Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Histopathological findings obtained from reduction mammoplasty specimens.

BACKGROUND/AIM Reduction mammoplasty is a common surgical procedure. We report the incidence of nonproliferative and proliferative breast lesions in breast reduction specimens from a single institution over a 6-year period. MATERIALS AND METHODS The histopathology reports of all patients were analyzed. The clinical and histopathological findings of the patients were recorded. RESULTS Between 2004 and 2010, 106 patients underwent breast reduction. Fifty-six patients (52.8%) had proliferative breast lesions, 84 patients (79.2%) had nonproliferative lesions, 8 patients (7.5%) had columnar cell lesions without atypia, 61 patients (57.5%) had columnar cell lesions with atypia, 5 patients (4.7%) had atypical ductal hyperplasia, and 6 patients (5.6%) had lobular carcinoma in situ. No invasive breast cancer was identified. CONCLUSION In Turkey, there is limited evidence regarding the role of histopathological analysis in reduction mammoplasty. Moreover, none of the previous studies determined columnar cell lesion rates in reduction mammoplasty patients. The detection of significantly elevated columnar cell lesions, with or without atypia, especially in patients under the age of 40, increases the importance of screening tests, especially in Turkey, which has a high incidence of breast cancer in early ages, and addresses the need to starting screening tests early in these patients.
A Case for Virtualizing Persistent Memory

With the proliferation of software and hardware support for persistent memory (PM) like PCM and NV-DIMM, we envision that PM will soon become a standard component of commodity cloud, especially for those applications demanding high performance and low latency. Yet, current virtualization software lacks support to efficiently virtualize and manage PM to improve cost-effectiveness, performance, and endurance. In this paper, we make the first case study on extending commodity hypervisors to virtualize PM. We explore design spaces to abstract PM, including load/store accessible guest-physical memory and a block device. We design and implement a system, namely VPM, which provides both full-virtualization as well as a para-virtualization interface that provide persistence hints to the hypervisor. By leveraging the fact that PM has similar characteristics with DRAM except for persistence, VPM supports transparent data migration by leveraging the two-dimensional paging (e.g., EPT) to adjust the mapping between guest PM to host physical memory (DRAM or PM). Finally, VPM provides efficient crash recovery by properly bookkeeping guest PM's states as well as key hypervisor-based states into PM in an epoch-based consistency approach. Experimental results with VPM implemented on KVM and Linux using simulated PCM and NVDIMM show that VPM achieves a proportional consolidation of PM with graceful degradation of performance. Our para-virtualized interface further improves the consolidation ratio with less overhead for some workloads.
Facial aging simulation via tensor completion and metric learning

Facial aging simulation is one of the most challenging issues in automatic machine based face analysis, where the most essential requirements are (i) human identity should remain stable in texture synthesis and (ii) the texture synthesised is expected to accord with human cognitive perception in aging. In this study, the authors propose a tensor completion based method to transform the simulation task to a standard matrix completion one. To protect human dependent characteristics during texture synthesis, the proposed method processes the two major components, i.e. identity and age, in different channels. Furthermore, they incorporate prior information in such a process, assuming that the textures of different subjects in the same age group are similar and similar looking people tend to age in similar ways, and the metric learning technique is adopted to measure the similarity between identities so that the faces that have the highest similarities with the one in the test image are assigned bigger weights in texture generation. In addition, shape deformation is also considered to make the synthesised images more natural. Experimental results achieved on the FG-NET database demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
The use of active shape models for making thickness measurements of articular cartilage from MR images

Previously reported studies to quantify articular cartilage have used labor‐intensive manual or semi‐automatic data‐driven techniques, demonstrating high accuracy and precision. However, none has been able to automate the segmentation process. This paper describes a fast, automatic, model‐based approach to segmentation and thickness measurement of the femoral cartilage in 3D T1‐weighted images using active shape models (ASMs). Systematic experiments were performed to assess the accuracy and precision of the technique with in vivo images of both normal and abnormal knees. Segmentation accuracy was determined by comparing the results of the segmentation with the boundaries delineated by a radiologist. The mean error in locating the boundary was 0.57 pixels. To assess the precision of the measurement technique, the mean thickness of the femoral cartilage was calculated for repeated scans of five healthy volunteers. A mean coefficient of variation (CV) of 2.8% was obtained for the thickness measurements.
On throughput analysis of multi-tier cellular networks

This paper discusses the modeling and analysis of throughput in the multi-tier heterogeneous networks with a focus on downlink. We first derive a closed-form solution for downlink probability of coverage based on max-SINR association policy in a multi-tier network with orthogonal spectrum allocation among tiers and then compute the throughput of the network considering user mobility. More specifically, using stochastic geometry, a typical mobile user is considered in a multi-tier network modeled by K independent tiers with the Base Stations distributed according to homogeneous Poisson Point Process (PPP) with density λk in the kth tier. While Max-SINR association is usually used for the performance metric analysis considering all other Base Stations as an interferers, we capture more realistic probability of coverage for downlink using the Base Station activation probability. The numerical results are presented for the coverage probability and throughput for illustration.
TCP-FIT: An improved TCP congestion control algorithm and its performance

