Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Numerical modeling of surface acoustic wave for silica tapered fiber

This paper presents the numerical modeling of optical and acoustic wave characterization for a tapered fiber with Finite Element Method. Result focuses on the evolution of surface acoustic wave in the fundamental mode and a higher order acoustic mode behavior of a tapered silica fiber with radius of 2 μm. Result also presents the difference in overlap integral for various fiber radius at different propagation constants. Also, the co-existence of surface acoustic wave and hybrid acoustic wave are simulated at fiber radius of 6 μm. A reliable modeling tool is developed to be utilized in Brillouin characterization for various fibers which is applicable in communication, sensor and amplifier.
All-Spin-Orbit Switching of Perpendicular Magnetization

Devices with ferromagnetic layers possessing a perpendicular magnetic easy axis are of great interest due to miniaturization capability and thermal stability, retaining deeply scaled magnetic bits over long periods of time. While the tunneling magnetoresistance effect has significantly enhanced electrical reading of magnetic bits, fast and energy efficient writing of magnetic bits remains a challenge. Current-induced spin-orbit torques (SOTs) have been widely considered due to significant potential for fast and energy-efficient writing of magnetic bits. However, to deterministically switch the magnetization of a perpendicularly magnetized device using SOTs, the presence of a magnetic field is required, which offsets possible advantages and hampers applications. In this paper, a perpendicularly magnetized device is presented, which, without the need for a magnetic field, can be deterministically switched in both toggle and nontoggle modes using a damping-like SOT induced by an in-plane current pulse. This capability is realized by shaping the magnetic energy landscape. Present device does not require any materials other than those widely utilized in conventional spin-orbit devices. The device provides two orders of magnitude enhancement in switching energy-time product as compared with state-of-the-art perpendicularly magnetized devices operating on spin-transfer torques.
Automatic Construction of Image Transformations to Produce Variously Stylized Painterly Images

We describe a new method that generates images that represent various painting styles by constructing the process of painterly rendering, using ACTIT (Automatic Construction of Tree-structural Image Transformation). ACTIT is an image processing system that automatically constructs image transformations by using Genetic Programming (GP) and image processing examples. The constructed image transformations can then be applied to other images. In our method, we add two extensions to ACTIT so that it can be applied for constructing the painterly rendering process. The first extension comprises image processing filters that append non-photo realistic effects. The second is our proposed new fitness function of ACTIT for evaluating the features of the images used for painterly rendering. The results of experiments in which we used three painting style examples show that our method constructs three image transformations that produce the respective painting styles.
A plasmocyte selective monoclonal antibody (B‐B4) recognizes syndecan‐1

We developed a new monoclonal antibody, B‐B4, which specifically identifies human plasma cells. It strongly reacts with all multiple myeloma cell lines and with malignant plasma cells of all tumour samples of the multiple myeloma patients tested. B‐B4 does not react with any peripheral blood, bone marrow or tonsil cells. Cloning of the B‐B4 antigen reveals that the monoclonal antibody recognizes syndecan‐1. It appears that the monoclonal antibody B‐B4 is a suitable marker for human plasmocyte identification among haemopoietic cells and a useful probe for the diagnosis of haematological malignancies. Furthermore, this monoclonal antibody can be used for depletions prior to CD34 grafting.
The ATAC ('Arimidex', Tamoxifen, Alone or in Combination) adjuvant breast cancer trial: baseline endometrial sub-protocol data on the effectiveness of transvaginal ultrasonography and diagnostic hysteroscopy.

