Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Natural rubber latex hypersensitivity with skin prick test in operating room personnel.

UNLABELLED Hypersensitivity reactions to natural rubber latex have increased recently, especially among people with high exposure to latex allergens. Hypersensitivity reactions to latex are related to many conditions like occupational asthma. Our study was performed to determine the prevalence of hypersensitivity to natural rubber latex and potential food cross reactions in operation room personnel in Shiraz hospitals. In this cross-sectional, descriptive study, 580 operation room personnel filled out our questionnaire which included data about their personal history, symptoms of latex hypersensitivity, and other related allergies such as food hypersensitivity. An informed consent was obtained and skin prick tests were performed for natural rubber latex and potential food cross reactions (kiwi, banana, and potato). The obtained data were analyzed by SPSS and Chi-square test. RESULTS 104 (17.9%) of the operating room personnel showed positive latex skin tests. We revealed a significant correlation between those with positive skin tests to latex with atopia, urthicaria, and food hypersensitivity. The prevalence did not vary by sex, age, education, surgical and non-surgical gloves users, or history of contact dermatitis. Latex hypersensitivity is common among operation room personnel. Evaluation of symptoms and prediction of future diseases necessitate screening tests in individuals at risk.
Membrane Contact Sites between Apicoplast and ER in Toxoplasma gondii Revealed by Electron Tomography

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite from the phylum Apicomplexa. A hallmark of these protozoans is the presence of a unique apical complex of organelles that includes the apicoplast, a plastid acquired by secondary endosymbiosis. The apicoplast is indispensible for parasite viability. It harbours a fatty acid biosynthesis type II (FAS II) pathway and plays a key role in the parasite lipid metabolism. Possibly, the apicoplast provides components for the establishment and the maturation of the parasitophorous vacuole, ensuring the successful infection of the host cell. This implies the presence of a transport mechanism for fast and accurate allocation of lipids between the apicoplast and other membrane‐bound compartments in the parasite cell. Using a combination of high‐pressure freezing, freeze‐substitution and electron tomography, we analysed the ultrastructural organization of the apicoplast of T. gondii in relation with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). This allowed us to clearly show the presence of four continuous membranes surrounding the apicoplast. We present, for the first time, the existence of membrane contact sites between the apicoplast outermost membrane and the ER. We describe the morphological characteristics of these structures and discuss their potential significance for the subcellular distribution of lipids in the parasite.
Bidirectional multi-level spatial coded exposure CMOS capacitive TIA pixel design

Over the last decade, computational cameras have demonstrated superior performance in a variety of applications. Currently, optical encoding is implemented using components that are typically not integrated on the image sensor chip. This results in camera systems with large physical sizes, performance compromises, and implementation challenges, particularly in applications where size and power are constrained. In this paper, we propose a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) pixel structure with bidirectional multi-level spatial coded exposure encoding capability for computational imaging. Based on a capacitive transimpedance amplifier (CTIA) core, the proposed pixel architecture achieves bidirectional multi-level optical encoding, and is compatible with monolithic CMOS implementation. Designed and laid out in a standard 0.13-pm CMOS process, the pixel occupies an area of 13.8 pm × 13.8 pm with a fill factor of 30%.
Face recognition via discriminative dictionary learning

This paper proposes a novel discriminative dictionary learning algorithm for face recognition. A benefit of proposed algorithm is that it can learn discriminative dictionary by represented sparse coding. Our proposed algorithm makes more discriminative features than previous by using the discriminative dictionary. Face recognition experiment is performed for Extended Yale B face dataset and shows better performance than ever.
Development and in vitro evaluation of a buccal drug delivery system based on preactivated thiolated pectin

Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of preactivated thiolated pectin (Pec-Cys-MNA) for buccal drug delivery. Therefore, a gel formulation containing this novel polymer and the model drug lidocaine was prepared and investigated in vitro in terms of rheology, mucoadhesion, swelling behavior and drug release in comparison to formulations based on pectin (Pec) and thiolated pectin (Pec-Cys). Both pectin derivatives showed gel formation without addition of any other excipient due to self-crosslinking thiol groups. Under same conditions, pectin did not show gel formation. Viscosity of Pec-Cys-based formulation increased 92-fold and viscosity of Pec-Cys-MNA-based formulations by 4958-fold compared to pectin-based formulation. Gels did not dissolve in aqueous environment during several hours and were able to take up water. Mucoadhesion of pectin on buccal tissue could be improved significantly, value of total work of adhesion increased in the following rank order: Pec-Cys-MNA > Pec-Cys > Pec. The retention time of a model drug incorporated in gel formulations on buccal mucosa under continuous rinsing with phosphate-buffered saline was prolonged, after 1.5 h 3-fold higher amount of a model drug was to be found on tissue after application of Pec-Cys-MNA-based formulation compared to pectin-based and 2-fold compared to Pec-Cys-based formulation. The Pec-Cys-MNA-based gel showed a more sustained release of lidocaine than Pec-Cys-based gel, whereas pectin solution revealed an immediate release. According to these results, the self-crosslinking pectin-derivative is a promising tool for buccal application.
Machine learning on a budget

In a typical discriminative learning setting, a set of labeled training examples is given, and the goal is to learn a decision rule that accurately classifies (or labels) unseen test examples. Much of machine learning research has focused on improving accuracy, but more recently costs of learning and decision making are becoming more important. Such costs arise both during training and testing. Labeling data for training is often an expensive process. During testing, acquiring or processing measurements for every decision is also costly. This work deals with two problems: how to reduce the amount of labeled data during training, and how_ to minimize measurements cost in making decisions during testing, while maintaining system accuracy. The first part falls into an area known as active learning. It deals with the problem of selecting a small subset of examples to label, from a pool of unlabeled data, for training a good classifier. This problem is relevant in many applications where a large collection of unlabeled data is readily available but to label an instance requires using an expensive expert (a radiologist annotating a medical image). We study active learning in the boosting framework. We develop a practical algorithm that labels examples to maximally reduce the space of feasible classifiers. We show that , under
Method to estimate the critical soil water content of limited availability for plants

This contribution contains a proposal to estimate the critical soil water content of limited availability for plants, below which transpiration starts to decrease due to limited water availability for roots, which is frequently noted as “the point of limited soil water availability”. The method is based on the fact, that soil water content at which transpiration rate is starting to decrease is followed by the biomass production decrease. The method is using the relationship between the relative transpiration and the average soil water content of the soil root zone, and the linear relation between biomass production and transpiration, published earlier.
The main factors for the quality of a semantic space in the traditional Chinese intelligent tutoring system using limit concept in calculus as an example

In recent years, due to the advance of new technologies, the idea about intelligent tutoring system (ITS) has achieved many successes. The quality of the employed semantic space is a crucial element for establishing an ideal ITS. How accurate the student's responses can be identified and how precise the teaching content can be distributed all depend on the characteristics of the semantic space. A semantic space can be derived from the so-called term-document matrix or word-word co-occurrence matrix. However, how the associated factors, such as the number of terms, the number of documents, and the length of the documents, will affect the quality of the semantic space is still an important question. This issue is particular substantial in some application fields, such as the limit concept in Calculus written in traditional Chinese, where the accessibility of documents might be a problem due to its rareness or cost. In this research, several candidate factors were adopted for evaluating their effects on the quality of the semantic space using semantic representation analysis. Also, a corresponding scree plot is proposed to observe the effect of factors. Moreover, this scree plot can serve as a valuable tool and reference during the process of building a semantic space.
Quantification of GABA, glutamate and glutamine in a single measurement at 3 T using GABA‐edited MEGA‐PRESS

