Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Application of Principal Components Regression for Analysis of X-Ray Diffraction Images of Wood

We report on the use of Principal Component Regression (PCR), a least squares calibration method employing Principal Component Analysis (PCA) for the analysis of large sets of images obtained by wide angle X-ray diffractometry (WAXD) of wood. PCR multivariate models were created for prediction of microfibril angle (MFA), an important wood structural parameter. Multivariate regression techniques have previously been applied to Xray diffraction data for a variety of analytical problems. These include analysis of complex mineral mixtures (Karstang and Eastgate 1987) and for automated high-throughput analysis of powder diffraction profiles obtained by azimuthal averaging of 2D diffraction patterns (Gilmore, Barr et al. 2004). Multivariate classification from X-ray diffraction data has also been used for discrimination of insulin microcrystals (Norrman, Stahl et al. 2006) and brucite particle morphology (Matos, Xavier et al. 2007). The models created in this study used pixels from across the full area of the diffraction image as predictor variables, a technique which has not been found applied to diffraction data in the literature. A related technique, multivariate analysis of congruent images (MACI), was introduced by Eriksson, Wold et al. (2005) for discrimination and quantification of events within video image sequences. MACI uses wavelet analysis to decompose images and obtain predictive information which is correlated with frame-by-frame differences and that can describe properties such as the movement of an object or change in composition of a feature.
Polyhemoglobin–Tyrosinase, an Oxygen Carrier with Murine B16F10 Melanoma Suppression Properties: A Preliminary Report

Melanoma now represents the fifth most common cancer in North America and it has increased dramatically in the past decade. One of the approaches shows that lowering of tyrosine level can inhibit the growth of melanoma in cell culture and in mice bearing B16BL6 melanoma. However, human cannot tolerate the tyrosine restricted diets for lowering tyrosine due to nausea, vomiting, and severe body weight loss. We therefore prepare a novel soluble polyhemoglobin-tyrosinase complex. Our studies show that this preparation can lower systemic tyrosine level in normal animals. This preparation also prevents the native tyrosinase from having adverse effects and from rapid removal after injection. In cell culture study, we find that this preparation inhibits the growth of murine B16F10 melanoma culture. Furthermore, in animal studies we observe that daily intravenous injection of this polyhemoglobin-tyrosinase preparation significantly delays the growth of B16F10 melanoma in mice, without causing adverse effects or changes in the growth of the treated animals.
Spectral index maps of the radio halos in Abell 665 and Abell 2163

New radio data at 330 MHz are presented for the rich clusters Abell 665 and Abell 2163, whose radio emission is characterized by the presence of a radio halo. These images allowed us to derive the spectral properties of the two clusters under study. The integrated spectra of these halos between 0.3 GHz and 1.4 GHz are moderately steep: α 1.4 0.3 = 1.04 and α 1.4 0.3 = 1.18, for A665 and A2163, respectively. The spectral index maps, produced with an angular resolution of the order of ∼1 � , show features of the spectral index (flattening and patches), which are indication of a complex shape of the radiating electron spectrum, and are therefore in support of electron reacceleration models. Regions of flatter spectrum are found to be related to the recent merger activity in these clusters. This is the first strong confirmation that the cluster merger supplies energy to the radio halo. In the undisturbed cluster regions, the spectrum steepens with the distance from the cluster center. This is interpreted as the result of the combination of the magnetic field profile with the spatial distribution of the reacceleration efficiency, thus allowing us to set constraints on the radial profile of the cluster magnetic field.
DEPRESSED MOOD IN THE WORKING POPULATION: ASSOCIATIONS WITH WORK SCHEDULES AND WORKING HOURS

