Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Within-Season Distribution of External Training and Racing Workload in Professional Male Road Cyclists.

PURPOSE To describe the within-season external workloads of professional male road cyclists for optimal training prescription. METHODS Training and racing of 4 international competitive professional male cyclists (age 24 ± 2 y, body mass 77.6 ± 1.5 kg) were monitored for 12 mo before the world team-time-trial championships. Three within-season phases leading up to the team-time-trial world championships on September 20, 2015, were defined as phase 1 (Oct-Jan), phase 2 (Feb-May), and phase 3 (June-Sept). Distance and time were compared between training and racing days and over each of the various phases. Times spent in absolute (<100, 100-300, 400-500, >500 W) and relative (0-1.9, 2.0-4.9, 5.0-7.9, >8 W/kg) power zones were also compared for the whole season and between phases 1-3. RESULTS Total distance (3859 ± 959 vs 10911 ± 620 km) and time (240.5 ± 37.5 vs 337.5 ± 26 h) were lower (P < .01) in phase 1 than phase 2. Total distance decreased (P < .01) from phase 2 to phase 3 (10911 ± 620 vs 8411 ± 1399 km, respectively). Mean absolute (236 ± 12.1 vs 197 ± 3 W) and relative (3.1 ± 0 vs 2.5 ± 0 W/kg) power output were higher (P < .05) during racing than training, respectively. CONCLUSION Volume and intensity differed between training and racing over each of 3 distinct within-season phases.
Repetition effects elicited by objects and their contexts: An fMRI study

Event‐related fMRI responses were recorded during a recognition memory test for previously studied visual objects. Some studied objects were superimposed on the same context (landscape scenes) as at study, some were superimposed on a different studied context, and some were paired with new contexts. Unstudied objects were paired with either a studied or a new context. Relative to all other stimulus classes, test stimuli where both components were unstudied elicited enhanced responses in lateral and ventral extrastriate visual cortex. This effect, which is analogous to a previously described electrophysiological result obtained with the same experimental procedure, had the same magnitude regardless of whether a test item was composed of one or two studied components, or whether a single studied component was task relevant or task irrelevant. The findings point to the existence of repetition‐sensitive neural mechanisms that operate in a non‐linear manner. Hum. Brain Mapping 19:145–154, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
PSA is a candidate self‐antigen in autoimmune chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome

Previous studies demonstrated that recognition of seminal plasma antigens can occur in patients with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome. This suggests that an autoimmune component may contribute to symptoms in some men. To determine if any of the principal secretory proteins of the prostate could be candidate antigens in autoimmune prostatitis, we examined the recall proliferative response of purified CD4 T cells in patients with chronic prostatitis and in normal volunteers using purified seminal plasma antigens and autologous dendritic cells.
PDGF Enhancement of IL-1 Receptor Levels in Smooth Muscle Cells Involves Induction of an Attachment-Regulated, Heparan Sulfate Binding Site (IL-1RIII)

This study shows that increase in IL-1 receptor levels by platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) involves an enhancement of a matrix-dependent, low-affinity receptor that constitutes a heparan sulfate. Fibronectin attachment caused pronounced alterations in IL-1 receptor function in smooth muscle cells, involving a pronounced increase in cell surface binding from an average of 2,000 up to approximately 8,000 receptors/cell and an increase in affinity (Ka) of the type I receptor from 1.8 ± 0.9 × 109 to 3.7 ± 0.5 × 109 m−1. PDGF stimulation similarly enhanced the level of cell surface binding by between 30% and 100%, with, in general, less effect on cells plated on fibronectin. Further, PDGF had a pronounced effect on the type I receptor affinity in the absence of matrix attachment, increasing the Ka from 1.77 ± 0.93 × 109 to 5.1 ± 2.1 × 109 m−1. Scatchard analyses revealed that PDGF, similarly to fibronectin attachment, caused enhancement of a second low-affinity binding site. Antibody blocking showed that approximately 50% of the attachment-induced increase was independent of type I receptor binding. Further, a similar fraction of the cell surface interaction was blocked by soluble heparan sulfate and dependent on cell binding to the heparan binding site. Cross-linking demonstrated that, in addition to the type I receptor, IL-1 bound to a second high molecular weight complex of 300 kd, induced by fibronectin attachment as well as by PDGF in the absence of matrix. Biochemical analyses demonstrated that this second site constitutes a heparan sulfate, which directly interacted with the type I receptor after recruitment to the complex, and which bound up to 50% and 25% of the ligand after fibronectin attachment and PDGF stimulation, respectively. The data show that PDGF induces an attachment-regulated low-affinity IL-1 binding site in smooth muscle cells, constituting a heparan sulfate. Correlation of the recruitment of this component to the IL-1 receptor complex with structural regulation of receptor function and enhancement of IL-1–mediated responses suggests that this is a significant mechanism in PDGF augmentation of local inflammatory responses during vessel wall pathogenesis.
Continuously tunable band-stop filter based on coplanar waveguide with defected ground structure