The Transport Control Protocol (TCP) has been widely used by wired and wireless Internet applications such as FTP, email and HTTP. Numerous congestion algorithms have been proposed to improve the performance of TCP in various scenarios, especially for high bandwidth-delay product (BDP) and wireless networks. Although different algorithms may achieve different performance improvements under different network conditions, designing a congestion algorithm that performs well across a wide spectrum of network conditions remains a great challenge. In this paper, we propose a novel congestion control algorithm, named TCP-FIT, which could perform gracefully in both wireless and high BDP networks. The algorithm was inspired by parallel TCP, but with the important distinctions that only one TCP connection with one congestion window is established for each TCP session, and that no modifications to other layers (e.g. the application layer) of the end-to-end system need to be made. Extensive experimental results obtained using both network simulators as well as over “live” wired line, WiFi and 3G networks at different geographical locations and at different times of the day are presented. The performance of the algorithm shown in the experiment results is significantly improved as compared to other state-of-the-art algorithms, while maintaining good fairness.
Insight into Potential Probiotic Markers Predicted in Lactobacillus pentosus MP-10 Genome Sequence

Lactobacillus pentosus MP-10 is a potential probiotic lactic acid bacterium originally isolated from naturally fermented Aloreña green table olives. The entire genome sequence was annotated to in silico analyze the molecular mechanisms involved in the adaptation of L. pentosus MP-10 to the human gastrointestinal tract (GIT), such as carbohydrate metabolism (related with prebiotic utilization) and the proteins involved in bacteria–host interactions. We predicted an arsenal of genes coding for carbohydrate-modifying enzymes to modify oligo- and polysaccharides, such as glycoside hydrolases, glycoside transferases, and isomerases, and other enzymes involved in complex carbohydrate metabolism especially starch, raffinose, and levan. These enzymes represent key indicators of the bacteria’s adaptation to the GIT environment, since they involve the metabolism and assimilation of complex carbohydrates not digested by human enzymes. We also detected key probiotic ligands (surface proteins, excreted or secreted proteins) involved in the adhesion to host cells such as adhesion to mucus, epithelial cells or extracellular matrix, and plasma components; also, moonlighting proteins or multifunctional proteins were found that could be involved in adhesion to epithelial cells and/or extracellular matrix proteins and also affect host immunomodulation. In silico analysis of the genome sequence of L. pentosus MP-10 is an important initial step to screen for genes encoding for proteins that may provide probiotic features, and thus provides one new routes for screening and studying this potentially probiotic bacterium.
Mitigating the effort for engineering changes in product development using a fuzzy expert system

The timing of testing the maturity of a product within the product development process challenges manufacturing firms. This paper presents an approach to identify the timing to be checked for differences between the as-is-state and anticipated to-be-state of the development. Therefore, a model is established to simulate a product development process by using a fuzzy-expert system. Using this model, an optimization is performed to ascertain an ideal timing.
Accelerating ISTA with an active set strategy

Starting from a practical implementation of Roth and Fisher's algorithm to solve a Lasso-type problem, we propose and study the Active Set Iterative Shrinkage/Thresholding Algorithm (AS-ISTA). The convergence is proven by observing that the algorithm can be seen as a particular case of a coordinate gradient descent algorithm with a Gauss-Southwell-r rule. We provide experimental evidence that the proposed method can outperform FISTA and significantly speed-up the resolution of very undetermined inverse problems when using sparse convex priors. The proposed algorithm makes brain mapping with magneto- and electroencephalography (M/EEG) significantly faster when promoting spatially sparse and temporally smooth solutions using a ''group-Lasso'' $\ell_{21}$ mixed-norm.
The effect of authentic materials on 12th grade students’ attitudes in EFL Classes

This study was designed to investigate whether authentic materials have a positive impact on developing the attitudes of 12th grade students in EFL classes. This study was conducted over 12 weeks. The participants were 37 twelfth grade students in Bucak Anatolian High School. In order to accomplish the objectives of the study, quantitative research method was applied. In this experimental study, pre-test – post-test with a control group design was used. An experimental and a control group participated and the instrument of the study was an attitude scale. During the ten week training program, the experimental group received suggested activities and exercises using authentic materials such as films, videos, magazines whereas the control group received the traditional instructional approach using the current course book while focusing on almost the same language items. Both groups were administered the pre-tests at the beginning of the training, and the post-tests at the end of the training in order to analyze the students’ attitudes towards English course before and after the implementation of authentic materials. The data collected through the students’ pre and post-tests were analyzed using Microsoft Office, Excel 2003 and SPSS 13.00. Descriptive statistics and independent-samples t-test were used in the analysis of quantitative data. Based on the quantitative research findings, it can be stated that although pre-test results indicated no significant difference between the means of the experimental and the control group, the means of the experimental group was found to be significantly higher than the control group according to post-test results. In conclusion, it can be said that authentic materials have marked a positive effect on the attitudes of students towards English course. Keywords: Authentic materials, foreign language teaching, attitude
31P NMR of electrically stimulated rectus femoris muscle: An in vivo graded exercise model

