Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Blind Deconvolution of Ultrasound Images Using  $l_{1}$ -Norm-Constrained Block-Based Damped Variable Step-Size Multichannel LMS Algorithm

The problem of improving the ultrasound image resolution by undoing the effect of convolution on backscattered radio-frequency (RF) data caused by the point spread function (PSF) of ultrasonic imaging system is one of the key problems in the reconstruction of the medical ultrasound images. In this paper, the tissue reflectivity functions (TRFs) are directly estimated from the noisy and nonstationary RF data using the block-based multichannel least-mean square (l1-bMCLMS) algorithm without any prior knowledge of the PSF. To account for the nonstationarity and incomplete acquisition problem of the ultrasound RF data a modified block-based cross-relation equation has been developed. An l1-norm regularized cost function based on the proposed modified cross-relation equation is then formulated for blind estimation of the TRFs using the new l1-bMCLMS algorithm. A damped variable step-size is also developed to compensate for the noise effect and to improve the convergence speed of the algorithm. The PSF is then estimated from multiple lateral blocks of RF data using the regularized multiple-input/output inverse theorem, which is known to be suitable for both minimum and nonminimum phase signals. The salient feature of the proposed method is that no basis function is required for TRFs and/or PSF. The efficacy of the proposed method is examined using the simulation/experimental phantom data and in vivo RF data and evaluated in terms of the quality metrics: resolution gain (RG), normalized projection misalignment (NPM), and shifted normalized mean square error (snMSE). The results show that the RG and NPM improvements of TRFs estimation of 0.12~5.2 and 3.34~22.82 dB, respectively, and the snMSE improvement of the PSF estimation of the order 102~4 can be achieved in our technique as compared with the other techniques in the literature.
An overview on Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks

Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks (UW-ASNs) is of growing research interest. This paper gives description on underwater channel model. It overviews transmission schemes in data link layer and network layer, and simulates different transmission schemes. Finally, it offers comparison and guides for future development. Keywords— Underwater communications; Acoustic Sensor Networks; acoustic communication
Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire as a Screening Test for Dementia and Delirium Among the Elderly

Pfeiffer's Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ) is a brief screening test for organic brain syndromes. The validity of the SPMSQ was evaluated in a random sample of 119 community residents and 282 consecutively admitted medical inpatients. The SPMSQ proved to be a sensitive and specific screening test for moderate to severe dementia both in the community and hospital. Using the cut‐off point (number of errors accepted) of three errors, the sensitivity of the test was 86.2% and the specificity 99.0% among medical inpatients. The percentages in the community sample were 66.7% and 100%, respectively. The validity of the SPMSQ was not as good for delirium because of its variable clinical picture. For screening purposes lower cut‐off points than previously recommended should be used: three errors for dementia and two errors for delirium. Among Finnish elderly people it was not necessary to use correction for education in the SPMSQ.
Sensory learning‐induced enhancement of inhibitory synaptic transmission in the barrel cortex of the mouse

In adult mice, repetitive pairing of stimulation of mystacial vibrissae with an electrical shock to the tail induces expansion of the cortical representation of stimulated vibrissae accompanied by elevation of the GABAergic markers. Here, we show that this associative learning paradigm results in a selective increase in the frequency of spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents in layer IV excitatory neurons located within the barrel representing stimulated vibrissae, evident 24 h after the end of training. The mean amplitude of spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic potentials recorded from excitatory neurons was unchanged. Recordings from layer IV excitatory and fast spiking neurons showed that the training induced changes neither in the mean frequency nor it the mean amplitude of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents. On the other hand, the mean amplitude of field potentials evoked by the stimulation of layer VI and recorded in layer IV was significantly reduced. These data indicate that aversive training results in a selective and long‐lasting enhancement of GABAergic transmission within the cortical representation of stimulated vibrissae, which may result in a decrease in layer VI‐evoked field responses.
The Hypotensive Effects of Isometric Handgrip Training Using an Inexpensive Spring Handgrip Training Device

