Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A novel method for measuring nutrition intake based on food image

In this paper, a food nutrition and energy intake recognition system for medical purposes is proposed. This system is built based on food image processing and shape recognition in addition to nutritional fact tables. Recently, countless studies suggested that the usage of technology such as smartphones may enhance the treatments for obesity and overweight patients. Via a special technique, the system records a photo of the food before and after eating in order to estimate the consumption calorie of the selected food and its nutrients components. Our system presents a new instrument in food intake measuring systems which can be useful and effective in obesity management.
N-Terminal Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Peptide Levels Inversely Correlated With Heart Rate Variability in Patients With Unstable Angina Pectoris.

We explored the relationships between heart rate variability (HRV) and levels of N-terminal Pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in patients with unstable angina pectoris (UA). A total of 90 consecutive patients admitted < 48 hours for UA were included. Serum levels of NT-proBNP were measured from blood samples. The cohort was divided into tertiles according to NT-proBNP levels. HRV parameters including SDNN, RMSSD, LF, HF, TP, and VLF were assessed by 24-hour Holter ECG monitoring.The median (IQR) NT-proBNP level was 177.02 (64.76, 740.70) pg/mL. Patients with SDNN < 100 ms had higher levels of NT-proBNP than those with SDNN > 100 ms (P = 0.003). With increasing levels of NT-proBNP, both the 24hour monitoring HRV and night-monitoring HRV showed that SDNN and VLF gradually decreased (P < 0.01), and patients in the NT-proBNP lowest tertile group had higher LF values than the other two groups (P < 0.05); however, no difference was found in RMSSD, HF, and TP. During the daytime, the LF, VLF, and TP values were lower in the NTproBNP highest group compared with the lowest tertile group (P < 0.05). NT-proBNP levels correlated negatively with SDNN (r = -0.314, P = 0.003) and VLF (r = -0.397, P < 0.001) but not with other HRV parameters. Multiple regression analysis showed that serum levels of NT-proBNP remained predictive of SDNN (β = -0.060, P = 0.001) and VLF (β = -0.145, P < 0.001), even after adjustment for confounders.Our study showed that the elevated serum levels of NT-proBNP predict reduced HRV parameters, and the increased NT-proBNP levels combined with decreased HRV represent the degree of neurohormonal dysfunction and may be better prognostic predictors for risk stratification in UA patients.
Thrombopoietin mutation in congenital amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia treatable with romiplostim

Congenital amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia (CAMT) is an inherited disorder characterized at birth by thrombocytopenia with reduced megakaryocytes, which evolves into generalized bone marrow aplasia during childhood. Although CAMT is genetically heterogeneous, mutations of MPL, the gene encoding for the receptor of thrombopoietin (THPO), are the only known disease‐causing alterations. We identified a family with three children affected with CAMT caused by a homozygous mutation (p.R119C) of the THPO gene. Functional studies showed that p.R119C affects not only ability of the cytokine to stimulate MPL but also its release, which is consistent with the relatively low serum THPO levels measured in patients. In all the three affected children, treatment with the THPO‐mimetic romiplostim induced trilineage hematological responses, remission of bleeding and infections, and transfusion independence, which were maintained after up to 6.5 years of observation. Recognizing patients with THPO mutations among those with juvenile bone marrow failure is essential to provide them with appropriate substitutive therapy and prevent the use of invasive and unnecessary treatments, such as hematopoietic stem cell transplantation or immunosuppression.
Four-way Chained Quasi-Planar Power Divider Using Rectangular Coaxial Waveguide

A novel quasi-planar four-way chained power divider using rectangular coaxial waveguide is presented. The rectangular coaxial waveguide consist of a rectangular outer conductor and a planar inner conductor that is a stripline suspended at the middle of the outer conductor. Moreover, the characteristic impedance of the proposed quasi-planar rectangular coaxial waveguide is analyzed. Four cross coupling units locating along the inner conductor are utilized to realize four-way power-dividing outputs. A four-way quasi-planar chained rectangular coaxial-waveguide power divider operating at C band is developed with reasonable agreement between the simulated and measured results.
New York University KBP 2010 Slot-Filling System

