Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Variability in choriocapillaris blood flow distribution.

PURPOSE To investigate variability of choriocapillaris blood flow patterns. METHODS After the intravenous injection of indocyanine green, angiograms were recorded at 30 images per second in rhesus monkey eyes using a fundus camera equipped with a pulsed laser diode light source, synchronized with a gated (5 msec), intensified charge-coupled device, or CCD, video camera. Images of choriocapillaris filling alone were extracted. Plastic corrosion casts were made of two of the monkey's choroidal vasculatures for subsequent scanning electron microscopy examination. RESULTS Pulsed laser indocyanine green fluorescence excitation produced better definition of choriocapillaris filling than had been achieved using continuous illumination. No correlation was found between the choriocapillaris plexus architecture revealed by the plastic corrosion casts and the observed choriocapillaris lobular filling. Overall posterior pole choriocapillaris dye-filling patterns were relatively stable for periods of days, but they changed gradually for periods of weeks. Localized minor pattern changes occurred on a much shorter time scale. Choriocapillaris filling patterns were altered by acutely elevating intraocular pressure, by O2 and CO2 breathing, and by argon laser retinal photocoagulation of adjacent areas. CONCLUSIONS Choriocapillaris filling patterns appear to be determined by the network of perfusion pressure gradients that exist among the interspersed feeding arterioles and draining venules connected to the choriocapillaris plexus. Changes in intraocular pressure and in blood PO2 and PCO2 levels can produce marked changes in the distribution of choriocapillaris blood flow. Retinal laser photocoagulation of adjacent fundus areas alters choriocapillaris blood flow to the extent that the altered flow might be an important factor in the beneficial results attributed to retinal laser treatment.
Isotope‐aided modelling of ecohydrologic fluxes and water ages under mixed land use in Central Europe: The 2018 drought and its recovery

Understanding the interactions of vegetation and soil water under varying hydrological conditions is crucial to aid quantitative assessment of land‐use sustainability for maintaining water supply for humans and plants. Isolating and estimating the volume and ages of water stored within different compartments of the critical zone, and the associated fluxes of evaporation, transpiration, and groundwater recharge, facilitates quantification of these soil–plant‐water interactions and the response of ecohydrological fluxes to wet and dry periods. We used the tracer‐aided ecohydrological model EcH2O‐iso to examine the response of water ages of soil water storage, groundwater recharge, evaporation, and root‐uptake at a mixed land use site, in northeastern Germany during the drought of 2018 and in the following winter months. The approach applied uses a dynamic vegetation routine which constrains water use by ecological mechanisms. Two sites with regionally typical land‐use types were investigated: a forested site with sandy soils and a deep rooting zone and a grassland site, with loamier soils and shallower rooting zone. This results in much younger water ages (<1 year) through the soil profile in the forest compared to the grass, coupled with younger groundwater recharge. The higher water use in the forest resulted in a more pronounced annual cycle of water ages compared to the more consistent water age in the loamier soil of the grasslands. The deeper rooting zone of the forested site also resulted in older root‐uptake water usage relative to soil evaporation, while the grassland site root‐uptake was similar to that of soil evaporation. Besides more dynamic water ages in the forest, replenishment of younger soil waters to soil storage was within 6 months following the drought (cf. >8 months in the grassland). The temporal evaluation of the responsiveness of soil and vegetation interactions in hydrologic extremes such as 2018 is essential to understand changes in hydrological processes and the resilience of the landscape to the longer and more severe summer droughts predicted under future climate change.
A wideband single-layered circular polarizer with centrosymmetric dual-loop elements

A wideband single-layered circular polarizer is presented. The centrosymmetric dual-loop unit cell is employed in the periodic structure. Numerical analysis are given to investigate the polarizer's working principle. The measured results validate the design and show that the 3dB axial ratio band covers from 19.3GHz∼31.8GHz.
An integrated fuzzy additive and impulse noise reduction method for color images

