Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TOPICAL ANTIBIOTICS IN TREATMENT OF MILDMODERATE PLAQUE TYPE PSORIASIS

A prospective study was done during the period from October 2005 to July 2006 at the Departments of Microbiology and dermatology, Basrah University Medical College, and aimed on the evaluation of the effectiveness of topical antimicrobial agents on the plaque type psoriasis clinically and bacteriologically, before and after drug therapy and to compare it with that of the non-involved skin of psoriatic patients and healthy controls. Bacteriological examination was carried out on 500 skin swabs taken from psoriatic plaques before and after treatment for 3 weeks with topical fusidic acid (2% concentration, IHP, Denmark) or tetracycline (3%, SDI) pre-and post-application and from uninvolved skin of psoriatic patients and from matched healthy controls. In addition to the responses to either fusidic acid or tetracycline, topical applications were assessed clinically by psoriasis severity index (PSI). Plaque psoriasis showed a significant clinical responses (P<0.001) to topical antimicrobial agents (changes in PSI score). Guttate psoriasis had no such responses. On the other hand, psoriasis plaques harboured a higher density (104-105 CFU/ ml) of microbial population compared to the non-involved skin of psoriatic patients (Not exceeds 102 CFU/ml). Microbial density was reduced significantly (P<0.01) by 3 weeks after topical fusidic acid and tetracycline application (from > 105 to <102 CFU/ml). Staphylococcus epidermidis (a species of coagulase-negative staphylococci) was significantly the most prevalent bacteria (P<0.001) on the psoriatic plaques. In conclusion, topical fusidic acid (2%) and tetracycline (3%) are effective in the treatment of mild to moderate plaque psoriasis but not in the treatment of guttate psoriasis. Staphylococcus epdermidis may play a role in the pathogenesis of plaque psoriasis. Further detailed study is suggested to clarify this role.
A Dynamic Web Service Composition Method Based on Viterbi Algorithm

In cloud computing, it is an urgent problem to provide stable composition service which can satisfy the personalized requirements for large scale users. This paper takes several aspects of web service into consideration, including Quality of Service (QoS), user preference and the service relationships and proposes a method based viterbi algorithm to reason out the global optimal solution of web composition service. Result shows our method holds executive efficiency, stability as well as outstanding selecting result.
Dosage effect of the short arm of chromosome 1 of rye on root morphology and anatomy in bread wheat

The spontaneous translocation of the short arm of chromosome 1 of rye (1RS) in bread wheat is associated with higher root biomass and grain yield. Recent studies have confirmed the presence of QTL for different root morphological traits on the 1RS arm in bread wheat. This study was conducted to address two questions in wheat root genetics. First, does the presence of the 1RS arm in bread wheat affect its root anatomy? Second, how does root morphology and anatomy of bread wheat respond to different dosages of 1RS? Near-isogenic plants with a different number (0 to 4 dosages) of 1RS translocations were studied for root morphology and anatomy. The F1 hybrid, with single doses of the 1RS and 1AS arms, showed heterosis for root and shoot biomass. In other genotypes, with 0, 2, or 4 doses of 1RS, root biomass was incremental with the increase in the dosage of 1RS in bread wheat. This study also provided evidence of the presence of gene(s) influencing root xylem vessel number, size, and distribution in bread wheat. It was found that root vasculature follows a specific developmental pattern along the length of the tap root and 1RS dosage tends to affect the transitions differentially in different positions. This study indicated that the inherent differences in root morphology and anatomy of different 1RS lines may be advantageous compared to normal bread wheat to survive under stress conditions.
Towards FPGA-assisted spark: An SVM training acceleration case study

