Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factors Predicting Response and Survival After Yttrium-90 Radioembolization of Unresectable Neuroendocrine Tumor Liver Metastases: A Critical Appraisal of 48 Cases

Background:Yttrium-90 (90Y) radioembolization is a promising treatment option for unresectable neuroendocrine tumor liver metastases (NETLM). This study is the first to evaluate the prognostic variables that influenced radiologic response and survival in patients with unresectable NETLM who were treated with 90Y radioembolization. As a secondary outcome, the impact of this treatment on serologic toxicity was assessed. Methods:Forty-eight patients underwent resin-based 90Y radioembolization for unresectable NETLM at a single institution between December 2003 and May 2009. Patients were assessed radiologically and serologically at 1 month and then at 3 month intervals after treatment. Prognostic variables that affected response and survival were determined. The impact of this treatment on serologic toxicity over a 6-month period was assessed. Discussion:No patient was lost to follow-up. The median follow-up for the patients who were alive was 41 months. The median survival was 35 months (range: 5–63). On imaging follow-up, 7 patients (15%) had a complete response and 19 patients (40%) had a partial response to treatment. Eleven patients (23%) had stable disease and 11 patients (23%) had progressive disease. Five prognostic factors were associated with an improved survival: complete/partial response (P = 0.003), low hepatic tumor burden (P = 0.022), female gender (P = 0.022), well-differentiated tumor (P = 0.001), and absence of extra—hepatic metastasis (P < 0.001). Three factors were associated with a complete/partial response: female gender (P = 0.040), well-differentiated tumor (P < 0.001) and low hepatic tumor burden (P = 0.041). There was a significant increase in the level of alkaline phosphatase over the 6-month period (P < 0.001). Conclusions:90Y radioembolization is a promising treatment option for unresectable NETLM. Patients with low hepatic tumor burden, well-differentiated tumor, female gender, and no extrahepatic disease benefit most from treatment.
Modeling and rendering of metallic patinas

An important component that has been missing from image synthesis is the effect of weathering. In this paper, we present an approach for the modeling and rendering of one type of weathering — metallic patinas. A patina is a film or incrustation on a surface that is produced by the removal of material, the addition of material, or the chemical alteration of a surface. Oxidation, sulphidization, and painting are examples of phenomena that produce patinas. We represent a surface as a series of layers. Patinas are simulated with a collection of operators, such as “coat,” “erode,” and “polish,” which are applied to the layered structure. The development of patinas is modulated according to an object’s geometry and local environmental factors. We introduce a technique to model the reflectance and transmission of light through the layered structure using the Kubelka-Munk model. This representation yields a model that can simulate many aspects of the time-dependent appearance of metals as they are exposed to the atmosphere or treated chemically. We demonstrate the approach with a collection of copper models. CR
Below-Baseline Suppression of Competitors During Interference Resolution by Younger but Not Older Adults

Resolving interference from competing memories is a critical factor in efficient memory retrieval, and several accounts of cognitive aging suggest that difficulty resolving interference may underlie memory deficits such as those seen in the elderly. Although many researchers have suggested that the ability to suppress competitors is a key factor in resolving interference, the evidence supporting this claim has been the subject of debate. Here, we present a new paradigm and results demonstrating that for younger adults, a single retrieval attempt is sufficient to suppress competitors to below-baseline levels of accessibility even though the competitors are never explicitly presented. The extent to which individual younger adults suppressed competitors predicted their performance on a memory span task. In a second experiment, older adults showed no evidence of suppression, which supports the theory that older adults’ memory deficits are related to impaired suppression.
Biografsko-narativni metodološki pristop za poučevanje in razumevanje vsebin slovenskega izseljenstva

The article presents the biographic-narrative methodological approach (BINM), which can be used for teaching, understanding and evaluating the topic of Slovenian emigration. We think that through BINM approach young people can more effectively learn about the topic of Slovenian emigration and it can motivate them for their own research.
DETECTING STRESS USING EYE BLINKS AND BRAIN ACTIVITY FROM EEG SIGNALS

In this paper, we discuss our findings ondetecting eye blink artefacts in brain activity using EEG. A test subject participated in a car driving simulation and his brain activity was captured during the experiment. While driving, stressful emotions were triggered in the participant, through steep curves and attention seeking billboards. Our research shows that detecting eye blinks is possible using a low cost EEG solution. We use the longitudinal differences of two prefrontal cortex sensors in combination with amplitude maps to classify eye blinks. We correlate eye blink frequency with experienced stress, observing higher frequency of eye blinks in stressful situations. Furthermore, we show that brain activity is significantly more active when doing mental calculation with eyes open as opposed to doing them with eyes closed. Results of this research could in combination with other stress detectors lead to applications to improve transport safety and support other areas where stress levels need to be monitored.
Learning a classifier for false positive error reports emitted by static code analysis tools

