Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Extracellular Proteolytic Cascade Promotes Neuronal Degeneration in the Mouse Hippocampus

Mice lacking the serine protease tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) are resistant to excitotoxin-mediated hippocampal neuronal degeneration. We have used genetic and cellular analyses to study the role of tPA in neuronal cell death. Mice deficient for the zymogen plasminogen, a known substrate for tPA, are also resistant to excitotoxins, implicating an extracellular proteolytic cascade in degeneration. The two known components of this cascade, tPA and plasminogen, are both synthesized in the mouse hippocampus. tPA mRNA and protein are present in neurons and microglia, whereas plasminogen mRNA and protein are found exclusively in neurons. tPA-deficient mice exhibit attenuated microglial activation as a reaction to neuronal injury. In contrast, the microglial response of plasminogen-deficient mice was comparable to that of wild-type mice, suggesting a tPA-mediated, plasminogen-independent pathway for activation of microglia. Infusion of inhibitors of the extracellular tPA/plasmin proteolytic cascade into the hippocampus protects neurons against excitotoxic injury, suggesting a novel strategy for intervening in neuronal degeneration.
Accurately calibrate kinect sensor using indoor control field

Microsoft Kinect is a new and robust 3D camera, which can be used for indoor scene and 3D model reconstruction. It contains an infrared projector, an infrared camera and a RGB camera, color and depth map can be captured in one scene at the same time and run at a speed of 30 frames per second. As a handhold device, Kinect is low-cost and portable compared with lidar, but its accuracy is low. The internal parameters of both infrared camera and RGB camera, as well as their relative pose, are pre-calibrated in factory, however these average values can't meet the need of high-precision applications and parameters vary from device to device. So if we want to improve the precision of Kinect, the calibration should be done at first. In this article, we attempt to use indoor control field to calibrate Kinect sensor, and get the accurate internal parameters of both cameras and their relative pose. Different from some compute vision methods, the 3d coordinate of control points should be measured in our coordinated system and one image is enough fine to compute the internal and external parameters. As Kinect can't get the IR stream and color stream simultaneously, we get the depth and color image at first, then cover the infrared projector and get the IR image, while an infrared compensation lamp is used to make the IR map clear. We separately detect the control points in the color and IR image for getting their corresponding image points, then gain their distance values from depth image based-on IR image points. Our algorithm contains four steps: 1) Initializing the internal parameters of infrared camera and RGB camera with Zhang's method. For RGB camera, collinearity equation is applied to establish the relationship between control points and their RGB image points, then estimating external parameters and refining internal parameters based-on least square adjustment. For infrared camera, transform IR image points to Kinect 3D coordinate with their distance value and initialized internal parameters to establish the point-to-point correspondence with control points, then calculate external parameters and refining internal parameters using iterative closest points method. Furthermore, we assume a model to improve the precision of distance value, in which three additional parameters should be estimated. 2)Projecting the control points to IR and RGB image coordinate separately which consider as ideal points, and regard the corresponding image points as real points, we can estimate the distortion parameters of infrared and RGB camera. 3) Iterating 1)2) steps until it is convergence. 4) Using the external parameters of both cameras to calculate their relative pose. In our experiment, 36 control points are measured, part of them (about 20) can be seen in one image. We usually use 15 points of them to estimate parameters and others consider as check points. The results show that our method can get high precision calibration parameters which projection mean square error lower than 0.5 pixels, and the mean square error of transforming depth image points to RGB image points lower than 1.0 pixels.
Muscle mass and strength in obstructive lung disease: a smoking gun?

Over the past 2 decades, there has been increasing interest in the extrapulmonary manifestations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This is supported by the clinical observation that patients show significant improvements in functional performance and health-related quality of life with pulmonary rehabilitation in the absence of lung function changes.1 Furthermore, the forced expiratory volume in 1 s is an imperfect predictor of mortality in severe patients with COPD,2 and when forced expiratory volume in 1 s is corrected after double lung transplantation, peak exercise remains only approximately 50% of predicted up to 1–2 years after surgery.3 This limitation in exercise and functional capacity has led to a particular focus upon the skeletal muscle compartment. Certainly, a surprisingly high proportion of patients with COPD terminate exercise complaining of muscle effort.4 Cross-sectional studies have typically demonstrated muscle weakness5 and reduced endurance,6 particularly of the lower limbs, in COPD compared with age-matched controls. This is corroborated by biopsy findings of muscle fibre atrophy and muscle fibre shift from type I to type II fibres.7 Skeletal muscle dysfunction seems to be clinically relevant in COPD, as loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength are associated with poor health status,8 increased healthcare use9 and even mortality,2 10 independent of lung function parameters. Debate continues as to the relative importance of systemic and local factors in the aetiology of …
Effect of Strain on Barium Titanate Epitaxial Films