Document retrieval The entire text corpus was indexed using the Lucene document retrieval package1. As the first step in processing a query, Lucene was invoked to retrieve the documents containing the query name; a maximum of 500 documents were retrieved. No attempt was made to use the document associated with the name in the query in order to disambiguate possibly ambiguous names. As a minimal acknowledgement of possible name variation, if a person entity query name contained an initial or an organization entity query name contained a corporate suffix (“Corp.”, “Ltd.”, etc.) an alternate name was created omitting these items, and we retrieved documents with either the original or alternate name.
p19-targeted ABD-derived protein variants inhibit IL-23 binding and exert suppressive control over IL-23-stimulated expansion of primary human IL-17+ T-cells

Abstract Interleukin-23 (IL-23), a heterodimeric cytokine of covalently bound p19 and p40 proteins, has recently been closely associated with development of several chronic autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease. Released by activated dendritic cells, IL-23 interacts with IL-23 receptor (IL-23R) on Th17 cells, thus promoting intracellular signaling, a pivotal step in Th17-driven pro-inflammatory axis. Here, we aimed to block the binding of IL-23 cytokine to its cell-surface receptor by novel inhibitory protein binders targeted to the p19 subunit of human IL-23. To this goal, we used a combinatorial library derived from a scaffold of albumin-binding domain (ABD) of streptococcal protein G, and ribosome display selection, to yield a collection of ABD-derived p19-targeted variants, called ILP binders. From 214 clones analyzed by ELISA, Western blot and DNA sequencing, 53 provided 35 different sequence variants that were further characterized. Using in silico docking in combination with cell-surface competition binding assay, we identified a group of inhibitory candidates that substantially diminished binding of recombinant p19 to the IL-23R on human monocytic THP-1 cells. Of these best p19-blockers, ILP030, ILP317 and ILP323 inhibited IL-23-driven expansion of IL-17-producing primary human CD4+ T-cells. Thus, these novel binders represent unique IL-23-targeted probes useful for IL-23/IL-23R epitope mapping studies and could be used for designing novel p19/IL-23-targeted anti-inflammatory biologics.
Altered regulation of lipid biosynthesis in a mutant of Arabidopsis deficient in chloroplast glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase activity.

The leaf membrane lipids of many plant species, including Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. , are synthesized by two complementary pathways that are associated with the chloroplast and the endoplasmic reticulum. By screening directly for alterations in lipid acyl-group composition, we have identified several mutants of Arabidopsis that lack the plastid pathway because of a deficiency in activity of the first enzyme in the plastid pathway of glycerolipid synthesis, acyl-ACP:sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.15) (where ACP is acyl carrier protein). The lesion results in an increased synthesis of lipids by the cytoplasmic pathway that largely compensates for the loss of the plastid pathway and provides nearly normal amounts of all the lipids required for chloroplast biogenesis. However, the fatty acid composition of the leaf membrane lipids of the mutants is altered because the acyltransferases associated with the two pathways normally exhibit different substrate specificities. The remarkable flexibility of the system provides an insight into the nature of the regulatory mechanisms that allocate lipids for membrane biogenesis.
Reliability of self-report data

For research on Web-based instruction, web usage data may be obtained by parsing the user access log, setting cookies, or uploading the cache. However, these options may have limited applicability. For example, the user access log cannot track users who follow links to other websites. Further, cookie or cache approaches may raise privacy issues. In these situations, self-reported data collected by surveys are used. This gives rise to the question: How accurate are self-reported data? Cook and Campbell (1979) have pointed out that subjects (a) tend to report what they believe the researcher expects to see, or (b) report what reflects positively on their own abilities, knowledge, beliefs, or opinions. Another concern about such data centers on whether subjects are able to accurately recall past behaviors. Cognitive psychologists have warned that the human memory is fallible (Schacter, 1999) and thus the reliability of self-reported data is tenuous.
Ubiquitin Homeostasis Is Critical for Synaptic Development and Function

