Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Are two-dimensional CT measurements of small noncalcified pulmonary nodules reliable?

PURPOSE To evaluate the intra- and interreader agreement of two-dimensional computed tomographic (CT) measurements of pulmonary nodules less than 2 cm in diameter. MATERIALS AND METHODS Three readers independently made three serial measurements of each of 54 pulmonary nodules measuring 3-18 mm that had been observed on standard-dose multisection CT images obtained in 24 patients who ranged in age from 36 to 81 years (mean age, 54.6 years). There were 14 women (58%), who ranged in age from 43 to 81 years (mean age, 58.9 years), and 10 men (42%), who ranged in age from 36 to 65 years (mean age, 48.5 years). The largest transverse cross-sectional diameter of each nodule was measured at picture archiving and communication system, or PACS, workstations by using high-spatial-resolution reconstructed CT images and identical window settings. Intra- and interreader agreement were determined by using methods described by Bland and Altman: the coefficient of repeatability for intrareader agreement, and methods derived from the 95% limits of agreement defined by Bland and Altman for interreader agreement. RESULTS The repeatability coefficients were 1.70, 1.32, and 1.51 mm for readers 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The 95% limits of agreement for the difference among readers were -1.73 and 1.73. CONCLUSION Two-dimensional CT measurements are not reliable in the evaluation of small noncalcified pulmonary nodules.
Determination of the Anisotropy of Young's Modulus Using a Coupled Microcantilever Array

This paper reports a simple technique to measure the anisotropy of the Young's modulus of MEMS materials using coupled cantilevers. The technique is demonstrated in single-crystal silicon with an array of cantilevers fabricated in (100) silicon following a “wagon wheel” configuration. The long axis of the cantilevers had different angular orientations to the [110] direction. The parasitic coupling due to undercut below the cantilevers, which is often observed during etching of MEMS, led to a collective behavior in the frequency response of the cantilevers. This collective behavior was used in association with an inverse eigenvalue analysis to obtain the Young's moduli for the different orientations. Further analysis of the technique relating to accuracy and precision required in the resonance frequency measurement has also been presented.
Role of periaqueductal gray matter in hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

We performed experiments to study the effects of electrolytic lesions of periaqueductal gray matter on mean blood pressure, heart rate, and cardiac baroreflex in adult male spontaneously hypertensive rats. Cardiac baroreflex was assessed by the administration of randomly assigned doses of phenylephrine (0.3 to 5.0 micrograms/kg i.v.) or sodium nitroprusside (1.5 to 5.0 micrograms/kg i.v.) to unanesthetized rats. Bilateral lesions of the periaqueductal gray matter (0.5 mA/5 s) were then performed with rats under sodium pentobarbital anesthesia (35 mg/kg i.p.). Twenty hours after lesion, cardiac baroreflex was retested. Baroreflex data were analyzed by sigmoidal curve fitting. Lesion rats (n = 12) showed a significant decrease in both the gain (delta = -0.89 +/- 0.38 beats per minute [bpm]/mm Hg, P < .05) and curve midpoint (delta = -15 +/- 6 mm Hg, P < .05) of the cardiac baroreflex. Moreover, despite a moderate increase in heart rate (delta = 34 +/- 10 bpm, P < .01), resting mean blood pressure was significantly decreased 24 hours after the lesions (delta = -19 +/- 5 mm Hg, P < 01). No significant changes in cardiac baroreflex were observed in sham-lesion rats (n = 12). Histological examination showed circumscribed bilateral damage of dorsolateral periaqueductal gray matter. Dorsolateral periaqueductal gray matter is an area of the brain putatively related to fear and anxiety. It also projects onto premotor sympathetic neurons in the medulla. Although electrolytic lesions damage neurons as well as fibers of passage, these data suggest that dorsolateral periaqueductal gray matter has a far greater influence on resting cardiovascular control in spontaneously hypertensive rats than was previously suspected.
How do programmers use optional typing?: an empirical study

The recent popularization of dynamically typed languages, such as Ruby and JavaScript, has brought more attention to the discussion about the impact of typing strategies on development. Types allow the compiler to find type errors earlier and potentially improve the readability and maintainability of code. On the other hand, "untyped" code may be easier to change and require less work from programmers. This paper tries to identify the programmers' point of view about these tradeoffs. An analysis of the source code of 6638 projects written in Groovy, a programming language which features optional typing, shows in which scenarios programmers prefer to type or not to type their declarations. Our results show that types are popular in the definition of module interfaces, but are less used in scripts, test classes and frequently changed code. There is no correlation between the size and age of projects and how their constructs are typed. Finally, we also found evidence that the background of programmers influences how they use types.
New outer membrane-associated protease of Escherichia coli K-12

