Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enlargement of the spleen as an incidental finding on CT in post-partum females with fever.

OBJECTIVE The aim was to evaluate whether enlargement of the spleen on CT in a post-partum female with fever is a common phenomenon. METHODS In this retrospective institutional review board-approved study, the spleen was measured by CT in 77 females (average age 30.7 years) examined for post-partum fever and a control group of 58 febrile females imaged for suspected appendicitis (average age 29.7 years). The splenic length, width and thickness were measured and used to calculate the splenic index. The measurements of both groups of patients were compared. The size of the spleen was assessed again in 12 of the 77 post-partum female who had a follow-up CT for unrelated reasons. Continuous variables were compared, by groups, using analysis of variance (ANOVA). ANOVA with repeated measures was used to evaluate changes over time. A p-value <0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS The length, thickness and width of the spleen were significantly larger in the patients imaged after delivery compared with those in the control group (p<0.001 for all three comparisons). The mean splenic index was 686.6 cm(3) in the post-partum group and 408.1 cm(3) in the control group (p<0.001). The splenic dimensions and index were significantly smaller in the 12 post-partum females who had a follow-up study. CONCLUSION An enlarged spleen in febrile females undergoing CT in the puerperium may reflect physiological changes occurring during pregnancy.
Conceptualising capitalism in the twenty-first century: the BRICs and the European periphery*

ABSTRACT The paper provides a conceptual framework of the Special Issue by theorising and analysing the evolving nature of capitalism in emerging economies and the European periphery today. The conventional conceptual tools of comparative capitalism provide a useful structure for the analysis but have not been up to the task of capturing the changing nature of capitalism in the globalised world, in particular the rise of the emerging powers as well as their current crises. Neither do the conventional tools allow one to capture the developments in the political economies of the European periphery since the Eurozone crisis and the advent of austerity policy. In order to adequately assess these developments we need to rethink the comparative capitalism framework in the global context. To do so, we propose a more dynamic conceptual approach better suited to capturing the changing nature of political economies in and beyond the OECD world. We build upon Uwe Becker's open Varieties of Capitalism framework, among other approaches. Our theoretical conceptualisation highlights five aspects: (1) the role of the state as a central force organising the market (2) patrimonialism, understood as a distinct structural mode of political-economic organisation based on clientelism, patronage and informal relations between actors (3) policies and political institutions (4) the role of ideas, and (5) pressures from globalisation and economic crises.
Gain Enhancement of Circularly Polarized Dielectric Resonator Antenna Based on FSS Superstrate for MMW Applications

In this communication, a high gain circularly polarized (CP) dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) is proposed. The radiating DR is coupled to a 50 Ω microstrip line through an X-shaped slot etched off the common ground plane. Using a frequency selective surface superstrate layer, a gain enhancement of 8.5 dB is achieved. A detailed theoretical analysis is given and used to optimize the superstrate size and the air gap height between the antenna and superstrate layer. The proposed DRA is designed, simulated, implemented, and tested. The high gain CP DRA has the potential to be used for millimeter wave wireless communication and imaging systems.
High Prevalence of Azithromycin-Resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae Isolates With a Multidrug Resistance Phenotype in Fukuoka, Japan

