Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Increased arterial stiffness in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a mechanism for increased cardiovascular risk

Rationale: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with a 2–3-fold increase in the risk of ischaemic heart disease, stroke and sudden death. The mechanisms responsible for this association are not clear and appear to be independent of smoking history. Objective: We test the hypothesis that patients with COPD have increased arterial stiffness and blood pressure in comparison with age and smoking matched controls. Methods: In a prospective case control study, we recruited 102 patients with COPD and 103 healthy controls matched for age and smoking status. Patients were assessed by clinical history and spirometry, with arterial stiffness and blood pressure determined using radial artery applanation tonometry and sphygmomanometry. Results: Patients with COPD had increased arterial stiffness compared with matched controls, with elevated augmentation pressure (17 (1) vs 14 (1) mm Hg; p = 0.005) and a reduced time to wave reflection (131 (1) vs 137 (2) ms; p = 0.004). These differences were associated with increases in both diastolic (82 (1) vs 78 (1) mm Hg; p = 0.005) and systolic blood pressure (147 (2) vs 132 (2) mm Hg; p<0.001). Serum C reactive protein concentrations were threefold higher in patients (6.1 (0.9) vs 2.3 (0.4) mg/l; p = 0.001). Data are presented as mean (SEM). Conclusions: Patients with COPD have increased arterial stiffness and blood pressure in comparison with controls matched for age and smoking status. We speculate that increased systemic inflammation and vascular dysfunction could potentially explain the excess cardiovascular morbidity and mortality associated with COPD.
Neptune: Efficient remote communication services for cloud backups

In order to efficiently achieve fault tolerance in cloud computing, large-scale data centers generally leverage remote backups to improve system reliability. Due to longdistance and expensive network transmission, the backups incur heavy communication overheads and potential errors. To address this important problem, we propose an efficient remote communication service, called Neptune. Neptune efficiently transmits massive data between long-distance data centers via a cost-effective filtration scheme. The filtration in Neptune is interpreted as eliminating redundancy and compressing similarity of files, which are generally studied independently in existing work. In order to bridge the gap between them, Neptune leverages chunk-level deduplication to eliminates duplicate files, and approximate delta compression to compresses similar files. Moreover, in order to reduce the complexity and overheads, Neptune uses a locality-aware hashing to group similar files and proposes shortcut delta chains for fast remote recovery. We have really implemented Neptune. We examine the Neptune performance by using real-world traces of LANL, HP, MSN and Google. Compared with state-of-the-art work, experimental results demonstrate the efficiency and efficacy of Neptune.
Impairment of Cognitive Function and Synaptic Plasticity Associated with Alteration of Information Flow in Theta and Gamma Oscillations in Melamine-Treated Rats

Changes of neural oscillations at a variety of physiological rhythms are effectively associated with cognitive performance. The present study investigated whether the directional indices of neural information flow (NIF) could be used to symbolize the synaptic plasticity impairment in hippocampal CA3-CA1 network in a rat model of melamine. Male Wistar rats were employed while melamine was administered at a dose of 300 mg/kg/day for 4 weeks. Behavior was measured by the Morris water maze(MWM)test. Local field potentials (LFPs) were recorded before long-term potentiation (LTP) induction. Generalized partial directed coherence (gPDC) and phase-amplitude coupling conditional mutual information (PAC_CMI) were used to measure the unidirectional indices in both theta and low gamma oscillations (LG, ∼30–50 Hz). Our results showed that melamine induced the cognition deficits consistent with the reduced LTP in CA1 area. Phase locking values (PLVs) showed that the synchronization between CA3 and CA1 in both theta and LG rhythms was reduced by melamine. In both theta and LG rhythms, unidirectional indices were significantly decreased in melamine treated rats while a similar variation trend was observed in LTP reduction, implying that the effects of melamine on cognitive impairment were possibly mediated via profound alterations of NIF on CA3-CA1 pathway in hippocampus. The results suggested that LFPs activities at these rhythms were most likely involved in determining the alterations of information flow in the hippocampal CA3-CA1 network, which might be associated with the alteration of synaptic transmission to some extent.
Initial Explorations of CCG Supertagging for Universal Dependency Parsing

In this paper we describe the system by METU team for universal dependency parsing of multilingual text. We use a neural network-based dependency parser that has a greedy transition approach to dependency parsing. CCG supertags contain rich structural information that proves useful in certain NLP tasks. We experiment with CCG supertags as additional features in our experiments. The neural network parser is trained together with dependencies and simplified CCG tags as well as other features provided.
Optimization of poly(ethylene terephthalate) bottles via numerical modeling: A statistical design of experiment approach