γ‐Aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate (Glu), major neurotransmitters in the brain, are recycled through glutamine (Gln). All three metabolites can be measured by magnetic resonance spectroscopy in vivo, although GABA measurement at 3 T requires an extra editing acquisition, such as Mescher–Garwood point‐resolved spectroscopy (MEGA‐PRESS). In a GABA‐edited MEGA‐PRESS spectrum, Glu and Gln co‐edit with GABA, providing the possibility to measure all three in one acquisition. In this study, we investigated the reliability of the composite Glu + Gln (Glx) peak estimation and the possibility of Glu and Gln separation in GABA‐edited MEGA‐PRESS spectra. The data acquired in vivo were used to develop a quality assessment framework which identified MEGA‐PRESS spectra in which Glu and Gln could be estimated reliably. Phantoms containing Glu, Gln, GABA and N‐acetylaspartate (NAA) at different concentrations were scanned using GABA‐edited MEGA‐PRESS at 3 T. Fifty‐six sets of spectra in five brain regions were acquired from 36 healthy volunteers. Based on the Glu/Gln ratio, data were classified as either within or outside the physiological range. A peak‐by‐peak quality assessment was performed on all data to investigate whether quality metrics can discriminate between these two classes of spectra. The quality metrics were as follows: the GABA signal‐to‐noise ratio, the NAA linewidth and the Glx Cramer–Rao lower bound (CRLB). The Glu and Gln concentrations were estimated with precision across all phantoms with a linear relationship between the measured and true concentrations: R1 = 0.95 for Glu and R1 = 0.91 for Gln. A quality assessment framework was set based on the criteria necessary for a good GABA‐edited MEGA‐PRESS spectrum. Simultaneous criteria of NAA linewidth <8 Hz and Glx CRLB <16% were defined as optimum features for reliable Glu and Gln quantification. Glu and Gln can be reliably quantified from GABA‐edited MEGA‐PRESS acquisitions. However, this reliability should be controlled using the quality assessment methods suggested in this work.
An apparatus for membrane‐confined analytical electrophoresis

A membrane‐confined analytical electrophoresis apparatus for measuring the solution charge of macromolecules has been described previously (T. M. Laue et al., Anal. Biochem. 1989, 182, 377–382). Presented here is a design for this apparatus, which permits the on‐line acquisition and display of absorbance data from up to 512 positions along an analysis chamber. Concentration distributions of macromolecules in solution can be monitored in the chamber to provide steady‐state electrophoresis, electrophoretic mobility and diffusion measurements. Buffer chambers press semipermeable membranes against the open ends of a fused‐silica cuvette to form the analysis chamber. This configuration permits both the flow of buffer and the establishment of an electric field across the cuvette, while retaining macromolecules in the field of view. Though a gel may be included in the analysis chamber, none is required for gradient stabilization. The volume of sample required for analysis is 8 μL, most of which is recoverable. Experimental conditions can be varied during study by simply changing the circulating buffer and/or the electric field. The analysis and buffer chambers are held in an aluminum housing that sits in an aluminum water jacket. The water jacket provides temperature control, shielding from external electrical noise and also serves as an optical mask. Plans for the cell assembly, optical system and the computer interface for data acquisition are provided. The assembly and operation of the apparatus and the analysis of data are described.
Poliovirus induces apoptosis in the human U937 promonocytic cell line.

The human promonocytic U937 cell line, which is moderately susceptible to poliovirus infection, has been used to investigate the induction of apoptosis by this virus. Infection of U937 cells with poliovirus induces morphological changes typical of apoptosis. Poliovirus-resistant U937 cells (PRU) have been isolated that are resistant to apoptosis induced by poliovirus, but that undergo apoptosis after treatment with TNF plus cycloheximide. Despite the fact that poliovirus triggers nitric oxide production in U937 cells, the inhibitor of inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase, N(omega)-monomethyl-l-arginine, did not hinder apoptosis after infection, suggesting that NO does not play a direct role in this process. Finally, poliovirus infection of U937 cells led to the cleavage of pro-caspase-3 and poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase, indicating the activation of the CPP32 ICE-like cysteine protease in the induction of apoptosis. Our findings suggest that cellular death takes place in U937 cells productively infected by poliovirus as a result of apoptosis and involves caspase activation.
Emotional Speech of Mentally and Physically Disabled Individuals: Introducing the EmotAsS Database and First Findings

