Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
P1A-4 Elasticity Reconstruction from Displacement and Confidence Measures of an Multi-compressed Ultrasound RF Sequence

Ultrasound elasticity imaging (UEI) shows promise as a new way for early detection of cancers by assessing the elastic characteristics of soft tissue. So far the commonly used approach involves solving the so-called inverse elasticity problem of recovering elastic parameters from displacement measurements. We propose a finite-element based nonlinear scheme to estimate the elasticity distribution of soft tissue from multi-compressed ultrasound radio-frequency (RF) data. An assisted-freehand ultrasound workstation has been developed for elasticity imaging. A composite probe was employed as the compression plate. The contact forces and torques were acquired at the same time of imaging. Displacements under different static loads are estimated from the RF data before and after deformation using cross-correlation technique. The confidence of displacement estimates is employed as a weighting factor in solving the objective function describing the inverse elasticity reconstruction problem. A split-and-merge strategy is employed over the image sequence in which strain images are used to provide a priori knowledge of the relative stiffness distribution of the tissue to constrain the inverse problem solution. The experimental study has allowed us to investigate the performance of our approach in the controlled environment of simulated and phantom data. For a simulated single inclusion model with 5% noise level the L2-error between the target and reconstructed Young's modulus is found to be about 1%. In vivo validation of the proposed method has been carried out and some preliminary results illustrate the practicability and the effectiveness of the method
lemonUby - A large, interlinked, syntactically-rich lexical resource for ontologies

We introduce lemonUby, a new lexical resource integrated in the Semantic Web which is the result of converting data extracted from the existing large-scale linked lexical resource UBY to the lemon lexicon model. The following data from UBY were converted: WordNet, FrameNet, VerbNet, English and German Wiktionary, the English and German entries of Omega- Wiki, as well as links between pairs of these lexicons at the word sense level (links between VerbNet and FrameNet, VerbNet and WordNet, WordNet and FrameNet, WordNet and Wiktionary, WordNet and German OmegaWiki). We linked lemonUby to other lexical resources and linguistic terminology repositories in the Linguistic Linked Open Data cloud and outline possible applications of this new dataset.
Mobile Zigbee Sensor Networks

OPNET Modeler accelerates network R&D and improves product quality through high-fidelity modeling and scalable simulation. It provides a virtual environment for designing protocols and devices, and for testing and demonstrating designs in realistic scenarios prior to production. OPNET Modeler supports 802.15. 4 standard and has been used to make a model of PAN. Iterations have been performed by changing the Power of the transmitter and the throughput will has been analyzed to arrive at optimal values.An energy-efficient wireless home network based on IEEE 802.15. 4, a novel architecture has been proposed. In this architecture, all nodes are classified into stationary nodes and mobile nodes according to the functionality of each node. Mobile nodes are usually battery-powered, and therefore need low-power operation. In order to improve power consumption of mobile nodes, effective handover sequence based on MAC broadcast and transmission power control based on LQ (link quality) are employed. Experimental results demonstrate that by using the proposed architecture, communication time and power consumption of mobile nodes can be reduced by 1.2 seconds and 42.8%, respectively.
Learning is the Core of Organisational Survival: Action Learning is the Key Integrating Process

The central idea of action learning — that for any organism to survive its rate of learning must be equal to or greater than the rate of change in its environment — has stood the test of time, and is used as a reason for selecting and launching action learning processes by management. Little emphasis has been placed on the learning side of the equation; change has always been the predominant factor. The notion of learning, seen as the key commodity necessary to guarantee the survival of the organisation is pursued and developed with examples. The main implications for the organisation by concentrating on action learning are given.
A wearable applicator for microwave hyperthermia of breast cancer: Performance evaluation with patient-specific anatomic models

A wearable microwave hyperthermia system for treatment of breast cancer is proposed to overcome the limitations of currently available clinical applicators. The applicator incorporates an array of rectangular patch elements and a shared hemispheric conformal groundplane. The energy deposition capabilities of the proposed system are evaluated with patient-specific anatomical models generated from MRI scans. Specific absorption rate (SAR) and averaged power absorption (PA) in specific target volumes normalized to the total averaged power absorption (aPA) are evaluated as a function of number of elements in the array. Simulated results indicated the feasibility of focused energy deposition in the breast center when employing multiple antenna elements. An array with eight elements was identified as the optimal configuration which generates the greatest aPA. These outcomes would facilitate energy focusing in the hyperthermia treatment of various target sizes and varying locations.
Cytotoxicity of Dental Adhesives In Vitro