This study reports on the development of a model for studying skeletal muscle metabolism in humans using NMR spectroscopy. Graded exercise was simulated using electrical stimulation in 10 healthy, fit subjects (mean VO2max = 53 ± 4 ml. kg‐1 min‐1). The effects of varying the stimulation parameters, namely, the stimulation frequency, the stimulation intensity, and the duty cycle, as well as the spectral interrogation volume, were compared using data acquired from the rectus femoris muscle. With stimulation, the inorganic phosphate to phosphocreatine concentration ratio ([P1]/ [PCr]) and the intracellular pH both follow curvilinear relationships over the stimulation frequencies from 3 to 30 Hz, with the magnitude of the observed change related closely to stimulation intensity and duty cycle. Oxidative phosphorylation predominates at stimulation frequencies below 12 Hz, while anaerobic metabolism increases sharply above 12 Hz. Our findings show clearly the interdependence of the effects of the various stimulation parameters and emphasize the care that must be exercised in interpreting the physiological significance of the biochemical data obtained from electrical stimulation models used to study skeletal muscle metabolism.
Transient analysis to enhance Wii Fit sleepiness tester

We are developing a posturographic sleepiness tester that employs wavelet and fractal dimension analysis. It detects and characterizes transients in postural sway signals. We measured 6 subjects' postural steadiness (eyes open/closed) with a Nintendo Wii Fit ® balance board every hour during 10 h. During the next two weeks, we performed three additional measurements with different time awake (TA) for each subject. We analyzed the results with 5 literature-based continuous sway measures and with 8 transient-based sway measures. In the eyes open situation 95% of the estimated TA's were inside ±4.8 h and ±2.8 h, respectively. These results show that the transient analysis has potential to detect daytime changes in postural steadiness and that it can be used to enhance posturographic TA estimation during daytime and possibly during sustained wakefulness.
The post mortem diagnosis of fatal hypoglycaemia using the fatty liver and kidney syndrome of chicks as a model

1. The concentrations of vitreous humour and plasma glucose were closely correlated in both healthy and fatty liver and kidney syndrome-affected chicks at time of death. 2. The values of vitreous humour glucose and lactate decreased rapidly after death, such that they were not reliable indicators of the presence of hypoglycaemia immediately ante mortem. 3. Hepatic glycogen was extremely low in fatty liver and kidney syndrome-affected birds, whereas significant quantities remained in healthy birds up to at least 24 hpost mortem.
An experimental comparison of path planning techniques applied to micro-sized magnetic agents

Micro-sized agents can be used in applications such as microassembly, micromanipulation, and minimally invasive surgeries. Magnetic agents such as paramagnetic microparticles can be controlled to deliver pharmaceutical agents to difficult-to-access regions within the human body. In order to autonomously move these microparticles toward a target/goal area, an obstacle-free path must be computed using path planning algorithms. Several path planning algorithms have been developed in the literature, however, to the best of our knowledge, only few have been employed in an experimental scenario. In this paper we perform an experimental comparison of six path planning algorithms when applied to the motion control of paramagnetic microparticles. Among the families of deterministic and probabilistic path planners we select the ones that we consider the most fundamental, such as: A* with quadtrees, A* with uniform grids, D* Lite, Artificial Potential Field, Probabilistic Roadmap and Rapidly-exploring Random Tree. We consider a 2D environment made by both dynamic and static obstacles. Four scenarios are evaluated. Three metrics such as computation time, length of the trajectory performed by the microparticle, and time to reach the goal are used to compare the planners. Experimental results reveal equivalence between almost all the considered planners in terms of trajectory length and completion time. Concerning the computation time, A* with quadtrees and Artificial Potential Field achieve the best performances.
Constrained geometric simulation of diffusive motion in proteins

We describe a new computational method, FRODA (framework rigidity optimized dynamic algorithm), for exploring the internal mobility of proteins. The rigid regions in the protein are first determined, and then replaced by ghost templates which are used to guide the movements of the atoms in the protein. Using random moves, the available conformational phase space of a 100 residue protein can be well explored in approximately 10–100 min of computer time using a single processor. All of the covalent, hydrophobic and hydrogen bond constraints are maintained, and van der Waals overlaps are avoided, throughout the simulation. We illustrate the results of a FRODA simulation on barnase, and show that good agreement is obtained with nuclear magnetic resonance experiments. We additionally show how FRODA can be used to find a pathway from one conformation to another. This directed dynamics is illustrated with the protein dihydrofolate reductase.
Explaining the Increase of Diabetes Prevalence and Plasma Glucose in Mauritius

