Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Structural MRI in Frontotemporal Dementia: Comparisons between Hippocampal Volumetry, Tensor-Based Morphometry and Voxel-Based Morphometry

Background MRI is an important clinical tool for diagnosing dementia-like diseases such as Frontemporal Dementia (FTD). However there is a need to develop more accurate and standardized MRI analysis methods. Objective To compare FTD with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) with three automatic MRI analysis methods - Hippocampal Volumetry (HV), Tensor-based Morphometry (TBM) and Voxel-based Morphometry (VBM), in specific regions of interest in order to determine the highest classification accuracy. Methods Thirty-seven patients with FTD, 46 patients with AD, 26 control subjects, 16 patients with progressive MCI (PMCI) and 48 patients with stable MCI (SMCI) were examined with HV, TBM for shape change, and VBM for gray matter density. We calculated the Correct Classification Rate (CCR), sensitivity (SS) and specificity (SP) between the study groups. Results We found unequivocal results differentiating controls from FTD with HV (hippocampus left side) (CCR = 0.83; SS = 0.84; SP = 0.80), with TBM (hippocampus and amygdala (CCR = 0.80/SS = 0.71/SP = 0.94), and with VBM (all the regions studied, especially in lateral ventricle frontal horn, central part and occipital horn) (CCR = 0.87/SS = 0.81/SP = 0.96). VBM achieved the highest accuracy in differentiating AD and FTD (CCR = 0.72/SS = 0.67/SP = 0.76), particularly in lateral ventricle (frontal horn, central part and occipital horn) (CCR = 0.73), whereas TBM in superior frontal gyrus also achieved a high accuracy (CCR = 0.71/SS = 0.68/SP = 0.73). TBM resulted in low accuracy (CCR = 0.62) in the differentiation of AD from FTD using all regions of interest, with similar results for HV (CCR = 0.55). Conclusion Hippocampal atrophy is present not only in AD but also in FTD. Of the methods used, VBM achieved the highest accuracy in its ability to differentiate between FTD and AD.
Evaluation of current Australian health service accreditation processes (ACCREDIT-CAP): protocol for a mixed-method research project

Introduction Accreditation programmes aim to improve the quality and safety of health services, and have been widely implemented. However, there is conflicting evidence regarding the outcomes of existing programmes. The Accreditation Collaborative for the Conduct of Research, Evaluation and Designated Investigations through Teamwork-Current Accreditation Processes (ACCREDIT-CAP) project is designed to address key gaps in the literature by evaluating the current processes of three accreditation programmes used across Australian acute, primary and aged care services. Methods and design The project comprises three mixed-method studies involving documentary analyses, surveys, focus groups and individual interviews. Study samples will comprise stakeholders from across the Australian healthcare system: accreditation agencies; federal and state government departments; consumer advocates; professional colleges and associations; and staff of acute, primary and aged care services. Sample sizes have been determined to ensure results allow robust conclusions. Qualitative information will be thematically analysed, supported by the use of textual grouping software. Quantitative data will be subjected to a variety of analytical procedures, including descriptive and comparative statistics. The results are designed to inform health system policy and planning decisions in Australia and internationally. Ethics and dissemination The project has been approved by the University of New South Wales Human Research Ethics Committee (approval number HREC 10274). Results will be reported to partner organisations, healthcare consumers and other stakeholders via peer-reviewed publications, conference and seminar presentations, and a publicly accessible website.
Characterization of embedded applications for decoupled processor architecture

Needs for performance on embedded applications leads to the use of dynamic execution on embedded processors in the next few years. However, complete out-of-order superscalar cores are still expensive in terms of silicon area and power dissipation. In this paper, we study the adequacy of a more limited form of dynamic execution, namely decoupled architecture, to embedded applications. Decoupled architecture is known to work very efficiently whenever the execution does not suffer from inter-processor dependencies causing some loss of decoupling, called LOD events. In this study, we address regularity of codes in terms of the LOD events that may occur. We address three aspects of regularity: control regularity, control/memory dependency, and patterns of referencing memory data. Most of the kernels in MiBench will be amenable to efficient performance on a decoupled architecture.
TCP Injections for Fun and Clogging

