Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Implementation of a Neural Network for Multispectral Luminescence Imaging of Lake Pigment Paints

Luminescence multispectral imaging is a developing and promising technique in the fields of conservation science and cultural heritage studies. In this article, we present a new methodology for recording the spatially resolved luminescence properties of objects. This methodology relies on the development of a lab-made multispectral camera setup optimized to collect low-yield luminescence images. In addition to a classic data preprocessing procedure to reduce noise on the data, we present an innovative method, based on a neural network algorithm, that allows us to obtain radiometrically calibrated luminescence spectra with increased spectral resolution from the low-spectral resolution acquisitions. After preliminary corrections, a neural network is trained using the 15-band multispectral luminescence acquisitions and corresponding spot spectroscopy luminescence data. This neural network is then used to retrieve a megapixel multispectral cube between 460 and 710 nm with a 5 nm resolution from a low-spectral-resolution multispectral acquisition. The resulting data are independent from the detection chain of the imaging system (filter transmittance, spectral sensitivity of the lens and optics, etc.). As a result, the image cube provides radiometrically calibrated emission spectra with increased spectral resolution. For each pixel, we can thus retrieve a spectrum comparable to those obtained with conventional luminescence spectroscopy. We apply this method to a panel of lake pigment paints and discuss the pertinence and perspectives of this new approach.
CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS FOR ADOLESCENT AND ADULT SCOLIOSIS

OBJECTIVETo review current classification systems for adolescent and adult scoliosis. METHODSThe literature was reviewed in reference to scoliosis classification systems for adolescent and adult scoliosis. RESULTSThere are multiple classification systems for scoliosis. Classification of scoliosis is dependent on patient age, spinal abnormality, scoliotic curve, and global spinal alignment. To date, classification systems have focused predominantly on adolescent idiopathic scoliosis or adult/degenerative scoliosis; a single classification system evaluating scoliotic deformities of different ages and spinal abnormalities has not been identified. CONCLUSIONThe importance of scoliosis classification schemes lies in their ability to standardize communication among health care providers. With regard to the classification of adolescent scoliosis, the Lenke system has addressed many of the significant limitations of the King system and is now the standard classification scheme. Classification schemes for adult scoliosis have been reported only recently, and each offers specific advantages (the simple pathogenesis-based system of Aebi, the strong clinical relevance of the Schwab system, and the richly descriptive Scoliosis Research Society system). This article highlights the salient features of currently used scoliosis classification systems.
Secondary displacement of distal radius fractures treated by bridging external fixation

Loss of reduction remains an important problem after treatment of distal radius fractures, whatever the type of bone fixation. We assessed retrospectively the rate of secondary displacement after external fixation of distal radius fractures in order to identify possible risk factors for instability. We reviewed the pre-operative and serial post-operative radiographs of a retrospective series of 35 distal radius fractures treated by bridging external fixation. When classified according to the Société Française d’Orthopédie et Traumatologie (SOFCOT) criteria, the rate of secondary displacement was 48.5%. At final follow up, the reduction was anatomical in 12% and acceptable in 83%. There was malunion in 5%. The loss of reduction concerned primarily the distal radius palmar tilt and was moderate. No correlation was found with age, gender, type of fracture, degree of initial displacement, associated ulnar fracture, or seniority of the treating surgeon.
Detection of sculpted faces on building facades

The work presents the first approach of face detection on building facades. Human sculptures are typical for a set of historic architectural styles. Thus the presence of faces can serve as an additional discriminative feature while performing image- based architectural style classification. The approach employs Viola-Jones face detector on a self-compiled image database of facades, featuring sculpted faces. At the first stage of the experimental setup OpenCV face detector, trained on real human faces, is used to detect the sculpted faces. Since the performance rate is unsatisfactory, the second stage of experiments is issued. Here new cascade classifiers are trained on the training image dataset of sculpted faces. The classifier with the best performance is chosen to carry out the third stage of the experimental setup on the testing dataset of images. The results indicate that the final detector achieves high detection rate on unfamiliar images. Furthermore, it considerably outperforms the OpenCV base face detector.
Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind? Mobilization cascades in direct democratic initiatives

