Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tuberculous Osteomyelitis of the Hyoid Bone: A Case Report

Skeletal tuberculosis is a well-known disease entity. We report the first case involving hyoid bone and the use of polymerase chain reaction-based test in detection and management. A 62-year-old male presented with neck swelling of a 20-day duration along with change of voice and dysphagia. Examination revealed a cystic, osteolytic lesion of the hyoid bone which histopathologically demonstrated features of granulomatous infection. A polymerase chain reaction test confirmed the diagnosis of tuberculosis.
Model Membranes Study the Lipid-Reactivity of HIV-1 Antibodies and Vaccine Antigen

Model Membranes to Study the Lipid-Reactivity of HIV-1 Antibodies and Vaccine Antigen by Gregory James Hardy Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Stefan Zauscher, Supervisor ___________________________ S. Munir Alam ___________________________ Joseph Shapter ___________________________ Piotr Marszalek ___________________________ Thomas McIntosh An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science in the Graduate School of Duke University 2014 Copyright by Gregory James Hardy 2014
A Decadal Data Set of Global Atmospheric Dust Retrieved From IASI Satellite Measurements

Aerosol is an important component of the Earth's atmosphere, affecting weather, climate, and diverse elements of the biosphere. Satellite sounders are an essential tool for measuring the highly variable distributions of atmospheric aerosol. Here we present a new algorithm for estimating atmospheric dust optical depths and associated retrieval uncertainties from spectral radiance measurements of the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI). The retrieval is based on the calculation of a dust index and on a neural network trained with synthetic IASI spectra. It has an inherent high sensitivity to dust and efficiently discriminates dust from other aerosols. In particular, over remote dust‐free areas, the retrieved levels of optical depth have a low bias. Over sea, noise levels are markedly lower than over land. Performance over deserts is comparable to that of other land surfaces. We use ground‐based coarse mode aerosol measurements from the AErosol RObotic NETwork to validate the new product. The overall assessment is favorable, with standard deviations in line with estimated uncertainties, low biases, and high correlation coefficients. However, a systematic relative bias occurs between sites dominated by African and Asian dust sources respectively, likely linked to differences in mineralogy. The retrieval has been performed on over a decade of IASI data, and the resulting data set is now publicly available. We present a global seasonal dust climatology based on this record and compare it with those obtained from independent satellite measurements (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer and a third‐party IASI product) and dust optical depth from the ECMWF model.
Towards Composable Concurrency Abstractions

In the past decades, many different programming models for managing concurrency in applications have been proposed, such as the actor model, Communicating Sequential Processes, and Software Transactional Memory. The ubiquity of multi-core processors has made harnessing concurrency even more important. We observe that modern languages, such as Scala, Clojure, or F#, provide not one, but multiple concurrency models that help developers manage concurrency. Large end-user applications are rarely built using just a single concurrency model. Programmers need to manage a responsive UI, deal with file or network I/O, asynchronous workflows, and shared resources. Different concurrency models facilitate different requirements. This raises the issue of how these concurrency models interact, and whether they are composable. After all, combining different concurrency models may lead to subtle bugs or inconsistencies. In this paper, we perform an in-depth study of the concurrency abstractions provided by the Clojure language. We study all pairwise combinations of the abstractions, noting which ones compose without issues, and which do not. We make an attempt to abstract from the specifics of Clojure, identifying the general properties of concurrency models that facilitate or hinder composition.
Comparison of necessary conditions for typical Takagi-Sugeno and Mamdani fuzzy systems as universal approximators

Both Takagi-Sugeno (TS) and Mamdani fuzzy systems are known to be universal approximators. We investigate whether one type of fuzzy approximators is more economical than the other. The TS fuzzy systems are the typical two-input single-output TS fuzzy systems. We first establish necessary conditions on minimal system configuration of the TS fuzzy systems as function approximators. We show that the number of the input fuzzy sets and fuzzy rules needed by the TS fuzzy systems depend on the number and locations of the extrema of the function to be approximated. The resulting conditions reveal the strength of the TS fuzzy approximators. The drawback, though, is that a large number of fuzzy rules must be employed to approximate periodic or highly oscillatory functions. We then compare these necessary conditions with the ones that we established for the general Mamdani fuzzy systems in our previous papers. Results of the comparison unveil that the minimal system configurations of the TS and Mamdani fuzzy systems are comparable. Finally, we prove that the minimal configuration of the TS fuzzy systems can be reduced and becomes smaller than that of the Mamdani fuzzy systems if nontrapezoidal or nontriangular input fuzzy sets are used. We believe that all the results in present paper hold for the TS fuzzy systems with more than two input variables but the proof seems to be mathematically difficult. Our new findings are valuable in designing more compact fuzzy systems, especially fuzzy controllers and models which are two most popular and successful applications of the fuzzy approximators.
Utility of thrombin-generation assay in the screening of factor V G1691A (Leiden) and prothrombin G20210A mutations and protein S deficiency.