PURPOSE Research has demonstrated the efficacy of isometric handgrip (IHG) training to attenuate resting blood pressure. These studies have relied on the use of programmable digital handgrips for training. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of simple, inexpensive spring-loaded handgrip devices in producing hypotensive effects. METHODS The study was a randomized controlled trial of 49 normotensive participants (66.4 ± 0.9 years; 57% women). Participants in the exercise group (n = 25) trained and had blood pressure measured twice weekly for 8 weeks. Control participants (n = 24) completed weekly blood pressure measurements. Pre- and posttraining measurements were each assessed over 3 visits. Statistical analysis of the pre-post data involved analyses of variance and hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine changes over time. RESULTS Following 8 weeks, IHG participants demonstrated significant reductions in resting blood pressure. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were reduced from 122 ± 3 mm Hg to 112 ± 3 mm Hg (P < .001) and from 70 ± 1 mm Hg to 67 ± 1 mm Hg (P < .05), respectively. Hierarchical linear modeling analysis also revealed a significant cross-level (ie, group ÷ time) interaction, with an estimated reduction in systolic blood pressure of 5.4 mm Hg (P < .001) over the training period in the IHG group. CONCLUSIONS In agreement with previous studies, IHG training reduced resting arterial pressure following 8 weeks of training. Hypotensive effects linked to IHG training may be achieved using simple, inexpensive spring handgrip training devices and may provide a convenient and affordable therapeutic alternative or adjunctive therapy for lowering blood pressure.
Exploration de paramètres acoustiques dérivés de GMM pour l’adaptation non supervisée de modèles acoustiques à base de réseaux de neurones profonds (Exploring GMM-derived features for unsupervised adaptation of deep neural network acoustic models)[In French]

L’étude présentée dans cet article améliore une méthode récemment proposée pour l’adaptation de modèles acoustiques markoviens couplés à un réseau de neurones profond (DNN-HMM). Cette méthode d’adaptation utilise des paramètres acoustiques dérivés de mixtures de modèles Gaussiens (GMM-derived features, GMMD ). L’amélioration provient de l’emploi de scores et de mesures de confiance calculés à partir de graphes construits dans le cadre d’un algorithme d’adaptation conventionnel dit de maximum a posteriori (MAP). Une version modifiée de l’adaptation MAP est appliquée sur le modèle GMM auxiliaire utilisé dans une procédure d’apprentissage adaptatif au locuteur (speaker adaptative training, SAT) lors de l’apprentissage du DNN. Des expériences menées sur le corpus Wall Street Journal (WSJ0) montrent que la technique d’adaptation non supervisée proposée dans cet article permet une réduction relative de 8, 4% du taux d’erreurs sur les mots (WER), par rapport aux résultats obtenus avec des modèles DNN-HMM indépendants du locuteur utilisant des paramètres acoustiques plus conventionnels.
Design and Characterization of a Micro-Fabricated Graphene-Based MEMS Microphone

We fabricate a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphone that incorporates a graphene-based membrane that vibrates in response to acoustic forcing. We employ a novel fabrication process, where a graphene/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) bilayer membrane is transferred over a cavity on a separate chip before being affixed to the surface of another chip containing an electrode, resulting in the fabrication of a moveable capacitor with a membrane-to-electrode gap of 8 $\mu \text{m}$ . The gap, which is less than half the size of other reported graphene membrane-based audio transducers, allows for the device to operate with the low-DC bias voltages of about 1 V and, when integrated with a custom-designed readout circuit, demonstrates a sensitivity to sound pressure between 0.1 and 10 mV/Pa across the range 100 Hz–20 kHz. As well as a sensitivity that is comparable with the previous work, the flat frequency response is stable when the sound pressure is varied between 70 and 80 dBSPL, with the sensitivity value not varying by more than 0.2 mV/Pa.
Institutional Foundation of Trade and Industrial Policies in Africa

