Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Electrophysiological Characteristics of Focal Atrial Tachycardia Surrounding the Aortic Coronary Cusps

Background— Catheter ablation of atrial tachycardia (AT) arising near the coronary cusps has been reported in limited numbers of patients. We investigated the electrophysiological characteristics of these ATs in 22 consecutive patients. Methods and Results— This study included 22 patients (mean age±SD, 53±11 years; 86% female) with ATs arising near the aortic coronary cusps who underwent successful ablation. Activation mapping was performed during tachycardia to identify the earliest activation site. All patients achieved successful ablation through either a retrograde aortic (n=19) or a transseptal (n=3) approach. The successful ablation sites were located in the noncoronary cusp (NCC) (n=16), including 3 near the junction between the NCC and right coronary cusp. The remaining 6 cases were ablated from the left coronary cusp (LCC) (n=3) or the left atrium posterior to the LCC (n=3). For most tachycardias, there were distinctive P-wave morphological features recorded for each cusp location. Furthermore, analysis of the electrogram morphological features recorded during tachycardia at successful ablation sites revealed an atrial/ventricular (A/V) ratio >1 in 14 of 16 NCC ATs; the remaining 2, from the NCC near the junction with the right coronary cusp, showed an A/V ratio ⩽1. At ablation sites in the LCC, the A/V ratio was <1 (4 of 6 patients) or 1 (remaining 2 patients). During a follow-up duration of 30±13 months, all patients were free of arrhythmias without antiarrhythmic drugs. Conclusions— ATs surrounding the aortic coronary cusps can be safely and effectively ablated, with good long-term outcomes. In addition to the P-wave morphological features, the A/V ratio of the local electrogram recording during tachycardia facilitated the localization of successful sites.
Environmental drivers of crocodyliform extinction across the Jurassic/Cretaceous transition

Crocodyliforms have a much richer evolutionary history than represented by their extant descendants, including several independent marine and terrestrial radiations during the Mesozoic. However, heterogeneous sampling of their fossil record has obscured their macroevolutionary dynamics, and obfuscated attempts to reconcile external drivers of these patterns. Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of crocodyliform biodiversity through the Jurassic/Cretaceous (J/K) transition using subsampling and phylogenetic approaches and apply maximum-likelihood methods to fit models of extrinsic variables to assess what mediated these patterns. A combination of fluctuations in sea-level and episodic perturbations to the carbon and sulfur cycles was primarily responsible for both a marine and non-marine crocodyliform biodiversity decline through the J/K boundary, primarily documented in Europe. This was tracked by high extinction rates at the boundary and suppressed origination rates throughout the Early Cretaceous. The diversification of Eusuchia and Notosuchia likely emanated from the easing of ecological pressure resulting from the biodiversity decline, which also culminated in the extinction of the marine thalattosuchians in the late Early Cretaceous. Through application of rigorous techniques for estimating biodiversity, our results demonstrate that it is possible to tease apart the complex array of controls on diversification patterns in major archosaur clades.
Temporal analysis of multisensor data for forest change detection using hidden Markov models

Remote sensing plays a key role in monitoring the quality and coverage of the tropical forests, and for early warning of illegal logging and forest degradation. We propose a hidden Markov model based framework for analyzing multi-source time series of remote sensing images of tropical forests with the aim of detecting changes in the spatial coverage of the forest. Multi-source is supported by the hidden Markov model by applying specific data distributions for each source. The proposed methodology is demonstrated on a time series of Landsat TM and Radarsat-2 quad-pol images covering tropical forest in Tanzania. The results are evaluated by visual inspection of Landsat 5 TM images.
AC induction servo sizing for motion control application via loss minimizing real-time flux control

