Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy for decompression of malignant bowel obstruction

Previous reports on percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) for bowel decompression have included a relatively small number of patients and the details of post‐procedural outcomes and complications are lacking. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the outcomes and safety of PEG for bowel decompression in a relatively large number of patients with malignant bowel obstruction.
A Software Release Planning Methodology for Developers

The process of assigning requirements to releases is difficult and release planning methodologies are becoming increasingly complex in an attempt to take into account different stakeholder perspectives and criteria. However, there is a need to focus on understanding the criteria used in release planning in order for the methodologies to adequately support this process. This paper specifies the criteria for software developers to use when planning releases by operationalizing the risk criterion and enhancing the interdependency criterion. A controlled experiment was conducted to evaluate release plans created with this new versus an informal methodology. The results imply that the criteria specified in this new methodology are in fact used by developers in the creation of releases. After further testing, this methodology could prove beneficial in helping developers create release plans for large numbers of requirements.
Efficient Diffusion on Region Manifolds: Recovering Small Objects with Compact CNN Representations

Query expansion is a popular method to improve the quality of image retrieval with both conventional and CNN representations. It has been so far limited to global image similarity. This work focuses on diffusion, a mechanism that captures the image manifold in the feature space. An efficient off-line stage allows optional reduction in the number of stored regions. In the on-line stage, the proposed handling of unseen queries in the indexing stage removes additional computation to adjust the precomputed data. We perform diffusion through a sparse linear system solver, yielding practical query times well below one second. Experimentally, we observe a significant boost in performance of image retrieval with compact CNN descriptors on standard benchmarks, especially when the query object covers only a small part of the image. Small objects have been a common failure case of CNN-based retrieval.
Seropositivity and epidemiology of human parechovirus types 1, 3, and 6 in Japan

SUMMARY Human parechoviruses (HPeVs) mainly infect young children, causing mild gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases; however, HPeV type 3 (HPeV3) causes severe systemic diseases in young infants. To clarify the characteristics of HPeV infections from the aspects of seropositivity and epidemiology, we measured neutralizing antibody titres against HPeVs in individuals of in different age groups and isolated HPeVs from various clinical specimens in Niigata, Japan. The seropositivity to HPeV1, 3, and 6 was higher in older age group. HPeV1 and HPeV6 seropositivities were maintained in adults, whereas HPeV3 seropositivity was significantly lower in subjects aged >40 years (P < 0·001, P = 0·003). This result suggests that adults have increased susceptibility to HPeV3 as they lack neutralizing antibodies against HPeV3. Of the HPeV isolates, HPeV1 and HPeV6 frequently caused gastrointestinal symptoms. Moreover, gastroenteritis patients with HPeV1 and HPeV6 were mainly aged 6 months–1 year and ⩾2 years, respectively. In contrast, only HPeV3 was isolated from neonates and young infants with sepsis or sepsis-like syndrome, often with respiratory symptoms. These results suggest that clinical symptoms are clinically related to HPeV genotype and patients’ age.
HSP90 interacts with RAR1 and SGT1 and is essential for RPS2-mediated disease resistance in Arabidopsis

RAR1 and its interacting partner SGT1 play a central role in plant disease resistance triggered by a number of resistance (R) proteins. We identified cytosolic heat shock protein 90 (HSP90), a molecular chaperone, as another RAR1 interacting protein by yeast two-hybrid screening. RAR1 interacts with the N-terminal half of HSP90 that contains the ATPase domain. HSP90 also specifically interacts with SGT1 that contains a tetratricopeptide repeat motif and a domain with similarity to the cochaperone p23. In Arabidopsis, the HSP90 inhibitor geldanamycin reduces the hypersensitive response and abolishes resistance triggered by the R protein RPS2 against Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (avrRpt2). One of four Arabidopsis cytosolic HSP90 isoforms, AtHSP90.1 is required for full RPS2 resistance and is rapidly induced upon pathogen challenge. We propose that RAR1 and SGT1 function closely with HSP90 in chaperoning roles that are essential for disease resistance.
ACQ4: an open-source software platform for data acquisition and analysis in neurophysiology research

The complexity of modern neurophysiology experiments requires specialized software to coordinate multiple acquisition devices and analyze the collected data. We have developed ACQ4, an open-source software platform for performing data acquisition and analysis in experimental neurophysiology. This software integrates the tasks of acquiring, managing, and analyzing experimental data. ACQ4 has been used primarily for standard patch-clamp electrophysiology, laser scanning photostimulation, multiphoton microscopy, intrinsic imaging, and calcium imaging. The system is highly modular, which facilitates the addition of new devices and functionality. The modules included with ACQ4 provide for rapid construction of acquisition protocols, live video display, and customizable analysis tools. Position-aware data collection allows automated construction of image mosaics and registration of images with 3-dimensional anatomical atlases. ACQ4 uses free and open-source tools including Python, NumPy/SciPy for numerical computation, PyQt for the user interface, and PyQtGraph for scientific graphics. Supported hardware includes cameras, patch clamp amplifiers, scanning mirrors, lasers, shutters, Pockels cells, motorized stages, and more. ACQ4 is available for download at http://www.acq4. org.
Quantitative Analysis of Cryomilled Nanocrystalline Ti-6Al-4V Alloy Powder by X-Ray Diffraction

