Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
QRS complex detection in tele-health ECG recordings using modified UNSW algorithm

Tele-Health applications are becoming quite popular these days, especially to the citizens living in remote areas who are incapable of moving to a different location at times of emergency. This paper proposes our work to provide Tele-Health through early analysis of cardiac patterns at the golden hour. Using this method analyzing ECG recordings that are extracted in a Tele-Health environment is possible. This is done detecting the QRS Complexes in TeleECG signals. Using these QRS Complexes it is possible to easily identify the cardiac variations or to detect symptoms of cardiac arrest. Normal algorithms cannot be implemented in a Tele-Health environment. This is because the existing QRS Detection algorithms primarily focuses on Pure Clinical ECG where the level of noise is low. The proposed algorithm is capable of detecting QRS Complexes in poor quality Tele-Health ECG where the level of noise is high. This is done by extracting the pure signal from all unwanted noises and other electrical interferences.
Multi-modal/multi-scale convolutional neural network based in-loop filter design for next generation video codec

In this paper, we propose a novel in-loop filter design for video compression. Our approach aims to replace existing deblocking filter and SAO (Sample Adaptive Offset) of HEVC standard with multi-modal/multi-scale convolutional neural network (MMS-net). The proposed CNN architecture consists of two sub-networks of different scales. An input image is down-sampled first and restored through the lower scale network, then the output image from it is fed into higher scale network concatenated with the original input image. Moreover, to boost the restoration performance, the proposed architecture utilizes information resides in the coded sequence. Specifically, the compression parameters from coding tree units (CTU) are exploited as input to CNN, which helps to alleviate blocking artifacts on the reconstructed images. In the experiments, our method reduces the average BD-rate by 4.55% and 8.5%, respectively, compared with the conventional neural network based approach [1] and HEVC reference software HM16.7 [2] in ‘All Intra — Main’ configuration.
Identification of DNA-PKcs as a primary resistance factor of salinomycin in osteosarcoma cells

Malignant osteosarcoma (OS) is still a deadly disease for many affected patients. The search for the novel anti-OS agent is extremely urgent and important. Our previous study has proposed that salinomycin is a novel anti-OS agent. Here we characterized DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) as a primary salinomycin resistance factor in OS cells. DNA-PKcs inhibitors (NU7026, NU7441 and LY294002) or DNA-PKcs shRNA knockdown dramatically potentiated salinomycin-induced death and apoptosis of OS cells (U2OS and MG-63 lines). Further, forced-expression of microRNA-101 (“miR-101”) downregulated DNA-PKcs and augmented salinomycin's cytotoxicity against OS cells. Reversely, over-expression of DNA-PKcs in OS cells inhibited salinomycin's lethality. For the mechanism study, we show that DNA-PKcs is required for salinomycin-induced pro-survival autophagy activation. DNA-PKcs inhibition (by NU7441), shRNA knockdown or miR-101 expression inhibited salinomycin-induced Beclin-1 expression and autophagy induction. Meanwhile, knockdown of Beclin-1 by shRNA significantly sensitized salinomycin-induced OS cell lethality. In vivo, salinomycin administration suppressed U2OS xenograft tumor growth in severe combined immuno-deficient (SCID) mice, and its anti-tumor activity was dramatically potentiated with co-administration of the DNA-PKcs inhibitor NU7026. Together, these results suggest that DNA-PKcs could be a primary resistance factor of salinomycin in OS cells. DNA-PKcs inhibition or silence may thus significantly increase salinomycin's sensitivity in OS cells.
On using Kullback-Leibler distance to estimate vector quantization performance for line spectrum frequency parameters

In this paper we demonstrate that the Kullback-Leibler distance is a good approximation for the expected number of extra bits required to quantize the LSF vectors from a given set using a VQ based on a different set, without increasing the distortion. By using this result we give an analytical demonstration for an important property in VQ design that says that to improve the performance of a VQ, a larger training set is required. A method to determine the coding loss due to the split VQ is also presented.
Analysing scientific collaborations of new zealand institutions using scopus bibliometric data