A system that augments the Apache Spark data processing framework with FPGA accelerators is presented as a way to model and deploy FPGA-assisted applications in large-scale clusters. In our proposed framework, FPGAs can optionally be used in place of the host CPU for Resilient distributed datasets (RDDs) transformations, allowing seamless integration between gateware and software processing. Using the case of training an Support Vector Machine (SVM) cell image classifier as a case study, we explore the feasibilities, benefits and challenges of such technique. In our experiments where data communication between CPU and FPGA is tightly controlled, a consistent speedup of up to 1.6x can be achieved for the target SVM training application as the cluster size increases. Hardware-software techniques that are crucial to achieve acceleration such as the management of data partition size are explored. We demonstrate the benefits of the proposed framework, while also illustrate the importance of careful hardware-software management to avoid excessive CPU-FPGA communication that can quickly diminish the benefits of FPGA acceleration.
Use of the Teager-kaiser Energy Operator for Condition Monitoring of a Wind Turbine Gearbox

This paper deals with the condition monitoring of a wind turbine gearbox under varying operating conditions , which cause nonstationarity. The gearbox vibration signals are decomposed into a set of monocompo-nent signals using the Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) method. The Teager-Kaiser Energy Operator (TKEO) in combination with an energy separation method is also presented as an alternative technique that seems to improve the time-frequency analysis of signals. In this study, the TKEO is applied to the signal components who's frequency bandwidth is related to the frequencies more influenced by damage. The Teager-Kaiser energy operator is a nonlinear operator that calculates the energy of monocomponent signals as the product of the square of the amplitude and the frequency of the signal. The instantaneous characteristics of these signals are then obtained by the application of the Discrete Energy Separation Algorithm (DESA-2). It will be shown that TKEO improves the estimation of instantaneous characteristics of the vibration data compared to other commonly used techniques, e.g. the Hilbert Transform.
The burden of different pathogens in acute diarrhoeal episodes among a cohort of Egyptian children less than five years old

Introduction Diarrhoea continues to cause significant morbidity in Egypt. Aim To determine the frequency and distribution of different enteropathogens in acute diarrhoeal episodes, utilising an expanded testing regimen, and to correlate clinical signs and symptoms associated with the detected pathogens. Material and methods The case-control study enrolled 356 patients < 5 years old with acute diarrhoea and 356 age and sex-matched healthy controls. Both cases and controls underwent a full history and physical examination, and provided two rectal swab specimens and a stool sample. Laboratory analysis included stool culture, microscopy, and indirect methods. Results Rotavirus was detected in 11% of patients. Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), Campylobacter, Shigella, and Salmonella were detected in 7%, 3.7%, 1.1%, and 1.4% of patients, respectively; and in 11.1%, 3.1%, 0.6%, and 0.6% of controls, respectively, with no significant statistical difference. Cryptosporidium was detected in 3.9% of cases. Mixed infection was detected in 5.9% of cases and 0.9% of controls, with a significant difference (p < 0.001). No pathogen was detected in 66.3% of cases and in 83.5% of controls. Rotavirus infection was associated with recurrent vomiting, dehydration, and hospitalisation. Bacterial diarrhoea was associated with vomiting (52%) in ETEC infections, fever (80%) in Salmonella infections, mucus (100%) and blood (50%) in stools of Shigella infections, and convulsions (15%) in Campylobacter infections. Conclusions Rotavirus is a prominent cause of diarrhoea among Egyptian children. Despite utilising an expanded testing regimen, more work is still needed for identification of other enteropathogens that constitute other causative agents of diarrhoea.
Market making with an inverse Kelly strategy

Kelly's celebrated staking system calculates the optimal fraction of wealth to bet on each of a series of favourable bets. We previously extended Kelly's ideas to allow for the much wider range of bets available today, in particular laying as well as backing, and including previously placed bets. Here we extend this further by suggesting that it may be inverted to provide a market making tool. For an event we set the odds to be those which Kelly would have chosen for a fixed fraction. We show how the fraction used here may be thought of as a measure of how tightly the prices will be quoted. As previously matched bets are included in the calculation the quoted prices will be able to respond to errors in the model used; the market making system is independent from the model. Prices are able to respond to trades made in related markets. In order to provide data for a future simulation we ran a number of tests of this method on a live exchange, using different fractions and different sizes for several different markets in the lower English football leagues. We present some preliminary findings from this data.
DTC-IM drive with 5-level hybrid cascaded h-bridge inverter

