Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Semantic labelling to aid navigation in prosthetic vision

Current and near-term implantable prosthetic vision systems offer the potential to restore some visual function, but suffer from limited resolution and dynamic range of induced visual percepts. This can make navigating complex environments difficult for users. Using semantic labelling techniques, we demonstrate that a computer system can aid in obstacle avoidance, and localizing distant objects. Our system automatically classifies each pixel in a natural image into a semantic class, then produces an image from the induced visual percepts that highlights certain classes. This technique allows the user to clearly perceive the location of different types of objects in their field of view, and can be adapted for a range of navigation tasks.
Draft Genome Sequence of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica Serovar Infantis Strain SPE101, Isolated from a Chronic Human Infection

ABSTRACT We report a 4.99-Mb draft genome sequence of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Infantis strain SPE101, isolated from feces of a 5-month-old breast-fed female showing diarrhea associated with severe dehydration and malnutrition. The infection prolonged for 6 months despite antibiotic treatment.
Dual-Band Hybrid Antenna Structure With Spatial Diversity for DTV and WLAN Applications

This communication presents the design of a dual-band hybrid antenna for digital television (DTV) and wireless local area network (WLAN) applications. Radiations are produced with spatial diversity for WLAN applications to realize multiple-input–multiple-output functionality and omnidirectional coverage. The structure embeds two slots into an ultrawideband monopole body for high- and low-frequency operations, which are excited by three ports of DTV and WLAN. The resultant frequency bandwidth covers most of the global DTV frequencies and the free WLAN band at 2.45 GHz. The radiations exhibit omnidirectional patterns for all three cases. Numerical and measurement results are presented to demonstrate the characteristics of radiation.
Multi-objective robust optimization to solve energy scheduling in buildings under uncertainty

With the high penetration of renewable generation in Smart Grids (SG), the uncertainty behavior associated with the forecast of weather conditions possesses a new degree of complexity in the Energy Resource Management (ERM) problem. In this paper, a Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO) methodology is proposed to solve ERM problem in buildings with penetration of Distributed Generation (DG) and Electric Vehicles (EVs) and considering the uncertainty of photovoltaic (PV) generation. The proposed methodology aims to maximize profits while minimizing CO2 emissions. The uncertainty of PV generation is modeled with the use of Monte Carlo simulation in the evaluation process of the MOPSO core. Also, a robust optimization approach is adopted to select the best solution for the worst-case scenario of PV generation. A case study is presented using a real building facility from Brazil, to verify the effectiveness of the implemented robust MOPSO.
Heterozygosity for a Bub1 mutation causes female-specific germ cell aneuploidy in mice

Aneuploidy, the most common chromosomal abnormality at birth and the main ascertained cause of pregnancy loss in humans, originates primarily from chromosome segregation errors during oogenesis. Here, we report that heterozygosity for a mutation in the mitotic checkpoint kinase gene, Bub1, induces aneuploidy in female germ cells of mice and that the effect increases with advancing maternal age. Analysis of Bub1 heterozygous oocytes showed that aneuploidy occurred primarily during the first meiotic division and involved premature sister chromatid separation. Furthermore, aneuploidy was inherited in zygotes and resulted in the loss of embryos after implantation. The incidence of aneuploidy in zygotes was sufficient to explain the reduced litter size in matings with Bub1 heterozygous females. No effects were seen in germ cells from heterozygous males. These findings show that Bub1 dysfunction is linked to inherited aneuploidy in female germ cells and may contribute to the maternal age-related increase in aneuploidy and pregnancy loss.
Dynamic PolyConjugates for targeted in vivo delivery of siRNA to hepatocytes