Background The current guidelines recommend a combination of ceftriaxone and azithromycin as a first-line treatment of gonorrhea in the United States and Europe. Despite not being recommended as a first-line regimen in Japan, an oral 2-g dose of azithromycin did become available for gonococcal infections in 2009. Recently, the emergence of azithromycin-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates has been reported in several countries, including Japan. Methods Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed on a total of 677 clinical isolates of N. gonorrhoeae obtained from January 2010 to December 2013 in Fukuoka, Japan. A molecular analysis by N. gonorrhoeae multiantigen sequence typing was conducted on the azithromycin-resistant isolates. Results The proportion of azithromycin-resistant isolates (minimum inhibitory concentration > 0.5 &mgr;g/mL) increased significantly from 1.8% in 2010 to 22.6% in 2013 (P < 0.001). Among 50 azithromycin-resistant isolates, 30 (60%) exhibited a resistant phenotype to multiple drugs including cefixime. The 2 predominant sequence types (STs) identified by N. gonorrhoeae multiantigen sequence typing were ST6798 (por allele 4033 and tbpB allele 110) and ST1407 (por allele 908 and tbpB allele 110) at 40.0% (20/50) and 12.0% (6/50), respectively. There was a statistically significant increase of the proportion of ST6798 from 0% (0/19) in 2010–2012 to 64.5% (20/31) in 2013 (P < 0.001). Conclusions Over the previous 4 years, an increasing prevalence of azithromycin-resistant N. gonorrhoeae isolates with a multidrug-resistant phenotype was observed. Furthermore, the azithromycin-resistant isolates seemed to belong to 2 predominant STs. As a result, continued surveillance of gonococci resistant to antimicrobial agents, including azithromycin in Fukuoka, Japan, is necessary.
Hardware software co-design of a fast bilateral filter in FPGA

Bilateral filters are widely used in computer vision and digital imaging applications such as denoising, video abstraction, demosaicing, optical-flow estimation etc. to name a few. Its smoothing and edge preserving characteristics suites perfectly for image and video processing applications, yet its high computational complexity makes real-time hardware implementation a challenging task. This paper provides an efficient Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) based implementation of an edge preserving fast bilateral filter on a hardware software co-design environment of a most recent algorithm preserving the boundaries, spikes and canyons in presence of noise. Further, the four stage parallel pipelined architecture greatly improves the speed of operation. Moreover, our separable kernel implementation of the filtering hardware increases the speed of execution by almost five times than the traditional convolution filtering, while utilizing less hardware resource.
Evaluation of Assay Techniques for the Measurement of Antiepileptic Drugs in Serum: A Study Based on External Quality Assurance Measurements

The accuracy and precision of eight techniques used to measure a range of eight antiepileptic drugs in human serum were compared using data from 80 samples from the Heathcontrol External Quality Assurance scheme. The fluorescence polarization immunoassay was significantly more precise than other techniques for several analytes, producing the lowest number of measurements rejected as outliers and measurements with the lowest coefficient of variation. Other techniques had a significantly lower precision. Nephelometry (Neph) produced most outliers for phenytoin and carbamazepine and had the highest variability for phenytoin. Gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) with derivatization was most variable for phenobarbitone and primidone. Measurements by GLC with or without derivatization contained >10% of outliers and were least precise for carbamazepine. Differences between the majority of techniques were in many cases, however, not significant. The accuracy of techniques was assessed from differences between sample means and spiked drug concentrations. Neph was notable in producing overestimates at lower concentrations. Immunoassay methods had a 16–21% cross-reactivity with carbamazepine 10,11-epoxide when measuring carbamazepine. All techniques reported underestimates for valproic acid that were thought to result from the hygroscopic nature of the salt used for spiking.
Pattern of Pax7 expression during myogenesis in the posthatch chicken establishes a model for satellite cell differentiation and renewal

The paired‐box transcription factor Pax7 plays a critical role in the specification of satellite cells in mouse skeletal muscle. In the present study, the position and number of Pax7‐expressing cells found in muscles of growing and adult chickens confirm the presence of this protein in avian satellite cells. The expression pattern of Pax7 protein, along with the muscle regulatory proteins MyoD and myogenin, was additionally elucidated in myogenic cultures and in whole muscle from posthatch chickens. In cultures progressing from proliferation to differentiation, the expression of Pax7 in MyoD+ cells declined as the cells began expressing myogenin, suggesting Pax7 as an early marker for proliferating myoblasts. At all time points, some Pax7+ cells were negative for MyoD, resembling the reserve cell phenotype. Clonal analysis of muscle cell preparations demonstrated that single progenitors can give rise to both differentiating and reserve cells. In muscle tissues, Pax7 protein expression was the strongest by 1 day posthatch, declining on days 3 and 6 to a similar level. In contrast, myogenin expression peaked on day 3 and then dramatically declined. This finding was accompanied by a robust growth in fiber diameter between day 3 and 6. The distinctions in Pax7 and myogenin expression patterns, both in culture and in vivo, indicate that while some of the myoblasts differentiate and fuse into myofibers during early stages of posthatch growth, others retain their reserve cell capacity. Developmental Dynamics 231:489–502, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Organization of calcitonin gene‐related peptide‐immunoreactive terminals in the primate dorsal horn