A nanocrystalline Ti alloy powder was fabricated using cryomilling. The grain size and lattice strain evolution during cryomilling were quantitatively analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) based on the Scherrer equation, Williamson-Hall (W-H) plotting method, and size-strain (S-S) method assuming uniform deformation. Other physical parameters including stress and strain have been calculated. The average crystallite size and the lattice strain evaluated from XRD analysis are in good agreement with the result of transmission electron microscopy (TEM).
Reforming Shapes for Material‐aware Fabrication

As humans, we regularly associate shape of an object with its built material. In the context of geometric modeling, however, this inter‐relation between form and material is rarely explored. In this work, we propose a novel data‐driven reforming (i.e., reshaping) algorithm that adapts an input multi‐component model for a target fabrication material. The algorithm adapts both the part geometry and the inter‐part topology of the input shape to better align with material‐aware fabrication requirements. As output, we produce the reshaped model along with respective part dimensions and inter‐part junction specifications. We evaluate our algorithm on a range of man‐made models and demonstrate a variety of model reshaping examples focusing only on metal and wooden materials.
Teacher Licensure Exams and Black Teacher Candidates: Toward New Theory and Promising Practice

Abstract:“Basic skills” teacher licensure exams such as Praxis are the first gatekeepers to the teaching profession. Fewer than half of the aspiring Black teachers who take these exams pass on their first attempt. While critiques of these exams are warranted, critiques alone will do little to help certify more Black teachers. This solution-oriented article makes both a theoretical and practical contribution to this area. First, it provides a selected overview of two theoretical areas that have relevance to understanding teacher licensure testing. These theoretical areas are self-efficacy and sociocultural theory. The article then draws from the author's 6 years of preparing Black preservice teachers for licensure exams to illustrate how these theories can shape practice at both programmatic and classroom levels.
A cooperative routing method with shared nodes for overlapping wireless sensor networks

In a wireless sensor network (WSN), one of the most important challenges is extending network lifetime because it is difficult to replace sensor nodes and recharge their batteries. In a WSN, nodes around a sink tend to die earlier than other nodes because these nodes have to transmit and relay more packets. To overcome this problem, many load-balancing methods were proposed. By the way, in recent years, two or more overlapping WSNs have been constructed in the same geographic area. In this situation, the overlapping WSNs are expected to extend their lifetime by cooperative packet forwarding. In this paper, we introduce shared nodes with multichannel communication capability as interchange points among respective WSN planes. With these shared nodes, we propose a novel cooperative routing method for WSNs to balance each other's load. Finally, we show the effectiveness of the proposed method by simulation experiments.
Relationship Between Perturbation Realization Factors With Queueing Models and Markov Models

Perturbation realization factor is an important concept in perturbation analysis of both queueing systems and Markov systems. A perturbation realization factor measures the effect of a perturbation on the system performance. This concept is important for the performance sensitivity and performance optimization of these systems. Since the perturbations in queueing systems are continuous in nature and those in Markov systems are discrete, it is not straightforward to establish the relationship between these two types of fundamental concepts. This note solves this long-standing problem. We find a formula that links these two types of perturbation realization factors in Gordon-Newell and open Jackson networks together. The results enhance our understanding of perturbation analysis and lead to new research directions
Computing approximate joins of relations based on entity chains

Because of data inconsistencies among multiple databases, it is not always possible to get exact query answers from them. The paper proposes the method based on entity chains for approximate join queries on multiple relations, and designs extended SQL query language to implement the main procedures. An entity chain consists of the entities belonging to different relations with the same or approximate linkage attribute values, and is computed by analyzing similarity of linkage attributes in different relations. Entity chains provide facilities for approximate joins, and can be used to improve efficiency of computing approximate joins on multiple relations in information systems.
Manual and cognitive benefits of two-handed input: an experimental study

