Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Odor measurement in Japan

The triangle odor bag method, the most popular olfactory sensory test in Japan, was first developed in 1972, and introduced into the Offensive Odor Control Law in 1995. This is an air dilution method in which “odor index” is measured. In recent years, the necessity of developing quality control system for olfactometry and standardization of measurement procedure for the promotion of nationwide spread of olfactometry has been recognized. This paper presents about the measurement procedure of the triangle odor bag method, establishment of quality control framework for olfactometry, including selection of a reference odor, development of reference odor preparation technique, interlaboratory comparison of olfactometry, and key elements of quality control manual. Nationwide comparison of olfactometry in 2002 and 2003 is also discussed.
Salmonella typhimurium Persists within Macrophages in the Mesenteric Lymph Nodes of Chronically Infected Nramp1 + / + Mice and Can Be Reactivated by IFNγ Neutralization

Host-adapted strains of Salmonella are capable of establishing a persistent infection in their host often in the absence of clinical disease. The mouse model of Salmonella infection has primarily been used as a model for the acute systemic disease. Therefore, the sites of long-term S. typhimurium persistence in the mouse are not known nor are the mechanisms of persistent infection clearly understood. Here, we show that S. typhimurium can persist for as long as 1 yr in the mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) of 129sv Nramp1 + / + (Slc11a1 + / +) mice despite the presence of high levels of anti–S. typhimurium antibody. Tissues from 129sv mice colonized for 60 d contain numerous inflammatory foci and lesions with features resembling S. typhi granulomas. Tissues from mice infected for 365 d have very few organized inflammatory lesions, but the bacteria continue to persist within macrophages in the MLN and the animals generally remain disease-free. Finally, chronically infected mice treated with an interferon-γ neutralizing antibody exhibited symptoms of acute systemic infection, with evidence of high levels of bacterial replication in most tissues and high levels of fecal shedding. Thus, interferon-γ, which may affect the level of macrophage activation, plays an essential role in the control of the persistent S. typhimurium infection in mice.
Antitumor Mechanisms of Systemically Administered Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Antisense Oligonucleotides in Combination with Docetaxel in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck

Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide, with low 5-year survival rates. Current strategies that block epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) have limited effects when administered as single agents. Targeting EGFR via intratumoral administration of phosphorothioate-modified antisense oligonucleotides has antitumor efficacy in xenograft models of SCCHN. Because intratumoral delivery of therapeutic agents has limited clinical application, the present study was undertaken to examine the therapeutic mechanisms of systemically delivered phosphorothioate-modified EGFR antisense oligonucleotides alone, or in combination with docetaxel, in a SCCHN xenograft model. EGFR antisense oligonucleotides were administered at 5 mg/kg i.p. daily in athymic mice bearing 1483 human SCCHN xenografts alone or in combination with docetaxel at 2.5 mg/kg i.p. once a week for 4 weeks. Administration of EGFR antisense oligonucleotides in combination with docetaxel improved antitumor efficacy and resulted in lower expression levels of EGFR, fewer proliferating cells, and more apoptotic cells in the tumors compared with controls. Systemic administration of phosphorothioated EGFR antisense oligonucleotides for 30 days increased the retention of docetaxel in the tumor by approximately 4-fold compared with tumors treated with docetaxel alone or docetaxel and EGFR sense oligonucleotides (P < 0.05). Combination of EGFR antisense oligonucleotides with low doses of docetaxel has antitumor efficacy, and it may be an effective treatment strategy for SCCHN.
Urinary flow in healthy schoolchildren

The urinary tree flow in 180 healthy schoolchildren aged 7‐16 years was examined with a new kind of uroflowmeter. The examinations were performed at ordinary school toilets and each child presented at least two registrations. Besides the shape of the flow curve, the urinary flow was evaluated by the parameters voided volume, maximum flow rate, average flow rate. How at 1 second and at 0.5 seconds, time to maximum How. and voiding time. All parameters were related to sex. age. and body parameters.
Explicit model predictive control on the air path of turbocharged diesel engines

The turbocharged diesel engine is a typical multi-input multi-output (MIMO) system with strong couplings, actuator constraints, and fast dynamics. This paper addresses the air path regulation in turbocharged diesel engines using an explicit model predictive control (EMPC) approach, which allows tracking of the time-varying setpoint values generated by the supervisory level controller while satisfying the actuator constraints. The proposed EMPC framework consists of calibration, engine model identification, controller formulation, and state observer design. The proposed EMPC approach has a low computation requirement and is suitable for implementation in the engine control unit (ECU) on board. The experimental results on a turbocharged Cat® C6.6 diesel engine illustrate that the EMPC controller significantly improves the tracking performance of the exhaust emission variables against the decentralized single-input single-output (SISO) control method.
Designing of a Thermosensitive Chitosan/Poloxamer In Situ Gel for OcularDelivery of Ciprofloxacin

