Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ICG Clearance Test and 99mTc-GSA SPECT/CT Fusion Images

Preoperative estimation of future remnant liver function is critical for major hepatic surgery to avoid postoperative morbidity and mortality. Among several liver function tests, the indocyanine green (ICG) clearance test is still the most popular dynamic method. The usefulness of ICG clearance test parameters, such as ICGR15, KICG, or PDRICG, has been reported by many investigators. The transcutaneous non-invasive pulse dye densitometry system has made the ICG clearance test more convenient and attractive, even in Western countries. The concept of future remnant KICG (rem KICG), which combines the functional aspect and the volumetric factor of the future remnant liver, seems ideal for determining the maximum extent of major hepatic resection that will not cause postoperative liver failure. For damaged livers with functional heterogeneity among the hepatic segments, fusion images combining technetium-99m-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid-galactosyl human serum albumin single photon emission computed tomography (99mTc-GSA SPECT) and X-ray CT are helpful to precisely estimate the functional reserve of the future remnant liver. Another technique for image-based liver function estimation, gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid(Gd-EOB)-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging, may be an ideal candidate for the preoperative determination of future remnant liver function. Using these methods effectively, morbidity and mortality after major hepatic resection could be reduced.
Viewpoint Usability for Desktop Augmented Reality

In this paper, we have investigated the comparative usability among three different viewing configurations of augmented reality (AR) system that uses a desktop monitor instead of a head mounted display. In many cases, due to operational or cost reasons, the use of head mounted displays may not be viable. Such a configuration is bound to cause usability problems because of the mismatch in the user's proprioception, scale, hand eye coordination, and the reduced 3D depth perception. We asked a pool of subjects to carry out an object manipulation task in three different desktop AR set ups. We measured the subject's task performance and surveyed for the perceived usability and preference. Our results indicated that placing a fixed camera in the back of the user was the best option for convenience and attaching a camera on the user's head for task performance. The results should provide a valuable guide for designing desktop augmented reality systems without head mounted displays.
Optimal mechanism for selling a set of commonly ranked objects

This paper designs an optimal mechanism for selling a set of commonly ranked objects. Although buyers rank these objects in the same order, the rates at which their valuations change for a less-preferred object might be different. Four stylized cases are identified according to this difference: parallel, convergent, divergent, and convergent-then-divergent. In general, the optimal mechanism cannot be interpreted as a conventional second-price auction. A reserve price is imposed for each object. Depending on which of the four stylized cases is considered, a higher-value bidder may be allocated a higher-ranked or lower-ranked object. There is also a positive probability that a higher-ranked object is not allocated while a lower-ranked one allocated. In a departure from the extant mechanism-design literature, the individual-rationality constraint for a mid-range type of bidder can be binding.
Simultaneous Determination of Hormonal Residues in Treated Waters Using Ultrahigh Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

In the last years, hormone consumption has increased exponentially. Because of that, hormone compounds are considered emerging pollutants since several studies have determinted their presence in water influents and effluents of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). In this study, a quantitative method for the simultaneous determination of oestrogens (estrone, 17β-estradiol, estriol, 17α-ethinylestradiol, and diethylstilbestrol), androgens (testosterone), and progestogens (norgestrel and megestrol acetate) has been developed to determine these compounds in wastewater samples. Due to the very low concentrations of target compounds in the environment, a solid phase extraction procedure has been optimized and developed to extract and preconcentrate the analytes. Determination and quantification were performed by ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). The method developed presents satisfactory limits of detection (between 0.15 and 9.35 ng·L−1), good recoveries (between 73 and 90% for the most of compounds), and low relative standard deviations (under 8.4%). Samples from influents and effluents of two wastewater treatment plants of Gran Canaria (Spain) were analyzed using the proposed method, finding several hormones with concentrations ranged from 5 to 300 ng·L−1.
Animation of Biological Organ Growth Based on L‐systems