Technology has often been cited as the major driving force behind innovation in higher education and for educational reform in a variety of contexts. Modern digital technologies such as computers, telecommunications, and networks are reshaping and eventually revolutionizing both our society and our social and educational institutions. A new society, the knowledge society is thus arising, the elements of which coexisting with the constitutive elements of the industrial and postindustrial society. The most obvious aspect of the new society is the speed of use, application and dissemination of the communication and information technologies, which puts in the shade the fact that there occurs a major transformation of concepts, structures and institutions specific to the previous society. Within the technological context, electrical engineers play a significant role. They develop new design, manufacturing processes and products. They advance and manage communication, transportation, health care devices and energy systems. They address the environmental issues and the make technology work. The electrical engineering activities generate a remarkable potential for the private and the public sectors to develop the national wealth and strength. The chairman of the American National Academy of Engineering noted that “the nation the best engineering talent is in possession of the core ingredient of comparative economic and industrial advantage”. Index-Terms: Electrical Engineering.
Multi-Layer Insulation as Contribution to Orbital Debris

Das Hauptthema dieser Dissertation ist die Modellierung von Mehrschichtisolationsfolie (MLI) als potentieller Beitrag zum Weltraummull. Messdaten, die auf die speziellen Eigenschaften von MLI zutreffen, existieren fast ausschlieslich fur die Gruppe der geosynchronen Bahnen. Aus diesem Grund wird insbesondere dieser Bahnbereich untersucht. Das Referenzmodell zur Beschreibung der terrestrischen Weltraummullumgebung (MASTER-2009) der europaischen Weltraumbehorde ESA beinhaltet die letzten umfassenden Simulationsergebnisse von MLI als Beitrag zum Weltraummull. Die Modelle auf denen diese Ergebnisse basieren beruhen auf einer Reihe von Annahmen, die durch publizierte Untersuchungen zu den Eigenschaften von MLI gestutzt sind. Neue Erkenntnisse aus Boden- und In-Situ-Messungen wurden im Rahmen der aktuellen Arbeit genutzt, um Verbesserungen am Modell zur Simulation von MLI-Trummern vorzunehmen, die in Fragmentierungsereignissen erzeugt werden. Im Verlauf der Untersuchungen vermehrten sich die Indizien dafur, dass die Zahl der MLI Objekte, die auf Grund von Degenerationsprozessen freigesetzt werden, der in Fragmentierungen erzeugten untergeordnet ist. Aus diesem Grund wurde die Modellierung der Freisetzung von MLI im weiteren Verlauf auf den fragmentierungsbasierten Prozess beschrankt. Daruber hinaus wurde der Einfluss von Vereinfachungen der Geometrie von MLI-Fragmenten auf die Entwicklung der Umlaufbahn um die Erde in weiteren Simulationen untersucht. Die Ergebnisse des neuen MLI Modells wurden zur Validierung mit Beobachtungsdaten des geostationaren- und Geotransferbahnbereichs verglichen, die mittels des Weltraummullteleskops (SDT) der ESA erzielt worden sind. Wahrend dieser Untersuchungen wurden Hinweise gefunden, die darauf hindeuten, dass die Zahl der nicht-MLI Trummer, die in Explosionen von Raketenoberstufen der Arianetragerrakete zwischen den Jahren 1984 und 2002 entstanden sind, bislang deutlich unterschatzt worden ist. Besonders hervorzuheben ist hierbei die Explosion der Oberstufe mit der internationalen Bezeichnung 1989-006B am 1. Januar 2001. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass die hierbei entstandene Trummerwolke durch das SDT in demselben Jahr beobachtet wurde. Die Simulationsergebnisse, die in dieser Dissertation prasentiert werden, weisen gute Ubereinstimmung mit publizierten Daten aus Beobachtungen mittels des SDT auf, wodurch die Validitat der Modellierung bestarkt wird.
Fuzzy support vector machines for age and gender classification