A tunable band-stop filter based on coplanar waveguide (CPW) with defected ground structure (DGS) is proposed. Filter structure has DGS-units in the ground plates of the simple CPW transmission line. Resonant frequency tuning achieved with a movement of the metal plates, same size as DGS-units, above the substrate of the CPW line. In down position the DGS-slots are covered by metal plates and filter acts like a coplanar line. In the up-position DGS-units effect on the frequency characteristics like there is no moving metal plates at all. Changing distance between metal plates and substrate leads to continuous resonant frequency tuning.
Depth and Image Restoration from Light Field in a Scattering Medium

Traditional imaging methods and computer vision algorithms are often ineffective when images are acquired in scattering media, such as underwater, fog, and biological tissue. Here, we explore the use of light field imaging and algorithms for image restoration and depth estimation that address the image degradation from the medium. Towards this end, we make the following three contributions. First, we present a new single image restoration algorithm which removes backscatter and attenuation from images better than existing methods do, and apply it to each view in the light field. Second, we combine a novel transmission based depth cue with existing correspondence and defocus cues to improve light field depth estimation. In densely scattering media, our transmission depth cue is critical for depth estimation since the images have low signal to noise ratios which significantly degrades the performance of the correspondence and defocus cues. Finally, we propose shearing and refocusing multiple views of the light field to recover a single image of higher quality than what is possible from a single view. We demonstrate the benefits of our method through extensive experimental results in a water tank.
Simulation-based evaluation of NEG-ML iterative reconstruction of low count PET data

In this study we propose the use of a new reconstruction scheme for low count data which consists in the reconstruction of the prompt events with the inclusion of the correction of the sources of contamination in the iteration process (OP-scheme) using the NEG-ML algorithm. The performances of this variant, hereafter called OP-NEG3D, is evaluated in low count data situations using simulated replicated data. Quantification results obtained with the filtered back projection algorithm (FBP3D), which is still the standard reconstruction method for quantitative dynamic PET brain studies, and conventional OP-OSEM3D are also shown for comparisons. The comparison tests include the VOI-based measurements of activity concentrations in large regions filled with high and low activity concentrations, the measurement of small activity differences in hot and cold regions using VOIs and using voxel-wise statistical analysis, and the activity recovery in small cold and hot inserts. The results indicated that OP-NEG3D allows an activity recovery in large cold regions as accurate as with FBP3D whereas OP-OSEM3D is biased due to the positivity constraint in the image space. OP-NEG3D shows better noise characteristics than FBP3D and allows a better detectability of differences between groups of scans and a better recovery of the activity in small regions than FBP3D. In conclusion, OP-NEG3D is a viable alternative to FBP3D for the reconstruction of PET data in the context of dynamic brain imaging.
Deep learning for object detection in fine-art paintings

We propose deep learning and neural networks to automatically detect objects in digital pictures of fine-art paintings. This automatic annotation of digitized artwork provides innovation for content analysis, and therefore enhances the process of documenting and managing cultural heritage. Deep neural networks have outperformed all previous machine learning techniques in computer vision and achieve the highest accuracy in object detection. However, a very big amount of labeled training samples are required for such good performance. Typically, this big data is collected from everyday natural images, which is possible because millions are generated each day. Unfortunately there are not such big datasets of digitized fine-art paintings. In this contribution we present a set of strategies to overcome the lack of labeled training data, and hence make use of the promising deep learning in this application.
Activation of Extracellular Signal–Regulated Kinase Is Involved in Mechanical Strain Inhibition of RANKL Expression in Bone Stromal Cells

Mechanical input is known to regulate skeletal mass. In vitro, application of strain inhibits osteoclast formation by decreasing expression of the ligand RANKL in bone stromal cells, but the mechanism responsible for this down‐regulation is unknown. In experiments here, application of 1.8% equibiaxial strain for 6 h reduced vitamin D‐stimulated RANKL mRNA expression by nearly one‐half in primary bone stromal cells. Application of strain caused a rapid activation of ERK1/2, which returned to baseline by 60 minutes. Adding the ERK1/2 inhibitor PD98059 30 minutes before strain delivery prevented the strain effect on RANKL mRNA expression, suggesting that activation of ERK1/2 was required for transduction of the mechanical force. Mechanical strain also activated N‐terminal Jun kinase (JNK) that, in contrast, did not return to baseline during 24 h of continuous strain. This suggests that JNK may represent an accessory pathway for mechanical transduction in bone cells. Our data indicate that strain modulation of RANKL expression involves activation of MAPK pathways.
Virtual Network Embedding Satisfying Resiliency of Cooperative Services

