Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Carotid wall volume quantification from magnetic resonance images using deformable model fitting and learning-based correction of systematic errors

We present a method for carotid vessel wall volume quantification from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The method combines lumen and outer wall segmentation based on deformable model fitting with a learning-based segmentation correction step. After selecting two initialization points, the vessel wall volume in a region around the bifurcation is automatically determined. The method was trained on eight datasets (16 carotids) from a population-based study in the elderly for which one observer manually annotated both the lumen and outer wall. An evaluation was carried out on a separate set of 19 datasets (38 carotids) from the same study for which two observers made annotations. Wall volume and normalized wall index measurements resulting from the manual annotations were compared to the automatic measurements. Our experiments show that the automatic method performs comparably to the manual measurements. All image data and annotations used in this study together with the measurements are made available through the website http://ergocar.bigr. nl.
A Multi-page Cell Architecture For High-speed Programming Multi-level NAND Flash Memories

To realize low-cost, highly reliable, high-speed pro- gramming, and high-density multilevel flash memories, a mul- tipage cell architecture has been proposed. This architecture enables both precise control of the of a memory cell and fast programming without any area penalty. In the case of a four-level cell, a high programming speed of 236 s/512 bytes or 2.2 Mbytes/s can be obtained, which is 2.3 times faster than the conventional method. A small die size can be achieved with the newly developed compact four-level column latch circuit. A preferential page select method has also been proposed so as to improve the data retention characteristics. The IC error rate can be decreased by as much as 43%, and a highly reliable operation can be realized.
Masters of Our Own Meaning

In this brief paper, we wish to explore how we can become ‘masters of our own meaning’ and help others to do so as well. In doing so we will draw most heavily upon two papers by Charles S. Peirce: ‘The Fixation of Belief ’ (FOB) and ‘How to Make Our Ideas Clear’ (HMOIC). Written as a single paper, they were published separately in Popular Science Monthly in November 1877 and January 1878 respectively. Taken together, they are regarded as the original manifesto for pragmatism, but they are also wonderful sources of insight into how we as individuals can improve our reasoning process and facilitate the development of reasoning in others. Peirce himself (see Brent 1994) was interested in the teaching of reasoning but wrote little about it in these articles or elsewhere. Reasoning, how we come ‘to find out, from the consideration of what we already know, something else which we do not know’ (CP 5.365), includes both practical reasoning and the more ‘scientific’ variety and we will look at elements of both. We will attempt to extrapolate from Peirce’s analysis some principles of fostering reasoning. In FOB, Peirce, first makes the case that logic is the foundation for understanding thought and reason. Elsewhere he states:
Serum concentrations of vitamin D and organ dysfunction in patients with severe sepsis and septic shock

Objectives To evaluate the serum concentrations of vitamin D and their variations in patients with severe sepsis or septic shock and in control subjects upon admission and after 7 days of hospitalization in the intensive care unit and to correlate these concentrations with the severity of organ dysfunction. Methods This case-control, prospective, observational study involved patients aged > 18 years with severe sepsis or septic shock paired with a control group. Serum vitamin D concentrations were measured at inclusion (D0) and on the seventh day after inclusion (D7). Severe deficiency was defined as vitamin D levels < 10ng/ml, deficiency as levels between 10 and 20ng/ml, insufficiency as levels between 20 and 30ng/ml, and sufficiency as levels ≥ 30ng/mL. We considered a change to a higher ranking, together with a 50% increase in the absolute concentration, to represent an improvement. Results We included 51 patients (26 with septic shock and 25 controls). The prevalence of vitamin D concentration ≤ 30ng/ml was 98%. There was no correlation between the serum concentration of vitamin D at D0 and the SOFA score at D0 or D7 either in the general population or in the group with septic shock. Patients with improvement in vitamin D deficiency had an improved SOFA score at D7 (p = 0.013). Conclusion In the population studied, patients with septic shock showed improvement in the serum concentrations of vitamin D on the seventh day compared with the controls. We also found a correlation between higher vitamin D concentrations and a greater decrease in the severity of organ dysfunction.
Besting Johnny Appleseed.