The gene for a new outer membrane-associated protease, designated OmpP, of Escherichia coli has been cloned and sequenced. The gene encodes a 315-residue precursor protein possessing a 23-residue signal sequence. Including conservative substitutions and omitting the signal peptides, OmpP is 87% identical to the outer membrane protease OmpT. OmpP possessed the same enzymatic activity as OmpT. Immuno-electron microscopy demonstrated the exposure of the protein at the cell surface. Digestion of intact cells with proteinase K removed 155 N-terminal residues of OmpP, while the C-terminal half remained protected. It is possible that much of this N-terminal part is cell surface exposed and carries the enzymatic activity. Synthesis of OmpP was found to be thermoregulated, as is the expression of ompT (i.e., there is a low rate of synthesis at low temperatures) and, in addition, was found to be controlled by the cyclic AMP system.
Kalman Filtering for Manufacturing Processes

where xk is the measurement at iteration k, x is the measurement average, and N is the number of samples. Noise due to the manufacturing process itself is often greater in magnitude than the electrical noise. Examples of process noise include: (1) high frequency cyclic variations due to tool eccentricity in a turning process, (2) low frequency variations due to discrete solidification of deposited material in Laser Metal Deposition (LMD) processes, and (3) chaotic mixing of materials in Friction Stir Welding (FSW) processes. Manufacturing process measurements must be filtered before the data can be used for dynamic modeling or control. First principle modeling is generally unable to capture inherent nonlinear dynamics such as non–uniform friction and system wear. Therefore, dynamic manufacturing process models are often developed empirically. Estimation techniques such as Recursive Least Squares and Particle Swarm Optimization are commonly used for system identification to create a “best fit” model based on collected measurements. However, the fidelity of an empirical model greatly depends upon the measurements used to create it and processes with high–magnitude variations in the measurement signals are often difficult to model due to the low signal–to–noise ratio. Manufacturing process models are often used to design process controllers. Process control is the on–line adjustment of process parameters to enhance operation productivity and improve part quality. Variations in the measurement signal are generally higher in frequency than the available actuator bandwidth, which can lead to increased actuator wear and possible instability. A filter must be developed for (1) post processing of data to compensate for large signal variations prior to use by a model identification method and (2) on–line filtering capable of preserving signal phase and magnitude with minimal computational burden. The fourth–order Butterworth filter is used in a number of manufacturing processes. Bhattacharyya and Sengupta (2007) used a fourth–order Butterworth filter on a face milling process to remove high frequency variation due to spindle rotation harmonics. Liang et al. (2002) employed a Butterworth filter on the spindle power signal of an end milling process for use in a fuzzy logic controller. Ghosh et al. (2007) used a Butterworth filter for neural– O pe n A cc es s D at ab as e w w w . in te ch w eb . o rg
Quantum Systems Correlated with a Finite Bath: Nonequilibrium Dynamics and Thermodynamics

Describing open quantum systems far from equilibrium is challenging, in particular when the environment is mesoscopic, when it develops nonequilibrium features during the evolution, or when the memory effects cannot be disregarded. Here, we derive a master equation that explicitly accounts for system-bath correlations and includes, at a coarse-grained level, a dynamically evolving bath. Such a master equation applies to a wide variety of physical systems including those described by Random Matrix Theory or the Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis. We obtain a local detailed balance condition which, interestingly, does not forbid the emergence of stable negative temperature states in unison with the definition of temperature through the Boltzmann entropy. We benchmark the master equation against the exact evolution and observe a very good agreement in a situation where the conventional Born-Markov-secular master equation breaks down. Interestingly, the present description of the dynamics is robust and it remains accurate even if some of the assumptions are relaxed. Even though our master equation describes a dynamically evolving bath not described by a Gibbs state, we provide a consistent nonequilibrium thermodynamic framework and derive the first and second law as well as the Clausius inequality. Our work paves the way for studying a variety of nanoscale quantum technologies including engines, refrigerators, or heat pumps beyond the conventionally employed assumption of a static thermal bath.
MRI brain image analysis for tumour diagnosis using hybrid MB-MLM pattern classification technique

