Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Psychosis Associated with Interferon Alfa Therapy for Chronic Hepatitis B

OBJECTIVE: To report a case of persistent psychosis that developed during interferon alfa (IFN-α) therapy for chronic hepatitis B. CASE SUMMARY: A 26-year-old man who was diagnosed with active chronic hepatitis B began treatment with IFN-α. Five months after initiation of therapy, he developed acute psychosis with prominent persecutory delusions and auditory hallucinations. Despite discontinuation of IFN-α therapy and addition of antipsychotic drug treatment, only partial recovery from psychosis was observed after 4 months of hospitalization. DISCUSSION: Unlike many previously reported cases, this patient showed only partial recovery from psychosis, despite the discontinuation of IFN therapy. Except for receiving a relatively high dose of IFN-α (10 million units 3 times/wk), the patient did not have any previously proposed risk factors for developing psychiatric adverse effects. The Naranjo probability scale indicates a probable relationship between the acute psychosis and IFN therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Despite its rare occurrence, psychosis can emerge during IFN-α therapy. This adverse effect may persist for several months, even after appropriate medical management. IFN-α should be used with careful monitoring of patients' psychiatric status during all stages of therapy.
A new hybrid approach using the explicit dynamic finite element method and thermodynamic law for the analysis of the thermoforming and blow molding processes for polymer materials

In this work, the problem of the modeling of thermoforming and blow molding processes for viscoelastic sheet are considered. To take account of the enclosed gas volume, responsible for inflation of the thermoplastic membrane (which contributes significantly to the strength and stiffness of a thermoplastic structure), we considered thermodynamic approach to express external work in terms of a closed volume. The pressure load is thus deduced from the thermodynamic law of ideal gases. The viscoelastic behavior of the K-BKZ model is considered. The Lagrangian formulation together with the assumption of the membrane theory is used in the explicit dynamic finite element implementation. The numerical validation is performed by comparing the theoretical bubble free inflation with numerical results. Moreover, the influence of the K-BKZ constitutive model on the thickness and stress distribution in the thermoforming of containers is presented. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 46: 1554 –1564, 2006. © 2006 Society of Plastics Engineers
Numerical Prediction of Fiber Orientation in Dilute Suspensions

A numerical scheme for the determination of the fiber orientation state in dilute suspensions is developed. Fiber orientations are calculated from the numerical integration of Jeffery's orienta tion equation along the streamlines obtained on the basis of the finite element method. Numerical solutions of the fiber orientation state are presented for the simple shear flow, the fountain flow and the flow in an infinite expansion.
American Indian substance use: the hazards for substance use initiation and progression for adolescents aged 14 to 20 years.

OBJECTIVE To describe the risks and risk factors for substance use initiation and progression among a large sample of American Indian (AI) adolescents. METHOD Data came from surveys completed by 2,356 AI adolescents aged 14 to 20 years who participated in two or more consecutive waves of a longitudinal study between 1993 and 1996 (response rate 74%). Discrete-time survival analysis was used to describe the risks and risk factors for substance use initiation and progression. RESULTS The risk for initiating use of any substance accelerated in early adolescence and peaked at age 18. The risk for progression from use of alcohol, marijuana, and/or inhalants to the use of other illicit drugs (e.g., cocaine) increased over the first 4.5 years after initiating substance use, then diminished in subsequent years. The risk of substance use initiation and progression varied across the four participating communities and by season of the year. Compared to adolescents who initiated substance use with alcohol only, adolescents who initiated substance use with marijuana or inhalants were more likely to progress to use other illicit drugs. CONCLUSIONS Prevention programs for AI communities should be designed to address these community, age, and seasonal variations in the risks for substance use initiation and progression.
HOW ECONOMISTS CAN GET ALIFE

This paper presents a summary overview of the fast-developing field of "artificial life," stressing aspects that seem especially relevant for the study of decentralized market economies. In particular, recent artificial life work combining evolutionary game theory with preferential partner selection is described in some detail. This work is currently being applied to the endogenous formation and evolution of trade networks.
Application of the needle optimization technique to the design of x-ray mirrors

New technology applications require new types of x-ray mirrors, in particular, mirrors working at different grazing angles. The angular range of standard x-ray mirrors is rather narrow and they cannot provide effective collimating and focusing of x-ray beams. It is shown that the needle optimization technique can be effectively applied to the design of x-ray mirrors with an extended angular range. Experimental results confirm a practical reproducibility of the designs obtained using this procedure.
3-D Quantitative Vascular Shape Analysis for Arterial Bifurcations via Dynamic Tube Fitting