Achieving efficient in vivo delivery of siRNA to the appropriate target cell would be a major advance in the use of RNAi in gene function studies and as a therapeutic modality. Hepatocytes, the key parenchymal cells of the liver, are a particularly attractive target cell type for siRNA delivery given their central role in several infectious and metabolic disorders. We have developed a vehicle for the delivery of siRNA to hepatocytes both in vitro and in vivo, which we have named siRNA Dynamic PolyConjugates. Key features of the Dynamic PolyConjugate technology include a membrane-active polymer, the ability to reversibly mask the activity of this polymer until it reaches the acidic environment of endosomes, and the ability to target this modified polymer and its siRNA cargo specifically to hepatocytes in vivo after simple, low-pressure i.v. injection. Using this delivery technology, we demonstrate effective knockdown of two endogenous genes in mouse liver: apolipoprotein B (apoB) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (ppara). Knockdown of apoB resulted in clear phenotypic changes that included a significant reduction in serum cholesterol and increased fat accumulation in the liver, consistent with the known functions of apoB. Knockdown of ppara also resulted in a phenotype consistent with its known function, although with less penetrance than observed in apoB knockdown mice. Analyses of serum liver enzyme and cytokine levels in treated mice indicated that the siRNA Dynamic PolyConjugate was nontoxic and well tolerated.
Effects of Noise Exposure, Race, and Years of Service on Hearing in U.S. Army Soldiers

Over the last two decades the U.S. Army has instituted a comprehensive hearing conservation program (HCP) to reduce the prevalence of hearing loss in soldiers and civilian employees. As a component of this program, hearing threshold levels (HTLs) are stored in a central computerized Army-wide hearing conservation data registry. The aim of this study was to analyze the hearing threshold data to compare the hearing loss among soldiers representing different (1) race groups, (2) noise exposure groups, and (3) durations of military service. HTLs were age-corrected using data base B values from IS0 1999 (1990). As may be expected, soldiers exposed to high noise levels had significantly poorer hearing than the group of soldiers with limited noise exposure. On the average, results indicated a significant difference in HTLs among the race groups with black soldiers having the most sensitive hearing and white soldiers having the poorest. Also, subjects with greater durations of military service had the least sensitive hearing. Finally, race and years of service factors were found to interact in their effect on HTL. The findings are discussed in terms of implications of race differences, normative data, and effectiveness of the U.S. Army HCP.
Endothelial cell function alteration after Junin virus infection

Summary Hematologic involvement is the main feature of Argentine hemorrhagic fever (AHF), an endemo-epidemic disease caused by Junin virus (JV). Since endothelial dysfunction could play a role in AHF-altered hemostasis, we studied human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) infection with a virulent (JVv) and a non-virulent (JVa) JV strain. Cells were infected by the two JV variants with no detectable apoptosis or cytopathic effect. Both viral variants up-regulated ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 levels, while von Willebrand factor (VWF) production was decreased. Prostacyclin (PGI2) release and decay accelerating factor (DAF) expression were greater in JVv- than in JVa-infected or control cells. Furthermore, nitric oxide (NO) production and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) expression was only raised in JVv-infected supernatants. Significant NO and PGI2 values were also detected in AHF patient sera. These data demonstrate that endothelial cell responses are triggered subsequently by JV infection, suggesting that such alterations play a major role in the pathogenesis of AHF and perhaps in other viral-induced hemorrhagic diseases.
Biophysical Characteristics of the Pig Kidney Na+/Glucose Cotransporter SGLT2 Reveal a Common Mechanism for SGLT1 and SGLT2*

The Na+-dependent, low affinity glucose transporter SGLT2 cloned from pig kidney is 76% identical (at the amino acid level) to its high affinity homologue SGLT1. Using two-microelectrode voltage clamp, we have characterized the presteady-state and steady-state kinetics of SGLT2 expressed in Xenopus oocytes. The kinetic properties of the steady-state sugar-evoked currents as a function of external Na+ and α-methyl-D-glucopyranoside (αMG) concentrations were consistent with an ordered, simultaneous transport model in which Na+ binds first. Na+ binding was voltage-dependent and saturated with hyperpolarizing voltages. Phlorizin was a potent inhibitor of the sugar-evoked currents (KiPz ≈ 10 μM) and blocked an inward Na+ current in the absence of sugar. SGLT2 exhibited Na+-dependent presteady-state currents with time constants 3-7 ms. Charge movements were described by Boltzmann relations with apparent valence ≈ 1 and maximal charge transfer ≈ 11 nC, and were reduced by the addition of sugar or phlorizin. The differences between SGLT1 and SGLT2 were that (i) the apparent affinity constant (K0.5) for αMG (≈3 mM) was an order of magnitude higher for SGLT2; (ii) SGLT2 excluded galactose, suggesting discrete sugar binding; (iii) K0.5 for Na+ was lower in SGLT2; and (iv) the Hill coefficient for Na+ was 1 for SGLT2 but 2 for SGLT1. Simulations of the six-state kinetic model previously proposed for SGLT1 indicated that many of the kinetic properties observed in SGLT2 are expected by simply reducing the Na+/glucose coupling from 2 to 1.
ANTIMICROBIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY OF VIRIDANS GROUP STREPTOCOCCI ISOLATED FROM BLOOD OF HOSPITALIZED PATIENTS

