Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Single-layer Closure with Tongue Flap for Palatal Fistula in Cleft Palate Patients

Background: Tongue flap is a good option to close a complicated palatal fistula in cleft patients. Most surgeons advocate a double-layer closure to decrease the recurrence rates. In this study, we have reported our experience with a modified single-layer closure with tongue flap in cleft patients. Method: All cases done by a single surgeon using this modified technique in a period of 10 years were retrospectively reviewed. A thorough description of this technique is also provided in the study. Results: Only 5 cases were operated on using this technique. The success rate of all these cases was 100%, with no recurrence of fistula and few complications. Conclusions: This technique provides a way to avoid nasal layer closure in cases where nasal layer is difficult or impossible to close. It also limits the need for a second flap for nasal layer closure.
Competitive Multi-robot Teleoperation

This paper proposes a novel kind of multi-operator multi-robot(MOMR) teleoperation systems - the competitive teleoperation system. Compared with the conventional collaborated MOMR teleoperation system, features and properties of the competitive teleoperation system are presented. Futhermore, major concerns of research and development for this kind of systems are discussed subsequently. Finally, telegame, a kind of Internet-based competitive teleoperation systems, is built as the prototype to support the future research on this aspect and some experimental results are presented to support the discussion.
Dolutegravir efficacy at 48 weeks in key subgroups of treatment-naive HIV-infected individuals in three randomized trials

Objectives:Dolutegravir (DTG) has been studied in three trials in HIV treatment-naive participants, showing noninferiority compared with raltegravir (RAL), and superiority compared with efavirenz and ritonavir-boosted darunavir. We explored factors that predicted treatment success, the consistency of observed treatment differences across subgroups and the impact of NRTI backbone on treatment outcome. Design:Retrospective exploratory analyses of data from three large, randomized, international comparative trials: SPRING-2, SINGLE, and FLAMINGO. Methods:We examined the efficacy of DTG in HIV-infected participants with respect to relevant demographic and HIV-1-related baseline characteristics using the primary efficacy endpoint from the studies (FDA snapshot) and secondary endpoints that examine specific elements of treatment response. Regression models were used to analyze pooled data from all three studies. Results:Snapshot response was affected by age, hepatitis co-infection, HIV risk factor, baseline CD4+ cell count, and HIV-1 RNA and by third agent. Differences between DTG and other third agents were generally consistent across these subgroups. There was no evidence of a difference in snapshot response between abacavir/lamivudine (ABC/3TC) and tenofovir/emtricitabine (TDF/FTC) overall [ABC/3TC 86%, TDF/FTC 85%, difference 1.1%, confidence interval (CI) −1.8, 4.0 percentage points, P = 0.61] or at high viral loads (difference −2.5, 95% CI −8.9, 3.8 percentage points, P = 0.42). Conclusions:DTG is a once-daily, unboosted integrase inhibitor that is effective in combination with either ABC/3TC or TDF/FTC for first-line antiretroviral therapy in HIV-positive individuals with a variety of baseline characteristics.
Phosphorylation Status of Thymidine Kinase 1 Following Antiproliferative Drug Treatment Mediates 3′-Deoxy-3′-[18F]-Fluorothymidine Cellular Retention