BACKGROUND The thrombin-generation assay has a variety of clinical uses, including diagnosis of thromboembolism-related disease, and particular profiles are associated with thrombophilic risk factors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of this assay in screening and identifying patients who require specific thrombophilic testing. METHODS We used a 2-step approach to perform specific thrombophilic testing and thrombin-generation assays on 169 consecutive patients. The first step was to identify particular profiles of thrombin generation corresponding to each type of thrombophilic risk factor and to determine the pertinent variables related to thrombin generation. We then performed ROC curve analysis for each predefined variable to determine the relevant cutoffs for identification of patients in need of further testing (negative predictive value, 100%). RESULTS Suggestive profiles were seen in factor V Leiden (n = 49) and prothrombin (n = 12) mutations and in protein S deficiency (n = 12). ROC curves showed that factor V Leiden may be excluded when the difference between lag times obtained in the absence and presence of activated protein C (APC) is >1.5 min and that prothrombin G20210A may also be excluded when the peak thrombin concentration is <or=426 nmol/L. In addition, protein S deficiency may be excluded when the percentage of APC-induced endogenous thrombin potential inhibition is >63%. CONCLUSION The thrombin-generation assay represents a promising tool for screening thrombophilic risk factors, particularly in patients who are carriers of factor V Leiden or prothrombin G20210A mutations and patients with protein S deficiency.
Object Transportation by Two Mobile Robots with Hand Carts

This paper proposes a methodology by which two small mobile robots can grasp, lift, and transport large objects using hand carts. The specific problems involve generating robot actions and determining the hand cart positions to achieve the stable loading of objects onto the carts. These problems are solved using nonlinear optimization, and we propose an algorithm for generating robot actions. The proposed method was verified through simulations and experiments using actual devices in a real environment. The proposed method could reduce the number of robots required to transport large objects with 50–60%. In addition, we demonstrated the efficacy of this task in real environments where errors occur in robot sensing and movement.
Variations of temperature regime of the atmospheric boundary layer in regions with various orography

The spatiotemporal variability of temperature in the atmospheric boundary layer has been studied comparatively in the city of Tomsk (Russia) and in the coastal zones of Lake Baikal (Russia) and Lake Issyk-Kul (Kirghizia). Measurements with the MTP-5 temperature profiler have demonstrated that in the summer season the conditions of thermal stratification of the lower 1-km atmospheric layer under urban conditions in the absence of large water reservoirs nearby and in the mountain areas on the coasts of big lakes differ widely. The types of stratification and parameters of the atmospheric boundary layer in the regions under study are determined.
The Repeat Pattern Toolkit (RPT): Analyzing the Structure and Evolution of the C. elegans Genome

Over 3.6 million bases of DNA sequence from chromosome III of the C. elegans have been determined. The availability of this extended region of contiguous sequence has allowed us to analyze the nature and prevalence of repetitive sequences in the genome of a eukaryotic organism with a high gene density. We have assembled a Repeat Pattern Toolkit (RPT) to analyze the patterns of repeats occurring in DNA. The tools include identifying significant local alignments (utilizing both two-way and three-way alignments), dividing the set of alignments into connected components (signifying repeat families), computing evolutionary distance between repeat family members, constructing minimum spanning trees from the connected components, and visualizing the evolution of the repeat families. Over 7000 families of repetitive sequences were identified. The size of the families ranged from isolated pairs to over 1600 segments of similar sequence. Approximately 12.3% of the analyzed sequence participates in a repeat element.
Multimodal Sparse Coding for Event Detection

Abstract : Unsupervised feature learning methods have proven effective for classification tasks based on single modality. We present multimodal sparse coding for learning feature representations shared across multiple modalities. The shared representations are applied to multimedia event detection (MED) and evaluated in comparison to unimodal counterparts, as well as other feature learning methods such as sparse auto encoder and RBM. We report the cross-validated classification accuracy and mean average precision of the MED system trained on features learned from our unimodal and multimodal settings for the TRECVID MED 2014 dataset.
Firing and Cellular Properties of V2a Interneurons in the Rodent Spinal Cord

