayments on the choice between preferred and nonpreferred brand medications. Materials and methods. Longitudinal logistic regression analyses of pharmacy claims from 1998 and 1999 comparing concurrent groups that were or were not exposed to tiered copayments. Subjects. Enrollees in four independent physician practice association model health plans who had pharmacy claims for angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI), proton pump inhibitors (PPI), or hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (STATINS). Outcome Measure. Change in the percentage of prescription claims that were for preferred brands. Main Results. Regression adjusted estimates of the average net increase in the percentage use of preferred brands of ACEI, PPI and STATIN from first quarter 1998 to third quarter 1999 attributed to tiered prescription copayments were 13.3 (P = 0.001), 8.9 (P = 0.03), and 6.0 (P <0.001) percentage points, respectively. Conclusions. Tiered prescription copayments were associated with a significant shift from nonpreferred to preferred brand medications. This type of financial incentive can help purchasers providing open access drug benefits by steering use of medications toward lower cost brands. The clinical effects of changes in medication use brought about differential copayments warrant further investigation.
Factors informing fear of reinjury after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

ABSTRACT Objective: Fear of reinjury is associated with cessation of sport after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction despite normal postoperative knee function. The objective of this study is to describe factors informing athletes’ experience of fear of reinjury post ACL reconstruction, in athletes who cited fear as the sole reason for not returning to their pre-injury level of sport. Design: Mixed-methods study design of qualitative and a preliminary quantitative component. Setting: A conveniently selected private hospital. Participants: Ten male and two female athletes, aged between 19 and 45 years, were eligible for the interview from 68 male and 32 female potential participants (age range 17–50) who underwent an ACL reconstruction using any graft type, excluding revision or multi-ligament surgery. Main outcome measures: To explore factors informing fear of reinjury in participants citing fear of reinjury as the sole reason for not returning to sport, albeit normal knee function. Results: From the participant interview, four themes emerged: undergoing the surgery and recovery again, nature of the pre-injury sport imposing risk of reinjury, personality traits, and social priorities. Conclusions: Clinicians should be aware of factors informing fear of reinjury post ACL reconstruction. Modifiable fears including pain, mode and length of rehabilitation and psychological factors should be considered during rehabilitation to potentially improve the return to sport rate.
Complete mitochondrial genome of Myospalax aspalax (Rodentia, Spalacidae)

Abstract False zokor (Myospalax aspalax) is one of the subterranean rodents distributed in East Asia. Molecular data and demography of M. aspalax are unknown, and the population management is difficult, because it is specialized for underground life. In this study, the complete mitochondrial DNA genome of M. aspalax was determined. The results suggested that the mitogenome was 16,436 bp in length, and consisted of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, and one displacement loop. The overall base composition of the heavy strand was A 33.40%, T 29.34%, C 24.90%, and G 12.36%, with A + T > C + G. Myospalax aspalax is a sister to the genus Myospalax, and have a most closely relationship with M. psilurus. The mitogenome data are potentially important for population management of M. aspalax and should contribute to the interspecies comparative analyses of genus Myospalax.
Use of antibiotics for adult upper respiratory infections in outpatient settings: a national ambulatory network study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Studies have suggested that antibiotics are often inappropriately used in the treatment of acute upper respiratory tract infections (URIs). This study examined antibiotic use for adult URIs in a large national network of offices that use electronic health records (EHRs). METHODS Using the Medical Quality Improvement Consortium (MQIC) database, URI episodes were identified for patients ages 18 to 65 years from January 1, 1998, to March 31, 2003. The percentage of episodes for which antibiotics were prescribed and the proportion of antibiotics that were broad spectrum were calculated. RESULTS Of the 52,135 URI episodes identified, 65% received antibiotics. Antibiotics were prescribed for 78% of acute bronchitis episodes, 65% of acute pharyngitis episodes, 81% of acute sinusitis episodes, and 33% of nonspecific URI episodes. The proportion of antibiotics that were broad spectrum was 56% for all URI episodes, 68% for acute bronchitis, 55% for acute sinusitis and nonspecific URI, and 40% for pharyngitis. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates overuse of antibiotics for adult URIs in a large national ambulatory care network, with particular overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics. The study also illustrates the enormous potential of EHR data for conducting practice-based research across large national office networks.
Red blood cell transfusion in pediatric patients with severe chronic anemia: How slow is necessary?

Historic practice recommends slow transfusion for children with chronic anemia and hemoglobin less than 5.0 g/dl due to the theoretical risk of transfusion‐associated circulatory overload (TACO). In our pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), we have been utilizing a more liberal transfusion practice in patients without underlying cardiopulmonary disease, and a faster transfusion rate appears safe in this population. Rate of transfusion must be based on multiple factors including convenience, timeliness of procedures and transport to an appropriate care facility, risk of alloimmunization and wastage of blood, stress for the family, and need for PICU monitoring. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2012; 58: 466–468. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Rifampicin Causes False-Positive Immunoassay Results for Urine Opiates