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) bottles, commonly used for carbonated soft drink packaging, occasionally fail because of environmental stress cracking at the petaloid base. At raised temperatures, particularly during hot summer months, increased carbonation pressure of the contents aggravates susceptibility to stress cracking. In this study, numerical modeling with finite element analysis techniques was used to redesign the petaloid base of bottles to improve stress-crack resistance. An experimental design based on an algorithmic partial cubic method was employed. Mathematical modeling of the principal internal stress as a function of key design parameters identified optimal dimensions for the petaloid base. The improvement in stress-crack resistance was verified by experimental studies.
Examining Similarities and Differences in Consumer Motivation for Playing and Watching Soccer

i Knowing similarities and differences between sport participants and spectators can be advantageous for sport marketers as it may allow sport organizations to increase their consumer base beyond their traditional consumers. Therefore, the present study is aimed at examining similarities and differences of consumer motivation for both playing and watching sports. Using a sample of soccer consumers who both play and watch soccer {N= 237), the study found that for the most part, motivations for playing and watching soccer were different However, affiliation was found to predict commitment to both playing and watching for highly involved individuals. Similarly, stress reduction was found to predict commitment to both playing and watching for lesser involved individuals. These findings help marketers in the soccer industry determine how spectator sport can be marketed to sport participants, and likewise how participant sport can be marketed to spectators.
Visualising Text Co-occurrence Networks

We present a tool for automatically generating a visual summary of unstructured text data retrieved from documents, web sites or social media feeds. Unlike tools such as word clouds, we are able to visualise structures and topic relationships occurring in a document. These relationships are determined by a unique approach to co-occurrence analysis. The algorithm applies a decaying function to the distance between word pairs found in the original text such that words regularly occurring close to each other score highly, but even words occurring some distance apart will make a small contribution to the overall co-occurrence score. This is in contrast to other algorithms which simply count adjacent words or use a sliding window of fixed size. We show, with examples, how the network generated can be presented in tree or graph format. The tree format allows for the user to interact with the visualisation and expand or contract the data to a preferred level of detail. The tool is available as a web application and can be viewed using any modern web browser
Categorical Inputs, Sensitivity Analysis, Optimization and Importance Tempering with tgp Version 2, an R Package for Treed Gaussian Process Models

This document describes the new features in version 2.x of the tgp package for R, implementing treed Gaussian process (GP) models. The topics covered include methods for dealing with categorical inputs and excluding inputs from the tree or GP part of the model; fully Bayesian sensitivity analysis for inputs/covariates; sequential optimization of black-box functions; and a new Monte Carlo method for inference in multi-modal posterior distributions that combines simulated tempering and importance sampling. These additions extend the functionality of tgp across all models in the hierarchy: from Bayesian linear models, to classification and regression trees (CART), to treed Gaussian processes with jumps to the limiting linear model. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with the baseline functionality of the package, outlined in the first vignette (Gramacy 2007).
The effect of lipid extraction on carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios in oyster tissues: Implications for glycogen-rich species.

RATIONALE Extraction of lipids from tissues prior to carbon stable isotope analysis (SIA) has become a common practice, despite a lack of species-specific data to indicate when lipid extraction is needed. Marine invertebrates, including bivalves, are known to store carbon as glycogen and less in the form of lipids than other species, potentially reducing the need for lipid extraction even when C:N values are above 3.5, a value that previous studies suggest indicates a need for lipid extraction of animal tissues. METHODS We investigated the need for lipid extraction on individual tissues (adductor muscle, gut gland, gill) and whole tissue of a glycogen-storing species, the oyster Crassostrea virginica. Bulk and lipid-extracted samples were analyzed for their C and N stable isotope ratios by continuous flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). Samples were analyzed on a 20-20 isotope ratio mass spectrometer (PDZ Europa) after combustion in an elemental analyzer (PDZ Europa Automatic Analyzer-Gas Solid Liquid). RESULTS Although the C:N values for most bulk (unextracted) tissue samples were greater than 3.5, the lipid-extracted δ13 C values did not differ from the bulk values. Lipid extraction, however, affected δ15 N values in all tissue types except adductor muscle, indicating that separate SIA may be required when tissues are lipid extracted. CONCLUSIONS These data demonstrate that it is not necessary to lipid extract oyster tissues in all cases, and that C:N thresholds for lipid extraction in other species may not be reliable for organisms such as oysters that store glycogen. Our data indicate that minimizing unnecessary lipid extraction through preliminary testing will save researchers time and expense by avoiding superfluous sample handling, reducing concern over secondary effects on data quality, and reducing the costs of reagents and additional separate stable isotope analysis to ensure analytical accuracy. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Appropriate Use Criteria for Amyloid PET: A Report of the Amyloid Imaging Task Force, the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, and the Alzheimer’s Association

