Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of high dose inhaled steroids, low dose inhaled steroids plus low dose theophylline, and low dose inhaled steroids alone in chronic asthma in general practice

BACKGROUND Theophylline is widely used in the treatment of asthma, and there is evidence that theophylline has anti-inflammatory or immunomodulatory effects. A study was undertaken to determine whether theophylline added to low dose inhaled steroids would be as efficacious as high dose inhaled steroids in asthma. METHODS In a study in general practice of 155 recruited asthmatic patients with continuing symptomatic asthma while on 400 μg beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) daily and inhaled β2 agonist as required, the effect of (1) continuing low dose inhaled steroids alone (LDS, 200 μg BDP twice daily), (2) low dose inhaled steroids plus low dose theophylline (LDT, 400 mg daily), or (3) high dose inhaled steroids (HDS, 500 μg BDP) over a six month period was examined. RESULTS One hundred and thirty patients completed the study. Between group comparison using analysis of variance showed no overall differences in peak flow measurements, diurnal variation, and symptom scores. Changes in evening peak flows approached significance at the 5% level (p=0.077). The mean improvement in evening peak flow in the LDT compared with the LDS group was 20.6 l/min (95% confidence interval (CI) –2.5 to 38.8). In the LDT group there was an increase in evening peak flows at the end of the study compared with entry values (22.5 l/min), while in the LDS and HDS groups evening peak flows increased by 1.9 and 8.3 l/min, respectively. There was no significant difference in exacerbations or in side effects. CONCLUSION There were no overall significant differences between the low dose steroid, low dose steroid with theophylline, and the high dose steroid groups. The greatest within-group improvement in evening peak flows was found after theophylline. A larger study may be necessary to show significant effects.
Mimetic wavelet-packet transform based adaptive algorithm for sparse response identification

This paper proposes a new wavelet-packet transform based adaptive algorithm for sparse response identification. The distinctive features of the new algorithm are the on-line adaptability of the discrete wavelet packet transform (DWPT) and an efficient weight deactivation/activation schedule. The new algorithm, called mimetic wavelet-packet based (MWPB) algorithm, generalizes the WPB algorithm presented in. The MWPB algorithm presents better estimation and tracking performances than existing wavelet-based sparse response identification algorithms. Monte Carlo (MC) simulation results compare the performances of the four most recently proposed algorithms in this class.
HMGA1: A Master Regulator of Tumor Progression in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells

Emerging evidence suggests that tumor cells metastasize by co-opting stem cell transcriptional networks, although the molecular underpinnings of this process are poorly understood. Here, we show for the first time that the high mobility group A1 (HMGA1) gene drives metastatic progression in triple negative breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231, Hs578T) by reprogramming cancer cells to a stem-like state. Silencing HMGA1 expression in invasive, aggressive breast cancer cells dramatically halts cell growth and results in striking morphologic changes from mesenchymal-like, spindle-shaped cells to cuboidal, epithelial-like cells. Mesenchymal genes (Vimentin, Snail) are repressed, while E-cadherin is induced in the knock-down cells. Silencing HMGA1 also blocks oncogenic properties, including proliferation, migration, invasion, and orthotopic tumorigenesis. Metastatic progression following mammary implantation is almost completely abrogated in the HMGA1 knock-down cells. Moreover, silencing HMGA1 inhibits the stem cell property of three-dimensional mammosphere formation, including primary, secondary, and tertiary spheres. In addition, knock-down of HMGA1 depletes cancer initiator/cancer stem cells and prevents tumorigenesis at limiting dilutions. We also discovered an HMGA1 signature in triple negative breast cancer cells that is highly enriched in embryonic stem cells. Together, these findings indicate that HMGA1 is a master regulator of tumor progression in breast cancer by reprogramming cancer cells through stem cell transcriptional networks. Future studies are needed to determine how to target HMGA1 in therapy.
A Secure and Efficient Dynamic Identity based Authentication Scheme for Multi-Server Environment using Smart Cards

Recently, more and more researches have been focused on proposing dynamic identity based remote authentication scheme for multi-server environment. In 2011, Lee, Lin and Chang proposed an improved scheme to remedy the weaknesses of Hsiang-Shih's scheme. However, we observe that Lee-Lin-Chang's scheme is still vulnerable to stolen smart card attack and malicious server attack. Besides, the password change phase of Lee-Lin-Chang's scheme is neither efficient enough nor convenient to users. In this paper, we propose an improved scheme to remove the aforementioned weaknesses and simultaneously not to decrease other security features. In the proposed scheme, there is no useful information can be obtained from the values stored in smart cards. Thus the stolen smart card attack can be blocked. To avoid malicious server attack, we move the user authentication process from service providing servers to the registration center, which can ensure each server has a different secret key. Through comparing with several schemes proposed recently, we demonstrate our proposed scheme is more secure and efficient. Therefore, the proposed scheme is more practicable.
QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE COMPOUND COMPOSITION OF CEMENT AND CEMENT CLINKER BY X-RAY DIFFRACTION