Background 3′-Deoxy-3′-[18F]-fluorothymidine ([18F]FLT) is being investigated as a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) proliferation biomarker. The mechanism of cellular [18F]FLT retention has been assigned primarily to alteration of the strict transcriptionally regulated S-phase expression of thymidine kinase 1 (TK1). This, however, does not explain how anticancer agents acting primarily through G2/M arrest affect [18F]FLT uptake. We investigated alternative mechanisms of [18F]FLT cellular retention involving post-translational modification of TK1 during mitosis. Methods [18F]FLT cellular retention was assessed in cell lines having different TK1 expression. Drug-induced phosphorylation of TK1 protein was evaluated by MnCl2-phos-tag gel electrophoresis and correlated with [18F]FLT cellular retention. We further elaborated the amino acid residues involved in TK1 phosphorylation by transient transfection of FLAG-pCMV2 plasmids encoding wild type or mutant variants of TK1 into TK1 negative cells. Results Baseline [18F]FLT cellular retention and TK1 protein expression were associated. S-phase and G2/M phase arrest caused greater than two-fold reduction in [18F]FLT cellular retention in colon cancer HCT116 cells (p<0.001). G2/M cell cycle arrest increased TK1 phosphorylation as measured by induction of at least one phosphorylated form of the protein on MnCl2-phos-tag gels. Changes in [18F]FLT cellular retention reflected TK1 phosphorylation and not expression of total protein, in keeping with the impact of phosphorylation on enzyme catalytic activity. Both Ser13 and Ser231 were shown to be involved in the TK1 phosphorylation-modulated [18F]FLT cellular retention; although the data suggested involvement of other amino-acid residues. Conclusion We have defined a regulatory role of TK1 phosphorylation in mediating [18F]FLT cellular retention and hence reporting of antiproliferative activity, with implications especially for drugs that induce a G2/M cell cycle arrest.
Robust Global Exponential Synchronization of Uncertain Chaotic Delayed Neural Networks via Dual-Stage Impulsive Control

This paper is concerned with the robust exponential synchronization problem of a class of chaotic delayed neural networks with different parametric uncertainties. A novel impulsive control scheme (so-called dual-stage impulsive control) is proposed. Based on the theory of impulsive functional differential equations, a global exponential synchronization error bound together with some new sufficient conditions expressed in the form of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) is derived in order to guarantee that the synchronization error dynamics can converge to a predetermined level. Furthermore, to estimate the stable region, a novel optimization control algorithm is established, which can deal with the minimum problem with two nonlinear terms coexisting in LMIs effectively. The idea and approach developed in this paper can provide a more practical framework for the synchronization of multiperturbation delayed chaotic systems. Simulation results finally demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Conceptualizing and Measuring Poverty

The period of intense exploration of conceptual foundations of normative measurement that Tony Atkinson’s (1970) classic paper on the evaluation of inequality initiated seems to have given way to a relative neglect of conceptual issues, replaced by greater involvement with actual measurement and estimation, applying well-established approaches and measures. It is not that these empirical exercises have not been worthwhile. Certainly, we know a great deal more about the state of inequality and poverty in the world than used to be the case. But there is room for more conceptual questioning and greater foundational scrutiny at this time, both for reexamining old problems (they rarely go away) and for addressing new questions that have emerged in the contemporary world. Indeed, the practical world is a constant source of conceptual challenge, and it is right that we should try to reassess our concepts and ideas in the light of the manifest problems that empirical work identifies. Let me illustrate with the recent factual debates on the state of inequality and poverty in China—a subject that has engaged much high-powered attention in the last few years. Over the last two decades China has had an altogether exceptional record of rapid economic growth, which has boosted the country’s average income faster than anywhere else in the world. The impact of China’s fast economic growth can be seen also in the swift reduction in China of the number of poor people—the population below what is agreed to be the minimally acceptable income level. Although the exact estimates of the extent of the decline of poverty in China remain an important
: appliance load monitoring by power load disaggregation

—Appliance load monitoring systems are designed to disaggregate the power load of a building in order to estimate the nature of individual loads, providing a real-time ﬁne-grained recognition of active appliances. Monitoring nonintrusively ap-pliances’ contributions to a given load enables a wide range of applications, ranging from electricity bill decomposition to accurate electricity user proﬁling. This work demonstrates a real implementation of such appliance load monitoring system. An intuitive graphical user interface is proposed to drive the system setup for proﬁling appliances’ signatures and for visualising the monitoring output.
A location aware based handoff algorithm in V2I system of railway environment

