Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Unirhinal Olfactory Testing for the Diagnostic Workup of Mild Cognitive Impairment.

BACKGROUND Olfactory dysfunction is associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and already present at pre-dementia stage. OBJECTIVES Based on the assumption that early neurodegeneration in AD is asymmetrical and that olfactory input is primarily processed in the ipsilateral hemisphere, we assessed whether unirhinal psychophysical and electrophysiological assessment of olfactory function can contribute to the diagnostic workup of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). METHODS Olfactory function of 13 MCI patients with positive amyloid PET, 13 aged-matched controls (AC) with negative amyloid PET and 13 patients with post-infectious olfactory loss (OD) was assessed unirhinally using (1) psychophysical testing of olfactory detection, discrimination and identification performance and (2) the recording of olfactory event-related brain potentials. Time-frequency analysis was used to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio of the electrophysiological responses. Psychophysical and electrophysiological assessment of auditory and trigeminal chemosensory function served as controls. RESULTS As compared to AC and OD, MCI patients exhibited a significant asymmetry of olfactory performance. This asymmetry efficiently discriminated between MCI and AC (sensitivity: 85% , specificity: 77% ), as well as MCI and OD (sensitivity: 85% , specificity: 70% ). There was also an asymmetry of the electrophysiological responses, but not specific for MCI. In both MCI and OD, olfactory stimulation of the best nostril elicited significantly more activity than stimulation of the worse nostril, between 3-7.5 Hz and 1.2-2.0 s after stimulus onset. Trigeminal and auditory psychophysical testing did not show any difference between groups. CONCLUSION MCI patients exhibit a marked asymmetry of behavioral olfactory function, which could be useful for the diagnostic workup of MCI.
Ex-vivo Assessment of Coronary Artery Atherosclerosis by Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Correlation with Histopathology

Introduction: In recent years, high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has emerged as a very promising technique for studying atherosclerotic disease in humans. Aim: In the present study we sought to determine whether MRI allowed for the morphological characterization of the coronary vessel wall and atherosclerotic plaques using histopathological assessment as the reference standard. Methods: The study population consisted of 13 patients who died of acute myocardial infarction and underwent autopsy. The proximal portions of the coronary arteries were excised and were evaluated both by MRI and by histopathology. For each arterial segment, the following parameters were calculated through manual planimetry: 1. total vessel area (TVA); 2. luminal area (LA) and 3. plaque area (PA). Results: A total of 207 coronary artery cross-sections were found to be suitable for analysis by both MRI and histopathology and were included in the final analyses. Both methods demonstrated moderate to good agreement for the quantification of TVA (mean difference = 2.4±2.4 mm2, 95‰ limits of agreement from -2.4 to +7.2 mm2; CCC = 0.69, 95‰ CI from 0.63 to 0.75), LA (mean difference = 0.0±1.7 mm2, 95‰ limits of agreement from -3.3 to + 3.3 mm2; CCC = 0.84, 95‰ CI from 0.80 to 0.88) and PA (mean difference = 2.4±2.4 mm2, 95‰ limits of agreement from -2.3 to + 7.1 mm2; CCC = 0.64, 95‰ CI from 0.58 to 0.71). Conclusion: In this ex vivo experimental model we demonstrated good agreement between coronary artery morphometrical measurements obtained by high-resolution MRI and by histopathology.
Brain Signal Analysis

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have now been applied to a wide variety of real-world problems in many fields of application. The attractive and flexible characteristics of ANNs, such as their parallel operation, learning by example, associative memory, multifactorial optimization and extensibility, make them well suited to the analysis of biological and medical signals. In this study, we review applications of ANNs to brain signal analysis, for instance, for analysis of the electroencephalogram (EEG) and magnetoencephalogram (MEG), or electromyogram (EMG), and as applied to computed tomographic (CT) images and magnetic resonance (MR) brain images, and to series of functional MR brain images (i.e. fMRI).
Enhancing sensation in diabetic neuropathic foot with mechanical noise.