A method for quantitative analysis of the compound composition of cement and cement clinkers by X-ray diffractometry is described. Compound compositions from optical point counting of 27 cement clinkers were the basis of calibration. Integrated intensities from 11 intervals at fixed positions along the 2 theta axis provided the necessary input for computer calculation of weight fractions of the four major compounds. /Author/
Assessment of Two Different Drinking Water Treatment Plants for the Removal of Free-living Amoebae, Egypt

Background: The aim of this study was to compare between slow and rapid sand filters for the removal of free-living amoebae during drinking water treatment production. Methods: Overall, 48 water samples were collected from two drinking water treatment plants having two different filtration systems (slow and rapid sand filters) and from inlet and outlet of each plant. Water samples were collected from Fayoum Drinking Water and Wastewater Holding Company, Egypt, during the year 2015. They were processed for detection of FLAs using non-nutrient agar (NNA). The isolates of FLAs were microscopically identified to the genus level based on the morphologic criteria and molecularly confirmed by the aid of PCR using genus-specific primers. Results: The percentage of removal for FLAs through different treatment processes reached its highest rate in the station using slow sand filters (83%), while the removal by rapid sand filter system was 71.4%. Statistically, there was no significant difference (P=0.55) for the removal of FLAs between the two different drinking water treatment systems. Statistically, seasons had no significant effect on the prevalence of FLAs in the two different drinking water treatment plants. Morphological identification of the isolated FLAs showed the presence of 3 genera namely Acanthamoeba, Naegleria, and Vermamoeba (Hartmannella) confirmed by PCR. Conclusion: The appearance of FLAs especially pathogenic amoebae in completely treated drinking water may cause potential health threat although there is no statistical difference between the two examined drinking water filtration systems
Distributed Decode–Forward for Relay Networks

A new coding scheme for general <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$N$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-node relay networks is presented for unicast, multicast, and broadcast. The proposed distributed decode–forward scheme combines and generalizes Marton coding for single-hop broadcast channels and the Cover–El Gamal partial decode–forward coding scheme for three-node relay channels. The key idea of the scheme is to precode all the codewords of the entire network at the source by multicoding over multiple blocks. This encoding step allows these codewords to carry partial information of the messages implicitly without complicated rate splitting and routing. This partial information is then recovered at the relay nodes and forwarded further. For <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$N$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-node Gaussian unicast, multicast, and broadcast relay networks, the scheme achieves within <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.5 N$ </tex-math></inline-formula> bits from the cutset bound, and thus from the capacity (region), regardless of the network topology, channel gains, or power constraints. Roughly speaking, distributed decode–forward is dual to noisy network coding, which generalized compress–forward to unicast, multicast, and multiple access relay networks.
People tracking using omnidirectional vision and range information

In this paper we present two approaches for tracking of people in dynamic environments with a moving sensor system. The trajectories of persons are used to extract simple motion patterns. Object detection and tracking is based on range and color information which is provided by a laser range finder and a omnidirectional color camera. Without any predefined person-model the system acquires an internal representation of the person at an initialization phase. This representation is tracked in real-time in dynamic environments. During the tracking procedure illumination conditions are continuously monitored. The tracking approaches were implemented on a robotic wheelchair and evaluated experimentally in different dynamic environments.
Proprioceptive Localization of the Hand Changes When Skin Stretch around the Elbow Is Manipulated

Cutaneous information has been shown to influence proprioceptive position sense when subjects had to judge or match the posture of their limbs. In the present study, we tested whether cutaneous information also affects proprioceptive localization of the hand when moving it to a target. In an explorative study, we manipulated the skin stretch around the elbow by attaching elastic sports tape to one side of the arm. Subjects were asked to move the unseen manipulated arm to visually presented targets. We found that the tape induced a significant shift of the end-points of these hand movements. Surprisingly, this shift corresponded with an increase in elbow extension, irrespective of the side of the arm that was taped. A control experiment showed that this cannot be explained by how the skin stretches, because the skin near the elbow stretches to a similar extent on the inside and outside of the arm when the elbow angle increases and decreases, respectively. A second control experiment reproduced and extended the results of the main experiment for tape on the inside of the arm, and showed that the asymmetry was not just a consequence of the tape originally being applied slightly differently to the outside of the arm. However, the way in which the tape was applied does appear to matter, because applying the tape in the same way to the outside of the arm as to the inside of the arm influenced different subjects quite differently, suggesting that the relationship between skin stretch and sensed limb posture is quite complex. We conclude that the way the skin is stretched during a goal-directed movement provides information that helps guide the hand toward the target.
Modeling and evaluation of human-to-robot mapping of grasps