The large scale and high complexity of modern software systems make perfectly precise static code analysis (SCA) infeasible. Therefore SCA tools often over-approximate, so not to miss any real problems. This, however, comes at the expense of raising false alarms, which, in practice, reduces the usability of these tools. To partially address this problem, we propose a novel learning process whose goal is to discover program structures that cause a given SCA tool to emit false error reports, and then to use this information to predict whether a new error report is likely to be a false positive as well. To do this, we first preprocess code to isolate the locations that are related to the error report. Then, we apply machine learning techniques to the preprocessed code to discover correlations and to learn a classifier. We evaluated this approach in an initial case study of a widely-used SCA tool for Java. Our results showed that for our dataset we could accurately classify a large majority of false positive error reports. Moreover, we identified some common coding patterns that led to false positive errors. We believe that SCA developers may be able to redesign their methods to address these patterns and reduce false positive error reports.
Design of a Wearable Scissored-Pair Control Moment Gyroscope (SP-CMG) for Human Balance Assist

Our research examines the feasibility of usign a wearable scissored-pair control moment gyroscope (CMG) for human balance assist. The CMG is a momentum exchange device consisting of a fast spinning flywheel mounted on a gimbal. The gimbal motion changes the direction of the flywheel rotation axis, which generates a reactionless torque. A scissored-pair CMG has the additional advantage of isolating the output torque to a single axis, where off-axis torques are canceled out. A properly designed CMG device worn as a backpack can apply a torque in the sagittal plane of the human trunk. This can help in restoring postural balance and in fall mitigation.This paper describes the complete design process of a scissored-pair CMG device with constraints on size, mass and dynamic properties for human wearability. A prototype of this device is built, utilizing a novel dual-flywheel design; it weighs about 8kg and is able to generate over 20Nm of torque. A custom hardware is built specifically for verifying the torque output of the device. To our knowledge this is the only device that generates the range of reactionless torque given its weight and size.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Probabilistic temporal bilinear model for temporal dynamic recommender systems

User preferences for products are constantly drifting over time as product perception and popularity are changing when new fashions or products emerge. Therefore, the ability to model the tendency of both user preferences and product attractiveness is vital to the design of recommender systems (RSs). However, conventional methods in RSs are incapable of modeling such a tendency accordingly, leading to unsatisfactory recommendation performance in many real-world deployments. In this paper, we develop a novel probabilistic temporal bilinear model for RSs, exploiting both temporal properties and dynamic information in user preferences and item attractiveness derived from the users' feedback over items, to simultaneously track latent factors that represent user preferences and item attractiveness. A learning and inference algorithm combining a sequential Monte Carlo method and the EM algorithm for this model is also developed to tackle the top-k recommendation problem over time. The proposed model is evaluated on three benchmark datasets. The experimental results demonstrate that our proposed model significantly outperforms a variety of existing methods for top-k recommendation.
A decentralized model-based diagnostic tool for complex systems

We address the problem of diagnosing complex discrete-event systems such as telecommunication networks. Given a flow of observations from the system, the goal is to explain those observations by identifying and localizing possible faults. Several model-based diagnosis approaches deal with this problem but they need the computation of a global model which is not feasible for complex systems like telecommunication networks. Our contribution is the proposal of a decentralized approach which permits to carry out an on-line diagnosis without computing the global model. This paper describes the implementation of a tool based on this approach. Given a decentralized model of the system and a flow of observations, the program analyzes the flow and computes the diagnosis in a decentralized way. We also present experimental results based on a real system.
External Error Monitoring in Subclinical Obsessive-Compulsive Subjects: Electrophysiological Evidence from a Gambling Task

Background Feedback-related negativity (FRN) is believed to be an important electrophysiology index of “external” negative feedback processing. Previous studies on FRN in obsessive-compulsive (OC) individuals are scarce and controversial. In these studies, anxiety symptoms were not evaluated in detail. However, OC disorders have a number of radical differences from anxiety disorders. It is necessary to study FRN and its neuroanatomical correlates in OC individuals without anxious symptoms. Methods A total of 628 undergraduate students completed an OC questionnaire. We chose 14 students who scored in the upper 10% and 14 students who scored in the lowest 10% without anxiety symptoms as a subclinical OC group (SOC) and a low obsessive-compulsive group (LOC). The students all performed the revised Iowa Gambling Task. We used the event-related potentials (ERP) and standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA) to track external negative feedback processing and its substrate in the brain. Results Our study revealed poorer decision-making ability and greater FRN amplitudes in SOC subjects compared with LOC controls. The SOC subjects displayed anterior prefrontal cortex (aPFC) hyperactivation during the loss feedback condition. Specifically, we found an intercorrelation of current source density during the loss condition between the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and aPFC in the LOC subjects but not in the SOC group. Conclusions Our results support the notion that overactive external feedback error processing may reflect a candidate endophenotype of OC. We also provide important information on the dysfunction in the interaction between aPFC and dACC in populations with OC. Nevertheless, the findings support that OC may be distinguished from other anxiety disorders using a new electrophysiology perspective.
Neurotologic and Functional MRI Findings in a Patient With Bilateral Profound Deafness Having Brown–Vialetto–Van Leare Syndrome

