Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of MR Imaging Findings in Patients with Middle Cerebral Artery Stroke Implanted with Mesenchymal Stem Cells

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Mesenchymal stem cells have potential as a regenerative therapy in ischemic stroke. We sought to determine MR imaging findings after mesenchymal stem cell implantation in chronic middle cerebral artery infarcts and to compare brain volume changes in patients with mesenchymal stem cells with those in age-matched healthy controls and controls with chronic stable MCA infarcts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively identified 5 patients receiving surgical mesenchymal stem cell implantation to an MCA infarct from January 1, 2005, to July 1, 2013, with MR imaging immediately and 1 year postimplantation. Images at both time points were evaluated for any postimplantation complications. Structural image evaluation using normalization of atrophy software was used to determine volume changes between time points and compare them with those in healthy and age- and sex-matched controls with chronic, stable MCA infarcts by using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests. RESULTS: Susceptibility signal loss and enhancement at the implantation site were seen. No teratoma, tumor, or heterotopia was identified. Volumetric analysis showed a trend toward less overall volume loss after mesenchymal stem cell implantation (0.736; 95% CI, −4.15–5.62) compared with that in age- and sex-matched controls with chronic, stable MCA infarcts (−3.59; 95% CI, −12.3 to −5.21; P = .09), with a significantly greater growth-to-loss ratio in infarcted regions (1.30 and 0.78, respectively, P = .02). A trend toward correlation of growth-to-loss ratio with improvement in physical examination findings was seen (r = 0.856, P = .06). CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative changes consistent with stereotactic implantation were seen, but no teratoma, tumor, or heterotopia was identified. Initial findings suggest a trend toward less volume loss after mesenchymal stem cell implantation compared with that in age- and sex-matched controls with chronic, stable MCA infarcts, with a significantly greater growth-to-loss ratio in the infarcted tissue.
A Data-Driven Method to Reduce the Impact of Region Size on Degree Metrics in Voxel-Wise Functional Brain Networks

Degree, which is the number of connections incident upon a node, measures the relative importance of the node within a network. By computing degree metrics in voxel-wise functional brain networks, many studies performed high-resolution mapping of brain network hubs using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Despite its extensive applications, defining nodes as voxels without considering the different sizes of brain regions may result in a network where the degree cannot accurately represent the importance of nodes. In this study, we designed a data-driven method to reduce this impact of the region size in degree metrics by (1) disregarding all self-connections among voxels within the same region and (2) regulating connections from voxels of other regions by the sizes of those regions. The modified method that we proposed allowed direct evaluation of the impact of the region size, showing that traditional degree metrics overestimated the degree of previous identified hubs in humans, including the visual cortex, precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex, and posterior parietal cortex, and underestimated the degree of regions including the insular cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, parahippocampus, sensory and motor cortex, and supplementary motor area. However, the locations of prominent hubs were stable even after correcting the impact. These findings were robust under different connectivity thresholds, degree metrics, data-preprocessing procedures, and datasets. In addition, our modified method improved test–retest reliability of degree metrics as well as the sensitivity in group-statistic comparisons. As a promising new tool, our method may reveal network properties that better represent true brain architecture without compromising its data-driven advantage.
comets (Constrained Optimization of Multistate Energies by Tree Search): A Provable and Efficient Protein Design Algorithm to Optimize Binding Affinity and Specificity with Respect to Sequence

Practical protein design problems require designing sequences with a combination of affinity, stability, and specificity requirements. Multistate protein design algorithms model multiple structural or binding "states" of a protein to address these requirements. comets provides a new level of versatile, efficient, and provable multistate design. It provably returns the minimum with respect to sequence of any desired linear combination of the energies of multiple protein states, subject to constraints on other linear combinations. Thus, it can target nearly any combination of affinity (to one or multiple ligands), specificity, and stability (for multiple states if needed). Empirical calculations on 52 protein design problems showed comets is far more efficient than the previous state of the art for provable multistate design (exhaustive search over sequences). comets can handle a very wide range of protein flexibility and can enumerate a gap-free list of the best constraint-satisfying sequences in order of objective function value.
SIMULTANEOUS DELAY, YIELD, AND TOTAL POWER OPTIMIZATION IN DEEP-SUBMICRON CMOS TECHNOLOGY USING GATE-SIZING, THRESHOLD VOLTAGE ASSIGNMENT, NODAL CONTROL, AND TECHNOLOGY MAPPING

An embossing tool is employed for embossing a plurality of cable marking rings. The tool comprises upper and lower embossing heads which are movable against each other. The cable marking rings to be embossed are held on two parallel holding pins which are supported movably in a support body by means of elastic bushings. One of the embossing heads is equipped on each one of two opposing sides with a centering fork comprising centering slots in which the holding pins are centered during the embossing process.
Late Cenozoic post-subduction tectonic, magmatic and metallogenic evolution of the Anatolide-Tauride Orogenic Belt, Turkey

