Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Revised McDonald criteria: The persisting importance of cerebrospinal fluid analysis

The 2010 revisions to the ‘‘McDonald criteria’’ presented by Polman and colleagues intend to accelerate the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS), while maintaining diagnostic sensitivity and specificity. The revised criteria based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evidence of dissemination in time (DIT) and space (DIS) will simplify the diagnostic process by requiring fewer MRI examinations and allow for earlier treatment. The authors acknowledge the importance of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) findings and argue that CSF analysis is no longer appropriate to support the MRI requirement for DIS in relapsing remitting MS. Although we understand the evidence behind this statement, we want to point out that a prerequisite for MS diagnosis includes not only the demonstration of DIT and DIS by MRI (second diagnostic principle), but also requires attention to 2 other principles: (1) a correct interpretation of symptoms and signs (first principle), and (2) exclusion of alternative causes (third principle) as defined by Miller and colleagues by using additional paraclinical tests including CSF analysis. Recent studies in patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) have demonstrated that a positive CSF finding (intrathecal oligoclonal immunoglobulin G [IgG] bands [OCBs] or synthesis of antibodies against measles, rubella, and varicella zoster [MRZ reaction]) significantly increase the risk of conversion to MS independently of MRI results. Likewise, the highest positive predictive value for conversion to clinically definite MS is achieved by combining MRI and CSF findings. Furthermore, CSF analysis discriminates well between MS and neuromyelitis optica (NMO) when using the MRZ reaction, which has a remarkable predictive value and can be helpful in aquaporin-4 (AQP4)-negative NMO cases. Thus, the sensitivity and specificity of MS diagnosis are crucially influenced by CSF analysis, either by ruling out or confirming central nervous system inflammation (intrathecal OCBs are present in more than 95% of patients with clinically definite MS). The degree of diagnostic certainty is of special relevance, since a suboptimal response rate to available immunomodulatory therapy is rather high and escalating therapies are associated with potentially serious side effects. An oversimplified MS diagnosis may involve the danger of limited differential diagnostic efforts. MRI lesions despite meeting the criteria for DIT and DIS are per se nonspecific and can occur in a variety of other conditions (‘‘mimics of MS’’). Therefore, although CSF analysis is no longer required to support the MRI requirement for DIS, we suggest including CSF analysis (the only tool besides biopsy to prove the inflammatory nature of MS) as an important tool to exclude alternative diagnoses (third principle).
Effect of Sn Doping on the Properties of Nano-Structured ZnO Thin Films Deposited by Co-Sputtering Technique.

In this study, tin doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Sn) nano-structured thin films were successfully deposited by co-sputtering of ZnO and Sn on top of glass substrate. The effect of Sn doping on the microstructure, phase, morphology, optical and electrical properties of the films were extensively investigated by means of XRD, EDX, SEM, AFM, Hall Effect measurement, and UV-Vis spectrometry. The results showed that the undoped ZnO film exhibited preferred orientation along the c-axis of the hexagonal wurtzite structure. With increase of Sn doping, the peak position of the (002) plane was shifted to the higher 20 values, and ultimately changed to amorphous structure. The absorption edge was shifted to blue region which confirmed the excitonic quantum confinement effect in the films. Consequently, improved surface morphology with optical bandgap, reduced average particle size, reduced resistivity, enhanced Hall mobility and carrier concentration were observed in the doped films after vacuum annealing. Among all of the as-deposited and annealed ZnO:Sn films investigated in this study, annealed film doped with 8 at. % of Sn concentration exhibited the best properties with a bandgap of 3.84 eV, RMS roughness of 2.51 nm, resistivity of 2.36 ohm-cm, and Hall mobility of 83 cm2 V(-1) s(-1).
Wind turbine power estimation by neural networks with Kalman filter training on a SIMD parallel machine