Until recently, geneticists, their skills honed on Arabidopsis and other quick-breeding flora, avoided fruit-tree research like a blight. Of the 11,000 U.S. field tests on plants with transgenic genes between 1987 and 2004, just 1% focused on fruit trees. That9s partly because of the slow pace. Whereas vegetables like corn might produce two harvests each summer, apple trees need eons—around 5 years—to produce their first fruit, most of which will be disregarded as ugly, bitter, or squishy. But everything in apple breeding is about to change. An Italian team plans to publish the decoded apple genome this summer, and scientists are starting to single out complex genetic markers for taste and heartiness. In some cases the scientists even plan, by inserting genes from other species, to eliminate the barren juvenile stage and push fruit trees to mature rapidly, greatly reducing generation times.
Efficient Estimation in Marginal Partially Linear Models for Longitudinal/Clustered Data Using Splines

Abstract. We consider marginal semiparametric partially linear models for longitudinal/clustered data and propose an estimation procedure based on a spline approximation of the non‐parametric part of the model and an extension of the parametric marginal generalized estimating equations (GEE). Our estimates of both parametric part and non‐parametric part of the model have properties parallel to those of parametric GEE, that is, the estimates are efficient if the covariance structure is correctly specified and they are still consistent and asymptotically normal even if the covariance structure is misspecified. By showing that our estimate achieves the semiparametric information bound, we actually establish the efficiency of estimating the parametric part of the model in a stronger sense than what is typically considered for GEE. The semiparametric efficiency of our estimate is obtained by assuming only conditional moment restrictions instead of the strict multivariate Gaussian error assumption.
Ten CEO Imperatives for Healthcare Transformation: Lessons From Top-Performing Academic Medical Centers

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The transition from a delivery model based on volume to a model based on value is underpinning an unprecedented rate of change in healthcare. Our research identifies academic medical centers that have successfully moved their organizations from a volume-based care delivery model to a model that is based on value, achieving top decile performance in the transition. We asked senior leaders about their key imperatives in achieving system-wide healthcare transformations. Major teaching hospitals were sampled using data envelopment analysis to identify hospitals that produced the best value-based purchasing process of care, Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems scores, and mortality scores with the most efficient utilization of human and financial organizational resources. On-site interviews were conducted with the CEOs of the top-performing hospitals. Content analysis of the transcribed interviews revealed 10 clear imperatives that our sample of CEOs said were essential.
Measurement of fibrosis in needle liver biopsies: Evaluation of a colorimetric method

Collagen content was measured in 38 needle liver biopsies (8 steatosis, 8 chronic hepatitis, 7 fibrosis and 15 cirrhosis) by a new colorimetric method based on the selective capacity of Sirius red and Fast green to bind to collagen and noncollagenous proteins, respectively. The values were compared with those obtained after determination of the degree of fibrosis by morphometry in the same tissue.
Efficacy and safety of the endothelin, receptor antagonist TAK-044 in treating subarachnoid hemorrhage: a report by the Steering Committee on behalf of the UK/Netherlands/Eire TAK-044 Subarachnoid Haemorrhage Study Group.