Various smart services are provided on multiple virtual networks embedded into a common inter-cloud substrate network. Service providers can enhance their smart services in cooperation with other service providers. They specify multiple cooperating virtual nodes with a function that allows cooperation when they request VNE (Virtual Network Embedding). The substrate network operator prepares multiple shared substrate nodes to assist cooperation securely and maps each cooperating virtual node to one of the multiple shared substrate nodes. Even if one of the shared substrate nodes incurs damage, the resiliency of the cooperative services is ensured due to reallocation of the workload and backup of the service data for the cooperative services to the remaining normal shared substrate nodes. However, the uninterrupted connectivity of the virtual networks must be guaranteed after a shared substrate node failure has occurred. This paper formulates the resilient cooperative VNE problem that involves the above connectivity constraints and proposes a lightweight VNE method to solve the problem efficiently. Simulation results reveal that the proposed method can obtain a desirable VNE solution through just a few iterations of solving the mathematical models with a limited scale.
A Novel Integrated UWB–UHF One-Port Antenna for Localization and Energy Harvesting

In this work, a novel, compact, single-port antenna combining both UWB and UHF bands is presented. This solution is proposed for next-generation passive RFID tags, performing communication and localization through UWB technology and efficient energy harvesting in the UHF band, but it is also designed to keep compatibility with previous tags generations. The UWB communication is deployed by means of an Archimedean spiral topology, while energy harvesting at UHF is obtained by suitably extending the spiral outer arms, thus realizing a meandered dipole, without affecting the UWB behavior. The single-port architecture provides an overall size reduction, while preserving the radiation performance in both the operating bands. This solution allows a direct connection to future integrated UWB-UHF chips, to standard RFID chips, or to a diplexer for suitably combining the UWB and the UHF functionalities. A prototype of this new antenna, realized on a standard FR-4 substrate, is first presented to validate the proposed novel design. As a second step, the same architecture is scaled on a paper substrate in view of its fully eco-compatible realization to be exploited by future pervasive RFID applications. The compact design of the antenna-feeding network in discrete technology is also presented.
Resuscitation-Promoting Factors Are Cell Wall-Lytic Enzymes with Important Roles in the Germination and Growth of Streptomyces coelicolor

ABSTRACT Dormancy is a common strategy adopted by bacterial cells as a means of surviving adverse environmental conditions. For Streptomyces bacteria, this involves developing chains of dormant exospores that extend away from the colony surface. Both spore formation and subsequent spore germination are tightly controlled processes, and while significant progress has been made in understanding the underlying regulatory and enzymatic bases for these, there are still significant gaps in our understanding. One class of proteins with a potential role in spore-associated processes are the so-called resuscitation-promoting factors, or Rpfs, which in other actinobacteria are needed to restore active growth to dormant cell populations. The model species Streptomyces coelicolor encodes five Rpf proteins (RpfA to RfpE), and here we show that these proteins have overlapping functions during growth. Collectively, the S. coelicolor Rpfs promote spore germination and are critical for growth under nutrient-limiting conditions. Previous studies have revealed structural similarities between the Rpf domain and lysozyme, and our in vitro biochemical assays revealed various levels of peptidoglycan cleavage capabilities for each of these five Streptomyces enzymes. Peptidoglycan remodeling by enzymes such as these must be stringently governed so as to retain the structural integrity of the cell wall. Our results suggest that one of the Rpfs, RpfB, is subject to a unique mode of enzymatic autoregulation, mediated by a domain of previously unknown function (DUF348) located within the N terminus of the protein; removal of this domain led to significantly enhanced peptidoglycan cleavage.
A System of Analyzing Medical Errors to Improve GME Curricula and Programs

The report of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) To Err is Human recommended that both mandatory and voluntary event-reporting systems be established to identify and learn from errors. Because of the tight coupling of graduate medical education (GME) programs and the delivery of care, any event-reporting system used in a teaching hospital should be able to document the types of errors that are being made by graduate medical trainees (GTs). The authors performed an analysis of the root causes of events involving GTs that were recorded in hospital-based near-miss reporting systems. The root causes were classified using the Eindhoven Classification Model, medical version. Case histories of three separate events, one from an accident and emergency department in the United Kingdom, and two from a large teaching hospital in the United States, are used to illustrate the method. In all three cases, lack of knowledge on the part of the trainee contributed to the incident. Inadequate educational preparation had the potential for causing significant harm to the patient. Organizational causes were also present in each case, which illustrates the need to examine not only educational issues but also procedural and management issues related to GME. In each case, the analysis revealed in striking clarity deficiencies of educational content and problems of program structure. The authors conclude that doing a root-cause analysis in conjunction with a near-miss event-reporting system in a teaching hospital can be a valuable source of documented information to guide needed educational and system changes to GME programs.
Immunocytochemical Identification and Localization of Active and Inactive α-Amylase and Pullulanase in Cells of Clostridium thermosulfurogenes EM1

