Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Periodic breathing during exercise in severe heart failure. Reversal with milrinone or cardiac transplantation.

ithough patients with congestive heart failure have lower working capacities, the response of minute pulmonary ventilation to each increment in work load is generally believed to be normal. In this communication, we report an unusual periodic ventilatory response to exercise which had a pattern similar to that of Cheyne-Stokes respiration, and occurred in a noteworthy percentage of patients with moderate to severe
Speech-driven query retrieval for question-answering

Mobile devices are being used as aids to access a variety of information resources by browsing the web. However, given their limited screen real estate and soft keyboards, general web browsing to access information is a tedious task. A system that (a) allows a user to specify their information need as a spoken language query and (b) returns the answer to user's information need directly would be particularly appealing for these devices. In this paper, we address these two problems and present techniques that model question-answering as a query retrieval task. We show that we improve the retrieval accuracy by tightly integrating the constraints of the speech recognition and search components.
Data Detection Algorithms for BICM Alternate-Relaying Cooperative Systems With Multiple-Antenna Destination

This paper proposes two new data detection algorithms for decode-and-forward alternate-relaying cooperative communication systems. These algorithms are discussed in the context of bit-interleaved coded modulation transmission with a multiple-antenna destination. The interference signal, resulting from the concurrent transmission of the source and one of the relays, is exploited as a beneficial resource to develop an optimal data detection algorithm. We show that the optimal algorithm can be implemented by parallel demappers, each based on a family of Bahl, Cocke, Jelinek, and Raviv algorithms, connected to parallel decoders in an iterative way. Due to the need to buffer the entire frame before decoding, the optimal algorithm suffers from long processing time. A suboptimal algorithm is also proposed to avoid this problem, where each packet is decoded by using two consecutive received packets. The suboptimal algorithm reduces processing time, complexity, bandwidth loss, and memory size with a slight increase in the bit error rate (BER). The BER performance of the proposed algorithms is evaluated via Monte Carlo simulations, and the results indicate their effectiveness in improving the BER performance.
A Corpus Collection and Annotation Framework for Learning Multimodal Clarification Strategies

Current dialogue systems are fairly poor in generating the wide range of clarification strategies as found in human-human dialogue. The overall aim of this work is to learn when and how to best employ different types of clarification strategies in multimodal dialogue systems. This paper describes a framework for learning multimodal clarification strategies for an in-car MP3 music player dialogue system. The framework consists of three major parts. First we collect data on multimodal clarification strategies in a wizard-of-oz study. Second we extract feature in the stateaction space to learn an initial policy from this data. Third we specify a reward function to refine that policy using extensions of existing evaluation schemes.
Path Following and Stabilization of Underactuated Surface Vessels Based on Adaptive Hierarchical Sliding Mode

Path following of underactuated surface vessels is important practice in ship motion control field. Some of current studies have restrictions on forms of desired trajectory of which straight line or sinusoid curve was excluded. In this paper, adaptive robust controllers for path following of underactuated surface vessels are proposed based on hierarchical sliding mode method which suits various forms of curve. Adaptive technique is employed to deal with uncertain parameters. The proposed control strategy is robust to uncertain parameters and time-varying disturbances. Stabilization is presented as a special case. The numerical simulations are conducted to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology. Lyapunov stability theorem guarantees the stability of the closed-loop system.
The Biofuel Feedstock Genomics Resource: a web-based portal and database to enable functional genomics of plant biofuel feedstock species

Major feedstock sources for future biofuel production are likely to be high biomass producing plant species such as poplar, pine, switchgrass, sorghum and maize. One active area of research in these species is genome-enabled improvement of lignocellulosic biofuel feedstock quality and yield. To facilitate genomic-based investigations in these species, we developed the Biofuel Feedstock Genomic Resource (BFGR), a database and web-portal that provides high-quality, uniform and integrated functional annotation of gene and transcript assembly sequences from species of interest to lignocellulosic biofuel feedstock researchers. The BFGR includes sequence data from 54 species and permits researchers to view, analyze and obtain annotation at the gene, transcript, protein and genome level. Annotation of biochemical pathways permits the identification of key genes and transcripts central to the improvement of lignocellulosic properties in these species. The integrated nature of the BFGR in terms of annotation methods, orthologous/paralogous relationships and linkage to seven species with complete genome sequences allows comparative analyses for biofuel feedstock species with limited sequence resources. Database URL: http://bfgr.plantbiology. msu.edu
THE INFRARED NUCLEAR EMISSION OF SEYFERT GALAXIES ON PARSEC SCALES: TESTING THE CLUMPY TORUS MODELS