Landau-Ginzburg free energy expression with the normalized coefficients is used to elucidate the phase transition properties of strained ferroelectric films. In particular, we investigate the need to include higher order free energy terms for epitaxial strained BaTiO3 thin films. Our study reveals that the inclusion of eighth-order expression into the free energy is crucial in determining the phase transition of highly-strained BaTiO3 epitaxial films normally grown on thick cubic substrates. The phase transition is found to be second order but the unstrained film undergoes the first order phase transition. On the order hand, the calculation based on the usual sixth-order Landau-Ginzburg expression show that the films have no phase transition, which is contrary to the experimental observations.
Electrolyte and Solid-Electrolyte Interphase Layer in Lithium-Ion Batteries

The supply and the management of the energy are particularly at the centre of our daily concerns and represent a socio-economic priority. Indeed, while cars use fossil fuel as the main source of energy for over a century, the depletion of the oil reserves and the necessity to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions, stimulate the development of electric vehicles. Therefore, one of the main challenges for the coming decades is the development of new technologies for the storage of electrochemical energy.
HPVM: heterogeneous parallel virtual machine

We propose a parallel program representation for heterogeneous systems, designed to enable performance portability across a wide range of popular parallel hardware, including GPUs, vector instruction sets, multicore CPUs and potentially FPGAs. Our representation, which we call HPVM, is a hierarchical dataflow graph with shared memory and vector instructions. HPVM supports three important capabilities for programming heterogeneous systems: a compiler intermediate representation (IR), a virtual instruction set (ISA), and a basis for runtime scheduling; previous systems focus on only one of these capabilities. As a compiler IR, HPVM aims to enable effective code generation and optimization for heterogeneous systems. As a virtual ISA, it can be used to ship executable programs, in order to achieve both functional portability and performance portability across such systems. At runtime, HPVM enables flexible scheduling policies, both through the graph structure and the ability to compile individual nodes in a program to any of the target devices on a system. We have implemented a prototype HPVM system, defining the HPVM IR as an extension of the LLVM compiler IR, compiler optimizations that operate directly on HPVM graphs, and code generators that translate the virtual ISA to NVIDIA GPUs, Intel's AVX vector units, and to multicore X86-64 processors. Experimental results show that HPVM optimizations achieve significant performance improvements, HPVM translators achieve performance competitive with manually developed OpenCL code for both GPUs and vector hardware, and that runtime scheduling policies can make use of both program and runtime information to exploit the flexible compilation capabilities. Overall, we conclude that the HPVM representation is a promising basis for achieving performance portability and for implementing parallelizing compilers for heterogeneous parallel systems.
Routine HIV Screening in Portugal: Clinical Impact and Cost-Effectiveness

Objective To compare the clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness of routine HIV screening in Portugal to the current practice of targeted and on-demand screening. Design We used Portuguese national clinical and economic data to conduct a model-based assessment. Methods We compared current HIV detection practices to strategies of increasingly frequent routine HIV screening in Portuguese adults aged 18-69. We considered several subpopulations and geographic regions with varying levels of undetected HIV prevalence and incidence. Baseline inputs for the national case included undiagnosed HIV prevalence 0.16%, annual incidence 0.03%, mean population age 43 years, mean CD4 count at care initiation 292 cells/μL, 63% HIV test acceptance, 78% linkage to care, and HIV rapid test cost €6 under the proposed routine screening program. Outcomes included quality-adjusted survival, secondary HIV transmission, cost, and incremental cost-effectiveness. Results One-time national HIV screening increased HIV-infected survival from 164.09 quality-adjusted life months (QALMs) to 166.83 QALMs compared to current practice and had an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of €28,000 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY). Screening more frequently in higher-risk groups was cost-effective: for example screening annually in men who have sex with men or screening every three years in regions with higher incidence and prevalence produced ICERs of €21,000/QALY and €34,000/QALY, respectively. Conclusions One-time HIV screening in the Portuguese national population will increase survival and is cost-effective by international standards. More frequent screening in higher-risk regions and subpopulations is also justified. Given Portugal’s challenging economic priorities, we recommend prioritizing screening in higher-risk populations and geographic settings.
Learning features with structure-adapting multi-view exponential family harmoniums