OBJECTIVE Secular trends in the epidemiology of diabetes are best described by studying the same population over time, but few such studies exist. Using surveys from Mauritius in 1987 and 2009, we examined 1) the change in the prevalence of diabetes, 2) the extent to which changes in traditional diabetes risk factors explained the increase, and 3) the change in the distribution of plasma glucose levels over time. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Independent population-based surveys were undertaken in Mauritius in 1987 and 2009 using similar methodology in adults aged 20–74 years. Physical measurements and fasting blood samples were taken, and an oral glucose tolerance test was performed at both surveys. RESULTS The age-standardized prevalence of diabetes in 2009 was 22.3% (95% CI 20.0–24.6) among men and 20.2% (18.3–22.3) among women, representing an increase since 1987 of 64 and 62% among men and women, respectively. Concurrent changes in the distribution of age, ethnicity, waist circumference, BMI, physical activity, smoking, family history of diabetes, and hypertension explained more of the increase in the prevalence of diabetes in men than in women. Increases in plasma glucose (especially fasting glucose) were seen across the population but were greater at the upper levels. CONCLUSIONS In Mauritius, there has been a marked increase in diabetes prevalence over 22 years. This mainly results from changes in traditional risk factors, leading to population-wide increases in plasma glucose levels. Interventions to control this escalation of diabetes should focus on population-wide strategies.
Social Software for Professional Learning: Examples and Research Issues

Social software is used widely in organizational knowledge management and professional learning. The PROLEARN network of excellence appreciates the trend of lowering the barriers between knowledge and learning management strategies for organizations and individuals. But, companies should not underestimate the needs for systematic support based on sound theories and technologies. We illustrate the requirements by examples and research issues for collaborative adaptive learning platforms for workplace learning in organizations
A Fast Method for Measuring Psychophysical Thresholds Across the Cochlear Implant Array

A rapid threshold measurement procedure, based on Bekesy tracking, is proposed and evaluated for use with cochlear implants (CIs). Fifteen postlingually deafened adult CI users participated. Absolute thresholds for 200-ms trains of biphasic pulses were measured using the new tracking procedure and were compared with thresholds obtained with a traditional forced-choice adaptive procedure under both monopolar and quadrupolar stimulation. Virtual spectral sweeps across the electrode array were implemented in the tracking procedure via current steering, which divides the current between two adjacent electrodes and varies the proportion of current directed to each electrode. Overall, no systematic differences were found between threshold estimates with the new channel sweep procedure and estimates using the adaptive forced-choice procedure. Test–retest reliability for the thresholds from the sweep procedure was somewhat poorer than for thresholds from the forced-choice procedure. However, the new method was about 4 times faster for the same number of repetitions. Overall the reliability and speed of the new tracking procedure provides it with the potential to estimate thresholds in a clinical setting. Rapid methods for estimating thresholds could be of particular clinical importance in combination with focused stimulation techniques that result in larger threshold variations between electrodes.
Lazy Evaluation: From natural semantics to a machine-checked compiler transformation

In order to solve a long-standing problem with list fusion, a new compiler transformation, “Call Arity” is developed and implemented in the Haskell compiler GHC. It is formally proven to not degrade program performance; the proof is machine-checked using the interactive theorem prover Isabelle. To that end, a formalization of Launchbury’s Natural Semantics for Lazy Evaluation is modelled in Isabelle, including a correctness and adequacy proof.
Registration methods for nonblind watermark detection in digital cinema applications

Digital watermarking may be used to enforce copyright protection of digital cinema, by embedding in each projected movie an unique identifier (fingerprint). By identifying the source of illegal copies, watermarking will thus incite movie theatre managers to enforce copyright protection, in particular by preventing people from coming in with a handy cam. We propose here a non-blind watermark method to improve the watermark detection on very impaired sequences. We first present a study on the picture impairments caused by the projection on a screen, then acquisition with a handy cam. We show that images undergo geometric deformations, which are fully described by a projective geometry model. The sequence also undergoes spatial and temporal luminance variation. Based on this study and on the impairments models which follow, we propose a method to match the retrieved sequence to the original one. First, temporal registration is performed by comparing the average luminance variation on both sequences. To compensate for geometric transformations, we used paired points from both sequences, obtained by applying a feature points detector. The matching of the feature points then enables to retrieve the geometric transform parameters. Tests show that the watermark retrieval on rectified sequences is greatly improved.