We present a new type of clogging DoS attacks, with the highest amplification factors achieved by off-path attackers, using only puppets, i.e., sandboxed malware on victim machines. Specifically, we present off-path variants of the Opt-ack, Ack-storm and Coremelt DoS attacks, achieving results comparable to these achieved previously achieved by eavesdropping/MitM attackers and (unrestricted) malware. In contrast to previous off-path attacks, which attacked the client (machine) running the malware, our attacks address a very different goal: large-scale clogging DoS of a third party, or even of backbone connections. Our clogging attacks are based on off-path TCP injections. Indeed, as an additional contribution, we present improved off-path TCP injection attacks. Our new attacks significantly relax the requirements cf. to the known attacks; specifically, our injection attack requires only a Java script in browser sandbox (not 'restricted malware'), does not depend on specific operating system properties, and is efficient even when client's port is determined using recommended algorithm. Our attacks are constructed modularly, allowing reuse of modules for other scenarios and replacing modules as necessary. We present specific defenses, however, this work is further proof to the need to base security on sound foundations, using cryptography to provide security even against MitM attackers.
Hyaline Protoplasmic Astrocytopathy of Neocortex

Eosinophilic inclusions in the cytoplasm of protoplasmic astrocytes of the neocortex, usually in the clinical setting of epilepsy and/or psychomotor retardation, were first recognized and illustrated by Alois Alzheimer in 1910. Traditional special stains have failed to elucidate the specific nature of these inclusions. Ultrastructurally, the material was composed predominantly of highly electron-dense, non-membrane-bound, granular material distinct from Rosenthal fibers. Immunohistochemical examination has been informative but also sometimes inconsistent; it has recently been suggested that they may represent a filaminopathy (filamin A). We examined 5 cases with neocortical eosinophilic inclusions (3 autopsies, 2 surgical resections) using a standardized immunohistochemical protocol at a single institution. The specimens were immunostained with 32 antibodies to 30 potentially relevant proteins using several antigen retrieval protocols. We confirmed the presence of filamin A in these inclusions, but several additional proteins, particularly cytoglobin and glutamate transporter 1, were also identified. By electron microscopy in 2 cases, the granular fine structure of the inclusions was confirmed; mitochondria adjacent to, and perhaps within, the inclusions that contained many pleomorphic vesicular and membranous elements were also noted in 1 case. The pathophysiologic relevance of these proteins and the clinical significance of the hyaline inclusions are discussed.
Power optimization of technology-dependent circuits based on symbolic computation of logic implications

This paper presents a novel approach to the problem of optimizing combinational circuits for low power. The method is inspired by the fact that power analysis performed on a technology mapped network gives more realistic estimates than it would at the technology-independent level. After each node's switching activity in the circuit is determined, high-power nodes are eliminated through redundancy addition and removal. To do so, the nodes are sorted according to their switching activity, they are considered one at a time, and learning is used to identify direct and indirect logic implications inside the network. These logic implications are exploited to add gates and connections to the circuit; this may help in eliminating high-power dissipating nodes, thus reducing the total switching activity and power dissipation of the entire circuit. The process is iterative; each iteration starts with a different target node. The end result is a circuit with a decreased switching power. Besides the general optimization algorithm, we propose a new BDD-based method for computing satisfiability and observability implications in a logic network; futhermore, we present heuristic techniques to add and remove redundancy at the technology-dependent level, that is, restructure the logic in selected places without destroying the topology of the mapped circuit. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed technique. On average, power is reduced by 34%, and up to a 64% reduction of power is possible, with a negligible increase in the circuit delay.
Application and Optimization of relE as a Negative Selection Marker for Making Definitive Genetic Constructs in Uropathogenic Escherichia coli