Support vector machine (SVM) has been proven as a powerful tool for solving age and gender classiﬁcation problems. However, SVM is sensitive to noise and outliers. In this paper we propose a new fuzzy SVM based on an assumption that training data points should not be treated equally to avoid the problem of sensitivity to noise and outliers. This can be achieved by assigning a fuzzy membership as a weight to each training data point. A method to calculate fuzzy memberships is also presented. Experiments performed on the aGender corpus for INTERSPEECH 2010 Paralinguistic Challenge show that the proposed fuzzy SVM can improve age and gender classiﬁcation accuracy.
Computational Analysis of Intelligent Agents: Social and Strategic Settings

Title of dissertation: COMPUTATIONAL ANALYSIS OF INTELLIGENT AGENTS: SOCIAL AND STRATEGIC SETTINGS Anshul Sawant, Doctor of Philosophy, 2016 Dissertation co-directed by: Prof. V.S. Subrahmanian, Department of Computer Science Prof. Mohammad Taghi. Hajiaghayi, Department of Computer Science The central motif of this work is prediction and optimization in presence of multiple interacting intelligent agents. We use the phrase ‘intelligent agents’ to imply in some sense, a ‘bounded rationality’, the exact meaning of which varies depending on the setting. Our agents may not be ‘rational’ in the classical game theoretic sense, in that they don’t always optimize a global objective. Rather, they rely on heuristics, as is natural for human agents or even software agents operating in the real-world. Within this broad framework we study the problem of influence maximization in social networks where behavior of agents is myopic, but complication stems from the structure of interaction networks. In this setting, we generalize two well-known models and give new algorithms and hardness results for our models. Then we move on to models where the agents reason strategically but are faced with considerable uncertainty. For such games, we give a new solution concept and analyze a real-world game using out techniques. Finally, the richest model we consider is that of Network Cournot Competition which deals with strategic resource allocation in hypergraphs, where agents reason strategically and their interaction is specified indirectly via player’s utility functions. For this model, we give the first equilibrium computability results. In all of the above problems, we assume that payoffs for the agents are known. However, for realworld games, getting the payoffs can be quite challenging. To this end, we also study the inverse problem of inferring payoffs, given game history. We propose and evaluate a data analytic framework and we show that it is fast and performant. COMPUTATIONAL ANALYSIS OF INTELLIGENT AGENTS: SOCIAL AND STRATEGIC SETTINGS
Heart defects and ocular anomalies in children with Down’s syndrome

Aims: To investigate whether ocular anomalies are associated with congenital heart defects in children with Down’s syndrome. Methods: 58 children with Down’s syndrome were entered into a retrospective observational study. Children were assigned to heart defect groups based on medical records. Optometric tests had previously been carried out at the homes of the children. Results: A relation between congenital cardiac defects, myopia, and nystagmus was observed. Heart problems were not related to accommodative insufficiency, hyperopia, or strabismus. Conclusion: In children with Down’s syndrome heart defects were associated with both myopia and nystagmus.
The First Luminal Domain of Vesicular Monoamine Transporters Mediates G-protein-dependent Regulation of Transmitter Uptake*