Previous studies have shown that a group of ventrally located neurons, designated V2a interneurons, play a key role in maintaining locomotor rhythmicity and in ensuring appropriate left–right alternation during locomotion (Crone et al., 2008, 2009). These V2a interneurons express the transcription factor Chx10. The aim of the present study was to characterize the locomotor-related activity of individual V2a interneurons, their cellular properties, and their detailed anatomical attributes in Chx10-GFP mice. A dorsal horn-removed preparation was developed to allow for visual whole-cell patch recordings from V2a interneurons along the entire lumbar spinal cord while at the same time leaving enough of the spinal cord intact to generate fictive locomotion. During drug-evoked locomotor-like activity, a large proportion of Chx10 cells showed rhythmic firing or membrane potential fluctuations related to either flexor or extensor activity in every lumbar segment. Chx10 cells received predominantly rhythmic excitatory input. Chx10 neurons displayed a wide variety of firing and potential rhythmogenic properties. However, none of these properties was obviously related to the observed rhythmicity during locomotor-like activity. In dual recordings, we found no evidence of Chx10 neuron interconnectivity. Intracellular fills revealed diverse projection patterns with most Chx10 interneurons being local with projections to the central pattern generator and motor neuron regions of the spinal cord and others with long ascending and/or descending branches. These data are compatible with V2a neurons having a role in regulating segmental left–right alternation and ipsilateral motor neuron firing with little effect on rhythm generation.
Bayesian Hierarchical Mixtures of Experts

The Hierarchical Mixture of Experts (HME) is a well-known tree-structured model for regression and classification, based on soft probabilistic splits of the input space. In its original formulation its parameters are determined by maximum likelihood, which is prone to severe overfitting, including singularities in the likelihood function. Furthermore the maximum likelihood framework offers no natural metric for optimizing the complexity and structure of the tree. Previous attempts to provide a Bayesian treatment of the HME model have relied either on local Gaussian representations based on the Laplace approximation, or have modified the model so that it represents the joint distribution of both input and output variables, which can be wasteful of resources if the goal is prediction. In this paper we describe a fully Bayesian treatment of the original HME model based on variational inference. By combining 'local' and 'global' variational methods we obtain a rigorous lower bound on the marginal probability of the data under the model. This bound is optimized during the training phase, and its resulting value can be used for model order selection. We present results using this approach for data sets describing robot arm kinematics.
Blood Conservation Using Tranexamic Acid Is Not Superior to Epsilon-Aminocaproic Acid After Total Knee Arthroplasty

Background: Epsilon-aminocaproic acid (EACA) and tranexamic acid (TXA) are synthetic amino acid derivatives that interfere with fibrinolysis, promoting hemostasis by pharmacological means. Although both drugs have been shown to decrease blood loss with a minimal risk of thromboembolic adverse events following cardiac and vascular surgery, we are aware of only 1 published trial that directly compared the antifibrinolytic effects of EACA with those of TXA after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The primary aim of this prospective, randomized, controlled trial was to determine whether TXA provides superior blood conservation following TKA compared with that provided by EACA. Methods: A total of 194 patients scheduled to undergo a primary unilateral TKA in the same community-based hospital were prospectively randomized to receive intravenous EACA (n = 96) or TXA (n = 98). Both the patients and the operating surgeons were blinded to the treatment assignments. Primary outcome measures included transfusions, estimated blood loss, and the drop in the hemoglobin (Hgb) level. Secondary outcomes measures included the change in the serum creatinine level, postoperative complications, and length of hospital stay. Results: Although the patients who received TXA averaged less estimated blood loss than the patients who received EACA (t185 = 2.18, p = 0.031; mean difference = 144.2 mL, 95% confidence interval = 13.62 to 274.78 mL), no transfusions were required in either group. We observed no statistically significant or clinically relevant between-group differences in the change in Hgb or serum creatinine level, postoperative complications, or length of hospital stay. Conclusions: Although the estimated blood loss was significantly greater in the EACA group, no transfusions were required and no significant between-group differences were observed for any other outcomes measured. We concluded that EACA may be an acceptable alternative to TXA for blood conservation following TKA, although replication of our results in noninferiority trials is necessary. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level I. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Regular use of traditional analgesics predicts major coronary events: A cohort study

Aims: Serious concern has arisen about the cardiovascular safety of selective cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors. However, recent studies have shown that the cardiovascular risks of regular use of traditional analgesics also deserve attention. We investigated the use of traditional analgesics for their prediction of major coronary events during 16 years of follow-up. Methods: A population sample of 8000 Finns aged 30 years and over was invited to a comprehensive health examination in 1978–1980; 7217 (90%) complied, and 4824 of these had no diagnosed cardiovascular disease. The participants filled in a questionnaire eliciting information on the use of analgesics. Record linkage to the National Hospital Discharge Register and the mortality register of the Central Statistical Office of Finland identified 266 major coronary events (myocardial infarctions or coronary deaths) by the end of 1994. Results: The risk of a major coronary event was significantly elevated among those reporting regular use of analgesics at baseline. Compared with nonusers and adjusted for known risk factors for coronary heart disease, the relative risk of an event during the whole follow-up period was 1.51 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.08–2.10) among regular users of analgesics. The risk was as high as 5.27 (95% CI 2.13–13.11) during the first two years of the follow-up. Thereafter it leveled off. Conclusion: Based on sales statistics almost all analgesics used in Finland at the end of the 1970’s were nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Therefore, the increased risk of major coronary events among regular users of analgesics is likely to be due to traditional NSAIDs.
Quantum Boson-Sampling Machine