OBJECT Delayed cerebral ischemia remains an important cause of death and disability in patients who have suffered subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Endothelin (ET) has a potent contractile effect on cerebral arteries and arterioles and has been implicated in vasospasm. The authors administered ET(A/B) receptor antagonist (TAK-044) to patients suffering from aneurysmal SAH. They then assessed whether this agent reduced the occurrence of delayed cerebral ischemic events and examined its safety profile in this group of patients. METHODS Four hundred twenty patients who had suffered an SAH were recruited into a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group phase II trial. The primary end point was whether a delayed ischemic event occurred within 3 months after the first dose of the study drug and the secondary end points included determining whether a delayed ischemic event occurred by 10 days after the first dose of the study drug, whether a new cerebral infarct was demonstrated on a computerized tomography scan or at postmortem examination by 3 months after administration of the initial dose, the patient's Glasgow Outcome Scale scores at 3 months after the initial dose, and adverse events. There was a lower incidence of delayed ischemic events at 3 months in the TAK-044-treated group: 29.5% compared with 36.6% in a group of patients receiving placebo. The estimated relative risk was 0.8 with a 95% confidence interval of 0.61 to 1.06. There were no significant differences in the secondary end points, including clinical outcomes in the placebo-treated and TAK-044-treated groups. CONCLUSIONS The TAK-044 was well tolerated by patients who had suffered an SAH, even though hypotension and headache--side effects compatible with the drug's vasodilatory properties--occurred. It would be valuable to proceed to a fully powered phase III trial of an ET receptor antagonist in treating aneurysmal SAH.
Anxiety Sensitivity: A Potential Vulnerability Factor For Compulsive Hoarding

Compulsive hoarding is defined as the accumulation of and failure to discard a large number of possessions that appear to be useless or limited in value. Severe hoarding can result in illnesses due to unsanitary conditions, social isolation, work disability, and even death. Despite the severity of impairment associated with this clinical syndrome, research examining potential vulnerability factors is limited. Two independent studies have demonstrated that hoarding behaviors are significantly associated with anxiety sensitivity (AS), a well-known risk factor for anxiety pathology. However, the relationship between AS subfactors and hoarding behaviors is somewhat unclear. The primary aim of this investigation was to examine the relationships between hoarding and AS subfactors utilizing the anxiety sensitivity index-3, a measure designed to more accurately assess AS subfactors. Participants consisted of 279 college students, as well as 210 non-selected clinical participants. Consistent with initial predictions, hoarding behaviors were significantly associated with overall AS. Moreover, when looking at the relationships among hoarding behaviors and specific AS subfactors, hoarding was significantly associated with the physical concerns subscale. Finally, when examining the relationships among overall AS and specific hoarding facets, results indicated that the difficulty discarding subfactor of hoarding was associated with overall AS. Implications for future research and treatment are discussed.
Conservation of the Unique Neotropical Vascular Flora of the Guayana Highlands in the Face of Global Warming

VALENTI RULL,∗†† TERESA VEGAS-VILARRUBIA,† SANDRA NOGUE,∗‡ AND OTTO HUBER§∗∗ ∗CSIC-Botanic Institute of Barcelona, Palynology & Paleoecology, Pg. del Migdia s/n, 08038 Barcelona, Spain †University of Barcelona, Department of Ecology, Av. Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona, Spain ‡Autonomous University of Barcelona, Department of Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology, Campus Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain §Trauttmansdorff Botanical Gardens, Via San Valentino 51a, 39012 Merano, Italy ∗∗Botanical Institute of Venezuela Dr. Tobias Lasser, Av. Salvador Allende, Caracas 1050, Venezuela
Simulation dynamique des systèmes Bateau-Avirons-Rameur(s)

L'aviron, sport nautique mecanique, consiste a propulser un bateau par la force humaine. Du point de vue mecanique, l'ensemble complexe bateau-avirons-rameurs peut etre considere comme un systeme poly articule sur base flottante. Son etude releve de la mecanique multi-corps et, pour l'interaction fluides-structure, de la tenue a la mer, de la manœuvrabilite et de l'aerodynamique. Le mouvement periodique de grande amplitude du rameur et le caractere intermittent de la propulsion, excite le bateau sur ses six degres de liberte. Hormis par la pratique, les couplages forts entre les rameurs, la propulsion et le bateau ne peuvent etre compris et decrit precisement que par la simulation numerique. Un cadre de simulation de la dynamique prenant en compte la base flottante a donc ete developpe en unifiant prealablement les approches mecanique et hydrodynamique. Il a ete nomme GMRS (Global Mechanical Rowing Simulator). Des techniques de robotique ont ete mises en œuvre pour decrire la mecanique du systeme poly-articule. La systematisation du parametrage permet la modelisation de tous les bateaux d'aviron comprenant de un a huit rameurs utilisant un ou deux avirons. Cela ce fait par assemblage de trois types de rameurs dont des modeles 3D sont proposes. La resolution de la dynamique repose sur la formulation recursive des equations de Newton-Euler. Les caracteristiques inertielles des rameurs sont issues de modeles anthropometriques. Le systeme est pilote en dynamique inverse. La cinematique est generee a l'aide de B-spline, dont les proprietes sont exploitees pour permettre une description parametrique du mouvement, ouvrant ainsi la possibilite d'une optimisation de la technique.
Localisation précise et fiable de véhicules par approche multisensorielle