In contrast with the growth of plants and trees, human organs can undergo significant changes in shape through a variety of global transformations during the growth period, such as bending or twisting. In our approach, the topology of a human organ is represented by a skeleton in the form of a tree or cycled graph. The length of skeleton growth can be simulated by an algebraic L‐system that also produces discrete events. The paper shows how to include global transformations into the formalism of L‐systems to obtain a continuous process. The shape of the organ is approximated by a number of ellipsoidal clusters centred at points on the skeleton. The proposed growth model of the organ continually responds to the positional changes of surrounding organs, thereby changing the organ shape locally. In our study, the stomach of a human embryo is used for the demonstration of organ development, and the methodology employed is also applicable to the animation of animal organs and their development.
Exploring Subexponential Parameterized Complexity of Completion Problems

Let F be a family of graphs. In the F-Completion problem, we are given an n-vertex graph G and an integer k as input, and asked whether at most k edges can be added to G so that the resulting graph does not contain a graph from F as an induced subgraph. It appeared recently that special cases of F-Completion, the problem of completing into a chordal graph known as "Minimum Fill-in", corresponding to the case of F={C_4,C_5,C_6,. }, and the problem of completing into a split graph, i.e., the case of F={C_4,2K_2,C_5}, are solvable in parameterized subexponential time. The exploration of this phenomenon is the main motivation for our research on F-Completion. In this paper we prove that completions into several well studied classes of graphs without long induced cycles also admit parameterized subexponential time algorithms by showing that: - The problem Trivially Perfect Completion is solvable in parameterized subexponential time, that is F-Completion for F={C_4,P_4}, a cycle and a path on four vertices. - The problems known in the literature as Pseudosplit Completion, the case where F={2K_2,C_4}, and Threshold Completion, where F={2K_2,P_4,C_4}, are also solvable in subexponential time. We complement our algorithms for $F$-Completion with the following lower bounds: - For F={2K_2}, F={C_4}, F={P_4}, and F={2K_2,P_4}, F-Completion cannot be solved in time 2^o(k). n^O(1) unless the Exponential Time Hypothesis (ETH) fails. Our upper and lower bounds provide a complete picture of the subexponential parameterized complexity of F-Completion problems for F contained inside {2K_2,C_4,P_4}.
What Data Is Necessary to Data Mine for Knowledge?

The data that most organizations possess is considered a valuable asset. To really benefit from it, organizations must be able to analyze these data efficiently and effectively. This activity is nowadays referred to as business intelligence and one class of algorithms used within this activity are called data mining methods. There are some famous success stories about knowledge discovered via data mining but there is also a lot of disappointment so far. The paper argues that one of the reasons for some failures to produce better results with data mining is the reliance on transactional and master data only. It points to other types of data that can enrich transactional data and help in this way to produce more interesting and more rewarding data patterns.
Quantitative genetic evidence that males trade attractiveness for ejaculate quality in guppies

Polyandry, where females mate with multiple males, means that a male's reproductive success will depend both on his ability to acquire mates and the ability of his sperm to compete effectively for fertilizations. But, how do males partition their reproductive investment between these two episodes of selection? Theory predicts that increases in ejaculate investment will come at a cost to investment in other reproductive traits. Although evidence revealing such trade-offs is accumulating, we know little about their genetic basis. Here, I report patterns of genetic (co)variation for a range of traits subject to pre- and post-copulatory sexual selection in the guppy Poecilia reticulata, a promiscuous livebearing fish in which males alternate between courtship and sneak matings to obtain copulations. The analyses of genetic variation and covariation for these behaviours revealed a strong genetic predisposition for one tactic over the other. Both mating tactics were also strongly genetically integrated with the level of sexual ornamentation and ejaculate quality. Males that predominantly performed sneak matings were less ornamented but had faster swimming sperm than those that predominantly used courtship. These patterns of genetic variation and covariation reveal potential evolutionary constraints on the direction of selection of pre- and post-copulatory traits, and support sperm competition theory by revealing a trade-off between sexual attractiveness and investment in ejaculates.
Carbohydrate solution simulations: Producing a force field with experimentally consistent primary alcohol rotational frequencies and populations

