Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Lipopolysaccharides and Polysaccharides of Different Epitopic Structures in the Indirect Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Diagnosis of Brucellosis in Small Ruminants and Cattle

ABSTRACT Brucella abortus and Brucella melitensishave surface lipopolysaccharides and polysaccharides carryingB. melitensis-type (M) and B. abortus-type (A) epitopes as well as common (C) epitopes present in all smooth Brucella biotypes. Crude lipopolysaccharides, hydrolytic O polysaccharides, and native hapten polysaccharides of MC or AC specificity were evaluated in indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays with polyclonal, monoclonal, or protein G conjugates by using sera from cattle, sheep, and goats infected with AC, MC, or AMC Brucella biotypes. Regardless of the antigen, the levels of antibodies were lower in goats than in sheep and highest in cattle. The diagnostic performance of the assay was not affected by the absence of lipid A-core epitopes, the presence of contaminating outer membrane proteins, the AC or MC epitopic structure of the absorbed antigen, or the conjugate used. Moreover, with sera from cattle vaccinated with B. abortus S19 (AC) or from sheep and goats vaccinated with B. melitensis Rev 1 (MC), AC and MC antigens showed similar levels of reactivity. The results show that antibodies to the C epitopes largely dominate in infection, and this is consistent with the existence of multiple overlapping C epitopes (V. Weynants, D. Gilson, A. Cloeckaert, A. Tibor, P. A. Denoel, F. Godfroid, J. N. Limet, and J.-J. Letesson, Infect. Immun. 65:1939–1943, 1997) rather than with one or two C epitopes. It is concluded that, by adaptation to the corresponding antibody levels, brucellosis in cattle, sheep, and goats can be diagnosed by immunosorbent assay with a single combination of conjugate and antigen.
Improvement of induction motor drive performance using predictive control method instead of DTC method

Considering the disadvantages of induction motor drive such as torque ripple and current waveform distortion when using direct torque control (DTC) method, the method substitution might improve the drive behaviour. The authors suggest instead of the DTC method using the predictive method based on similar principles. In the paper, both methods are examined. Then on the induction motor drive yet controlled by DTC algorithm, the predictive method is implemented and performances of both control strategies are compared.
Time-varying algorithm for swarm robotics

Ever since the concept of swarm intelligence was brought out, a variety of control algorithms for swarm robotics has been put forward, and many of these algorithms are stable enough and efficient. Most of the researches only take an invariable controller which functions through the whole stage into consideration, the situation in which controller changes over time is rarely taken into account. However, there are limitations for invariable controller dominated algorithms in practical situation, which makes them unable to meet changing environment. On the contrary, variable controller is more flexible and can be able to adapt to complex environment. Considering such advantages, a time-varying algorithm for swarm robotics is presented in this paper. The algorithm takes time as one of the independent variables so that the controller is no longer fixed through the time, but can be changed over time, which brings more choices for the swarm robot system. In this paper, some relevant simulations are designed to test the algorithm. Different control strategies are applied on the same flock during the time, and a more complex, flexible and practical control effect is acquired successfully.
Palate Lymphoma: CT Findings.

OBJECTIVE Non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) in the palate are very rare. We aimed to investigate the CT appearance of lymphoma in the palate to improve diagnostic quality and review the literature on NHL. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study retrospectively included patients with histopathologically confirmed lymphoma who were treated at our hospital between 2008 and 2015. We examined CT features, including tumor location, appearance, margins, and involvement of the surrounding tissues. RESULTS Records were available for eight cases of lymphoma over the study period. Of these, two were in the soft palate and six in the hard palate. Median age at presentation was 63 years. Seven of the eight were diffuse large B cell lymphoma and one was T cell lymphoma. Hard palate lymphoma on CT showed bone destruction and spread to the maxillary arch and maxillary sinuses, whereas soft palate lymphoma spread to the surrounding parapharyngeal area and did not show bone destruction. CONCLUSION We describe CT findings of palate lymphoma, which are important for treatment planning.
SDHTOOL: Planning Survivable and Cost-Effective SDH Networks at Chunghwa Telecom