In this study, I investigate patterns of mobilization in one type of direct democratic procedure, popular initiatives. The goal of this study is to analyze whether a popular initiative exhibits a mobilizing effect on another popular initiative, when the latter initiative is concerned with the same policy issue and is making more far-reaching demands. I analyze three such initiative pairs from Switzerland that came to a vote in 2012, 2013 and 2014, with data on the municipal and cantonal (state) level. The results of a comparison of simple linear and multilevel models suggest that a mobilization effect in terms of turnout and outcome might exist, but it is a weak effect. Normative concerns, however, remain: If voters’ preferences are affected by the mere fact of being exposed to policy options, then direct democratic procedures are not just moments of preference expression, but also of preference generation.
Interaction of coenzyme M and formaldehyde in methanogenesis.

Chemical reaction of coenzyme M, sodium 2-mercaptoethanesulphonate (HS-CoM, Na+), and formaldehyde formed sodium 2-(hydroxymethylthio)ethanesulphonate (HOCH2-S-CoM), whereas reaction with the ammonium salt of HS-CoM yielded iminobis-[2-(methylthio)ethanesulphonate], monoammonium salt [NH = (CH2 - S - CoM)2]. In water, NH = (CH2 - S - CoM)2 decomposed to 2-(aminomethylthio)ethanesulphonate (NH2CH2 - S - CoM) and HOCH2-S-CoM. NH-2-CH2 - CoM was degraded further to form more HOCH2-S-CoM. The structures of these coenzyme M derivatives were confirmed by i.r. and n.m. r. spectroscopy and by elemental analysis. When added to cell extracts of Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum, methane was formed from either HOCH2 - S - CoM or NH = (CH2 - S - CoM)2 at rates comparable with the rate of methane formation from the methanogenic precursor 2-(methylthio)-ethanesulphonate (CH3 - S - CoM). Formaldehyde was reduced to methane at similar rates. In addition, certain hemimercaptals, including thiazolidine and thiazolidine-4-carboxylate, were reduced, although at slower rates. The reduction of formaldehyde, thiazolidine, or thiazolidine-4-carboxylate required catalytic amounts of HS-CoM. ATP was required by cells extracts for reduction of each of these methane precursors.
Cerebral Autoregulation in Middle Cerebral Artery Territory Precedes That of Posterior Cerebral Artery in Human Cortex

Objective: Cerebral autoregulation tends to compensate changes in arterial blood pressure. This mechanism of cerebral blood flow regulation appears to be insufficient in orthostatic dysregulation in which mainly vertebrobasilar symptoms occur. To investigate this hypothesis, we compared cerebral autoregulation in the vascular territory of the carotic and vertebrobasilar vessel system using a leg cuff test to induce a drop in cerebral perfusion pressure. Methods: We measured blood flow velocity in 10 healthy young volunteers (aged 26.7 ± 0.3 years, 7 male) simultaneously in the middle and posterior cerebral artery with transcranial Doppler sonography. A leg cuff test was used to induce a sudden decrease in arterial blood pressure. Arterial blood pressure was measured with a non-invasive photoplethysmographic method. The averaged relative blood flow velocity changes due to the pressure step were compared between both vessel territories. Results: After cuff release systolic (diastolic) blood flow velocity increased with a latency of 1.1 ± 0.3 s (1.8 ± 0.4 s). Due to a smaller decrease and identical time courses cerebral blood flow velocity recovery in the posterior cerebral artery precedes blood flow recovery in the middle cerebral artery by 0.9 ± 0.3 s. Discussion: Cerebral autoregulation in the carotid and vertebrobasilar system does not differ in the time course of the blood flow velocity recovery. Due to a smaller decrease in blood flow velocity recovery in the posterior cerebral artery precedes recovery in the middle cerebral artery by nearly 1 s.
Activation of IRS-2-mediated signal transduction by IGF-1, but not TGF-alpha or EGF, augments pancreatic beta-cell proliferation.