The present paper describes the results of blood samples were collected and cultured from 100 patients hospitalized during the period of March 2009 to May 2009, in the regional hospitals at Allahabad (UP). Fifty nine blood culture samples were positive for Streptococcus sp. , of which 21 VGS strains were isolated. The isolates were identified on the basis of cultural, morphological characteristics and biochemical tests were performed for antibiotic susceptibility. The 21 VGS strains isolated from the blood culture included, S. mitis (37%), S. intermedius (23.08%), S. sanguis (21%), S. salivarius (14.28%) and S. mutans (11%). Among the different risk factors evaluated viz. age and sex, socio-economic status, duration of hospitalization and fever, sex of patients showed a significant association (p<0.05) with the incidence of VGS strains causing infection in the blood of hospitalized patients. The antibiotic sensitivity test was done by disc diffusion method. All VGS strains isolated showed resistance towards Penicillin and Vancomycin but were sensitive towards Erythromycin, Meropenem, Tetracycline, Azithromycin, Gatifloxacin and Ciprofloxacin. S. mitis and S. sanguis demonstrated resistance towards Ampicillin, however, S. mutans, S. salivarius and S. intermedius showed intermediate sensitivity to Ampicillin. There has been a drift in susceptibility patterns, with resistance issues seen in the general population of hospitalized patients now emerging in febrile neutropenic patients.
Judgments of the relative and absolute acceptability of aircraft noise.

In exploring the possibility that people can ascribe an absolute scale of acceptability for aircraft noise, subjects from airport neighborhoods judged, in separate tests, the relative and the absolute acceptability of noise produced by actual aircraft flyovers and by recorded flyover signals. The flyover noise judgments were made indoors and outdoors at two locations near the Los Angeles International Airport. Most subjects judged both approach noise and takeoff noise (produced mainly by jet aircraft). Judgments were compared with the maximum perceived noise level occurring during the flyovers. Little difference was observed in acceptability rating scores for approach and takeoff noise or for actual and recorded noise signals. However, a shift in ratings between outdoor and indoor judgments occurred similar in magnitude to that observed in earlier British tests. The relative judgment tests also showed little difference between ratings of takeoff and approach noise or live and recorded signals. However, th.
Randomized Phase II Trial of Thalidomide Alone versus Thalidomide Plus Interferon Alpha in Patients with Refractory Multiple Myeloma

The potential synergistic anti-myeloma effect for thalidomide combining with interferon alpha was not yet clear clinically. From March 2001 to January 2004, a total of 28 heavily pretreated multiple myleoma (MM) patients were enrolled in this open-labeled, randomized Phase II study. Patients with refractory MM were randomized to receive either thalidomide alone (200 mg/day up to the maximum dose 800 mg/day, arm B) or the combination of thalidomide and interferon alpha (3 MIU/m2 subcutaneous injection 3 times weekly, arm A). The objective of this study was to compare the safety and efficacy of thalidomide alone to combined regimen. The patients' characteristics were similar between the 2 arms. However, the average treatment duration was significantly longer in the arm B than the arm A (236 days versus 101 days, p = 0.029). Serum levels of paraprotein decline ≥ 25 percent were obtained in 6 of 12 patients (50.0 percent) treated with arm B and 3 of the 16 patients (18.8 percent) treated with arm A. The estimated time to event was 7.9 months (95 percent confidence interval [95%CI], 0.5–15.4) for arm B and 1.5 months (95%CI, 0.0–3.4) for arm A (log-rank test, p = 0.0193). The major adverse events in both arms consisted of neutropenia, anemia, thrombocytopenia, constipation, somnolence, and skin rash. Our study showed that thalidomide alone was effective and tolerated in patients with relapsed or refractory MM. The thalidomide combined with interferon alpha resulted in a lower frequency of paraprotein response, shorter treatment-duration and 25 percent of patients' refusing rate. It may be concluded that the combined regimen is not well tolerated in our patients and needed to be further evaluated in the future.
The effect of high power ultrasound on phenolic composition, chromatic characteristics, and aroma compounds of red wines