Abstract The treatment of tuberculosis usually includes the antibiotic rifampicin, especially in patients with concomitant human immunodeficiency virus infection. Some of these patients are in withdrawal therapy for drug abuse. When opiate screening is carried out in patients receiving rifampicin, false positive results are detected with the kinetic interaction of microparticles in solution method. We evaluated this interference in a Cobas-Integra analyzer and found a 12% cross-reactivity of rifampicin for antibiotic concentrations ranging from 0.19 to 6.08 μmol/l (156 to 5000 μg/l). This effect is not explained by the colour of the rifampicin solutions. Calculations assuming first order kinetics of elimination show that more than 18 hours after a single oral dose of 600 mg of rifampicin, a false positive result for opiates could be obtained. This indicates that the risk of a false positive result must always be considered when urine samples from these patients are analyzed.
Effects of Cognitive Bias Modification Training via Smartphones

Background and Objectives: Negative cognitive biases have been linked to anxiety and mood problems. Accumulated data from laboratory studies show that positive and negative interpretation styles with accompanying changes in mood can be induced through cognitive bias modification (CBM) paradigms. Despite the therapeutic potential of positive training effects, few studies have explored training paradigms administered via smartphones. The current study aimed to compare the effectiveness of three different types of training programmes (cognitive bias modification-attention, CBM-A; cognitive bias modification-interpretation, CBM-I; attention and interpretation modification, AIM) administered via smart-phones by using a control condition (CC). Methods: Seventy-six undergraduate participants with high social anxiety (Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, LSAS ≥ 30) were randomly assigned to four groups: CBM-A (n = 20), CBM-I (n = 20), AIM (n = 16), and CC (n = 20). Results: The results showed that the effects of CBM training, CBM-I training, or AIM training vs. CC for attention yielded no significant differences in dot-probe attention bias scores. The CBM-I group showed significantly less threat interpretation and more benign interpretation than the CC group on interpretation bias scores. Conclusions: The present results supported the feasibility of delivering CBM-I via smartphones, but the effectiveness of CBM-A and AIM training via smartphones was limited.
Organizational Learning Platform and New Product Development

Many countries are keen for their SMEs to innovate and develop new products and services. To innovate requires the firm to acquire new skills and or knowledge whether it seeks to make incremental or radical innovations. Organizational learning is critical to innovations in SMEs. In an increasingly complex business environment, organizations have been confronted with rapid changes in technology, competition, regulation and customer needs and demands. This has caused managers and researchers alike to search for new ways of developing organizational capabilities by continuous adaptation and anticipation of the need for change. Organizational learning, which promotes continuous adaptation and change, has therefore captured the imagination of managers seeking to survive the current turbulent operating environments. Despite its importance and impact overarching an organizational performance, there has not been much attention paid to how to implement and apply this tenet to organizations. Implementing organizational learning requires a recognition and identification of facilitating factors. This study, therefore, aims to empirically examine 1) how both facilitating factors and inhibiting factors affect organizational learning, and 2) how organizational learning influences performance of new product development.
Directly targeting the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis for cancer therapy using BH3 mimetics – recent successes, current challenges and future promise

Apoptosis within cancer cells is controlled by the BCL‐2 family of proteins, making them powerful arbiters of cell fate in response to stress induced by neoplastic transformation as well as exposure to anti‐cancer therapies. Many cancers evade pro‐apoptotic stress signals by up‐regulating anti‐apoptotic proteins such as BCL‐2, BCL‐XL or MCL‐1 to maintain their survival. However, this may come at a cost, as these cancers may also become dependent on these anti‐apoptotic proteins for survival. The development and deployment of BCL‐2 family inhibitors (drugs that mimic the activity of pro‐apoptotic BH3‐only proteins or ‘BH3 mimetics’) is based on this paradigm, and the first potent and specific molecules are now being evaluated in clinical trials. We review the recent successes in this field, the challenges currently being faced, and the promising future ahead.
The Effect of Learning Cycle Model on the Achievements and Retention Levels of Pre-Service Science Teachers in Seed-Fruit-Flower Topics

The aim of this study is to determine the effects of learning cycle model on the achievements and retention levels of pre-service science teachers in seed-fruit-flower topics. The sample of the study consisted of 38 pre-service teachers studying in the second class in Science Education, Kazım Karabekir Faculty of Education, Atatürk University. In the study, pre test-post test control group model was used. Subjects processed with teachercentered methods in the control group and processed according to learning cycle model of the contructivist learning approach in the experimental group. Test was applied as pre-test and post-test two times. After 4 weeks from the applications, Conceptual Understanding Test was applied to determine the retention level as retention test once again. In the results of analysis of the data obtained it was found that learning cycle model had an statistically important effect on pre-service teachers’ achievement and retention level about seed, fruit and flower topics.
Happiness as a Motivator

What motivates individuals to invest time and effort and overcome obstacles (i.e., strive for primary control) when pursuing important goals? We propose that positive affect predicts primary control striving for career and educational goals, and we explore the mediating role of control beliefs. In Study 1, positive affect predicted primary control striving for career goals in a two-wave longitudinal study of a U.S. sample. In Study 2, positive affect predicted primary control striving for career and educational goals and objective career outcomes in a six-wave longitudinal study of a German sample. Control beliefs partially mediated the longitudinal associations with primary control striving. Thus, when individuals experience positive affect, they become more motivated to invest time and effort, and overcome obstacles when pursuing their goals, in part because they believe they have more control over attaining their goals.