Existing multi-view feature extraction methods are based on restrictive assumptions on the connections between feature vectors and input data. These assumptions damage the quality of learned features, and also require more effort on choosing right dimensions of feature vector components connected to each view. In this paper we present adaptive multi-view harmonium (SA-MVH) for multi-view feature extraction, where its each hidden node chooses the views to connect with while training phase via switch parameters. "Switch" parameters are multiplied to the connection weights of ordinary exponential family harmoniums (EFH) to decide the existence of connection between hidden nodes and views. With switch parameters, a SA-MVH automatically adapts its structure to achieve better representation of data distribution. The model can also be easily trained using the same training algorithms used for EFHs. Numerical experiments on synthetic and real-world datasets demonstrate the useful behavior of the SA-MVH, compared to the existing multi-view feature extraction methods.
Improved Diagnosis of the Etiology of Community-Acquired Pneumonia with Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction

Abstract Background. Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been shown to be more sensitive than current standard microbiological methods and, therefore, may improve the accuracy of microbiological diagnosis for patients with CAP. Methods. Conventional detection techniques and multiplex real-time PCR for atypical bacteria and respiratory viruses were performed on samples collected from 105 adults enrolled in a prospective study. An infiltrate was visible on each patient's chest radiograph, and a pneumonia severity index score was determined for each patient. Results. Microbiological diagnoses were determined for 52 (49.5%) of 105 patients by conventional techniques and for 80 (76%) of 105 patients by real-time PCR. The time to obtain the result of real-time PCR could be reduced to 6 h. PCR methodology was significantly more sensitive for the detection of atypical pathogens and viruses (P ⩽ .001). Respiratory viral infections and mixed infections were detected in 15 (14.2%) and 3 (2.8%) of 105 patients, respectively, by conventional methods, but were detected in 59 (56.2%) and 28 (26.5%) of 105, respectively, by real-time PCR. Presence of a mixed infection was significantly associated with severe pneumonia (P = .002). Human rhinoviruses and coronaviruses, OC43 and 229E, were frequently identified pathogens. Conclusions. The combined real-time PCR assay is more sensitive for diagnosis of the main viruses and atypical bacteria that cause CAP compared with conventional methods, and obtains results in a clinically relevant time period.
New combination scheme for cooperative spectrum sensing under imperfect control channels

We consider the sensing of the frequency spectrum for cognitive radios, based on energy detection. It has been shown that the sensing reliability can be improved by using several cooperating cognitive radios that exchange their individual sensing information to a coordinator node through specific control channels. The coordinator node then combines the received information in order to make a decision about the primary network presence. In this paper, we compute analytically the probability density functions of the noise coming from the two-bits non-uniform quantization of the energy measure at each node and from the non-uniform bit flipping on the control channel. The quantization step and the bit flipping probabilities are selected to reduce the impact of the error. A new optimal fusion rule is proposed that takes into account the control channel noise distribution. Numerical simulations show that this new scheme outperforms the Maximum Ratio Combining scheme when different false alarm probabilities are used by the nodes.
Event-Triggered $H_{\infty}$ Control: A Switching Approach

Event-triggered approach to networked control systems is used to reduce the workload of the communication network. For the static output-feedback continuous event-trigger may generate an infinite number of sampling instants in finite time (Zeno phenomenon) what makes it inapplicable to the real-world systems. Periodic event-trigger avoids this behavior but does not use all the available information. In the present paper we aim to exploit the advantage of the continuous-time measurements and guarantee a positive lower bound on the inter-event times by introducing a switching approach for finding a waiting time in the event-triggered mechanism. Namely, our idea is to present the closed-loop system as a switching between the system under periodic sampling and the one under continuous event-trigger and take the maximum sampling preserving the stability as the waiting time. We extend this idea to the L2-gain and ISS analysis of perturbed networked control systems with network-induced delays. By examples we demonstrate that the switching approach to event-triggered control can essentially reduce the amount of measurements to be sent through a communication network compared to the existing methods.
On Weak Residual Error Estimation * Jinn-liang Liu †

A general framework for weak residual error estimators applying to various types of boundary value problems in connection with finite element and finite volume approximations is developed. Basic ideas commonly shared by various applications in error estimation and adaptive computation are presented and illustrated. Some numerical results are given to show the effectiveness and efficiency of the estimators.
On the Computation of Warranted Arguments within a Possi-bilistic Logic Framework with Fuzzy Unification On the Computation of Warranted Arguments within a Possibilistic Logic Framework with Fuzzy Unification ∗