SDHTOOL, a decision-support system developed by Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd. (CHT), applies heuristics to plan synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) network architecture and evolution. Planning SDH networks is complex and must be done quickly because of keen competition and rapid changes in telecommunications. A flexible, easy-to-use, state-of-the-art planning tool is needed. SDHTOOL simplifies the planning process, selecting the most appropriate network architecture in terms of cost and survivability. It helps planners to achieve global optimization, ensuring that networks meet service and protection objectives economically and maintain compatibility between new and old equipment during the transition. Compared to conventional labor-intensive planning, SDHTOOL reduces planning time and cuts costs 15 to 33 percent.
A Wavelet Analysis of MENA Stock Markets

In this paper we revisit the issue of integration of emerging stock markets with each other and with the developed markets over different time horizons using weekly stock indices data from June 1997 until March 2005 of the five major MENA equity markets (Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco and Turkey) and applying the discrete wavelet decomposition analysis. We decompose the weekly stock market returns of the main indices of the MENA countries into different time scale components using the non-decimated discrete wavelet transform and then analyze the time- scale relationship between the stock market indices of some developed areas (SP and Eurostoxx) and those of the MENA countries. The results from wavelet correlation analysis both among MENA stock markets and between these markets and some major stock markets suggests that MENA stock markets are nor regionally nor internationally integrated.
Calculating error-free seconds in xDSL systems corrupted by impulse noise

An analytic approach to the calculation of error-free seconds in xDSL systems corrupted by impulse noise is outlined. The impulse noise is modeled by an n-state Markov renewal process. It is shown that lower and upper bounds can be calculated. A realistic estimate can also be obtained. Analytic results are compared with empirical results.
Spatial and Verbal Codes and the Capacity of STM †

Subjects were required to report an array of consonants presented tachistoscopically for various durations. Concurrently, they held in memory a load of auditory digits, a load of spatial locations or no load. These several forms of information did not seem to compete for a fixed capacity short term store. Consonant report was unaffected by carrying a spatial load and barely affected by carrying the auditory digit load. An auditory-verbal loop cannot play a mandatory role in the coding and storage of visual information. Some criticisms of structural interpretations of immediate memory are suggested.
Modular Professional Services: Conceptual Goodness and Research Themes

Professional service providers are increasingly confronted with the challenge of integrating digital components and knowledge-intensive activities to standardize complex recurring tasks while remaining agile to offer customized services that fulfill diverse customer needs. Modular service design has been proposed as a mean to enable a sound balance between these contradicting aims. However, the current literature on modularity in professional services reflects inconsistencies and tensions in the concept that have hitherto hindered the development of a common point of departure for further research. This paper seeks to summarize the current theoretical discussion on the modular design of professional services and evaluates its conceptual goodness based on five established design criteria. Our findings identify weak spots in our understanding of the modularity concept in the field of professional services and highlight five prevailing research themes that build a common ground for further research to address them correspondingly from different angles.
Translation-based ranking in cross-language information retrieval