The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) controls protein abundance and is essential for many aspects of neuronal function. In ataxia (axJ) mice, profound neurological and synaptic defects result from a loss-of-function mutation in the proteasome-associated deubiquitinating enzyme Usp14, which is required for recycling ubiquitin from proteasomal substrates. Here, we show that transgenic complementation of axJ mice with neuronally expressed ubiquitin prevents early postnatal lethality, restores muscle mass, and corrects developmental and functional deficits resulting from the loss of Usp14, demonstrating that ubiquitin deficiency is a major cause of the neurological defects observed in the axJ mice. We also show that proteasome components are normally induced during the first 2 weeks of postnatal development, which coincides with dramatic alterations in polyubiquitin chain formation. These data demonstrate a critical role for ubiquitin homeostasis in synaptic development and function, and show that ubiquitin deficiency may contribute to diseases characterized by synaptic dysfunction.
Pharmacogenetic Variation in Over 100 Genes in Patients Receiving Acenocumarol

Coumarins are widely prescribed worldwide, and in Mexico acenocumarol is the preferred form. It is well known that despite its efficacy, coumarins show a high variability for dose requirements. We investigated the pharmacogenetic variation of 110 genes in patients receiving acenocumarol using a targeted NGS approach. We report relevant population differentiation for variants on CYP2C8, CYP2C19, CYP4F11, CYP4F2, PROS, and GGCX, VKORC1, CYP2C18, NQO1. A higher proportion of novel-to-known variants for 10 genes was identified on 41 core pharmacogenomics genes related to the PK (29), PD (3), of coumarins, and coagulation proteins (9) including, CYP1A1, CYP3A4, CYP3A5, and F8, and a low proportion of novel-to-known variants on CYP2E1, VKORC1, and SULT1A1/2. Using a Bayesian approach, we identified variants influencing acenocumarol dosing on, VKORC1 (2), SULT1A1 (1), and CYP2D8P (1) explaining 40–55% of dose variability. A collection of pharmacogenetic variation on 110 genes related to the PK/PD of coumarins is also presented. Our results offer an initial insight into the use of a targeted NGS approach in the pharmacogenomics of coumarins in Mexican Mestizos.
Diurnal, daily, seasonal and annual patterns of sap-flux-scaled transpiration from an Acacia mangium plantation in South China

Abstract• In this study of a 19-year-old Acacia mangium plantation with a basal area of 26.6 m2 ha−1 in subtropical South China, whole tree sap flow was measured continuously over a two-year period and the dependence of stand sap flow (Et) on environmental factors was investigated at diurnal (hourly), daily, seasonal and annual scales. • Daytime hourly mean Et was linearly correlated to photosynthetically active radiation (Q) and vapor pressure deficit (D) in each season during the whole study period (R2 > 0.57, P < 0.001), whereas daily daytime mean Et was less tightly coupled to Q and D (R2 < 0.50). • Pronounced hysteresis was observed between Et and Q as well as D and the extent of the hysteresis varied seasonally. • Total annual stand transpiration was higher in the first year (244.5 mm) than in the second year (185.8 mm) although rainfall was lower in the first year (1 122.4 mm) than in the second year (1 342.5 mm), from which it can be concluded that annual stand transpiration did not simply increase with increased annual rainfall. Résumé• Le flux de sève a été suivi dans une plantation d’Acacia mangium âgée de 19 ans avec une surface terrière de 26,6 m2 ha−1 dans le Sud subtropical de la Chine. Les mesures ont été menées en continu pendant deux ans et la dépendance de la transpiration du peuplement (Et) par rapport aux facteurs environnementaux a été étudiée à des échelles diurnes (échelle horaire), journalières, saisonnières et annuelles. • Pendant la journée, la moyenne horaire de Et était linéairement corrélée au Rayonnement photosynthétiquement actif (Q) et au déficit de pression de vapeur d’eau (D) pendant toute la période d’étude (R2 > 0, 57, P < 0,001) alors que la moyenne journalière de Et était moins bien couplée à Q et D (R2 < 0, 50). • Une hystérésis marquée entre Et et Q en même temps que D a été observé; son amplitude variait avec la saison. • La transpiration annuelle totale du peuplement a été plus élevée la première année (244,5 mm) que la deuxième année (185,8 mm) bien que les précipitations étaient plus faibles la première (1 122,4 mm) que la seconde année (1 342,5 mm). Nous en concluons que la transpiration annuelle du peuplement ne s’accroît pas simplement avec l’augmentation des précipitations annuelles.
Chronic Abdominal Wall Pain: An Under-Recognized Diagnosis Leading to Unnecessary Testing