A design procedure is presented for induction machine servo motion control applications. The approach can be used to select the minimum size machine optimally and/or to obtain optimal time performance from a given machine. The reduced-form outcome of the procedure lends itself to real-time implementation in the induction servodrive. The basis of the technique is in modeling and controlling of machine losses. The model is prepared so that trajectory modifications can be made on-site and their effects are properly accounted for in a revised optimal flux trajectory. Theoretical and experimental results demonstrate substantial performance advantages from such an approach. The validity of the design optimization was investigated experimentally on a feed-forward, field-oriented induction servo drive. <<ETX>>
De novo Assembly and Analysis of the Chilean Pencil Catfish Trichomycterus areolatus Transcriptome

Trichomycterus areolatus is an endemic species of pencil catfish that inhabits the riffles and rapids of many freshwater ecosystems of Chile. Despite its unique adaptation to Chile's high gradient watersheds and therefore potential application in the investigation of ecosystem integrity and environmental contamination, relatively little is known regarding the molecular biology of this environmental sentinel. Here, we detail the assembly of the Trichomycterus areolatus transcriptome, a molecular resource for the study of this organism and its molecular response to the environment. RNA-Seq reads were obtained by next-generation sequencing with an Illumina® platform and processed using PRINSEQ. The transcriptome assembly was performed using TRINITY assembler. Transcriptome validation was performed by functional characterization with KOG, KEGG, and GO analyses. Additionally, differential expression analysis highlights sex-specific expression patterns, and a list of endocrine and oxidative stress related transcripts are included.
Quantifying the influence of the terrestrial biosphere on glacial–interglacial climate dynamics

Abstract. The terrestrial biosphere is thought to be a key component in the climatic variability seen in the palaeo-record. It has a direct impact on surface temperature through changes in surface albedo and evapotranspiration (so-called biogeophysical effects) and, in addition, has an important indirect effect through changes in vegetation and soil carbon storage (biogeochemical effects) and hence modulates the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The biogeochemical and biogeophysical effects generally have opposite signs, meaning that the terrestrial biosphere could potentially have played only a very minor role in the dynamics of the glacial–interglacial cycles of the late Quaternary. Here we use a fully coupled dynamic atmosphere–ocean–vegetation general circulation model (GCM) to generate a set of 62 equilibrium simulations spanning the last 120 kyr. The analysis of these simulations elucidates the relative importance of the biogeophysical versus biogeochemical terrestrial biosphere interactions with climate. We find that the biogeophysical effects of vegetation account for up to an additional −0.91 °C global mean cooling, with regional cooling as large as −5 °C, but with considerable variability across the glacial–interglacial cycle. By comparison, while opposite in sign, our model estimates of the biogeochemical impacts are substantially smaller in magnitude. Offline simulations show a maximum of +0.33 °C warming due to an increase of 25 ppm above our (pre-industrial) baseline atmospheric CO2 mixing ratio. In contrast to shorter (century) timescale projections of future terrestrial biosphere response where direct and indirect responses may at times cancel out, we find that the biogeophysical effects consistently and strongly dominate the biogeochemical effect over the inter-glacial cycle. On average across the period, the terrestrial biosphere has a −0.26 °C effect on temperature, with −0.58 °C at the Last Glacial Maximum. Depending on assumptions made about the destination of terrestrial carbon under ice sheets and where sea level has changed, the average terrestrial biosphere contribution over the last 120 kyr could be as much as −50 °C and −0.83 °C at the Last Glacial Maximum.
Hierarchical Spatial Concept Formation Based on Multimodal Information for Human Support Robots