OBJECTIVE Localized low-level mechanical or electrical noise can significantly enhance tactile sensitivity in healthy young subjects and older adults. This phenomenon is termed stochastic resonance (SR). In this study, we examined the effect of SR on vibratory and tactile sensation in patients with moderate to severe diabetic peripheral neuropathy. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 20 subjects were included in the study. The vibration perception threshold (VPT) test and the Semmes-Weinstein filament (SWF) threshold at the plantar surface of the left foot and the big toe were determined under two mechanical noise stimulus conditions: null (no noise) condition and at 10% lower than each subject's mechanical noise threshold of perception. RESULTS The baseline values (mean +/- SD) were as follows: Neuropathy Symptom Score (NSS) 5.2 +/- 2.5, Neuropathy Disability Score (NDS) 5.0 +/- 2.1, VPT 24 +/- 11 V, and SWF threshold 5.6 +/- 0.8 at the plantar surface of the foot and 5.3 +/- 0.9 at the big toe. The VPT improved significantly from 24 +/- 11 under null condition to 19 +/- 10 V with mechanical noise (P < 0.0001). Mechanical noise also significantly increased the number of detections of the SWF at the plantar surface of the foot (detection rate 66 +/- 11 vs. 59 +/- 15%, P < 0.02) but not at the big toe (63 +/- 10 vs. 61 +/- 16%, P = NS). CONCLUSIONS Mechanical noise stimulation improves vibration and tactile perception in diabetic patients with moderate to severe neuropathy. Additional studies are required to examine the effect of long-term noise stimulation on parameters of nerve function.
The role of cultural beliefs and expectations in the treatment process: clients’ reflections following individual psychotherapy

Qualitative data acquired within the recent Czech part of the independent, multi-site collaborative research project Corrective Experiences are the core basis of this paper. Eight post-treatment interviews with clients of individual therapies were analysed with a special focus on the role of cultural beliefs and cultural expectations in the clients’ change of interpersonal attitudes. The methodology of this research is based on in-depth interviews providing data on significant shifts or changes in attitudes toward relationships after the end of therapy. All clients completed their therapeutic treatments prior to the interviews. We monitored the experiences of our participants in the following significant domains: first, how they perceive the aspect of the self and others, including relationships that had been modified, and second, what they perceive as corrective experiences within as well as outside of therapy and in interactions with others. These data were then analysed within the Czech cultural context with the intention of understanding the dynamics of clients’ relationships and the role of cultural knowledge in the psychotherapeutic treatment.
XML-twig approximate matching twig join algorithm based on DTD

Recently, the majority of twig join algorithms have been proposed are based on matching querying given by the user strictly. That is to say, matching with high accuracy between the query and the data specified. For some simple queries, such as the queries only containing target path, though the user's final purpose is clear, the middle path may be ambiguous. Such kind of target path query which doesn't contain branches can be implemented by the twig join algorithm which has already been proposed, such as PackStack, TwigStack, TJFast‥ However, if the user expressed the middle path of the twig query ambiguously, the results of the above join algorithms would be empty. Therefore, strict matching algorithms are not always perfect. In this paper, we propose XML-twig target path approximate matching twig join algorithm based on DTD named FTJ, which can realize flexible matching. It does not only meets the strict matching, but also satisfies the query needs with clear query target when the user doesn't understand the pattern information of the DTD.
Brainmerge: a Semiotic-Oriented Software Development Process for Intelligence Augmentation Systems

In this paper we present "Brainmerge", a software development process designed according to semiotic principles in order to coordinate the steps required for the requirements specification, analysis and design of a special kind of intelligent system, which is usually described as intelligence augmentation systems (IAS). IAS represent an extension of decision support systems (DSS) with the use of AI techniques and usually dynamic decision making processes. Traditional software methodologies are usually inefficient when dealing with IAS, and our methodology aim at fulfilling these shortcomings. To illustrate the methodology we describe a real application in planning the circulation of trains in a single track railroad
Study of polyphase structure made easy using GNU Radio

Our current education system lacks in providing visualization of concepts, without which the learning process is incomplete. Particularly, in case of complex signal processing algorithms, visualizing is very difficult or almost impossible. The aim of this paper is to understand and provide visualization of the basic concepts of multirate signal processing using low cost computing platform, GNU Radio. Multirate signal processing has a significant influence at the physical or hardware layer of modern communication systems. In real, multirate signal processing is found at the core of communication systems that couple the Software Defined Radio (SDR) and Software Communications Architecture (SCA) to reconfigure system resources for operation over a wide range of modulation formats and waveforms. In multirate systems, polyphase structure plays an important role in reducing the computation rate by noble identities. The parallel processing makes it very efficient in implementation architecture. GNU Radio companion is an open source graphical simulation tool which we utilized for better understanding of complex signal processing concepts. In our paper we have implemented simple multirate signal processing building blocks.
Transgenic mice for Cre‐inducible overexpression of the oncogenes c‐MYC and Pim‐1 in multiple tissues