Chronic abdominal wall pain (CAWP) refers to a condition wherein pain originates from the abdominal wall itself rather than the underlying viscera. According to various estimates, 10% to 30% of patients with chronic abdominal pain are eventually diagnosed with CAWP, usually after expensive testing has failed to uncover another etiology. The most common cause of CAWP is anterior cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome. The diagnosis of CAWP is made using an oft-forgotten physical examination finding known as Carnett’s sign, where focal abdominal tenderness is either the same or worsened during contraction of the abdominal musculature. CAWP can be confirmed by response to trigger point injection of local anesthetic. Once diagnosis is made, treatment ranges from conservative management to trigger point injection and in refractory cases, even surgery. This review provides an overview of CAWP, discusses the cost and implications of a missed diagnosis, compares somatic versus visceral innervation, describes the pathophysiology of nerve entrapment, and reviews the evidence behind available treatment modalities.
Collaborative Communication: Integrating SBAR to Improve Quality/Patient Safety Outcomes

Abstract: Creating work environments that sustain open and supportive communication positively influence teamwork, staff satisfaction, and improved patient quality and safety. The Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation (SBAR)‐collaborative communication evidence‐based practice (EBP) study described in this article introduced collaborative communication integrating SBAR communication process in a pediatrics/perinatal services department of a 271‐bed community hospital in northern Arizona. EBP processes framed the study. Evaluation methods for intervention effectiveness and study outcomes integrated both quantitative and qualitative strategies. Staff transferred evidence, knowledge, and skills into practice to achieve enhanced communication, collaboration, satisfaction, and patient safety outcomes meeting the study goal.
Accuracy improvement of counting asbestos in particles using a noise redacted background subtraction

Increased health damage caused by asbestos has become a problem recently. Removal of asbestos contained in building materials and rendering it harmless is a common means of alleviating asbestos hazards, but that process necessitates a judgment of whether asbestos is included in building materials. According to an official method, particles and asbestos must be counted in a sample to judge whether it contains asbestos. This work is performed visually and requires enormous amounts of time and effort. Consequently, automated counting using background subtraction is proposed for rapid, highly accurate analysis. However, the method does not enable accurate counting because of noise included in a background image. This study is intended to improve the accuracy of counting particles through noise removal using a Gaussian filter.
Trends and Determinants of Job Search Intensity of Unemployed Females: Empirical Evidence from Egypt

The present study examines trends in unemployed females' job search intensity in Egypt in an important era of transition away from public sector employment guarantee. It examines determinants of job search intensity of unemployed females, modeling search intensity as the total number of job search methods used by the unemployed. The empirical analysis is based on the Egyptian Labor Market Surveys of 1998 and 2006. A comparative descriptive approach is used to analyze the difference between males' and females' search intensity. The study uses logistic regression analysis to examine the determinants of unemployed females' search intensity. Empirical findings suggest that the unemployed tend to search more intensively. However, this increase hides gender differences in search intensity. The gender gap in search intensity widened between 1998 and 2006. This gap is wider among youth than among all unemployed workers. Examining determinants of females' search intensity reveals a significant effect of personal, household characteristics and labor market conditions. The relationship between age and search intensity is inverted U-shaped. Education, previous work experience, and household wealth have significant positive effects on search intensity. Females in labor markets where the unemployment rate is higher search more intensively.
INFLUENCE OF DISAPPEARANCE RATE AND DISTRIBUTION SPACE ON PLASMA CONCENTRATION OF ERYTHROPOIETIN IN NORMAL RATS.