The automatic recognition of emotion from speech is a mature research field with a large number of publicly available corpora. However, to the best of the authors knowledge, none of these datasets consist solely of emotional speech samples from individuals with mental, neurological and/or physical disabilities. Yet, such individuals could benefit from speech-based assistive technologies to enhance their communication with their environment and to manage their daily work process. With the aim of advancing these technologies, we fill this void in emotional speech resources by introducing the EmotAsS (Emotional Sensitivity Assistance System for People with Disabilities) corpus consisting of spontaneous emotional German speech data recorded from 17 mentally, neurologically and/or physically disabled participants in their daily work environment, resulting in just under 11 hours of total speech time and featuring approximately 12.7 k utterances after segmentation. Transcription was performed and labelling was carried out in seven emotional categories, as well as for the intelligibility of the speaker. We present a set of baseline results, based on using standard acoustic and linguistic features, for arousal and valence emotion recognition.
Three‐Dimensional Analysis of the Islet Vasculature

The pancreatic islets of Langerhans are highly vascularized structures scattered throughout the pancreas that contain a capillary network 5–10 times denser than that of the exocrine pancreas. A simple method for three‐dimensional (3D) analysis of this intricate intraislet vasculature has been difficult because of the intrinsic opacity of the pancreas. We developed a whole‐mount imaging technique that allows relatively easy visualization of the islet vasculature. In combination with confocal microscopy and the use of 3D imaging software, we were able to readily reconstruct the 3D architecture of an islet, allowing delineation of the islet volume, length of the intraislet vessels, and the number of vessel branch‐points. This technique allows for straightforward 3D image analysis that may help toward understanding islet function. Anat Rec, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Automatic classification of subsurface features in radar sounder data acquired in icy areas

The sea level rise determined by the continuous increase in the global temperature calls for a quantitative investigation of the continental ice subsurface features and their dynamics. In the past decades, the study of these features has been carried out by manually analyzing radargrams acquired by airborne-mounted radar sounder (RS) instruments at the Earth polar caps. As RSs provide a very large amount of data, the main challenge to an exhaustive analysis of the ice subsurface is the efficient extraction of useful information contained in radargrams. To address this challenge, in this paper we propose an automatic classification system of the main ice subsurface features visible in radargrams, i.e., ice layered area, bedrock scattering area and noise regions. The system relies on the extraction of a set of discriminant features which are computed on the bases of a detailed analysis of the statistical properties of the radar signal and of the spatial distribution of the subsurface features. The features are then given as input to a machine learning classifier based on Support Vector Machine (SVM). The proposed system is validated on a dataset made up of several radargrams acquired by an airborne RS in Antarctica.
ARCHITECTURE FOR FAST SEARCH MECHANISM WITH KEYWORDS IN NETWORK Mr

