Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Does nebulized epinephrine improve the efficacy of hypertonic saline solution in the treatment of hospitalized moderate acute bronchiolitis? A double blind, randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND Nebulized 3% hypertonic saline solution (HSS 3%) has proven to reduce hospital stay in infants with acute bronchiolitis, as compared with nebulized physiological saline solutions. There are no studies assessing the effectiveness of nebulized epinephrine in patients treated with HSS 3%. The aim of this study was to compare the length of stay (LOS) in hospitalized patients treated with HSS 3% with placebo vs. HSS 3% with epinephrine. Secondarily we aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of both treatments. METHODS We performed a prospective, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study, including infants hospitalized for moderate acute bronchiolitis. Both groups received standard life support and were randomly treated with nebulized HSS 3% (7 mL) with either placebo 3 mL or epinephrine 3 mL. Nebulizations were initially administered every four hours and this interval was modified according to the patient's response. RESULTS Sixty-four infants were included, 32 patients in each group. No statistically significant differences were found between the two groups (P=0.948) in length of stay, disease severity, SatO2, respiratory rate or heart rate. On the third day of hospitalization, severity and respiratory rate in the HSS 3%+E presented a non statistically significant trend to an earlier improvement, (P=0.063 and P=0.096 repectively). No adverse events occurred. Four patients (two from each group) required transfer to the pediatric intensive care unit. CONCLUSIONS With a third of the final estimated sample, we find a trend to an earlier clinical recovery in the epinephrine group, even though no statistical significant differences in LOS were found. The study needs to be continued until the total sample is recruited.
Big corrections from a little Higgs

We calculate the tree-level expressions for the electroweak precision observables in the SU(5)/SO(5) littlest Higgs model. The source for these corrections are the exchange of heavy gauge bosons, explicit corrections due to non-linear sigma-model dynamics and a triplet Higgs VEV. Weak isospin violating contributions are present because there is no custodial SU(2) global symmetry. The bulk of these weak isospin violating corrections arise from heavy gauge boson exchange while a smaller contribution comes from the triplet Higgs VEV. A global fit is performed to the experimental data and we find that throughout the parameter space the symmetry breaking scale is bounded by f > 4 TeV at 95% C.L. Stronger bounds on f are found for generic choices of the high energy gauge couplings. We find that even in the best case scenario one would need fine tuning of less than a percent to get a Higgs mass as light as 200 GeV.
Robust Adaptive Neural Tracking Control for a Class of Perturbed Uncertain Nonlinear Systems With State Constraints

In this paper, we deal with the problem of tracking control for a class of uncertain nonlinear systems in strictfeedback form subject to completely unknown system nonlinearities, hard constraints on full states, and unknown time-varying bounded disturbances. Integral barrier Lyapunov functionals are constructed to handle the unknown affine control gains (g(·)) with state constraints simultaneously. This removes the need on the knowledge of control gains for control design and avoids the conservative step of transforming original state constraints into new bounds on tracking errors. Neural networks (NNs) are used to approximate the unknown continuous packaged functions. To enhance the robustness, adapting parameters are developed to compensate the unknown bounds on NNs approximations and external disturbances. Design parameters-dependent feasibility conditions are formulated as sufficient conditions for the existence of feasible design parameters to guarantee the state constraints, and an offline constrained optimization step is proposed to obtain the optimal design parameters prior to the implementation of the proposed control. It is proved that the proposed control can guarantee the semiglobal uniform ultimate boundedness of all signals in closed-loop system, all states are ensured to remain in the predefined constrained state space, and tracking error converges to an adjustable neighborhood of the origin by choosing appropriate design parameters. Simulations are performed to validate the proposed control.
Identify Visual Human Signature in community via wearable camera

With the increasing popularity of wearable devices, information becomes much easily available. However, personal information sharing still poses great challenges because of privacy issues. We propose an idea of Visual Human Signature (VHS) which can represent each person uniquely even captured in different views/poses by wearable cameras. We evaluate the performance of multiple effective modalities for recognizing an identity, including facial appearance, visual patches, facial attributes and clothing attributes. We propose to emphasize significant dimensions and do weighted voting fusion for incorporating the modalities to improve the VHS recognition. By jointly considering multiple modalities, the VHS recognition rate can reach by 51% in frontal images and 48% in the more challenging environment and our approach can surpass the baseline with average fusion by 25% and 16%. We also introduce Multiview Celebrity Identity Dataset (MCID), a new dataset containing hundreds of identities with different view and clothing for comprehensive evaluation.
Scripting affective communication with life-like characters in web-based interaction systems

