Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Heritage as sector, factor and vector: conceptualizing the shifting relationship between heritage management and spatial planning

ABSTRACT Heritage is a highly malleable concept that is constantly in flux and whose substance and meaning are continuously being redefined by society. From such a dynamic perspective, it is inevitable that new approaches and practices have developed for dealing with heritage in the context of planned development. While most scholars acknowledge the existence of various heritage approaches, one of the major defining features is often neglected: their distinctive outlook on spatial dynamics. In this article, the shifting role and purpose of heritage conservation in Dutch spatial planning is analysed. A conceptual framework is introduced that frames three approaches to the planning treatment of heritage; the sector, factor and vector approach, respectively. Although these approaches have developed in a historical sequence, the new did not replace the old but rather gained ground amongst different actors. Thus, three quite different ways of treating the past in the present now coexist in Dutch planning practice. Although this coexistence can raise conflict, we argue that contemporary heritage planning does not call for a one-size-fits-all approach, but rather for a mixed-mode model.
Bakery waste in sheep diets: intake, digestibility, nitrogen balance and ruminal parameters

The objective of the study was to evaluate the effects of bakery waste inclusion (0; 25; 50; 75 and 100%, DM basis) in proportion to corn meal in the energetic mixture of the concentrate on intake, digestibility, nitrogen balance and ruminal parameters in sheep. Five male lambs with body weight of 30 kg were used in a 5 × 5 Latin square design. Experimental diets were composed of concentrate and Tifton 85 (Cynodon spp.) hay in a 60:40 forage:concentrate ratio. The concentrate rations were composed of corn meal, soybean meal and bakery waste. The bakery waste:corn meal ratio corresponded to the inclusion of, approximately, 0, 7, 14, 22 and 30% (DM basis) of bakery waste in the diet. There was no effect of bakery waste inclusion on the intake and digestibility of nutrients, nor on nitrogen balance, pH values or concentrations of volatile fatty acids. However, the ammonia nitrogen concentration showed negative linear response in relation to the level of inclusion, in which each increase of 1% bakery waste promoted reduction of 0.11 mg/dL in the concentration of ammonia nitrogen. This fact may be related to the increase in ruminal availability of energy, which allows greater use of ammonia for microbial growth. Bakery waste can replace corn meal in concentrate rations for sheep.
Rapid pediatric cardiac assessment of flow and ventricular volume with compressed sensing parallel imaging volumetric cine phase-contrast MRI.

OBJECTIVE The quantification of cardiac flow and ventricular volumes is an essential goal of many congenital heart MRI examinations, often requiring acquisition of multiple 2D phase-contrast and bright-blood cine steady-state free precession (SSFP) planes. Scan acquisition, however, is lengthy and highly reliant on an imager who is well-versed in structural heart disease. Although it can also be lengthy, 3D time-resolved (4D) phase-contrast MRI yields global flow patterns and is simpler to perform. We therefore sought to accelerate 4D phase contrast and to determine whether equivalent flow and volume measurements could be extracted. MATERIALS AND METHODS Four-dimensional phase contrast was modified for higher acceleration with compressed sensing. Custom software was developed to process 4D phase-contrast images. We studied 29 patients referred for congenital cardiac MRI who underwent a routine clinical protocol, including cine short-axis stack SSFP and 2D phase contrast, followed by contrast-enhanced 4D phase contrast. To compare quantitative measurements, Bland-Altman analysis, paired Student t tests, and F tests were used. RESULTS Ventricular end-diastolic, end-systolic, and stroke volumes obtained from 4D phase contrast and SSFP were well correlated (ρ = 0.91-0.95; r(2) = 0.83-0.90), with no statistically significant difference. Ejection fractions were well correlated in a subpopulation that underwent higher-resolution compressed-sensing 4D phase contrast (ρ = 0.88; r(2) = 0.77). Four-dimensional phase contrast and 2D phase contrast flow rates were also well correlated (ρ = 0.90; r(2) = 0.82). Excluding ventricles with valvular insufficiency, cardiac outputs derived from outlet valve flow and stroke volumes were more consistent by 4D phase contrast than by 2D phase contrast and SSFP. CONCLUSION Combined parallel imaging and compressed sensing can be applied to 4D phase contrast. With custom software, flow and ventricular volumes may be extracted with comparable accuracy to SSFP and 2D phase contrast. Furthermore, cardiac outputs were more consistent by 4D phase contrast.
Structure-function analysis of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae G1 cyclin Cln2