Scientific collaborations are among the main enablers of development in small national science systems. Although analysing scientific collaborations is a well-established subject in scientometrics, evaluations of scientific collaborations within a country remains speculative with studies based on a limited number of fields or using data too inadequate to be representative of collaborations at a national level. This study represents a unique view on the collaborative aspect of scientific activities in New Zealand. We perform a quantitative study based on all Scopus publications in all subjects for more than 1500 New Zealand institutions over a period of 6 years to generates an extensive mapping of scientific collaboration at a national level. The comparative results reveal the level of collaboration between New Zealand institutions and business enterprises, government institutions, higher education providers, and private not for profit organisations in 2010-2015. Constructing a collaboration network of institutions, we observe a power-law distribution indicating that a small number of New Zealand institutions account for a large proportion of national collaborations. Network centrality concepts are deployed to identify the most central institutions of the country in terms of collaboration. We also provide comparative results on 15 universities and Crown research institutes based on 27 subject classifications.
Sparse matrix assembly on the GPU through multiplication patterns

The numerical treatment of variational problems gives rise to large sparse matrices, which are typically assembled by coalescing elementary contributions. As the explicit matrix form is required by numerical solvers, the assembly step can be a potential bottleneck, especially in implicit and time dependent settings where considerable updates are needed. On standard HPC platforms, this process can be vectorized by taking advantage of additional mesh querying data structures. However, on graphics hardware, vectorization is inhibited by limited memory resources. In this paper, we propose a lean unstructured mesh representation, which allows casting the assembly problem as a sparse matrix-matrix multiplication. We demonstrate how the global graph connectivity of the assembled matrix can be captured through basic linear algebra operations and show how local interactions between nodes/degrees of freedom within an element can be encoded by means of concise representation, action maps. These ideas not only reduce the memory storage requirements but also cut down on the bulk of data that needs to be moved from global storage to the compute units, which is crucial on parallel computing hardware, and in particular on the GPU. Furthermore, we analyze the effect of mesh memory layout on the assembly performance.
Effect of air plasma treatment on interfacial shear strength of carbon fiber–reinforced polyphenylene sulfide

Plasma treatment, an environmentally safe method, was applied for surface modification of carbon fibers (CFs) and polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) fibers. The morphology, crystallization property, thermal stability, and chemical properties of CF/PPS composites were determined, respectively, by scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Interfacial micromechanical performance of CF/PPS composites was investigated by microbond test. The influence of plasma treatment on the apparent interfacial shear strength (τapp) of CF/PPS micro-composite was systematically evaluated. The plasma treatment of CF reduced the τapp of the micro-composite by 13.7% and that of CFs and PPS fibers by 3.4%. However, the plasma-treated PPS fibers increased the τapp of the micro-composite by 17.1%. The present study demonstrates that matching of polarity between CF and the resin plays a great role in reinforcement of interfacial property.
Measuring the Cost and Value of Quality Improvement Initiatives for Local Health Departments

Objective: To demonstrate an approach to measuring the cost and value of quality improvement (QI) implementation in local health departments (LHDs). Design: We conducted cost estimation for 4 LHD QI projects and return-on-investment (ROI) analysis for 2 selected LHD QI projects. Setting and Participants: Four Nebraska LHDs varying in rurality and jurisdiction size. Main outcome measures: Total costs, unit costs, incremental cost-effectiveness ratios, and ROI. Results: The 4 QI projects vary significantly in their cost estimates. Estimated ROI ratios for 2 QI projects predicted significant savings in health care utilization for respective program participants. A QI project focused on improving breastfeeding rates in WIC (women, infants, and children) clients had a predicted ROI ratio of 3230% and a QI project for improving participation in a Chronic Disease Self-Management Program would need only 34 new participants to have a positive ROI. Conclusions: We demonstrated how data can be collected and analyzed for cost estimation and ROI analysis to quantify the economic value of QI for LHDs. Our ROI analysis shows that QI initiatives have great potential to enhance the value of LHDs' public health services. A better understanding of the costs and value of QI will enable LHDs to appropriately allocate and utilize their limited resources for suitable QI initiatives.
Hippocampal expression of a virus-derived protein impairs memory in mice