In this paper, we propose a hierarchical spatial concept formation method based on the Bayesian generative model with multimodal information e.g., vision, position and word information. Since humans have the ability to select an appropriate level of abstraction according to the situation and describe their position linguistically, e.g., “I am in my home” and “I am in front of the table,” a hierarchical structure of spatial concepts is necessary in order for human support robots to communicate smoothly with users. The proposed method enables a robot to form hierarchical spatial concepts by categorizing multimodal information using hierarchical multimodal latent Dirichlet allocation (hMLDA). Object recognition results using convolutional neural network (CNN), hierarchical k-means clustering result of self-position estimated by Monte Carlo localization (MCL), and a set of location names are used, respectively, as features in vision, position, and word information. Experiments in forming hierarchical spatial concepts and evaluating how the proposed method can predict unobserved location names and position categories are performed using a robot in the real world. Results verify that, relative to comparable baseline methods, the proposed method enables a robot to predict location names and position categories closer to predictions made by humans. As an application example of the proposed method in a home environment, a demonstration in which a human support robot moves to an instructed place based on human speech instructions is achieved based on the formed hierarchical spatial concept.
Ethnographic Design Research With Wearable Cameras

This paper presents a novel ethnographic research approach based on a wearable camera that automatically takes pictures according to sensor changes within the wearer's environment. The opportunities and challenges that are raised by such technologies are investigated and discussed. We describe an exemplary application of the approach and point out the arising possibilities and limitations. As the main contribution we present a method for evaluating the ethnographic research data that is being produced through this kind of research approach. Furthermore, we propose a set of frameworks for analyzing the resulting images and related metadata. This method is considered a first attempt to facilitate the analysis process of the produced qualitative and quantitative data and is subject to further investigation and development.
Vision system for robot's speed and position control

Machine vision is an important tool used in robotics development to interact with its surrounding and operate autonomously in both known and unknown environments. This paper describes a robot control system for target tracking and following using machine vision. The system allows tracking of another agent equipped with a marker of distinctive colour, simultaneously keeping distance and adjusting its speed accordingly. The leading agent may be a person or another robot, or any other moving object. The system was implemented on a `Pioneer' 3A-T robot running with Ubuntu, ROS and Matlab on the onboard computer. Matlab is interfaced with ROS to control all the robot's actuators. The robot follows the target along its path and maintains a specified distance to the target.
Survival Benefit With Drug-Eluting Stents in Observational Studies: Fact or Artifact?

Background—Recently, there has been increased interest in leveraging observational studies for comparative effectiveness research. Without robust and valid risk adjustment, however, findings from these nonrandomized studies may remain biased. Previous studies examining long-term mortality with drug-eluting stents (DESs) have demonstrated discordant results between randomized trials and observational studies. To examine the impact of treatment selection bias on these findings, we used data from a prospective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) registry (EVENT [Evaluation of Drug Eluting Stents and Ischemic Events]) to compare clinical outcomes between DESs and bare metal stents (BMSs) using conventional (multivariable regression and propensity matching) and novel (instrumental variable analysis) risk-adjustment techniques. Methods and Results—The study population consisted of 9266 patients who underwent nonemergent PCI with stent placement at 55 US centers between 2004 and 2007. All-cause mortality and target lesion revascularization (TLR) were assessed prospectively over 1 year of follow-up. Overall, 8171 patients (88%) received DES, but this proportion substantially differed by treatment year (93% in 2004–2006 and 73% in 2007; P<0.001). One-year rates of death and TLR were significantly lower with DES versus BMS (death, 2.5% versus 5.6%; TLR, 4.2% versus 6.9%; P<0.001 for both), findings that persisted in both multivariable-adjusted and propensity-matched analyses. In contrast, instrumental variable analysis, using enrollment period (2004–2006 versus 2007) as the instrument, demonstrated no significant difference in 1-year mortality (predicted absolute difference, 2.0%; 95% CI, -1.8% to 5.7%; P=0.30) and a strong trend toward reduced TLR with DES use (predicted absolute difference, -4.2%; 95% CI, -8.8% to 0.4%; P=0.07). Conclusions—Among unselected PCI patients in contemporary practice, DES use tended to be associated with a consistent reduction in TLR regardless of risk-adjustment method but showed discordant effects on mortality with conventional risk adjustment compared with instrumentable variable analysis. These findings underscore the limitations of standard risk-adjustment methods to adequately address treatment selection bias in nonrandomized studies and have important implications for comparative effectiveness research using observational data.
Liquid Nitrogen Cryotherapy of Lymphangiectasia