La localisation d’un vehicule est une etape cruciale dans le developpement des vehicules intelligents. Les recherches sur ce sujet ont connu un grand essor ces dernieres annees. L’accent est souvent porte sur la precision de la localisation, nous presentons ici une methode de localisation sur carte existante dont l’objectif est d’estimer la position du robot non seulement de facon precise mais egalement de maniere fiable. Pour ce faire, l’algorithme developpe se presente en deux etapes principales : une etape de selection et de perception des informations les plus pertinentes et une etape de mise a jour de la position estimee et de la fiabilite, cette derniere etape permet egalement de detecter et reparer ou eliminer les precedentes erreurs. La perception de l’environnement est realisee a travers differents capteurs associes a des detecteurs specifiques. L’humain utilise aussi differents capteurs pour se localiser et va intuitivement selectionner le plus performant, s’il fait jour il utilisera ses yeux, sinon son oreille ou le toucher. Nous avons developpe une approche similaire pour le robot qui tient compte des contraintes environnementales et de l’estimation actuelle pour selectionner a chaque instant l’ensemble capteur, indice de la scene et detecteur le plus pertinent. La phase de perception, etant pilotee par un processus Top-Down, peut beneficier d’informations deja connues permettant ainsi de se focaliser sur l’indice recherche et d’ameliorer les phases de detection et d’associations de donnees. Cette approche Top-Down s’appuie sur un reseau bayesien. Ce dernier permet de modeliser les interactions entre les differents evenements qui se produisent en gerant l’incertitude. Il permet une prise en compte facile des differents evenements. Par ailleurs le reseau bayesien presente une grande flexibilite pour l’ajout d’evenements supplementaires pouvant engendrer des non-detections (tels que dysfonctionnement de capteurs, conditions meteorologiques, etc.). Les donnees de l’environnement sont rendues disponibles grâce a une carte georeferencee prealablement fournie. Avec le developpement de cartes disponibles facilement sur internet, cette facon de faire permet d’exploiter au mieux l’information deja fournie. L’utilisation d’une carte georeferencee permet d’avoir un referentiel commun entre tous les vehicules ou elements de l’infrastructure facilitant ainsi l’echange d’informations et ouvrant du coup la possibilite d’interaction simplifiees dans le cas de flottes par exemple. Les resultats montrent que l’approche developpee est pertinente pour une localisation precise et fiable aussi bien statique que dynamique. L’ajout de nouveaux capteurs se fait naturellement et sans necessiter d’heuristique particuliere. La localisation obtenue est suffisamment precise et fiable pour permettre des applications de conduite autonome utilisant, entre autres, cet algorithme.
Approches robustes pour la comparaison d'images et la reconnaissance d'objets