Today's amount of user-generated, multilingual textual data generates the necessity for information processing systems, where cross-linguality, i.e the ability to work on more than one language, is fully integrated into the underlying models. In the particular context of Information Retrieval (IR), this amounts to rank and retrieve relevant documents from a large repository in language A, given a user's information need expressed in a query in language B. This kind of application is commonly termed a Cross-Language Information Retrieval (CLIR) system. Such CLIR systems typically involve a translation component of varying complexity, which is responsible for translating the user input into the document language. Using query translations from modern, phrase-based Statistical Machine Translation (SMT) systems, and subsequently retrieving monolingually is thus a straightforward choice. However, the amount of work committed to integrate such SMT models into CLIR, or even jointly model translation and retrieval, is rather small. In this thesis, I focus on the shared aspect of ranking in translation-based CLIR: Both, translation and retrieval models, induce rankings over a set of candidate structures through assignment of scores. The subject of this thesis is to exploit this commonality in three different ranking tasks: (1) "Mate-ranking" refers to the task of mining comparable data for SMT domain adaptation through translation-based CLIR. "Cross-lingual mates" are direct or close translations of the query. I will show that such a CLIR system is able to find in-domain comparable data from noisy user-generated corpora and improves in-domain translation performance of an SMT system. Conversely, the CLIR system relies itself on a translation model that is tailored for retrieval. This leads to the second direction of research, in which I develop two ways to optimize an SMT model for retrieval, namely (2) by SMT parameter optimization towards a retrieval objective ("translation ranking"), and (3) by presenting a joint model of translation and retrieval for "document ranking". The latter abandons the common architecture of modeling both components separately. The former task refers to optimizing for preference of translation candidates that work well for retrieval. In the core task of "document ranking" for CLIR, I present a model that directly ranks documents using an SMT decoder. I present substantial improvements over state-of-the-art translation-based CLIR baseline systems, indicating that a joint model of translation and retrieval is a promising direction of research in the field of CLIR.
An ad hoc networking for inter-MONET using mobile IPv6 and OLSR

Trends in 4G wireless networks are clearly identified by the full-IP concept where all traffic (data, control, voice and video services. etc.) are transported in IP packets. The mobile network (MONET) is a group of mobile nodes moving together as a unit. Such groups are common characteristics of the vehicular environments, for example train and buses (which are attractive because of the high concentration of passengers on these vehicles). This paper investigates an ad hoc networking for inter-MONET communications and interworking between MONETs and the global Internet. We propose a hierarchical architecture: (1) integrating mobile IPv6 and OLSR, a routing protocol for ad hoc networks, to manage universal mobility and to avoid the nested problem; and (2) connecting this ad hoc network to the Internet. The heterogeneous communication is established with the help of specific access routers, which serve as gateways. We describe the network scenario, its basic protocol architecture and we discuss the different practical approaches for routing. We validate our proposed architecture by analyses and simulations.
Indirect calorimetry: methodological and interpretative problems.

The technique of indirect calorimetry is now widely used to examine rates of energy production and substrate oxidation in humans. Although the basic principles of indirect calorimetry are well established, it is important to recognize that there are several potential pitfalls in the methodology and data interpretation that must be appreciated to properly understand and apply the results derived from this technique. In particular, one must recognize that the fundamental measurement provided by indirect calorimetry is the net disappearance rate of a substrate regardless of the metabolic interconversions that the substrate may undergo before its disappearance from its metabolic pool. Under most circumstances, direct oxidation represents the major route by which a substrate disappears from its metabolic pool, and the two terms are often used interchangeably. However, under conditions when rates of gluconeogenesis, ketogenesis, or lipogenesis are elevated, the presumed equivalence between oxidation and disappearance may no longer apply, even though the actual measurements derived from indirect calorimetry remain valid. When indirect calorimetry is combined with other in vivo metabolic techniques (e.g., the insulin clamp or radioisotope turnover methods) it can provide a powerful tool for noninvasively examining complex metabolic processes.
Fluorescence in situ hybridization as an ancillary method for the distinction of desmoplastic melanomas from sclerosing melanocytic nevi