We present subarcsecond resolution mid-infrared (mid-IR) photometry in the wavelength range from 8 to 20 μm of 18 Seyfert galaxies, reporting high spatial resolution nuclear fluxes for the entire sample. We construct spectral energy distributions (SEDs) that the active galactic nucleus (AGN) dominates, relatively uncontaminated by starlight, adding near-IR measurements from the literature at similar angular resolution. We find that the IR SEDs of intermediate-type Seyferts are flatter and present higher 10 to 18 μm ratios than those of Seyfert 2 galaxies. We fit the individual SEDs with clumpy dusty torus models using the in-house-developed BayesClumpy tool. We find that the clumpy models reproduce the high spatial resolution measurements. Regardless of the Seyfert type, even with high spatial resolution data, near- to mid-IR SED fitting poorly constrains the radial extent of the torus. For the Seyfert 2 galaxies, we find that edge-on geometries are more probable than face-on views, with a number of clouds along equatorial rays of N0 = 5–15. The 10 μm silicate feature is generally modeled in shallow absorption. For the intermediate-type Seyferts, N0 and the inclination angle of the torus are lower than those of the Seyfert 2 nuclei, with the silicate feature appearing in weak emission or absent. The columns of material responsible for the X-ray absorption are larger than those inferred from the model fits for most of the galaxies, which is consistent with X-ray absorbing gas being located within the dust sublimation radius, whereas the mid-IR flux arises from an area farther from the accretion disk. The fits yield both the bolometric luminosity of the intrinsic AGN and the torus-integrated luminosity, from which we derive the reprocessing efficiency of the torus. In the models, the outer radial extent of the torus scales with the AGN luminosity, and we find the tori to be confined to scales less than 5 pc.
Maximal Efficiency of Coupling between ATP Hydrolysis and Translocation of Polypeptides Mediated by SecB Requires Two Protomers of SecA

ABSTRACT SecA is the ATPase that provides energy for translocation of precursor polypeptides through the SecYEG translocon in Escherichia coli during protein export. We showed previously that when SecA receives the precursor from SecB, the ternary complex is fully active only when two protomers of SecA are bound. Here we used variants of SecA and of SecB that populate complexes containing two protomers of SecA to different degrees to examine both the hydrolysis of ATP and the translocation of polypeptides. We conclude that the low activity of the complexes with only one protomer is the result of a low efficiency of coupling between ATP hydrolysis and translocation.
Adaptive blind equalization of SIMO FIR second order Volterra channels

In this paper, it is shown that the single-input multi-output (SIMO) FIR second order Volterra channels can be blindly equalized using linear equalizer structure. The constant modulus algorithm (CMA) is adopted for adaptive blind equalization of the proposed equivalent linear channel. Further, treating the second order terms as noise the fractionally spaced CM algorithm (FS-CMA) is extended for direct adaptive blind equalization of SIMO FIR second order Volterra channels.Finally, the performance of CMA and FS-CMA are demonstrated through a simulation example.
Association of gastric fluid microbes at birth with severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia

Objective: Gastric fluid microbes were examined in preterm infants at birth to assess their influence on the postnatal outcome. Study design: Prospective cohort study. Setting: Level III neonatal intensive care unit. Patients: A total of 103 premature neonates with a gestational age of less than 32 weeks. Main outcome measure: Gastric fluid microbes were identified by analysis of bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA gene. Additionally, the urease gene of Ureaplasma species was detected by polymerase chain reaction of gastric fluid obtained at birth and/or tracheal aspirate from ventilated preterm infants. The association between detection of microbes and bronchopulmonary dysplasia was investigated through assessment from clinical features and by a lung injury marker (KL-6). Results: Forty-two of 103 gastric fluid specimens were positive for microbes. Ureaplasma species were detected in 23 of the 42 (55%) gastric fluid specimens. All infants with Ureaplasma species in tracheal aspirate fluid also had positive gastric fluid specimens. Compared to infants negative for gastric fluid microbes, infants positive for microbes had higher rates of maternal chorioamnionitis (18% vs 78%), premature rupture of membranes (11% vs 55%), severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia (1.6% vs 14%) and showed higher plasma KL-6 levels during the initial 4 weeks of life. Conclusion: Detection of gastric fluid microbes was correlated well with antenatal infection and severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Detection of Ureaplasma species in gastric fluid was associated with subsequent respiratory colonisation. These results suggest that antenatal exposure of the immature fetus to microbes may cause lung injury and promote the onset of bronchopulmonary dysplasia.
A Fast Algorithm for Deblurring Models with Neumann Boundary Conditions