BACKGROUND The 'Arimidex', Tamoxifen, Alone or in Combination (ATAC) trial is a randomized, double-blind trial comparing anastrozole ('Arimidex'), alone or in combination with tamoxifen, relative to tamoxifen alone as 5 year adjuvant treatment for post-menopausal women with early breast cancer. Since tamoxifen is associated with endometrial pathology, the ATAC endometrial sub-protocol was initiated to establish the background prevalence of intrauterine pathology, and to assess prospectively the incidence and nature of intrauterine changes following endocrine therapy. Another aim was to provide data from which advice could be generated on the best endometrium screening method for patients receiving tamoxifen. METHODS Patients underwent endometrial assessments at entry to the sub-protocol. The baseline investigations comprised transvaginal ultrasound scanning (TVUS), a hysteroscopy and an endometrial biopsy. RESULTS A total of 285 gynaecologically asymptomatic women from 31 centres in 10 countries entered the endometrial sub-protocol. The mean uterine volume was 47.7 cm3. The median endometrial thickness overall was 3 mm. Twenty-four histologically confirmed, pathological changes were observed. Twenty-three pathologies were confirmed by TVUS, and 21 were identified by hysteroscopy and confirmed by histopathology. Women with or without intrauterine pathology had median endometrial thickness of 5 and 3 mm respectively. CONCLUSIONS The presence of pathology was associated with increased endometrial thickness. The relative sensitivity and specificity of hysteroscopy and endometrial thickness for the diagnosis of endometrial pathology was comparable to other studies. If screening of the endometrium prior to treatment is appropriate, this study supports the use of an endometrial thickness of 3 mm, as assessed by TVUS, as a threshold for needing further investigation. This study demonstrates that if the endometrial thickness is >3 mm, hysteroscopy and biopsy is the optimal method of detecting intrauterine pathology in women with breast cancer who are about to commence endocrine treatment.
A Multimodal Approach for Recognizing Human Actions Using Depth Information

Human action recognition using depth information is a trending technology especially in human computer interaction. Depth information may provide more robust features to increase accuracy of action recognition. This paper presents an approach to recognize basic human actions using the depth information from RGB-D sensors. Features obtained from a trained skeletal model and raw depth data are studied. Angle and displacement features derived from the skeletal model were the most useful in classification. However, HOG descriptors of gradient and depth history images derived from depth data also improved classification performance when used with skeletal model features. Actions are classified with the random forest algorithm. The model is tested on MSR Action 3D dataset and compared with some of the recent methods in literature. According to the experiments, the proposed model produces promising results.
Shifting bottlenecks in acute stroke treatment

We know without doubt that ‘time is brain’. How do we know this? It is a combination of data, logic, biological plausibility, and experience. Now that endovascular treatment is the standard of care,1–5 we have an obligation to focus on process improvement to maximize patient benefit. As we go down the pathway of improving these processes, it is important to understand the idea of bottlenecks. What are bottlenecks? In any complex process, not all parts of it are flow-limiting, especially when one considers parallel processing. For instance, imagine a situation where, in a particular hospital A, all endovascular stroke cases are done under general anesthesia (GA). Also imagine that, after working hours, anesthesia is usually available within 1 h of being called. The neurointerventionist is working hard with hospital administration to ensure that the nurse and technologist can be in the laboratory within 20 min instead of the current 30 min; even if successful, this would essentially be a waste of time as the bottleneck is anesthesia availability time. In the same scenario, now imagine that they took a decision to try to perform most cases without anesthesia; in this case, the availability of the team becomes the new bottleneck. This is what is meant by shifting bottlenecks. Human behavior is such that, if one component of the overall workflow is extremely slow, there is a tendency to not worry about a few minutes here and there since the one …
TOWARDS THE CONSTRUCTION OF A ROBUST OPTIMAL OBSERVER

Abstract In this paper, an algorithm for the construction of nonlinear optimal observers is proposed. The key feature is the definition of an elementary problem, which is a scalar optimal control problem. The resolution of this problem is done in two stages: 1) Solution of a scalar Hamilton-Jacobi equation to find an optimal cost function of the unknown initial state and 2) Choosing the initial state to minimize this function.
Systems engineering education for inexperienced students by providing hand-on practices

This paper presents results and lessons learned from a trial course on systems engineering for graduate students with little experience in industries. This course provides students with hand-on education for system engineering using commercially-off-the-shelf (COTS) components and a sizable amount of development works within the limitation in one semester (26 slots of lectures).
Uniqueness, Born Approximation, and Numerical Methods for Diffuse Optical Tomography