Due to control simplicity and easy applicability DTC has become popular and adopted in many industrial applications. But it still suffers from a few drawbacks like- comparatively large torque ripple in a low speed range and its performance is highly depended on speed of the motor and hysteresis bands of torque and flux ripple. To address these problems, this paper represents a direct torque control (DTC) strategy for induction motor (IM), utilizing hybrid cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter (HMLI) extending the idea of basic two level DTC proposed by Takahashi. Simulation results shows that the DTC drive performance has been considerably improved in terms of lower torque and flux ripple and less THD. These have been evaluated by simulation and compared with the basic DTC developed by Takahashi and other DTC proposed to date.
A Bayesian semi-parametric model for small area estimation

In public health management there is a need to produce subna- tional estimates of health outcomes. Often, however, funds are not available to collect samples large enough to produce traditional survey sample estimates for each subnational area. Although parametric hierarchical methods have been successfully used to derive estimates from small samples, there is a concern that the geographic diversity of the U.S. population may be oversimplified in these models. In this paper, a semi-parametric model is used to describe the geographic variability component of the model. Specifically, we assume Dirich- let process mixtures of normals for county-specific random effects. Results are compared to a parametric model based on the base measure of the Dirichlet process, using binary health outcomes related to mammogram usage.
Numerical Study on Fluid Flow Characteristics Over the Side-By-Side Square Cylinders at Different Spacing Ratios

In order to predict the fluid flow characteristics and the possibilities of suppressing flow induced vibration in the elastically mounted square cylinders at different spacing conditions. In this paper a two dimensional computational simulations is performed on a range of transverse gap ratios (1.0≤T/D≤4) between the cylinders arranged in Side by side configuration by employing the lattice-Boltzmann method (LBM) with respect to Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook (BGK) collision model. Along with that the effects of vortex shedding and fluid dynamic forces acting on the elastically mounted square cylinders also examined. Further the observed results of flow characteristics around the elastically mounted square cylinders are validated with the results of previous studies.
Analysis of Energy Transmission Modes of Flyback Converter

It is of significance to investigate energy transmission modes of a flyback converter for its optimum design. In this paper, the ETMs of a flyback converter are divided into three modes, which are continuous conduction mode-complete inductor supply mode, continuous conduction mode-incomplete inductor supply mode and discontinuous conduction mode-incomplete inductor supply mode, respectively. A deep analysis of the operation is made, a reduction of the boundary condition between the modes is conducted and a comparison of current stress, transformer AP and output ripple voltage between the modes is performed. A 30W prototype is developed and its experiment is done. The experiment results are in agreement with the theoretical analysis quite well. Copyright © 2014 IFSA Publishing, S. L.
Health Protective Actions of Phycocyanin Obtained from an Egyptian Isolate of Spirulina platensis on Albino Rats

Background: The objective of the present study was to investigate the potential hepatoprotective of phycocyanin as a natural source for antioxidant against oxidative stress induced artificially by CCl4 liver injury in Wister rats. Material and Methods: The antioxidant activity of phycocyanin isolated from Spirulina platensis was evaluated in vitro by using DPPH assay. Also, hepatoprotective effect of phycocyanin at different levels (100, 150 and 200 mg/kg body weight) was evaluated in Wistar Albino rats against carbon tetrachloride induced liver injury. Results: The hepatoprotective effect was estimated using several biochemical parameters and histopathological examination. Spirulina platensis phycocyanin, applied at different levels, could counteract the major rises in the levels of serum ALT, AST, urea and creatinine, total lipid and triglycerides, induced by subjecting Albino rats to CCl4 intoxication. It could also moderate the reducing action of CCl4 exerted on the levels of antioxidant enzymes (glutathione-S-transferase, superoxide dismutase and catalase). The negative control group showed a normal histological structure of the portal area, central veins and surrounding hepatocytes. Focal necrosis with inflammatory cells infiltration was detected in the hepatic parenchyma as associated with dilatation in the portal vein and inflammatory cells infiltration in the portal area of the positive control. The histopathological sections of the CCl4-stressed animals receiving phycocyanin at different concentrations were approaching the status of the negative control. Conclusions: Phycocyanin can be recommended for food and health applications aiming at lowering potential oxidative stress.
Effects of wild fishes on waste exportation from a Mediterranean fish farm