Blur removal is an important problem in signal and image processing. The blurring matrices obtained by using the zero boundary condition (corresponding to assuming dark background outside the scene) are Toeplitz matrices for one-dimensional problems and block-Toeplitz--Toeplitz-block matrices for two-dimensional cases. They are computationally intensive to invert especially in the block case. If the periodic boundary condition is used, the matrices become (block) circulant and can be diagonalized by discrete Fourier transform matrices. In this paper, we consider the use of the Neumann boundary condition (corresponding to a reflection of the original scene at the boundary). The resulting matrices are (block) Toeplitz-plus-Hankel matrices. We show that for symmetric blurring functions, these blurring matrices can always be diagonalized by discrete cosine transform matrices. Thus the cost of inversion is significantly lower than that of using the zero or periodic boundary conditions. We also show that the use of the Neumann boundary condition provides an easy way of estimating the regularization parameter when the generalized cross-validation is used. When the blurring function is nonsymmetric, we show that the optimal cosine transform preconditioner of the blurring matrix is equal to the blurring matrix generated by the symmetric part of the blurring function. Numerical results are given to illustrate the efficiency of using the Neumann boundary condition.
Mitochondrial DNA mutation load in a family with the m.8344A>G point mutation and lipomas: a case study

Studies have shown that difference in mtDNA mutation load among tissues is a result of postnatal modification. We present five family members with the m.8344A>G with variable phenotypes but uniform intrapersonal distribution of mutation load, indicating that there is no postnatal modification of mtDNA mutation load in this genotype.
The humanID gait challenge problem: data sets, performance, and analysis

Identification of people by analysis of gait patterns extracted from video has recently become a popular research problem. However, the conditions under which the problem is "solvable" are not understood or characterized. To provide a means for measuring progress and characterizing the properties of gait recognition, we introduce the humanlD gait challenge problem. The challenge problem consists of a baseline algorithm, a set of 12 experiments, and a large data set. The baseline algorithm estimates silhouettes by background subtraction and performs recognition by temporal correlation of silhouettes. The 12 experiments are of increasing difficulty, as measured by the baseline algorithm, and examine the effects of five covariates on performance. The covariates are: change in viewing angle, change in shoe type, change in walking surface, carrying or not carrying a briefcase, and elapsed time between sequences being compared. Identification rates for the 12 experiments range from 78 percent on the easiest experiment to 3 percent on the hardest. All five covariates had statistically significant effects on performance, with walking surface and time difference having the greatest impact. The data set consists of 1,870 sequences from 122 subjects spanning five covariates (1.2 gigabytes of data). This infrastructure supports further development of gait recognition algorithms and additional experiments to understand the strengths and weaknesses of new algorithms. The experimental results are presented, the more detailed is the possible meta-analysis and greater is the understanding. It is this potential from the adoption of this challenge problem that represents a radical departure from traditional computer vision research methodology.
Enhanced Revascularization of the Ischemic Limb by Angiogenic Therapy

BackgroundThis study tests the efficacy of an angiogenic growth factor, endothelial cell growth factor, in a rabbit model of persistent hindlimb ischemia. Methods and ResultsIschemia was induced in the left hindlimb of 22 New Zealand White rabbits by ligation of the distal external iliac artery and complete excision of the common and superficial femoral arteries. Two groups of animals were studied: Group 1 consisted of 11 animals who for 10 days received daily intramuscular injections of 4 mg of endothelial cell growth factor beginning on postoperative day 11, and group 2 consisted of 11 animals who underwent the same surgical ischemic procedure but received only injections of saline daily for the same postoperative period. Perfusion of the ischemic left limb was compared with the normal right limb in each animal on postoperative days 10, 20, 30, and 40 using the calf blood pressure ratio, 99mTc macroaggregate radioisotopic perfusion scans, and serial angiography. Neovascularization in the left thigh at day 40 was quantified from the angiograms. Each technique documented that animals in group 1 had significantly better perfusion than animals in group 2; that is, the calf pressure ratio was higher in group 1 than in group 2 (0.56 versus 0.32 at day 20, 0.64 versus 0.44 at day 30, and 0.70 versus 0.50, p <.0001), and the calf radioisotopic perfusion ratio was also higher in group 1 than in group 2 (0.88 versus 0.74 at day 20, p <.02; 0.93 versus 0.76 at day 30, and 0.96 versus 0.79 at day 40, p <.008). Angiographic studies correlated well with these results demonstrating much earlier distal arterial reconstitution and enhanced neovascularization (23.8 versus 9.0 vessels, p <.007). ConclusionsThe data clearly indicate that an angiogenic growth factor, endothelial cell growth factor, promotes revascularization in this experimental ischemic hindlimb model, raising the possibility that in the future such agents might be of value in humans.
How Many Ground Truths Should We Insert? Having Good Quality of Labeling Tasks in Crowdsourcing

