Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Theoretical Intrinsic Equivalent Magnetic Noise Evaluation for Magneto (Elasto) Electric Sensors Using Modulation Techniques

The equivalent magnetic noise of magnetostrictive-piezoelectric composite sensors, in the passive mode or when magnetic modulation techniques are used, has been investigated theoretically and compared with measurements. Several main noise sources and their contributions to the equivalent magnetic noise spectral density have been analyzed using the fluctuation-dissipation theorem and modeled via Nyquist's noise-expression in the linear and non-linear regime. These theoretical analyzes show that the mechanical loss, related to the interfriction of composites, appears as the dominant noise source for such magnetoelectric modulation techniques.
Build America Bonds

Build America Bonds (BABs) are a new form of municipal financing introduced in 2009. Investors in BAB municipal bonds receive interest payments that are taxable, but issuers receive a subsidy from the U.S. Treasury. The BAB program has succeeded in lowering the cost of funding for state and local governments with BAB issuers obtaining finance 54 basis points lower, on average, compared to issuing regular municipal bonds. For institutional investors, BAB issue yields are 116 bps higher than comparable Treasuries and 88 bps higher than comparable highly rated corporate bonds. For individual investors, BABs represent poor deals compared to regular municipal bonds. Thus, on average the Federal government subsidy disadvantages individual U.S. taxpayers, who are the main holders of municipal bonds, and benefits new entrants in the municipal bond market.
Myocardial perfusion reserve: assessment with multisection, quantitative, first-pass MR imaging.

PURPOSE To demonstrate the feasibility of determining myocardial blood flow changes and the myocardial perfusion reserve with magnetic resonance (MR) first-pass imaging, to validate the MR results by means of comparison with radiolabeled microsphere flow measurements in an animal model, and to compare the coronary flow reserve with the perfusion reserve at MR imaging in patients with hemodynamically nonsignificant coronary lesions and angina. MATERIALS AND METHODS Arrhythmia-insensitive, first-pass, multisection, T1-weighted MR imaging with contrast agent enhancement was performed in eight pigs with acute ischemia and in eight adult patients (six women, two men). In the pigs, microsphere flow measurements were obtained in parallel with the MR measurements. In the patients, the coronary flow reserve was measured with an intracoronary Doppler flow ultrasound probe for comparison with the MR perfusion reserve. RESULTS In the animal studies, there was linear correlation between MR perfusion indexes and the microsphere flow measurements (r = .88, P < .01). In the patients, the regional perfusion reserve matched the coronary flow reserve (linear regression with a slope of 1.02 +/- 0.09, r = .80). CONCLUSION The myocardial perfusion reserve can be quantified with first-pass MR imaging. In patients with microvascular dysfunction, the myocardial perfusion reserve matches the reduced coronary flow reserve.
Diverse apoptotic pathways in enterovirus 71-infected cells

Mechanisms related to the neuropathogenesis of enterovirus 71 infection remain unclear. This investigation conducts a comprehensive study of the apoptotic pathways in neural and non-neural cells following enterovirus 71 infection. Infections with enterovirus 71 not only induce classical cytopathic effects in SF268 (human glioblastoma), SK-N-MC (human neuroblastoma), RD, and Vero cells, but also induce classic signs of apoptosis in all cells, including DNA fragmentation and phosphatidylserine translocation. Apoptosis has also been caused by the efflux of cytochrome c from mitochondria, and subsequently by cleavage of caspase 9 in all cells. Activation of caspase 8 followed by cleavage of the proapoptotic protein Bid only occurs in non-neural cells. Results of this study demonstrate that a mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis mediated by activation and cleavage of caspase 9 is a main pathway in enterovirus 71-induced apoptosis, especially for enterovirus 71-infected neural cells.
Underqualification as an Opportunity for Low-Educated Workers

