Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimization of transverse oscillating fields for vector velocity estimation with convex arrays

A method for making Vector Flow Images using the transverse oscillation (TO) approach on a convex array is presented. The paper presents optimization schemes for TO fields for convex probes and evaluates their performance using Field II simulations and measurements using the SARUS experimental scanner. A 3 MHz 192 elements convex array probe (pitch 0.33 mm) is used in both simulations and measurements. An F-number of 5 is used in transmit and two 32 element wide peaks are used in receive separated by 96 elements between peaks. Parabolic velocity profiles are simulated at beam-to-flow angles from 90 to 45 degrees in steps of 15 degrees. The optimization routine changes the lateral oscillation period λx to yield the best possible estimates based on the energy ratio between positive and negative spatial frequencies in the ultrasound field. The basic equation for λx gives 1.14 mm at 40 mm, and 1.51 mm from the simulated point spread function. This results in a bias of 35% as λx directly scales the estimated velocities. Optimizing the focusing yields a λx of 1.61 mm. The energy ratio is reduced from -12.8 dB to -20.1 dB and the spectral bandwidth from 115.1 m-1 to 96.5 m-1. λx is maintained between 1.47 and 1.70 mm from 25 mm to 70 mm and is increased to 2.8 mm at a depth of 100 mm. Parabolic profiles are estimated using 16 emissions. The optimization gives a reduction in std. from 8.5% to 5.9% with a reduction in bias from 35% to 1.02% at 90 degrees (transverse flow) at a depth of 40 mm. Measurements have been made using the SARUS experimental ultrasound scanner and a BK Medical 8820e convex array transducer. Sixty-four elements was used in transmit and 2 × 32 elements in receive for creating a color flow map image of a flow rig phantom with a laminar, parabolic flow. At 75 degrees a bias of less than 1% was obtained.
Sensitivity of culture compared with that of polymerase chain reaction for detection of Helicobacter pylori from antral biopsy samples

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to test the sensitivity of standard bacteriological culture of Helicobacter pylori. The tests were concordant in 97% of cases. PCR did not detect more treatment failures after triple treatment than did the standard culture method. In the present study, culture was as sensitive as PCR for the detection of H. pylori.
Mental health problems in early adolescents in the Netherlands: differences between school and household surveys.

OBJECTIVE A large representative sample of early adolescents in the Netherlands was investigated to assess mental health problems in a school survey. These results were compared to results from former household surveys. In addition, several socio-demographic determinants were analysed. METHOD A random sample of schools in the Netherlands was approached for participation in the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Survey study (response rate at school level, 60% in primary education and 45% in secondary education). Within schools, a random selection of classes from the schools participated in the study (response rate within schools >95%). We analysed the percentage of children scoring in the problem range on each of the syndromes of the Youth Self Report and compared these to the percentages found in a former population study. The impact of several socio-demographic background variables was assessed. RESULTS Approximately 20% of the boys and 23% of the girls have total problem scores in the problem range. These percentages are much higher than those found in population studies in the Netherlands so far, particularly in girls. In multivariate analyses, gender, socio-economic status and family composition were found to be of influence. Migrant status does not appear to be of importance once other background variables are taken into account. CONCLUSIONS In school surveys on mental health problems, higher problem rates may be found than in population surveys conducted in household settings. This effect has seldom been discussed. It is suggested that this survey context has to be taken into account more explicitly when comparing results of surveys.
A Deadline for an AIDS Vaccine

After months of quiet debate among officials and researchers, President Clinton last week called for an AIDS vaccine within a decade. He also pledged to create an AIDS vaccine research center at the National Institutes of Health to spearhead the initiative. Many leading AIDS researchers are uneasy, however, fearing that science might pay a price if it can9t deliver. But they also think the high profile Clinton has given their field may help them in future funding battles.
Age, estrogen, and immune response in breast adenocarcinoma and adjacent normal tissue