Significance As obligate parasites, viruses have evolved strategies to hijack cellular pathways and persist in their host, sometimes without causing overt diseases. As such, they represent unique tools to decipher cellular functions and their consequences on host physiology. Here, we exploited the natural property of a virus-encoded protein known to act as a decoy substrate for protein kinase C (PKC), a pathway thought to play key roles in learning and memory processes. When selectively expressed in the hippocampal dentate gyrus of mice, this protein caused behavioral abnormalities, notably increased anxiety and impaired memory, mostly by interfering with PKC-dependent phosphorylation. Our findings provide further insight into the role of the PKC pathway in controlling cognitive functions. The analysis of the biology of neurotropic viruses, notably of their interference with cellular signaling, provides a useful tool to get further insight into the role of specific pathways in the control of behavioral functions. Here, we exploited the natural property of a viral protein identified as a major effector of behavioral disorders during infection. We used the phosphoprotein (P) of Borna disease virus, which acts as a decoy substrate for protein kinase C (PKC) when expressed in neurons and disrupts synaptic plasticity. By a lentiviral-based strategy, we directed the singled-out expression of P in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus and we examined its impact on mouse behavior. Mice expressing the P protein displayed increased anxiety and impaired long-term memory in contextual and spatial memory tasks. Interestingly, these effects were dependent on P protein phosphorylation by PKC, as expression of a mutant form of P devoid of its PKC phosphorylation sites had no effect on these behaviors. We also revealed features of behavioral impairment induced by P protein expression but that were independent of its phosphorylation by PKC. Altogether, our findings provide insight into the behavioral correlates of viral infection, as well as into the impact of virus-mediated alterations of the PKC pathway on behavioral functions.
Highly sensitive organic near-infrared phototransistors based on poly(3-hexylthiophene) and PbS quantum dots

Highly sensitive near-infrared (NIR) phototransistors based on poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and lead sulfide quantum dots (PbS QDs) were fabricated by a solution process. The phototransistors show high responsivity up to 2 × 104 A W−1 under NIR illumination with wavelength of 895 nm, which is much bigger than that of the photodetectors based on PbS QDs or organic semiconductors only. The sensing mechanism is attributed to the photo-induced electrons generated in the PbS QDs, which increase the threshold voltage of the transistor. These phototransistors may find promising applications as infrared sensors for their high responsivity, easy fabrication, low cost and flexibility.
Potential serum microRNA signatures of pediatric IgA nephropathy

IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is one of the most common causes leading to end-stage renal failure. The regulatory mechanisms underlying the emergence of microRNA are poorly understood and need to be studied for developing better strategies for diagnosis and treatment of pediatric IgA nephropathy. We performed a microRNA sequence analysis of the plasma microRNAs of pediatric patients with IgA nephropathy and healthy control by next generation sequencing (NGS) using the Illumina Deep Sequencing technology. We obtained 18,395,453, 11,348,541 and 22,646,434 qualified Illumina reads from three healthy controls, or 4,287,101, 5,473,799, 5,598,305, 7,713,565, 3,766,914, 7,249,629, 4,199,660, 5,623,320 and 3,014,665 qualified Illumina reads from nine pediatric patients, respectively. Comparative microRNAs analysis differentially revealed 2591 microRNAs between pediatric patients and healthy controls, one expression of microRNA was up-regulated and 19 expressions of microRNA were downregulated. The volcano plot was used to further identify differential microRNAs expression between the two groups. Cluster analysis was performed, and spearman correlation coefficient was calculated and analyzed. Gene ontology (GO) consortium and data were used to analyze the targets gene of different microRNAs. Our work demonstrated differential microRNAs between pediatric patients and healthy controls. Numbers of microRNAs will serve as a promising resource for revealing the regulatory molecular mechanisms of expression associated with the pathophysiology and pathogenesis of IgAN, even their implications in the field of therapy.
Investigation of the Active Ripple Compensation Technique to Reduce Bulk Capacitance in Offline Flyback-Based LED Drivers