Brain tumours are rooted by atypical and abandoned enlargement of brain cells, which are the subsequent source of death associated to cancer in less than 30 years age of people in recent years. Early stage diagnosing of these brain tumours will reduce the unconditional deaths of young people. For that the most suggested one of the finest expertises is Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). In this work, proposed a brain MRI image based medical image analysis process, which consists of Modified Bat Algorithm with Modified Levenberg Marquardt (MB-MLM) classification with Active Contour Method (ACM) segmentation method to identify or classify tumor or non-tumor at earlier stage. For optimal results, this work also proposes the methods like advanced median filter pre-processing method for enhance the input image, parallelized clustering method for surface feature extraction and Intensity in Homogeneity (IIH) for high segmentation accuracy, hybrid wavelet and Sobel and Canny feature extraction method and Fast Independent Component Analysis (Fast ICA) feature selection method for dimensionality reduction, these proposed methods are increase the efficiency of the proposed MRI brain image based tumor diagnosis process. The performance of this proposed work is measured by standard parameters such as sensitivity, specificity and accuracy.
Assessing Outcomes in Alzheimer Disease

To gain a better overview of the effectiveness of treatment of patients with Alzheimer disease (AD), areas such as cognition, activities of daily living (ADL), behavior, caregiver burden, quality of life and economics need to be assessed. A number of instruments are available for assessing these domains, many of which are reviewed in this article. These include the cognitive subscale of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (the standard instrument for the measurement of efficacy in dementia trials), scales that assess AD patients' abilities to perform ADL (including the Disability Assessment for Dementia scale and the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study — Activities of Daily Living), scales to assess behavioral symptoms in dementia (including the Neuropsychiatric Inventory and the Behavioral Pathology in Alzheimer's Disease Rating Scale), scales for assessing global clinical change, and methods for assessing caregiver time, quality of life and health economics. Each instrument has its own advantages and disadvantages. However, the instruments used need to be selected carefully to provide credible and informative outcome data.
A CMOS delta-sigma true RMS converter

Conventionally, monolithic electronics true rms converters are constructed by bipolar circuitry. This paper describes a new architecture based on delta-sigma (/spl Delta//spl Sigma/) modulation to realize a low-cost rms converter in CMOS technologies, especially intended for handheld digital multimeters. The signal-to-quantization noise ratio as well as transfer characteristics of this architecture have been deduced to obtain initial design parameters. The use of an indirect charge transfer technique makes the converter gain depend only on an on-chip capacitor ratio, reducing gain drift and offering good gain accuracy. Measured results show that this converter achieves a signal-to-noise ratio of 88 dB and a relative error of /spl plusmn/0.2% for arbitrary inputs with a signal crest factor up to three. The signal bandwidth exceeds 50 kHz, and the full-scale input range is greater than 0.4 V/sub rms/. Without trimming and calibration, this converter has an absolute gain error less than /spl plusmn/0.4%. This chip is fabricated in a 0.8-/spl mu/m double-poly, double-metal CMOS process and occupies active area of 1 mm/sup 2/.
Total Safety Management: What Are the Main Areas of Concern in the Integration of Best Available Methods and Tools

“BP released findings from its own internal investigation of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, revealed inefficient Organization interfaces among BP management, the rig crew and well site leader. Also according to the investigation, one important contributor to the accident was inadequate guidelines for critical tests and operations”. (Pires and Mosleh 2011) Over the recent past, the accumulation of major mishaps, crises and accidents have made it clear that organisations must still improve their capabilities to address safety “not as a stand-alone activity that is separate from the main activities and processes of the organization” but as an integrated part of total performance management. The requirements for safety management in existing and upcoming standards and regulations, as for example the ISO 31000 and or the Seveso II directive, call for a proactive strategic approach, anticipating risks and demonstrating a capacity to keep safety at the centre of changes driven by commercial competition, and ensuring that safety evidence itself becomes an effective driver of change. However there is often a gap between the state principles and an actual roadmap to their implementation. Furthermore organisations, especially the one dealing with safety critical operations, find it difficult to integrate their different functional units in a common programme of operations management or change; there is no clear consensus about what it means to be ‘proactive’; there is no integrated framework for analysing or managing all the human related functions in an operational system. Innovation may rely on assembling the best practices, tools and methods already available for functional analysis, risk assessment, interactive emergency scenarios analysis, performance monitoring, design review, training and knowledge management, in an integrated framework able to address safety management in the main aspects of a product or process lifecycle the cornerstone of which is the building of a common operational picture to support the capacity to perform more participatory and dynamic risk identification and solutions loops in: - Design (new plants, processes /procedures availing new visualization tools) - Ad hoc critical activities (management of change or scheduled overhaul) - Operations management (establishing of dynamic risk registers). This is the scope of a new EU funded research project called TOSCA and the present paper will introduce the current framework being built.
Improving health literacy of women about iron deficiency anemia and civic responsibility of students through service learning