High power ultrasound (HPU) is a novel, non-thermal technology the application of which has been primarily evaluated in managing food quality. The application of high power ultrasound in wine technology is therefore directed at modulating microbial activity during fermentation, extraction of phenolic and aroma compounds from grapes to must, as well as at accelerating aging reactions in wine. The main aim of this article was to evaluate the effect of different HPU process parameters on sustaining the phenolic and aroma composition of red wine and its colour characteristics. Three different red wines, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Plavac mali, were treated with high power ultrasound (20kHz), considering the variations in ultrasound probe diameter size (12.7 and 19 mm), amplitude level (20, 30, and 40 %), and processing time (2, 4, and 6 minutes). Total polyphenol content, total anthocyanin concentration, and chromatic characteristics were analyzed by spectrophotometry, free anthocyanins were analysed by high performance liquid chromatography, and wine aroma compounds were analyzed by gas chromatography combined with solid-phase microextraction. The obtained results show that ultrasonic irradiation induces chemical changes in phenolic composition, chromatic characteristics, and aroma compounds concentration, and accelerates chemical reactions responsible for wine aging. The intensity of the mentioned chemical changes depends on the selected processing parameters and on the treated variety. Among three different parameters, the selection of the probe diameter was showed to be most significant factor influencing chemical composition, followed by the amplitude level and processing time. The smaller diameter probe size (12.7 mm), lowest amplitude (20%), and a shorter processing time (2 minutes) showed a more favourable and lighter effect on the chemical composition of the treated red wines.
Use of superlattice thermionic emission for "hot spot" reduction in a convectively-cooled chip

The ITRS roadmap indicates the thermal solution for high performance and cost performance computers must improve by a factor of two over the next decade to keep pace with the development of electronic equipment. However, the roadmap does not address the spatially non-uniform heating issues caused by densely routed circuitry. The localized high heat fluxes that occur due to non-uniform heating require an even more aggressive thermal solution to ensure the circuit temperature stays below the specified value. An approach to mitigating the effect of localized "hot spots" is the spread some of the heat from the high heat flux areas to areas of lower heat flux on the chip and/or substrate. Heat spreading at the die level may be accomplished through high thermal conductivity coatings on the backside of the silicon and/or the use of micro heat pipes. Alternatively, solid-state-energy-conversion devices, such as those employing thermionic emission, can be bonded to the back of the silicon chip. The solid state coolers absorb heat at the localized "hot spot" region and transport it via electrons to a region of lower heat flux. Si/SiGe superlattice micro-coolers have demonstrated a cooling power density exceeding 500 W/cm/sup 2/ in an isolated configuration. In this study we investigate the integration and packaging of such micro-coolers with IC chips. Preliminary results suggest that a significant reduction in temperature can be achieved for 70 micron localized hot spots dissipating 100's of W/cm/sup 2/.
RFID Technology for Smart Vehicle Control using Traffic Signal & Speed Limit Tag Communication