Reliable and reproducible estimation of vessel centerlines and reference surfaces is an important step for the assessment of luminal lesions. Conventional methods are commonly developed for quantitative analysis of the “straight” vessel segments and have limitations in defining the precise location of the centerline and the reference lumen surface for both the main vessel and the side branches in the vicinity of bifurcations. To address this, we propose the estimation of the centerline and the reference surface through the registration of an elliptical cross-sectional tube to the desired constituent vessel in each major bifurcation of the arterial tree. The proposed method works directly on the mesh domain, thus alleviating the need for image upsampling, usually required in conventional volume domain approaches. We demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the method on both synthetic images and coronary CT angiograms. Experimental results show that the new method is capable of estimating vessel centerlines and reference surfaces with a high degree of agreement to those obtained through manual delineation. The centerline errors are reduced by an average of 62.3% in the regions of the bifurcations, when compared to the results of the initial solution obtained through the use of mesh contraction method.
The mechanical and physical properties of Compacted Graphite Iron

The mechanical and physical properties of compacted graphite iron (CGI) have been studied. While it is known that CGI provides at least 70% higher tensile strength, 35% higher elastic modulus and 80% higher fatigue limits than conventional grey cast iron, the objective of this paper was to determine how the properties change with varying nodularity (graphite shape) and pearlite content. Tensile properties, hardness, damping capacity and thermal conductivity were determined over the range 0–90% nodularity and 25–100% pearlite. Compressive properties, wear resistance and fatigue behaviour of CGI are also reported upon. Of greatest importance is the influence of patches of flake graphite in predominantly CGI microstructures. As soon as flake patches appear, which can occur with a loss of as little as 0.001% active magnesium, the mechanical properties of CGI abruptly decrease by 25–40%. Proper foundry control technology and quality procedures are therefore required to ensure the reliable production of this improved material.
Degradation of DNA damage-independently stalled RNA polymerase II is independent of the E3 ligase Elc1

Transcription elongation is a highly dynamic and discontinuous process, which includes frequent pausing of RNA polymerase II (RNAPII). RNAPII complexes that stall persistently on a gene during transcription elongation block transcription and thus have to be removed. It has been proposed that the cellular pathway for removal of these DNA damage-independently stalled RNAPII complexes is similar or identical to the removal of RNAPII complexes stalled due to DNA damage. Here, we show that—consistent with previous data—DNA damage-independent stalling causes polyubiquitylation and proteasome-mediated degradation of Rpb1, the largest subunit of RNAPII, using Saccharomyces cerevisiae as model system. Moreover, recruitment of the proteasome to RNAPII and transcribed genes is increased when transcription elongation is impaired indicating that Rpb1 degradation takes place at the gene. Importantly, in contrast to the DNA damage-dependent pathway Rpb1 degradation of DNA damage-independently stalled RNAPII is independent of the E3 ligase Elc1. In addition, deubiquitylation of RNAPII is also independent of the Elc1-antagonizing deubiquitylase Ubp3. Thus, the pathway for degradation of DNA damage-independently stalled RNAPII is overlapping yet distinct from the previously described pathway for degradation of RNAPII stalled due to DNA damage. Taken together, we provide the first evidence that the cell discriminates between DNA damage-dependently and -independently stalled RNAPII.
Active Learning in the Spatial Domain for Remote Sensing Image Classification

Active learning (AL) algorithms have been proven useful in reducing the number of required training samples for remote sensing applications; however, most methods query samples pointwise without considering spatial constraints on their distribution. This may often lead to a spatially dispersed distribution of training points unfavorable for visual image interpretation or field surveys. The aim of this study is to develop region-based AL heuristics to guide user attention toward a limited number of compact spatial batches rather than distributed points. The proposed query functions are based on a tree ensemble classifier and combine criteria of sample uncertainty and diversity to select regions of interest. Class imbalance, which is inherent to many remote sensing applications, is addressed through stratified bootstrap sampling. Empirical tests of the proposed methods are performed with multitemporal and multisensor satellite images capturing, in particular, sites recently affected by large-scale landslide events. The assessment includes an experimental evaluation of the labeling time required by the user and the computational runtime, and a sensitivity analysis of the main algorithm parameters. Region-based heuristics that consider sample uncertainty and diversity are found to outperform pointwise sampling and region-based methods that consider only uncertainty. Reference landslide inventories from five different experts enable a detailed assessment of the spatial distribution of remaining errors and the uncertainty of the reference data.
Personalized multimedia retrieval: the new trend?