ABSTRACT: This study investigated the role of wild fishes associated with marine farms as potentialconsumers of organic waste in the water column and sediment. Experiments were carried out at a fishfarm in a semi-enclosed bay in the Mediterranean Sea (SE Spain). Sediment traps collected organicwaste from net-pens in the water column at different depths during June and July 2001 and benthiccaging experiments were carried out on the sediment from October 2000 to January 2001. Theexperiment showed that about 80% of the particulate organic matter leaving the rearing net-pensmay be consumed before it settles on the sediment. Significant changes in the nutrient quality of theorganic matter exported are also due to consumption by wild fishes. Wild fishes thus play an impor-tant role in recycling the organic matter of the sediment, and regulate the benthic community struc-ture. Our results indicate that the trophic role of wild fishes should be considered when evaluatingthe environmental impact of fish farms.KEY WORDS: Aquaculture · Wild fishes · Fish farm · Sea-cage · Organic waste · Mediterranean Sea
The Diesel Exhaust in Miners Study: II. Exposure Monitoring Surveys and Development of Exposure Groups

Air monitoring surveys were conducted between 1998 and 2001 at seven non-metal mining facilities to assess exposure to respirable elemental carbon (REC), a component of diesel exhaust (DE), for an epidemiologic study of miners exposed to DE. Personal exposure measurements were taken on workers in a cross-section of jobs located underground and on the surface. Air samples taken to measure REC were also analyzed for respirable organic carbon (ROC). Concurrent measurements to assess exposure to nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), two gaseous components of DE, were also taken. The REC measurements were used to develop quantitative estimates of average exposure levels by facility, department, and job title for the epidemiologic analysis. Each underground job was assigned to one of three sets of exposure groups from specific to general: (i) standardized job titles, (ii) groups of standardized job titles combined based on the percentage of time in the major underground areas, and (iii) larger groups based on similar area carbon monoxide (CO) air concentrations. Surface jobs were categorized based on their use of diesel equipment and proximity to DE. A total of 779 full-shift personal measurements were taken underground. The average REC exposure levels for underground jobs with five or more measurements ranged from 31 to 58 μg m−3 at the facility with the lowest average exposure levels and from 313 to 488 μg m−3 at the facility with the highest average exposure levels. The average REC exposure levels for surface workers ranged from 2 to 6 μg m−3 across the seven facilities. There was much less contrast in the ROC compared with REC exposure levels measured between surface and underground workers within each facility, as well as across the facilities. The average ROC levels underground ranged from 64 to 195 μg m−3, while on the surface, the average ROC levels ranged from 38 to 71 μg m−3 by facility, an ∼2- to 3-fold difference. The average NO and NO2 levels underground ranged from 0.20 to 1.49 parts per million (ppm) and from 0.10 to 0.60 ppm, respectively, and were ∼10 times higher than levels on the surface, which ranged from 0.02 to 0.11 ppm and from 0.01 to 0.06 ppm, respectively. The ROC, NO, and NO2 concentrations underground were correlated with the REC levels (r = 0.62, 0.71, and 0.62, respectively). A total of 80% of the underground jobs were assigned an exposure estimate based on measurements taken for the specific job title or for other jobs with a similar percentage of time spent in the major underground work areas. The average REC exposure levels by facility were from 15 to 64 times higher underground than on the surface. The large contrast in exposure levels measured underground versus on the surface, along with the differences between the mining facilities and between underground jobs within the facilities resulted in a wide distribution in the exposure estimates for evaluation of exposure–response relationships in the epidemiologic analyses.
Downregulation of reduced-folate transporter by glucose in cultured RPE cells and in RPE of diabetic mice.