In this paper, we discuss scripting tools that aim at facilitating the design of Web-based interactions with animated characters capable of affective communication. Specifically, two systems are developed. The SCREAM system is a scripting tool that enables authors to create emotionally and socially appropriate responses of animated characters. Content authors may design the mental make-up of a character by declaring a variety of parameters and behaviors relevant to affective communication and obtain quantified emotional reactions that can be input to an animation engine. While the default operations of a character's "mind" are based on psychological and sociological research, authors may easily modify and extend its rule set. In order to facilitate high-level scripting and connectivity with other Web-based animated agent systems, the tool is written in a lightweight JAVA-based PROLOG system and JAVA. Connectivity is demonstrated by interfacing SCREAM with our second system, MPML, an XML-style markup language that allows to control and coordinate the multi-modal appearance of synthetic characters. Affective communication with animated characters is illustrated by the implementation of a Web-based casino scenario.
Linearly precoded or coded OFDM against wireless channel fades?

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) converts a dispersive channel into parallel subchannels and thus facilitates equalization. But when the channel has nulls close to or on the FFT grid, OFDM faces serious symbol recovery problems. As an alternative to various error-control coding techniques that have been proposed to ameliorate the problem, we linearly precode (LP) symbols before they are multiplexed. We identify the maximum achievable diversity order for iid or correlated Rayleigh fading channels and also provide design rules for achieving maximum diversity gains with LP-OFDM. Simulated performance comparisons of LP-OFDM with existing block and convolutionally coded OFDM alternatives favor LP-OFDM in a HiperLan2 experiment.
Packet marking for integrated load control

Combining low-complexity packet marking at internal nodes with path-based load observation at edge gateways enables a rich set of control mechanisms in a packet-switched network. In this paper, we propose a method to estimate the relative per-node load at internal nodes, based on only the aggregated marking signal available at edge nodes, without any knowledge of internal capacities. We present the design of an integrated network system that supports both admission control and per-node load estimation using only two bits in the packet header, which requires a specific encoding of the two distinct marking signals. Finally, we describe a prototype implementation and a few simulation and lab experiments as a proof-of-concept for this approach.
Trojan Horse Strategies Used by Pathogens to Influence the Small Ubiquitin-Like Modifier (SUMO) System of Host Eukaryotic Cells

A remarkable feature of pathogenic organisms is their ability to utilize the cellular machinery of host cells to their advantage in facilitating their survival and propagation. Posttranslational modification of proteins offers a quick way to achieve changes in the localization, binding partners or functions of a target protein. It is no surprise then that pathogens have evolved multiple ways to interfere with host posttranslational modifications and hijack them for their own purposes. Recently, modification of proteins by small ubiquitin-like modifier has emerged as an important posttranslational modification regulating transcription, DNA repair and cell division, and literature has started to emerge documenting how it could be utilized by pathogenic bacteria and viruses during infection. In this brief review, we focus on the host small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) system and how disease causing agents influence SUMO conjugation and deconjugation, highlighting the common theme of global hypoSUMOylation upon infection by pathogens.
A real-time supervisor system based on trinary logic to control experiments with behaving animals and humans

A new method is presented based on trinary logic able to check the state of different control variables and synchronously record the physiological data and behavioral data of behaving animals and humans. The basic information structure of the method is a time-interval of defined maximum duration, called time-slice, during which the supervisor system periodically checks the status of a specific subset of input channels. An experimental condition is a sequence of time-slices subsequently executed according to the final status of the previous time-slice. The proposed method implements in its data structure the possibility to branch like an if-else cascade and the possibility to repeat parts of it recursively like the while-loop. Therefore, its data structure contains the most basic control structures of programming languages. The method was implemented using a real-time version of LabVIEWTM programming environment to program and control our experimental set-up. Using this supervision system, we synchronously record 4 analog data channels at 500Hz (including eye-movements) and the time-stamps of up to 6 neurons at 100kHz. The system reacts with a resolution within 1ms to changes of state of digital input channels. The system is set to react to changes in eye-position with a resolution within 4ms. The time-slices, experimental conditions and data are handled by relational databases. This facilitates the construction of new experimental conditions and data analysis. The proposed implementation allows continuous recording without an inter-trial gap for data storage or task management. The implementation can be used to drive electrophysiological experiments of behaving animals and psychophysical studies with human subjects.
Preliminary process simulation and analysis of GMODS: Processing of plutonium surplus materials