By taking advantage of the regularity of train track, a high-data-rate access system based on 802.11 network is proposed for passengers to surf on Internet when they are travelling on the railway or subway. The system mainly consists of a gateway with multi-antennas on the train, terminals in the train and access points (APs) along the track. Then, a location aware based handoff algorithm (LAB-HA) is proposed to shorten the time on handoff, avoid the signaling storm and decrease the packet loss ratio caused by frequent handoff. In LAB-HA, numbers of handoff procedures between lots of terminals with passengers and APs along the way can be replaced by the only one handoff procedure between the gateway and APs. The LAB-HA algorithm contains three parts. Firstly, creating and maintaining a table of APs which contains the location information for handoff process. The candidate location area for handoff is selected by statistical learning, where the probability of successful handoff is nearly 100%. Secondly, the gateway is authenticated. Only when the gateway moves into an extended service set (ESS) at first time, it sends the authentication request packet to the new AP. Finally, the gateway on the train detects its location information by GPS periodically while moving. If it moves into the candidate area, the handoff process is triggered. The table is then updated by the result whether the handoff is successful or not. Simulation results reveal that LAB-HA can reduce the handoff latency dramatically compared with fast BSS transition (FT) in the 802.11 standard, and LAB-HA is more reliable while it provides higher throughput. LAB-HA can be used in wireless access network based on 802.11 for data transmission in some special scenes, such as subway or railway.
Positron emission tomography shows elevated cannabinoid CB1 receptor binding in men with alcohol dependence.

BACKGROUND Several lines of evidence link cannabinoid (CB) type 1 (CB (1) ) receptor-mediated endogenous CB (eCB) signaling to the etiology of alcohol dependence (AD). However, to date, only peripheral measures of eCB function have been collected in living humans with AD and no human in vivo data on the potentially critical role of the brain CB (1) receptor in AD have been published. This is an important gap in the literature, because recent therapeutic developments suggest that these receptors could be targeted for the treatment for AD. METHODS Medication-free participants were scanned during early abstinence 4 weeks after their last drink. Using positron emission tomography (PET) with a high-resolution research tomograph and the CB (1) receptor selective radiotracer [(11) C]OMAR, we determined [(11) C]OMAR volume of distribution ( V (T) ) values, a measure of CB (1) receptor density, in a priori selected brain regions in men with AD (n = 8, age 37.4 ± 7.9 years; 5 smokers) and healthy control (HC) men (n = 8, age 32.5 ± 6.9 years; all nonsmokers). PET images reconstructed using the MOLAR algorithm with hardware motion correction were rigidly aligned to the subject-specific magnetic resonance (MR) image, which in turn was warped to an MR template. Time-activity curves (TACs) were extracted from the dynamic PET data using a priori selected regions of interest delineated in the MR template space. RESULTS In AD relative to HC, [(11) C]OMAR V (T) values were elevated by approximately 20% (p = 0.023) in a circuit, including the amygdala, hippocampus, putamen, insula, anterior and posterior cingulate cortices, and orbitofrontal cortex. Age, body mass index, or smoking status did not influence the outcome. CONCLUSIONS These findings agree with preclinical evidence and provide the first, albeit still preliminary in vivo evidence suggesting a role for brain CB (1) receptors in AD. The current study design does not answer the important question of whether elevated CB (1) receptors are a preexisting vulnerability factor for AD or whether elevations develop as a consequence of AD.
Cross Cultural Web Comfortability and the Study on the Influence of Cultural Profiles in Chile

In this paper, we report on our preliminary cross- cultural studies conducted in Chile, to increase the sense of Comfortability in Websites based on Kansei Engineering - a method for translating user's feelings and impressions into product parameters. Web Comfortability is a new concept that we are proposing, aiming at the post-Web Usability paradigm, by supporting the user to interact with Websites in a stressless condition. There are many factors that might influence on the Web Comfortability, such as design elements (design layout, color combination, typographic layout), cultural background and so on. In previous work, we have explored the influence of layouts and other design element combinations on the Web Comfortability. However, we have performed the study to users with similar cultural backgrounds. As the next step, we aim to extend this study and check the influence of design elements having different meanings in different cultures regarding Web Comfortability.
Upper limb assessment using a Virtual Peg Insertion Test