We use a multi-layer perceptron (MLP) network to estimate wind turbine power generation. Wind power can be influenced by many factors such as wind speeds, wind directions, terrain, air density, vertical wind profile, time of day, and seasons of the year. It is usually important to train a neural network with multiple influence factors and big training data set. We have parallelized the extended Kalman filter (EKF) training algorithm, which can provide fast training even for large training data sets. The MLP network is then trained with the consideration of various possible factors, which can influence turbine power production. The performance of the trained network is studied from the point of view of information presented to the network through network inputs regarding different affecting factors and large training data set covering all the seasons of a year.
Optimal placement for indoor positioning and monitoring system in public area

It has always been a big issue to provide better service at public area. One of the issues is the indoor positioning service. In this paper, we propose an indoor positioning and monitoring system based on the application of personal smart devices and iBeacon technology. Aiming at high accuracy positioning, we proposed optimal iBeacon nodes placement through the topological maps constructed from growing neutral gas. For the positioning algorithm, we chose particle swarm optimization. In our experiment, we have achieved low error rate at 35cm for motionless target positioning and 1.21m for moving target.
Usefulness of Tissue Doppler Imaging‐Myocardial Performance Index in the Evaluation of Diastolic Dysfunction and Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction

In heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF), physiological abnormalities are not solely restricted to diastolic function. Because the tissue Doppler imaging (TDI)‐derived myocardial performance index (MPI) offers the advantage of recording systolic and diastolic tissue velocity simultaneously in the same cardiac cycle, this study aimed to determine whether TDI‐MPI is an informative index for assessing HFPEF, compared with conventional echo parameters.
Video quality in next generation mobile networks — Perception of time-varying transmission

Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMNs) provide an all-IP wireless platform for multimedia service delivery. The integrated communication system creates new perspectives for wireless video distribution and quality provisioning. Depending on the mobility patterns of the nomadic users, the link layer characteristics may rapidly change. Furthermore, mobility and service adaptation events like network handovers, video bit rate switching, or codec changeovers, may affect the user perception. Provisioning “always best connected” video services requires a thorough knowledge of video quality perception in NGMNs. In this paper, we address this problem. A subjective test including 50 NGMN conditions has been carried out. They were arranged in groups to assess the impact on perceived quality of 1) the access technology and network handover, 2) video codecs and codec changeover, 3) video bit rate and bit rate switching, and 4) to provide guidelines for packet loss adaptation. We could identify the perceptual bottlenecks of the future wireless communication and are able to propose perceptual guidelines for mobility management. In this way, this paper contributes to the service quality improvement of future wireless communications.
A Post-Synaptic Inhibition Recurrent Neural Network Structure and Its Application to Pattern Classification

The post-synaptic inhibition is an inhibition which is stimulated by the activity of inhibitory interneurons. When the inhibitory interneurons are stimulated by the excitatory neurons, the IPSP arised from postsynaptic membrane will inhibit the activity of post-synaptic neurons. Post-synaptic inhibition includes lateral inhibition, feedback inhibition and feedforward inhibition. In this paper, these three inhibition modalities are in deep analyzed from the angle of cognitive neuron science. A dendritic lateral inhibition Recurrent Neuron is proposed based on post-synaptic inhibition and then the Post-Synaptic Inhibition Recurrent Neural Network is constructed. Its learning algorithm is given also. By testing several benchmark classification problems, it is proved that this network structure and its learning algorithm are effective and feasible.
The lethal hit stage of mouse T and non‐T cell‐mediated cytolysis: differences in cation requirements and characterization of an analytical “cation pulse” method

We investigated in detail the cation requirements of two different systems of mouse cell‐mediated cytolysis in vitro, at their recognition, post‐recognition hit and target cell disintegration stages. In T cell‐mediated cytolysis, respectively Mg++ or Ca++, Ca++, and no cations, were required. In non‐T cell‐mediated hemolysis, respectively no cations, Mg++, and no cations, were required. Two main conclusions can be drawn. First, the cation requirements are different from one system to the other especially at the post‐recognition hit stage, which strongly suggests the existence of differences between both systems as to the actual mechanism of lysis. Second, the cation requirements are different within each system from one step to another. This formed the basis of a step‐by‐step analysis of the lytic process, leading to the characterization of a cation pulse method for the experimental isolation and further study of the post‐recognition hit stage of cell‐mediated cytolysis.
Benchmark measurements and simulations of dose perturbations due to metallic spheres in proton beams