Transforming growth factor (TGF)-alpha- and epidermal growth factor (EGF)-induced signal transduction was directly compared with that of glucose and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in INS-1 cells. TGF-alpha/EGF transiently (<20 min) induced phosphorylation of extracellular-regulated kinase (Erk)-1/2 (>20-fold), glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3 (>10-fold), and protein kinase B (PKB) (Ser(473) and Thr(308)), but did not increase [(3)H]thymidine incorporation. In contrast, phosphorylation of Erk1/2, GSK-3, and PKB in response to glucose and IGF-1 was more prolonged (>24 h) and, though not as robust as TGF-alpha/EGF, did increase beta-cell proliferation. Phosphorylation of p70(S6K) was also increased by IGF-1/glucose, but not by TGF-alpha/EGF, despite upstream PKB activation. It was found that IGF-1 induced phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) association with insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-1 and -2 in a glucose-dependent manner, whereas TGF-alpha/EGF did not. The importance of specific IRS-2-mediated signaling events was emphasized in that adenoviral-mediated overexpression of IRS-2 further increased glucose/IGF-1-induced beta-cell proliferation (more than twofold; P < 0.05) compared with control or adenoviral-mediated IRS-1 overexpressing INS-1 cells. Neither IRS-1 nor IRS-2 overexpression induced a beta-cell proliferative response to TGF-alpha/EGF. Thus, a prolonged activation of Erk1/2 and PI3K signaling pathways is important in committing a beta-cell to a mitogenic event, and it is likely that this sustained activation is instigated by signal transduction occurring specifically through IRS-2.
Laser harmonic generation from a thin metallic foil

A high-power p-polarized laser, obliquely incident on a thin metal foil (i.e., an overdense plasma), induces periodic charge on the surface by emitting electrons into vacuum during a quarter cycle. The electrons are pulled out by the normal component of laser field. As these electrons travel in vacuum, they see the laser field, as well as a direct current field due to surface charge, giving rise to strong anharmonicity in orbits. These anharmonic oscillating dipoles produce coherent radiation at several harmonics. The power of harmonics goes as square of laser spot size and square of pump power for all the harmonics. It scales as sin/sup 6/ /spl theta//sub i/ with the angle of incidence /spl theta//sub i/. However, it decreases with harmonic number.
Antimalarial potential of Nosode 30 and 200 against Plasmodium berghei infection in BALB/c mice.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Homeopathy is considered as an emerging area of alternative medicine which could be established for the global health care. One of the greatest objections to this science lies in its inability to explain the mechanism of action of the micro doses based on scientific experiments and proofs. The present study has been undertaken to screen in vivo antimalarial activity of Malaria Co Nosode 30 and Nosode 200 against Plasmodium berghei infection in BALB/c mice. METHODS Peter's 4-day test was used to evaluate the in vivo schizontocidal effect of Nosode 30 and Nosode 200. One month follow-up study was done to calculate the mean survival time of mice in each group. Biochemical analysis was carried out to assess the liver and kidney function tests using diagnostic kits. RESULTS Nosode 30 and 200 exhibited 87.02 and 37.97% chemosuppression on Day 7 and mean survival time (MST) of 18.5 ± 2.16 and 16.5 ± 1.37 days respectively, which were extremely statistically significant when compared to MST of infected control (8.55 ± 0.83 days). The safety of Nosode 30 was also confirmed by the comparable levels of ALP, SGOT, SGPT activities, concentration of bilirubin, urea and creatinine to CQ treated group. CONCLUSION Nosode 30 possesses considerable in vivo antiplasmodial activity against P. berghei infection as compared to Nosode 200 as evident from the chemosuppression obtained using Peter's 4-day test. Further, studies on the drug can be carried out to establish its antimalarial potential in monotherapy or in combination with other homeopathic drug formulations.
Ethnic differences in oro-facial somatosensory profiles-quantitative sensory testing in Chinese and Danes.