La problematique generale de cette these est la comparaison d'images, que nous traitons via differentes applications. Nous proposons un systeme complet, robuste et automatique de reconnaissance d'objets multiples, dont la mise en œuvre repose principalement sur deux approches methodologiques : la theorie de la decision « a contrario » et la theorie du transport optimal de Monge-Kantorovich. Dans ce cadre, une mesure de dissimilarite est definie pour la comparaison de descripteurs locaux de type SIFT en fonction du cout de transport optimal entre histogrammes circulaires (Circular Earth Mover's Distance). Un critere de mise en correspondance ces descripteurs s'appuyant sur la theorie de la decision a contrario est par la suite introduit. Ce critere permet de s'affranchir du reglage du seuil de detection et de la restriction usuelle au plus proche voisin. Nous proposons un algorithme de type RANSAC (RANdom SAmple Consensus) pour le groupement multiple de correspondances de descripteurs locaux. L'approche proposee permet la selection du modele geometrique de la transformation rigide due au changement de point de vue et au mouvement de l'objet detecte entre les differentes images. Dans le cadre du transport optimal, nous etudions par ailleurs l'interet de l'EMD (Earth Mover's Distance) pour la comparaison globale d'images (indexation d'images). Nous proposons enfin une methode de regularisation de la carte de transport s'inspirant des approches par filtrage non-local, en vue d'une application au changement de contraste et au transfert de couleurs entre images.
Università del Piemonte Orientale “ A . Avogadro ” , via Bellini 25 / G , 15100 Alessandria ( Italy )

The aim of this paper is to address the following questions: which models, among fluido-dynamic ones, are more appropriate to describe urban traffic? While a rich debate was developed for the complicate dynamics of highway traffic, some basic problems of urban traffic are not always appropriately discussed. We analyze many recent, and less recent, models focusing on three basic properties. The latter are necessary to reproduce correctly queue formation at lights and junctions, and their backward propagation on an urban network. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 35L65
Aspects of the simulation of a cutting process with ABAQUS / Explicit including the interaction between the cutting process and the dynamic behavior of the machine tool

In the field of simulation of metal cutting the coupling of the cutting process and the dynamic behaviour of the machine tool becomes more and more a great challenge nowadays. Interactions between the machine tool and the cutting process can e.g. lead to oscillations which influence the workpiece surface quality, tool wear and the stability of the cutting process. To investigate this effect a coupled simulation is needed. In order to ensure the coupling of cutting processes and machine tools it is necessary to identify the influences on both sides and to analyze their sensitivity. A lot of research activities were done in recent years in simulating both the cutting process and the machine tool behaviour and a lot of new research questions have resulted from that research. When simulating a cutting process with the finite element method it is necessary to analyze not only the influence of process parameters such as cutting speed, feed rate or tool geometry but also the influence of modelling parameters such as mesh fineness, material failure modelling, etc. An approach for a 3D simulation of a turning process with the FEM-program ABAQUS/Explicit is shown. Results of parameter studies, which show the influences of different modelling parameters, are presented. To verify the simulation the results in terms of cutting forces and chip shape are compared with the results obtained from experiments. In addition a first approach for coupling a cutting process and a machine tool in an ABAQUS/Explicit simulation model is presented, which fulfills the requirement of an integrated and continuous simulation of these two components.
Authorial attribution and computational stylistics: if you can tell authors apart, have you learned anything about them?

Within stylometrics, the disciplines of authorial attribution and descriptive stylistics hitherto have been pursued separately. The first has achieved mainstream status within literary studies, while the second is little recognized. A study of the plays of Thomas Middleton compared with a large control sample shows that it is possible to achieve a good classification of his work in 2,000 word segments as against those of his contemporaries, using frequencies of very common words. Such a result can serve as the basis both for testing Middleton's hand in some disputed plays and for a description of his style. Most of «The Revenger's Tragedy», part of «The Yorkshire Tragedy», and all of «The Second Maiden's Tragedy» prove to be in a style similar to that of Middleton's uncontested plays. This style, judging by an examination of instances in context of the ten word types most strongly correlated with the Middleton-other discriminant function, is (among other things) rich in deictics and poor in conjunctions, features readily accommodated to previous descriptions including Middleton's own. It is concluded that classification and description can be mutually supportive: the first confirms the validity of the second, while the second helps to establish the stylistic mechanism underlying a successful classification.