Diffuse optical tomogrpahy (DOT) is to find optical coefficients of tissue using near infrared light. DOT as an inverse problem is described and the studies about unique determination of optical coefficients are summarized. If a priori information of the optical coefficient is known, DOT is reformulated to find a perturbation of the optical coefficients inverting the Born expansion which is an infinite series expansion with respect to the perturbation and the a priori information. Numerical methods for DOT are explained as methods inverting first- or second-order Born approximation or the Born expansion itself.
Effect of pressure pain threshold in fibromyalgia syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis patients

Background: Pain is an unpleasant sensation signaling tissue damage. Objective measurement of pain helps in devising treatment strategies and relieving patients from sufferings. Objective: The present study was undertaken to evaluate pressure pain threshold in normal subjects, patients with fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis by using algometer. Further to assess severity of pain perception by using visual analog scale. Methods: Measurement was done on 18 tender point sites (TePs) according to ACR criteria on 20 Fibromyalgia (FMS) patients, 20 Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, and 40 healthy normal control (HNC) subjects. The pressure pain threshold (PPT) and Visual analog scale (VAS) were recorded in each TePs. Results: The range of PPT was 0.62 to 3.43 kg/cm 2 , 0.30 to 3.90 kg/cm 2 and 1.41 to 5.35 kg/cm 2 and VAS score range was 52.90 to 67.60 mm, 30.5 to 49.00 mm and 23.65 to 41.83 mm in FMS, RA and HNC respectively. Conclusion: There is a significant reduction of PPT in both FMS and RA patients compared to HNC subjects. The VAS score was significantly higher in FMS suggesting altered cognitive response to pain. Keywords: Pressure pain threshold, Algometry, Visual analog scale, Fibromyalgia, Rheumatoid arthritis.
Innovative technology-transcatheter aortic valve implantation: Cost and reimbursement issues

Abstract Objective. Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) offers a new treatment option for patients with severe symptomatic aortic valve stenosis, classified as “inoperable”. The purpose of the study was to reveal the association between ascertained hospital costs with the actual patient Diagnosis-Related Group (DRG). Method. We examined 50 consecutive patients who underwent either transapical TAVI, (TAVI-TA) or transfemoral TAVI (TAVI-TF) with the Edwards SAPIEN valve and CoreValve® between September 2009 and August 2011. Results. Fourty-nine patients had successful valve deployment. Seven patients died within 30 days of the operation. The mean length of hospital stay for TAVI-TA was 199 hours (range 77–362), and the mean costs for TAVI-TA were 55,690 US$. For TAVI-TF the mean length of hospital stay was 170 hours (range 49–276) and the mean costs were 52,087 US$. Conclusion. There was no significant difference between TAVI-TA and TAVI-TF patient characteristics. There was a significant discrepancy between actual hospital costs and the current Norwegian DRG reimbursement for the TAVI procedure. This discrepancy can be partly explained by excessive costs related to the introduction of a new program with new technology. Costly innovations should be considered in price-setting of reimbursement for novel technology.
Control of CNS Synapse Development by γ-Protocadherin-Mediated Astrocyte–Neuron Contact

Recent studies indicate that astrocytes, whose processes enwrap synaptic terminals, promote synapse formation both by releasing soluble factors and through contact-dependent mechanisms. Although astrocyte-secreted synaptogenic factors have been identified, the molecules underlying perisynaptic astroctye–neuron contacts are unknown. Here we show that the γ-protocadherins (γ-Pcdhs), a family of 22 neuronal adhesion molecules encoded by a single gene cluster, are also expressed by astrocytes and localize to their perisynaptic processes. Using cocultures in which either astrocytes or neurons are Pcdh-γ-null, we find that astrocyte–neuron γ-Pcdh contacts are critical for synaptogenesis in developing cultures. Synaptogenesis can eventually proceed among neurons cocultured with Pcdh-γ-null astrocytes, but only if these neurons themselves express the γ-Pcdhs. Consistent with this, restricted mutation of the Pcdh-γ cluster in astrocytes in vivo significantly delays both excitatory and inhibitory synapse formation. Together, these results identify the first known contact-dependent mechanism by which perisynaptic astrocyte processes promote synaptogenesis.
An Essential Tyrosine Phosphatase Homolog Regulates Cell Separation, Outer Membrane Integrity, and Morphology in Caulobacter crescentus