The transcription factor c‐MYC and the serine‐threonine kinase Pim‐1 have multiple roles in development and cancer, including in lymphomagenesis and prostate tumorigenesis. In some cancers, MYC and Pim‐1 oncogenes are co‐expressed and show marked cooperativity. To facilitate the analysis of the pathological roles of MYC and Pim‐1 in specific cell types and developmental stages, we generated mice carrying Cre‐inducible MYC/Pim‐1 transgenes. The mice carry a constitutively expressed lacZ marker and silent MYC/Pim‐1 genes. Cre‐mediated recombination results in deletion of the lacZ marker and concurrent activation of the MYC/Pim‐1 transgene. In addition, the Pim‐1 mice harbor an alkaline phosphatase gene as a positive marker for recombination. Mouse lines for each gene were established, which show distinct patterns of expression in multiple tissues. In vivo recombination was confirmed for all lines by breeding to Cre transgenic mice. These mice provide a valuable resource for investigating the significance of MYC and Pim‐1 overexpression in various tissues. genesis 44:447–453, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Change in Coreceptor Use Correlates with Disease Progression in HIV-1–Infected Individuals

Recent studies have identified several coreceptors that are required for fusion and entry of Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV-1) into CD4+ cells. One of these receptors, CCR5, serves as a coreceptor for nonsyncytium inducing (NSI), macrophage-tropic strains of HIV-1, while another, fusin or CXCR-4, functions as a coreceptor for T cell line–adapted, syncytiuminducing (SI) strains. Using sequential primary isolates of HIV-1, we examined whether viruses using these coreceptors emerge in vivo and whether changes in coreceptor use are associated with disease progression. We found that isolates of HIV-1 from early in the course of infection predominantly used CCR5 for infection. However, in patients with disease progression, the virus expanded its coreceptor use to include CCR5, CCR3, CCR2b, and CXCR-4. Use of CXCR-4 as a coreceptor was only seen with primary viruses having an SI phenotype and was restricted by the env gene of the virus. The emergence of variants using this coreceptor was associated with a switch from NSI to SI phenotype, loss of sensitivity to chemokines, and decreasing CD4+ T cell counts. These results suggest that HIV-1 evolves during the course of infection to use an expanded range of coreceptors for infection, and that this adaptation is associated with progression to AIDS.
SRCB-WSD: Supervised Chinese Word Sense Disambiguation with Key Features

This article describes the implementation of Word Sense Disambiguation system that participated in the SemEval-2007 multilingual Chinese-English lexical sample task. We adopted a supervised learning approach with Maximum Entropy classifier. The features used were neighboring words and their part-of-speech, as well as single words in the context, and other syntactic features based on shallow parsing. In addition, we used word category information of a Chinese thesaurus as features for verb disambiguation. For the task we participated in, we obtained precision of 0.716 in micro-average, which is the best among all participated systems.
School-to-work transitions: Why the United Kingdom's educational ladders always fail to connect

This article reviews trends in school-to-work transitions since the 1970s and argues that educational expansion (more young people extending their school and college careers) is a large part of the problem, rather than an actual or potential solution to young people's transition difficulties. The causes of educational expansion are identified as more ambitious parents and young people, educational institutions seeking 'bums on seats', the changing occupational structure, and government policies. The reasons why extended education inevitably fails to fulfil its promises to more and more post compulsory students are outlined; the article then concentrates on labour market outcomes for earlier leavers. Their risks of unemployment remain stubbornly high, despite new and allegedly improved training schemes, more relevant courses and qualifications, New Labour's New Deal, and Connexions. The article explains why adding more rungs to educational ladders will only exacerbate school-leavers' difficulties.
Exploiting Learning in Bilingual Named Entity Recognition

Introduction Named-entity recognition (NERC) is the identification of proper names in text and their classification as different types of named entity. A typical NERC system consists of a lexicon and a grammar. The lexicon is a set of gazetteer lists, containing names that are known beforehand and have been classified into named-entity types, such as persons, organisations, locations etc. The grammar is used to recognise named entities that are not in the gazetteer lists. Both of these resources seem to heavily depend on both domain and language. The manual adaptation of these two resources to a particular domain or language is time-consuming and in some cases impossible, due to the lack of experts. As a result, automatic acquisition of resources from corpora is highly desirable. In this paper we examine the use of the learning method C4.5 [Quinlan, 1993] for the automated acquisition of NERC grammars when moving to a new domain. The method was evaluated on management succession events in English and Greek texts. For English, a part of the MUC-6 corpus [DARPA 1995] was used, whereas for Greek we used corpus provided by the company " Advertising Week " (http://www.addweek.gr). Although management succession events involve several named-entity types, person and organisation names are more difficult to identify and classify. For this reason, our study focuses on these two entity types. well as the approach presented here, are examples of systems exploiting supervised learning techniques. Nymble [Bikel et al. 1997] uses statistical learning to acquire a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) that recognises named entities in text. NERC in Alembic [Vilain & Day 1996] is based on a rule learning approach introduced in Brill's work on part-of-speech tagging [Brill 1993]. The AutoLearn system [Cowie 1995] is based on a decision tree learning algorithm, named ID3 [Quinlan 1991]. [Cuchiarelli et al. 1998] present an unsupervised learning algorithm to classify the unknown named entities (i.e. those named entities that the NERC system identified as such but didn't manage to classify) in Italian texts. Experimental Results The English corpus contains 461 organisation and 373 person instances and the Greek corpus 425 organisation and 262 person instances. In our study we used the VIE NERC system for English [Humphreys et al., 1997] and the Greek NERC system GIE [Karkaletsis et al., 1998]. Both systems involve the following modules: tokeniser, sentence splitter, part-of-speech tagger, gazetteer-list lookup, and named-entity parser. Different tokenisers and sentence splitters are …
From Polyanna syndrome to Eeyore’s Corner? Hope and pain in patients with chronic low back pain