Objectives The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxic effect of six dental adhesives (Admira Bond, Clearfil Liner Bond 2V, ED Primer II, Fuji Bond LC, Gluma Comfort Bond, and NanoBond) applied to cell cultures. Methods The experiments were performed on two cell lines, rat pulp cells (RPC-C2A) and human lung fibroblasts (MRC5). Samples of the adhesives were light-cured and placed in culture medium for 24 hours. The extraction media was applied on the RPC-C2A and the MRC5 cells. Complete medium was used as a control. Cytotoxicity was evaluated with a modified sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay after 24 hours of exposure. Results The cell survival of RPC-C2A cells exposed to Fuji Bond LC, NanoBond, Clearfil Liner Bond 2V, ED Primer II, Admira Bond and Gluma Comfort Bond was 73%, 67%, 50%, 20%, 18% and 5% respectively, relative to the cell survival with the control medium. In the MRC5 cell line, the relative survival was 98%, 80%, 72%, 41%, 19% and 7% after exposure to NanoBond, Fuji Bond LC, Clearfil Liner Bond 2V, ED Primer II, Admira Bond and Gluma Comfort Bond, respectively. Conclusions Different types of dental adhesives showed different cytotoxic effects on cells in vitro. The self-etch adhesives were superior in terms of cytotoxicity. The different cytotoxic effects of dental adhesives should be considered when selecting an appropriate adhesive for operative restorations.
Animated Transitions Across Multiple Dimensions for Volumetric Data

There are several techniques, that can be used to visualize v olumetric data. A data set can be illustrated using slicing (depicting arbitrary slic es through the volume), direct volume rendering (DVR), or in a more abstract way, histograms nd scatter plots. Usually these different methods of visualization are being app lied separately. To recognize coherencies between the representations, methods based on Linking and Brushing can be utilized. These methods highlight voxels in one view, as s oon as they are selected in another one. Coming from scientific visualization, these met hods are very useful, when selecting voxels from 2D data representations, like scatte r plots. Of course they are less useful, when trying to select voxels directly from the v olume. Therefore this thesis explored methods, that are not based on selection and highli ghting. Rather, the correlation between different representations is shown by movin g oxels between different volume representations. As a basis, methods like staggered animation, acceleration, and deceleration were adopted, which had been previously used i n the graphical analysis of statistical data.
Fast Adder Architectures : Modeling and Experimental Evaluation

Abstract— This paper presents a detailed comparison analysis of several fast adder architectures for high performance VLSI design. The evaluation of those architectures is firstly carried out based on a simple gate-count model for area and gatedelay units for time. The results obtained with such model were then validated by using two entirely different real-world implementation technologies, namely CMOS integrated circuits and Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA). Experimental results show that among the modeled and evaluated topologies, the adder architecture based on the radix-2 redundant format converter offered the lowest delay when implemented with any of the considered technologies. However, it was also the topology that required the highest amount of hardware. The presented results can be seen as an invaluable resource in the selection of the most appropriate adder topology that will be used to implement a given arithmetic operation in a specified technology.
Glucans synthesized in situ in experimental salivary pellicle function as specific binding sites for Streptococcus mutans

Many researchers have suggested that the role of glucan-mediated interactions in the adherence of Streptococcus mutans is restricted to accumulation of this cariogenic bacterium following its sucrose (i.e., glucan)-independent binding to saliva-coated tooth surfaces. However, the presence of enzymatically active glucosyltransferase in salivary pellicle suggests that glucans could also promote the initial adherence of S. mutans to the teeth. In the present study, the commonly used hydroxyapatite adherence assay was modified to include the incorporation of glucosyltransferase and the synthesis of glucans in situ on saliva-coated hydroxyapatite beads. Several laboratory strains and clinical isolates of S. mutans were examined for their ability to adhere to experimental pellicles, either with or without the prior formation of glucans in situ. Results showed that most strains of S. mutans bound stereospecifically to glucans synthesized in pellicle. Inhibition studies with various polysaccharides and fungal dextranase indicated that alpha 1,6-linked glucose residues were of primary importance in the glucan binding observed. Scanning electron microscopic analysis showed direct binding of S. mutans to hydroxyapatite surface-associated polysaccharide and revealed no evidence of trapping or cell-to-cell binding. S. mutans strains also attached to host-derived structures in experimental pellicles, and the data suggest that the bacterial adhesins which recognize salivary binding sites were distinct from glucan-binding adhesins. Furthermore, glucans formed in experimental pellicles appeared to mask the host-derived components. These results support the concept that glucans synthesized in salivary pellicle can promote the selective adherence of the cariogenic streptococci which colonize human teeth.
Digital Fiber Nonlinearity Compensation: Toward 1-Tb/s transport

The world is connected by a core network of long-haul optical communication systems that link countries and continents, enabling long-distance phone calls, data-center communications, and the Internet. The demands on information rates have been constantly driven up by applications such as online gaming, high-definition video, and cloud computing. All over the world, end-user connection speeds are being increased by replacing conventional digital subscriber line (DSL) and asymmetric DSL (ADSL) with fiber to the home. Clearly, the capacity of the core network must also increase proportionally.
The vocabulary of madness from Homer to Hippocrates. Part 1: The verbal group of µαίνοµαι