The termination of the northward subduction of the Southern Neotethyan oceanic slab beneath the Anatolide-Tauride Block in Turkey led to the onset of the Arabia-Eurasia continental collision in the Oligocene. The subducting Southern Neotethyan slab was affected by postsubduction segmentation manifested by slab break-off (central-eastern Anatolia) and tearing (western Anatolia) during the late Cenozoic. Many igneous complexes formed in the late Cenozoic and some of them host gold-rich porphyry and epithermal prospects and deposits. New temporal (U-Pb, 40Ar/39Ar and Re-Os dates), spatial (field observations and GIS) and geochemical data (elemental and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic analyses) provide robust constraints on the genetic relationship between late Cenozoic slab segmentation tectonic events, Anatolian magmatism and associated gold mineralization. The newly-defined Eastern Anatolian Magmatic Belt formed in response to the slab break-off initiation at ca. 25 Ma, window opening, westward break-off propagation to central Anatolia and induced asthenospheric flow. The slab break-off-related igneous units were subsequently covered by widespread volcanic products in eastern Anatolia (12 Ma-Present) that resulted from the long-lived asthenospheric heating, destabilization of the thickened Anatolian lithosphere root and its partial removal by convective dripping. Magmatic sources include the shallow melting of the previously-metasomatized Anatolian subcontinental lithospheric mantle and asthenosphere by decompression due to impingement of the Arabian and African sub-slab asthenospheric mantles. Late Cenozoic Anatolian magmatism produced porphyry and epithermal prospects and deposits that cluster in nine isolated mineral districts controlled by graben, transtensional corridors and pull-apart basins. The bulk of gold mineralization (33 Moz Au) peaked at the beginning of the slab break-off event at 25 Ma in central and eastern Anatolia, and slab tear at 15 Ma in western Anatolia. The late Cenozoic trench-parallel and -perpendicular migrations of slab rupture and window opening in Anatolia 1) allowed toroidal and poloidal flow of asthenosphere beneath Anatolia, 2) caused the migration of melting source and associated igneous complexes and mineral deposits in the overriding crust, 3) destabilized the Anatolian lithospheric mantle, which reduced the amount of available volatiles and metals, and therefore 4) increased the production of barren, drier and mantle-dominant volcanism through time that partially covers fertile igneous units.
A Novel Color Detection Method for Robotics Soccer Image Processing

The color clusters of glossy materials always deviates from the linear model in the different brightness. For the robotics soccer game, the surface of game ball is glossy; therefore, the identification difficulty will be increased. For solving this problem, we propose a novel color detection method to improve this problem in this paper. Contrast to the traditional method use the threshold values to define the color; we create two mapping matrices based on the distribution of color cluster as the color database. Utilizing an example, one can find that the proposed method can define the target color more accurate than other traditional method. Besides, the proposed method can reduce the execution-time and increase the success rate for identifying object. Finally, some examples are illustrated to demonstrate the validity and feasibility of proposed method. Keywords—robotics soccer; vision processing; color detection
Generalized prisoner's dilemma

Prisoner's dilemma has been heavily studied. In classical model, each player chooses to either "Cooperate" or "Defect". In this paper, we generalize the prisoner's dilemma with a new alternative which is neither defect or cooperation. The classical model is the special case under the condition that the third state is not taken into consideration.
Induced-current electrical impedance tomography: a 2-D theoretical Simulation

A reconstruction algorithm, based on the modified Newton-Raphson algorithm, was developed for induced-current electrical impedance tomography and studied in theoretical two-dimensional geometry representing a human thorax. The finite-volume method was applied for the discretization of the physical domain, resulting in a symbolic representation of the Jacobian matrix, which is accurate and fast to construct. Several system configurations, differing in the number of excitation coils and electrodes, were simulated, and the performance in thoracic imaging was studied. It was found that a six-coil system shows a significant 40% improvement of conductivity values reconstruction over the three-coil system (an error of 2.06 /spl Omega//sup -1/ compared with 3.44 /spl Omega//sup -1/). A number of 32 electrodes was found to be sufficient, being the smallest number of electrodes to still provide a reasonable performance (only 4.2% degradation in average conductivity error compared with the maximum possible 106-electrode system).
Representations of Monotone Boolean Functions by Linear Programs

We introduce the notion of monotone linear programming circuits (MLP circuits), a model of computation for partial Boolean functions. Using this model, we prove the following results.1 (1) MLP circuits are superpolynomially stronger than monotone Boolean circuits. (2) MLP circuits are exponentially stronger than monotone span programs over the reals. (3) MLP circuits can be used to provide monotone feasibility interpolation theorems for Lovász-Schrijver proof systems and for mixed Lovász-Schrijver proof systems. (4) The Lovász-Schrijver proof system cannot be polynomially simulated by the cutting planes proof system. Finally, we establish connections between the problem of proving lower bounds for the size of MLP circuits and the field of extension complexity of polytopes.
Estimating effect size across datasets