Background: Service-learning (S-L) is an educational approach that integrates community service with academic learning. S-L helps educate youth about their civic role and responsibility in society, and empowers them to tackle societal problems, strengthening communities through civic engagement. The objectives of this study were to demonstrate the effectiveness of S-L in fostering civic responsibility and communication skills in college students and to increase health literacy regarding iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) among both students and community women. Methods: This interventional exploratory study used a mixed methods approach. Thirteen first-year students from a women's college participated in the project. The authors held small interactive group sessions to teach the students about IDA and communication skills. A questionnaire measured the students' perceived knowledge about civic responsibility, communication skills, and IDA. The students then developed and delivered a health education campaign for sixty five community women and measured changes in the women's health literacy about IDA. A focus group discussion was conducted to collect students' reflections after the S-L experience. The changes in the civic responsibility and communication skills were determined by Wilcoxon rank test, while health literacy in women by a McNemar test. Results: Students showed significant improvement in all three constructs of civic responsibility and in perceptions of their communication skills. Increases in civic responsibility and in acquisition of knowledge emerged as the main themes of the focus group discussion with students. The community women showed substantial improvement in health literacy of IDA. Discussion: In this study, S-L achieves two purposes: (a) Increases students' knowledge of health topics, their sense of civic responsibility and improves their communication skills, and (b) educates women in the community about common and preventable health issues.
Cerebral venous thrombosis in Kuwait. Clinical presentation, risk factors, and management.

OBJECTIVE To explore the pattern of clinical presentations, risk factors, and the sinuses involved in cases of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) treated in a tertiary neurological center in Kuwait. METHODS A retrospective analysis of cases of CVT treated at Ibn Sina Hospital, Kuwait, from January 2000 to October 2010. The records of 71 patients were retrieved and entered in a database. All patients were evaluated with hypercoagulable work up and relevant neuro-imaging studies. RESULTS Seventy-one patients were included in our study, with a male to female ratio of 1:1.5. The clinical presentations were: headache (93%), seizures (31%), and focal neurological signs (37%). Over two-thirds (n=30) of female patients had a history of oral contraceptive use. Papilledema with raised intracranial pressure was recorded in 20 patients (28%), ovarian hyper-stimulation syndrome with CVT in one patient, and possible Neuro-Behcet`s in 10% (n=7). The venous sinuses involved were superior sagittal sinus in 59% (n=42), and transverse and straight sinuses in 54% (n=38). Hemorrhagic venous infarctions were seen in 18% (n=13). Fifty percent of patients recovered within 2-4 weeks, 15 patients (21%) recovered within 4-12 weeks, and 15 patients (21%) required intensive care unit care with ventilator support for 1-2 weeks. CONCLUSION Oral contraceptive use was the primary risk factor in female patients. Early diagnosis and immediate treatment with anticoagulants reduce the morbidity and mortality. Serum D-dimer level is more helpful for early diagnosis with sensitivity of 58%.
Murine Cyp3a knockout chimeric mice with humanized liver: prediction of the metabolic profile of nefazodone in humans

Chimeric mice with humanized livers (PXB mice) are used to investigate the metabolism and pharmacokinetics of drugs in humans. However, residual murine enzymatic activities derived from the liver and the presence of mouse small intestinal metabolism can hamper the prediction of human drug metabolism. Recently murine Cytochrome P450 3a gene knockout chimeric mice with humanized livers (Cyp3a KO CM) were developed. To evaluate the prediction of drug metabolism, nefazodone (NEF) was administered orally at 10 mg/kg to the following mouse strains: Cyp3a KO CM, murine Cyp3a gene knockout (Cyp3a KO), PXB and severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice. Liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry was used for metabolic profiling of plasma, urine and bile. The prediction of human metabolite levels such as hydroxy nefazodone (OH‐NEF), triazoledione form (TD), m‐chlorophenylpiperazine and dealkyl metabolites in Cyp3a KO CM was superior to that in Cyp3a KO, PXB or SCID mice. Further, clinical exposure levels of NEF, OH‐NEF and TD were reproduced in Cyp3a KO CM. In contrast, NEF was rapidly metabolized to TD in both PXB and SCID mice but not in Cyp3a KO mice, suggesting that murine CYP3A is involved in the elimination of NEF in these mice. These findings demonstrate that the metabolic profile of NEF in Cyp3a KO CM differs qualitatively and quantitatively from that in PXB mice due to the higher metabolic rate of NEF and its metabolites via murine CYP3A. Therefore Cyp3a KO CM might be useful in predicting the metabolic profiles of drug candidates in humans. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.