Monte Carlo simulations are increasingly used for dose calculations in proton therapy due to its inherent accuracy. However, dosimetric deviations have been found using Monte Carlo code when high density materials are present in the proton beam line. The purpose of this work was to quantify the magnitude of dose perturbation caused by metal objects. We did this by comparing measurements and Monte Carlo predictions of dose perturbations caused by the presence of small metal spheres in several clinical proton therapy beams as functions of proton beam range, spreadout Bragg peak width and drift space. Monte Carlo codes MCNPX, GEANT4 and Fast Dose Calculator (FDC) were used. Generally good agreement was found between measurements and Monte Carlo predictions, with the average difference within 5% and maximum difference within 17%. The modification of multiple Coulomb scattering model in MCNPX code yielded improvement in accuracy and provided the best overall agreement with measurements. Our results confirmed that Monte Carlo codes are well suited for predicting multiple Coulomb scattering in proton therapy beams when short drift spaces are involved. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Corresponding author: Wayne D. Newhauser, Ph.D., Tel: 225-578-2262; newhauser@lsu.edu. 6Current address: Louisiana State University, Medical Physics Program, Department of 25 Physics and Astronomy, Baton Rouge, LA, USA Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. NIH Public Access Author Manuscript Radiat Meas. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2014 November 01. Published in final edited form as: Radiat Meas. 2013 November 1; 58: 37–44. doi:10.1016/j.radmeas. 2013.08. 001. N IH -P A A uhor M anscript N IH -P A A uhor M anscript N IH -P A A uhor M anscript
Pole placement results for complex symmetric and Hamiltonian transfer functions

This paper studies the problem of pole assignment for symmetric and Hamiltonian transfer functions. A necessary and sufficient condition for pole assignment by complex symmetric output feedback transformations is given. Moreover, in the case where the McMillan degree coincides with the number of parameters appearing in the symmetric feedback transformations, we derive an explicit combinatorial formula for the number of pole assigning symmetric feedback gains. The proof uses intersection theory in projective space as well as a formula for the degree of the complex Lagrangian Grassmann manifold.
HIV Positive Patients' Experiences on Receiving an HIV Positive Test: An Iranian - Qualitative Study

The main objective of this current study is to provide information about HIV positive patients' experiences toward realizing HIV test results by using qualitative method. Ten HIV positive patients participated in30- to 60-min semi-structure interviews which involved open ended questions. Five main codes were identified. The findings revealed reasons for HIV testing including: emotional reactions in time of realizing HIV status, physical reactions towards understanding of HIV status, mitigating factors, aggravating factors. Based on the findings of this study, it is suggested that HIV service providers should consider post -test counseling for HIV positive patients. This counseling might be more helpful when done by a HIV specialist and trained HIV positive patients.
Man the Hunter

some food-gatherers, the Kung bushmen of the Central Kalahari, where I was on anthropological field work. I found their powers of observation and tracking marvellous. They found my bushcraft inadequate, as I could not move silently enough and was somewhat on the large size for the terrain. They relieved me of my gun and packed me off to the camp, which, without my compass, I would never have found. Mankind as a whole has passed through a long hunting stage. The archkological and fossil evidence attests abundantly to this mode of life throughout the long paleolithic and the subsequent mesolithic periods in every region of the world -in Britain and Europe no less than in Africa, Asia, Australia, America and Oceania. The stone tools and weapons such as arrow and
Herpes simplex virus infection of human T-cell subpopulations

The ability of herpes simplex virus type 1 to productively infect human T-cell subpopulations was examined. Unstimulated helper/inducer (T4+) and cytotoxic/suppressor (T8+) lymphocytes limited herpes simplex virus replication as effectively as unseparated peripheral blood T cells (T3+). Phytohemagglutinin stimulation before infection resulted in equivalently productive herpes simplex virus infections in the three cell fractions.
Mechanisms of passive sensitization. II. Presence of receptors for IgE on monkey mast cells.