ABSTRACT Chronic inflammation promotes breast tumor growth and invasion by accelerating angiogenesis and tissue remodeling in the tumor microenvironment. There is a complex relationship between inflammation and estrogen, which drives the growth of 70 percent of breast tumors. While low levels of estrogen exposure stimulate macrophages and other inflammatory cell populations, very high levels are immune suppressive. Breast tumor incidence is increased by obesity and age, which interact to influence inflammatory cell populations in normal breast tissue. To characterize the impact of these factors on tumors and the tumor microenvironment, we measured gene expression in 195 breast adenocarcinomas and matched adjacent normal breast tissue samples collected at Akershus University Hospital (AHUS). Age and Body Mass Index (BMI) were independently associated with inflammation in adjacent normal tissue but not tumors. Estrogen Receptor (ER)-negative tumors had elevated macrophage expression compared with matched normal tissue, but ER-positive tumors showed an unexpected decrease in macrophage expression. We found an inverse relationship between the increase in tumor estrogen pathway expression compared with adjacent normal tissue and tumor macrophage score. We validated this finding in 126 breast tumor-normal pairs from the previously published METABRIC cohort. We developed a novel statistic, the Rewiring Coefficient, to quantify the rewiring of gene co-expression networks at the level of individual genes. Differential correlation analysis demonstrated distinct pathways were rewired during tumorigenesis. Our data support an immune suppressive effect of high doses of estrogen signaling in breast tumor microenvironment, suggesting that this effect contributes to the greater presence of prognostic and therapeutically relevant immune cells in ER-negative tumors.
Early symptom-limited exercise test for risk stratification in post menopausal women with unstable coronary artery disease. FRISC study group. Fragmin during Instability in Coronary Artery Disease.

AIMS The exercise test is considered less reliable in women than in men both for diagnostic and prognostic purposes. The value, however, of the exercise test might vary with the population that is examined, the way the test is performed and which exercise test variables are taken into consideration in the analysis. The aim of the study was to evaluate an early symptom-limited exercise test as a tool for risk stratification in women with unstable coronary artery disease admitted to the coronary care unit. METHODS AND RESULTS Of the 543 women in the FRISC I study, 395 stabilized on medical treatment and performed a symptom-limited exercise test 5-8 days after inclusion. Sixteen patients with a cardiac event before the scheduled exercise test were excluded. During the 6 months follow-up 17% of the women who did not perform the exercise test and 9% of the 395 women who did, died or had a myocardial infarction (P<0.01). Multivariate stepwise logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the value of clinical variables and findings at the predischarge exercise test to predict cardiac events. Based on the exercise test results three risk groups were identified with an event rate of 19%, 9% and 1%, respectively. The exercise test was better than any of the tested clinical variables in predicting cardiac events. CONCLUSION Women with unstable coronary artery disease who do not stabilize within a few days have a high event rate early during follow-up. For women who are medically stabilized, considering not only variables like ST depression and chest pain but also parameters reflecting the cardiac performance such as maximal workload and increase in rate-pressure product, an early symptom-limited exercise test is a good predictor of future cardiac events.
5-Amino-6-methylquinolin-1-ium hydrogen malonate–malonic acid (2/1)

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, 2C10H11N2 +·2C3H3O4 −·C3H4O4, consists of one 5-amino-6-methylquinolin-1-ium cation, one hydrogen malonate (2-carboxyacetate) anion and one-half molecule of malonic acid which lies on a twofold rotation axis. The quinoline ring system is essentially planar, with a maximum deviation of 0.062 (2) Å for all non-H atoms. In the anion, an intramolecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bond generates an S(6) ring. In the crystal, the components are linked via N—H⋯O and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds into layers parallel to the ac plane. The crystal structure also features weak C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds and a π–π stacking interaction with a centroid–centroid distance of 3.8189 (10) Å.
Some Inscriptions from the Cappadocian Limes

Since the hurried journey of Hogarth and Yorke in 1894, the Euphrates limes has remained virtually unexplored, and uncertainty has continued to surround its geography and organization. The basic structure, established under Vespasian and consolidated by Hadrian, and many of the details of its course, can now be located on the ground. Three legionary fortresses—at Satala (Plate IV, 1), Melitene and Samosata, with legionary vexillations (replaced under Diocletian by a new legion) at a fourth at Trapezus—blocked the major strategic routes from the east, and are already well known. They were linked by an eight metre military road, whose remains I have managed to trace on foot, almost without a break, for a hundred miles north of Melitene, along the right bank of the Euphrates: barely a fifth of the total distance from the Black Sea to the southern foothills of the Kurdish Taurus. A series of auxiliary forts seems to have stood on, or at points east of, the road at intervals of a day's march. Most of the sites hitherto proposed—by armchair inspection of inaccurate maps—should be dismissed, but genuine sites have proved elusive. Only at Dascusa has excavation been possible, to reveal fourth-century work, rather than the original fort. But an important inscription in re-use attests military activity under Titus or Domitian: along with the Pompeius Collega milestone, it provides confirmation of scattered literary and numismatic evidence for Vespasian's hand in the building of the frontier.
E-cadherin-mediated force transduction signals regulate global cell mechanics