The present paper is concerned with the arrangement of axons and synaptic terminals immunostained for calcitonin gene‐related peptide (CGRP), a primary afferent marker, in the primate (Macaca fascicularis) dorsal horn. The CGRP axons and terminals are uniformly distributed in laminae I and II outer (o) but they are concentrated laterally and distributed intermittently in the reticulated region of lamina V. A prominent bundle of labeled axons is seen in the sacral cord dorsal to the central canal. Emphasis is given to the relation of CGRP‐immunoreactive terminals to other terminals, both labeled and unlabeled, in laminae I and IIo. In this regard, adjacent CGRP‐immunoreactive terminals are often united by puncta adhaerentia. Of particular interest is the observation that CGRP‐immunoreactive terminals can be found presynaptic to other terminals which sometimes resemble central primary afferent endings. In addition CGRP‐immunoreactive terminals end on other CGRP terminals. Both findings suggest that primary afferent terminals interact synaptically with other primary afferent terminals.
mRNA decay mediated by two distinct AU-rich elements from c-fos and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor transcripts: different deadenylation kinetics and uncoupling from translation

Poly(A) tail removal is a critical first step in the decay pathway for many yeast and mammalian mRNAs. Poly(A) shortening rates can be regulated by cis-acting sequences within the transcribed portion of mRNA, which in turn control mRNA turnover rates. The AU-rich element (ARE), found in the 3' untranslated regions of many highly labile mammalian mRNAs, is a well-established example of this type of control. It represents the most widespread RNA stability determinant among those characterized in mammalian cells. Here, we report that two structurally different AREs, the c-fos ARE and the granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) ARE, both direct rapid deadenylation as the first step in mRNA degradation, but by different kinetics. For c-fos-ARE-mediated decay, the mRNA population undergoes synchronous poly(A) shortening and is deadenylated at the same rate, implying the action of distributive or nonprocessive ribonucleolytic digestion of poly(A) tails. In contrast, the population of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor ARE-containing mRNAs is deadenylated asynchronously, with the formation of fully deadenylated intermediates, consistent with the action of processive ribonucleolytic digestion of poly(A) tails. An important general implication of this finding is that different RNA-destabilizing elements direct deadenylation either by modulating the processivity at which a single RNase functions or by recruiting kinetically distinct RNases. We have also employed targeted inhibition of translation initiation to demonstrate that the RNA-destabilizing function of both AREs can be uncoupled from translation by ribosomes. In addition, a blockade of ongoing transcription has been used to further probe the functional similarities and distinctions of these two AREs. Our data suggest that the two AREs are targets of two distinct mRNA decay pathways. A general model for ARE-mediated mRNA degradation involving a potential role for certain heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins and ARE-binding proteins is proposed.
Performance of Dynamically Simulated Reference Patterns for Cross-Correlation Electron Backscatter Diffraction

Abstract High-resolution (or “cross-correlation”) electron backscatter diffraction analysis (HR-EBSD) utilizes cross-correlation techniques to determine relative orientation and distortion of an experimental electron backscatter diffraction pattern with respect to a reference pattern. The integrity of absolute strain and tetragonality measurements of a standard Si/SiGe material have previously been analyzed using reference patterns produced by kinematical simulation. Although the results were promising, the noise levels were significantly higher for kinematically produced patterns, compared with real patterns taken from the Si region of the sample. This paper applies HR-EBSD techniques to analyze lattice distortion in an Si/SiGe sample, using recently developed dynamically simulated patterns. The results are compared with those from experimental and kinematically simulated patterns. Dynamical patterns provide significantly more precision than kinematical patterns. Dynamical patterns also provide better estimates of tetragonality at low levels of distortion relative to the reference pattern; kinematical patterns can perform better at large values of relative tetragonality due to the ability to rapidly generate patterns relating to a distorted lattice. A library of dynamically generated patterns with different lattice parameters might be used to achieve a similar advantage. The convergence of the cross-correlation approach is also assessed for the different reference pattern types.
Face recognition using graph extreme learning machine with Ln-norm regularization