Having a lot of labels of good quality by crowd sourcing has attracted considerable interest recently. Ground truths can be helpful to this end, but prior work does not adequately address how many ground truths should be used. This paper presents a method for determining the number of ground truths. The number is determined by iteratively calculating the expected quality of labels if a ground truth is inserted into labeling tasks and comparing it with the limit of estimation quality of labels expectedly obtained by crowd sourcing. Our method can be applied to general EM algorithm-based approaches to estimating consensus labels of good quality. We compare our method with an EM algorithm-based approach, which is adopted to our method in the discussions of this paper, in terms of both efficiency of collecting labels from crowd and quality of labels obtained from the collected ones.
Basic Personal Values and the Meaning of Left‐Right Political Orientations in 20 Countries

This study used basic personal values to elucidate the motivational meanings of ‘left’ and ‘right’ political orientations in 20 representative national samples from the European Social Survey (2002-3). It also compared the importance of personal values and socio-demographic variables as determinants of political orientation. Hypotheses drew on the different histories, prevailing culture, and socio-economic level of 3 sets of countries—liberal, traditional and post-communist. As hypothesized, universalism and benevolence values explained a left orientation in both liberal and traditional countries and conformity and tradition values explained a right orientation; values had little explanatory power in post-communist countries. Values predicted political orientation more strongly than socio-demographic variables in liberal countries, more weakly in post-communist countries, and about equally in traditional countries.
Dose prescription and treatment planning based on FMISO-PET hypoxia

Abstract Purpose. The study presents the implementation of a novel method for incorporating hypoxia information from PET-CT imaging into treatment planning and estimates the efficiency of various optimization approaches. Its focuses on the feasibility of optimizing treatment plans based on the non-linear conversion of PET hypoxia images into radiosensitivity maps from the uptake properties of the tracers used. Material and methods. PET hypoxia images of seven head-and-neck cancer patients were used to determine optimal dose distributions needed to counteract the radiation resistance associated with tumor hypoxia assuming various scenarios regarding the evolution of the hypoxic compartment during the treatment. A research planning system for advanced studies has been used to optimize IMRT plans based on hypoxia information from patient PET images. These resulting plans were compared in terms of target coverage for the same fulfilled constraints regarding the organs at risk. Results. The results of a planning study indicated the clinical feasibility of the proposed method for treatment planning based on PET hypoxia. Antihypoxic strategies would lead to small improvements in all the patients, but higher effects are expected for the fraction of patients with hypoxic tumors. For these, individualization of the treatment based on hypoxia PET imaging could lead to improved treatment outcome while creating the premises for limiting the irradiation of the surrounding normal tissues. Conclusions. The proposed approach offers the possibility of improved treatment results as it takes into consideration the heterogeneity and the dynamics of the hypoxic regions. It also provides early identification of the clinical cases that might benefit from dose escalation as well as the cases that could benefit from other counter-hypoxic measures.
A Technique for Drawing Directed Graphs

A four-pass algorithm for drawing directed graphs is presented. The fist pass finds an optimal rank assignment using a network simplex algorithm. The seconds pass sets the vertex order within ranks by an iterative heuristic, incorporating a novel weight function and local transpositions to reduce crossings. The third pass finds optimal coordinates for nodes by constructing and ranking an auxiliary graph. The fourth pass makes splines to draw edges. The algorithm creates good drawings and is fast. >
The retinohypothalamic tract originates from a distinct subset of retinal ganglion cells

The retinal ganglion cells giving rise to retinohypothalamic projections in the rat were identified using retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) or Fluoro Gold injected into the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), and using transneuronal transport of the Bartha strain of the swine herpesvirus (PRV‐Bartha). When PRV‐Bartha is injected into one eye, it is taken up by retinal ganglion cells, replicated, transported to axon terminals in the SCN, and released. There the virus may take one, or both, of two paths to retinal ganglion cells in the contralateral eye: (1) uptake by SCN neurons, replication, and release from the neurons with uptake and retrograde transport in retinal afferents originating in the contralateral retina; (2) transneuronal passage through axo‐axonic appositions between retinal afferents in the SCN with subsequent retrograde transport of virus to the contralateral retina. The ganglion cells thus labeled are a homogeneous population of small neurons (mean diameter, 12.8 ± 2.2 μm an mean area, 81.8 ± 21.8 μm2) with sparsely branching dendrites that are widely distributed over the retina. This population is best identified when virus labeling of retinal projections in areas beyond the hypothalamus is eliminated by lateral geniculate lesions that transect the optic tract at its entry into the geniculate complex. The same population is labeled with retrograde tracers but, with both HRP and Fluoro Gold, other ganglion cells are labeled, presumably from uptake by fibers of passage, indicating that the virus is a more reliable marker for ganglion cells giving rise to retinohypothalamic projections. The ganglion cells identified correspond to a subset of type III, or W, cells. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.