One of the recent trends in computer input is to utilize users' natural bimanual motor skills. This article further explores the potential benefits of such two-handed input. We have observed that bimanual manipulation may bring two types of advantages to human-computer interaction: manual and cognitive. Manual benefits come from increased time-motion efficiency, due to the twice as many degrees of freedom simultaneously available to the user. Cognitive benefits arise as a result of reducing the load of mentally composing and visualizing the task at an unnaturally low level which is imposed by traditional unimanual techniques. Area sweeping was selected as our experimental task. It is representative of what one encounters, for example, when sweeping out the bounding box surrounding a set of objects in a graphics program. Such tasks cannot be modeled by Fitts' Law alone and have not been previously studied in the literature. In our experiments, two bimanual techniques were compared with the conventional one-handed GUI approach. Both bimanual techniques employed the two-handed “stretchy” technique first demonstrated by Krueger in 1983. We also incorporated the “Toolglass” technique introduced by Bier et al. in 1993. Overall, the bimanual techniques resulted in significantly faster performance than the status quo one-handed technique, and these benefits increased with the difficulty of mentally visualizing the task, supporting our bimanual cognitive advantage hypothesis. There was no significant difference between the two bimanual techniques. This study makes two types of contributions to the literature. First, practically we studied yet another class of transaction where significant benefits can be realized by applying bimanual techniques. Furthermore, we have done so using easily available commercial hardware in the context to our understanding of why bimanual interaction techniques have an advantage over unimanual techniques. A literature review on two-handed computer input and some of the relevant bimanual human mototr control studies is also included.
Initial lentivirus-host interactions within lymph nodes: a study of maedi-visna virus infection in sheep

Reactive changes occurring within lymph nodes draining the subcutaneous site of acute infection with maedi-visna virus (MVV) were studied, and the appearance of infected cells correlated with the immune response. Cells infected with virus were detected in the node by cocultivation from day 4 postinfection (p.i.), with maximum numbers being seen between days 7 and 14, but even then infected cells were rare, with a maximum frequency of 23 50% tissue culture infective doses (TCID50) in 10(6) lymph node cells. At later times, infected cells were still detected, but their numbers fell to 1 to 2 TCID50 per 10(6) cells. Virus-specific CD8+ cytotoxic T-cell precursors (CTLp) were isolated from infected nodes from day 10 p.i. onwards, and T-cell proliferative responses to MVV were first detected on day 7 and consistently detected after day 18. Histological analysis showed a vigorous immune response in the node. There was a marked blast reaction in the T-cell-rich zones, which was greatest at the time when the number of virally infected cells was at its height. At this stage, large numbers of plasma cells were seen in the medullary cords, indicating that extensive T-cell-dependent B-cell activation was occurring in the T-cell-rich zones. Germinal centers were prominent shortly after the onset of the T-zone response and were still present at 40 days p.i. Phenotype studies of isolated lymph node cells failed to detect major changes in the proportion or phenotype of macrophages, CD1+ interdigitating cells, and CD4+ or CD8+ T cells despite the fact that CD8+ lymphoblasts form a major population leaving the node in efferent lymph. This suggests that there is a balanced increase in the number of all cell types in response to the virus within the node and selective migration of CD8+ lymphoblasts containing virus-specific CTLp from the node. Virus-specific immune responses are therefore present within the node when infectious virus isolation is maximal, but cellular immunity may act to control the level of infection from day 18 onwards.
The Australian Temperament Project: The first 30 years

The Australian Temperament Project (ATP) is a longitudinal study of the psychosocial development of a large and representative sample of Australian children born in the state of Victoria, Australia between September 1982 and January 1983.The study aims to trace the pathways to psychosocial adjustment and maladjustment across the lifespan, and to investigate the contribution of personal, family and environmental factors to development and wellbeing.
Least Mean Square/Fourth Algorithm with Application to Sparse Channel Estimation

Broadband signal transmission over frequency-selective fading channel often requires accurate channel state information at receiver. One of the most attracting adaptive channel estimation methods is least mean square (LMS) algorithm. However, LMS-based method is often degraded by random scaling of input training signal. To improve the estimation performance, in this paper we apply the standard least mean square/fourth (LMS/F) algorithm to adaptive channel estimation (ACE). Since the broadband channel is often described by sparse channel model, such sparsity could be exploited as prior information. First, we propose an adaptive sparse channel estimation (ASCE) method using zero-attracting LMS/F (ZA-LMS/F) algorithm. To exploit the sparsity effectively, an improved channel estimation method is also proposed, using reweighted zero-attracting LMS/F (RZA-LMS/F) algorithm. We explain the reason why sparse LMS/F algorithms using l_1-norm sparse constraint function can improve the estimation performance by virtual of geometrical interpretation. In addition, for different channel sparsity, we propose a Monte Carlo method to select a regularization parameter for RA-LMS/F and RZA-LMS/F to achieve approximate optimal estimation performance. Finally, simulation results show that the proposed ASCE methods achieve better estimation performance than the conventional one.
Speeding-up adaptive heuristic critic learning with FPGA-based unsupervised clustering