Ethnic differences in pain experiences have been widely assessed in various pathological and experimental conditions. However, limited sensory modalities have been described in previous research, and the affective-motivational factors have so far been estimated to be the main mediator for the ethnic differences. This study aimed to detect the ethnic differences of oro-facial somatosensory profiles related to the sensory-discriminative dimension in healthy volunteers. The standardised quantitative sensory testing battery developed by the German Research Network on Neuropathic Pain was performed bilaterally in the infraorbital and mental regions on age- and gender-matched healthy Chinese and Danes, 29 participants each group. The influences of ethnicity, gender and test site on the somatosensory profile were evaluated by three-way anova. The ethnic disparities were also presented by Z-scores. Compared to Danes, Chinese were more sensitive to thermal detection, thermal pain, mechanical deep pain and mechanical pain rating parameters (P < 0·002) related to small fibre functions. However, the inverse results were observed for mechanical tactile modality related to large fibre function (P < 0·001) and wind-up ratio (P = 0·006). Women presented higher sensitivity compared to men. The mean Z-scores of all the parameters from Chinese group were in the normal zone created by Danish Caucasians' means and SDs. The ethnic disparities in somatosensory profile illustrated the necessity of establishing the reference data for different ethnic groups and possibly individual pain management strategies for the different ethnic groups.
A Modular Fuel Cell, Modular DC–DC Converter Concept for High Performance and Enhanced Reliability

Fuel cell stacks produce a DC output with a 2:1 variation in output voltage from no-load to full-load. The output voltage of each fuel cell is about 0.4 V at full-load, and several of them are connected in series to construct a stack. An example 100 V fuel cell stack consists of 250 cells in series and to produce 300 V at full-load requires 750 cells stacked in series. Since fuel cells actively convert the supplied fuel to electricity, each cell requires proper distribution of fuel, humidification, coupled with water/thermal management needs. With this added complexity, stacking more cells in series decreases the reliability of the system. For example, in the presence of bad or malperforming cell/cells in a stack, uneven heating coupled with variations in cell voltages may occur. Continuous operation under these conditions may not be possible or the overall stack output power is severely limited. In this paper, a modular fuel cell powered by a modular DC-DC converter is proposed. The proposed concept electrically divides the fuel cell stack into various sections, each powered by a DC-DC converter. The proposed modular fuel cell powered by modular DC-DC converter eliminates many of these disadvantages, resulting in a fault tolerant system. A design example is presented for a 150-W, three-section fuel cell stack and DC-DC converter topology. Experimental results obtained on a 150-W, three-section proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell stack powered by a modular DC-DC converter are discussed.
Progress in Intra-industry Trade in the Greater Mekong Sub-region

The Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) attracts investors’ interest today and economic linkage in the GMS is strengthening with the creation of a production network. This paper analyzes the division of labour in the production process by industry. Two industrial sectors are chosen, the clothing industry and automobile industry. Two types of analysis were conducted in this study: one is a detailed analysis of trade figures, with calculation of the Grubel and Lloyd indexes and unit trade value, and the other is the estimation of gravity model. Their results are consistent. In the clothing sector, which is a labour-intensive industry, intra-industry trades include items by both horizontal division of labour and vertical division of labour. In contrast, the automobile sector does not exhibit horizontal division of labour, and signs of vertical division of labour between Thailand and Vietnam are observed. As different types of industry involve the different types of production network, further research will be needed.
Association study of polymorphisms within matrix metalloproteinase 9 with bronchial asthma

Matrix metalloproteinase 9 plays an important role in the development of bronchial asthma. We were interested in whether the polymorphisms –T1702A, –C1562T, R279Q and +C6T within the matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP‐9) gene were associated with asthma in a population of 231 asthmatic children. However, we found no association. Thus MMP‐9 might not be a major gene for asthma.
Regulation of CB1 cannabinoid receptor trafficking by the adaptor protein AP‐3

Cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) is an abundant G protein‐coupled receptor, involved in a number of physiological processes. This receptor is localized at the plasma membrane, as well as in intra cellular vesicles. The trafficking events leading to this intracellular localization remain controversial. In this study, we examine the differential trafficking of CB1 receptors and its implication on signaling. We find that the transfected tagged receptors are predominantly at the plasma membrane, whereas endogenous receptors exhibit an intracellular localization. We also find that intracellular endogenous CB1 receptors do not have an endocytic origin. Instead, these receptors associate with the adaptor protein AP‐3 and traffic to the lysosomes. siRNA‐mediated AP‐3δ knockdown leads to enhanced cell surface localization of CB1 receptors. Finally, we show that CB1 receptors in the late endosomal/lysosomal compartment are associated with heterotrimeric G proteins and mediate signal transduction. These results suggest that intracellular CB1 receptors are functional and that their spatial segregation is likely to significantly affect receptor function. —Rozenfeld, R. , Devi, L. A. Regulation of CB1 cannabinoid receptor trafficking by the adaptor protein AP‐3. FASEB J. 22, 2311–2322 (2008)
Information Organizer: A Comprehensive View on Reuse

Within one organization, there are often many conceptually related but technically separated information systems. Many of these are legacy systems representing enormous developmp-c m,ent efforts, and containing large amounts of data. The integration of these often requires extensive design modifications. Reusing applications "as is" with all the knowledge and data they represent would be a much more practical solution. This paper describes the Business Object Model, a model providing integration and reuse of existing applications and cross applications modelling capabilities and a Business Object Framework implementing the object model. We also present a product supporting the model and the framework, Information Organizer, and a number of design patterns that have been built on top of it to further decrease the amount of work needed to integrate legacy systems. We describe one such pattern in detail, a general mechanism for reusing relational databases.
Vascular dementia and the cholinergic pathways

Vascular cognitive impairment/vascular dementia have been the subject of a large number of studies, due to their high prevalence and broad preventive and compensatory therapeutic potential. The knowledge of the cerebral anatomy correlated to the vascular territories of irrigation enables understanding of clinical manifestations, as well as classification into the several types of syndromic presentations. The central cholinergic system exercises important neuromodulatory functions on cerebral circuits related to cognitive and behavioral integration, as well as on vasomotor control related to cerebral blood flow adjustments. The acquisition of data on the anatomy of the cholinergic pathways, including the localization of the nuclei of the basal prosencephalon and the routes of their projections, established an important milestone. The knowledge of the vascular distribution and of the trajectories of the cholinergic pathways allows identification of the strategic points where a vascular lesion can cause interruption. The ensuing denervation leads to cholinergic hypofunction in the involved territories. This information proves important to better evaluate the sites of vascular lesions, emphasizing their strategic localizations in relation to the cholinergic pathways, and offering more robust foundations for treatment aiming at enhancing cholinergic activity.
Normal S‐cholesterol indicates unchanged S‐LDL, S‐HDL and S‐triglycerides in patients with previously acceptable blood lipids

Background. Analysis of blood lipids should be repeated routinely in many patients, and limiting testing to total cholesterol may eliminate the need for fasting prior to sampling, thereby saving time and money. The primary aim was to investigate the sufficiency of S‐cholesterol analysis (TC) in monitoring all blood lipids. Material and Methods. The results of blood lipid measurement in blood samples taken at a primary care unit over a 10‐year period were studied retrospectively, and the probability of TC predicting acceptable levels of LDL, HDL and TG was calculated. Results. Blood lipid levels from two samples in 518 patients taken within an interval of 0.5 to 3 years were accessible for study. If TC, LDL, HDL and TG levels were previously acceptable within this interval, a single acceptable TC was a predictor of acceptable LDL (97 %), HDL (94–97 %) and TG levels (96 %). Conclusions. In patients requiring blood lipid monitoring, it may be concluded that if TC, LDL, HDL and TG levels are acceptable in one blood sample, this is sufficient to monitor TC levels. If TC levels remain acceptable, there is no need to analyse LDL, HDL and TG levels more than every second year.