Clostridium thermosulfurogenes EM1 formed blebs, i.e., protrusions still in contact with the cytoplasmic membrane, that originated from the cytoplasmic membrane during growth in batch culture and continuous culture. They could be observed squeezed between the cell wall and cytoplasmic membrane in cells with seemingly intact wall layers (surface layer and peptidoglycan layer) as well as in cells with wall layers in different states of degradation caused by phosphate limitation or high dilution rates. Blebs were found to turn into membrane vesicles by constriction in cases when the cell wall was heavily degraded. Bleb and vesicle formation was also observed in the absence of substrates that induce α-amylase and pullulanase synthesis. No correlations existed between bleb formation and the presence of active enzyme. Similar blebs could also be observed in a number of other gram-positive bacteria not producing these enzymes, but they were not observed in gram-negative bacteria. For immunoelectron-microscopic localization of α-amylase and pullulanase in C. thermosulfurogenes EM1, two different antisera were applied. One was raised against the enzymes isolated from the culture fluid; the other was produced against a peptide synthesized, as a defined epitope, in analogy to the N-terminal amino acid sequence (21 amino acids) of the native extracellular α-amylase. By using these antisera, α-amylase and pullulanase were localized at the cell periphery in samples taken from continuous culture or batch culture. In samples prepared for electron microscopy by freeze substitution followed by ultrathin sectioning, blebs could be seen, and the immunolabel pinpointing α-amylase enzyme particles was seen not only randomly distributed in the cell periphery, but also lining the surface of the cytoplasmic membrane and the blebs. Cells exhibiting high or virtually no enzyme activity were labeled similarly with both antisera. This finding strongly suggests that α-amylase and pullulanase may occur in both active and inactive forms, depending on growth conditions.
The Examination Task of Source-code Debugging Using GP3 Eye Tracker

Eye-tracking is a widely used method to examine the hidden cognitive processes. In this paper a program source code debugging process is examined by eye-tracking method. A computer based analysis was elaborated to test the debug process and record the main parameters of eye movement. During the test, two typical groups were established, in case of first group, many minor changes and frequent translation and running, while for the second one a more detailed interpretation and less translation and running were specific. In the case of both groups’ the task solution’s features were evaluated. According to the results the efficiency and solution time as well as the attention map were different for the two groups.
A study of treatment adherence and quality of life among adults with chronic urticaria in Singapore

Background Chronic urticaria is a common skin condition that causes significant impact on patient's quality of life. Objective The purpose of the study was to assess adherence to therapy and quality of life of patients with chronic urticaria. We also aimed to study the relationship of medication adherence and quality of life of patients with chronic urticaria. Methods A cross sectional study was conducted with 103 patients from the dermatology clinic of National University Hospital, Singapore. Patients with chronic urticaria were asked to fill out a questionnaire for assessment of adherence to therapy and quality of life. We used the Morisky 8-Item Medication Adherence Scale to categorize adherence as high, medium, low. For assessment of quality of life, we used the validated chronic urticaria quality of life questionnaire (CU-Q2oL) by Bairadani et al. Results The highest median scores for the items measuring quality of life were interference with sleep and pruritus. We also observed that the majority of patients (71.9%) had low adherence to medical therapy. No difference in adherence was noted in patients on once daily medication or more frequent dosing. There was no significant difference in the quality of life among patients with low and medium adherence to therapy. Conclusion Quality of life of patients with chronic urticaria does not depend on the patients' adherence to medications. Dosing frequency does not affect adherence in our study population. It is also important to recognize the symptoms and issues most affecting quality of life of patients with chronic urticaria, so as to improve overall management.
Effectiveness of a Tourism Game for Identifying Travelers’ Behaviors

Lack of information about new users is a common problem in recommendation system and the same is true for the tourism recommendation system. For tourism domain, the key information is to know about how tourists choose where to go and what to do. In the past, questionnaires and surveys were commonly used. However, with the present advanced technology to get faster and easier, more convenient information is utilized. This study proposes an effective game for identifying travelers' behaviors in the chosen tourist sites in Chiang Mai. The game development process follows the Doppler Interactive game development life cycle and the game designed uses the UX/UI design laws, such as Fitts’ Law, Hick’s Law and Gestalt theory. The researchers separated the tourism photos into six groups: nightlife & party, cultural heritage & religions, city & shopping, nature & animal, adventure & hard sport and healthy & soft sport. We used cartoon pictures to identify what travelers liked to do most. Then, we gave questionnaires to compare if what the travelers clicked on the game was the same as what they answered in the questionnaires. The results were the game took only 1.42 minutes to identify travelers’ preference and game accuracy was 74.33%.