This paper presents the initial evaluation of a Virtual Peg Insertion Test developed to assess sensorimotor functions of arm and hand using an instrumented tool, virtual reality and haptic feedback. Nine performance parameters derived from kinematic and kinetic data were selected and compared between two groups of healthy subjects performing the task with the dominant and non-dominant hand, as well as with a group of chronic stroke subjects suffering from different levels of upper limb impairment. Results showed significantly smaller grasping forces applied by the stroke subjects compared to the healthy subjects. The grasping force profiles suggest a poor coordination between position and grasping for the stroke subjects, and the collision forces with the virtual board were found to be indicative of sensory deficits. These preliminary results suggest that the analyzed parameters could be valid indicators of impairment.
Cosmological obscuration by galactic dust: effects of dust evolution

ABSTRA C T We explore the effects of dust in cosmologically distributed intervening galaxies in a highredshift universe using a generalized model where dust content evolves with cosmic time. The absorbing galaxies are modelled as exponential discs which form coevally, maintain a constant space density and evolve in dust content at a rate that is uniform throughout. We find that the inclusion of moderate to moderately weak amounts of evolution consistent with other studies can reduce the mean observed B-band optical depth to redshifts z * 1 by at least 60 per cent relative to non-evolving models. Our predictions imply that intervening galactic dust is unlikely to bias the optical counts of quasars at high redshifts and their derived evolution in space density.
A watermarking algorithm for certificate forgery prevention

A watermarking algorithm for certificate forgery prevention based on the parity of the highest digit from singular values' average is proposed. It splits an image into non-overlapping blocks, and conducts singular value decomposition on each block. The zero-watermark sequence is produced by judging the parity of the highest digit from singular values' average in each singular value matrix. The experimental results show that it has strong robustness to resist print-and-scan, thus can achieve certificate forgery prevention.
Regulated aggregative multicellularity in a close unicellular relative of metazoa

The evolution of metazoans from their unicellular ancestors was one of the most important events in the history of life. However, the cellular and genetic changes that ultimately led to the evolution of multicellularity are not known. In this study, we describe an aggregative multicellular stage in the protist Capsaspora owczarzaki, a close unicellular relative of metazoans. Remarkably, transition to the aggregative stage is associated with significant upregulation of orthologs of genes known to establish multicellularity and tissue architecture in metazoans. We further observe transitions in regulated alternative splicing during the C. owczarzaki life cycle, including the deployment of an exon network associated with signaling, a feature of splicing regulation so far only observed in metazoans. Our results reveal the existence of a highly regulated aggregative stage in C. owczarzaki and further suggest that features of aggregative behavior in an ancestral protist may had been co-opted to develop some multicellular properties currently seen in metazoans. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.01287. 001
A new algorithm for multiple-source localization based On acoustic energy in wieless sensor networks

Based on wireless sensor network, this paper discussed the methods to estimate acoustic source location with the energy received. Multiple resolution (M-R) and Tabu heuristic algorithms are expounded in details. Then, a new algorithm is proposed to attain the balance between accuracy and calculation complexity. Comparison among the different methods was made according to simulation data and curve. The result shows shat the algorithm proposed in this paper is valid and proper for acoustic source localization.
Grounding participatory action research in rural Colombia: a demonstration study on youth financial inclusion