Introduction We report the first findings of functional magnetic resonance imaging of the auditory cortex in a young woman with a bilateral cochleovestibular deficit as first manifestation of Brown–Vialetto–Van Leare syndrome. The patient had no open speech discrimination, even with hearing aids, and is depending on lip reading for communication. Methods To evaluate the possible efficiency of a cochlear implantation, we investigated hemodynamic responses within the central auditory pathways using an auditory functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigm. Results Blood oxygen level–dependent correlates were detected bilaterally along the auditory pathways after exposure to intermittent clicking tone stimulation at 2 kHz. Conclusion These results suggest integrity of the central auditory pathways and represent a positive argument to propose a cochlear implantation with the aim to restore hearing.
Assembly rules for New England ant assemblages

Community assembly rules specify patterns of species co-occurrence and morphology dictated by interspecific competition. We collected data on the occurrence of ground-foraging ant species in 22 ombrotrophic bogs and adjacent forest plots of New England to test two general assembly rules: reduced co-occurrence of species among communities, and even spacing of body sizes of species within communities. We used null models to generate random communities unstructured by competition and evaluated patterns at regional and local spatial scales. At the regional scale, species co-occurrence in forests, but not bogs, was less than expected by chance, whereas, at the local scale, co-occurrence in both habitats was not different from random. At the regional scale, spacing of body size distributions was random (in bogs) or aggregated (in forests). At the local scale, body size patterns were weakly segregated in bogs, but random or weakly aggregated in forests. In bogs, size ratio constancy was accompanied by greater generic diversity than expected. Although assembly rules were originally developed for vertebrate communities, they successfully explained some patterns in New England ant assemblages. However, the patterns were contingent on spatial scale, and were distinctly different for bog and forest communities, despite their close proximity and the presence of many shared species in both assemblages. The harsh physical conditions of bogs may act as a habitat filter that alters community assembly rules.
Logic-based and Robust Decision Making for Robots in Real World ( Demonstration )

We propose a logic-based mechanism for robot action decisions that is robust over the environmental noise of the real world and has a formal way to reason the possibility of achieving the robot’s goal. Our experimental demos show that a robot can eventually reach its destination even if its actions are not that accurate. Figure 1: Q.bo Lite Evo
Inter-annual variability of the summer Microcystis bloom in the lower Nakdong River (S. Korea)

Nuisance cyanobacterial blooms are a worldwide sign of advanced eutrophicarion in freshwarer ecosysrems. Since blooms are frequenrly observed in nutrienr-enriched lakes and rivers, rhey can ofren be predicted following changes in physico-chemical conditions (PAERL 1988, STEINBERG & HARTMANN 1988). The outbreak of cyanobacterial blooms becomes a serious problem in rhe managemenr of freshwarer resources since mosr cyanobacreria can be toxic to humans and livesrock.
Loss of Heterozygosity and Copy Number Alterations in Flow-Sorted Bulky Cervical Cancer

Treatment choices for cervical cancer are primarily based on clinical FIGO stage and the post-operative evaluation of prognostic parameters including tumor diameter, parametrial and lymph node involvement, vaso-invasion, infiltration depth, and histological type. The aim of this study was to evaluate genomic changes in bulky cervical tumors and their relation to clinical parameters, using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-analysis. Flow-sorted tumor cells and patient-matched normal cells were extracted from 81 bulky cervical tumors. DNA-index (DI) measurement and whole genome SNP-analysis were performed. Data were analyzed to detect copy number alterations (CNA) and allelic balance state: balanced, imbalanced or pure LOH, and their relation to clinical parameters. The DI varied from 0.92–2.56. Pure LOH was found in ≥40% of samples on chromosome-arms 3p, 4p, 6p, 6q, and 11q, CN gains in >20% on 1q, 3q, 5p, 8q, and 20q, and losses on 2q, 3p, 4p, 11q, and 13q. Over 40% showed gain on 3q. The only significant differences were found between histological types (squamous, adeno and adenosquamous) in the lesser allele intensity ratio (LAIR) (p = 0.035) and in the CNA analysis (p = 0.011). More losses were found on chromosome-arm 2q (FDR = 0.004) in squamous tumors and more gains on 7p, 7q, and 9p in adenosquamous tumors (FDR = 0.006, FDR = 0.004, and FDR = 0.029). Whole genome analysis of bulky cervical cancer shows widespread changes in allelic balance and CN. The overall genetic changes and CNA on specific chromosome-arms differed between histological types. No relation was found with the clinical parameters that currently dictate treatment choice.
A PIN-entry method resilient against shoulder surfing

