Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparative study on mechanical characteristics of precast HMA block versus concrete block

ABSTRACT While precast cement mortar block has often been used in modular pavement, precast HMA (Hot Mix Asphalt) block has the advantages of flexible behaviour, no curing and recycling, etc. In this project, the mechanical characteristics of the precast HMA block were evaluated by comparing with precast cement mortar block. The objective of this project was to develop a method for the design of precast HMA block and the evaluation of its mechanical characteristics. The research contents include proportion design and preparation of precast HMA block, mechanical test of precast HMA block, comparative analysis between precast HMA block and precast cement mortar block. Through analysis on the mechanical characteristics of precast HMA block with non-reinforced and reinforced, the research results have indicated that the bending strength of precast HMA block decreases gradually with the increase of aggregate diameter. The comparative results have further indicated that the bending strength of precast HMA block can match the strength of the precast cement mortar block and that it can be applied in modular asphalt pavement. The precast HMA block has provided a feasible technology in modular pavement option.
Magic for Filter Optimization in Dynamic Bottom-up Processing

Off-line compilation of logic grammars using Magic allows an incorporation of filtering into the logic underlying the grammar. The explicit definite clause characterization of filtering resulting from Magic compilation allows processor independent and logically clean optimizations of dynamic bottom-up processing with respect to goal-directedness. Two filter optimizations based on the program transformation technique of Unfolding are discussed which are of practical and theoretical interest.
GPS@ Bioinformatics Portal: from Network to EGEE Grid

Bioinformatics analysis of data produced by complete genome sequencing projects is one of the major challenges of the current years. Integrating up-to-date databanks and relevant algorithms is a clear requirement of such analysis. Grid computing would be a viable solution to distribute data, algorithms, computing and storage resources for Genomics. Providing bioinformaticians with a good interface to grid infrastructure, such as the one provided by the EGEE European project, is also a challenge to take up. The GPS@ web portal, "Grid Protein Sequence Analysis", aims to provide such a user-friendly interface for these grid genomic resources on the EGEE grid.
Augmenting test suites effectiveness by increasing output diversity

The uniqueness (or otherwise) of test outputs ought to have a bearing on test effectiveness, yet it has not previously been studied. In this paper we introduce a novel test suite adequacy criterion based on output uniqueness. We propose 4 definitions of output uniqueness with varying degrees of strictness. We present a preliminary evaluation for web application testing that confirms that output uniqueness enhances fault-finding effectiveness. The approach outperforms random augmentation in fault finding ability by an overall average of 280% in 5 medium sized, real world web applications.
Chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura

Summary First generation thrombopoietic growth factors (rhTPO and PEG-rHuMGDF), investigated in the early 2000s, proved effective in increasing platelet count in normal volunteers, in thrombocytopenia due to chemotherapy and also in a few cases of immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). These agents did not complete their clinical development since one of them induced antibodies in the recipients that cross reacted with endogenous thrombopoietin (TPO), thus causing thrombocytopenia. This promoted the ingenious design of a new generation of thrombopoietic growth factors having no sequence homology with natural TPO. The two main agents are romiplostim, a peptibody already approved for clinical use in USA and eltrombopag, a non-peptide, orally active small molecule. In open label and placebo-controlled trials both agents proved to predictably increase platelet count in normal volunteers and in patients with ITP. With appropriate dosages (1–10 µg/kg weekly sub cutaneously for romiplostim; 50–75 mg/die per os for eltrombopag ) a platelet increase becomes significant after 7–10 days and peaks between 10–14 days. By dis -continuing treatment, platelet count returns to baseline level in 10–15 days. The response rate with both agents is above 70–80%, also in patients that had undergone several lines of treatment, or that have failed splenectomy. The response is maintained during the treatment, but is almost invariably lost even after several months of successful administration. Due to the lack of a curative potential and to the incomplete knowledge of long-term side effects, the place of these new drugs in the management of ITP is still unsettled and their use is best restricted to refractory patients or in preparation of splenectomy. It seems however that a new paradigm in the treatment of ITP has been established where the focus is not on reducing platelet consumption but on increasing platelet production.
Adaptive Location Update Mechanism for Network-Constrained Moving Objects in Changeful Traffic Conditions

Location update strategy is one of the most important factors that affect the performance of moving objects databases. However, current motion vector based location tracking methods are designed for regular movements and are thus not suitable for transportation networks with changeful traffic conditions. To solve this problem, we propose a new location update mechanism, Adaptive Network-constrained moving object Location Update Mechanism (ANLUM), in this paper. In ANLUM, the moving object can switch between different location tracking policies according to difference traffic conditions, so that the overall performance can be improved. To evaluate the performance of the proposed method, an experimental system is implemented and the results show that ANLUM can effectively reduce the communication costs with location tracking accuracy guaranteed in traffic jammed transportation networks.
Articulatory feature classifiers trained on 2000 hours of telephone speech