In the Post-Moore law era, Quantum computing, as a novel promising computing technology, is paid great attention to, since quantum algorithms are able to offer exponential speed-up over the classical ones. However, despite the various means for the implementation of a universal quantum computer, it's desperately hard to build one. Fortunately, a computing model called Boson-Sampling is able to show the great power of quantum computing. The device that conducts the simulation process of Boson-Sampling based on quantum computing is called Quantum Boson-Sampling Machine (QBSM) while this simulation on a classical computer is intractable. In this paper, we introduce the boson-sampling process, analyze the difficulty of Boson-Sampling on classical computing, describe the advantages of Boson-Sampling, list the resent physical experiments that implemented QBSMs, and discuss the further research of Boson-Sampling.
Energy consumption in big data environments – a systematic mapping study

Big Data is a term that describes a large volume of structured and unstructured data. Big Data must be acquired, stored, analyzed and visualized by means of non-conventional methods requiring normally a big set of resources, which includes energy consumption. Although Big Data is not new as a phenomenom, its explosion of the interest in literature is recent and its study in new scenarios presents several gaps. On the other hand, Green IT is also a growing field in computing, given the increasing role of IT in energy consumption in the world. Green IT is aimed to reduce IT-related energy consumption and overall IT environmental impact. In order to investigate the reported initiatives regarding the Big Data and Green IT with a focus of energy consumption, the authors conducted a systematic mapping on the topic. The search strategy which was used resulted in 28 relevant studies which were relevant to the topic. We found that a majority of the studies performed present algorithms designed to reduce the energy consumption in data centres. The rest of the studies present benchmarks and energy measurements, reviews, proposals of hardware-based solutions, as well as studies which give an overview of one or more aspects on Big Data.
Far-Field Properties of a Line Source-Excited Electrically Small Quadrupolar Metamaterial Cylindrical Shell

An antenna configuration that consists of an arbitrarily located electric line source that radiates in the presence of concentric metamaterial cylinders is examined. With the emphasis on the so-called quadrupolar structure, it is shown that such electrically small configurations may offer significant enhancements of the radiated power. Furthermore, the possibility of controlling the pattern by properly locating the electric line source with respect to the structure, thereby offering a means of obtaining electrically small metamaterial-based directive antennas, is also demonstrated.
Soil‐related performance variation and distributions of tree species in a Bornean rain forest

1 Spatial distributions of tropical trees often correlate with environmental variation, suggesting that ecological sorting caused by niche differentiation may be important for maintaining species diversity. 2 Four soil types have been identified in a 52‐ha forest dynamics plot in Bornean mixed dipterocarp forest (ranked by increasing fertility and moisture: sandy loam, loam, fine loam, and clay). The distributions of 73% of tree species in the plot are significantly aggregated on one of these soil types. We tested the hypothesis that variation in performance (growth and mortality) underlies these edaphically biased species distributions. 3 Annual growth and mortality rates over 5 years were estimated for trees ≥ 1 cm in diameter and compared among soil types, life histories and species‐aggregation patterns. 4 Overall, growth and mortality rates were lowest on the poorest soil (sandy loam). Growth rates on each soil type correlated with soil fertility for pioneers, while mortality rates correlated with soil fertility for both pioneers and late‐successional species. 5 There was little evidence that soil specialists had a home‐soil performance advantage. Soil‐specific ranks of growth and mortality rates of each species‐aggregation group largely mirrored the ranks of their rates across the plot and did not shift substantially among soil types. On every soil, species aggregated on sandy loam or clay ranked last or next‐to‐last, and species aggregated on loam ranked the highest. 6 Ecological sorting of species among soils was strong. With increasing diameter, species were lost from the soils on which they were not aggregated more frequently than would be expected based on random mortality. The underlying mechanisms of ecological sorting may involve low mortality rates as a requirement for species to achieve high abundance on the poorest soil, whereas for the richer soils, having high growth rates appears relatively more important for achieving high abundance. 7 Thus, species’ demographic responses to resource variation among soil types, especially related to the poorest soil, affects tree species distribution patterns in this forest and thereby influences the structure of tropical forest communities.