Magnetic stripe cards are in common use for electronic payments and cash withdrawal. Reported incidents document that criminals easily pickpocket cards or skim them by swiping them through additional card readers. Personal identification numbers (PINs) are obtained by shoulder surfing, through the use of mirrors or concealed miniature cameras. Both elements, the PIN and the card, are generally sufficient to give the criminal full access to the victim's account. In this paper, we present alternative PIN entry methods to which we refer as cognitive trapdoor games. These methods make it significantly harder for a criminal to obtain PINs even if he fully observes the entire input and output of a PIN entry procedure. We also introduce the idea of probabilistic cognitive trapdoor games, which offer resilience to shoulder surfing even if the criminal records a PIN entry procedure with a camera. We studied the security as well as the usability of our methods, the results of which we also present in the paper.
Integrin-linked kinase is required for laminin-2–induced oligodendrocyte cell spreading and CNS myelination

Early steps in myelination in the central nervous system (CNS) include a specialized and extreme form of cell spreading in which oligodendrocytes extend large lamellae that spiral around axons to form myelin. Recent studies have demonstrated that laminin-2 (LN-2; α2β1γ1) stimulates oligodendrocytes to extend elaborate membrane sheets in vitro (cell spreading), mediated by integrin α6β1. Although a congenital LN-2 deficiency in humans is associated with CNS white matter changes, LN-2–deficient (dy/dy) mice have shown abnormalities primarily within the peripheral nervous system. Here, we demonstrate a critical role for LN-2 in CNS myelination by showing that dy/dy mice have quantitative and morphologic defects in CNS myelin. We have defined the molecular pathway through which LN-2 signals oligodendrocyte cell spreading by demonstrating requirements for phosphoinositide 3-kinase activity and integrin-linked kinase (ILK). Interaction of oligodendrocytes with LN-2 stimulates ILK activity. A dominant negative ILK inhibits LN-2–induced myelinlike membrane formation. A critical component of the myelination signaling cascade includes LN-2 and integrin signals through ILK.
Occurrence of Kabatina juniperi in Ontario and genetic analysis using RAPD markers

A survey conducted in 1992 and 1993 revealed that the major cause of juniper twig blight in Ontario was Kabatina juniperi. Phomopsis juniperovora was found in 3 of 26 samples received in 1992 and in none of 23 samples in 1993. Analysis of acervuli of K. juniperi collected from spring 1997 through spring 1999 showed that spore production was high in spring, was lower in the summer, and gradually declined in the fall to very low levels in winter. Using RAPD markers, we found molecular variation between K. juniperi isolates from five locations within a 50 km radius. RAPD analysis of 24 isolates from five different cultivars of Juniperus scopulorum did not reveal host specialization. Among 49 isolates sampled from two adjacent rows of J. scopulorum ‘Grey Gleam’, there were 36 different RAPD haplotypes. Genetic diversity analysis of this population showed significant gametic linkage disequilibrium between putative RAPD loci and indicated that asexual propagules such as conidia are the major form of dispersal of this pathogen. A practical implication of this work is that pruning operations should be timed so that they do not coincide with peak spore production.
Relationships between functional subclasses and information contained in active‐site and ligand‐binding residues in diverse superfamilies

To investigate the relationships between functional subclasses and sequence and structural information contained in the active‐site and ligand‐binding residues (LBRs), we performed a detailed analysis of seven diverse enzyme superfamilies: aldolase class I, TIM‐barrel glycosidases, α/β‐hydrolases, P‐loop containing nucleotide triphosphate hydrolases, collagenase, Zn peptidases, and glutamine phosphoribosylpyrophosphate, subunit 1, domain 1. These homologous superfamilies, as defined in CATH, were selected from the enzyme catalytic‐mechanism database. We defined active‐site and LBRs based solely on the literature information and complex structures in the Protein Data Bank. From a structure‐based multiple sequence alignment for each CATH homologous superfamily, we extracted subsequences consisting of the aligned positions that were used as an active‐site or a ligand‐binding site by at least one sequence. Using both the subsequences and full‐length alignments, we performed cluster analysis with three sequence distance measures. We showed that the cluster analysis using the subsequences was able to detect functional subclasses more accurately than the clustering using the full‐length alignments. The subsequences determined by only the literature information and complex structures, thus, had sufficient information to detect the functional subclasses. Detailed examination of the clustering results provided new insights into the mechanism of functional diversification for these superfamilies. Proteins 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.