Chronic low back pain affects 50-80% of the population, while its consequences may impair the functioning of patients suffering from it, in many spheres of life . Hope is a factor which may influence coping with pain as well as cognitive reflection of pain experience. The aim of the study has been to check: 1) whether dependencies exist between hope-trait and hope-state and the perception of pain; 2) whether experiencing pain at the time of filling questionnaires matters for the assessment of the level of hope; 3) whether there is interaction between hope, the pain experienced at the moment of investigation, and memory of the intensity of previously experienced pain. 150 patients participated in the study, they all reported aggravation of the chronic low back pain syndrome. The study was a cross-sectional study, based on questionnaires. On the third day of treatment the subjects were given the following questionnaires: Trait Hope Scale, State Hope Scale, and Numerical Rating Scale of Pain to fill. Poor correlation was demonstrated to exist between hope-state and hope-pathways on the one hand, and the intensity of minimum pain level experienced during the first three days of treatment. It has been noted that the presence of pain at the time of filling questionnaires results in reducing the hope-state, but only in those persons, who had experienced severe pain previously. On the other hand, in case of patients who had experienced slight pain previously, the pain present when filling in the questionnaires is conducive to enhanced hope-state. The results of the study confirm the complex character of relations between hope and pain.
Nonparametric Econometrics: The np Package

We describe the R np package via a series of applications that may be of interest to applied econometricians. The np package implements a variety of nonparametric and semiparametric kernel-based estimators that are popular among econometricians. There are also procedures for nonparametric tests of significance and consistent model specification tests for parametric mean regression models and parametric quantile regression models, among others. The np package focuses on kernel methods appropriate for the mix of continuous, discrete, and categorical data often found in applied settings. Data-driven methods of bandwidth selection are emphasized throughout, though we caution the user that data-driven bandwidth selection methods can be computationally demanding.
Assessment of changes in airway calibre I. Tests of forced expiration.

Analysis of the forced expiratory spirogram was introduced by Tiffeneau & Pinelli in 1947 as an empirical substitute for measuring the maximum breathing capacity (maximum voluntary ventilation over 15 s). The original analysis was made from the record of volume change versus time, but an alternative method of registering forced expiration, the maximum expiratory flow-volume (MEFV) curve (Hyatt, Schilder & Fry, 1958; Hyatt & Black, 1973), has been widely used in the last 10 years. These two methods of depicting forced expiration and the measurements most frequently made from them are shown schematically in Figure 1.
Massive MIMO Pilot Decontamination and Channel Interpolation via Wideband Sparse Channel Estimation

We consider a massive MIMO system based on time division duplexing (TDD) and channel reciprocity, where the base stations (BSs) learn the channel vectors of their users via the pilots transmitted by the users in the uplink (UL). It is well-known that, in the limit of very large number of BS antennas, the system performance is limited by pilot contamination, due to the fact that the same set of orthogonal pilots is reused in multiple cells. In the regime of moderately large number of antennas, another source of degradation is channel interpolation because the pilot signal of each user probes only a limited number of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarriers, and the channel must be interpolated over the other subcarriers, where no pilot symbol is transmitted. In this paper, we propose a low-complexity algorithm that uses the received UL wideband pilot snapshots in an observation window comprising several coherence blocks (CBs) to obtain an estimate of the angle-delay power spread function (PSF) of the received signal. This is generally given by the sum of the angle-delay PSF of the desired user and the angle-delay PSFs of the copilot users, i.e., the users re-using the same pilot dimensions in other cells/sectors. We propose supervised and unsupervised clustering algorithms to decompose the estimated PSF and isolate the part corresponding to the desired user only. We use this decomposition to obtain an estimate of the covariance matrix of the user wideband channel vector, which we exploit to decontaminate the desired user channel estimate by applying minimum mean squared error (MMSE) smoothing filter, i.e., the optimal channel interpolator in the MMSE sense. We also propose an effective low-complexity approximation/implementation of this smoothing filter. We use numerical simulations to assess the performance of our proposed method, and compare it with other recently proposed schemes that use the same idea of separability of users in the angle-delay domain.