Purpose: To report a case of lymphangiectasia successfully treated with liquid nitrogen cryotherapy. Methods: A 1.5-mm Brymill cryoprobe (Brymill Cryogenic Systems, Ellington, CT) was applied in a double freeze-thaw method after an incisional biopsy of a portion of the conjunctiva. Freeze times were 1-2 seconds with thawing of 5-10 seconds between freezes. Results: A 64-year-old white man had symptoms of bilateral epiphora, eye irritation, and episodic blurred vision that was worse in the right eye. Ocular examination revealed inferior chemotic conjunctiva in the right eye and redundant conjunctiva in the left eye without chemosis. Marsupialization and liquid nitrogen cryotherapy were performed on the right eye, and the symptoms and signs resolved within 2 weeks. One year after cryotherapy, the patient has had no more eye symptoms or signs of lymphangiectasia. Conclusion: Liquid nitrogen cryotherapy may be an effective alternative to surgery in the treatment of conjunctival lymphangiectasia.
UPT-based biosensor and its application

An up-converting phosphor technology-based biosensor (UPT-based biosensor) has been developed for immunoassay using Up-converting phosphor (UCP) as the biological marker. The UPT system has realized quantitative detection and has good ability to meet the need of some emergencies. High sensitivity (nanogram/ml), good linear response characteristics and an excellent correlation (R2greater than or equal to 0.95) have been verified by quantitative detection results. The sensitivity of the UPT-based biosensor is better than that of the indirect hemagglutination test in the practical application. All the results are comparable with that obtained by Western Blot detection.
An Exclusively Nuclear RNA-Binding Protein Affects Asymmetric Localization of ASH1 mRNA and Ash1p in Yeast

The localization of ASH1 mRNA to the distal tip of budding yeast cells is essential for the proper regulation of mating type switching in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A localization element that is predominantly in the 3′-untranslated region (UTR) can direct this mRNA to the bud. Using this element in the three-hybrid in vivo RNA-binding assay, we identified a protein, Loc1p, that binds in vitro directly to the wild-type ASH1 3′-UTR RNA, but not to a mutant RNA incapable of localizing to the bud nor to several other mRNAs. LOC1 codes for a novel protein that recognizes double-stranded RNA structures and is required for efficient localization of ASH1 mRNA. Accordingly, Ash1p gets symmetrically distributed between daughter and mother cells in a loc1 strain. Surprisingly, Loc1p was found to be strictly nuclear, unlike other known RNA-binding proteins involved in mRNA localization which shuttle between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. We propose that efficient cytoplasmic ASH1 mRNA localization requires a previous interaction with specific nuclear factors.
A multichamber fluidic device for 3D cultures under interstitial flow with live imaging: Development, characterization, and applications

Interstitial flow is an important biophysical cue that can affect capillary morphogenesis, tumor cell migration, and fibroblast remodeling of the extracellular matrix, among others. Current models that incorporate interstitial flow and that are suitable for live imaging lack the ability to perform multiple simultaneous experiments, for example, to compare effects of growth factors, extracellular matrix composition, etc. We present a nine‐chamber radial flow device that allows simultaneous 3D fluidic experiments for relatively long‐term culture with live imaging capabilities. Flow velocity profiles were characterized by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) for flow uniformity and estimating the hydraulic conductivity. We demonstrate lymphatic and blood capillary morphogenesis in fibrin gels over 10 days, comparing flow with static conditions as well as the effects of an engineered variant of VEGF that binds fibrin via Factor XIII. We also demonstrate the culture of contractile fibroblasts and co‐cultures with tumor cells for modeling the tumor microenvironment. Therefore, this device is useful for studies of capillary morphogenesis, cell migration, contractile cells like fibroblasts, and multicellular cultures, all under interstitial flow. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2010;105: 982–991. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The influence of stereotype threat on immigrants: review and meta-analysis