We have generated 50 new alleles of the yeast CLN2 gene by using site-directed mutagenesis. With the recently obtained crystal structure of cyclin A as a guide, a peptide linker sequence was inserted at 13 sites within the cyclin box of Cln2 to determine if the architecture of Cln2 is similar to that of cyclin A. Linkers inserted in what are predicted to be helices 1, 2, 3, and 5 of the cyclin box resulted in nonfunctional Cln2 molecules. Linkers inserted between these putative helix sites and in the region believed to contain a fourth helix did not have significant effects upon Cln2 function. A series of deletions in the region between the third and fifth helices indicate that the putative fourth helix may lie at the C-terminal end of this region yet is not essential for function. Two residues that are predicted to form a buried salt bridge important for interaction of two helices of the cyclin box were also mutated, and an additional set of 31 mutant alleles was generated by clustered-charge-to-alanine scanning mutagenesis. All of the mutant CLN2 alleles made in this study were tested in a variety of genetic and functional assays previously demonstrated to differentiate specific cyclin functions. Some alleles demonstrated restricted patterns of defects, suggesting that these mutations may interfere with specific aspects of Cln2 function.
Design Methodology of Subthreshold Three-Stage CMOS OTAs Suitable for Ultra-Low-Power Low-Area and High Driving Capability

A design methodology for three-stage CMOS OTAs operating in the subthreshold region is presented. The procedure is focused on the development of ultra-low-power amplifiers requiring low silicon area but being able to drive high capacitive loads. Indeed, by following the presented methodology we designed a CMOS OTA in a 0.35- μm technology that occupies only 4.4·10-3 mm2, is powered with a 1-V supply, exhibits 120-dB DC gain and is able to drive a capacitive load up to 200 pF. Thanks to proposed methodology, the OTA is able to provide a 20-kHz unity gain bandwidth while consuming 195 nW, even under the high load considered. Moreover, the slew rate enhancer circuit in addition to the class AB output stage allows an average slew rate higher than 5 mV/μs with the 200 pF load. Comparison with prior art shows an improvement factor in the figures of merit higher than 5.
Accuracy of Liver Fat Quantification With Advanced CT, MRI, and Ultrasound Techniques: Prospective Comparison With MR Spectroscopy.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to prospectively evaluate the accuracy of proton-density fat-fraction, single- and dual-energy CT (SECT and DECT), gray-scale ultrasound (US), and US shear-wave elastography (US-SWE) in the quantification of hepatic steatosis with MR spectroscopy (MRS) as the reference standard. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Fifty adults who did not have symptoms (23 men, 27 women; mean age, 57 ± 5 years; body mass index, 27 ± 5) underwent liver imaging with un-enhanced SECT, DECT, gray-scale US, US-SWE, proton-density fat-fraction MRI, and MRS for this prospective trial. MRS voxels for the reference standard were colocalized with all other modalities under investigation. For SECT (120 kVp), attenuation values were recorded. For rapid-switching DECT (80/140 kVp), monochromatic images (70-140 keV) and fat density-derived material decomposition images were reconstructed. For proton-density fat fraction MRI, a quantitative chemical shift-encoded method was used. For US, echogenicity was evaluated on a qualitative 0-3 scale. Quantitative US shear-wave velocities were also recorded. Data were analyzed by linear regression for each technique compared with MRS. RESULTS There was excellent correlation between MRS and both proton-density fat-fraction MRI (r2 = 0.992; slope, 0.974; intercept, -0.943) and SECT (r2 = 0.856; slope, -0.559; intercept, 35.418). DECT fat attenuation had moderate correlation with MRS measurements (r2 = 0.423; slope, 0.034; intercept, 8.459). There was good correlation between qualitative US echogenicity and MRS measurements with a weighted kappa value of 0.82. US-SWE velocity did not have reliable correlation with MRS measurements (r2 = 0.004; slope, 0.069; intercept, 6.168). CONCLUSION Quantitative MRI proton-density fat fraction and SECT fat attenuation have excellent linear correlation with MRS measurements and can serve as accurate noninvasive biomarkers for quantifying steatosis. Material decomposition with DECT does not improve the accuracy of fat quantification over conventional SECT attenuation. US-SWE has poor accuracy for liver fat quantification.
The value of positive information: Calling back consumers missing a purchase

