Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Polymers for neural implants

Neural implants are technical systems that restore sensory or motor functions after injury and modulate neural behavior in neuronal diseases. Neural interfaces or prostheses have lead to new therapeutic options and rehabilitation approaches in the last 40 years. The interface between the nervous tissue and the technical material is the place that determines success or failure of the neural implant. Recording of nerve signals and stimulation of nerve cells take place at this neuro-technical interface. Polymers are the most common material class for substrate and insulation materials in combination with metals for interconnection wires and electrode sites. This work focuses on the neuro-technical interface and summarizes its fundamental specifications first. The most common polymer materials are presented and described in detail. We conclude with an overview of the different applications and their specific designs with the accompanying manufacturing processes from precision mechanics, laser structuring and micromachining that are introduced in either the peripheral or central nervous system. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2010
A Reinforcement Learning Framework for Dynamic Power Management of a Portable, Multi-camera Traffic Monitoring System

Dynamic Power Management (DPM) refers to a set of strategies that achieves efficient power consumption by selectively turning off (or reducing the performance of) a system components when they are idle or are serving light workloads. This paper presents a Reinforcement Learning (RL) based DPM technique for a portable, multi-camera traffic monitoring system. We target the computing hardware of the sensing platform which is the major contributor to the entire power consumption. The RL technique used for the DPM of the sensing platform uses a model-free learning algorithm that does not require a priori model of the system. In addition, a robust workload estimator based on an online, Multi-Layer Artificial Neural Network (ML-ANN) is incorporated to the learning algorithm to provide partial information about the workload and to take better decisions according to the changing workload. Based on the estimated workload and a selected power-latency tradeoff parameter, the algorithm learns to use optimal time-out values in sleep and idle modes of the computing hardware. Our results show that the learning algorithm learns an optimal DPM policy for the non-stationary workload, while significantly reducing the power consumption and keeping the system response to a desired level.
A Study of Network-based Approach for Cancer Classification

The advent of high-throughput techniques such as microarray data enabled researchers to elucidate process in a cell that fruitfully useful for pathological and medical. For such opportunities, microarray gene expression data have been explored and applied for various types of studies e.g. gene association, gene classification and construction of gene network. Unfortunately, since gene expression data naturally have a few of samples and thousands of genes, this leads to a biological and technical problems. Thus, the availability of artificial intelligence techniques couples with statistical methods can give promising results for addressing the problems. These approaches derive two well known methods: supervised and unsupervised. Whenever possible, these two superior methods can work well in classification and clustering in term of class discovery and class prediction. Significantly, in this paper we will review the benefit of network-based in term of interaction data for classification in identification of class cancer.
Latex allergy: characterization of major allergens and isotypic expression

Latex allergy is now known to be related to type I hypersensitivity. In latex products, several reports have identified at least 10 allergens. However, 56 polypeptides have been shown to react to IgE by two‐dimensional gel electrophoresis and immunoprints. All studies using immunoprints have analyzed a relatively small number of sera. The aim of the present study was to analyze the specificity and the isotypic expression of a wide sample of latex‐sensitive patients. Latex proteins were separated by SDS–PAGE in an 8–18% gel gradient, transferred onto a nitrocellulose sheet by Western blot, and revealed by serum from latex‐sensitive patients. The presence of IgE, IgA, IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, and IgG4 was analyzed for each of the 54 sera. The results showed Hev b 3 to be the most frequently recognized protein, followed by Hev b 1, Hev b 7, and molecules of 94 kDa and 6–8 kDa. The most common isotypic association was IgE‐IgG1, frequently with IgA. IgG4 was also present in a little less than half of the IgE‐positive sera. IgG3 was also expressed but frequently recognized nonallergenic molecules. IgG2 was present in only two cases. Thus, as several authors have proposed a protective role for IgG in the allergic reaction, it may be of interest to compare these results with the course of the disease.
Performance Evaluation of Requirements Engineering Methodology for Automated Detection of Non Functional Requirements

Requirement Engineering (RE) deals with the requirements of a proposed solution and handles conflicting requirements of the various stakeholders and is critical to the success of a project. Good requirement engineering methodologies should be measurable, testable and should be sufficient for system design. Another important aspect of Requirement engineering is to capture the non functional requirements which have to be considered early to avoid system level constraints, security issues and overall quality issues. Typical Non Functional Requirements (NFR) are identified in both structured as well as unstructured documents. With availability of automated tools for requirement tracing and identifying NFRs, one method to find the effectiveness of the requirement engineering methodology in automation is its capability to capture NFR in an effective manner. In this paper we investigate the effectiveness of Information Retrieval (IR) methods for identifying NFRs.
Monitoring torso acceleration for estimating the respiratory flow and efforts for sleep apnea detection