In Part 1 of this two-part paper, I examine the evolution of the concept of madness expressed by the various forms — verbal and nominal, simple and compound — of the verbal group of µαίνομαι in the archaic and classical periods. I point out how the divine madness is contrasted to pathological madness considered as a psychic and mental disease and foreseeable by doctors as well as curable by medications. This new procedure highlights rational knowledge of the Greeks about the cause and the medical care of madness.
Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Infection of Dendritic Cells Leads to Functionally Increased Expression of the Macrophage-Derived Chemokine

ABSTRACT Gene expression in murine dendritic cells (DCs) infected with green fluorescent protein-expressing Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium BRD509 was studied by mRNA differential display. Infected DCs were sorted from uninfected cells by flow cytometry. The mRNA expression patterns of infected and uninfected cells revealed a number of differentially expressed transcripts, which included the macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC). Up-regulation of MDC transcription in infected DCs was confirmed by Northern blotting, and the kinetics of MDC expression was examined by real-time reverse transcription-PCR, with which 31- and 150-fold increases were detected at 2 and 6 h postinfection, respectively. The increased release by DCs of MDC into culture media was detected by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The biological activity of MDC was investigated in in vitro and in vivo assays. In vitro, supernatants from S. enterica serovar Typhimurium-infected DCs were chemoattractive to T cells, and neutralization of MDC in these supernatants inhibited T-cell migration. Passive transfer of anti-MDC antibody to mice infected with BRD509 revealed that neither growth of the bacterium nor resistance of the mice to reinfection was affected and that in vivo inhibition of MDC did not affect T-cell responses, as measured by the gamma interferon ELISPOT method 3 days after challenge infection.
Parental Depression, Child Mental Health Problems, and Health Care Utilization

Background. Small controlled studies suggest that depression and other mental health problems are more common in children of parents with depression than in children of parents without depression. Objectives. This article examines relationships between parental depression and children’s mental health problems and health care utilization in a nationally representative household sample of parents and their children. Research Design. Cross sectional comparisons of sociodemographic characteristics, mental health problems and health expenditures of children whose parents either do or do not report depression in the 1997 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data. Subjects. A nationally representative sample of children, 3 to 18 years of age (n = 8,360) with one or more parents living in the household. Measures. Mental health problems, total health expenditures, and mental health expenditures. Results. Children of parents with depression were approximately twice as likely as children of parents without depression to have a variety of mental health problems and were 2.8 times more likely to use mental health services in adjusted analyses. Among children with health and mental health expenditures, those whose parents report depression had significantly higher mean total annual child health expenditures ($282 vs. $214, t = 3.5, P = 0.0006) and child mental health expenditures ($513 vs. $338, t = 2.0, P = 0.05) than children whose parents did not report depression. Conclusions. Children of parents with depression are at increased risk for a range of health problems. Parental depression is also related to an increased child health and mental health service utilization and expenditure.
Funnel report mining for the MSN network

Data mining research has long concentrated on the five main areas: clustering, association discovery, classification, forecasting and sequential patterns. Web data mining projects are concerned mainly with text mining, user segmentation, forecasting web usage and analyzing users' clickstream patterns. We present a new type of web usage mining called funnel analysis or funnel report mining. A funnel report is a study of the retention behavior among a series of pages or sites. For example, of all hits on the home page of www.msn. com, what percentages of those are followed by hits to moneycentral.msn. com? What percentage of www.msn. com hits are followed by moneycentral.msn. com, and then www.msnbc. com? What are the most interesting funnels starting with www.msn. com? Where does the greatest drop off rate occur after a user has hit MSNBC? Funnel reports are extremely useful in e-business because they give product planners an idea of how usable and well-structured their site is. From our experience performing web usage mining for the MSN network of sites, funnel reports are requested even more than user segmentation analyses, site affiliation studies and classification exercises. In this paper, we define a framework for funnel analysis and provide a tree-based solution we have been using successfully to extract all relevant funnels using only one scan of the data file.
Semi-Supervised Word Sense Disambiguation for Mixed-Initiative Conversational Spoken Language Translation

Lexical ambiguity can cause critical failure in conversational spoken language translation (CSLT) systems due to the wrong sense being presented in the target language. In this paper, we present a framework for improving translation of ambiguous source words that (a) constrains statistical machine translation (SMT) decoding with phrase pair clusters to select a desired sense for translation; (b) automatically predicts the intended sense of an ambiguous source word given its context; and (c) combines the above to define a set of interactive strategies to confirm the intended sense of an ambiguous word and guide the system to the correct translation. The novel use of this framework in a realworld CSLT system distinguishes our approach from the existing work focusing on word sense disambiguation (WSD) for non-interactive, batch-mode SMT. In addition to reporting metrics that evaluate this approach in an interactive spoken language translation system, we also present offline assessments of the component technologies, viz. constrained SMT decoding with sense-specific phrase pair clusters, and automated word sense prediction.
The Schillers of the suburbs – creativity and mediated sociality