The aim of this paper is to present an overview of the current situation in this hot topic of Multimedia Information Retrieval: Personalization. We are considering several aspects of this problem. On one hand, the user will want to have a personalized access to his image/video collections and this can be achieved by providing intuitive and natural browsing capabilities and customized features. Furthermore, the system is required to perform user profiling and to adapt the existing parameters of the system to the user needs and interest. On the other hand, it is also important to consider the devices and applications in which this technology is going to be deployed. Mobile media is a high growth area but the state-of-the-art technologies are lagging behind the consumers expectations. We are addressing in this paper precisely these three important aspects.
Expression of a Brassica napus heme oxygenase confers plant tolerance to mercury toxicity.

Plant heme oxygenases (HOs) regulate biosynthesis of phytochrome which accounts for photo-acceptance and -morphogenesis. Recent studies have demonstrated that plant HOs also regulate many other physiological processes including response to environmental stimuli. To elucidate the mechanism by which HOs regulate plant adaptation to heavy metal exposure, three novel HOs genes were isolated from rapeseed (Brassica napus) and their expression patterns were analysed. Alignment of deduced protein sequences revealed that the three BnHOs share high identity with their corresponding orthologos (AtHO1-3) from Arabidopsis. To investigate whether the BnHO regulates plant tolerance to Hg toxicity, we constructed B. napus transgenic plants overexpressing BnHO-1. Under Hg stress, the transgenic plants had 1.41-1.59 folds higher biomass than the untransformants. However, overexpression of BnHO-1 resulted in less accumulation of Hg in some lines of transformants than in untransformants. The transgenic plants show lower abundance of reactive oxygen species and attenuated oxidative injury compared with the untransgenic plants. We cloned the promoter sequences of BnHO-1 from B. napus. Analysis revealed that the 1119 bp fragment contains a conserved Cd responsive element (CdRE) and others responding to multiple environmental stimuli. Transient expression in tobacco leaves showed differential responses to heavy metals (Zn, Cu, Pb, Hg and Cd).
Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Open Access Accelerated Cmr Using Zonal, Parallel and Prior Knowledge Driven Imaging Methods

Accelerated imaging is highly relevant for many CMR applications as competing constraints with respect to spatiotemporal resolution and tolerable scan times are frequently posed. Three approaches, all involving data undersampling to increase scan efficiencies, are discussed in this review. Zonal imaging can be considered a niche but nevertheless has found application in coronary imaging and CMR flow measurements. Current work on parallel-transmit systems is expected to revive the interest in zonal imaging techniques. The second and main approach to speeding up CMR sequences has been parallel imaging. A wide range of CMR applications has benefited from parallel imaging with reduction factors of two to three routinely applied for functional assessment, perfusion, viability and coronary imaging. Large coil arrays, as are becoming increasingly available, are expected to support reduction factors greater than three to four in particular in combination with 3D imaging protocols. Despite these prospects, theoretical work has indicated fundamental limits of coil encoding at clinically available magnetic field strengths. In that respect, alternative approaches exploiting prior knowledge about the object being imaged as such or jointly with parallel imaging have attracted considerable attention. Five to eight-fold scan accelerations in cine and dynamic CMR applications have been reported and image quality has been found to be favorable relative to using parallel imaging alone. With all acceleration techniques, careful consideration of the limits and the trade-off between acceleration and occurrence of artifacts that may arise if these limits are breached is required. In parallel imaging the spatially varying noise has to be considered when measuring contrast-and signal-to-noise ratios. Also, temporal fidelity in images reconstructed with prior knowledge driven methods has to be studied carefully.
Switching Rates of Dual Selection Diversity in kappa-mu and alpha-mu Fading Channels

Switching rate is an important parameter in selection diversity receiver design because the switching transients increase the system outage. An exact closed-form solution for the switching rate of dual selection diversity in kappa-mu and alpha-mu distributed fadings is derived. Independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) kappa-mu and alpha-mu fading channels are considered. The switching rate for dual i.i. d. kappa-mu distributed fading includes the switching rate for dual i.i. d. Rayleigh, Rician and Nakagami-m fading channels as special cases. Similarly, the switching rate for dual alpha-mu fading channels also includes special cases such as Rayleigh, Nakagami-m and Weibull fading channels.
Depth Estimation and Object Recognition using Integral Imaging (Invited Paper)