Mathematical approaches including subspace learning (SL), graph Laplacian, and L21-norm regularization can be combined effectively with baseline ELM to produce a novel extension of ELM termed Face Recognition using Graph ELM with L21-norm Regularization (GELML21) that can improve the robustness and compactness of ELM. In this paper, subspace learnings that exploit the geometrical structure of face data were utilized to produce discriminative features. ELM activation functions and some SL approaches have almost nonlinear characteristics that enhance features extraction performance while destroying the local consistency properties. For this reason, the graph Laplacian was used to regulate the samples in the same class to similar outputs. After that, L2i-norm algorithm with proved convergence was introduced to solve the resultant optimization problem and yield distinct hidden layer that clearly enhanced the accuracy. Our experimental results have demonstrated that GELML21 possessed excellent performance in face recognition in comparison with ELM variants and several popular state-of-the-art classification methods.
Can Maximum Intensity Projection Images With Multidetector-Row Computed Tomography Help to Differentiate Between the Micronodular Distribution of Focal and Diffuse Infiltrative Lung Diseases?

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate whether maximum intensity projection (MIP) images increased the ability of experienced and resident radiologists to differentiate between the micronodular distribution of focal and diffuse infiltrative lung diseases. Methods: The cases used in the study were those of 26 patients with focal or diffuse micronodular lung diseases, including 7 cases of sarcoidosis, 6 of miliary tuberculosis, 3 of pulmonary tuberculosis, 3 of chronic bronchitis, 2 of human T-lymphotropic virus type 1-associated bronchoalveolar disorder, 2 of diffuse aspiration bronchiolitis, 1 of atypical mycobacterial infection, and 1 of lymphangitic carcinomatosis. Scans of the entire lung during a single breath hold at 1.25-2.5 mm thickness and a pitch of 6 were performed using a multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) apparatus with a 4-row detector. Additional MIP image slabs were produced from the initial axial images on all study patients on a workstation according to a protocol that incorporated a slab thickness of 10 mm, a reconstructed interval of 10 mm, and a window width of −1500 Hounsfield units. The ability of 10 radiologists (5 board-certified radiologists and 5 radiology residents) to interpret contiguous thin-section CT scans and additional MIP images was then studied in an observer performance study. The results of both sets of observer performances were compared using receiver operating characteristic analysis. Results: In the resident observers, the mean area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (Az) value increased significantly from 0.654 without the MIP images to 0.753 with the MIP images (P < 0.01). In the board-certified radiologists, however, the mean Az values remained unchanged at 0.867 without the MIP images and 0.846 with the MIP images. Conclusions: This study showed that MIP images may help radiologists in training to differentiate between the micronodular distribution of focal and diffuse infiltrative lung diseases.
Superior CT coronary angiography image quality at lower radiation exposure with second generation 320-detector row CT in patients with elevated heart rate: a comparison with first generation 320-detector row CT.