Neurocontrol is a crucial area of fundamental research within the neural network field. Adaptive heuristic critic learning is a key algorithm for real-time adaptation in neurocontrollers. In this paper, we show how an unsupervised neural network model with an adaptable structure can be used to speed-up adaptive heuristic critic learning, present its FPGA design, and show how it adapts the neurocontroller to the state space of the system being controlled.
The Origin of Intraspecific Variation of Virulence in an Eukaryotic Immune Suppressive Parasite

Occurrence of intraspecific variation in parasite virulence, a prerequisite for coevolution of hosts and parasites, has largely been reported. However, surprisingly little is known of the molecular bases of this variation in eukaryotic parasites, with the exception of the antigenic variation used by immune-evading parasites of mammals. The present work aims to address this question in immune suppressive eukaryotic parasites. In Leptopilina boulardi, a parasitic wasp of Drosophila melanogaster, well-defined virulent and avirulent strains have been characterized. The success of virulent females is due to a major immune suppressive factor, LbGAP, a RacGAP protein present in the venom and injected into the host at oviposition. Here, we show that an homologous protein, named LbGAPy, is present in the venom of the avirulent strain. We then question whether the difference in virulence between strains originates from qualitative or quantitative differences in LbGAP and LbGAPy proteins. Results show that the recombinant LbGAPy protein has an in vitro GAP activity equivalent to that of recombinant LbGAP and similarly targets Drosophila Rac1 and Rac2 GTPases. In contrast, a much higher level of both mRNA and protein is found in venom-producing tissues of virulent parasitoids. The F1 offspring between virulent and avirulent strains show an intermediate level of LbGAP in their venom but a full success of parasitism. Interestingly, they express almost exclusively the virulent LbGAP allele in venom-producing tissues. Altogether, our results demonstrate that the major virulence factor in the wasp L. boulardi differs only quantitatively between virulent and avirulent strains, and suggest the existence of a threshold effect of this molecule on parasitoid virulence. We propose that regulation of gene expression might be a major mechanism at the origin of intraspecific variation of virulence in immune suppressive eukaryotic parasites. Understanding this variation would improve our knowledge of the mechanisms of transcriptional evolution currently under active investigation.
On the amount of magnetic material necessary in broadband magnetic absorbers

In this paper we have examined the use of ferromagnetic particles for thin broadband RAMs. The permeability of the composite material was obtained from a well tested model for ferromagnetic materials and a result from homogenization theory. It was found that the resonance frequency of the composite is independent of the volume fraction of the particles and that a magnetic conductivity proportional to the volume fraction exists. Furthermore, we showed that a certain amount of magnetic material is required in order to maintain a low reflection and that there exists a lower bound on how thin we could expect the absorber to be. Numerical calculations show that, though thin, the RAM tends to be quite heavy, which might prevent the use of ferromagnetic material in RAM applications. These results may serve as guidelines when designing thin broadband RAMs.
Bidirectional A* search on time‐dependent road networks

The computation of point‐to‐point shortest paths on time‐dependent road networks has a large practical interest, but very few works propose efficient algorithms for this problem. We propose a novel approach, which tackles one of the main complications of route planning in time‐dependent graphs, which is the difficulty of using bidirectional search: because the exact arrival time at the destination is unknown, we start a backward search from the destination node using lower bounds on arc costs to restrict the set of nodes that have to be explored by the forward search. Our algorithm is based on A* with landmarks (ALT); extensive computational results show that it is very effective in practice if we are willing to accept a small approximation factor, resulting in a speed‐up of more than one order of magnitude with respect to Dijkstra's algorithm while finding only slightly suboptimal solutions. The main idea presented here can also be generalized to other types of search algorithms. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. NETWORKS, 2012
The effect of classroom management training and active or information-based follow -up on inexperienced teachers' perceived classroom behavior management effectiveness

The Effect of Classroom Management Training and Active or Information-Based Follow-Up on Inexperienced Teachers’ Perceived Classroom Behavior Management Effectiveness Diana L. Casey University of Nebraska at Omaha Advisor: Dr. Peter J. Smith Inexperienced teachers' perceived classroom effectiveness of their planning and preparation, classroom environment, instruction, and professional responsibilities domains were analyzed to determine the effects of active followup compared to information-based follow-up of classroom management training (N = 50). Inexperienced teachers enrolled in I Can Do It Classroom Management Training were randomly assigned to active follow-up to the training (n = 24) or information-based follow-up to the training (n = 26). As reflected by the pretest and posttest evaluation form measuring their perceived effectiveness in the domains of planning and preparation, classroom environment, instruction, and professional responsibilities, teachers participating in active follow-up of the training demonstrated statistically significant growth in each of the domains. Teachers participating in the information-based follow-up