This paper is intended to advertise the public availability of the articulatory feature (AF) classification multi-layer perceptrons (MLPs) which were used in the Johns Hopkins 2006 summer workshop. We describe the design choices, data preparation, AF label generation, and the training of MLPs for feature classification on close to 2000 hours of telephone speech. In addition, we present some analysis of the MLPs in terms of classification accuracy and confusions along with a brief summary of the results obtained during the workshop using the MLPs. We invite interested parties to make use of these MLPs.
The Doherty power amplifier

The Doherty power amplifier (DPA) architecture, in various formats using different technologies, has been a very popular means of providing high conversion efficiencies from raw electrical power to sophisticated modulated RF and microwave signals ever since the requirements for very high power amplitude modulated (AM) radio transmitters in the mid-1930's. This paper covers not only the “original stories” of high power tube-based Doherty power amplifiers for those early AM transmitters, but also provides many examples of implementations employing a range of modern semiconductor transistor and circuit technologies covering a wide range of power levels, modulation schemes and carrier frequencies.
Does Sensory Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation Enhance Motor Recovery Following a Stroke? A Systematic Review

Background. Somatosensory input may lead to long-lasting cortical plasticity enhanced by motor recovery in patients with neurological impairments. Sensory transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TENS) is a relatively risk-free and easy-to-implement modality for rehabilitation. Objective. The authors systematically examine the effects of sensory TENS on motor recovery after stroke. Methods. Eligible randomized or quasi-randomized trials were identified via searches of computerized databases. Two assessors reviewed independently the eligibility and methodological quality of the retrieved articles. Results. In all, 15 articles satisfied the inclusion criteria. Methodological quality was generally good, with a mean (standard deviation) PEDro score of 6.7/10 (1.2). Although the majority of studies reported significant effects on at least 1 outcome measure, effect sizes were generally small. Meta-analysis could not be performed for the majority of outcome measures because of variability between studies and insufficient data. A moderate effect was determined for force production of the ankle dorsiflexors and for the Timed Up and Go test. Conclusions. Sensory stimulation via TENS may be beneficial to enhance aspects of motor recovery following a stroke, particularly when used in combination with active training. Because of the great variability between studies, particularly in terms of the timing of the intervention after the stroke, the outcome measures used, and the stimulation protocols, insufficient data are available to provide guidelines about strategies and efficacy.
Reversible Blind HF Domain Contourlet Watermarking for Authentication of Digital Images

Digital images are widely used in defense, e-governance, medicine, banking, insurance, healthcare, scientific research, weather forecasting etc. Varied applications in these fields demand the secure exchange of digital images that serve as valid document evidences for legal procedures and for clinical, scientific and forensic analysis. These images are susceptible to intentional or accidental attacks during transit which may lead to the loss of confidentiality and integrity of the content and identity of the sender. This paper presents a reversible blind watermarking scheme for authentication of digital images with a binary logo. It exploits the contourlet domain for watermarking as it preserves the smooth contours and edges even after multiple levels of decomposition. The proposed watermarking algorithm embeds the watermark in an arbitrary sparse High Frequency (HF) subband; the watermark extraction algorithm follows a unique hard thresholding approach for blind watermark extraction. The system applies a triangular number generating function to strengthen the binary watermark and employs Arnold transform for watermark synchronization. Experimental results show that the proposed system provides good fidelity of watermarked and recovered images and robustness to certain geometrical and non geometrical attacks.
A Single Dose of the Serotonin Neurotransmission Agonist Paroxetine Enhances Motor Output: Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, fMRI Study in Healthy Subjects

Since serotonin (5-HT) stimulates motor function, pharmacological potentiation of 5-HT neurotransmission may improve motor function in healthy subjects and, possibly, recovery in post-stroke patients. Indeed, fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), increased activation in executive motor areas of healthy subjects as fenozolone, a releaser of monoamines (including noradrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin) from intracellular stores. This study is intended to test the hypothesis that paroxetine can likewise modulate brain motor activity in a dose-dependent manner in healthy subjects. In a double-blind counterbalanced study, six subjects underwent functional MRI examinations on three sessions 1 week apart (E1, E2, and E3) at the time of peak plasma concentrations (5 h after drug intake, i.e., either 20 or 60 mg of paroxetine or placebo) with a complex sequential opposition task. Rest and activation alternated in a block design. During activation, subjects performed, with the right hand, a 1-Hz-paced task that alternated two fist closings with a sequential opposition task. Paroxetine elicited effects similar to those reported for fluoxetine; notable changes were hyperactivation in the contralateral S1/M1, and posterior SMA and widespread hypoactivation of basal ganglia and cerebellum. There was an inverse correlation between dose and effect: significantly greater effects were observed with the 20-mg dose compared with 60 mg. Paroxetine dose-dependently modulates activation of the entire motor pathway in a way that favors motor output. Thus, a single dose of the SSRI paroxetine reorganized motor processing.
Incorporating Latency in Heterogeneous Graph Partitioning