The histopathologic distinction of desmoplastic melanomas from sclerosing (desmoplastic) melanocytic nevi can be difficult, especially when evaluating a partial or superficial biopsy. In the study reported herein, we applied and explored the use of a novel ancillary method, a four‐probe fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assay targeting RREB1, MYB, Cep6 and CCND1, to this diagnostic problem. Fifteen sclerosing melanocytic nevi, including desmoplastic Spitz nevi, conventional nevi with prominent stromal sclerosis and sclerotic blue nevi, as well as 15 examples of desmoplastic melanoma, were examined. None of the sclerosing melanocytic nevi showed a level of chromosomal aberrations that met FISH criteria for melanoma. Seven of the 15 desmoplastic melanomas were ‘positive’ (had documented chromosomal aberrations) by FISH. Thus, a positive FISH test strongly supports the diagnosis of melanoma in this context. However, in this setting a negative FISH test is of limited diagnostic value. Our findings suggest that prior reports about the high sensitivity of the FISH test for melanoma diagnosis need to be adjusted according to melanoma subtype.
Impact of Free Trade Agreement Utilisation on Import Prices

We examine the impact of free trade agreement (FTA) utilisation on import prices. For this analysis, we employ establishment-level import data with information on tariff schemes, that is, the FTA and most-favoured-nation schemes used for importing. Unlike previous studies in this literature, we estimate the effects of FTA utilisation on prices by controlling for the differences in importing firms' characteristics. Our main findings are as follows. First, the effect of FTA use is overestimated when not controlling for the importing firm-related fixed effects. Second, the average effect of the tariff reduction induced by FTA utilisation is a 3.6-6.7 percent rise in import prices. Third, in general, we do not find a price rise resulting from the costs of compliance with the rules of origin. Fourth, we also find several other factors that affect import prices in the case of FTA utilisation.
A 4-mm2 180-nm-CMOS 15-Giga-cell-updates-per-second DNA sequence alignment engine based on asynchronous race conditions

We have fabricated and successfully tested, for the first time, a prototype chip of a Race Logic computing paradigm, which makes positive use of race conditions for accelerating a broad class of optimization problems, such as ones solved by dynamic programming algorithms. In Race Logic, information is encoded in signal propagation delay, rather than conventional logic levels, and the result of the computation is observed from relative timing differences between injected signals, i.e. the outcome of races. The 2×2 mm2 chip, fabricated in standard 180-nm CMOS technology, is designed to perform real-world DNA sequence alignment. Measurement results on typical benchmark data show 15 GCUPS sustained throughput at 70 mW power consumption, with only ∼ 15 mW spent for actual computation. These numbers compare very favorably with the state-of-the-art implementations.
Nitric Oxide of Neuronal Origin is Involved in Cerebral Blood Flow Increase during Seizures Induced by Kainate

In a previous study, we reported that the sustained increase in CBF concomitant with seizures induced by kainate is mainly due to the potent vasodilator nitric oxide (NO). However, the production site of NO acting at cerebral vessels was undetermined. In the present study, we investigated whether NO responsible for the cerebral vasodilation is of either neuronal or endothelial origin. We used a putative selective inhibitor of neuronal NO synthase, 7-nitro indazole (7-NI). CBF was measured continuously in parietal cortex by means of laser Doppler flowmetry in awake rats. Systemic variables and electroencephalograms were monitored. Kainate (10 mg/kg i.p.) was given to rats previously treated with saline (n = 8) or 7-NI (25 mg/kg i.p., n = 8) or L-arginine (300 mg/kg i.p., n = 8) followed 30 min later by 7-NI (25 mg/kg i.p.). Under basal conditions, 7-NI decreased CBF by 27% without modifying the mean arterial blood pressure. Under kainate, 7-NI prevented significant increases in CBF throughout the seizures despite sustained paroxysmal electrical activity. L-arginine, the substrate in the production of NO, prevented any decrease in CBF under 7-NI in basal conditions and partially, but nonsignificantly, reversed the cerebrovascular influence of 7-NI during seizures. In a separate group of rats (n = 6), inhibition of cortical NO synthase activity by 7-NI was assayed at 73%. The present results show that neurons are the source of NO responsible for the cerebrovascular response to seizure activity after kainate systemic injection.
Two-optical-component method for designing zoom system