To address growing concerns in the areas of arms control, control of fissile materials, waste management, and environment and health, the US Department of Energy is studying and evaluating various options for the control and disposal of surplus fissile materials (SFMs). One of the options under consideration is the Glass Material Oxidation and Dissolution System (GMODS) which directly converts plutonium-bearing materials such as metals, ceramics, and organics into a durable-high-quality glass for long-term storage or a waste form for disposal. This study undertook the development of a computer simulation of the GMODS process using FLOW. That computer simulation was used to perform an assessment of how GMODS would handle the treatment of plutonium, rich scrap (RS) and lead scrap (LS), and identify critical process parameters. Among the key process parameters affecting the glass formation were processing temperatures, additives, and the effects of varying them on the final product. This assessment looked at the quantity of glass produced, the quality of the final glass form, and the effect of blending different groups of the feed streams on the glass produced. The model also provided a way to study the current process assumptions and determine in which areas more experimental studies aremore » required. The simulation showed that the glass chemistry postulated in the models is workable. It is expected that the glass chemistry assumed during the modeling process can be verified by the results of the laboratory experiments that are currently being conducted relating to the GMODS process.Further waste characterization, especially of the SFM waste streams not studied in this report, will provide more nearly accurate results and give a more detailed evaluation of the GMODS process. « less
The Human Nuclear Poly(A)-Binding Protein Promotes RNA Hyperadenylation and Decay

Control of nuclear RNA stability is essential for proper gene expression, but the mechanisms governing RNA degradation in mammalian nuclei are poorly defined. In this study, we uncover a mammalian RNA decay pathway that depends on the nuclear poly(A)-binding protein (PABPN1), the poly(A) polymerases (PAPs), PAPα and PAPγ, and the exosome subunits RRP6 and DIS3. Using a targeted knockdown approach and nuclear RNA reporters, we show that PABPN1 and PAPα, redundantly with PAPγ, generate hyperadenylated decay substrates that are recognized by the exosome and degraded. Poly(A) tail extension appears to be necessary for decay, as cordycepin treatment or point mutations in the PAP-stimulating domain of PABPN1 leads to the accumulation of stable transcripts with shorter poly(A) tails than controls. Mechanistically, these data suggest that PABPN1-dependent promotion of PAP activity can stimulate nuclear RNA decay. Importantly, efficiently exported RNAs are unaffected by this decay pathway, supporting an mRNA quality control function for this pathway. Finally, analyses of both bulk poly(A) tails and specific endogenous transcripts reveals that a subset of nuclear RNAs are hyperadenylated in a PABPN1-dependent fashion, and this hyperadenylation can be either uncoupled or coupled with decay. Our results highlight a complex relationship between PABPN1, PAPα/γ, and nuclear RNA decay, and we suggest that these activities may play broader roles in the regulation of human gene expression.
Effects of coating and diametric load on fiber Bragg gratings as cryogenic temperature sensors

Cryogenic temperature sensing was demonstrated using pressurized fiber Bragg gratings (PFBGs) with polymer coating of various thicknesses. The PFBG was obtained by applying a small diametric load to a regular fiber Bragg grating (FBG). The Bragg wavelengths of FBGs and PFBG were measured at temperatures from 295 K to 4.2 K. The temperature sensitivities of the FBGs were increased by the polymer coating. A physical model was developed to relate the Bragg wavelength shifts to the thermal expansion coefficients, Young's moduli, and thicknesses of the coating polymers. When a diametric load of no more than 15 N was applied to a FBG, a pressure-induced transition occurred at 200 K during the cooling cycle. The pressure induced transition yielded PFBG temperature sensitivities three times greater than conventional FBGs for temperatures ranging from 80 to 200 K, and ten times greater than conventional fibers for temperatures below 80 K. PFBGs were found to produce an increased Bragg wavelength shift of 2.2 nm compared to conventional FBGs over the temperature range of 4.2 to 300 K. This effect was independent of coating thickness and attributed to the change of the fiber thermo-optic coefficient.
Central Nervous System Pathology Caused by Autoreactive CD8+ T-Cell Clones following Virus Infection

ABSTRACT Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) causes a demyelinating disease in infected mice which has similarities to multiple sclerosis. Spleen cells from TMEV-infected SJL/J mice stimulated with antigen-presenting cells infected with TMEV resulted in a population of autoreactive CD8+ cytotoxic T cells that kill uninfected syngeneic cells. We established CD8+ T cell clones that could kill both TMEV-infected and uninfected syngeneic targets, although infected target cells were killed more efficiently. The CD8+ T-cell clones produced gamma interferon when incubated with either infected or uninfected syngeneic target cells. Intracerebral injection of the clones into naïve mice induced degeneration, not only in the brain, but also in the spinal cord. This suggests that CD8+ Tc1 cells could play a pathogenic role in central nervous system inflammation.
Atomistic modeling of mechanical characteristics of CNT-polyethylene with interfacial covalent interaction