The impact of working time arrangements (WTA) on health has been studied extensively. Still, little is known about the interrelation between work schedules, working hours, and depressed mood. For work schedules, the underlying assumptions regarding depressed mood refer to a disturbance of social and biological rhythms, whereas for working hours, the assumptions relate to workload and work capacity. Conversely, depressed mood may urge an employee to adjust his/her work schedule and/or number of working hours/week (h/wk). The aim of this study was to assess the association between work schedule and working hours with depressed mood. Using baseline data from the Maastricht Cohort Study, depressed mood in day work was compared with depressed mood in different shiftwork schedules (n = 8843). Within day work, several categories of working h/wk were studied in association with depressed mood (n = 7217). The association between depressed mood and several aspects of overtime was assessed separately. Depressed mood was measured with a dichotomous item: “Did you feel down every day over the last two weeks? ” Separate logistic regression analyses were conducted for men and women, with adjustments for potential confounders. The odds ratio (OR) for depressed mood was greater for men involved in shiftwork than for men only involved in day work (three-shift OR = 2.05 [95% confidence interval, CI 1.52–2.77]; five-shift OR = 1.34 [95% CI 1.00–1.80]; irregular-shift OR = 1.79 [95% CI 1.27–2.53]). In female employees, five-shift work was associated with a higher prevalence of depressed mood (OR = 5.96 [95% CI 2.83–12.56]). Regarding the number of working h/wk, men working <26 h/wk had a higher prevalence of depressed mood than men working 36–40 h/wk (OR = 2.73 [95% CI 1.35–5.52]). After conducting trend analyses, a significant decreasing trend was found in men, whereas an increasing trend was found in women working a high number of hours. Furthermore, a dose-response relationship was present in men regarding the number of overtime h/wk. This study showed that different work schedules and working hours are associated with depressed mood. Shiftwork was related to a higher prevalence of depressed mood than day work. The association was more pronounced for male employees. Regarding the number of working h/wk, male and female employees showed an opposite trend in depressed mood. Because of the possibility of a healthy worker effect and the possibility of a reciprocal relationship between WTA and depressed mood, the reported relation might be underestimated. This study has illustrated that occupational physicians, who deal with depressed mood among workers, should carefully consider the impact of WTA. (Author coorespondence: Karolien.Driesen@epid.unimaas.nl)
Whitening of Background Brain Activity via Parametric Modeling

Several signal subspace techniques have been recently suggested for the extraction of the visual evoked potential signals from brain background colored noise. The majority of these techniques assume the background noise as white, and for colored noise, it is suggested to be whitened, without further elaboration on how this might be done. In this paper, we investigate the whitening capabilities of two parametric techniques: a direct one based on Levinson solution of Yule-Walker equations, called AR Yule-Walker, and an indirect one based on the least-squares solution of forward-backward linear prediction (FBLP) equations, called AR-FBLP. The whitening effect of the two algorithms is investigated with real background electroencephalogram (EEG) colored noise and compared in time and frequency domains.
The Impact of Hepatectomy Time of the Liver Graft on Post-transplant Outcome: A Eurotransplant Cohort Study

Objective: Assessing the effect of donor hepatectomy time on outcome after transplantation. Summary of Background Data: When blood supply in a deceased organ donor stops, ischemic injury starts. Livers are cooled to reduce cellular metabolism and minimize ischemic injury. This cooling is slow and livers are lukewarm during hepatectomy, potentially affecting outcome. Methods: We used the Eurotransplant Registry to investigate the relationship between donor hepatectomy time and post-transplant outcome in 12,974 recipients of deceased-donor livers (January 1, 2004, to December 31, 2013). Cox regression analyses for patient and graft survival (censored and uncensored for death with a functioning graft) were corrected for donor, preservation, and recipient variables. Donor hepatectomy time was defined as time between start of aortic cold flush and placement of the liver in the ice-bowl. Results: Median donor hepatectomy time was 41 minutes [interquartile range (IQR) 32 to 52]. Livers donated after circulatory death had longer hepatectomy times than those from brain-dead donors [50 minutes (35 to 68) vs 40 minutes (32 to 51), P < 0.001]. Donor hepatectomy time was independently associated with graft loss [adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 1.03 for every 10-minute increase, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.02–1.05; P < 0.001]. The magnitude of this effect was comparable to the effect of each hour of additional cold ischemia time (adjusted HR 1.04, 95% CI 1.02–1.05; P < 0.001). Donor hepatectomy time had a similar effect on death-censored graft survival and patient survival. Livers donated after circulatory death and those with a higher donor risk index were more susceptible to the effect of donor hepatectomy time on death-censored graft survival. Conclusion: Donor hepatectomy time impairs liver transplant outcome. Keeping this time short together with efficient cooling during hepatectomy might improve outcome.
Cardiovascular Risk Assessment in Diabetes and Chronic Kidney Diseases: A New Insight and Emerging Strategies

The post-millennium era witnesses a substantial epidemiologic transition in which cardiovascular disease (CVD) has taken more important role in mortality and morbidity in almost all parts of the world[1]. However, the natural history of CVD itself has also been evolving in parallel to changing life style and environmental risk factors. Nevertheless, despite a global movement for CVD control, the target points are still poorly achieved[2]. Therefore, a new look at the issue of CVD pathophysiology, CVD markers and risk assessment is necessary for a proper and effective care plan and targeting CVD prevention and control.
A Study on Noise Reduction Method Based on Noise Reconstruction System with Step Size Control

