Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multimodality Imaging Assessment of Prosthetic Heart Valves

Echocardiography and fluoroscopy are the main techniques for prosthetic heart valve (PHV) evaluation, but because of specific limitations they may not identify the morphological substrate or the extent of PHV pathology. Cardiac computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have emerged as new potential imaging modalities for valve prostheses. We present an overview of the possibilities and pitfalls of CT and MRI for PHV assessment based on a systematic literature review of all experimental and patient studies. For this, a comprehensive systematic search was performed in PubMed and Embase on March 24, 2015, containing CT/MRI and PHV synonyms. Our final selection yielded 82 articles on surgical valves. CT allowed adequate assessment of most modern PHVs and complemented echocardiography in detecting the obstruction cause (pannus or thrombus), bioprosthesis calcifications, and endocarditis extent (valve dehiscence and pseudoaneurysms). No clear advantage over echocardiography was found for the detection of vegetations or periprosthetic regurgitation. Whereas MRI metal artifacts may preclude direct prosthesis analysis, MRI provided information on PHV-related flow patterns and velocities. MRI demonstrated abnormal asymmetrical flow patterns in PHV obstruction and allowed prosthetic regurgitation assessment. Hence, CT shows great clinical relevance as a complementary imaging tool for the diagnostic work-up of patients with suspected PHV obstruction and endocarditis. MRI shows potential for functional PHV assessment although more studies are required to provide diagnostic reference values to allow discrimination of normal from pathological conditions.
In vivo administration of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) can lead to enhanced erythrocyte sequestration.

Enhanced erythrocyte sequestration is one of the very few major adverse effects of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg). IVIg contains high molecular weight IgG complexes ( approximately 300 kDa) which, in the presence of serum, mimic immune complexes by activating complement, binding to CR1 of red blood cells (RBC) (CD35) and mediating erythrophagocytosis. Four of seven patients undergoing IVIg therapy showed significant drops in haematocrit and haemoglobin that were not due to isoantibodies in the IVIg. Prior to treatment, patients' RBC carried IgG and complement (C') 3d that were not bound as immune complexes via CR1 (CD35). The patients whose RBC bound immune complex-like moieties and showed drops in haematocrit and haemoglobin subsequent to IVIg were young adults (22-35 years); older patients (50-69 years) showed no ill effects. In the presence of complement, RBC of young patients bound IVIg complexes in vitro while those of older patients did not. It is not the absolute levels of erythrocyte-associated IgG or C'3 fragments, neither pre- nor post-therapy, which are predictive of IVIg associated decreases in haematocrit and haemoglobin levels. Patient age and RBC inability to bind the IVIg immune complex-like moieties in vitro both appear to be predictors of resistance to sequestration after in vivo treatment with IVIg.
A Neuro-Fuzzy Approach for Daily Rainfall Prediction over the Central Region of Thailand

The methodology of neuro-fuzzy will be presented for the rain forecasting system over the central region of Thailand. The neuro-fuzzy approach was applied to create a classifier for rain prediction. The objective of this work is to demonstrate what relationship models between rain occurrence and other weather features can be developed for predicting accurate rainfall estimates to support the decisions to launch cloud seeding operations. Data sets were collected during 2004 to 2008 from the Chalermprakiat Royal Rain Making Research Center at Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri khan, and Thai Meteorological Department. A total of 179 records with 57 features were merged and matched by unique date. There are three main parts in this work. Firstly, a correlated-based feature selection (CFS) was used to evaluate the most important features for rain prediction and rainfall level classification. Secondly, a neuro-fuzzy algorithm, NEFCLASS, was used for prediction of rain or no-rain events. Thirdly, the algorithm is also used to classify rainfall levels into four classes as no-rain (0 mm.), light-rain (> 0 - 10 mm.), moderate-rain (>10-35 mm.), and heavy rain (> 35 mm.). Results show that overall classification accuracy of the neuro-fuzzy classifier is satisfactory.
Automatic 3D face verification from range data

In this paper, we presented a novel approach for automatic 3D face verification from range data. The method consists of range data registration and comparison. There are two steps in registration procedure: the coarse step conducting the normalization by exploiting a priori knowledge of the human face and facial features, and the fine step aligning the input data with the model stored in the database by the partial directed Hausdorff distance. To speed up the registration, a simplified version of the model is generated for each model in the model database. During the face comparison, the partial Hausdorff distance is employed as the similarity metric. The experiments are carried out on a database with 30 individuals and the best EER of 3.24% is achieved.
A critical review of density-based data stream clustering techniques