This paper presents the study of an offline flyback-based light-emitting diode (LED) driver with reduced storage capacitance. An approach called active ripple compensation was used for minimizing the converter bulk capacitance. This technique is oriented to voltage-controlled pulse width modulation converters and is based on the modulation of the duty cycle, which allows for the reduction of the filtering capacitance by increasing the harmonic content of the input current up to the limits established by the standards. By means of the design procedure presented in this paper, the amount of capacitance reduction and input current distortion can be fully controlled and theoretically predicted. In addition, no extra sensors are required to implement the proposed technique, apart from the LED current sensor already available in most LED drivers. Experimental results from a 50-W laboratory prototype supplied from a 220-V 60-Hz grid were carried out. The results were compared with the conventional approach, attesting the superior performance of the proposed methodology.
High speed communication and realization between FPGA and DSP in software-defined radio system

A high-speed data communication method between DSP and FPGA is implemented to meet the real-time requirements of data transmission and algorithm processing in software-defined radio system. The system uses AD9361 for data acquisition, high-performance FPGA for data pre-processing, low-power DSP processor to achieve complex algorithm and extract parameters, combined high-speed data processing of DSP with real-time response of FPGA to meet the performance optimization of the system. The software radio system to complete the rapid scanning of the spectrum(70 MHz-6 GHz), real-time analysis and early prediction. This Program is based on the TMS320 C6748 series of DSP chips and Xilinx Spartan6 FPGA chip, using a universal parallel interface connect FPGA and DSP, in which the interrupt signal and enable signal as judging bit and enable bit complete communication. The experimental results demonstrates that the scheme has high feasibility and stability.
Treatment planning in microwave thermal ablation: clinical gaps and recent research advances

Abstract Microwave thermal ablation (MTA) is a minimally invasive therapeutic technique aimed at destroying pathologic tissues through a very high temperature increase induced by the absorption of an electromagnetic field at microwave (MW) frequencies. Open problems, which are delaying MTA applications in clinical practice, are mainly linked to the extremely high temperatures, up to 120 °C, reached by the tissue close to the antenna applicator, as well as to the ability of foreseeing and controlling the shape and dimension of the thermally ablated area. Recent research was devoted to the characterisation of dielectric, thermal and physical properties of tissue looking at their changes with the increasing temperature, looking for possible developments of reliable, automatic and personalised treatment planning. In this paper, a review of the recently obtained results as well as new unpublished data will be presented and discussed.
Evolution of genes associated with gynoecium patterning and fruit development in Solanaceae