To increase the low bioavailability and short ocular residence time of ciprofloxacin eye drops, aqueous solu- tions of drug in chitosan/ Pluronic (poloxamer) were prepared to identify suitable compositions with regard to gel forming properties and drug release behavior. Mixtures of solutions of Pluronic (10-25% w/w) with chitosan (0.1-0.3% w/w) of different molecular weights (Mw) were prepared. Ciprofloxacin release was determined using a membraneless dissolution model in artificial tear solution up to 8 hours and the samples were analyzed spectrophotometrically at 272.4nm. The rheological behavior of solutions in response to dilution or temperature changes and also the phase change temperature (PCT) were determined using a Cup & Bob viscometer. Antimicrobial effect of the solutions was studied in nutrient agar in comparison to marketed solutions of ciprofloxacin using Pseudomonas aueroginosa and Staphylococcus aureus by the agar diffusion test using the cup-plate technique. The formulation consisted of 15% Pluronic and 0.1% low Mw chitosan, with the highest release efficiency (46.61 ± 0.41%) and an acceptable mean release time (1.94 ± 0.27 hr), is suggested as a suitable ophthalmic preparation for sustained release of ciprofloxacin. This in situ gel released the drug by a Higuchi model and Fickian mechanism. It was liquid in non-physiologic conditions (pH 4 and 25oC) and transferred to the gel form upon physiologic conditions (pH 7.4 and 37oC). The PCT of this in situ gel did not change upon dilution and the zone of inhibition of the growth of both studied bacteria was significantly greater for it than the marketed eye drop of ciprofloxacin.
Does non-orthogonal spectrum sharing in the same cell improve the sum-rate of wireless operators?

We study non-orthogonal spectrum sharing to determine under what circumstances operators can gain by such sharing. To model the spectrum sharing, we use the multiple-input single-output (MISO) interference channel (IC) assuming that the operators transmit in the same band. For the baseline scenario of no sharing, we use the MISO broadcast channel (BC) assuming that the operators transmit in disjunct bands. For both the IC and BC, we give achievable (lower) and upper bounds on the maximum sum-rate. While these bounds are well-known we also propose a new fast algorithm for finding a lower bound on the sum-rate of the BC using linear beamforming. We use the bounds to numerically evaluate the potential gain of non-orthogonal spectrum sharing. In this study we assume that the operators efficiently utilize all their spatial degrees of freedom. We will see that the gains from spectrum sharing under these circumstances are limited.
An Educational Resource for Visualizing the Global Seismic Wave Field

The technology currently available in university classrooms often includes interactive whiteboards, high‐definition displays and projectors; furthermore, many students are equipped with tablet computers. Nevertheless, teaching material that can take advantage of these technologies is time consuming to produce and there is need for additional available material for courses in geophysics. The use of dynamic materials, such as animations and movies in the classroom has been shown to have the ability to enhance learning (e.g., see Mayer and Moreno, 2002, for a review). However, traditional methods of teaching about the global seismic wave field typically involve static imagery. Usually this has been achieved through a combination of drawing ray paths and wave fronts at distinct timesteps. Thus, students have had to build the mental connections between the underlying wave propagation and the static imagery being displayed. But the recent availability of cheap computer clusters has made numerical computation of the seismic wave field in realistic Earth models readily accessible. As a result, animating seismic‐wave propagation has become relatively commonplace. Some of the first global animations of seismic‐wave propagation were produced by summing torsional mode free oscillations in the mantle to show the SH wave field at periods down to 12 s (Wysession and Shore, 1994). This set of animations has been a valuable educational resource and has inspired us to create a new collection. Here, we present a new series of global seismic‐wave animations that includes both the SH and P / SV wave field. In addition, recent developments to the TauP Toolkit (Crotwell et al. , 1999) have made it possible to animate seismic ray paths and wavefronts. Thus, our collection combines the seismic wave field with dynamically drawn ray paths and/or wavefronts. In what follows, we describe a few of the animations that are available on the global scale and …
Learning rotational features for filament detection

State-of-the-art approaches for detecting filament-like structures in noisy images rely on filters optimized for signals of a particular shape, such as an ideal edge or ridge. While these approaches are optimal when the image conforms to these ideal shapes, their performance quickly degrades on many types of real data where the image deviates from the ideal model, and when noise processes violate a Gaussian assumption. In this paper, we show that by learning rotational features, we can outperform state-of-the-art filament detection techniques on many different kinds of imagery. More specifically, we demonstrate superior performance for the detection of blood vessel in retinal scans, neurons in brightfield microscopy imagery, and streets in satellite imagery.
Neuro-Dynamic Programming in Control of the Ball and Beam System