Improving the labor market position of low-educated workers is one of the most important goals of regional labor market policy. Underqualification, meaning holding a job at a higher level than expected based on one's formal education, can be—under certain conditions—a favorable position from both an individual and a policy perspective. In this study we used repeated cross-sections of data about Dutch workers from 1996 to 2006 to relate the chances of underqualification to personal, firm, and labor market characteristics. Briefly, we found that, for low-educated workers, firm and personal characteristics are more important than regional characteristics in explaining underqualification. Higher regional unemployment rates lower the chances of being underqualified. Working in smaller firms or firms with many high-skilled jobs has a strong positive effect on the chances of attaining higher level jobs, while working in firms with many highly educated workers lowers these chances. Women and nonnatives are less often underqualified, whereas older workers are more often underqualified. Gaining more insight into the determinants of underqualification is important for developing more effective policy measures that aim to improve the labor market position of the most vulnerable groups in the labor market.
Adalimumab for treatment of severe Behçet's uveitis: a retrospective long-term follow-up study.

OBJECTIVES Behçet's disease (BD) is a chronic multisystem inflammatory disorder associated to uveitis that may represent a serious sight-threatening condition. The purpose of the present study is to assess the effectiveness of adalimumab as new strategic therapeutic approach in patients affected by severe Behçet's uveitis. METHODS Clinical data from twelve selected patients (22 eyes) were retrospectively analysed. All patients received 40 mg of adalimumab subcutaneously, once every 2 weeks, in addition to traditional immunosuppressive on-going therapy and eight of them were switched to adalimumab after failure of infliximab therapy. Primary outcome measures included ocular inflammatory activity, frequency of uveitis attacks and steroid-sparing effect. Secondary outcomes were changes of best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), impact on traditional immunosuppressive therapy and occurrence of adalimumab-related side effects. RESULTS Mean age of patients (11 males and 1 female) at the onset of disease was 24.34 years (±8.62 SD). Ocular involvement resulted bilateral in 83% of cases and mainly consisted in panuveitis (68% of eyes). After mean follow-up of 21 months (±9.63 SD) all patients but one (92%) achieved uveitis remission with BCVA improvement at least in one eye. Average uveitis attacks decreased from 2 to 0,42 during adalimumab (p<0.001) and daily-steroid dose was tapered in all adalimumab responders up to suspension in seven of them. No patient developed related side effects during adalimumab administration. CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrate that adalimumab is a very effective and safe option for treatment of patients with severe and resistant Behçet's uveitis, providing an appropriate and long-term control of ocular inflammation.
Validity of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services Dispatch Criteria for Traumatic Injuries: A Systematic Review

Objective. This review provides an overview of the validity of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) dispatch criteria for severely injured patients. Methods. A systematic literature search was performed. English written and peer-reviewed publications on HEMS dispatch criteria were included. Results. Thirty-four publications were included. Five manuscripts discussed accuracy of HEMS dispatch criteria. Criteria based upon Mechanism of Injury (MOI) have a positive predictive value (PPV) of 27%. Criteria based upon the anatomy of injury combined with MOI as a group, result in an undertriage of 13% and a considerable overtriage. The criterion ‘loss of consciousness’ has a sensitivity of 93–98% and a specificity of 85–96%. Criteria based on age and/or comorbidity have a poor sensitivity and specificity. Conclusion. Only 5 studies described HEMS dispatch criteria validity. HEMS dispatch based on consciousness criteria seems promising. MOI criteria lack accuracy and will lead to significant overtriage. The first categories needing revision are MOI and age/comorbidity.
Recognition of License Plate Numbers Using Image Processing Technique and Genetic Algorithm