We present a CHARMM Carbohydrate Solution Force Field (CSFF) suitable for nanosecond molecular dynamics computer simulations. The force field was derived from a recently published sugar parameter set. 1 Dihedral angle parameters for the primary alcohol as well as the secondary hydroxyl groups were adjusted. Free energy profiles of the hydroxymethyl group for two monosaccharides (β‐D‐glucose and β‐D‐galactose) were calculated using the new parameter set and compared with similar force fields. Equilibrium rotamer populations obtained from the CSFF are in excellent agreement with NMR data (glucose gg:gt:tg ≈ 66:33:1 and galactose gg:gt:tg ≈ 4:75:21). In addition, the primary alcohol rotational frequency is on the nanosecond time scale, which conforms to experimental observations. Equilibrium population distributions of the primary alcohol conformers for glucose and galactose are reached within 10 nanoseconds of molecular dynamics simulations. In addition, gas phase vibrational frequencies computed for β‐D‐glucose using this force field compare well with experimental frequencies. Carbohydrate parameter sets that produce both conformational energies and rotational frequencies for the pyranose primary alcohol group that are consistent with experimental observations should allow for increased accuracy in modeling the flexibility of biologically important (1‐6)‐linked saccharides in solution. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 23: 1236–1243, 2002
User experience evaluation through the brain's electrical activity

A novel system for measuring the user experience of any user interface by measuring the feedback directly from the brain through Electroencephalography (EEG) is described. We developed an application that records data for different emotions of the user while using any interface and visualises the data for any interval during the task, as well as presenting various statistics and insight about the data. The application also provides the points of mouse movement on any interface as different coloured dots, where the colour represents the mental load at those points. This makes it easier to identify the user experience based on emotions at exact points on the user interface. In experiments, the brain activity of participants was recorded while they performed tasks on both a well-designed and poorly designed user interface. Screen and mouse cursor position were recorded, along with the values of several facial expressions and emotions extracted from the EEG. Users were interviewed after the study to share their experiences. For each study session analysis was done by comparing EEG, screen recording and interview data. Results showed that frustration, furrow and excitement values reflect user experience.
The Grand Experiment of Communism: Discovering the Trade-Off between Equality and Efficiency

This paper aims to explain the rise and fall of communism by exploring the interplay between economic incentives and social preferences in different economic systems. We introduce inequality-averse and ine¢ ciency-averse agents responding to economic incentives and transmitting their ideology as they are a¤ected by evolving outcomes. We analyze their conflict through the interaction between leaders with economic power and followers with ideological determination. The socioeconomic dynamics of our model generate a pendulum-like switch from markets to a centrally-planned economy abolishing private ownership, and back to restoring market incentives. The grand experiment of communism is thus characterized to have led to the discovery of a trade-off between equality and efficiency at the scale of alternative economic systems.
The rewriting calculus - Part II

The ρ-calculus integrates in a uniform and simple setting first-order rewriting, λ-calculus and nondeterministic computations. Its abstraction mechanism is based on the rewrite rule formation and its main evaluation rule is based on matching modulo a theory T . We have seen in the first part of this work the motivations, definitions and basic properties of the ρ-calculus. This second part is first devoted to the use of the ρ-calculus for encoding a (conditional) rewrite relation. To this end we extend the calculus with a first operator whose purpose is to detect rule application failure. This extension allows us to express recursively rule application and therefore to encode strategy based rewriting processes. We then use this extended calculus to give an operational semantics to ELAN programs. We conclude with an overview of ongoing and future works on ρ-calculus.
Homeostatic Regulation of Synaptic Excitability: Tonic GABAA Receptor Currents Replace I h in Cortical Pyramidal Neurons of HCN1 Knock-Out Mice