This paper presents a new approach to the control problem of the ball and beam system, with a Neuro-Dynamic Programming algorithm implemented as the main part of the control system. The controlled system is included in the group of underactuated systems, which are nonlinear dynamical objects with the number of control signals smaller than the number of degrees of freedom. This results in problems in the formulation of a stable control algorithm, that guarantees stabilization of the ball in the desired position on the beam. The type of ball and beam material has a noticeable influence on the difficulties in stabilization of the ball, because of a smaller rolling friction and big inertia of the used metallic ball in comparison to other, for example made of non-metallic materials. The main part of the proposed discrete control system is the Neuro-Dynamic Programming algorithm in a Dual-Heuristic Dynamic Programming configuration, realized in a form of two neural networks: the actor and the critic. Neuro-Dynamic Programming algorithms use the Reinforcement Learning idea for adaptation of artificial neural network weights. Additional elements of the control system are the PD controller and the supervisory term, that ensures stability of the closed system loop. The control algorithm works on-line and does not require a preliminary learning phase of the neural network weights. Performance of the control algorithm was verified using the physical system controlled by the dSpace digital signal processing board.
Is shared memory programming attainable on clusters of embedded processors?

The wide increase of total processing cores in commodity processors tends to lighten the need for computer performance by the classical scientific problems as well as by the modern multimedia and every day embedded applications. Nevertheless, the introduction of this powerful and promising technology seems to inherit and in some cases magnify all the classical problems that already exist on the programming side of these environments. In this work we present a portable environment based on the Java platform targeting to mitigate the performance loss associated with the programming models used in modern multicore systems. We propose a shared memory model for programming modern multicore and distributed environments, presuming only minor interventions by the application programmer. We finally prove that when we use shared memory programming with a widely accepted programming language like Java, we can achieve at least comparable performance with classical though more sophisticated technologies.
Fractal Characterization of Second-Phase Dispersion in Composite Materials

The non-uniform dispersion of second-phase inclusions is studied using the concept of fractal dimension. For simulated disordered distributions which represent composite microstructure, the fractal dimension is directly related to underlying dispersion of fillers. The fractal dimension grows as homogeneity and regularity of dispersions becomes more pronounced. Clustered patterns of fillers exhibit the smallest fractal dimension. The fractal dimension is further related to the stress field which is locally disturbed due to fibers embedded in the matrix material. It is shown that the fractal dimension is a reliable indicator of the stress variability and may serve as a diagnostic indicator for the appearance of local stress concentration areas.
Lemniscal and non‐lemniscal synaptic transmission in rat auditory thalamus.

1. The central auditory pathway linking the inferior colliculus (IC) and the medial geniculate body (MGB) of the thalamus consists of a segregated ventral lemniscal and dorsal non‐lemniscal projection whose synaptic transmission mechanisms remain unknown. Extracellular and intracellular recordings combined with axonal tract tracing and cell staining were made from lemniscal and non‐lemniscal divisions of adult rat MGB maintained acutely in in vitro explants containing parallel tectothalamic projections. 2. Biocytin deposition within the brachium of the IC revealed dense axonal fibres projecting to the MGB. Thin axonal terminals were found throughout the ventral (MGv) and dorsal (MGd) divisions of the MGB. Bushy cells with tufted or bitufted dendritic branches were primarily found in the MGv. In the MGd, cells were mainly seen as stellate neurones having a radiate dendritic arbor. 3. Electrical stimulation of the brachium of IC invariably elicits fast, excitatory synaptic potentials in both MGv and MGd cells. The evoked responses occurred monosynaptically and were exclusively mediated by glutamate acting on both N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA) and non‐NMDA receptors. Non‐lemniscal MGd neurones recorded extracellularly exhibited a strong tendency to discharge in bursts in response to brachium stimulation. In contrast, a large proportion of ventral lemniscal cells tended to discharge in single or dual spikes. Intracellularly, MGd cells, but not MGv cells, showed a predominant, slow synaptic potential mediated by NMDA receptors. 4. It is concluded that the central auditory circuitry linking the tectum and the thalamus is connected monosynaptically via glutamatergic synapses. Lemniscal and non‐lemniscal thalamic neurones possess distinct response properties which cannot be accounted for by a differential transmitter system or polysynaptic delays as postulated previously.
MEK Inhibition Sensitizes Precursor B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (B-ALL) Cells to Dexamethasone through Modulation of mTOR Activity and Stimulation of Autophagy