Consumers often miss out on a purchase even though the product can meet their demands. How to call back consumers missing a purchase is of great practical significance. Information service is an important method to communicate with consumers. This paper aims to study whether we can make use of information service to promote consumers who delayed purchase last time to increase purchase intent next time, and investigate the mechanism in the process.
Normal values of offline exhaled and nasal nitric oxide in healthy children and teens using chemiluminescence

Nitric oxide (NO) can be used to detect respiratory or ciliary diseases. Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) measurement can reflect ongoing eosinophilic airway inflammation and has a diagnostic utility as a test for asthma screening and follow-up while nasal nitric oxide (nNO) is a valuable screening tool for the diagnosis of primary ciliary dyskinesia. The possibility of collecting airway gas samples in an offline manner offers the advantage to extend these measures and improve the screening and management of these diseases, but normal values from healthy children and teens remain sparse. Methods. Samples were consecutively collected using the offline method for eNO and nNO chemiluminescence measurement in 88 and 31 healthy children and teens, respectively. Offline eNO measurement was also performed in 30 consecutive children with naïve asthma and/or respiratory allergy. Results. The normal offline eNO value was determined by the following regression equation −8.206 + 0.176 × height. The upper limit of the norm for the offline eNO value was 27.4 parts per billion (ppb). A separate analysis was performed in children, pre-teens and teens, for which offline eNO was 13.6 ± 4.7 ppb, 16.3 ± 13.7 ppb and 20.0 ± 7.2 ppb, respectively. The optimal cut-off value of the offline eNO to predict asthma or respiratory allergies was 23.3 ppb, with a sensitivity and specificity of 77% and 91%, respectively. Mean offline nNO was determined at 660 ppb with the lower limit of the norm at 197 ppb. Conclusion. The use of offline eNO and nNO normal values should favour the widespread screening of respiratory diseases in children of school age in their usual environment.
Designing Health Information Delivery Systems for Puerto Rican Women

Although health information is important to the prevention of much illness, the health information needs of Puerto Rican women remain unaddressed, according to the results of this phenomenological study. Through audiotaped interviews, 21women evaluated various sources of health information. Analysis of the data revealed which health information sources they considered trustworthy and nontrustworthy. Health care providers were found to be one of the least helpful sources, as personal interactions were often hurried and inattentive to women’s needs. Yet, the women were able to present a vivid portrait of a culturally sensitive community environment conducive to the presentation of health information. Implications include the importance of including cultural values in any health information setting, as well as the importance of building cultural bridges between health educators and Puerto Rican women. More research is needed to examine community efforts to enhance health information sources for this population of women.
Autoimmunity as a prognostic factor in melanoma patients treated with adjuvant low‐dose interferon alpha

Interferon alpha is used for the adjuvant treatment of malignant melanoma at different dosages (high‐, intermediate‐, low‐dose therapy). Only a minority of patients might benefit from this therapy, and markers to identify such patients are missing. A recent study suggested that melanoma patients developing autoantibodies or clinical manifestations of autoimmunity during adjuvant high‐dose interferon alpha treatment had a significant survival benefit. We retrospectively reviewed 134 melanoma patients from our institution treated with adjuvant low‐dose interferon alpha therapy and correlated the development of autoimmune diseases with prognosis. Interferon (IFN) therapy was routinely monitored by history, physical examination and laboratory tests before, after the first month and then after every 3 months of therapy. During a median follow up of 46.0 months (8.5–79.0 months) 28 patients (20.9%) suffered from recurrences and melanoma related deaths occurred in 16 patients (11.9%). In 20 patients (14.9%) autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) was diagnosed during IFN therapy, one of these 20 patients developed rheumatoid arthritis later while continuing IFN therapy. Other autoimmune diseases were not observed. In 2 patients (one with AIT and one with arthritis) the autoimmune disease led to discontinuation of IFN therapy, in the other patients AIT remained subclinical or responded well to treatment while IFN therapy was continued. Kaplan–Meier analyses revealed a significant better recurrence free survival and a trend for a better overall survival for patients with AIT. Thus, autoimmunity triggered by low‐dose IFN therapy appears to indicate an improved prognosis and should encourage continuation of IFN therapy. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Depression, Introversion and Mortality following Stroke