Background and Aims The genetic basis of fruit development has been extensively studied in Arabidopsis, where major transcription factors controlling valve identity (i.e. FRUITFULL), replum development (i.e. REPLUMLESS) and the differentiation of the dehiscence zones (i.e. SHATTERPROOF, INDEHISCENT and ALCATRAZ) have been identified. This gene regulatory network in other flowering plants is influenced by duplication events during angiosperm diversification. Here we aim to characterize candidate fruit development genes in the Solanaceae and compare them with those of Brassicaceae. Methods ALC/SPT, HEC/IND, RPL and AG/SHP homologues were isolated from publicly available databases and from our own transcriptomes of Brunfelsia australis and Streptosolen jamesonii. Maximum likelihood phylogenetic analyses were performed for each of the gene lineages. Shifts in protein motifs, as well as expression patterns of all identified homologues, are shown in dissected floral organs and fruits in different developmental stages of four Solanaceae species exhibiting different fruit types. Key Results Each gene lineage has undergone different duplication time-points, resulting in very different genetic complements in the Solanaceae when compared with the Brassicaceae. In general, Solanaceae species have more copies of HEC1/2 and RPL than Brassicaceae, have fewer copies of SHP and the same number of copies of AG, ALC and SPT. Solanaceae lack IND orthologues, but have pre-duplication HEC3 homologues. The expression analyses showed opposite expression of SPT and ALC orthologues between dry- and fleshy-fruited species during fruit maturation. Fleshy-fruited species turn off RPL and SPT orthologues during maturation. Conclusions The gynoecium patterning and fruit developmental genetic network in the Brassicaceae cannot be directly extrapolated to the Solanaceae. In Solanaceae ALC, SPT and RPL contribute differently to maturation of dry dehiscent and fleshy fruits, whereas HEC genes are not generally expressed in the gynoecium. RPL genes have broader expression patterns than expected.
Evaluation issues in the Swedish Two-County Trial of breast cancer screening: An historical review

Objectives To summarize debate and research in the Swedish Two-County Trial of mammographic screening on key issues of trial design, endpoint evaluation, and overdiagnosis, and from these to infer promising directions for the future. Methods A cluster-randomized controlled trial of the offer of breast cancer screening in Sweden, with a single screen of the control group at the end of the screening phase forms the setting for a historical review of investigations and debate on issues of design, analysis, and interpretation of results of the trial. Results There has been considerable commentary on the closure screen of the control group, ascertainment of cause of death, and cluster randomization. The issues raised were researched in detail and the main questions answered in publications between 1989 and 2003. Overdiagnosis issues still remain, but methods of estimation taking full account of lead time and of non-screening influences on incidence (taking place mainly before 2005) suggest that it is a minor phenomenon. Conclusion Despite resolution of issues relating to this trial in peer-reviewed publications dating from years, or even decades ago, issues that already have been addressed continue to be raised. We suggest that it would be more profitable to concentrate efforts on current research issues in breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.
Delay-Aware Wide-Area Control of Power Systems over Sparse Communications with Analytical Guarantees

—A distributed and sparse control strategy is proposed in this paper for wide-area power system networks. A network control design is proposed that makes use of the notion of communication sparsity and is delay-aware. Communication sparsity is imposed to reduce the cost of the network design, and the delay-aware aspect of the control design accommodates the fact that the sensor measurements utilized may stem from a local generator, generators within an area or those from another area. The latter is addressed using the same notion of sparsity but in a virtual sense by zeroing out the gains that correspond to measurements that are yet to arrive. Both sparsity features are introduced in the control design using the well-known Geromel algorithm. The designs are veriﬁed through a simulation study of the IEEE-39 bus, where it is shown that with 90% less communication channels, we can obtain 84% of the performance compared the case when neither of the two sparsity features is present.
Mitigating selective Gray Hole Attack in wireless multi-hop network

Security is a primary concern in any wireless communication as it is vulnerable to different kinds of security attacks. In this paper, we focus on a special type of Selective Forwarding Attack (SFA)/Gray Hole Attack. A network is said to be under Gray Hole Attack when a malicious node drops intentionally a subset of the data packets it received and forwards the rest to its neighbor. Most of the existing studies on gray hole attack concentrated on malicious node detection and countering the attack, when the packets are dropped randomly, without a criterion. In this paper, we make an attempt to detect a node which performs SFA on packets forwarded by a certain node or forwarded to a particular node say Gateway and not for others. In other words, we discuss a special case of SFA-termed as Selective Gray Hole Attack (SGHA), wherein the compromised node is selectively malicious for certain data flow(s). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time such an attack is discussed and countered. This attack is very crucial in military related applications and is also highly capable of disrupting the communication of a particular node with the outside world. The algorithm is so designed that the malicious node if near to gateway are detected quick enough so that packet delivery rate of the network is not much affected.