This chapter attempts to establish the fact that much of Africa’s development problems have strong institutional roots. Other identified factors, including the issue of pareto-inferior trade and industrial policies, might be mere reflection of the faulty institutional foundation of most African states. This is a follow-up on the recent attempts by Acemoglu et al (2003) and Witold (2004) at studying macroeconomic problems of growth, revenue and expenditure volatility, high levels of unemployment and inflation, and exchange rate instability, which has plagued many LDCs in the recent past as being basically due to existing institutional matrix in these countries.
Using Citation Analysis to Assess the Impact of Journals and Articles on Contemporary Accounting Research (CAR)

Citation analysis has been used in the natural and social sciences for such purposes as evaluating the research contributions of articles, journals, institutions, and individuals (Garfield [1979]). Some specific applications of the technique to the social sciences include measuring the exchange of information within the management sciences (Back [1974]), predicting Nobel Laureates in economics (Quandt [1976]), appraising journals in psychology (White and White [1977]), evaluating the impact of marketing scholars and academic institutions (Robinson and Adler [1981]), and assessing the relative impacts of economics journals (Liebowitz and Palmer [1984]). Citation analysis has also been used on two occasions in the accounting discipline by McRae [1974] and Dyckman and Zeff [1984], but for somewhat more specific purposes than assessing contributions to accounting research in general. For example, McRae [1974] attempted to define the accounting information network based on a citation analysis of the flow of messages
Passive cable properties and morphological correlates of neurones in the lateral geniculate nucleus of the cat.

1. We used an in vivo preparation of the cat to study the passive cable properties of sixteen X and twelve Y cells in the lateral geniculate nucleus. Cells were modelled as equivalent cylinders according to Rall's formulations (Rall, 1959a, 1969, 1977). We injected intracellular current pulses into these geniculate neurones, and we analysed the resulting voltage transients to obtain the cable parameters of these cells. In addition, fifty‐four physiologically characterized neurones were labelled with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and analysed morphologically. 2. Analysis of HRP‐labelled geniculate neurones showed that the dendritic branching pattern of these cells adheres closely to the 3/2 power rule. That is, at each branch point, the diameter of the parent branch raised to the 3/2 power equals the sum of the diameters of the daughter dendrites after each is raised to the 3/2 power. Furthermore, preliminary data indicate that the dendritic terminations emanating from each primary dendrite occur at the same electrotonic distance from the soma. These observations suggest that both X and Y cells meet the geometric constraints necessary for reduction of their dendritic arbors into equivalent cylinders. 3. We found a strong linear relationship between the diameter of each primary dendrite and the membrane surface area of the arbor emanating from it. We used this relationship to derive an algorithm for determining the total somatic and dendritic membrane surface area of an X and Y cell simply from knowledge of the diameters of its soma and primary dendrites. 4. Both geniculate X and Y cells display current‐voltage relationships that were linear within +/‐ 20 mV of the resting membrane potential. This meant that we could easily remain within the linear voltage range during the voltage transient analyses. 5. X and Y cells clearly differ in terms of many of their electrical properties, including input resistance, membrane time constant and electrotonic length. The difference in input resistance between X and Y cells cannot be attributed solely to the smaller average size of X cells, but it also reflects a higher specific membrane resistance (Rm) of the X cells. Furthermore, X cells exhibit electrotonic lengths slightly larger than those of Y cells, but both neuronal types display electrotonic lengths of roughly 1. This indicates that even the most distally located innervation to these cells should have considerable influence on their somatic and axonal responses. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Childhood maltreatment, psychological dysregulation, and risky sexual behaviors in female adolescents.