We study the problem of human to robot grasp mapping as a basic building block of a learning by imitation system. The human hand posture, including both the grasp type and hand orientation, is first classified based on a single image and mapped to a specific robot hand. A metric for the evaluation based on the notion of virtual fingers is proposed. The first part of the experimental evaluation, performed in simulation, shows how the differences in the embodiment between human and robotic hand affect the grasp strategy. The second part, performed with a robotic system, demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed methodology in realistic applications.
Regulating Cortical Oscillations in an Inhibition-Stabilized Network

Understanding the anatomical and functional architecture of the brain is essential for designing neurally inspired intelligent systems. Theoretical and empirical studies suggest a role for narrowband oscillations in shaping the functional architecture of the brain through their role in coding and communication of information. Such oscillations are ubiquitous signals in the electrical activity recorded from the brain. In the cortex, oscillations detected in the gamma range (30-80 Hz) are modulated by behavioral states and sensory features in complex ways. How is this regulation achieved? Although several underlying principles for the genesis of these oscillations have been proposed, a unifying account for their regulation has remained elusive. In a network of excitatory and inhibitory neurons operating in an inhibition-stabilized regime, we show that strongly superlinear responses of inhibitory neurons facilitate bidirectional regulation of oscillation frequency and power. In such a network, the balance of drives to the excitatory and inhibitory populations determines how the power and frequency of oscillations are modulated. The model accounts for the puzzling increase in their frequency with the salience of visual stimuli, and a decrease with their size. Oscillations in our model grow stronger as the mean firing level is reduced, accounting for the size dependence of visually evoked gamma rhythms, and suggesting a role for oscillations in improving the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of signals in the brain. Empirically testing such predictions is still challenging, and implementing the proposed coding and communication strategies in neuromorphic systems could assist in our understanding of the biological system.
Suboptimal Detectors for Alpha-Stable Noise: Simplifying Design and Improving Performance

The design of detectors for binary signals in symmetric alpha-stable noise is considered. Since the optimal detector is impractically complex, many suboptimal detectors have been proposed such as the Gaussian, soft limiter, myriad and Cauchy detectors. However, no adequate explanation for the difference in performance between these detectors has been proposed. In this paper, we propose a novel framework, based on the optimal decision regions, that is used to justify the performance of many suboptimal detectors and compare them to the optimal one. Moreover, the analysis of the framework provides a novel method to significantly improve the performance of the soft limiter detector by employing an adaptive threshold that is a function of the signal level. As the number of samples per symbol increases, the performance of the proposed adaptive detector approaches the optimal performance at almost no additional complexity over the conventional Gaussian detector.
Analysis of Bone Formation on Porous and Calcium Phosphate-Coated Acetabular Cups: A Randomised Clinical [18F]Fluoride Pet Study

We present a study using Fluoride-Positron Emission Tomography (F-PET/CT) to analyse new bone formation in periacetabular bone adjacent to press fit cups following THA. In 16 THA (8 patients) with bilateral hip osteoarthritis simultaneous bilateral total hip arthroplasty (THA) was performed, employing electrochemically applied calcium phosphate coated (HA) cups or porous-coated (PC) cups allocated at random to compare the two sides. A reference group of 13 individuals with a normal healthy hip was used to determine ‘normal’ bone metabolism. [18F]fluoride -PET/CT was used to analyze bone formation adjacent to the cups 1 week, 4 months and 12 months after surgery. Clinical and radiographic evaluation was performed preoperatively, postoperatively and at 2 years. Bone forming activity had a mean of 5.71, 4.69 and 3.47 SUV around the HA- and 5.04, 4.80 and 3.50 SUV around the PC-cups at 1 week, 4 months and 12 months respectively. Normal bone metabolism was 3.68 SUV. After 1 year activity had declined to normal levels for both groups. The clinical results were good in all cases. HA coating resulted in higher uptake indicating higher bone forming activity after 1 week. F-PET/CT is a valuable tool to analyse bone formation and secondary stabilisation of an acetabular cup.
Optical Splitting Trees for High-Precision Monocular Imaging