The mechanical properties of carbon nanotube- (CNT-) reinforced polyethylenes (PE) with interfacial covalent bonded interaction are investigated using molecular dynamics simulations. A reactive force field for hydrocarbons (ReaxFF) is used in the nanocomposite system. Through a series of the tensile and pullout tests of carbon nanotube-reinforced polyethylene, Young's modulus and the interfacial shear stress of the nano-reinforced polyethylene are obtained. The comparisons between the MD results of this work and the relevant experimental data of the existing literature are made and the results show that the interfacial covalent bonded interaction between CNTs and the polymer matrix is indispensable. The bond interaction plays the main role in the load transfer of nanocomposites. In addition, the influences of carbon nanotube embedded length and diameter on the interfacial mechanical properties also are studied.
Incremental Dynamic Controllability Revisited

Simple Temporal Networks with Uncertainty (STNUs) allow the representation of temporal problems where some durations are determined by nature, as is often the case for actions in planning. As such networks are generated it is essential to verify that they are dynamically controllable -- executable regardless of the outcomes of uncontrollable durations -- and to convert them to a dispatchable form. The previously published FastIDC algorithm achieves this incrementally and can therefore be used efficiently during plan construction. In this paper we show that FastIDC is not sound when new constraints are added, sometimes labeling networks as dynamically controllable when they are not. We analyze the algorithm, pinpoint the cause, and show how the algorithm can be modified to correctly detect uncontrollable networks.
An Experimental Study on Vietnamese POS Tagging

In Natural Language Processing (NLP), Part-of-speech tagging is one of the important tasks. It, however, has not drawn much attention of Vietnamese researchers all over the world. In this paper, we present an experimental study on Vietnamese POS tagging. Motivated from Chinese research and Vietnamese characteristics, we present a new kind of features based on the idea of word composition. We call it morpheme based features. To verify the effectiveness of these features, we use three powerful machine learning techniques - MEM, CRF and SVM. In addition, we also built a Vietnamese POS-tagged corpus with approximately 8000 sentences of different genres to conduct experiments. Experimental results showed that morpheme-based features always give higher precision in comparison with previous approaches - usually word-based features. We achieved the precision of 91.64% by using these morpheme-based features.
Reverse Keyword-Based Location Search

The proliferation of geo-textual data gives prominence to spatial keyword search. The basic top-k spatial keyword query, returns k geo-textual objects that rank the highest according to their textual relevance and spatial proximity to query keywords and a query location. We define, study, and provide means of computing the reverse top-k keyword-based location query. This new type of query takes a set of keywords, a query object q, and a number k as arguments, and it returns a spatial region such that any top-k spatial keyword query with the query keywords and a location in this region would contain object q in its result. This query targets applications in market analysis, geographical planning, and location optimization, and it may support applications related to safe zones and influence zones that are used widely in location-based services. We show that computing an exact query result requires evaluating and merging a set of weighted Voronoi cells, which is expensive. We therefore devise effective algorithms that approximate result regions with quality guarantees. We develop novel pruning techniques on top of an index, and we offer a series of optimization techniques that aim to further accelerate query processing. Empirical studies suggest that the proposed query processing is efficient and scalable.
Using dependency models to manage complex software architecture

An approach to managing the architecture of large software systems is presented. Dependencies are extracted from the code by a conventional static analysis, and shown in a tabular form known as the 'Dependency Structure Matrix' (DSM). A variety of algorithms are available to help organize the matrix in a form that reflects the architecture and highlights patterns and problematic dependencies. A hierarchical structure obtained in part by such algorithms, and in part by input from the user, then becomes the basis for 'design rules' that capture the architect's intent about which dependencies are acceptable. The design rules are applied repeatedly as the system evolves, to identify violations, and keep the code and its architecture in conformance with one another. The analysis has been implemented in a tool called LDM which has been applied in several commercial projects; in this paper, a case study application to Haystack, an information retrieval system, is described.
3D localization, mapping and path planning for search and rescue operations

This work presents our results on 3D robot localization, mapping and path planning for the latest joint exercise of the European project “Long-Term Human-Robot Teaming for Robots Assisted Disaster Response” (TRADR)1. The full system is operated and evaluated by firemen end-users in real-world search and rescue experiments. We demonstrate that the system is able to plan a path to a goal position desired by the fireman operator in the TRADR Operational Control Unit (OCU), using a persistent 3D map created by the robot during previous sorties.