The activity of vesicular monoamine transporters (VMATs) is down-regulated by the G-protein α-subunits of Go2 and Gq, but the signaling pathways are not known. We show here that no such regulation is observed when VMAT1 or VMAT2 are expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. However, when the intracellular compartments of VMAT-expressing CHO cells are preloaded with different monoamines, transport becomes susceptible to G-protein-dependent regulation, with differences between the two transporter isoforms. Epinephrine induces G-protein-mediated inhibition of transmitter uptake in CHOVMAT1 cells but prevents inhibition induced by dopamine in CHOVMAT2 cells. Epinephrine also antagonizes G-protein-mediated inhibition of monoamine uptake by VMAT2 expressing platelets or synaptic vesicles. In CHOVMAT2 cells G-protein-mediated inhibition of monoamine uptake can be induced by 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin) 1B receptor agonists, whereas α1 receptor agonists modulate uptake into CHOVMAT1 cells. Accordingly, 5-hydroxytryptamine 1B receptor antagonists prevent G-proteinmediated inhibition of uptake in partially filled platelets and synaptic vesicles expressing VMAT2. CHO cells expressing VMAT mutants with a shortened first vesicular loop transport monoamines. However, no or a reduced G-protein regulation of uptake can be initiated. In conclusion, vesicular content is involved in the activation of vesicle associated G-proteins via a structure sensing the luminal monoamine content. The first luminal loop of VMATs may represent a G-protein-coupled receptor that adapts vesicular filling.
A Detailed Map of the 660-Kilometer Discontinuity Beneath the Izu-Bonin Subduction Zone

Dynamical processes in the Earth's mantle, such as cold downwelling at subduction zones, cause deformations of the solid-state phase change that produces a seismic discontinuity near a depth of 660 kilometers. Observations of short-period, shear-to-compressional wave conversions produced at the discontinuity yield a detailed map of deformation beneath the Izu-Bonin subduction zone. The discontinuity is depressed by about 60 kilometers beneath the coldest part of the subducted slab, with a deformation profile consistent with the expected thermal signature of the slab, the experimentally determined Clapeyron slope of the phase transition, and the regional tectonic history.
An Overview of Self-Mixing Sensing Applications

The self-mixing effect in laser diodes is reviewed as a general tool for remote sensing. After introducing the operating principle of the optical feedback interferometry, we are describing the main applications to displacement, vibration, velocity and distance measurements. New sensing schemes for 3D vision, medicine, laser physics, automotive or mass-market telecommunications are presented as well
Optimistic Expectancies and Cell-Mediated Immunity

Optimistic expectancies affect many psychosocial outcomes and may also predict immune system changes and health, but the nature and mechanisms of any such physiological effects have not been identified. The present study related law-school expectancies to cell-mediated immunity (CMI), examining the within- and between-person components of this relationship and affective mediators. First-year law students (N = 124) completed questionnaire measures of expectancies and affect and received delayed-type hypersensitivity skin tests at five time points. A positive relationship between optimistic expectancies and CMI occurred: Changes in optimism correlated with changes in CMI. Likewise, changes in optimism predicted changes in positive and, to a lesser degree, negative affect, but the relationship between optimism and immunity was partially accounted for only by positive affect. This dynamic relationship between expectancies and immunity has positive implications for psychological interventions to improve health, particularly those that increase positive affect.
Oestrogenic activity using a recombinant yeast screen assay (RCBA) in South African laboratory water sources

Many chemicals released into the environment are believed to disrupt normal endocrine functions in humans and animals. These endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) affect reproductive health and development. A major group of EDCs that could be responsible for reproductive effects are those that mimic natural oestrogens, known as xeno-oestrogens. A number of in vivo and in vitro screening strategies are being developed to identify and classify xeno-oestrogens, in order to determine whether they pose a health risk to humans and animals. It is also important to be able to apply the assays to environmental samples for monitoring purposes. In South Africa information on the levels of EDCs in water is limited. While establishing the recombinant yeast screen bioassay (RCBA) using the yeast strain Sacchyromyces cerivisiae for oestrogenic activity, problems were experienced with contamination. Four South African laboratory water sources were assessed. From the results it was clear that the water used in the preparation of the medium for the assay was the source of oestrogenic contamination. Care should be taken to eliminate all possible sources of contamination in the test procedures to eliminate the reporting of false positive results. The fact that South African laboratory and surface waters tested positive for estrogenic activity has far reaching implications regarding reproductive and general health.
Macular holes associated with diabetic tractional retinal detachments.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Evaluation of surgical treatment of full-thickness macular holes secondary to diabetic tractional retinal detachments was conducted. PATIENTS AND METHODS A retrospective review of medical records, fluorescein angiograms, fundus photographs, optical coherence tomography images, and operative findings of six consecutive patients with full-thickness macular holes and diabetic tractional retinal detachments was completed. Each eye was treated with pars plana vitrectomy, tractional retinal detachment repair, membranectomy, indocyanine green-assisted internal limiting membrane peeling, and intraocular gas tamponade. RESULTS Surgical intervention resulted in the closure of all full-thickness macular holes. Mean best-corrected visual acuity was 20/250 preoperatively and 20/100 postoperatively, with all patients having improvement after a mean follow-up of 10 months. CONCLUSION Closure of tractional retinal detachments related to full-thickness macular holes can be achieved via pars plana vitrectomy, complete membranectomy, and intraocular gas. Vitrectomy with dissection of proliferative membranes helps to relieve the tractional forces responsible for full-thickness macular hole formation, enabling successful closure of the diabetic full-thickness macular holes and resulting in visual acuity improvement.
The Essence of Rum: A Theory of the Intensional and Extensional Aspects of Lisp-Type Computation,