In this study, we examined the influence of clinical depression and personality introversion on 15-month mortality following stroke. Ninety-four stroke inpatients were examined two months post-stroke for clinical depression and pre-stroke personality characteristics of neuroticism and introversion. Fifteen months later, the vital status of 84 of these patients was able to be determined. Seven (8%) of the 84 patients died. Mortality rate increased from non-depressed to minor depressed and to major depressed patients (1 /48 [2%], 2/21 [10%] and 3/13 [23%], respectively) (χ2[trend] = 6.6, df = 1, p = 0.01). Patients who died had higher depression symptom scores (mean ± SD) than survivors (17.7 ± 6.0 versus 9.9 ± 7.1) (p = 0.006). Non-survivors were more introverted (i.e. had lower extroversion scores) than survivors (1.7 ±1.4 versus 4.2 ± 2.1) (p = 0.004). In multivariate analyses, introversion and depression were independently associated with mortality. We conclude that personality introversion and depression are associated with increased mortality following stroke.
Automated Positioning of Annotations in Immersive Virtual Environments

The visualization of scientific data sets can be enhanced by providing additional information that aids the data analysis process. This information is represented by so called annotations, which contain descriptive meta data about the underlying visualization. The meta data results from diverse sources like previous analysis sessions (e.g. ideas, comments, or sketches) or automated meta data extraction (e.g. descriptive statistics). Visually integrating annotations into an existing data visualization while maintaining easy data access and a clear overview over all visible annotations is a non-trivial task. Several automated annotation positioning algorithms have been proposed that specifically target single-screen display systems and hence cannot be applied to immersive multiscreen display systems commonly used in Virtual Reality. In this paper, we propose a new automated annotation positioning algorithm specifically designed for such display systems. Our algorithm is based on an analogy to the well-known shadow volume technique, which is used to determine occlusion relations. A force-based approach is used to update annotation positions. The whole algorithm is independent of the specific annotation contents and considers well-established quality criteria to build an annotation layout. We evaluate our algorithm by means of performance measurements and a structured expert walkthrough.
Safety and Cosmetic Effects of Photodynamic Therapy using Hexyl Aminolevulinate and Intense Pulsed Light: A Pilot Study Conducted in Subjects with Mild-to-moderate Facial Photodamage.

OBJECTIVE To assess the cosmetic effects of photodynamic therapy with hexyl aminolevulinate cream and intense pulsed light in subjects with mild-to-moderate facial photodamage. DESIGN Six-month, open-label, single-center, pilot study comprising three study treatments, each separated by 30 days, and two follow-up visits (one and four months following third treatment). SETTING Tennessee Clinical Research Center, Nashville, Tennessee. PARTICIPANTS Ten women (ages 36 to 64 years) with skin color classified as Fitzpatrick I to III. MEASUREMENTS The investigator evaluated erythema, dryness, bruising, crusts and erosions, and stinging/burning immediately before and after each treatment and at each follow-up visit. In addition, the investigator rated cosmetic appearance at each follow-up visit. Subjects rated stinging, tingling, itching, and burning 15 minutes after each treatment and cosmetic effects (radiance, smoothness, pore appearance, evenness of skin tone, and overall effect) at each follow-up visit. RESULTS Mean (standard error of the mean) objective cosmetic appearance scores were 0.900 (0.233) and 1.400 (0.267) (0=very much improved; l=much improved; 2=improved) one and four months following treatment, respectively. Mean subjective assessments of radiance, smoothness, pore appearance, evenness of skin tone, and overall effect ranged from 2.200 to 2.800 (2=much improved; 3=improved) one and four months following treatment. Mean objective erythema, dryness, bruising, and stinging/burning scores were <1 (minimal/slight) at all time points. Mean subjective post-treatment stinging, tingling, itching, and burning scores were <1 (mild) at all time points. CONCLUSION Photodynamic therapy with hexyl aminolevulinate and intense pulsed light improved cosmetic appearance and was generally well tolerated. Further investigation in larger patient populations is warranted.
Carbon Monoxide Dehydrogenase Activity inBradyrhizobium japonicum