E myeloma protein was injected intracutaneously into monkey skin to produce passive sensitization. The sensitized and nonsensitized sites were challenged with 125 I-labeled purified anti-IgE. The results of autoradiography of the tissues indicated that IgE was present on mast cells. When the E myeloma protein was injected intravenously into monkeys, the antigen was detected on mast cells in small intestine, bronchi and omentum but not on other tissue cells. The E myeloma protein was detected on basophil granulocytes in the blood, but not on other leukocytes. Evidence was obtained that both mast cells and basophil granulocytes contain monkey IgE, and that E myeloma protein combines with the same cells upon passive sensitization. IgG was detected on neutrophil granulocytes, monocytes and macrophages but not on mast cells.
Misaki : An Implementation of High Scalable Search Engine

Today, high performance hardware and modern distributed system developing tools gives one the probability to build a large distribute system in a much simpler way than several years ago. This work presents an implementation of high scalable distributed search engine being able to work on both cloud virtual machine and bare metal.The system is built with technologies including MapReduce[3], etcd, kubernates as well as dockers. With this system, the whole Wikipedia article data [1] (∼50M pages, roughly the number of pages Google had in 1999[2]) is indexed within a reasonable running time and the system also shows acceptable query performance. Though this work is a simple prototype, it can be easily transformed to a high reliable and available system.
On low-complexity linear-programming decoding of LDPC codes

We consider linear-programming (LP) decoding of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes. While one can use any general-purpose LP solver to solve the LP that appears in the decoding problem, we argue in this paper that the LP at hand is equipped with a lot of structure that can be exploited. Towards this goal, we study the dual LP and show how coordinate-ascent methods lead to very simple update rules that are tightly connected to the min-sum algorithm. Moreover, replacing minima in the formula of the dual LP with soft-minima one obtains update rules that are tightly connected to the sum-product algorithm. This shows that LP solvers with complexity similar to the min-sum algorithm and the sum-product algorithm are feasible. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Multilevel SVPWM With DC-Link Capacitor Voltage Balancing Control for Diode-Clamped Multilevel Converter Based STATCOM

In this paper, a space vector pulsewidth modulation (PWM) (SVPWM) algorithm is proposed, which is in α'β' frame with dc-link capacitor voltage equalization for diode-clamped multilevel converters (DCMCs). The α'β' frame is a coordinate system similar to the αβ frame. In this frame, some original complex calculations are substituted by integer additions, integer subtractions, truncations, etc. It brings the time and area efficiency to fixed-point digital realization, particularly for the application in a field-programmable gate array. Meanwhile, a minimum energy property of multiple dc-link capacitors is applied as the basic principle for voltage equalization based on a capacitor current prediction algorithm. By evaluating the redundant vectors in each pulse dwelling period, the balancing algorithm chooses an optimal vector, generates the optimal PWM signals, and sustains the voltage stability. After that, an arbitrary multilevel SVPWM intellectual property core is designed and analyzed in the α'β' frame. At the end of this paper, a five-level DCMC-based static synchronous compensator is built and tested. The experimental results verify the balancing algorithm and the system steady-state and dynamic performances.
Effects of PDE4 pathway inhibition in rat experimental stroke.