A noise reduction method is proposed to reduce background noise in noisy speech. We have investigated a noise reconstruction system using a linear prediction error filter (LPEF) and a noise reconstruction filter (NRF). An input signal of a LPEF becomes a white signal. Assuming that background noise is generated by exciting a linear system by a white signal, the background noise can be reconstructed from white noise by estimating the linear system. The NRF estimates the linear system. However, since residual speech is included in an input signal of a NRF, it is necessary to use a small step size, which enables us to update coefficients of a NRF without estimating a speech signal. Therefore, it becomes difficult for a NRF to track non-stationary noise. In order to solve the problem, a noise reconstruction system using step size control is proposed.
Comparative Analysis of Poxvirus Orthologues of the Vaccinia Virus E3 Protein: Modulation of Protein Kinase R Activity, Cytokine Responses, and Virus Pathogenicity

ABSTRACT Poxviruses are important human and animal pathogens that have evolved elaborate strategies for antagonizing host innate and adaptive immunity. The E3 protein of vaccinia virus, the prototypic member of the orthopoxviruses, functions as an inhibitor of innate immune signaling and is essential for vaccinia virus replication in vivo and in many human cell culture systems. However, the function of orthologues of E3 expressed by poxviruses of other genera with different host specificity remains largely unknown. In the present study, we characterized the E3 orthologues from sheeppox virus, yaba monkey tumor virus, swinepox virus, and myxoma virus for their ability to modulate protein kinase R (PKR) function, cytokine responses and virus pathogenicity. We found that the E3 orthologues of myxoma virus and swinepox virus could suppress PKR activation and interferon (IFN)-induced antiviral activities and restore the host range function of E3 in HeLa cells. In contrast, the E3 orthologues from sheeppox virus and yaba monkey tumor virus were unable to inhibit PKR activation. While the sheeppox orthologue was unable to restore the host range function of E3, the yaba monkey tumor virus orthologue partially restored E3-deficient vaccinia virus replication in HeLa cells, correlated with its ability to suppress IFN-induced antiviral activities. Moreover, poxvirus E3 orthologues show varying ability to inhibit the induction of antiviral and proinflammatory cytokines. Despite these in vitro results, none of the E3 orthologues tested was capable of restoring pathogenicity to E3-deficient vaccinia virus in vivo.
Concomitant hypodontia and hyperdontia: A report of two cases

“Concomitant hypodontia and hyperdontia” is a very rare dental anomaly of number, having a prevalence rate of 0.002%–3.1%. It describes the simultaneous presence of hypodontia or missing teeth and supernumerary teeth in the same individual. It represents the opposite forces of nature acting simultaneously. Two rare cases of this anomaly involving different jaws and a classification based on the literature review have been presented here.
Research on DFIG flux damping control strategy based on imaginary damping winding

For double-fed induction generator (DFIG) wind power system, when grid voltage fault happens, transient DC flux component will emerge in the stator. The transient DC flux will affect the performance of output power and electromagnetic torque of DFIG. In serious conditions over voltage and current will be induced in rotor side. To mitigate this problem, a novel flux damping control strategy of DFIG is proposed based on grid voltage oriented vector control and imaginary damping winding in this paper. Firstly the transient process of stator flux under grid faults is analyzed based on the electromagnetic relationship of DFIG. The stability of DFIG grid voltage vector oriented control strategy is also analyzed. Then based on the function of damping winding in synchronous generator the novel flux control is proposed and principles of it are introduced in details. The effects of the rotor-side converter's rate and the generator operation state are considered. The validity of the proposed method is verified using a typical 1.5MW DFIG in the Matlab/Simulink simulation environment. The proposed control strategy is proven to be able to increase damping rate of the transient DC flux component in stator effectively and improve the stability of control system.
Morphometric analysis of testis cord formation in Sox9‐EGFP mice

Sox9‐EGFP knockin mice were generated to label Sertoli cells and visualize testis cord formation during development. Confocal microscopy and morphometric analysis of developing cords were performed. Serial histological sections were used for three‐dimensional cord reconstruction. Initially, gonad length decreased from embryonic day (E) 11.5 to E13.5, but increased thereafter, while gonad width doubled every 12 hours from E11.5 through E14.5. At E12.5, the average number of cords was 12.5, whereas this decreased to 10.4 at E13.5 and E14.5. Cord number at a given time point varied between gonads and influenced dimensions. The initial cords that formed were complex and branches were common. Time‐lapse imaging revealed an intricate behavior of the Sertoli–germ cell mass and cellular exchange between connected neighboring cords. These results suggest that cord formation is a highly dynamic process that subsequently becomes refined to establish the final number of seminiferous tubule precursors. Developmental Dynamics 238:1100–1110, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Efficient construction of saliency map