Homeostatic control of synaptic efficacy is often mediated by dynamic regulation of excitatory synaptic receptors. Here, we report a novel form of homeostatic synaptic plasticity based on regulation of shunt currents that control dendritosomatic information transfer. In cortical pyramidal neurons from wild-type mice, HCN1 channels underlie a dendritic hyperpolarization-activated cationic current (I h) that serves to limit temporal summation of synaptic inputs. In HCN1 knock-out mice, as expected, I h is reduced in pyramidal neurons and its effects on synaptic summation are strongly diminished. Unexpectedly, we found a markedly enhanced bicuculline- and L-655,708-sensitive background GABAA current in these cells that could be attributed to selective upregulation of GABAA α5 subunit expression in the cortex of HCN1 knock-out mice. Strikingly, despite diminished I h, baseline sublinear summation of evoked EPSPs was unchanged in pyramidal neurons from HCN1 knock-out mice; however, blocking tonic GABAA currents with bicuculline enhanced synaptic summation more strongly in pyramidal cells from HCN1 knock-out mice than in those cells from wild-type mice. Increasing tonic GABAA receptor conductance in the context of reduced I h, using computational or pharmacological approaches, restored normal baseline synaptic summation, as observed in neurons from HCN1 knock-out mice. These data indicate that upregulation of α5 subunit-mediated GABAA receptor tonic current compensates quantitatively for loss of dendritic I h in cortical pyramidal neurons from HCN1 knock-out mice to maintain normal synaptic summation; they further imply that dendritosomatic synaptic efficacy is a controlled variable for homeostatic regulation of cortical neuron excitability in vivo.
Refined Coding Bounds and Code Constructions for Coherent Network Error Correction

Coherent network error correction is the error-control problem in network coding with the knowledge of the network codes at the source and sink nodes. With respect to a given set of local encoding kernels defining a linear network code, we obtain refined versions of the Hamming bound, the Singleton bound, and the Gilbert-Varshamov bound for coherent network error correction. Similar to its classical counterpart, this refined Singleton bound is tight for linear network codes. The tightness of this refined bound is shown by two construction algorithms of linear network codes achieving this bound. These two algorithms illustrate different design methods: one makes use of existing network coding algorithms for error-free transmission and the other makes use of classical error-correcting codes. The implication of the tightness of the refined Singleton bound is that the sink nodes with higher maximum flow values can have higher error correction capabilities.
Structural Determinants for Activity and Specificity of the Bacterial Toxin LlpA

Lectin-like bacteriotoxic proteins, identified in several plant-associated bacteria, are able to selectively kill closely related species, including several phytopathogens, such as Pseudomonas syringae and Xanthomonas species, but so far their mode of action remains unrevealed. The crystal structure of LlpABW, the prototype lectin-like bacteriocin from Pseudomonas putida, reveals an architecture of two monocot mannose-binding lectin (MMBL) domains and a C-terminal β-hairpin extension. The C-terminal MMBL domain (C-domain) adopts a fold very similar to MMBL domains from plant lectins and contains a binding site for mannose and oligomannosides. Mutational analysis indicates that an intact sugar-binding pocket in this domain is crucial for bactericidal activity. The N-terminal MMBL domain (N-domain) adopts the same fold but is structurally more divergent and lacks a functional mannose-binding site. Differential activity of engineered N/C-domain chimers derived from two LlpA homologues with different killing spectra, disclosed that the N-domain determines target specificity. Apparently this bacteriocin is assembled from two structurally similar domains that evolved separately towards dedicated functions in target recognition and bacteriotoxicity.
Mapping and Evaluation of Flood Risk Areas along Asa River using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques

Flooding in Ilorin city has become a yearly occurrence. Mapping and evaluation of flood risk areas along Asa River in Ilorin metropolis was carried out using the Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing. The technique used includes conversion of Digital Terrain Model (DTM) to Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN) format. The geometric data was obtained from TIN through the use of United States Army Corps of Engineers, Hydrologic Engineering Centre, Geo River Analysis System (USACE HEC-geoRAS) in GIS. The obtained geometric data, Manning’s roughness coefficient (n), Expansion and contraction coefficient values and steady flow data of the River were used in HEC-RAS. The n values of 0.035, 0.016 and 0.02 were used for the channel, 0.045, 0.016 and 0.03 were used for the overbank and 0.2 was used for the bridges. Contraction and expansion co efficient value of 0.1 and 0.3 were used for channel and 0.3 and 0.5 were used for the bridges. Gumbel equation was used to estimate the flow for return period of 10, 50 and 100 years and the values of 155.13, 213.44 and 221.43 m3/s were obtained respectively. Delineated map was then compared with TIN terrain model to generate inundation map. The map revealed that some areas in Ilorin such as Coca-Cola Road, Baba Ode, Unity road, Obo Road, Taiwo-Isale, Amilengbe, Isale Koko, Mubo Phase 1, Mubo Phase 11, Royal Valley and Akerebiata prone to flood disasters. Estimated maximum top width for inundated area along the river ranges from 900.74 to 2375.11m. Keywords:-GIS, River Asa, DEM, Flood risk, HEC-RAS, Ground slope
Supplemental oxygen during pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with COPD with exercise hypoxaemia

BACKGROUND Supplemental oxygen in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and exercise hypoxaemia improves exercise capacity and dyspnoea. However, the benefit of oxygen during pulmonary rehabilitation in these patients is still unknown. METHODS Twenty five patients with stable COPD (mean (SD) forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) 0.76 (0.29) l and 30.0 (9.89)% predicted, arterial oxygen tension (Pao 2) 8.46 (1.22) kPa, arterial carbon dioxide tension (Paco 2) 6.32 (1.01) kPa) and significant arterial desaturation on exercise (82.0 (10.4)%) were entered onto a pulmonary rehabilitation programme. Patients were randomised to train whilst breathing oxygen (OT) (n = 13) or air (AT) (n = 12), both at 4 l/min. Assessments included exercise tolerance and associated dyspnoea using the shuttle walk test (SWT) and Borg dyspnoea score, health status, mood state, and performance during daily activities. RESULTS The OT group showed a significant reduction in dyspnoea after rehabilitation compared with the AT group (Borg mean difference –1.46 (95% CI –2.72 to –0.19)) but there were no differences in other outcome measures: SWT difference –23.6 m (95% CI –70.7 to 23.5), Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire 3.67 (95% CI –7.70 to 15.1), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale 1.73 (95% CI –2.32 to 5.78), and London Chest Activity of Daily Living Scale –2.18 (95% CI –7.15 to 2.79). At baseline oxygen significantly improved SWT (mean difference 27.3 m (95% CI 14.7 to 39.8) and dyspnoea (–0.68 (95% CI –1.05 to –0.31)) compared with placebo air. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that supplemental oxygen during training does little to enhance exercise tolerance although there is a small benefit in terms of dyspnoea. Patients with severe disabling dyspnoea may find symptomatic relief with supplemental oxygen.
Rapid estimation of DSPs utilization for efficient high-level synthesis

High-level synthesis tools are increasingly adopted for designing complex applications on FPGAs. These tools necessitate fast and accurate estimation of FPGA resources in order to produce good design solutions while minimizing design time. Multiplication operations are very commonly found in signal processing, communication, video and image processing applications. In this paper, we present a rapid technique to estimate DSPs utilization for different types of multiplication operations during high-level synthesis. The proposed technique models the synthesis inferences and optimizations performed by state-of-the-art FPGA design tool in order to reliably estimate the number of DSPs and associated LUTs cost of multiplication operations.