Resistance to glucocorticosteroids (GCs) is a major adverse prognostic factor in B-ALL, but the molecular mechanisms leading to GC resistance are not completely understood. Herein, we sought to elucidate the molecular background of GC resistance in B-ALL and characterize the therapeutic potential of targeted intervention in these mechanisms. Using exploratory bioinformatic approaches, we found that resistant cells exhibited significantly higher expression of MEK/ERK (MAPK) pathway components. We found that GC-resistant ALL cell lines had markedly higher baseline activity of MEK and small-molecule MEK1/2 inhibitor selumetinib increased GCs-induced cell death. MEK inhibitor similarly increased in vitro dexamethasone activity in primary ALL blasts from 19 of 22 tested patients. To further confirm these observations, we overexpressed a constitutively active MEK mutant in GC-sensitive cells and found that forced MEK activity induced resistance to dexamethasone. Since recent studies highlight the role GC-induced autophagy upstream of apoptotic cell death, we assessed LC3 processing, MDC staining and GFP-LC3 relocalization in cells incubated with either DEX, SEL or combination of drugs. Unlike either drug alone, only their combination markedly increased these markers of autophagy. These changes were associated with decreased mTOR activity and blocked 4E-BP1 phosphorylation. In cells with silenced beclin-1 (BCN1), required for autophagosome formation, the synergy of DEX and SEL was markedly reduced. Taken together, we show that MEK inhibitor selumetinib enhances dexamethasone toxicity in GC-resistant B-ALL cells. The underlying mechanism of this interaction involves inhibition of mTOR signaling pathway and modulation of autophagy markers, likely reflecting induction of this process and required for cell death. Thus, our data demonstrate that modulation of MEK/ERK pathway is an attractive therapeutic strategy overcoming GC resistance in B-ALL patients.
Uncertainty based classification fusion - a soft-biometrics test case

We address the problem of classification of data with low separability. We adopt a Bayesian approach, with discriminant functions expressing a posteriori class probabilities. We propose a novel classification scheme incorporating classification error probability estimates in the decision process. We extend this approach into a classifier fusion framework. Presented methods are evaluated in the context of user authentication, using multimodal biometrics. Results on real data confirm the usefulness of the proposed method, outperforming the corresponding deterministic classifier.
Depth recovery from a single defocused image based on depth locally consistency

Demand to depth estimation from a single image is emerging in more and more multimedia applications, such as human-computer interaction, 3D video generation and representation. In this paper, we manage to solve this challenging problem by using the defocused cues contained in the image. Our algorithm is based on depth local consistency assumption that the scene in input image can be modeled as multiple planar surfaces, and each over-segmented patch corresponds to a small planar surface in the 3D scene. As a result, a graph-based algorithm is firstly applied to obtain an over-segmentation result of the input image. Based on the sharp edge prior, the blur amounts on the boundaries of segmentations are calculated according to the edge width at the corresponding locations. Then, the blur amounts of the unknown regions are interpolated from the boundary regions using a plane fitting method. In the next, an image guided filtering method is applied to refine the obtained blur map. To eliminate the affect of the tiny textures, an L0 gradient minimization algorithm is applied to the input image to preserving the prominent boundaries, and the resulting image is served as the guided image. At last, based on a simple geometry prior of photograph, a binary graph cut algorithm is adopted to eliminate the ambiguity in the depth map over the focal plane. The performance of our algorithm is evaluated by various test images. The results demonstrate our algorithm produces high quality depth maps, outperforming state of the art.
Abstraction Summarization for Managing the Biomedical Research Literature

We explore a semantic abstraction approach to automatic summarization in the biomedical domain. The approach relies on a semantic processor that functions as the source interpreter and produces a list of predications. A transformation stage then generalizes and condenses this list, ultimately generating a conceptual condensate for a disorder input topic. The final condensate is displayed in graphical form. We provide a set of principles for the transformation stage and describe the application of this approach to multidocument input. Finally, we examine the characteristics and quality of the condensates produced.
Viral transcription in KB cells infected by temperature-sensitive "early" mutants of adenovirus type 5

RNA:DNA hybridization was used to study the synthesis of viral RNA in two DNA-minus, temperature-sensitive mutants of type 5 adenovirus (H5ts125 and H5ts149) belonging to two different, non-overlapping complementation groups. Hybridization competition analysis showed that both mutants transcribed all early gene sequences at the restrictive temperature (41 C). In mutant-infected cells at 41 C, the rate of viral transcription was similar to the rate of early RNA synthesis in wild-type virus infection and was dependent on the multiplicity of infection; little or no late transcription was detected. The shutoff of class I early RNA transcription was shown to be a late function during wild-type virus infection and did not occur at 41 C in mutant-infected cells. When mutant-infected cells were incubated at the permissive temperature (32 C) for 25 h and then shifted to 41 C, the rate of viral DNA synthesis decreased rapidly for H5ts125 and slowly for H5ts149. However, the rate of viral transcription remained unchanged in H5ts125-infected cells for at least 3 h after the temperature shift; although the synthesis of viral DNA had stopped by this time, the synthesis of late viral RNA sequences continued.