Parallel applications based on irregular meshes make use of mesh partitioners for efficient execution. Some mesh partitioners can map a mesh to a heterogeneous computational platform, where processor and network performance may vary. Such partitioners generally model the computational platform as a weighted graph, where the weight of a vertex gives relative processor performance, and the weight of a link indicates the relative transmission rate of the link between two processors. However, the performance of a network link is typically characterized by two parameters, bandwidth and latency, which cannot be captured in a single weight. We show that taking into account the network heterogeneity of a computational resource can significantly improve the quality of a domain decomposition obtained using graph partitioning. Furthermore, we show that taking into account bandwidth and latency of the network links is significantly better than just considering the former. This work is presented as an extension to the PaGridpartitioner, and includes a model for estimated execution time, which is used as a cost function by the partitioner but could also be used for performance prediction by application-oriented schedulers.
Determinants of Rbp1p Localization in Specific Cytoplasmic mRNA-processing Foci, P-bodies*

Rbp1p, a yeast RNA-binding protein, decreases the level of mitochondrial porin mRNA by enhancing its degradation, but the intracellular location of the Rbp1p-mediated degradation complex remains unknown. We show here that Rbp1p in xrn1Δ mutant yeast localizes in specific cytoplasmic foci that are known as P-bodies. The N-terminal and RNA recognition motif (RRM) 1 domains of Rbp1p are necessary but not sufficient for its localization in P bodies. Rbp1p forms oligomers through its C-terminal domain in vivo; N-terminal-delete, or RRM1-mutated Rbp1p can be more efficiently recruited to P-bodies in an xrn1Δ strain, expressing a full-length Rbp1p. Although POR1 mRNA is localized to P bodies in an xrn1Δ strain, this localization does not depend on Rbp1p. Decapping activator Dhh1p directly interacts with Rbp1p. However, the recruitment of Rbp1p to P-bodies does not require Dhh1p or Ccr4p. In wild-type cells, Rbp1p can localize to P-bodies under glucose deprivation or treatment with KCl. In addition, Rbp1p-mediated porin mRNA decay is elicited by Xrn1p, a 5 ′ to 3 ′ exonuclease. These results provide new insight into the mechanism of Rbp1p function.
Point and surface estimations by a non-analog Monte Carlo simulation for the tranport of radionuclide chains in porous media

In the context of contaminant transport in geological media, the estimation of concentration (or activity) in local areas is addressed in this paper. Recently, a non-analog Monte Carlo simulation based on the integral formulation of the advectiondispersion equation in a saturated porous medium has been obtained. The present work describes, firstly, the random walks constructed from this integral equation for the transport of radionuclide chains, secondly, how these random walks may be easily modified in order to assess cumulative activities (integrated over the simulation time) in local areas of the geological medium. The method is based on the calculation of transition probabilities by simple quadratures during a pre-processing step. The simulation itself is organized as a random walk with multiple branchings. The estimation of instantaneous activities at points is also treated. The methods are illustrated on numerical tests in one and three-dimensional problems. © 1998 VSP.
Supervised hyperspectral image classification using sparse logistic regression and spatial-TV regularization

In this paper, we propose a new model for hyperspectral image classification using spectral-spatial information. The main contributions of our paper are that we exploit the posterior distribution from both spectral and spatial information in the original hyperspectral data. The association potential in our model is a sparse multinomial logistic regression (SMLR) classifier and the interaction potential is a spatial-relevant total variation (TV) constraint upon the posterior distribution itself which encourages neighboring pixels to belong to the same class. The proposed model is solved by the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM); we enhance the spatial smoothness by expanding the spatial information from the fixed labeled samples to the whole data to further improve the classification accuracy. Experimental results with real hyperspectral data set validate that our proposed approach provides good performance when compared with other state-of-the-art methods.
Recognizing Objects in Cluttered Images using Subgraph Isomorphism ∗

This paper reports on a new approach to object recognition based on exploiting both geometric and spectral information in an image. An algorithm is described for finding objects in an image based on inexact graph matching against a template that incorporates information about the geometry and color of segmented regions of the image. The image is encoded as an attributed graph in which vertices represent regions, and are annotated with the position, shape and color of the image. Finding the template in a new image takes place in three steps: local, neighborhood and global matching. In the last step a maximal set of mutually compatible template / candidate image region assignments is sought. Currently the system has been evaluated using 3-band color images, though experiments carried out with 4-band images suggest improved performance with such images.
A Routing Mechanism Based on Social Networks and Betweenness Centrality in Delay-Tolerant Networks