PURPOSE The first genomewide association study indicated that variations in the phosphodiesterase 4D (PDE4D) gene confer risk for ischemic stroke. However, inconsistencies among the studies designed to replicate the findings indicated the need for further investigation to elucidate the role of the PDE4 pathway in stroke pathogenesis. Hence, we studied the effect of global inhibition of the PDE4 pathway in two rat experimental stroke models, using the PDE4 inhibitor rolipram. Further, the specific role of the PDE4D isoform in ischemic stroke pathogenesis was studied using PDE4D knockout rats in experimental stroke. METHODS Rats were subjected to either the ligation or embolic stroke model and treated with rolipram (3mg/kg; i.p.) prior to the ischemic insult. Similarly, the PDE4D knockout rats were subjected to experimental stroke using the embolic model. RESULTS Global inhibition of the PDE4 pathway using rolipram produced infarcts that were 225% (p<0.01) and 138% (p<0.05) of control in the ligation and embolic models, respectively. PDE4D knockout rats subjected to embolic stroke showed no change in infarct size compared to wild-type control. CONCLUSIONS Despite increase in infarct size after global inhibition of the PDE4 pathway with rolipram, specific inhibition of the PDE4D isoform had no effect on experimental stroke. These findings support a role for the PDE4 pathway, independent of the PDE4D isoform, in ischemic stroke pathogenesis.
COX‐2 and Neurodegeneration in Parkinson's Disease

Abstract: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. Recent observations link cyclooxygenase type‐2 (COX‐2) to the progression of the disease. Consistent with this notion, studies with the dopaminergic neurotoxin 1‐methyl‐4‐phenyl‐1,2,3,6‐tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) show that inhibition and ablation of COX‐2 markedly reduce the deleterious effects of this toxin on the nigrostriatal pathway. The similarity between this experimental model and PD strongly supports the possibility that COX‐2 expression is also pathogenic in PD.
Exploring the relationship between vagal tone and event-related potentials in response to an affective picture task

The present study is the first to investigate the relationship between vagal tone level and event-related potentials (ERPs) in adults. Numerous studies have shown a relationship between vagal tone and the individual differences between a variety of psychophysiological, affective, and social outcomes. This suggests that vagal tone can be related to how people process relevant affective social information at the brain level. This study aimed to assess whether the ERP response varies between high and low vagal tone groups, in the face of salient affective information. In the experimental cohort, two groups were separated according to their vagal tone level. ERPs were recorded while individuals performed an affective picture task that included positive, neutral, and negative emotional stimuli. Differences between the high and low vagal tone groups were observed at the early posterior negativity for both positive and negative valences, and at the late positive potential for all the categories. It can be concluded that differences between high and low vagal tone levels are related to differences in the ERPs at early, middle, and late latencies. The results are discussed with respect to the effect of differences between the vagal tone conditions on various stages of information-processing.
Temporal gap detection measured with multiple sinusoidal markers: effects of marker number, frequency, and temporal position.

Detection thresholds were measured for silent temporal gaps within combinations of two, three, or four sinusoidal markers (i.e., combinations of one or two pre-gap markers with one or two post-gap markers). The markers were selected from the frequency range 2000-3100 Hz. Sinusoidal frequencies F1 and F4 were used as pre-gap markers, while F2 and F3 served as post-gap markers. Temporal gap detection (TGD) thresholds were measured from sets of three normal-hearing adults who tracked 70.7% correct detection thresholds adaptively across blocks of 50 two-interval, two-alternative, forced-choice trials. For symmetric marker conditions, where pre- and post-gap markers were equivalent in frequency (e.g., F1 = F2 or F1 = F2 and F3 = F4), TGD thresholds were < 10 ms. However, for asymmetric marker frequency alignments across the silent gap, including stimulus configurations where only three markers were presented on a trial (e.g., F1 = F2, F2 not equal to F3, no F4), performance was highly variable and was dramatically disrupted by the presentation of a second post-gap marker. The multiple-marker results reveal that TGD depends greatly on the number of markers presented, both in terms of the marker temporal position before and after the silent gap signal and the marker frequency alignment (symmetry) across the gap. These results, which cannot be predicted from models of the auditory periphery, may reflect perceptual mechanisms that are important in grouping and organizing auditory images.