BACKGROUND This study aims to compare the image quality of second generation versus first generation 320-computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) in patients with heart rate ≥65 bpm as it has not been specifically reported. METHODS Consecutive patients who underwent CTCA using second-generation-320-detector-row-CT were prospectively enrolled. A total of 50 patients with elevated (≥65 bpm) heart rate and 50 patients with controlled (<65 bpm) heart rate were included. Age and gender matched patients who were scanned with the first-generation-320-detector-row-CT were retrospectively identified. Image quality in each coronary artery segment was assessed by two blinded CT angiographers using the five-point Likert scale. RESULTS In the elevated heart rate cohorts, while there was no significant difference in heart rate during scan-acquisition (66 vs. 69 bpm, P=0.308), or body mass index (28.5 vs. 29.6, P=0.464), the second generation scanner was associated with better image quality (3.94±0.6 vs. 3.45±0.8, P=0.001), and with lower radiation (2.8 vs. 4.3 mSv, P=0.009). There was no difference in scan image quality for the controlled heart rate cohorts. CONCLUSIONS The second generation CT scanner provides better image quality at lower radiation dose in patients with elevated heart rate (≥65 bpm) compared to first generation CT scanner.
Relative Effectiveness of Energy Efficiency Programs versus Market Based Climate Policies in the Chemical Industry

This paper addresses the relative effectiveness of market vs program based climate policies. We compute the carbon price resulting in an equivalent reduction in energy from programs that eliminate the efficiency gap. A reduced-form stochastic frontier energy demand analysis of plant level electricity and fuel data, from energy-intensive chemical sectors, jointly estimates the distribution of energy efficiency and underlying price elasticities. The analysis obtains a decomposition of efficiency into persistent (PE) and time-varying (TVE) components. Total inefficiency is relatively small in most sectors and price elasticities are relatively high. If all plants performed at the 90th percentile of their efficiency distribution, the reduction in energy is between 4% and 37%. A carbon price averaging around $31.51/ton CO2 would achieve reductions in energy use equivalent to all manufacturing plants making improvements to close the efficiency gap.
A measure of good motor actions for active visual perception

The morphology of an embodied agent heavily influences the characteristics of sensory signals induced during sensorimotor activity. In order to facilitate later information processing, it is desirable to couple sensors and actuators in a way such that the agent's actions induce well structured sensory feedback. In this work, we empirically investigate the meaning of “well structured” with respect to the predictability of the induced stimulus and the complexity of the model required to predict the change. For this purpose, we consider a visual sensor consisting of an unknown topology composed of light sensitive receptors and we investigate a number of different actions. For each action, we learn a stimulus prediction function and we propose to qualify the action depending on the complexity of the prediction model. By visualizing this measure for two different sensors and over different action spaces, we observe that a given sensor topology implicitly imposes actions for which the provoked change in stimulus can be described with less effort, which we feel has direct implications for the behavior of an agent using that sensor.
Effect of Serum Lipoproteins on Growth and Sterol Synthesis in Cultured Rat Brain Glial Cells

Abstract: Cells dissociated from brains of 1‐day‐old rats were cultured in medium containing either lipoprotein‐deficient serum (LPDS) or LPDS plus various lipoprotein fractions. Increases in number of cells and in DNA content served as a measure of cell growth. Cholesterol synthesis was measured from the incorporation of [14C]acetate into total nonsaponifiable lipids and digitonin‐precipitable sterols, and from the activity of the enzyme 3‐hydroxy‐3‐methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG CoA) reductase. The data indicated that cholesterol biosynthesis from acetate was reduced in cells cultured in medium containing either LPDS plus low‐density lipoproteins (LDL), high‐density lipoproteins (HDL), or total lipoproteins (LP) and that this reduction was accompanied by a reduction in the activity of the HMG CoA reductase and an increase in the esterified sterol content. The reduction in cholesterol synthesis from acetate was maximal in cells cultured in the presence of HDL, whereas the maximal reduction in the activity of HMG CoA reductase occurred in cells cultured in the presence of LP. The presence of LDL or LP in the culture medium enhanced the cell growth but the presence of HDL did not. Esterified sterol content was highest in cells cultured in the medium containing LPDS plus LP and was not detected in cells cultured in LPDS medium. It is inferred from these data that rat brain glial cells in culture are able to utilize cholesterol in lipoproteins, that the presence of LDL in the medium enhances cell growth, and that reduced cholesterol synthesis in the presence of lipoproteins may occur at the HMG CoA reductase step as well as at some other step(s).