ABSTRACT Since the new millennium, the issue of financial inclusion of young people has increasingly gained recognition, especially in relation to those living in deprived circumstances. Financial inclusion can be promoted through education that specifically aims for the strengthening of young persons’ financial capabilities. In 2013, a participatory action research project was started in a rural region of Colombia to improve the research capacity of a local university through the development and implementation of a demonstration project on the financial inclusion of young people. University teachers, students and employees of a financial cooperative were trained in conducting qualitative methods with a specific aim of being responsive to the life stories of their interviewees. This paper shares the experiences from an international team of educational scholars who aim for the democratisation of research capacity and the dissemination of localised knowledge. This is done by working closely together with stakeholders and ultimately giving a voice to youth employed in the informal economy as they are usually the ones being most deprived from access to financial services.
Modeling of magnetically enhanced capacitively coupled plasma sources: Ar discharges

Magnetically enhanced, capacitively coupled radio frequency plasma sources are finding continued use for etching of materials for microelectronics fabrication. MERIE (magnetically enhanced reactive ion etching) sources typically use magnetic fields of tens to hundreds of gauss parallel to the substrate to either increase the plasma density at a given pressure or to lower the operating pressure. The use of MERIEs for etching of dielectric materials, such as SiO2, often involves the use of complex gas mixtures, such as Ar/C4F8/O2/CO. In this paper results from a two-dimensional hybrid-fluid computational investigation of MERIE reactors operating in such mixtures are discussed. Fluxes and energy distributions for ions incident on the wafer are discussed for an industrially relevant geometry. The reduction in transverse electron mobility as the magnetic field increases produces a decrease in the sheath electric fields and a decrease in the dc bias (becoming more positive) at large magnetic fields thereby decr.
Evolutionary feature generation for content-based audio classification and retrieval

Many commonly applied audio features suffer from certain limitations in describing the data content for classification and retrieval purposes. To remedy this drawback, in this paper we propose an evolutionary feature synthesis (EFS) technique, which is applied over traditional audio features to improve their data discrimination power. The underlying evolutionary optimization algorithm performs both feature selection and feature generation in an interleaved manner, optimizing also the dimensionality of the synthesized feature vector. The process is based on multi-dimensional particle swarm optimization (MD PSO) with two additional techniques: the fractional global best formation (FGBF) and simulated annealing (SA). The experimented classification and retrieval performances over a 16-class audio database show improvements of up to 11% when compared to the corresponding performances of the original features.
A null space based one class kernel Fisher discriminant

Recently in [1], [2], a new kernel Fisher type contrast measure has been proposed to extract a target population in a data set contaminated by outliers. Although mathematically sound, this work presents some further shortcomings. First, the performance of the method relies on the assumption that the density between the target data and outliers is different. However, this consideration can easily prove to be over-optimistic for real world data sets making the method unreliable, at least directly. Secondly, this contrast measure is similar to a Generalized Rayleigh Quotient which is renowned for being sensitive to the small sample size problem. In this paper, we propose a null-space based version of their algorithm in order to unlock all these shortcomings and fully benefit from the interest of the approach. By this way, we show that the method can be used in a semi-supervised mode by considering that target objects can be beforehand collected and will serve as referentials to classify unseen objects. Experimental results on both synthetic and real data sets confirm the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
A Perspective on Inflation Targeting

One of the more interesting developments in central banking in the past dozen years or so has been the increasingly widespread adoption of the monetary policy framework known as inflation targeting. The approach evolved gradually from earlier monetary policy strategies that followed the demise of the Bretton Woods fixed-exchange-rate system--most directly, I believe, from the practices of Germany's Bundesbank and the Swiss National Bank during the latter part of the 1970s and the 1980s. For example, the Bundesbank, though it conducted short-term policy with reference to targets for money supply growth, derived those targets each year by calculating the rate of money growth estimated to be consistent with the bank's long-run desired rate of inflation, normally 2 percent per year. Hence, the Bundesbank indirectly targeted inflation, using money growth as a quantitative indicator to aid in the calibration of its policy. Notably, the evidence suggests that, when conflicts arose between its money growth targets and inflation targets, the Bundesbank generally chose to give greater weight to its inflation targets (Bernanke and Mihov, 1997). 1