Studies of Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) pathogenesis have relied heavily on genetic manipulation to understand virulence factors. We applied a recently reported positive-negative selection system to create a series of unmarked, scarless FimH mutants that show identical phenotypes to previously reported marked FimH mutants; these are now improved versions useful for definitive assignment of phenotypes to FimH mutations. We also increased the efficiency of this system by designing new primer sites, which should further improve the efficiency and convenience of using negative selection in UTI89, other UPEC, and other Enterobacteriaceae.
Gait transition of quadruped robot using rhythm control and stability analysis

In this paper, a gait transition method of quadruped robot was investigated, which is controlled by changing rhythm. It makes the duration time of liftoff and touchdown events variable through the continuous change of walking parameters, and realizes the gait transition from walk to trot. The quadruped bionic robot is a series parallel-multiple branching of nonlinear inverted pendulum system. The stability of trot gait in gait transition processes to the stability of inverted pendulum, and the balance adjustment is generated basing the original motion. The experiment is verified by interactive co-simulation among Matlab-Adams. The transition method satisfies the continuous and steady movement of quadruped robot in gait transition.
Fuzzy Model-based Servo Control for a Class of Nonlinear Systems

This paper presents servo control for a class of nonlinear systems using the fuzzy model-based control approach. We propose the construction method of augmented fuzzy servo control system for continuous-time nonlinear systems by differentiating the original nonlinear system. Moreover, we introduce the dynamic fuzzy servo controller which can make outputs of the nonlinear systems converge to target points, and derive the controller design conditions in terms of LMIs. A design example illustrates the utility of this approach.
A halo approach to the evaluation of the cross-correlation between the SZ sky and galaxy surveys

Using a purely analytic approach to gaseous and dark matter halos, we study the cross-correlation between the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) sky and galaxy surveys under flat sky approximation, in an attempt to acquire the redshift information of the SZ map. The problem can be greatly simplified when it is noticed that the signals of the SZ-galaxy correlation arise only from hot gas and galaxies inside the same massive halos (i.e. clusters), and that field galaxies make almost no contribution to the cross-correlation. Under the assumption that both the hot gas and galaxies trace the common gravitational potential of dark halos, we calculate the expected cross SZ-galaxy power spectra for the WMAP/Planck SZ maps and the SDSS galaxy sample at small scales 100 400 in the WMAP/Planck experiments. Future SZ observations with better angular resolutions and sufficiently wide sky coverage will be needed if this technique is to be applied for the statistical measurement of the redshift distribution of the SZ sources.
Recruitment of the Swi/Snf Complex by Ste12-Tec1 Promotes Flo8-Mss11-Mediated Activation of STA1 Expression

ABSTRACT In the yeast Saccharomyces diastaticus, expression of the STA1 gene, which encodes an extracellular glucoamylase, is activated by the specific DNA-binding activators Flo8, Mss11, Ste12, and Tec1 and the Swi/Snf chromatin-remodeling complex. Here we show that Flo8 interacts physically and functionally with Mss11. Flo8 and Mss11 bind cooperatively to the inverted repeat sequence TTTGC-n-GCAAA (n = 97) in UAS1-2 of the STA1 promoter. In addition, Flo8 and Mss11 bind indirectly to UAS2-1 of the STA1 promoter by interacting with Ste12 and Tec1, which bind to the filamentation and invasion response element (FRE) in UAS2-1. Furthermore, our findings indicate that the Ste12, Tec1, Flo8, and Mss11 activators and the Swi/Snf complex bind sequentially to the STA1 promoter, as follows: Ste12 and Tec1 bind first to the FRE, whereby they recruit the Swi/Snf complex to the STA1 promoter. Next, the Swi/Snf complex enhances Flo8 and Mss11 binding to UAS1-2. In the final step, Flo8 and Mss11 directly promote association of RNA polymerase II with the STA1 promoter to activate STA1 expression. In the absence of glucose, the levels of Flo8 and Tec1 are greatly increased, whereas the abundances of two repressors, Nrg1 and Sfl1, are reduced, suggesting that the balance of transcriptional regulators may be important for determining activation or repression of STA1 expression.
Improved PSO Algorithm for Power Distribution Network Expanding Path Optimization

This paper introduces PSO algorithm for power distribution network expanding, which optimize power loss and investment cost of feeders simultaneously. In this paper, PSO algorithm is improved in two parts of the parameter inertia weight and the discrete idea is added to, so that it can easily run out the local optimum and provide high speed of convergence as well as for the proposed application. An example shows the feasibleness and effectiveness of the algorithm. And it is easier to get an optimal or nearly optimal solution in distribution network expanding by using the presented algorithm.
Paraconsistent Reasoning via Quantified Boolean Formulas , II : Circumscribing Inconsistent Theories ?