ABSTRACT Although reversible phosphorylation on tyrosine residues regulates the activity of many eukaryotic proteins, there are few examples of this type of regulation in bacteria. We have identified the first essential tyrosine phosphatase homolog in a bacterium, Caulobacter crescentusCtpA. ctpAmutants with altered active-site residues are nonviable, and depletion of CtpA yields chains of cells with blebbed outer membranes, linked by unresolved peptidoglycan. CtpA overexpression reduces cell curvature in a manner similar to deleting the intermediate filament protein crescentin, but it does not disrupt crescentin localization or membrane attachment. Although it has no obvious signal sequence or transmembrane-spanning domains, CtpA associates with the Caulobacterinner membrane. Immunolocalization experiments suggest that CtpA accumulates at the division site during the last quarter of the cell cycle. We propose that CtpA dephosphorylates one or more proteins involved in peptidoglycan biosynthesis or remodeling, which in turn affect cell separation, cell envelope integrity, and vibrioid morphology.
Origin of a Spanish population of Fundulus heteroclitus inferred by cytochrome b sequence analysis

In the last 50 years, interest in the phenomenon of colonization of new habitats by immigrating organisms has increased considerably. Advances in transportation, construction and industrial technologies have enabled the transfer of plants and animals to areas not occupied previously. Despite eVorts by ecologists and geneticists, no universal criteria for predicting successful potential colonizers have been formulated (Ehrlich, 1986). Moreover, factors that determine colonization success appear to be so diverse that the formulation of universal criteria is impossible (Safriel & Ritte, 1980; Golani, 1993). A unique opportunity for the study of colonization events was the involuntary introduction of Fundulus heteroclitus L. in southern Spain. The history of F. heteroclitus introduction in Spain is diYcult to retrace. Its introduction might be fairly ancient. Machado-Nunez as early as 1857finds a Mediterranean coast speciesValencia hispanicain the south of the Iberian Peninsula. Later, Buen (1930, 1935) renames it Fundulus hispanicus. More recently, possibly the same species from southern Spain was described as a new species, Valencia lozanoi(Gomez-Caruanaet al., 1984). Valencia lozanoiwasfinally synonymized with F. heteroclitus (Fernandez-Delgado et al., 1986). Fernandez-Delgado (1989) proposes a later date of introduction, around 1970, probably when two other American species were voluntarily introduced in this region: the largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides Lacepede) and the crayfish (Procambarus clarki). F. heteroclitus is a killifish that inhabits the estuary waters of the East Coast of the United States and Canada. Populations living from the cold waters of Nova Scotia, to the warmer waters of Florida have been shown to diVer at the behavioural, fitness, physiological, and DNA level (Powers et al., 1993). In this study we have tried to determine from which of the American populations the Spanish individuals are derived. Since the American populations were shown to be adaptationally diVerent, our longterm goal will be to investigate the fitness of the Spanish population relative to its new environment, and its eYciency to compete with a local killifish Aphanius iberus (Valenciennes). Cytochrome b (Cyt b) sequences for North American F. heteroclitus and for its close relative F. grandis Baird & Girard were taken from the literature (Bernardi et al., 1993; Bernardi & Powers, 1994). We will refer in this paper to northern population for
Leaching of Gold from the Waste Mobile Phone Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) with Ammonium Thiosulphate