Most NLP tools are applied to text that is different from the kind of text they were evaluated on. Common evaluation practice prescribes significance testing across data points in available test data, but typically we only have a single test sample. This short paper argues that in order to assess the robustness of NLP tools we need to evaluate them on diverse samples, and we consider the problem of finding the most appropriate way to estimate the true effect size across datasets of our systems over their baselines. We apply meta-analysis and show experimentally – by comparing estimated error reduction over observed error reduction on held-out datasets – that this method is significantly more predictive of success than the usual practice of using macroor micro-averages. Finally, we present a new parametric meta-analysis based on nonstandard assumptions that seems superior to standard parametric meta-analysis.
The Downy Mildew Effector Proteins ATR1 and ATR13 Promote Disease Susceptibility in Arabidopsis thaliana[W]

The downy mildew (Hyaloperonospora parasitica) effector proteins ATR1 and ATR13 trigger RPP1-Nd/WsB– and RPP13-Nd–dependent resistance, respectively, in Arabidopsis thaliana. To better understand the functions of these effectors during compatible and incompatible interactions of H. parasitica isolates on Arabidopsis accessions, we developed a novel delivery system using Pseudomonas syringae type III secretion via fusions of ATRs to the N terminus of the P. syringae effector protein, AvrRPS4. ATR1 and ATR13 both triggered the hypersensitive response (HR) and resistance to bacterial pathogens in Arabidopsis carrying RPP1-Nd/WsB or RPP13-Nd, respectively, when delivered from P. syringae pv tomato (Pst) DC3000. In addition, multiple alleles of ATR1 and ATR13 confer enhanced virulence to Pst DC3000 on susceptible Arabidopsis accessions. We conclude that ATR1 and ATR13 positively contribute to pathogen virulence inside host cells. Two ATR13 alleles suppressed bacterial PAMP (for Pathogen-Associated Molecular Patterns)-triggered callose deposition in susceptible Arabidopsis when delivered by DC3000 ΔCEL mutants. Furthermore, expression of another allele of ATR13 in plant cells suppressed PAMP-triggered reactive oxygen species production in addition to callose deposition. Intriguingly, although Wassilewskija (Ws-0) is highly susceptible to H. parasitica isolate Emco5, ATR13Emco5 when delivered by Pst DC3000 triggered localized immunity, including HR, on Ws-0. We suggest that an additional H. parasitica Emco5 effector might suppress ATR13-triggered immunity.
Treatment of metastatic spinal lesions with a navigational bipolar radiofrequency ablation device: a multicenter retrospective study.

BACKGROUND Spinal metastatic lesions are a common occurrence among oncology patients and contribute to significant morbidity. Treatment options have been limited in their effectiveness and scope to this point. OBJECTIVE This study aims to report the safety and efficacy of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of malignant spinal lesions using a novel RFA bipolar tumor ablation system which includes a navigational electrode containing 2 active thermocouples. STUDY DESIGN IRB approved multicenter retrospective review of patients receiving RFA as a treatment of metastatic osseous lesions between March 2012 and March 2013. SETTING This study consists of patients from 5 large academic centers. METHOD One hundred twenty-eight metastatic lesions were identified in 92 patients who underwent a total of 96 procedures. Cement augmentation was performed when the vertebral body was at risk or had a pathological fracture. Visual analogue scale (VAS) scores were obtained preoperatively as well as postoperatively at the one week, one month, and 6 month time points. Interval change in the patients' pain medications was recorded. Postoperative imaging was used to assess tumor burden at the treated level when available. RESULTS RFA was technically successful in all of the lesions without complication or thermal injury. Our study demonstrated significant (P < 0.01) decreases in the VAS scores at one week, one month, and 6 months postoperatively. In our largest center, 54% of our patients experienced a decrease and 30% had no change in their pain medications postoperatively. Sixty-two percent of the spinal lesions in this largest institution were located in the posterior vertebral body. Post-ablation imaging confirmed size of ablation zones consistent with that measured by the thermocouples. LIMITATIONS The main limitations of this study are the heterogeneous patient population, data set, and potential confounding variable of concurrent cement augmentation. CONCLUSION The STAR System is an RFA device that was safely and effectively used in the treatment of spine metastatic osseous lesions. This new device allows RFA treatment of previously untreatable lesions with resultant reduction in pain that was not controlled by systemic or radiation therapy.
Design of an UWB indoor-positioning system for UAV navigation in GNSS-denied environments