With the growing popularity of mobile smart devices, the existing networks are unable to meet the requirement of many complex scenarios; current network architectures and protocols do not work well with the network with high latency and frequent disconnections. To improve the performance of these networks some scholars opened up a new research field, delay-tolerant networks, in which one of the important research subjects is the forwarding and routing mechanism of data packets. This paper presents a routing scheme based on social networks owing to the fact that nodes in computer networks and social networks have high behavioural similarity. To further improve efficiency this paper also suggests a mechanism, which is the improved version of an existing betweenness centrality based routing algorithm. The experiments showed that the proposed scheme has better performance than the existing friendship routing algorithms.
Methylglyoxal, a glycolysis side-product, induces Hsp90 glycation and YAP-mediated tumor growth and metastasis

Metabolic reprogramming toward aerobic glycolysis unavoidably induces methylglyoxal (MG) formation in cancer cells. MG mediates the glycation of proteins to form advanced glycation end products (AGEs). We have recently demonstrated that MG-induced AGEs are a common feature of breast cancer. Little is known regarding the impact of MG-mediated carbonyl stress on tumor progression. Breast tumors with MG stress presented with high nuclear YAP, a key transcriptional co-activator regulating tumor growth and invasion. Elevated MG levels resulted in sustained YAP nuclear localization/activity that could be reverted using Carnosine, a scavenger for MG. MG treatment affected Hsp90 chaperone activity and decreased its binding to LATS1, a key kinase of the Hippo pathway. Cancer cells with high MG stress showed enhanced growth and metastatic potential in vivo. These findings reinforce the cumulative evidence pointing to hyperglycemia as a risk factor for cancer incidence and bring renewed interest in MG scavengers for cancer treatment. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.19375. 001
GiraffPlus: Combining social interaction and long term monitoring for promoting independent living

Early detection and adaptive support to changing individual needs related to ageing is an important challenge in today's society. In this paper we present a system called GiraffPlus that aims at addressing such a challenge and is developed in an on-going European project. The system consists of a network of home sensors that can be automatically configured to collect data for a range of monitoring services; a semi-autonomous telepresence robot; a sophisticated context recognition system that can give high-level and long term interpretations of the collected data and respond to certain events; and personalized services delivered through adaptive user interfaces for primary users. The system performs a range of services including data collection and analysis of long term trends in behaviors and physiological parameters (e.g. relating to sleep or daily activity); warnings, alarms and reminders; and social interaction through the telepresence robot. The latter is based on the Giraff telepresence robot, which is already in place in a number of homes. A distinctive aspect of the project is that the GiraffPlus system will be installed and evaluated in at least 15 homes of elderly people. This paper provides a general overview of the GiraffPlus system and its evaluation.
Haemostasis: diagnostic techniques

Adequate haemostasis depends on normal structure and function of the blood vascular system, the number and functional integrity of platelets, and an adequate coagulation system, including stability of the fibrin clot. This chapter looks at indications for haemostasis testing; sample collection and handling; global testing; basic haemostasis profile; further and specific tests.
Early detection of breast cancer using ER specific novel NIR fluorescent dye conjugate: a phantom study using FD-f-DOT system

Fluorescence diffuse optical tomography (f-DOT) is an imaging technique that can quantify the spatial distribution of fluorescent tracers in small animals and human soft tissues. Efficacy of f-DOT imaging can be improved by tagging a functional group to the dye. A novel estrogen receptor (ER) specific near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent dye conjugate was synthesized which can be effectively used for detecting breast cancer tissues at an early stage. Our novel dye, Near Infrared Dye Conjugate-2 (NIRDC-2), is a conjugate of 17β-estradiol with an analogue of Indocyanine Green dye, bis1,1-(4-sulfobutyl) indotricarbocyanine-5-carboxylic acid, sodium salt. Our present study focuses on imaging cylindrical silicone phantoms using Frequency Domain f-DOT system. Background absorption and scattering coefficients were 0.01mm-1 and 1mm-1 respectively. 10μM concentration of NIRDC-2 and Indocyanine Green (ICG) were administered separately into a cylindrical hole (target) of size 8mm diameter in the phantom. In-silico studies were performed to analyze the properties of dyes using experimental data. Absorption coefficient of 0.0002 mm-1 was recovered for the background. Fluorophore absorption coefficient at the target recovered were 0.000173 mm-1 and 0.000408 mm-1 for ICG and NIRDC-2 respectively. In comparison with ICG, our novel dye had a two fold higher target to background contrast. Recovered target position was accurate but size altered. In concurrence with the recovered fluorescent property and the cell lines studies carried out earlier, binding properties of NIRDC-2 makes it a potential probe for the early tumor detection using f-DOT system.