Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis of multiple‐acquisition SSFP

Refocused steady‐state free precession (SSFP) is limited by its high sensitivity to local field variation, particularly at high field strengths or the long repetition times (TRs) necessary for high resolution. Several methods have been proposed to reduce SSFP banding artifact by combining multiple phase‐cycled SSFP acquisitions, each differing in how individual signal magnitudes and phases are combined. These include maximum‐intensity SSFP (MI‐SSFP) and complex‐sum SSFP (CS‐SSFP). The reduction in SSFP banding is accompanied by a loss in signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) efficiency. In this work a general framework for analyzing banding artifact reduction, contrast, and SNR of any multiple‐acquisition SSFP combination method is presented. A new sum‐of‐squares method is proposed, and a comparison is performed between each of the combination schemes. The sum‐of‐squares SSFP technique (SOS‐SSFP) delivers both robust banding artifact reduction and higher SNR efficiency than other multiple‐acquisition techniques, while preserving SSFP contrast. Magn Reson Med 51:1038–1047, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Analysis of Peptidoglycan Structure from Vegetative Cells of Bacillus subtilis 168 and Role of PBP 5 in Peptidoglycan Maturation

ABSTRACT The composition and fine structure of the vegetative cell wall peptidoglycan from Bacillus subtilis were determined by analysis of its constituent muropeptides. The structures of 39 muropeptides, representing 97% of the total peptidoglycan, were elucidated. About 99% analyzed muropeptides in B. subtilisvegetative cell peptidoglycan have the free carboxylic group of diaminopimelic acid amidated. Anhydromuropeptides and products missing a glucosamine at the nonreducing terminus account for 0.4 and 1.5%, respectively, of the total muropeptides. These two types of muropeptides are suggested to end glycan strands. An unexpected feature of B. subtilis muropeptides was the occurrence of a glycine residue in position 5 of the peptide side chain on monomers or oligomers, which account for 2.7% of the total muropeptides. This amount is, however, dependent on the composition of the growth media. Potential attachment sites for anionic polymers to peptidoglycan occur on dominant muropeptides and account for 2.1% of the total. B. subtilis peptidoglycan is incompletely digested by lysozyme due to de-N-acetylation of glucosamine, which occurs on 17.3% of muropeptides. The cross-linking index of the polymer changes with the growth phase. It is highest in late stationary phase, with a value of 33.2 or 44% per muramic acid residue, as determined by reverse-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography or gel filtration, respectively. Analysis of the muropeptide composition of a dacA (PBP 5) mutant shows a dramatic decrease of muropeptides with tripeptide side chains and an increase or appearance of muropeptides with pentapeptide side chains in monomers or oligomers. The total muropeptides with pentapeptide side chains accounts for almost 82% in thedacA mutant. This major low-molecular-weight PBP (dd-carboxypeptidase) is suggested to play a role in peptidoglycan maturation.
Universities and the public good: A review of knowledge exchange policy and related university practice in Australia

Australian policy relating to knowledge exchange has never been well articulated, notwithstanding that the nexus between knowledge, engagement and higher education in Australia has been on the national agenda for several decades (Grattan Institute, 2013). In universities, this policy deficit is reflected in a lack of project management and collaboration skills, and limited motivation of researchers to engage in collaborative knowledge exchange processes. Taken together, poor policy and inadequate practice constrain the effective use of knowledge in socioeconomic development and national innovation. This paper primarily focuses on the knowledge exchange policy-practice nexus in Australia. We adopt the term 'knowledge exchange' while acknowledging many other related concepts, such as knowledge transfer, university community engagement, integrative applied research and engaged scholarship. We draw attention to international contexts in which universities, governments, industry and funding agencies are now explicitly supporting and facilitating collaborative knowledge exchange activities. Our review suggests that Australia needs a clearly articulated national knowledge exchange policy, along with enhanced university capacity to implement knowledge exchange initiatives.
Disentangling the roles of disability and morbidity in survival to exceptional old age.