Traffic violations are a major problem. Monitoring these traffic violations by human intervention over a wider area is too complicated due to the increasing population. The main motive behind this paper is to reduce these reckless accidents for which we propose a system that governs and controls the speed of the vehicle without any direct inconvenience to the driver. There are instances where the speed of the automobile is beyond the expected speed limit or the driver does not obey the traffic signals. An RFID reader present in the vehicle senses the RFID tag linked with a red traffic light or senses the vehicle speed limit on the tag attached to the speed limit signboard. The Electronic Control Unit (ECU) present in the vehicle will then decide upon the required control measure by comparing the tag information with real time speed of the automobile. Finally the proposed speed control simulation techniques and electro-hydraulic braking system is explained in detail. General Terms Traffic regulation, Safety.
A multidimensional approach to determinants of computer use in primary education: teacher and school characteristics

The central aim of this study was to test a model that integrates determinants of educational computer use. In particular, the article examines teacher and school characteristics that are associated with different types of computer use by primary school teachers. A survey was set up, involving 527 teachers from 68 primary schools in Flanders. A separate questionnaire was administered to information and communication technology (ICT) coordinators from the same schools to gather additional information about cultural and contextual school characteristics. The combined impact of both teacher and school characteristics was explored through a multilevel analysis. Besides the importance of school characteristics, the results reveal differential effects of specific characteristics on specific types of computer use. Cultural school characteristics for instance, such as the schools’ openness to change and the availability of an ICT school policy plan, are positively related to the use of computers as a learning tool and to the adoption of ICT in view of basic computer skills. In contrast, no cultural school characteristic seem to be associated with the use of computers as an information tool. In a comparable way, teacher characteristics are associated with specific types of computer use, e.g. the variable gender. In general, male teachers report integrating computers more often. In this study, it appears that gender differences only exist in relation to the adoption of computers as an information tool. The results demonstrate that a multidimensional approach provides more insight into the characteristics affecting computer use.
On the Use of Bootstrapped Topologies in Coalescent-Based Bayesian MCMC Inference: A Comparison of Estimation and Computational Efficiencies

Coalescent-based Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) inference generates estimates of evolutionary parameters and their posterior probability distributions. As the number of sequences increases, the length of time taken to complete an MCMC analysis increases as well. Here, we investigate an approach to distribute the MCMC analysis across a cluster of computers. To do this, we use bootstrapped topologies as fixed genealogies, perform a single MCMC analysis on each genealogy without topological rearrangements, and pool the results across all MCMC analyses. We show, through simulations, that although the standard MCMC performs better than the bootstrap-MCMC at estimating the effective population size (scaled by mutation rate), the bootstrap-MCMC returns better estimates of growth rates. Additionally, we find that our bootstrap-MCMC analyses are, on average, 37 times faster for equivalent effective sample sizes.
The correlation of symptoms, pulmonary function tests and exercise testing with high-resolution computed tomography in patients with idiopathic interstitial pneumonia in a tertiary care hospital in South India

Context: For the follow-up of patients with idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIP), it is unclear which parameters of pulmonary function tests (PFT) and exercise testing would correlate best with high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT). Aim: To find out the correlation of symptom scores, PFTs and exercise testing with HRCT scoring in patients diagnosed as idiopathic interstitial pneumonia. Settings and Design: Cross-sectional study done in pulmonary medicine outpatients department of a tertiary care hospital in South India. Materials and Methods: Consecutive patients who were diagnosed as IIP by a standard algorithm were included into the study. Cough and dyspnea were graded for severity and duration. Pulmonary function tests and exercise testing parameters were noted. HRCT was scored based on an alveolar score, an interstitial score and a total score. The HRCT was correlated with each of the clinical and physiologic parameters. Pearson's/Spearman's correlation coefficient was used for the correlation of symptoms and parameters of ABG, PFT and 6MWT with the HRCT scores. Results: A total of 94 patients were included in the study. Cough and dyspnea severity (r = 0.336 and 0.299), FVC (r = −0.48), TLC (r = −0.439) and DLCO and distance saturation product (DSP) (r = −0.368) and lowest saturation (r = −0.324) had significant correlation with total HRCT score. Among these, DLCO, particularly DLCO corrected % of predicted, correlated best with HRCT score (r = −0.721). Conclusion: Symptoms, PFT and exercise testing had good correlation with HRCT. DLCO corrected % of predicted correlated best with HRCT.