OBJECTIVE Maltreated female adolescents are at risk for engaging in sexual behaviors consistent with HIV infection and teen pregnancy. The current study applied a model positing the key role of psychological dysregulation in the development of adolescent females' sexual behavior. METHODS The sample consisted of adolescent females aged 14-17 years who had experienced substantiated childhood maltreatment (n = 275) and a demographically matched, non-maltreated comparison group (n = 210). RESULTS Multiple mediator analysis revealed that, when in company with a host of plausible mechanisms, sexual preoccupation mediated the relationship between psychological dysregulation and risky sexual behaviors. CONCLUSION Maltreated females may have difficulty regulating emotions, cognitions, and behaviors, which, when coupled with a propensity to entertain sexual thoughts and consume sexually explicit materials, may increase the likelihood that they act on sexual impulses and engage in high-risk sexual behaviors.
Blind source separation without permutation and scaling indeterminacy

Independent component analysis (ICA) can separate unknown sources using only their mixtures if they are statistically independent. However, the scaling and permutation problem occur at each frequency when the frequency domain ICA is adopted; it is essential to solve this problem peculiar to ICA. In the present paper, a permutation correction rule is proposed by using locational information on the sources under a multi-source and multi-microphone configuration. A method for extracting human speech exclusively is also proposed.
An Exploration of the Motivational Profile of Secondary Urban Agriculture Students.

This descriptive-correlational study examined the personal factors that may affect the self-determination of 110 freshmen who have elected to enroll in an urban agriculture program. The personal factors, termed the motivational profile, consisted of influences in the decision to enroll in the program, the student’s type of motivation to attend the agriculture program, satisfaction with that decision, and perceived effort during academic tasks related to agriculture. Results show that when students perceive they have an influence in the decision to enroll in the program, they are more satisfied with the decision and more likely to report exerting a moderate to high effort on academic tasks related to agriculture. This study has implications for establishing a body of knowledge on non-rural student motivation toward agriculture that can impact teacher training, educational interventions targeting student achievement, and student recruitment and retention into agriculture.
The effect of trade liberation on the salmon market in Finland

The fish markets in Finland were formerly protected from international competition. The markets were gradually opened to free competition in the 1990s due to the EEA agreement and EU membership. As a consequence, the importation of fresh salmon from Norway rapidly increased, and imported salmon captured the markets from domestic salmon trout and wild salmon. In this study we use price series data and apply co-integration techniques to analyse how the trade liberation affected salmon markets in Finland. The study reveals that the price of imported salmon determines the price of wild salmon and that it also had a clear effect on the price of salmon trout.
Tenascin‐C is associated with early stages of chondrogenesis by chick mandibular ectomesenchymal cells in vivo and in vitro

Tenascin‐C is an extracellular matrix protein thought to be involved in skeletogenesis. We have examined the distribution of tenascin‐C in the developing chick mandibular arch between stages 18–36, and during in vitro chondrogenesis of mandibular ectomesenchymal cells in micromass cultures using a probe and antibody that correspond to the portion of the tenascin‐C transcript conserved in all of the three known chick splice variants. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemical analyses demonstrate that tenascin‐C is predominantly expressed in the condensing mesenchyme of developing cartilage, and in the perichondrium of differentiated cartilage. Tenascin‐C expression, although detected in differentiating chondroblasts, was not detected in differentiated cartilage. Tenascin‐C was also expressed in the developing membranous bones. In addition, the expression of tenascin‐C transcripts during in vitro chondrogenesis of mandibular ectomesenchymal cells in micromass cultures was compared to the patterns of expression of aggrecan core protein and α1(I) collagen transcripts. Our in situ hybridization analyses of micromass cultures demonstrate the expression of tenascin‐C and agreecan core protein mRNAs by pre‐chondrogenic aggregates in the 1‐day cultures and by chondroblasts in differentiating cartilage nodules in 2‐day cultures. In 4‐ and 9‐day cultures, the pattern of expression of tenascin‐C mRNA was different from the patterns of expression of aggrecan core protein mRNA, and appeared to be more closely related to the expression of α1(I) collagen mRNA. Aggrecan core protein mRNA was expressed by chondrocytes in cartilage nodules in 4‐ and 9‐day cultures. On the other hand, tenascin‐C and α1(I) collagen mRNAs, in addition to being expressed in the loose connective tissues in the inter‐nodular spaces, were predominantly expressed by the elongated, flattened, and fibroblast‐like cells around the cartilage nodules. These results indicate that during the in vitro chondrogenesis of mandibular ectomesenchymal cells, expression of tenascin‐C mRNA identifies chondrocytes in their early stages of differentiation. The patterns of expression of tenascin‐C mRNA in 4‐ and 9‐day cultures further suggest that tenascin‐C is expressed in the perichondrium‐like structures that form around the cartilage nodules in micromass cultures. Therefore, our in vitro studies, in agreement with our in vivo studies, suggest an association of tenascin‐C with the initial or early stages of chondrogenesis in the chicken mandibular arch. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Government–Business Partnership Formation for Environmental Improvements