Through minimal-model semantics, three-valued logics provide an interesting formalism for capturing reasoning from inconsistent information. However, the resulting paraconsistent logics lack so far a uniform implementation platform. Here, we address this and specifically provide a translation of two such paraconsistent logics into the language of quantified Boolean formulas (QBFs). These formulas can then be evaluated by off-the-shelf QBF solvers. In this way, we benefit from the following advantages: First, our approach allows us to harness the performance of existing QBF solvers. Second, different paraconsistent logics can be compared with in a unified setting via the translations used. We alternatively provide a translation of these two paraconsistent logics into quantified Boolean formulas representing circumscription, the well-known system for logical minimization. All this forms a case study inasmuch as the other existing minimization-based many-valued paraconsistent logics can be dealt with in a similar fashion.
Uk-causal Inference Meeting " Causal Inference in Health and Social Sciences " Tuesday 14 Welcome to the Uk Causal Inference Meeting (uk-cim) Uk-cim Steering Group: Uk-causal Inference Meeting (uk-cim) Programme Abstracts (oral Presentations) Counterfactual Graphical Models for Longitudinal Mediatio

All presentation sessions will be held in the lecture theatre at MANDEC All tea/coffee breaks and lunch will be served in the atrium area at MANDEC This is a new initiative to organise a regular UK based meeting on causal inference as a collaborative effort across the methodology research community in the health and social sciences. It aims to: provide a forum for people interested in causal inference to meet informally; for early career researchers to highlight their work; and to offer opportunities for networking to foster future research opportunities and collaborations. Registration for the meeting is not restricted to people from the UK, and we welcome presentations and registrations from anyone who would like to attend. The theme of the meeting is Causal Inference in Health and Social Sciences. Causal inference is broadly defined, and the focus is on methodology and challenging applications, though presentations relating to interesting applications that highlight necessary methodological extensions are also encouraged. 10.15 Tom Loeys (Ghent Univeristy) Estimation of controlled direct effects in the presence of exposure-induced confounding and latent variables 10.39 Ilya Shpitser (University of Southampton) Counterfactual Graphical Models for Longitudinal Mediation Analysis with Unobserved Confounding 11.03 Rhian Daniel (London Sch of Hygiene & Trop Med) Recent developments in causal mediation analysis with multiple mediators: bridging theory and practice 11.27 Theis Lange (University of Copenhagen) Assessing mediation through multiple pathways 11.51 Johan Steen (Ghent University) Flexible mediation analysis using natural effect models in R 13.00 Bianca De Stavola (London Sch of Hygiene & Trop Med) Mediation analysis by structural equation modeling or causal inference: What is the difference? 13.24 Andrew Pickles (King's College London) Measurement error in the decomposition of treatment effects in parent-delivered therapy: The effect of parent training in the MRC PACT trial A multiple imputation approach to obtain causal effects under residual confounding, using coarse data models 14.12 Carlo Berzuini (University of Manchester) Mechanistic interaction in presence of stochastic mediators 14.36 Tamas Rudas (Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest) How to avoid Simpson's paradox in treatment selection based on observational data 15.00 – 15.30 Tea/coffee break UK-CIM Programme and Abstract Book Susanna Dodd (University of Liverpool) Adjusting for treatment changes in epilepsy: causal analysis of randomised controlled trial survival outcomes in the presence of departure from randomised treatment 15.54 Jack Bowden (MRC Biostatistics Unit, Cambridge) Weighted log-rank tests for the analysis of late stage cancer trials with substantial treatment switching 16.18 Bob …
Does etiology of acute pancreatitis matter? A review of 391 consecutive episodes.