BACKGROUND Although it is commonly held that survival to age 100 years entails markedly delaying or escaping age-related morbidities, nearly one-third of centenarians have age-related morbidities for 15 or more years. Yet, we have previously observed that many centenarians compress disability toward the end of their lives. Therefore, we hypothesize that for some centenarians, compression of disability rather than morbidity is a key feature for survival to old age. METHODS This cross-sectional, nationwide study included 523 women and 216 men 97 years or older. The participants were stratified by sex and age at onset (age <85 years [termed survivors] and age >or=85 years [termed delayers]) of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, dementia, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, osteoporosis, Parkinson disease, and stroke. Dependent variables were the Barthel Activities of Daily Living Index (Barthel Index) and the Information-Memory-Concentration test of the Blessed Dementia Scale. RESULTS Thirty-two percent of the participants were survivors. For men with hypertension and/or heart disease for 15 or more years, the median Barthel Index score was 90 (independence range, 80-100). For female survivors with hypertension, heart disease, and/or osteoporosis, the median Barthel Index score was 65 (minimal assistance range, 60-79). Generally, men had better function than women: 60% of male survivors had Barthel Index scores of 90 or higher compared with 18% of female survivors (P < .001) and 50% of male delayers had Barthel Index scores of 90 or higher compared with 27% of females delayers (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS Whereas the compression of both morbidity and disability are essential features of survival to old age for some centenarians, for others, the compression of disability alone may be the key prerequisite. Though far fewer in number, male centenarians tend to have significantly better cognition and physical function than their female counterparts.
Boosting Alzheimer diagnosis accuracy with the help of incomplete privileged information

Early and accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is beneficial to both preserve daily functioning and test possible new treatments. However, current diagnosis depends on dozens of factors, including the family member, past medical problems, tests of memory, blood and urine tests, brain scans and even cerebrospinal fluid specimens. Among them, regular features (e.g., blood and urine tests, brain scans) are simple and accurate. Privileged features (e.g., tests of memory, cerebrospinal fluid specimens) are inconvenient and uncomfortable to acquire, and thus incomplete in most cases. In this work, we propose a two-stage learning framework to predict merely using the regular feature with the aid of incomplete privileged data in the training time. In particular, we first complement the missing data of privileged features by exploring the relationship with regular features and labels. The recovered privileged features, regular features, as well as labels, are combined as a new set of privileged features. Then privileged learning via matching logits is applied to boost the diagnosis accuracy. Our experiments and comparison studies with competing techniques on both synthetic data and real benchmarks have corroborated the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed framework for biomedical applications.
Towards understanding user preferences in robot-human handovers: How do we decide?

Service robots are expected to provide assistance to users by performing useful tasks, such as handing over objects upon request. Most robot-human handover studies implicitly assume that the handover action being executed is the same every time. We postulate that for real scenarios, however, a robot should be capable of accomplishing the handover task using multiple styles of handover, selecting the action that will most likely result in the successful execution of the task and the action that best accommodates different user preferences. This paper addresses the human aspect of this theory, investigating: (1) Will users prefer to have the robot execute more than one type of robot-human handovers? and (2) What factors do users take into account to favor one handover over another? In a survey realized with 62 participants from 2 different countries we conclude that not only is having more than one handover action important for the robot, but also identify 2 factors for selecting the best action autonomously.
The Geographic Flow of Bank Funding and Access to Credit: Branch Networks and Local-Market Competition