ABSTRACT This report elucidates an E-cadherin-based force-transduction pathway that triggers changes in cell mechanics through a mechanism requiring epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), and the downstream formation of new integrin adhesions. This mechanism operates in addition to local cytoskeletal remodeling triggered by conformational changes in the E-cadherin-associated protein α-catenin, at sites of mechanical perturbation. Studies using magnetic twisting cytometry (MTC), together with traction force microscopy (TFM) and confocal imaging identified force-activated E-cadherin-specific signals that integrate cadherin force transduction, integrin activation and cell contractility. EGFR is required for the downstream activation of PI3K and myosin-II-dependent cell stiffening. Our findings also demonstrated that α-catenin-dependent cytoskeletal remodeling at perturbed E-cadherin adhesions does not require cell stiffening. These results broaden the repertoire of E-cadherin-based force transduction mechanisms, and define the force-sensitive signaling network underlying the mechano-chemical integration of spatially segregated adhesion receptors. Summary: Force transduction at E-cadherin junctions operates in addition to unfurling of cadherin-associated α-catenin. This pathway requires EGFR and triggers the downstream activation of integrin-dependent cell contractility.
Urban air pollution and asthma in children

This study investigated the relationship between atmospheric pollution and emergency hospital admission for asthma among children resident in Turin in the period 1997–1999, using a case‐control design. On the basis of the primary diagnosis, pediatric patients (< 15 years old) resident in Turin and admitted for asthma were defined as cases (n1 = 1,060); age‐matched patients admitted for causes other than respiratory diseases or heart diseases were defined as controls (n2 = 25,523). Nitrogen dioxide (NO2 in μg/m3) and total suspended particulates (TSP in μg/m3) were considered as indicators of urban air pollution; sex and age of patient, seasonality, temperature, humidity, solar radiation, and day of admission were considered as principal confounders. Statistical analyses were performed using simple and multiple logistic regression models; the association between emergency admission for asthma and exposure was shown as percentage of risk modification for a 10 μg/m3 increment of exposure to each pollutant and relative 95% confidence interval. The number of emergency admissions for respiratory causes rose significantly with increased exposure to each pollutant: 2.8% (95% CI, 0.7–4.9%) and 1.8% (95% CI, 0.3–3.2) for a 10 μg/m3 increment of exposure to NO2 and TSP, respectively. A significant association was found between increased number of hospital emergency admissions for respiratory causes and exposure to principal urban pollutants in Turin. The study confirms the results reported for other Italian and European cities, using a case‐control design. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Functional Outcome in Poststroke Patients With or Without Fatigue

Park JY, Chun MH, Kang SH, Lee JA, Kim BR, Sin MJ: Functional outcome in poststroke patients with or without fatigue. Objectives:Although fatigue after stroke is common, little is known about the effect of fatigue on functional outcomes in stroke patients. We, therefore, evaluated the influence of fatigue on functional outcomes after stroke. Design:Forty consecutive outpatients were evaluated 32.7 ± 27.4 mos after the onset of stroke. Poststroke fatigue was scored using the Fatigue Severity Scale, activity of daily living function was assessed using the Modified Barthel Index, motor function was assessed using the Motricity Index, and cognitive function was evaluated using the Korean-Mini Mental State Examination. The Beck Depression Inventory was used to assess depression, and patients were interviewed about sleeping problems. Results:The average Fatigue Severity Scale score was 3.6 ± 1.5 in stroke patients, with 12 patients (30.0%) having Fatigue Severity Scale scores ≥4 points. Twenty-two patients (55.0%) had depression, and 12 (30%) had sleeping problems. Fatigue Severity Scale score was significantly correlated with Beck Depression Inventory and sleep disturbance (P < 0.05) but was not significantly correlated with Modified Barthel Index, Motricity Index or Korean-Mini Mental State Examination. Conclusions:We found that 30% of stroke victims had poststroke fatigue. Poststroke fatigue was not closely associated with motor function, activity of daily living, or cognitive function, but showed significant correlation with depression and sleeping problems. These findings emphasize the need for careful clinical screening of both fatigue and depression in individuals after stroke.
Cognitive function in UK community‐dwelling African Caribbean elders: normative data for a test battery