Positron emission tomography (PET) of brain amyloid β is a technology that is becoming more available, but its clinical utility in medical practice requires careful definition. To provide guidance to dementia care practitioners, patients, and caregivers, the Alzheimer’s Association and the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging convened the Amyloid Imaging Taskforce (AIT). The AIT considered a broad range of specific clinical scenarios in which amyloid PET could potentially be used appropriately. Peer-reviewed, published literature was searched to ascertain available evidence relevant to these scenarios, and the AIT developed a consensus of expert opinion. Although empirical evidence of impact on clinical outcomes is not yet available, a set of specific appropriate use criteria (AUC) were agreed on that define the types of patients and clinical circumstances in which amyloid PET could be used. Both appropriate and inappropriate uses were considered and formulated, and are reported and discussed here. Because both dementia care and amyloid PET technology are in active development, these AUC will require periodic reassessment. Future research directions are also outlined, including diagnostic utility and patient-centered outcomes.
Doppler technique for the detection and localization of modified brachytherapy seeds

A technique to improve detection of brachytherapy seeds in ultrasound images is presented. Seeds modified to include a small ferrous or magnetic component are vibrated with an amplitude of a few microns within the tissue by an external magnetic field. The vibration is detected by standard Power Doppler or Pulse Wave Doppler systems, which pinpoint the source of vibration and thus the seed within the image. The results of in vitro experiments on agar and liver-tissue phantoms are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the method. MRI compatibility issues are addressed.
The osmolality of subdural hematoma fluid.

✓ In 23 patients with subdural hematomas the osmolality of the hematoma fluid was compared with that of venous blood and in 11 of these cases with lumbar cerebrospinal fluid. There was no significant difference in the osmolalities of these fluids. The electrophoretic pattern of the subdural hematoma fluid resembles that of serum in that it usually does not contain prealbumins. The hemoglobin breakdown products migrate with the alpha II and beta globulins and include methemoglobin, oxyhemoglobin, and bilirubin. It is suggested that the late onset of symptoms, which often occurs, is due to either progressive bleeding from the neovascular outer membrane, effusion through it of albumin and fluid, or recurrent bleeding from a venous stump. It is also possible that very little expansion in the size of the subdural hematoma occurs following the initial formation and that late decompensation results from dynamic changes in the compressed brain. This work provides no evidence either to support or refute the concep.
A Simplified Semi-Empirical Method to Select the Processing Parameters for Laser Clad Coatings

A semi-empirical method for selecting the processing parameter s of laser cladding is proposed. This phenomenological approach uses simple mathematical formulae, derived from a statistical analysis of measured data, to relate the laser cladding parameters with the geometric features of the clad track. Given the prescribed clad height and avai lable laser beam power, the proposed method allows to calculate values of the scanning speed and powder feed rate which are required to obtain low dilution, pore free coatings, fusion bonded to the substra te. To illustrate the application of this method, variable powder feed rate laser cladding e xperiments were carried out with Stellite 6 powder on mild steel substrates. In this technique t he laser beam power and radius and the processing speed are kept constant, while the powder feed rate is varied along a single track length according to a specified linear function. The expressions derive d from the model allowed to plot the experimental data in a coherent manner, revealing the combine d role of the different processing parameters.
Relational Model Bases: A Technical Approach to Real-time Business Intelligence and Decision Making

This article presents a technical approach to acquiring quality, real-time decision-making information within organizations and illustrates this approach with an extended case study. Using relational model bases for real-time, operational decision making in organizations facilitates a transition to dynamic (vs. forecast-driven) resource allocation decisions. These and related systems offer development of a new generation of DSS applications which can be applied to extend preemptive decision making across many industries. This approach is illustrated through a description of a detailed conceptual case (scenario) pertaining to its application in agribusiness. This approach to decision making can be viewed as an extension of well-known techniques pertaining to DSS but also represents the opportunity to address problems not amenable to traditional post hoc analysis. Researchers can learn from the accumulated knowledge pertaining to DSS but can also examine innovations that push forward into new territories. The article presents and discusses a variety of emergent research questions prompted by the application of these technologies in the business environment.
Distributed optimal power and rate control in single-hop wireless interference networks

We study distributed optimal control in general single-hop wireless interference networks. We take into account the decoding errors due to channel outage by introducing “effective utility” associated with the average correctly received data rate, and formulate the effective network utility maximization (ENUM) w.r. t. power and rate control. The ENUM is a non-convex stochastic NUM. By introducing “average SINR”, we approximate the ENUMby a convex problem. The approximation error is asymptotically negligible. Borrowing the load-spillage characterization of the average SINR, we obtain a distributed stochastic algorithm to solve the approximated problem. Using stochastic approximation, we show that the proposed algorithm converges almost surely.
Traveling fronts bifurcating from stable layers in the presence of conservation laws