This paper studies the integration of deposit and loan markets, which may be constrained by the geographic dispersion of depositors, borrowers, and banks. This dispersion results in problems of asymmetric information, monitoring and transaction costs, which in turn may prevent deposits from flowing from areas of low demand for loans to areas of high demand. We provide systematic evidence on the extent to which deposits and loans are geographically imbalanced, and develop a methodology for investigating the contribution of (i) branch networks, (ii) local market power, and (iii) economies of scope to this imbalance using data at the bank-county-year level from the US banking industry for 1998-2010. Our results are based on the construction of an index which measures the geographic imbalance of deposits and loans, and the estimation of a structural model of bank oligopoly competition for deposits and loans in multiple geographic markets. The estimated model shows that a bank's total deposits have a significant effect on the bank's market shares in loan markets. We also find evidence of significant economies of scope between deposits and loans at the local level. Counterfactual experiments show that multi-state branch networks contribute significantly to the geographic flow of credit but benefit especially larger/richer counties. Local market power has a very substantial negative effect on the flow of credit to smaller/poorer counties.
The extracellular matrix molecule brevican is an integral component of the machinery mediating fast synaptic transmission at the calyx of Held

The proteoglycan brevican is a major component of the extracellular matrix of perineuronal nets and is highly enriched in the perisynaptic space suggesting a role for synaptic transmission. We have introduced the calyx of Held in the auditory brainstem as a model system to study the impact of brevican on dynamics and reliability of synaptic transmission. In vivo extracellular single‐unit recordings at the calyx of Held in brevican‐deficient mice yielded a significant increase in the action potential (AP) transmission delay and a prolongation of pre‐ and postsynaptic APs. The changes in dynamics of signal transmission were accompanied by the reduction of presynaptic vGlut1 and ultrastructural changes in the perisynaptic space. These data show that brevican is an important mediator of fast synaptic transmission at the calyx of Held.
Cortical Afferents and Myeloarchitecture Distinguish the Medial Intraparietal Area (MIP) from Neighboring Subdivisions of the Macaque Cortex

Visual Abstract The parietal reach region (PRR) in the medial bank of the macaque intraparietal sulcus has been a subject of considerable interest in research aimed at the development of brain-controlled prosthetic arms, but its anatomical organization remains poorly characterized. We examined the anatomical organization of the putative PRR territory based on myeloarchitecture and retrograde tracer injections. We found that the medial bank includes three areas: an extension of the dorsal subdivision of V6A (V6Ad), the medial intraparietal area (MIP), and a subdivision of area PE (PEip). Analysis of corticocortical connections revealed that both V6Ad and MIP receive inputs from visual area V6; the ventral subdivision of V6A (V6Av); medial (PGm, 31), superior (PEc), and inferior (PFG/PF) parietal association areas; and intraparietal areas AIP and VIP. They also receive long-range projections from the superior temporal sulcus (MST, TPO), cingulate area 23, and the dorsocaudal (area F2) and ventral (areas F4/F5) premotor areas. In comparison with V6Ad, MIP receives denser input from somatosensory areas, the primary motor cortex, and the medial motor fields, as well as from visual cortex in the ventral precuneate cortex and frontal regions associated with oculomotor guidance. Unlike MIP, V6Ad receives stronger visual input, from the caudal inferior parietal cortex (PG/Opt) and V6Av, whereas PEip shows marked emphasis on anterior parietal, primary motor, and ventral premotor connections. These anatomical results suggest that MIP and V6A have complementary roles in sensorimotor behavior, with MIP more directly involved in movement planning and execution in comparison with V6A.
Effectiveness of the 2013 and 2014 Southern Hemisphere Influenza Vaccines Against Laboratory-confirmed Influenza in Young Children Using a Test-negative Design, Bangkok, Thailand