Conventional abstraction queries, like sco pe look for and neighbouring acquaintance retrieval, absorb alone altitude on objects’ symmetrical properties. Today, plentiful avantgarde requests alarm for atypical sorts of queries that aim to acquisition altar acceptable each an abstraction predicate, and assert on their associated test as an example, rather than as a result of all the restaurants, neighbouring acquaintance question wo uldinstead arouse the eating house that's the neighbouring a region of these whose emptyheaded lodge “steak, spaghetti, brandy” all at an corresponding time. Presently the simplest BandAid to such queries is predicated on the IR2 -tree, which, as apparent during this paper, encompasses a few deficiencies that seriously papuleits potency. driven by this, we tend to advance a brand new admission adjustment alleged the abstraction aft basis that extends theion aft basis that extends the traditional aft basis to address three-dimension acknowledge, and comes with algorithms that may acknowledgment neighbouring acquaintance queries with keywords in absolute time. As absolute by experiments, the projected techniques beat the IR2-tree in concern acknowledgment time considerably, usually by centre of orders of magnitude. INTRODUCTION: A spatial info manages multidimensional o bjects (such as points, rectangles, etc.), and provides quick access to those objects supported completely different choice criteria. The importance of spatial databases is mirrored by the convenience of modelling entities of reality in a very geometric manner. For instance, locations of restaurants, hotels, hospitals then on area unit typically painted as points in a very map, whereas larger extents like parks, lakes, and landscapes typically as a mixture of rectangles. Several functionalities of a spatial info area unit helpful in varied ways in which in specific contexits. For example, in a very earth science system, vary search is deployed to seek out all eating houses in a very sure area; whereas nearest neighbour retrieval will discover the restaurant highest to a given address. Today, the widespread use of search engines has created it realistic to jot down special queries in a very spanking new manner. Conventionally, queries concentrate on objects’ geometric properties solely, like whether or not some extent is in a very parallelogram, or however shut 2 points are International Journal of Emerging Trends in Engineering Research, Vol.3. No.10, Pages : 152-157 (2015) Special Issue of ICACSSE 2015 Held on October 30, 2015 in St. Ann’s College of Engineering & Technology, Chirala, AP, India http://www.warse. org/IJETER/static/pdf/Issue/icacsse2015sp27.pdf
Which is the Preferred Measure of Heterogeneity in Meta-Analysis and Why? A Revisit

Heterogeneity assessment is unavoidable under meta-analysis as it guides the path to choose appropriate synthesizing method. Its consideration further strengthens the drawn inferences. In the literature, there are various measures of heterogeneity, such as, Q statistic, H 2 statistic, HM 2 statistic, R 2 statistic and I 2 statistic. The present work mainly aimed to appraise all existing methods and find the preferred measure of heterogeneity in meta-analysis. Various heterogeneity measures were compared on the basis of theoretical criteria as well as their analytical results on the observed data from a systematic review of randomized controlled trials comparing neoadjuvant chemotherapy with adjuvant chemotherapy in the treatment of breast cancer patients. Theoretical criteria involve dependence on the extent of heterogeneity, invariance from scale and sample size and its interpretation. I 2 statistic is a sample size and scale invariant measure, which increases with increased heterogeneity. Unlike other methods of measuring extent of heterogeneity, I 2 has finite upper bound as well. Further, I 2 has precise confidence interval among all measures of heterogeneity assessment. In addition, it has appealing interpretation in terms of the proportion of the total variability that is because of heterogeneity alone. With all these virtues, I 2 is a preferred measure of heterogeneity in meta-analysis.
Integrated environment based on object-oriented methodology for real-time systems

This paper describes an integrated environment based on the object oriented methodology for real-time systems. The object oriented methodology is composed of six phases: requirements analysis, system analysis, system design, object design, implementation and testing. The OMT object model and use case model are used in the analysis phase, SDL-92 in the design phase and CHILL-96 in the implementation phase. To provide proper object oriented development support an integrated environment has been developed. This integrated environment provides seamless tool support from analysis to testing. Finally, experimental object oriented PABX is evaluated for the feasibility study.
Universal Algorithms for Probability Forecasting

Multi-class classification is one of the most important tasks in machine learning. In this paper we consider two online multi-class classification problems: classification by a linear model and by a kernelized model. The quality of predictions is measured by the Brier loss function. We obtain two computationally efficient algorithms for these problems by applying the Aggregating Algorithms to certain pools of experts and prove theoretical guarantees on the losses of these algorithms. We kernelize one of the algorithms and prove theoretical guarantees on its loss. We perform experiments and compare our algorithms with logistic regression.