Commonly used unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platforms rely on the use of global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers for navigation. To enable the autonomous navigation of cooperative UAVs in GNSS-denied environments, the use of an ultra-wideband (UWB) positioning system is proposed. This paper discusses the design and evaluation of a practical and cooperative UWB positioning system using newly available integrated radio frequency hardware and antennas. Constellation-aware parameters, as well as other effects like antenna characteristics, are taken into consideration. A non-line-of-sight rejection is implemented based on the ratio of the first path compared to the power of the cumulated channel impulse response. An experiment covering a range of positions and orientations is conducted to gain a broad, representative set of results to assess the system accuracy in real-life usage. In a first experiment the system performance achieves a root-mean-square error of under 10 cm in the horizontal plane and under 20 cm in the three-dimensional space with a probability of 95 %. A GNSS emulation system is implemented to evaluate the real-time in-flight use of the UWB positioning system on an experimental UAV carrier. A proof of concept is given that the GNSS emulation may be used with commercially available UAV platforms to augment those systems with indoor navigation capabilities.
In Their Own Words: An Analysis of the Experiences of Medical Interns Participating in a Prospective Cohort Study of Depression

Purpose To compare the subjective experiences of interns with and without symptoms of depression using a mixed-methods approach. Method In 2007–2008, interns from six institutions were screened for depression before and during internship using an online survey that included the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). At the end of internship, participants were asked what made the year difficult, easy, and memorable, and how they had changed. Computerized lexical and qualitative thematic analyses were performed to analyze their free-text responses. Results Sixty-three percent (244/388) of invited interns participated in the original cohort study. Of those, 42% (103/244) answered the open-ended questions for this analysis. Thirty-five percent (36/103) screened positive for clinically significant depression (i.e., PHQ-9 score ≥ 10) during their intern year. Respondents with symptoms of depression were more likely to report problems with cynicism, exhaustion, and stress, while those without them were more likely to mention positive patient care and educational experiences. Respondents with symptoms of depression preferentially described experiences that “broke” their confidence, sense of well-being, and belief in the medical profession, while those who did not described profoundly positive, life-changing experiences regarding interactions with patients and supportive colleagues, through which they grew personally and professionally. Conclusions Depression during internship affects not only objective outcomes like medical errors but also how interns value the profession and themselves, with potentially profound consequences for their future career decisions. Residency programs should implement reactive interventions targeting depression and proactive interventions promoting resilience and well-being to address the issues that lead to depression.
Textile Soft Surface for Back Radiation Reduction in Bent Wearable Antennas

A textile soft surface is proposed to reduce back radiation of a textile patch antenna, and the performance is analyzed when the antenna is placed on a bent surface. This surface is assumed to be curved around cylinders with varying radii to emulate the real operation of the textile antenna when it is worn on the body, e.g., back, shoulders or arms. Two scenarios are considered for the evaluation of the performance of the antenna with the soft surface: a bent finite ground plane over an air cylinder and a more accurate model in which the electromagnetic properties of the body are included. In both situations the back radiation is reduced when compared to the same antenna without the soft surface. These results have been validated with experimental data which support this conclusion. This is the first textile implementation of a soft surface and the first demonstration that a soft surface can reduce the back radiation of a patch antenna in a conformal configuration.
Bile Acids, FXR, and Metabolic Effects of Bariatric Surgery

Overweight and obesity represent major risk factors for diabetes and related metabolic diseases. Obesity is associated with a chronic and progressive inflammatory response leading to the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes (T2D) mellitus, although the precise mechanism mediating this inflammatory process remains poorly understood. The most effective intervention for the treatment of obesity, bariatric surgery, leads to glucose normalization and remission of T2D. Recent work in both clinical studies and animal models supports bile acids (BAs) as key mediators of these effects. BAs are involved in lipid and glucose homeostasis primarily via the farnesoid X receptor (FXR) transcription factor. BAs are also involved in regulating genes involved in inflammation, obesity, and lipid metabolism. Here, we review the novel role of BAs in bariatric surgery and the intersection between BAs and immune, obesity, weight loss, and lipid metabolism genes.
Testing and improving ENSO models by process using transfer functions

Some key elements of ENSO are not consistently well captured in GCMs. However, modifying the wrong parameters may lead to the right result for the wrong reason. We introduce “transfer functions” to quantify the input/ output relationship of individual processes from model output, to compare them to the corresponding observed processes. Two key transfer functions are calculated: first, the relationship between western Pacific Rossby waves and the reflecting Kelvin waves; second, the frequency‐dependent relation between Kelvin waves traveling toward the eastern boundary and sea surface temperature response. These are estimated for TAO array data, the Cane‐Zebiak model, and the GFDL CM2.1 coupled GCM. Some feedbacks are found to be biased in both models. Re‐tuning parameters to fit observed transfer functions leads to a deteriorated solution, implying that compensating errors lead to the seemingly accurate simulation. This approach should be broadly useful in making climate model improvement more systematic and observation‐driven.