Possibilistic Defeasible Logic Programming (P-DeLP) is a logic programming language which combines features from argumentation theory and logic programming, incorporating the treatment of possibilistic uncertainty at object-language level. The aim of this paper is twofold: first to present an approach towards extending P-DeLP in order to incorporate fuzzy constants and fuzzy unification, and after to propose a way to handle conflicting arguments in the context of the extended framework.
Patient Web Empowerment Index (PWEI): 2009-2011 Evaluation of Italian NHS Hospitals Web Strategies

Objective: the objectives of this article are: (a) to provide an analysis of the key factors of an efficient Web strategy with regard to the issue of patient empowerment, (b) to build an index for measuring the degree of empowerment of healthcare providers' Web sites, (c) to measure the degree of “patient Web empowerment” within the Italian National Health Service (INHS). Methods: a Patient Web Empowerment Index (PWEI) was built, through aggregation and weighting of 8 sub-indicators. Results: PWEI was calculated in order to assess yearly (since 2009 to 2011) the web sites of 340 INHS healthcare organizations, the aim being the appraisal of the current degree of maturity of their web strategies for an effective increase in patient empowerment. Conclusions: the Web strategies of health organizations basically reflect a state of deep immaturity and they still display a tendency to modulate their approach with the accent all too frequently placed on the structures and responsibilities of the organisation itself, rather than on the needs of citizens-patients. Practical implication: PWEI could play a role in order to benchmark, also at international level, the web strategies of health organizations and could therefore support a patient-centered web design of information and services.
Collaborative Logistics on the Military Flightline

This paper discusses field experiments in the Air Force Research Laboratory’s ongoing Smart Systems for Logistics Command and Control (SSLC2) research program. Spiral 1 of this program included four field experiments conducted in the spring of 2005 at Air Force Reserve/Air National Guard bases in Indiana and Ohio. This paper describes how the recommendations from Spiral 1 pointed the way to field experiments planned for upcoming spirals-- experiments in the collaborative logistics environment of the maintenance flightline.
Evaluating a Usability Inspection Technique by means of Industry Case Studies

Industry case studies are required to assess the suitability of a software technology to the industrial environment. Therefore, this paper presents two case studies carried out in partnership with two companies of an Industrial Park, in order to evaluate and improve the WDP-RT (Web Design Perspectives-Based Inspection - Reading Technique), a usability inspection technique specific for Web applications. The obtained results indicate the adequacy of the WDR-RT technique to the cycles of a Web application development in an industrial environment.
Mortality after radical prostatectomy or external beam radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND No randomized trials have compared survival outcomes for men with localized prostate cancer (PC) being treated with radical prostatectomy (RP) or external beam radiotherapy (EBRT). The goal of the study, therefore, was to estimate the association of RP (compared with EBRT) with overall and PC mortality. METHODS We analyzed an observational cohort from the population-based Prostate Cancer Outcomes Study, which included men aged 55 to 74 years diagnosed with localized PC between October 1994 and October 1995 who underwent either RP (n = 1164) or EBRT (n = 491) within 1 year of diagnosis. Patients were followed until death or study end (December 31, 2010). Overall and disease-specific mortality were assessed with multivariable survival analysis, with propensity scores to adjust for potential treatment selection confounders (demographics, comorbidities, and tumor characteristics). All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS After 15 years of follow-up, there were 568 deaths, including 104 from PC. RP was associated with statistically significant advantages for overall (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.60, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.53 to 0.70, P <.0001.) and disease-specific mortality (HR = 0.35, 95% CI = 0.26 to 0.49, P <.0001.). Mortality benefits for RP were also observed within treatment propensity quintiles, when subjects were pair-matched on propensity scores, and in subgroup analyses based on age, tumor characteristics, and comorbidity. CONCLUSIONS Population-based observational data on men diagnosed with localized PC in the mid-1990s suggest a mortality benefit associated with RP vs EBRT. Possible explanations include residual selection bias or a true survival advantage. Results might be less applicable for men facing treatment decisions today.
Adaptive shrinkage cascades for blind image deconvolution

Recently emerged discriminative non-blind deconvolution methods achieve excellent performance with only a fraction of computation cost w.r. t. generative competitors, but their extension to blind deconvolution field was seldom addressed in a practical manner, albeit equally vital in image restoration area. We propose a novel framework for effective blind image deblurring by patch-wise prior based adaptive shrinkage cascades, which introduces the powerful internal patch-based image statistics to the non-blind shrinkage field formulations. The rich expressiveness of internal patch prior brings instance-specific adaptivity to alternating kernel refinement between neighboring shrinkage cascades, while shrinkage model trained from varieties of natural image collections benefits internal patch-wise prior inference with external information and superior efficiency.