Dynamic image processing techniques coupled with Genetic Algorithm are used for recognizing the license plate numbers from an image containing it. Recognition of license plate in a picture which are prone to illumination problems is done using this process. The proposed system finds multi style number plates in an image by using Multistyle License Plate Number Using genetic algorithm and Dynamic Image Processing techniques. The license plates detection stage is the most is the most critical step in the automatic license plate identification system. Many research have been done to overcome all the challenges faced in this area, but no general method is best suitable for detection of license plates models from different countries or places. This is because each country have different plate style and design. All existing techniques or algorithms available can be classified based on the features used for the detection. Different existing algorithms that have been researched are Color-based techniques that uses specific fixed color coding used by different countries. Another widely used technique is External-shape based detection which detects plates based on its shape ratio as prescribed by different countries. Keywords— Image processing; genetic algorithm; license plate, CCAT, binarization, detection of license plate, GRM
Treatment of persistent post-concussion syndrome due to mild traumatic brain injury: current status and future directions

ABSTRACT Persistent post-concussion syndrome caused by mild traumatic brain injury has become a major cause of morbidity and poor quality of life. Unlike the acute care of concussion, there is no consensus for treatment of chronic symptoms. Moreover, most of the pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatments have failed to demonstrate significant efficacy on both the clinical symptoms as well as the pathophysiologic cascade responsible for the permanent brain injury. This article reviews the pathophysiology of PCS, the diagnostic tools and criteria, the current available treatments including pharmacotherapy and different cognitive rehabilitation programs, and promising new treatment directions. A most promising new direction is the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which targets the basic pathological processes responsible for post-concussion symptoms; it is discussed here in depth.
Experimental Tests of the Endowment Effect and the Coase Theorem

Contrary to theoretical expectations, measures of willingness to accept greatly exceed measures of willingness to pay. This paper reports several experiments that demonstrate that this "endowment effect" persists even in market settings with opportunities to learn. Consumption objects (e.g., coffee mugs) are randomly given to half the subjects in an experiment. Markets for the mugs are then conducted. The Coase theorem predicts that about half the mugs will trade, but observed volume is always significantly less. When markets for "induced-value" tokens are conducted, the predicted volume is observed, suggesting that transactions costs cannot explain the undertrading for consumption goods.
A Novel Directionlet-Based Image Denoising Method Using MMSE Estimator and Laplacian Mixture Distribution

A novel method based on directionlet transform is proposed for image denoising under Bayesian framework. In order to achieve noise removal, the directionlet coefficients of the uncorrupted image are modeled independently and identically by a two-state Laplacian mixture model with zero mean. The expectation-maximization algorithm is used to estimate the parameters that characterize the assumed prior model. Within the framework of Bayesian theory, the directionlet coefficients of noise-free image are estimated by a nonlinear shrinkage function based on weighted average of the minimum mean square error estimator. We demonstrate through simulations with images contaminated by additive white Gaussian noise that the proposed method is very competitive when compared with other methods in terms of both peak signal-to-noise ratio and visual quality.
Very fast chip-level thermal analysis

We present a new technique of VLSI chip-level thermal analysis. We extend a newly developed method of solving two dimensional Laplace equations to thermal analysis of four adjacent materials on a mother board. We implement our technique in C and compare its performance to that of a commercial CAD tool. Our experimental results show that our program runs 5.8 and 8.9 times faster while keeping smaller residuals by 5 and 1 order of magnitude, respectively.
Evaluation of Different Yeast Species for Improving In vitro Fermentation of Cereal Straws

Information on the effects of different yeast species on ruminal fermentation is limited. This experiment was conducted in a 3×4 factorial arrangement to explore and compare the effects of addition of three different live yeast species (Candida utilis 1314, Saccharomyces cerevisiae 1355, and Candida tropicalis 1254) at four doses (0, 0.25×107, 0.50×107, and 0.75×107 colony-forming unit [cfu]) on in vitro gas production kinetics, fiber degradation, methane production and ruminal fermentation characteristics of maize stover, and rice straw by mixed rumen microorganisms in dairy cows. The maximum gas production (Vf), dry matter disappearance (IVDMD), neutral detergent fiber disappearance (IVNDFD), and methane production in C. utilis group were less (p<0.01) than other two live yeast supplemented groups. The inclusion of S. cerevisiae reduced (p<0.01) the concentrations of ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), isobutyrate, and isovalerate compared to the other two yeast groups. C. tropicalis addition generally enhanced (p<0.05) IVDMD and IVNDFD. The NH3-N concentration and CH4 production were increased (p<0.05) by the addition of S. cerevisiae and C. tropicalis compared with the control. Supplementation of three yeast species decreased (p<0.05) or numerically decreased the ratio of acetate to propionate. The current results indicate that C. tropicalis is more preferred as yeast culture supplements, and its optimal dose should be 0.25×107 cfu/500 mg substrates in vitro.
A Binomial Basis for the Cox, Ingersoll and Ross Model of the Term Structure of Interest Rates