The saliency map is useful for many applications such as image compression, display, and visualization. However, the bottom-up model used in most saliency map construction methods is computationally expensive. The purpose of this paper is to improve the efficiency of the model for automatic construction of the saliency map of an image while preserving its accuracy. In particular, we remove the contrast sensitivity function and the visual masking component of the bottom-up visual attention model and retain the components related to perceptual decomposition and center-surround interaction that are critical properties of human visual system. The simplified model is verified by performance comparison with the ground truth. In addition, a salient region enhancement technique is adopted to enhance the connectivity of the saliency map, and the saliency maps of three color channels are fused to enhance the prediction accuracy. Experimental results show that the average correlation between our algorithm and the ground truth is close to that between the original model and the ground truth, while the computational complexity is reduced by 98%.
Tracking boundary movement and exterior shape modelling in lung EIT imaging

Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) has shown significant promise for lung imaging. One key challenge for EIT in this application is the movement of electrodes during breathing, which introduces artefacts in reconstructed images. Various approaches have been proposed to compensate for electrode movement, but no comparison of these approaches is available. This paper analyses boundary model mismatch and electrode movement in lung EIT. The aim is to evaluate the extent to which various algorithms tolerate movement, and to determine if a patient specific model is required for EIT lung imaging. Movement data are simulated from a CT-based model, and image analysis is performed using quantitative figures of merit. The electrode movement is modelled based on expected values of chest movement and an extended Jacobian method is proposed to make use of exterior boundary tracking. Results show that a dynamical boundary tracking is the most robust method against any movement, but is computationally more expensive. Simultaneous electrode movement and conductivity reconstruction algorithms show increased robustness compared to only conductivity reconstruction. The results of this comparative study can help develop a better understanding of the impact of shape model mismatch and electrode movement in lung EIT.
Effect of eight weeks circuit resistance training with Zataria multiflora supplementation on plasma levels of leptin and adiponectin in postmenopausal women

Introduction: Aging and low physical activity results in a decrease in Adiponectin and an increase in leptin, which can cause cardiovascular diseases, obesity and diabetes. The aim of present study was to investigate the effect of 8 weeks circuit-resistance training (CRT) with Zataria multiflora (Z. multiflora) supplementation on plasma leptin and adiponectin in postmenopausal women. Materials and methods: 48 untrained postmenopausal women took part in this study. The participants were randomly divided in 4 groups with 12 persons in each: resistance training (RTG), Z. multiflora (ZG), control (CG) and Z. multifloraresistance training (ZRTG). Resistance training program contained 12 stations (each station 30 second with 35 percent of one maximum repetition) and continued for 8 weeks (3 sessions per week). Participants in the ZG and ZRTG consumed 500 mg of Z. multiflora supplementation daily before breakfast. Blood samples were collected 48 hours before first session and 48 hours after last session to measure plasma levels of leptin and Adiponectin. Results: Significant difference between ZRTG and CG in plasma Adiponectin was observed (P˂0.05). However, there was no significant difference between groups in leptin (P˃0.05). Conclusion: This study indicated that CRT can cause a decrease in leptin and an increase in Adiponectin. Also, when Z. multiflora intervention included in the training program, this effects increased.
International Journal of Computational Intelligence Systems

We propose an online sensorimotor architecture for controlling a low-cost humanoid robot to perform dance movements synchronized with musical stimuli. The proposed architecture attempts to overcome the robot’s motor constraints by adjusting the velocity of its actuators and inter-changing the attended beat metrical-level on-the-ﬂy. Moreover, we propose quantitative metrics for measuring the level of beat-synchrony of the generated robot dancing motion and complement them with a qualitative survey about several aspects of the demonstrated robot dance performances. Tests with different dance movements and musical pieces demonstrated satisfactory beat-synchrony results despite the physical limitations of the robot. The comparison against robot dance sequences generated without inter-changing the attended metrical-level validated our sensorimotor approach for controlling beat-synchronous robot dancing motions using different dance movements and facing distinct musical tempo conditions.
AGTR2 gene polymorphism is associated with muscle fibre composition, athletic status and aerobic performance

What is the central question of this study? Variations in genes are considered to be molecular determinants maintaining the expression of the slow or fast myosin heavy chains of adult skeletal muscle. The role of polymorphisms of candidate genes involved in skeletal muscle development, energy homeostasis and thyroid and calcium metabolism in the determination of muscle fibre type has not previously been reported. What is the main finding and its importance? We show that the AGTR2 rs11091046 C allele is associated with an increased proportion of slow‐twitch muscle fibres, endurance athlete status and aerobic performance. Such findings have important implications for our understanding of muscle function in both health and disease.