PURPOSE The polarized distribution of reduced-folate transporter (RFT)-1 to the apical retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) membrane was demonstrated recently. Nitric oxide (NO) significantly decreases the activity of RFT-1 in cultured RPE cells. NO is elevated in diabetes, and therefore in the present study the alteration of RFT-1 activity in RPE under conditions of high glucose was investigated. METHODS Human ARPE-19 cells were incubated in media containing 5 mM glucose plus 40 mM mannitol (control) or 45 mM glucose for varying periods and the activity of RFT-1 was assessed by determining the uptake of [3H]-N(5)-methyltetrahydrofolate (MTF). The levels of mRNA encoding RFT-1 were determined by RT-PCR and protein levels by Western blot analysis. The activity of RFT-1 and expression of mRNA encoding RFT-1 were analyzed also in RPE of streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice. RESULTS Exposure of RPE cells to 45 mM glucose for as short an incubation time as 6 hours resulted in a 35% decrease in MTF uptake. Kinetic analysis showed that the hyperglycemia-induced attenuation was associated with a decrease in the maximal velocity of the transporter with no significant change in the substrate affinity. Semiquantitative RT-PCR demonstrated that the mRNA encoding RFT-1 was significantly decreased in cells exposed to high glucose, and Western blot analysis showed a significant decrease in protein levels. The uptake of [3H]-MTF in RPE of diabetic mice was reduced by approximately 20%, compared with that in nondiabetic, age-matched control animals. Semiquantitative RT-PCR demonstrated that the mRNA encoding RFT-1 was decreased significantly in RPE of diabetic mice. CONCLUSIONS These findings demonstrate for the first time that hyperglycemic conditions reduce the expression and activity of RFT-1 and may have profound implications for the transport of folate by RPE in diabetes.
Obstacle localization and recognition for autonomous forklifts using omnidirectional stereovision

In this paper we propose an approach for obstacle localization and recognition using omnidirectional stereovision applied to autonomous fork-lifts in industrial environments. We use omnidirectional stereovision with two fisheye cameras for the 3D perception of the surrounding environment. Using the reconstructed 3D points, a Digital Elevation Map (DEM) is constructed consisting of a 2.5D grid of elevation cells. Each cell is then classified as ground or obstacle. Further, we use the classified DEM to generate obstacle hypotheses. To ensure a higher detection rate we also propose a fast sliding window based approach relying on the monocular fisheye intensity image. The detections from both approaches are merged and are subjected to a tracking mechanism. Finally each obstacle is classified using boosting over Visual Codebook type features. The classification is refined using the classification history available from tracking. The presented approaches are integrated into a 3D visual perception system for AGVs and are of real time performance.
Mobile-Based Flower Recognition System

Conventional flower or leaf recognition studies have some restrictions and limitations. These include a sharp drop in recognition rate due to the varying positions and number of relevant objects in the original object image. Hence, this paper suggests and implements a mobile-based flower recognition system using Difference Image Entropy (DIE) and contour features of the flower from the original image with multi-flower objects. In system framework includes 1) WiBro Net. -based transmission and designation module of the relevant flower object by drawing the flower region of the user’s interest, 2) contour feature extraction module, and 3) DIE-based flower recognition module. The system was evaluated using ten species of flowers with each ten samples. Experimental results achieved an optimum average recognition rate of 95% and average response run-time of 9,033ms, for a set of ten images per species.
To appear in Face Recognition : Models and Mechanisms ; Academic Press Face Recognition by Humans

The human visual system is remarkably proficient at the task of identifying faces, even under severely degraded viewing conditions. A grand quest in computer vision is to design automated systems that can match, and eventually exceed, this level of performance. In order to accomplish this goal, a better understanding of the human brain’s face processing strategies is likely to be helpful. With this motivation, here we review four key aspects of human face perception performance: 1. Tolerance for degradations, 2. Relative contribution of geometric and photometric cues, 3. The development of face perception skills, and 4. Biologically inspired approaches for representing facial-images. Taken together, the results provide strong constraints and guidelines for computational models of face recognition.