The technical demands of the Cox, Ingersoll and Ross (1985a and 1985b) papers are such that they can only be mastered by those who have a good understanding of some deep mathematics and statistical concepts, including the techniques of continuous time stochastic calculus and the measure theory upon which it is based, the Kuhn-Tucker theory surrounding non-linear optimisation techniques as well as variational methods founded on solutions of non-linear differential equations. Hence, our purpose here is to formalise both investor preferences and the supply side which underscores the Cox, Ingersoll and Ross (1985b) 'square root' model of the term structure of interest rates in terms of some simple binomial filtration processes, thereby avoiding most of the intricate technical detail contained in the original papers. These procedures not only allow for a more focused evaluation of the model's underlying strengths and weaknesses but also provide a framework for assessing some of the strategies which the model makes available for hedging exposure against adverse interest rate movements. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd 2001.
Edges Enhancement of Medical Color Images Using Add Images

It is important; medical images to be clear, because it will be built upon diagnosis of the patient's condition, and the degree of illness, and its appropriate treatment. The aim of present study is clarify the edges of color medical images by increasing the thickness to get rid of soft edges and some areas that do not appear when the edge is selected. It Method was used to add images by Matlab2012a program, finding the edge of medical images, and then add the resulting images to the original images, therefore, be fully match their home being with the same characteristics of size, features and more importantly, matching sites pixellike. This proposed method can the application of all types of medical images (MRI, CT, CAT, PAT,.) color and gray, with any size and any member of human's body. Results gave high accuracy with the output images, if clarity and showed an increase in the thickness of the edges of the output images.
Satisfaction with democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa: Assessing the effects of system performance

This paper examines the relationship between system performance and satisfaction with democracy in sub-Saharan African countries. On the basis of comparable survey data from the third round of Afrobarometer from 2005, we have assessed a number of economic and political performance indicators. In doing this, we employ an elaborate theoretical framework and multilevel analysis. The results show that system performance is indeed related to levels of satisfaction with democracy. Both micro-level and macro-level, economic and political variables are important in relation to the differences in the African citizens’ satisfaction with democracy. More particularly, the macro-level variables economic growth and respect for the rule of law are positively associated with satisfaction with democracy. On the micro-level, the citizens’ positive evaluations of their own as well as the national economic situation increases satisfaction, while unequal treatment under the law and, first and foremost, poor election quality show negative effects. Thus, even under economic hardship, satisfaction with democracy may persist if the citizens think that fundamental democratic principles are respected. On the other hand, dissatisfaction is likely to take root if the citizens think that those principles are not respected. Key words: Afrobarometer, satisfaction with democracy, system performance, multilevel analysis.
Bankers' Pay and Extreme Wage Inequality in the UK

It is well known that the distribution of income in the United Kingdom has widened considerably in the last three decades. This rise has been a result of a widening at both the top and bottom of the wage distribution. More recently, most of the action appears to have occurred at the top of the distribution with lower wage workers keeping pace with the median. This paper explores this increased dispersion at the very top of the wage distribution. We show that the growth has occurred primarily within the top few percentiles and that the rise in inequality in recent years is much more pronounced when we focus on annual earnings as opposed to weekly wages (where most work has concentrated). This is because annual wages include bonuses. By the end of the decade to 2008, the top tenth of earners received £20bn more purely due to the increase in their share (it would have been only £173bn had their share of the pie remained the same as 1998), and £12bn of this went to workers in the financial sector (almost all of which was bonus payments). We consider various reasons why the bankers have managed to capture an increasing share of the wage bill over the last decade.
Visual Fixation in Chiari Type II Malformation