Theories around the cultural geography of creativity have given new life, in recent years, to negative perceptions of the suburbs as ‘isolated’. These theories have emphasised the importance of ‘clusters’, ‘precincts’, ‘incubators’ and ‘hubs’, suggesting that even in the era of the Internet, creativity requires an immediacy of social interaction, which can only be found where there is social concentration. The paper brings these theories into question through a long historical perspective on the relation between creativity and ‘mediated sociality’. Drawing on the work of Elias, it suggests some surprising parallels between the position of German artists and intellectuals in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and suburban creative practitioners today. The former were in many respects ‘isolated’, relatively dependent on mediated sociality, and yet they produced a major historical flowering of creative activity. The example prompts us to think more sympathetically and optimistically about the creative potential of contemporary suburbia.
FRF peptides in the ARC neuromuscular system of Aplysia: purification and physiological actions.

1. One preparation that has proven to be advantageous for the study of neuromuscular modulation is the accessory radula closer (ARC) muscle of Aplysia californica and its motor neurons B15 and B16. In this study three members of a new peptide family have been purified from this well-characterized preparation. Because these peptides terminate in Phe-Arg-Phe-amide, we have named them FRFA, FRFB, and FRFC. The FRFs are thus RFamide peptides and are related to the widely studied neuropeptide FMRFamide. 2. The FRFs are present in the ARC motor neuron B15 in small quantities. 3. When they are exogenously applied, the FRFs decrease the size of ARC muscle contractions elicited by stimulation of either motor neuron B15 or B16. They appear to do this by a combination of presynaptic and postsynaptic actions. 4. Presynaptically, the FRFs appear to act like the buccalins, another family of inhibitory ARC neuropeptides. Both families of peptides reduce the size of motor neuron-elicited excitatory junction potentials (EJPs) presumably by decreasing presynaptic acetylcholine (ACh) release. 5. Postsynaptically, the FRFs appear to depress contractions because they activate a characteristic voltage-dependent, 4-amino-pyridine-sensitive K current in the ARC muscle. The same current is activated by a second class of ARC modulators: those that exert potentiating actions at low doses and inhibitory actions at high doses, i.e., serotonin, the small cardioactive peptides (SCPs), and particularly the myomodulins. Receptors mediating activation of the K current by the FRFs and the other modulators do, however, appear to be different. 6. We hypothesize that the inhibitory actions of the FRFs prevent excessively large muscle contractions. If contraction size is limited, then contraction duration is also limited. This may allow faster and more energetically favorable switching between contractions of antagonistic muscles.
Investigating the Relationships Among Child's Age, Parasocial Interactions, and the Social Realism of Favorite Television Characters

This study examined the relationships among children's age, parasocial interaction, and the social realism of children's self-reported favorite television characters. Children (N = 183) aged 5–12 were surveyed to determine their favorite television character and the strength of the parasocial interaction with that character. Television characters were independently coded for social realism. Results revealed that older children tended to report favorite characters that were more socially realistic, age related negatively to parasocial interaction, and social realism was positively associated with parasocial interaction. Implications for future research are discussed.
KNOWLEDGE BASED VIEW OF STRATEGY: STRATEGIC COMPLEMENTARITIES FROM AN AUSTRIAN ECONOMIC AND STRATEGIC NETWORK PERSPECTIVE

The concept of knowledge and its related dimensions of information and learning have traditionally received considerable research attention by scholars of organization and strategic management theorists. The increasing role of knowledge as defining characteristic of the modern knowledge economy has renewed an interest to the importance of knowledge to a firm's competitive advantage. Such interest has raised a significant conceptual issue as to whether the new knowledge economy warrants an alternative framework to understanding competitive strategy. As a result, a conceptual model of knowledge based competitive advantage is proposed. Such a conceptual framework rests upon the subjective tenets of Austrian entrepreneurship and strategic network perspectives. Based on this conceptual framework, the central argument of this research is founded on the subjective behaviors of the alert entrepreneur where: knowledge based competitive advantage rests upon the management of strategic networks of strong and weak information ties so as to capitalize diverse knowledge experiences in creating and exploiting the complementary relations of a changing knowledge economy. The contribution of this research is it provides a departure from the static perspectives of Resource-based view and Industrial Organizational economic perspectives in accommodating for evolutionary changes of network knowledge. Implicit in this perspective is that sustainable competitive performance is not a realizable outcome. Rather knowledge based competitive performance is transitory in which the extent of such performance is contingent on the management of evolving network relations.