CONTEXT Acute pancreatitis can be triggered by a variety of factors ranging from short lasting to sustained disruptions. It is plausible that the characteristics and course of disease differ among etiologies. Data distinguishing characteristics of patients with pancreatitis of biliary, alcoholic, idiopathic or other origin are scarce and conflicting. OBJECTIVE To compare patients' characteristics, baseline parameters on admission, and outcome in patients with an episode of acute pancreatitis in whom the etiology was thoroughly determined. DESIGN Retrospective study. SETTING Single center. PATIENTS Three-hundreds and 91 consecutive episodes of acute pancreatitis through the years 2008 to 2011. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Gender, age, body mass index, Charlson comorbidity index, history of pancreatitis, heart rate, blood pressure, plasma lipase, hematocrit, plasma creatinine, white blood cell count, rate of persistent organ failure and necrosis, maximum C-reactive protein, duration of hospitalization, mortality. RESULTS There were marked differences between the groups. Biliary etiology was associated with higher age and body weight, female predominance, higher plasma lipase, and a favourable outcome. Alcoholic etiology had male predominance, a tendency for initial hemoconcentration, a lower plasma lipase, and the highest rate of necrosis. Idiopathic etiology had the highest rate of persistent organ failure and the highest mortality. CONCLUSIONS Biliary, alcoholic and idiopathic acute pancreatitis should be treated as distinct entities. While alcoholic episodes have the highest risk of necrosis, the worst outcome was observed in the idiopathic group. Hence, finding no causality for an episode of acute pancreatitis after thorough investigation might be a predictor for poor outcome. Larger studies are warranted to confirm this.
Unsupervised Text Mining for the Learning of DOGMA-inspired Ontologies

In a microfilm web handling apparatus wherein a photocell senses position markers corresponding to image frames along the microfilm web to enable positioning of a given image frame within a viewing station, a reference photocell provides a reference signal which is compared with a detected signal from the position sensing photocell to produce a position signal which is processed via logic networks to drive a film transport mechanism to thereby selectively position the microfilm web. Preferably, three photocells are provided, two of which sense position markers adjacent one edge of the microfilm web, while the third provides the reference signal. Each photocell has an effective sensing diameter which is not greater than one-half the dimension of a position marker parallel to the direction of travel of the web. In such an embodiment, the output of the reference photocell is compared with the detected signal from each of the two position indicating photocells.
Solvability and Uniqueness of Linear-Recursive Number Sequence Tasks

This article deals with the problems of existence and uniqueness of solution in connection with number sequence tasks (often called "number-series completion tasks") that are widely used in various psychological contexts. It is argued that the problems of existence and uniqueness of solution can be rationally analyzed and controlled only when each type of sequence task applied is explicitly referred to some domain of permissible rules accounting for the included sequence type. Following this guideline, the class of linear-recursive number sequence tasks is introduced where the sequence members are related by linear recursive equations. The investigation of this type of sequence task can substantially pro t from the theory of linear equation systems. The analysis carried out uncovers several types of non-uniqueness of solution. Most striking is the fact that worst cases of non-uniqueness may occur even in strongly restricted subtypes of linear-recursive number sequences as is shown for a speci c type of task. The results of the analyses suggest that (number) sequence tasks should not be applied in psychological contexts if not accompanied by an instruction that refers explicitily to some domain of permitted sequence rules.
Mobile Robot Global Path Planning Based on Improved Augment Ant Colony Algorithm

To overcome the defects of precocity and the time for initial population building is too long in traditional augment ant colony algorithm for mobile robot global path planning, an improved augment ant colony algorithm is presented in this paper. The operations of crossover and mutation of genetic algorithm (GA) are used in augment ant colony optimization, and the heuristic probability function is added to the process of the initial population building. The process flow of improved ant colony algorithm is given and the simulation experiment is done under the VC++ 6.0 environment. Experimental results show that the algorithm has much higher capacity of global optimization than traditional augment ant colony algorithm.