Chiari type II malformation is a congenital deformity of the hindbrain. Square wave jerks are horizontal involuntary saccades that interrupt fixation. Cerebellar disorders may be associated with frequent square wave jerks or saccadic oscillations such as ocular flutter. The effects of Chiari type II malformation on visual fixation are unknown. We recorded eye movements using an eye tracker in 21 participants with Chiari type II malformation, aged 8 to 19 years while they fixated a target for 1 minute. Thirty-eight age-matched healthy participants served as controls. Square wave jerks' parameters were similar in the 2 groups. Saccadic oscillations were not seen. Chiari type II malformation is not associated with pathological square wave jerks or abnormal saccadic oscillations. The congenital nature of this deformity may permit compensation that preserves stable visual fixation. Alternatively, the deformity of Chiari type II malformation may spare parts of the cerebellum that usually cause fixation instability when damaged.
Studies on the Red Sea Sponge Haliclona sp. for its Chemical and Cytotoxic Properties

Background: A great number of novel compounds with rich chemical diversity and significant bioactivity have been reported from Red Sea sponges. Objective: To isolate, identify, and evaluate the cytotoxic activity of the chemical constituents of a sponge belonging to genus Haliclona collected from the Eastern coast of the Red Sea. Materials and Methods: The total ethanolic extract of the titled sponge was subjected to intensive chromatographic fractionation and purification guided by cytotoxic bioassay toward various cancer cell lines. The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated using spectroscopic techniques including one-dimension and two-dimension nuclear magnetic resonance, mass spectrometry, ultraviolet, and infrared data, as well as comparison with the reported spectral data for the known compounds. X-ray single-crystal structure determination was performed to determine the absolute configuration of compound 4. The screening of antiproliferative activity of the compounds was carried on three tumor cell lines, namely the human cervical cancer (HeLa), human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2), and human medulloblastoma (Daoy) cells using MTT assay. Results: This investigation resulted in the isolation of a new indole alkaloid, 1-(1H-indol-3-yloxy) propan-2-ol (1), with the previously synthesized pyrrolidine alkaloid, (2R, 3S, 4R, 5R) pyrrolidine-(1-hydroxyethyl)-3,4-diol hydrochloride (4), isolated here from a natural source for the first time. In addition, six known compounds tetillapyrone (2), nortetillapyrone (3), 2-methyl maleimide-5-oxime (5), maleimide-5-oxime (6), 5-(hydroxymethyl) dihydrofuran-2 (3H)-one (7), and ergosta-5,24 (28)-dien-3-ol (8) were also identified. Most of the isolated compounds exhibited weak cytotoxic activity against HepG-2, Daoy, and HeLa cancer cell lines. Conclusion: This is the first report of the occurrence of the indole and pyrrolidine alkaloids, 1-(1H-indol-2-yloxy) propan-2-ol (1), and the - (1-hydroxyethyl)-3,4-diol hydrochloride (4), in the Red Sea Haliclona sp.
Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis of the Distribution of Regional Per Capita GDP in Yangtze Delta, China: 1994-2004

Based on the spatial economy theory and the exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) technology, this paper studies the space-time dynamics of regional per capita GDP in the Yangtze Delta. A sample of 74 regions in the Yangtze Delta over the period of 1994 to 2004 provides clear evidence of global and local spatial autocorrelation as well as spatial heterogeneity in the distribution of regional per capita GDP. The dynamism of regions is investigated by exploring the spatial pattern of regional growth, compared with that before 1997, the economic growth disparities among Shanghai, Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces have decreased, so have the inside regions of Zhejuiang Province, while it is opposite to the inside regions of Jiangsu Province.