We study traveling waves bifurcating from stable standing layers in systems where a reaction-diffusion equation couples to a scalar conservation law. We prove the existence of weekly decaying traveling fronts that emerge in the presence of a weakly stable direction on a center manifold. Moreover, we show the existence of bifurcating traveling waves of constant mass. The main difficulty is to prove the smoothness of the ansatz in exponentially weighted spaces required to apply the Lyapunov-Schmidt methods.
Variable stiffness materials for reconfigurable surface applications

Reconfigurable and morphing structures can potentially provide a range of new functionalities including system optimization over broad operational conditions and multi-mission capability. Previous efforts in morphing surfaces have generally focused on small deformation of high stiffness structural materials (e.g. aluminum, CFRP) or large deformation of low stiffness non-structural materials (e.g. elastomers). This paper introduces a new approach to achieving large strains in materials with high elastic moduli (5 to 30+ GPa). The work centers on creating variable stiffness composite materials which exhibit a controllable change in elastic modulus (bending or axial) and large reversible strains (5-15%). Several prototype materials were prepared using a commercial shape memory polymer, and measurements on these materials indicate a controllable change in stiffness as a function of temperature along with large reversible strain accommodation. We have fabricated and tested several design variations of laminar morphing materials which exhibit structural stiffness values of 8-12 GPa, changes in modulus of 15-77x, and large reversible bending strain and recovery of 2% area change in specific sample types. Results indicate that significant controllable changes in stiffness are possible.
Evaluation of the Photocatalytic Properties of Textile Fabrics Modifed with Titanium Dioxide of Anatase Structute

The effect of surface modification with selected alkoxysilanes on the photocatalytic properties of TiO2 used in the reaction of formaldehyde photodegradation to UV radiation was investigated. Titanium dioxide - Tytanpol® A-11, a pigment of anatase structure of the untreated surface, was used. Silane coupling agents were hydrolysed and then deposited directly on the surface of the TiO2. The alkoxysilanes - 3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane, vinyltrimethoxysilane or N-2-(aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane were applied in the amounts of 0.5, 1 or 3 wt. parts per 100 wt. parts of TiO2. The unmodified and modified titanium dioxide were used for the dip-coating of textile fabrics, and their photocatalytic properties were tested using UV radiation with TiO2 as a photocatalyst. The results proved the very good photooxidative activity of TiO2 introduced into the structure of polyester fabric.
Activated sludge process identification based on genetic algorithm

This paper investigates the application of an optimization method, which is the genetic algorithm, in order to identify the parameters of an activated sludge process for waste water treatment. The studied model is a hybrid reduced-order one. The genetic algorithm tries to find out the optimal parameters that ensure a minimal mean square error between the measured and simulation outputs. Simulation results show the competence of the proposed approach to seize the true model's parameter values.
Formation of Platinum Nanodendrites Embedded Organic Insulator for Memory Application

This work describes the formation of platinum nanodendrites (PtNDs) using the chemical reduction method. The PtNDs were formed with varying concentration of K2PtCl4 precursor (5-20 mM) and growth duration (8-16 min). The optimum concentration of K2PtCl4 was 15 mM whereby high crystalline nanodendrites with an average size of 118 nm were produced. Aggregation of nanodendrites occurred when the growth duration was prolonged to more than 12 minutes. The morphology and size of PtNDs were characterized by using a transmission electron microscope (TEM), high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) and X-ray diffractometer (XRD). Additionally, the memory characteristics of PtNDs embedded in polymethylsilsesquioxanes (PMSSQ)/Si with gold electrodes were studied in this work. PtNDs played a role as charge-trapped sites and showed good memory effect when embedded in PMSSQ. Optimum memory properties of PMSSQ-embedded PtNDs were obtained for PtNDs synthesized with 15 mM K2PtCl4 concentration at 12 min of growth duration with 170 electrons trapped per PtNDs and Vth of 2.8 V.
Wireless Multi-Sensor Networks for Smart Cities: A Prototype System With Statistical Data Analysis

As urbanization proceeds at an astonishing rate, cities have to continuously improve their solutions that affect the safety, health, and overall well-being of their residents. Smart city projects worldwide build on advanced sensor, information, and communication technologies to help dealing with issues like air pollution, waste management, traffic optimization, and energy efficiency. The paper reports about the prototype of a smart city initiative in Budapest, which applies various sensors installed on the public lighting system and a cloud-based analytical module. While the installed wireless multi-sensor network gathers information about a number of stressors, the module integrates and statistically processes the data. The module can handle inconsistent, missing, and noisy data and can extrapolate the measurements in time and space, namely, it can create short-term forecasts and smoothed maps, both accompanied by reliability estimates. The resulting database uses geometric representations and can serve as an information centre for public services.