In this article, we consider the design of monocular multiview optical systems that form optical splitting trees, where the optical path topology takes the shape of a tree because of recursive beam splitting. Designing optical splitting trees is challenging when it requires many views with specific spectral properties. We introduce a manual design paradigm for optical splitting trees and a computer-assisted design tool to create efficient splitting-tree cameras. The tool accepts as input a specification for each view and a set of weights describing the user's relative affinity for efficiency, measurement accuracy, and economy. An optimizer then searches for a design that maximizes these weighted priorities. Our tool's output is a splitting-tree design that implements the input specification and an analysis of the efficiency of each root-to-leaf path. Automatically designed trees appear comparable to those designed by hand; we even show some cases where they are superior. With the help of the optimizer, the system demonstrates high dynamic range, focusing, matting, and hybrid imaging implemented on a single, reconfigurable camera containing eight sensors
Dynamic subcompartmentalization of the mitochondrial inner membrane

The inner membrane of mitochondria is organized in two morphologically distinct domains, the inner boundary membrane (IBM) and the cristae membrane (CM), which are connected by narrow, tubular cristae junctions. The protein composition of these domains, their dynamics, and their biogenesis and maintenance are poorly understood at the molecular level. We have used quantitative immunoelectron microscopy to determine the distribution of a collection of representative proteins in yeast mitochondria belonging to seven major processes: oxidative phosphorylation, protein translocation, metabolite exchange, mitochondrial morphology, protein translation, iron–sulfur biogenesis, and protein degradation. We show that proteins are distributed in an uneven, yet not exclusive, manner between IBM and CM. The individual distributions reflect the physiological functions of proteins. Moreover, proteins can redistribute between the domains upon changes of the physiological state of the cell. Impairing assembly of complex III affects the distribution of partially assembled subunits. We propose a model for the generation of this dynamic subcompartmentalization of the mitochondrial inner membrane.
Loading Capacity of Simply Supported Steel-Concrete Composite Slim Beams

A steel-concrete composite slim beam, with its steel section encased in a concrete slab, provides a composite steel-concrete floor construction with minimum depth and high fire resistance. It has become popular in multi-storey steel buildings throughout Europe in recent years and also been used in some projects in China. For the structural engineer, it is critical to understand the behavior of composite slim beam in the sagging moment region. In this paper, the bending capacity and flexural stiffness of the composite slim beams in sagging moment region are investigated theoretically. Meanwhile, the stiffness and bending capacity are given by Finite Element Analysis (FEA). The experiment of a simply supported beam has been carried out in order to validate the theoretical results.
Algorithmic complexity and randomness in elastic solids

A system comprised of an elastic solid and its response to an external random force sequence is shown to behave based on the principles of the theory of algorithmic complexity and randomness. The solid distorts the randomness of an input force sequence in a way proportional to its algorithmic complexity. We demonstrate this by numerical analysis of a one-dimensional vibrating elastic solid (the system) on which we apply a maximally random input force. The level of complexity of the system is controlled via external parameters. The output response is the field of displacements observed at several positions on the body. The algorithmic complexity and stochasticity of the resulting output displacement sequence is measured and compared against the complexity of the system. The results show that the higher the system complexity the more random-deficient the output sequence. This agrees with the theory introduced in [16] which states that physical systems such as this behave as algorithmic selection-rules which act on random actions in their surroundings.
Multifunctional Nano and Microparticles for Drug Delivery Systems

1. An introduction to the multifunctional concept in nanoparticles. 2. Multifunctional magnetic particles for drug delivery and cancer therapies. 2.1. Drug targeting and stimuli-responsive release 2.2. Hyperthermia treatment of tumors. 3. Multifunctional bioactive particles for drug delivery and tissue regeneration. 3.1. Tissue regeneration: something else than substitution. 3.2. Mesoporous bioactive glasses. The sol-gel and supramolecular chemistry cooperation. 3.3. Main advances in mesoporous bioactive particles 4. Conclusions and outlook. 1. An introduction to the multifunctional concept in nanoparticles.
Dropout Versus Weight Decay for Deep Networks

We study dropout and weight decay applied to deep networks with rectified linear units and the quadratic loss. We show how using dropout in this context can be viewed as adding a regularization penalty term that grows exponentially with the depth of the network when the more traditional weight decay penalty grows polynomially. We then show how this difference affects the inductive bias of algorithms using one regularizer or the other: we describe a random source of data that dropout is unwilling to fit, but that is compatible with the inductive bias of weight decay. We also describe a source that is compatible with the inductive bias of dropout, but not weight decay. We also show that, in contrast with the case of generalized linear models, when used with deep networks with rectified linear units and the quadratic loss, the regularization penalty of dropout (a) is not only a function of the marginals on the independent variables, but also depends on the response variables, and (b) can be negative. Finally, the dropout penalty can drive a learning algorithm to use negative weights even when trained with monotone training data.