Abstract Endogenous and exogenous erythropoietin disappears from the plasma of normal rats in an exponential fashion and with a velocity constant k of 0.32. The distribution space v of erythropoietin equaled twice the plasma volume and was found to be independent of plasma concentration c or rate of formation p. The kinetics of the hormone can therefore be described by the equation c=p (1− e −kt )/kv. The numerical value of k implies that 99 per cent of the final plasma concentration is reached in the normal rat within 16 hours at any given rate of formation. In steady states, therefore, the erythropoietin present in 1 ml. of plasma equals one hundredth of the total erythropoietin formed in the rat during 24 hours.
Patterns of Leisure Time and Non-Leisure Time Physical Activity of Korean Immigrant Women

Our purpose in this study was to examine the patterns of physical activity and demographic characteristics associated with those patterns in Korean immigrants in the United States. Participants were 197 women, and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire was utilized. The inactive pattern was the most frequent pattern in all domains of physical activity except household physical activity. There were differences among the patterns of physical activity that were associated with variations in demographic characteristics. Health care providers who serve immigrants should assess physical activity level and demographic characteristics of the immigrants to enhance their physical activity.
A New Approach for Accurate Prediction of Subharmonic Oscillation in Switching Regulators—Part II: Case Studies

This part of the paper illustrates the use of the expression derived in Part I for predicting subharmonic oscillation in switching regulators. Six case studies with different control schemes from the recent literature are used to validate the novel approach and the new derived expression, which is benchmarked for these case studies against results obtained using the discrete-time modeling approach or Floquet theory combined with Filippov method. Numerical simulations from the circuit-level switched models, implemented in PSIM software, are used to demonstrate the correctness of the derived closed-form condition. A procedure is presented to apply the approach of the paper to power converters with nonlinear sources, such as photovoltaic (PV) arrays or fuel cells. Experimental measurements from a boost converter prototype for PV applications are also provided to validate the theoretical predictions and the numerical simulations showing a remarkable agreement.
2D quasi exact inverse of PA model in digital predistorter for concurrent dual-band system

This paper reports a new direct learning (DL) technique using 2D quasi exact inverse (2D-QEI) of a power amplifier (PA) model for linearizing concurrent dual band PA. In contrast to indirect learning (IL) architecture, where the coefficients are extracted by swapping the input and output signals in any PA model, a QEI of a PA model can be used in the digital predistorter (DPD). A 2D memory polynomial (2D-MP) is used in both the cases to compare the performance. The evaluation of the model's performance is conducted on an application close to real base station using a field programmable gate array (FPGA) and two radio transceivers. A 10W PA is excited with two wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) signals of 3.84MHz bandwidth which are 310 MHz apart. The measurement results demonstrate that in the presence of additive noise, there is a noticeable improvement in terms of normalized mean square error (NMSE) and adjacent channel power ratio (ACPR) when using the QEI model for DPD. This improvement is achieved in a single step with no iteration as in practical DPD systems.
LabVIEW simulator for terrestrial MIMO communications

In the design phase of a communication system, computer simulations allow us to evaluate the system performances in order to choose the optimal techniques, algorithms, and parameters values for the constituent blocks, and to discover the design issues as soon as possible in order to correct them. This paper presents a software simulator developed in LabVIEW, which implements a Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) communication system with two transmit and two receive antennas and Alamouti coding over terrestrial fading channels. Finally, the MIMO system performances are presented and compared for different channels, modulations and error correcting codes.
Novel low-impedance microstrip structures for miniaturized microstrip quarter-wave stepped-impedance resonator filters

In this paper, two novel microstrip quarter-wave SIR structures have been proposed. Inserting signal and ground strips in the microstrip line provides another method to lower the characteristic impedance. This approach applies to the low-impedance section of the SIR to decrease the impedance ratio significantly. We have designed and fabricated four four-pole cross-coupled filters with these two structures. A pair of transmission zeros are introduced to obtain higher selectivity by a cross-coupling microstrip. It has been shown that the proposed filters have much more compact size and wider stopband.