In many regions around the world students with certain immigrant backgrounds underachieve in educational settings. This paper provides a review and meta-analysis on one potential source of the immigrant achievement gap: stereotype threat, a situational predicament that may prevent students to perform up to their full abilities. A meta-analysis of 19 experiments suggests an overall mean effect size of 0.63 (random effects model) in support of stereotype threat theory. The results are complemented by moderator analyses with regard to circulation (published or unpublished research), cultural context (US versus Europe), age of immigrants, type of stereotype threat manipulation, dependent measures, and means for identification of immigrant status; evidence on the role of ethnic identity strength is reviewed. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.
Deep neural network training emphasizing central frames

It is common practice to concatenate several consecutive frames of acoustic features as input of a Deep Neural Network (DNN) for speech recognition. A DNN is trained to map the concatenated frames as a whole to the HMM state corresponding to the center frame while the side frames close to both ends of the concatenated frames and the remaining central frames are treated as equally important. Though the side frames are relevant to the HMM state of the center frame, this relationship may not be fully generalized to unseen data. Thus putting more emphasis on the central frames than on the side frames avoids over-ﬁtting to the DNN training data. We propose a new DNN training method to emphasize the central frames. We ﬁrst conduct pre-training and ﬁne-tuning with only the central frames and then conduct ﬁne-tuning with all of the concatenated frames. In large vocabulary continuous speech recognition experiments with more than 1,000 hours of data for DNN training, we obtained a relative error rate reduction of 1.68%, which was statistically signiﬁcant.
Spatiotemporal Coding in ANVIL

We present a new coding mechanism, spatiotemporal coding, that allows coders to annotate points and regions in the video frame by drawing directly on the screen. Coders can not only attach labels to time intervals in the video but can specify a possibly moving region on the video screen. This opens up the spatial dimension for multi-track video coding and is an essential asset in almost every area of video coding, e.g. gesture coding, facial expression coding, encoding semantics for information retrieval etc. We discuss conceptual variants, design decisions and the relation to the MPEG-7 standard and tools.
Microarray studies reveal macrophage-like function of stromal keratocytes in the cornea.

PURPOSE To elucidate biological processes underlying the keratocyte, fibroblast, and myofibroblast phenotypes of corneal stromal cells, the gene expression patterns of these primary cultures from mouse cornea were compared with those of the adult and 10-day postnatal mouse cornea. METHODS Murine Genome_U74Av2 arrays (Affymetrix Inc., Santa Clara, CA) were used to elucidate gene expression patterns of adult and postnatal day-10 corneal stroma, keratocytes, fibroblasts, and myofibroblasts. RESULTS Mobilization of stromal cells by culturing led to a wound-healing cascade in which specific extracellular matrix and cornea-transparency-related genes were turned off, and a repertoire of macrophage genes were switched on. Thus, novel transparency-related crystallins detected in the corneal gene expression patterns were downregulated in culture, whereas macrophage genes, mannose receptor type-1, Cd68, serum amyloid-A3, chemokine ligands (Ccl2, Ccl7, Ccl9), lipocalin-2, and matrix metalloproteinase-3 and -12 of innate immunity were induced in primary keratocyte cultures. Fibroblasts expressed the growth-related genes lymphocyte antigen 6 complex locus-A and preprokephalin-1, and myofibroblasts expressed annexin-A8, WNT1-inducible signaling pathway protein-1, arginosuccinate synthetase-1, and procollagen XI of late-stage wound healing. CONCLUSIONS The emergent biological process suggests a dual role for resident stromal keratocytes in the avascular cornea: one of cornea maintenance, which involves synthesis of proteins related to the extracellular matrix and corneal transparency, and a second of barrier protection macrophage functions, which are switched on during corneal infection and injury.