Abstract : Rum is a theory of applicative, side-effect free computations over an algebraic data structure. It goes beyond a theory of functions computed by programs, treating both intensional and extensional aspects of computation. Powerful programming tools such as streams, object-oriented programming, escape mechanisms, and co-routines can be represented. Intensional properties include the number of multiplications executed, the number of context switches, and the maximum stack depth required in a computation. Extensional properties include notions of equality for streams and co-routines and characterization of functionals implementing strategies for searching tree-structured spaces. Precise definitions of informal concepts such as stream and co-routine are given and their mathematical theory is developed. Operations on programs treated include program transformations which introduce functional and control abstractions; a compiling morphism that provides a representation of control abstractions as functional abstractions; and operations that transform intensional properties to extensional properties. The goal is not only to account for programming practice in Lisp, but also to improve practice by providing mathematical tools for developing programs and building programming systems. Rum views computation as a process of generating computation structures - trees for context-independent computations and sequences for context-dependent computations. The recursion theorem gives a fixed-point function that computes computationally minimal fixed points. The context insensitivity theorem says that context-dependent computations are uniformly parameterized by the calling context and that computations in which context dependence is localized can be treated like context-independent computations.
Evaluation of empirical chemometric models for calibration and classification

constant, g, is known and y can be easily calculated by (2x/g) 0.5 - if effects like air friction are ignored.  The relationship is well described by a relatively simple mathematical equation usually based on physical/chemical knowledge - but the parameters are not known. An example is Lambert-Beer's law. The concentration, c, of a light-absorbing substance is given by A/(a·L) with L being the path length, a the absorption coefficient, and A the absorbance defined by log(I0 /I) with I0 the incident light intensity, and I the light intensity after passing the sample. I0, I, and L can be measured easily but the absorption coefficient is in general not known. It has to be determined from a set of reference samples with known concentrations and by application of a regression method - a so called calibration procedure. This method becomes very powerful if many wavelengths in the IR or NIR range are used [2], and it is one of the main applications of chemometrics [3-5].  In many cases of practical interest no theoretically based mathematical equations exist for the relationship between x and y. We sometimes know but often only assume that a relationship exists. In this case we call the model 'EMPIRICAL' or 'DATA DRIVEN'. Examples are for instance modeling of the boiling point or the toxicity of chemical compounds by variables derived from the chemical structures (MOLECULAR DESCRIPTORS). Development of quantitative structure-property or structure-activity relationships (QSPR, QSAR) by this approach requires multivariate calibration methods. For such purely empirical models - often with many x-variables - the COMPLEXITY of the model and the PREDICTION PERFORMANCE have to be estimated very carefully and cautiously. Also the variability of used measures has to be estimated. Typical for problems in chemistry are a small number of cases (objects) and a large number of x-variables.