Background: The Thai Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends annual influenza vaccination for children 6 months through 2 years of age, although older children may be vaccinated on request. We evaluated the effectiveness of the 2013 and 2014 inactivated influenza vaccines to reduce medically attended, laboratory-confirmed influenza illness among Thai children aged 7–60 months. Methods: From September 2013–May 2015, children with influenza-like illness were screened with a rapid influenza diagnostic test. Enrolled children had nasal and throat swabs tested for influenza viruses using polymerase chain reaction. Cases and controls were subjects testing positive and negative, respectively, for influenza viruses by polymerase chain reaction. Vaccination status was ascertained from vaccination cards. Vaccine effectiveness (VE) was calculated as 100% × (1 − odds ratio of vaccination among cases vs. controls). Results: Of the 1377 children enrolled, cases (n = 490) and controls (n = 887) were similar in demographic characteristics. Cases were less likely to receive influenza vaccine than controls in 2013 (6% vs. 14%; P = 0.02), but not in 2014 (6% vs. 7%; P = 0.57). Among cases, 126 (26%) were positive for influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus, 239 (49%) for influenza A(H3N2) and 124 (25%) for influenza B. One specimen was positive for both influenza A(H3N2) and B viruses. VE for full vaccination against all viruses was 64% (95% confidence interval: 21% to 84%) in 2013 and 26% (95% confidence interval: −47% to 63%) in 2014. Conclusions: Influenza vaccination was low among Thai children in this study, and VE varied by year, highlighting the need for annual monitoring of VE to better understand vaccine program effectiveness.
Fish assemblage patterns as a tool to aid conservation in the Olifants River catchment (East), South Africa

South Africa has committed to address freshwater conservation at the catchment scale, using a combination of landscapelevel and species-level features as surrogates of freshwater biodiversity. To support this work, we examined fishes in the Olifants River catchment, where multiple anthropogenic pressures affect streams. Patterns in fish assemblage data across 88 sites were analysed and related to landscape environmental variables using statistical techniques of multivariate ordination, cluster analysis, and regression tree analysis. We identified 6 distinct fish assemblage types, which were separated by altitude and human influence, primarily dry-land cropping and dams. In the upper reaches of the catchment, we identified a faunal shift from Barbus neefi, which occurred in less impacted sites, to B. anoplus and Tilapia sparrmanii, which were favored in cropland and mixed cropland/urban settings, respectively. The fish assemblage of the middle section of the catchment was not unique, but supported one species, Chiloglanis pretoriae, that could be considered a focal species for conservation. The low altitude, high-runoff section of the catchment supported the most species. However, species richness increased in association with dams, through the addition of species that are more tolerant of flow and physicochemical modifications. Thus, species richness may not be an optimal conservation target for this system. Rather, a series of indicators will be necessary to track and measure conservation success in the Olifants catchment.
The regulation of an age-structured population by a fatal disease.

A model describing the effect of a fatal disease on an age-structured population which would otherwise grow is presented and analysed. If the disease is capable of regulating host numbers, there is an endemic steady age distribution (SAD), for which an analytic expression is obtained under some simplifying assumptions. The ability of the disease to regulate the population depends on a parameter R(alpha), which is defined in terms of the given age-dependent birth and death rates, and where alpha is the age-dependent disease-induced death rate. If R(alpha) < 1 the endemic SAD is attained, while R(alpha) > 1 means the disease cannot control the population's size. The number R(0) is the expected number of offspring produced by each individual in the absence of the disease; for a growing population we require R(0) > 1. A stability analysis is also performed and it is conjectured that the endemic SAD is locally asymptotically stable whenever it is attained. This is demonstrated explicitly for a very simple example where all rates are taken as constant.
Assessment of the Relationship between Religiosity and Sexual behaviour among Unmarried Adolescents in Selected Secondary Schools in Lusaka, Zambia

Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the association between religiosity and sexual behaviour among secondary school adolescents. Research design: The study population included in-school adolescents aged between 15-19 years and used multistage and random sampling to pick elements at every stage. Participants: The total sample size (N= 400) comprised adolescents from selected secondary schools in Matero and Woodlands townships in Lusaka. Main outcome measures: The outcome measures included: levels of religiosity, sexual behaviour and association between religiosity and sexual behaviour. Results: The analysis included all 400 adolescents. The majority of respondents were female (n= 59.3%) and Pentecostal Christians at (29%). The mean age was 16.2 with a standard deviation of 1.33. Age range of respondents was from 15-19 years with the majority aged 15 (34.25%). 87% respondents were religious and 88.25% of respondents were not involved in sexual activities. The Chi-square test results showed significant predictors of religiosity with a p-value less than 0.05. The test results showed that greater levels of religiosity were associated with lower levels of sexual activities and vice versa with a Chi-square value of 0.9954 and pvalue=0.318. The relationship was however not significant at p-value 0.05. Conclusion: The study concluded that greater levels of religiosity were associated with lower levels of sexual activities and vice versa with a Chi-square value of 0.9954 and p-value=0.318. The relationship was however not significant at p-value 0.05.
An epidermal alkaline rechargeable Ag–Zn printable tattoo battery for wearable electronics

Herein we report for the first time the fabrication of a rechargeable, benign, skin-worn Ag–Zn tattoo battery using unconventional materials, such as screen printed electrodes, temporary tattoo paper, alkaline gel electrolytes and a PDMS cover for sealing the battery. The tattoo battery can be easily worn by a person for powering wearable devices. Detailed characterization of a typical Ag–Zn tattoo cell reveals a capacity density in the range 1.3–2.1 mA h cm−2 and stability up to 13 cycles. The tattoo cell exhibits a stable open circuit voltage of 1.5 V over a 5 days period and endures repeated stretching and bending strain cycles with minimal decrement in its performance. The lateral arrangement of the negative and positive electrodes allows the integration of several cells into a battery in series or parallel combination for tuning the discharge capacity and voltage to the desired values. The practical nature of the tattoo battery was illustrated by applying it to a human subject's skin followed by lighting a red LED. The epidermal tattoo battery thus meets the demands of wearable power sources, including mechanical compliance and tunable discharge capacity, to power body-worn electronic devices.
Closing the Gap: Arbitrage Free Valuation of Derivatives in ALM

In this paper, we use the key concept of arbitrage free valuation to close the gap between option pricing and ALM. We derive a continuous-time equivalent of the discrete ALM model and show how, e.g., equity options and swaptions ought to be valued. We demonstrate that normally distributed equity price distributions lead to significant skew corrections when compared with Black-Scholes.
Response of Sorghum Accessions from Four African Countries against Colletotrichum sublineolum, Causal Agent of Sorghum Anthracnose

Seventy-two sorghum accessions were randomly selected from the Ethiopia, Mali, Sudan, and Uganda germplasm collections maintained by the US National Plant Germplasm System to evaluate variation in anthracnose resistance. The accessions were planted in a randomized complete block design in College Station, Texas during the 2007 and 2008 growing seasons. Twenty-six accessions exhibited a resistant response across growing seasons with 8 accessions showing a susceptible response. Twenty-nine accessions showed variation in disease response within and between experiments. Seven accessions were rated as resistant in 2007 but showed a susceptible reaction in 2008. The frequency of resistant germplasm varied based on country of origin with 80% of the accessions from Mali, 48% of the accessions from Uganda, 24% of the accessions from Sudan, and 7% of the accessions from Ethiopia exhibiting a resistance response. When the same accessions were evaluated in Isabela, Puerto Rico, 100% of the accessions from Mali, 43% of the accessions from Uganda, and 28% of the accessions from Sudan exhibited a resistant response. All the accessions from Ethiopia were susceptible to anthracnose when evaluated in Isabela, Puerto Rico. In both locations, 22 accessions exhibited a resistant response. Four accessions rated as resistant in Texas were found to be susceptible in Puerto Rico; whereas, five accessions rated as resistant in Puerto Rico showed a susceptible response in Texas. These results indicated that the Mali, Sudan, and Uganda sorghum collections may be an important source of anthracnose resistance. However, the identification of anthracnose resistant germplasm from many diverse regions could result in the identification of new sources of genetic variation for resistance. Also, greater genetic variation for resistance could be present in regions with a high frequency of resistant germplasm.