Data stream is relatively new and emerging domain in the current era of Internet advancement. Clustering data streams is equally important and difficult because of the numerous hurdles attached to it. A number of algorithms have been proposed to offer solutions for efficient clustering. Grid-based clustering approach was adopted few years ago to overcome the limitations of conventional partition-based algorithms for data stream clustering. Data points are mapped to the grid-cells to form micro-clusters which later are used for clustering. Using density in the clustering process is proved to be a remarkable success and in recent years many researchers have used density to find arbitrary shaped & density clusters and identify outliers. Concept of density-based clustering is to use grid-based clustering at core and create a distinction between dense and sparse grids using density threshold values and use dense grids to yield clustering results; which provide more cluster purity and accuracy. In this paper, we reviewed grid-based data stream clustering algorithms which utilize density. We evaluated their functionalities and identified their limitations. In the end, we critically evaluated different aspects of algorithms and suggested one of these algorithms which is better in terms of performance and accuracy.
Analysis of Activities in Self Organisable Wireless Sensor Network

This Networks considered in this paper consist of tiny energy constrained commodity sensors massively deployed in an area of interest. In a wireless sensor network, energy conservation is the primary design goal. Here a method is proposed to manage the spontaneous organization of sensor activity in ad hoc wireless sensor network systems. The small wireless sensors exchange messages to coordinate responses to requests for sensing data, and to control the fraction of sensors which are active. This method can be used to manage a variety of sensor activities. In this way, one can use it for reducing the power consumption by battery operated devices only when low resolution sensing is required. This in turn increases the operation lifetimes. Keywords— Network, WSN, Lifetime, Self organisable, Activity.
Piezoelectric multi-modal vibration control for all-clamped stiffened plate using multi-loop active disturbance rejection method

A new active control strategy is presented to suppress the multi-modal vibration of an all-clamped stiffened plate (ACSP). It is based on the unique linear active disturbance rejection control (LADRC) method, which actively estimates and compensates for output superposition of the sensor, and control input coupling of the piezoelectric actuator, and also external excitations in real time. The output superposition, control input coupling of other modes and external excitations, are regarded as lumped disturbances which can be estimated by the multi-ESO and removed by the feed-forward part. Then, the PD strategy for each vibration mode, optimized via the chaos optimization method based on logistic map, is design for feedback part. The experiment control system for the all-clamped stiffened piezoelectric plate is tested using the dSPACE real-time simulation platform. The experiment results have demonstrated good suppression performance of first two mode vibration.
New Features of Connectivity in Piriform Cortex Visualized by Intracellular Injection of Pyramidal Cells Suggest that “Primary” Olfactory Cortex Functions Like “Association” Cortex in Other Sensory Systems

Associational connections of pyramidal cells in rat posterior piriform cortex were studied by direct visualization of axons stained by intracellular injection in vivo. The results revealed that individual cells have widespread axonal arbors that extend over nearly the full length of the cerebral hemisphere. Within piriform cortex these arbors are highly distributed with no regularly arranged patchy concentrations like those associated with the columnar organization in other primary sensory areas (i.e., where periodically arranged sets of cells have common response properties, inputs, and outputs). A lack of columnar organization was also indicated by a marked disparity in the intrinsic projection patterns of neighboring injected cells. Analysis of axonal branching patterns, bouton distributions, and dendritic arbors suggested that each pyramidal cell makes a small number of synaptic contacts on a large number (>1000) of other cells in piriform cortex at disparate locations. Axons from individual pyramidal cells also arborize extensively within many neighboring cortical areas, most of which send strong projections back to piriform cortex. These include areas involved in high-order functions in prefrontal, amygdaloid, entorhinal, and perirhinal cortex, to which there are few projections from other primary sensory areas. Our results suggest that piriform cortex performs correlative functions analogous to those in association areas of neocortex rather than those typical of primary sensory areas with which it has been traditionally classed. Findings from other studies suggest that the olfactory bulb subserves functions performed by primary areas in other sensory systems.
Isolation and Characterization of a New Denitrifying Spirillum Capable of Anaerobic Degradation of Phenol