This article extends resource dependence theory to systematically explain what types of firms are likely to partner with governments through government–business partnerships (GBPs) to address environmental challenges. Using data from 377 environmental alliances formed between 1985 and 2013, this article empirically assesses firms’ likelihood of choosing GBPs for environmental improvements rather than selection of other cross-sector and interfirm partnership(s). The results suggest that GBPs are likely to form when firms are in vulnerable strategic positions, for example, where their survival substantively relies on receiving government support. GBPs are also likely to form when firms have strong resource or social positions that allow them to leverage governmental power in the development of strategic opportunities related to environmental improvements.
Crystal Structure of a Mini-intein Reveals a Conserved Catalytic Module Involved in Side Chain Cyclization of Asparagine during Protein Splicing*

We have determined the crystal structure of a 154-residue intein derived from the dnaB gene of Synechocystis sp. strain PCC6803 and refined it to a 2.0-Å resolution. The x-ray structure suggests that this intein possesses two catalytic sites that appear to be separately responsible for splicing and cleavage of the N- and C-terminal scissile bonds. The conserved intein block F residues are the important components of a catalytic site for side chain cyclization of the last intein residue, Asn-154. The data suggest that the imidazole ring of His-143 is involved in the activation of the side chain Nδ atom of Asn-154, leading to a nucleophilic attack on the carbonyl carbon of Asn-154. Substitution of His-143 with Ala or Gln resulted in the inhibition of C-terminal cleavage. His-153, Asp-136, and a water molecule appear to constitute an oxyanion binding site by contacting the carbonyl oxygen of Asn-154 to stabilize the transition state. The structure and mutagenesis data also support that the close contact between the hydroxyl groups of Thr-138 and Ser-155, whose side chain participates in an S → O acyl shift, plays an important role in the nucleophile orientation. Our structural modeling suggests that this catalytic module is conserved in the C-terminal subdomains of inteins from diverse organisms.
Colorectal mucus non‐invasively collected from patients with inflammatory bowel disease and its suitability for diagnostic cytology

Colorectal mucus is a key component of the protective gut barrier which is altered in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We aimed to cytologically characterize colorectal mucus non‐invasively collected from IBD patients using our new sampling technique. Colorectal mucus was self‐collected by 58 IBD patients comprising 31 ulcerative colitis (UC) and 27 Crohn's disease (CD) cases. The samples were examined cytologically, and immunocytochemically. Large numbers of well‐preserved granulocytes were typically detected (neutrophils undergoing degradation were observed as well). Plasma cells and erythrophagocytosis were present in 18.2% and 29.1% of cases, respectively, predominantly in patients with UC and distal CD. Immunocytochemical visualization of calprotectin in neutrophils, eosinophil‐derived neurotoxin in eosinophils and tumour necrosis factor‐α in macrophages was also achieved. Correct cytological diagnosis was made in 61.8% of analysed IBD cases. Our new method of colorectal mucus sampling provides highly informative material for cytology. Findings of the presence of plasmocytes and erythrophagocytosis in colorectal mucus are unique and may reflect previously unknown mechanisms of IBD pathogenesis. Immunocytochemical detection of inflammation biomarkers demonstrates the suitability of this material for biomarker quantification. These promising results suggest a potential role for colorectal mucus cytology in the non‐invasive diagnosis of IBD.