Many ‘first generation’ African Caribbean residents in the UK have now reached ages where risk of cognitive impairment and dementia starts to increase. In addition, conditions which may impair cognitive function, such as hypertension, diabetes and stroke, have high prevalence rates in African Caribbean populations. However, there is a lack of normative data for cognitive tests in this ethnic group. Cognitive assessment was carried out in a south London community population of 285 African Caribbean participants aged 55–75 years. Tests were drawn principally from the consortium to establish a registry for Alzheimer's disease (CERAD) battery (Boston Naming Test, verbal fluency, word list recall, and Trailmaking Tests A and B) and also included orientation items from the Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Clock Drawing Test. Independent effects of age, sex, education and occupation were identified on scores for most but not all cognitive tests. Compared with normative data for African American populations, lower scores on verbal fluency and the Boston Naming Test were observed but scores on memory tests were comparable. Normative data for the tests are presented, stratified by level of education. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Technical challenges in femtocell network

Cellular network faces numerous challenges in providing service to indoor users. Traditional macrobase stations provide limited coverage to indoor subscribers because they operate on high frequencies which reduce their ability to penetrate walls. Short range, low power, plug and play femtocell is an obvious answer to handle the above issue. Femtocell improves indoor service availability with higher data rate, better voice quality, longer battery life, less network traffic and negligible greenhouse gas emissions. However femtocell is not exempted from challenges. This paper examines the various technical challenges faced by the femtocell. The major factor that affects the QoS of femtocell is the interference faced by the network and thus this paper shows a keen interest in elaborating the interference management schemes. Besides the interference, this paper summarizes the solutions proposed in the literatures to overcome the other major challenges faced by femtocells.
Typhoid in the United States and the risk to the international traveler.

From 1940 to 1970, the annual incidence of typhoid in the United States declined from 75 to 1.7 cases per 1,000,000 population. From 1970 to 1978, with the exception of a large commonsource outbreak in 1973, the annual number of cases ranged between 350 and 400. In 1978, the annual number of cases increased to 505 (2.4 cases per 1,000,000) and has remained >500 since then [1]. Isolations of Salmonella species, including S typhi, have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) since 1963. In 1975, with the cooperation of state and territorial epidemiologists, state health departments began to use a standard questionnaire to record information on cases of acute typhoid. This questionnaire was first used to describe the epidemiologic characteristics of typhoid cases reported in the United States in 1975 and 1976 [2]. In that period only 26% of the cases reported through the Salmonella Surveillance System were also reported by case questionnaires. In 1978, to improve the rate of reporting by questionnaire and to confirm that each case report represented an acute case rather than a carrier, we actively began to follow up each reported case of typhoid. As a result, reporting by questionnaire improved from 26% in 1977 to 79%o in 1978, allowing us to make some new observations about typhoid in the United States, as reflected in the present report.
Extractability of DNA & its determination in tissues of higher plants.

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Fuzzy transfer learning approach for analysing imagery BCI tasks

In brain-computer interfaces (BCI), the statistical distribution of the data could differ across subjects as well as across sessions for an individual subject. Moreover, the lack of data due to the difficulties in collecting data in BCI is a common challenge in training the systems. Since most of machine learning tools are based on the assumption that the distribution of training and testing data are the same and they need adequate training data, they would fail in such situations. To overcome this problem and because of the vague and uncertain essence of EEG data, in this paper, we used a fuzzy transfer learning (FTL) method based on Generalized Hidden-Mapping Ridge Regression (GHRR) to improve the classification task in BCI. Takagi-Sugeno-Kang fuzzy logical system (TSK) with proposed modified Wang-Mendel fuzzy rule generation were employed for classification. Then the session-to-session transfer of knowledge is adopted. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method in classification and outperform the well-known SVM classifier.