ABSTRACT Two kinds of phenol-degrading denitrifying bacteria,Azoarcus sp. strain CC-11 and spiral bacterial strain CC-26, were isolated from the same enrichment culture after 1 and 3 years of incubation, respectively. Both strains required ferrous ions for growth, but strain CC-26 grew better than strain CC-11 grew under iron-limited conditions, which may have resulted in the observed change in the phenol-degrading bacteria during the enrichment process. Strain CC-26 grew on phenol, benzoate, and other aromatic compounds under denitrifying conditions. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S ribosomal DNA sequences revealed that this strain is most closely related to aMagnetospirillum sp. , a member of the α subclass of the class Proteobacteria, and is the first strain of a denitrifying aromatic compound-degrading bacterium belonging to this group. Unlike previously described Magnetospirillumstrains, however, this strain did not exhibit magnetotaxis. It grew on phenol only under denitrifying conditions. Other substrates, such as acetate, supported aerobic growth, and the strain exhibited microaerophilic features.
Exploring candidate biological functions by Boolean Function Networks for Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The great amount of gene expression data has brought a big challenge for the discovery of Gene Regulatory Network (GRN). For network reconstruction and the investigation of regulatory relations, it is desirable to ensure directness of links between genes on a map, infer their directionality and explore candidate biological functions from high-throughput transcriptomic data. To address these problems, we introduce a Boolean Function Network (BFN) model based on techniques of hidden Markov model (HMM), likelihood ratio test and Boolean logic functions. BFN consists of two consecutive tests to establish links between pairs of genes and check their directness. We evaluate the performance of BFN through the application to S. cerevisiae time course data. BFN produces regulatory relations which show consistency with succession of cell cycle phases. Furthermore, it also improves sensitivity and specificity when compared with alternative methods of genetic network reverse engineering. Moreover, we demonstrate that BFN can provide proper resolution for GO enrichment of gene sets. Finally, the Boolean functions discovered by BFN can provide useful insights for the identification of control mechanisms of regulatory processes, which is the special advantage of the proposed approach. In combination with low computational complexity, BFN can serve as an efficient screening tool to reconstruct genes relations on the whole genome level. In addition, the BFN approach is also feasible to a wide range of time course datasets.
Solving Heads-Up Limit Texas Hold'em

Cepheus is the first computer program to essentially solve a game of imperfect information that is played competitively by humans. The game it plays is heads-up limit Texas hold'em poker, a game with over 1014 information sets, and a challenge problem for artificial intelligence for over 10 years. Cepheus was trained using a new variant of Counterfactual Regret Minimization (CFR), called CFR+, using 4800 CPUs running for 68 days. In this paper we describe in detail the engineering details required to make this computation a reality. We also prove the theoretical soundness of CFR+ and its component algorithm, regret-matching +. We further give a hint towards understanding the success of CFR+ by proving a tracking regret bound for this new regret matching algorithm. We present results showing the role of the algorithmic components and the engineering choices to the success of CFR+.
HRM and employees' ability to master skills - a burning desire to make a difference that really makes a difference: A systemic perspective

Purpose This paper aims to help managers gain greater insight into issues relating to employees’ sense of mastery to contribute to improved employee performance. Design/methodology/approach Conceptual generalization was applied in this paper. Findings An analytical model consisting of seven elements that can be applied as a management tool for promoting a sense of mastery among employees was developed. Research limitations/implications Managers have little insight into issues relating to employees’ sense of mastery, which can inhibit productivity. Practical implications Effective managers focus on the personal strengths of their employees. Managers select and surround themselves with the right people. Successful managers see and understand employees’ need to work on things that they are passionate about. Originality/value This paper used cybernetics and systemic thinking to solve mastery issues.
Low-Frequency Modal Equalization of Loudspeaker-Room Responses

a room with strong low-frequency modes the control of excessively long decays is problematic or impossible th conventional passive means. In this paper we present a systematic methodology for active modal equalizan able to correct the modal decay behavior of a loudspeaker-room system. Two methods of modal equalization e proposed. The first method modifies the primary sound such that modal decays are controlled. The second thod uses separate primary and secondary radiators and controls modal decays with sound fed into the seconry radiator. Case studies of the first method of implementation are presented.
Toward Public Opinions Detection: Measuring the Similarity between Instant Messages

Text clustering can be adopted to detect the public opinions in instant messages, which offer the greatest potential for social applications. However, existing approaches for text clustering perform poorly when the instant messages contain many fresh words and sparse key words. To improve the efficiency of the text clustering, this paper proposes a new similarity measure model called PoDeM. In the first, PoDeM brings forward a new word relationships finding algorithm, named with CrtNRG, to integrate the relationship of words into a nondirectional graph. CrtNRG only copes with the words which may be relevant to some public opinions. Consequently, PoDeM can significantly shrink the words set and improve the integrating and searching performance. Secondly, based on the nondirectional graph, PoDeM employs another algorithm called SiM to construct the expanded ad hoc representation vectors for different pairs of instant messages. The expanded representation vectors increase the overlap probability of the key words and contain the specific semantic information of the instant-message pair. We also evaluate the PoDeM model by performing the experiments on a Chinese instant message dataset. Experimental results indicate that PoDeM outperforms surfacematching method and corpus-based method in terms of the clustering effect.
Functional dissection of eukaryotic initiation factor 4F: the 4A subunit and the central domain of the 4G subunit are sufficient to mediate internal entry of 43S preinitiation complexes