The rapid growth in the use of electronic equipments, combined with early obsolescence has contributed enor-mously to the generation of large quantity electronic (e)waste. One such e-waste, the mobile phone, the printed circuit boards(PCBs)contain various precious metals which can be extracted by different hydrometallurgical routes. The present work deals with the recovery of gold using ammonium thiosuphate as a leaching agent from waste mobile PCBs containing 0.021 % Au, 0.1 % Ag, 56.68% copper, 1.61 % Ca, 1.42% Al, 1.40% Sn, 0.24% Fe, 0.22% Zn, 0.01 % Pd etc. The cutting granules of 0.5 -3 mm PCBs were used for leaching in a 500 mL glass beaker in open atmosphere. The effect of various parameters viz. ammonium thiosulphate concentration, copper sulphate concentration, pH and pulp density was studied. A leaching of 56.7% gold was obtained under the optimum conditions of 0.JM ammonium thio-sulphate, 40 mM copper sulphate, pH. - 10-10.5, pulp den-sity: 10 g/L at room temperature and stirring speed of 250 rpm in 8h duration. The maximum leaching of gold in the pH range 10-10.5 may be attributed to the higher stability of the ammonium thiosulphate. The decomposition of ammonium thiosulphate in the different pH ranges was chemically analysed by iodometric method. The ammonium thiosulphate contents in the leach liquors were in agreement with the quantity of gold leached in the respective pH ranges. In this process the copper sulphate worked as a catalyst. The experiment conducted with complete PCBs scrap exhi-bited a leaching of 78.8% gold at the above optimised condition.
The link between cholesterol and Alzheimer's disease

A leading hypothesis on the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the mis-metabolism of amyloid precursor protein. This mis-metabolism causes the 42-amino acid form of Aβ (Aβ42) to form oligomers that in turn start a chain of events leading to the accumulation of amyloid plaques. Vascular factors such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and diabetes, as well as, the inheritance of the ε4 allele of the ApoE gene are risk factors for AD. These risks are thought to promote the production of β-amyloid (Aβ). An association between cholesterol and the development of AD was suggested in 1994 and since then, research has confirmed a link between cholesterol and the development of AD. A high cholesterol level in mid-life is a risk for AD and statins i.e. cholesterol-lowering drugs, reduce this risk. Statins inhibit enzymes involved in the endogenous synthesis of cholesterol and evidence is mounting that they also affect enzymes in Aβ metabolism, i.e., β-secretase. This normalises the breakdown of the precursor of Aβ, amyloid precursor protein, thereby promoting the non-amyloidogenic pathway. This review focusses on the link between cholesterol and Alzheimer's disease.
Benchmarking motion planning algorithms for bin-picking applications

For robot motion planning there exists a large number of different algorithms, each appropriate for a certain domain, and the right choice of planner depends on the specific use case. The purpose of this paper is to consider the application of bin picking and benchmark a set of motion planning algorithms to identify which are most suited in the given context. ,The paper presents a selection of motion planning algorithms and defines benchmarks based on three different bin-picking scenarios. The evaluation is done based on a fixed set of tasks, which are planned and executed on a real and a simulated robot. ,The benchmarking shows a clear difference between the planners and generally indicates that algorithms integrating optimization, despite longer planning time, perform better due to a faster execution. ,The originality of this work lies in the selected set of planners and the specific choice of application. Most new planners are only compared to existing methods for specific applications chosen to demonstrate the advantages. However, with the specifics of another application, such as bin picking, it is not obvious which planner to choose.
Carbohydrates in xenotransplantation

The success of allotransplantation has led to an increasing shortage of human organs from deceased donors. This crisis could be resolved by the use of organs from an anatomically suitable animal, such as the pig. The pig and human have, however, been evolving differently for approximately 80 million years, and numerous immunological and physiological barriers have developed that need to be overcome. Differences in carbohydrate epitopes on pig and human cells have been found to play a major role in some of the immunological barriers that have been identified to date. The rejection caused by the presence of galactose‐α1,3‐galactose (Gal) on the pig vascular endothelium and of natural anti‐Gal antibodies in humans has recently been prevented by the breeding of pigs that do not express Gal, achieved by knocking out the gene for the enzyme α1,3‐galactosyltransferase, which was made possible by the introduction of nuclear transfer/embryo transfer techniques. N‐glycolylneuraminic acid (the so‐called Hanganutziu‐Deicher antigen) has been identified as another carbohydrate antigen present in pigs that may need to be deleted if xenotransplantation is to be successful, although some doubt remains regarding its importance. There remain other antipig antibodies against hitherto unidentified antigenic targets that may well be involved in graft destruction; their possible carbohydrate target epitopes are discussed.