In this invited talk, depth estimation and object recognition using integral imaging are presented. The computational method reconstructs three-dimensional information at arbitrary depth-levels, eliminating the occluding effect in order to visualize the object of interest. The depth of the object is estimated where the uncertainty of the corresponding intensities is minimized. Various applications including edge detection and statistical pattern recognition can be performed using the 3D information acquired by integral imaging.
Polynomial Embedding Algorithms for Controllers in a Behavioral Framework

In this correspondence, we will establish polynomial algorithms for computation of controllers in the behavioral approach to control, in particular for the computation of controllers that regularly implement a given desired behavior and for controllers that achieve pole placement and stabilization by behavioral full interconnection and partial interconnection. These synthesis problems were studied before in articles by Belur and Trentelman, Rocha and Wood, and Willems in the reference section. In the algorithms, we will apply ideas around the unimodular and stable embedding problems. The algorithms that are presented in this correspondence can be implemented by means of the Polynomial Toolbox of Matlab.
Unsupervised active contour model for multiphase inhomogeneous image segmentation

This paper presents an unsupervised active contour model for multiphase inhomogeneous image segmentation. We propose the new model based on a local intensity fitting term and a phase balancing term by incorporating the idea of the local intensity fitting energy model into the phase balancing model. Instead of using intensity average constants, we use local fitting functions to approximate the intensities in different phases, thus the new model can segment inhomogeneous images. Besides, the new model can identify the number of phases automatically without any user input with the phase balancing term. Then a fast brute-force algorithm is provided to minimize the new nonlinear energy functional directly without computing the Euler-Lagrange equation. The new model has been applied to real images. Numerical results have demonstrated that the new model can deal with inhomogeneous images and give a reasonable number of phases simultaneously.
A Passivity-Preserving Frequency-Weighted Model Order Reduction Technique

Frequency-weighted model order reduction techniques aim to yield a reduced order model whose output matches that of the original system in the emphasized frequency region. However, passivity of the original system is only known to be preserved in the single-sided weighted case. A frequency-weighted model order reduction technique is proposed, which guarantees the passive reduced models in the double-sided weighted case. A set of easily computable error bound expressions are also presented.
Distance‐dependent dielectric constants and their application to double‐helical DNA

Detailed studies of structures of biological macromolecules, even in simplified models, involve many costly and time‐consuming calculations. Any thorough methods require sampling of an extremely large conformation and momentum space. Calculations of electrostatic interactions, which depend on many physical factors, such as the details of solvent, solvent accessibility in macromolecules, and molecular polarizability, are always developed in a compromise between more rigorous, detailed models and the need for immediate application to complicated biological systems. In this paper, a middle ground is taken between the more exact theoretical models and the simplest constant values for the dielectric constant. The effects of solvent, counterions, and molecular polarizability are incorporated through a set of adjustable parameters that should be determined from experimental conditions. Several previous forms for the dielectric function are compared with the new ones. The present methods use Langevin functions to span the region of dielectric constant between bulk solvent and cavity values. Application of such dielectric models to double‐helical DNA is important because base‐stacking preferences were previously demonstrated [A. Sarai, J. Mazur, R. Nussinov, and R. L. Jernigan (1988) Biochemistry, vol. 27, pp. 8498–8502] to be sensitive to the electrostatic formulation. Here we find that poly (dG) · poly(dC) can be A form for high screening and B form for low screening. By contrast, poly (dA) · poly(dT) can only take the B form. Base stacking is more sensitive to the form of the dielectric function than are the sugar–phosphate backbone conformations. Also in B form, the backbone conformations are not so affected by the base types as in A form.
A Numerical Technique for Computing Effective Thermal Conductivity of Fluid-Particle Mixtures

Periodic arrays of particles, foams, and other structures impregnated with a static fluid play an important role in heat transfer enhancement. In this paper, we develop a numerical method for computing conduction heat transfer in periodic beds by exploiting the periodicity of heat flux and the resulting linear variation of mean temperature. The numerical technique is developed within the framework of an unstructured finite volume scheme in order to enable the computation of effective thermal conductivity for complex fluid-particle arrangements. The method is applied to the computation of effective thermal conductivity of ordered as well as random beds of spheres and rods. The effect of varying surface area, aspect ratio, volume fraction, orientation, and distribution is studied for various solid-to-fluid conductivity ratios. Unlike classical theories which predict only a dependence on volume fraction, these direct simulations show that aspect ratio, distribution, and alignment of particles have an important influence on the effective thermal conductivity of the bed.Copyright © 2004 by ASME