Eukaryotic translation is initiated following binding of ribosomes either to the capped 5' end of an mRNA or to an internal ribosomal entry site (IRES) within its 5' nontranslated region. These processes are both mediated by eukaryotic initiation factor 4F (eIF4F), which consists of eIF4A (helicase), eIF4E (cap-binding protein), and eIF4G subunits. Here we present a functional analysis of eIF4F which defines the subunits and subunit domains necessary for its function in initiation mediated by the prototypical IRES element of encephalomyocarditis virus. In an initiation reaction reconstituted in vitro from purified translation components and lacking eIF4A and -4F, IRES-mediated initiation did not require the cap-binding protein eIF4E but was absolutely dependent on eIF4A and the central third of eIF4G. This central domain of eIF4G bound strongly and specifically to a structural element within the encephalomyocarditis virus IRES upstream of the initiation codon in an ATP-independent manner and with the same specificity as eIF4F. The carboxy-terminal third of eIF4G did not bind to the IRES. The central domain of eIF4G was itself UV cross-linked to the IRES and strongly stimulated UV cross-linking of eIF4A to the IRES in conjunction with either eIF4B or with the carboxy-terminal third of eIF4G.
Negotiating the Gaze and Learning the Hidden Curriculum: A Critical Race Analysis of the Embodiment of Female Students of Color at a Predominantly White Institution.

This study examines the hidden curriculum within a predominantly White institution (PWI) of higher education, and examines how women of color encountered the curriculum. I used critical race theory to explore how race and gender influenced the manner in which women of color negotiated their roles and promoted a culture of femininity that helped shape campus life in many ways. Data collection included interviews and focus groups over a two year period. Results revealed that femininity was not performed on campus freed from power relations and different oppressions. The women of color who participated in the study noted that they felt their bodies stood out among the predominantly White bodies across campus. Because of their heightened visibility, the participants felt they had to confront the power of the gaze from White students and professors who read them through a stereotypical lens. According to the seven young women who participated in this study, race and gender are embodied phenomena that affected their lives, their images of self, and experiences within a predominantly White institution of higher education.
Vision-based vehicles in Japan: machine vision systems and driving control systems

This paper surveys three intelligent vehicles developed in Japan, and in particular the configurations, the machine vision systems, and the driving control systems. The first one is the Intelligent Vehicle, developed since the mid 1970's, which has a machine vision system for obstacle detection and a dead reckoning system for autonomous navigation on a compact car. The machine vision system with stereo TV cameras is featured by real time processing using hard-wired logic. The dead reckoning function and a new lateral control algorithm enable the vehicle to drive from a starting point to a goal. It drove autonomously at about 10 km/h while avoiding an obstacle. The second one is the Personal Vehicle System (PVS), developed in the late 1980's, which is a comprehensive test system for a vision-based vehicle. The machine vision system captures lane markings at both road edges along which the vehicle is guided. The PVS has another machine vision system for obstacle detection with stereo cameras. The PVS drove at 10-30 km/h along lanes with turnings and crossings. The third one is the Automated Highway Vehicle System (AHVS) with a single TV camera for lane-keeping by PD control. The machine vision system uses an edge extraction algorithm to detect lane markings. The AHVS drove at 50 km/h along a lane with a large curvature. >
Ebolavirus Nucleoprotein C-Termini Potently Attract Single Domain Antibodies Enabling Monoclonal Affinity Reagent Sandwich Assay (MARSA) Formulation

Background Antigen detection assays can play an important part in environmental surveillance and diagnostics for emerging threats. We are interested in accelerating assay formulation; targeting the agents themselves to bypass requirements for a priori genome information or surrogates. Previously, using in vitro affinity reagent selection on Marburg virus we rapidly established monoclonal affinity reagent sandwich assay (MARSA) where one recombinant antibody clone was both captor and tracer for polyvalent nucleoprotein (NP). Hypothesizing that the closely related Ebolavirus genus may share the same Achilles' heel, we redirected the scheme to see whether similar assays could be delivered and began to explore their mechanism. Methods and Findings In parallel we selected panels of llama single domain antibodies (sdAb) from a semi-synthetic library against Zaire, Sudan, Ivory Coast, and Reston Ebola viruses. Each could perform as both captor and tracer in the same antigen sandwich capture assay thereby forming MARSAs. All sdAb were specific for NP and those tested required the C-terminal domain for recognition. Several clones were cross-reactive, indicating epitope conservation across the Ebolavirus genus. Analysis of two immune shark sdAb revealed they also targeted the C-terminal domain, and could be similarly employed, yet were less sensitive than a comparable llama sdAb despite stemming from immune selections. Conclusions The C-terminal domain of Ebolavirus NP is a strong attractant for antibodies and enables sensitive sandwich immunoassays to be rapidly generated using a single antibody clone. The polyvalent nature of nucleocapsid borne NP and display of the C-terminal region likely serves as a bountiful affinity sink during selections, and a highly avid target for subsequent immunoassay capture. Combined with the high degree of amino acid conservation through 37 years and across wide geographies, this domain makes an ideal handle for monoclonal affinity reagent driven antigen sandwich assays for the Ebolavirus genus.