A new method is presented to solve a zoom system in which the lenses are divided into two combined units, and each combined unit is defined as an optical component. It is shown that most zoom systems can be considered as two-component systems and can be solved using principal plane techniques of optical component, and the first-order zoom system design is thus made easier. The theory with some examples are described.
Research on Brand Value Evaluation Methods of Bank Enterprises

Brand value evaluation is a very important work in every country such as BrandZ. There are three perspectives, namely financial affairs, brand based market power and consumers. We make a comparison of the three perspectives. We put forward the Multi-cycle Excess Earnings Method and make a clear description. At last, we use the method in the bank enterprises.
Computer aided lung cancer detection system

Lung cancer is one of the most common types of cancer all over the world. The main cause of lung cancer is smoking. Accurate detection of lung cancer can increase the survival rate from cancer. A good lung cancer detection system will detect the tumor accurately. Computed Tomography (CT) images are usually used for detecting the cancer. The different stages in a Computer Aided Lung cancer detection system are Enhancement, Segmentation and Feature extraction. There are different techniques for performing these stages. These different techniques have been explained in detail.
Physical Activity/Exercise and Diabetes: A Position Statement of the American Diabetes Association

The adoption and maintenance of physical activity are critical foci for blood glucose management and overall health in individuals with diabetes and prediabetes. Recommendations and precautions vary depending on individual characteristics and health status. In this Position Statement, we provide a clinically oriented review and evidence-based recommendations regarding physical activity and exercise in people with type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes mellitus, and prediabetes. Physical activity includes all movement that increases energy use, whereas exercise is planned, structured physical activity. Exercise improves blood glucose control in type 2 diabetes, reduces cardiovascular risk factors, contributes to weight loss, and improves well-being (1,2). Regular exercise may prevent or delay type 2 diabetes development (3). Regular exercise also has considerable health benefits for people with type 1 diabetes (e.g., improved cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength, insulin sensitivity, etc.) (4). The challenges related to blood glucose management vary with diabetes type, activity type, and presence of diabetes-related complications (5,6). Physical activity and exercise recommendations, therefore, should be tailored to meet the specific needs of each individual. Physical activity recommendations and precautions may vary by diabetes type. The primary types of diabetes are type 1 and type 2. Type 1 diabetes (5%–10% of cases) results from cellular-mediated autoimmune destruction of the pancreatic β-cells, producing insulin deficiency (7). Although it can occur at any age, β-cell destruction rates vary, typically occurring more rapidly in youth than in adults. Type 2 diabetes (90%–95% of cases) results from a progressive loss of insulin secretion, usually also with insulin resistance. Gestational diabetes mellitus occurs during pregnancy, with screening typically occurring at 24–28 weeks of gestation in pregnant women not previously known to have diabetes. Prediabetes is diagnosed when blood glucose levels are above the normal range but not high enough to be classified as …
Dexamphetamine-induced reduction of P3a and P3b in healthy participants

The reduced P3 is one of the most robust deficits involved in schizophrenia. Previous research with catecholaminergic agonists or releasers such as amphetamines have used doses too small to adequately demonstrate an effect on P3. In this study, we gave 0.45 mg/kg dexamphetamine to healthy volunteers (final n = 18) using both auditory and visual three-stimulus P3 procedures. Dexamphetamine significantly reduced P3 amplitudes to auditory target, rare non-target and standard stimulus amplitudes. The reduction in auditory P3 induced by dexamphetamine was proportional across stimulus types to placebo P3 values. There were no effects of dexamphetamine on visual P3. We demonstrate a reduced auditory P3 similar to that seen in schizophrenia and other psychotic illnesses. This possibly reflects a common pathology which is hypothesized within the P3 literature to be related to attention and working memory. Differences between auditory and visual P3 modulation may be related to regional variations in catecholamine or specifically dopamine receptor densities. One specific auditory P3 generator is the superior temporal cortex, an area with dopamine D2 receptor enriched bands. This is contrasted with visual specific generators, such as the inferior temporal cortex and superior parietal cortex, which do not have these enriched bands.