ABSTRACT Bradyrhizobium japonicum strain 110spc4 was capable of chemolithoautotrophic growth with carbon monoxide (CO) as a sole energy and carbon source under aerobic conditions. The enzyme carbon monoxide dehydrogenase (CODH; EC 1.2.99.2 ) has been purified 21-fold, with a yield of 16% and a specific activity of 58 nmol of CO oxidized/min/mg of protein, by a procedure that involved differential ultracentrifugation, anion-exchange chromatography, hydrophobic interaction chromatography, and gel filtration. The purified enzyme gave a single protein and activity band on nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and had a molecular mass of 230,000 Da. The 230-kDa enzyme was composed of large (L; 75-kDa), medium (M; 28.4-kDa), and small (S; 17.2-kDa) subunits occurring in heterohexameric (LMS)2 subunit composition. The 75-kDa polypeptide exhibited immunological cross-reactivity with the large subunit of the CODH of Oligotropha carboxidovorans. The B. japonicum enzyme contained, per mole, 2.29 atoms of Mo, 7.96 atoms of Fe, 7.60 atoms of labile S, and 1.99 mol of flavin. Treatment of the enzyme with iodoacetamide yielded di(carboxamidomethyl)molybdopterin cytosine dinucleotide, identifying molybdopterin cytosine dinucleotide as the organic portion of the B. japonicum CODH molybdenum cofactor. The absorption spectrum of the purified enzyme was characteristic of a molybdenum-containing iron-sulfur flavoprotein.
Photonic Liquid Crystal Fibers for highly-tunable photonic devices

Photonic Liquid Crystal Fibers are advanced structures that benefit from a mergence of "passive" photonic crystal fiber host microstructures with "active" liquid crystal guest materials. Such a combination allows for a diversity of novel and uncommon spectral and polarization properties. The latter has simultaneously reinvigorated research in both fields of Fiber Optics and Liquid Crystals Photonics by demonstrating that such optical fibers can be more "special" and unique than previously thought. Importantly, a proper choice of Photonic Liquid Crystal Fibers components, together with precise adjustment of their parameters, may result in various new high-tech photonic elements for different applications. In this letter novel developments of highly tunable photonic devices based on Photonic Liquid Crystal Fibers, obtained recently at the Warsaw University of Technology, are demonstrated.
Combining Multiple Concurrent Physiological Streams to Assessing Patients Condition

Multiple concurrent physiological streams generated by various medical devices play important roles in patient condition assessment. However, these physiological streams need to be analyzed together and output in real-time for precise and timely controlling and management, which poses a non-trivial challenge to existing methods. This paper presents our research on real-time assessing based on this kind of data. To address this problem, we ﬁrst extract sketches from original data with the help of adaptive sampling and wave splitting algorithm, then deﬁne scalable operators on sketches and pro-pose MUNCA (MUlti-dimensional Nearest Center Analysis) to combine these multiple concurrent data together for analysis. Experiments on real data demonstrate the effectiveness and efﬁciency of the proposed method.
Approaches to improve Video Transmission over Wireless Network in

Mobile network is one of the robust communication network on which different kind of data is communicated. The criticality and load of the network increases when some video data is communicated over the network. To perform the effective video communication a data fragment or multi path communication approaches are suggested by different researchers. In this paper, a study on different approaches of video data communication is presented. The paper has explored the concept of multi path communication along with data fragmentation in case of multimedia data transmission.