Sleep apnea syndrome is a common sleep breathing disorder classified into two major categories: obstructive and central. In this study, we propose a method based on ensemble learning to estimate the respiratory flow, the thoracic respiratory effort and the abdominal respiratory effort from acceleration of suprasternal notch, the thorax and the abdomen respectively. The estimated flow can be used to detect the breathing cessations and the estimated efforts can be used to classify them into obstructive and central apneas. The estimated signals are compared with the signals recorded by welle-stablished measurement methods to show overall mean errors from 11% for the abdomen effort, 17% for the thorax effort and 16% error for the flow estimation. The presented results demonstrate the feasibility of using the torso acceleration as a simple and inexpensive solution for long term measuring and monitoring of respiratory functions for sleep apnea detection.
The management of violence in general psychiatry

There is increasing concern about the level of violence within mental healthcare settings. In this article I review what is known on this subject, discuss the relationship between mental disorder and violence and summarise the different ways to prevent and manage violence. When planning strategies to prevent violence in such settings it is important to consider not only patient risk factors but also risk factors in the environment. Staff need to have all the possible techniques for managing violent behaviour available to them in order to weigh up the risks and benefits for any specific patient in any particular situation.
A 3 D MIXED FINITE-ELEMENT APPROXIMATION OF THE SEMICONDUCTOR ENERGY-TRANSPORT EQUATIONS

The stationary energy-transport equations for semiconductors in three space dimensions are numerically discretized. The physical variables are the electron density, the energy density, and the electric potential. Physically motivated mixed Dirichlet-Neumann boundary conditions are employed. The numerical approximation is based on an hybridized mixed finite-element method using Raviart-Thomas elements, applied to the dual-entropy formulation of the energy-transport model. For the solution of the nonlinear discrete system, a Newton scheme with adaptive potential stepping and two decoupling Gummel-type strategies with reduced rank extrapolation are proposed. Multi-gate field-effect transistors in 2D and 3D are numerically simulated.
Quantifying the Leakage of Quantum Protocols for Classical Two-Party Cryptography

We study quantum protocols among two distrustful parties. By adopting a rather strict definition of correctness - guaranteeing that honest players obtain their correct outcomes only - we can show that every strictly correct quantum protocol implementing a non-trivial classical primitive necessarily leaks information to a dishonest player. This extends known impossibility results to all non-trivial primitives. We provide a framework for quantifying this leakage and argue that leakage is a good measure for the privacy provided to the players by a given protocol. Our framework also covers the case where the two players are helped by a trusted third party. We show that despite the help of a trusted third party, the players cannot amplify the cryptographic power of any primitive. All our results hold even against quantum honest-but-curious adversaries who honestly follow the protocol but purify their actions and apply a different measurement at the end of the protocol. As concrete examples, we establish lower bounds on the leakage of standard universal two-party primitives such as oblivious transfer.
Fourth Workshop on the Implementation of Logics

Most published papers on implementation aspects of automated reasoning systems cover only a small set of new techniques. Overview papers are rare, and usually describe the fixed state of a system at a given point in the development process. Moreover, they often have to trade depth for generality. This is particularly true for system descriptions, which often are relegated to second-class status and allowed only a view pages at many major conferences. In my talk, I will try to shed some lights into the practical aspects of building a complex high-performance theorem prover. I will give an overview on our equational theorem prover E [Sch02]. However, instead of giving a purely static view, I will describe the process that has resulted in a useful and resilient code base which has, up to now, survived at least three major changes without serious problems. I will also discuss some of the design decisions that later turned out to be wrong, and how they have either been fixed or still burden us. Finally, I will describe some of the engineering tricks and tools we use to make sure that our code remains stable, mostly bug free, and, most of all, maintainable.
A Large Pseudoautosomal Region on the Sex Chromosomes of the Frog Silurana tropicalis

Sex chromosome divergence has been documented across phylogenetically diverse species, with amphibians typically having cytologically nondiverged (“homomorphic”) sex chromosomes. With an aim of further characterizing sex chromosome divergence of an amphibian, we used “RAD-tags” and Sanger sequencing to examine sex specificity and heterozygosity in the Western clawed frog Silurana tropicalis (also known as Xenopus tropicalis). Our findings based on approximately 20 million genotype calls and approximately 200 polymerase chain reaction-amplified regions across multiple male and female genomes failed to identify a substantially sized genomic region with genotypic hallmarks of sex chromosome divergence, including in regions known to be tightly linked to the sex-determining region. We also found that expression and molecular evolution of genes linked to the sex-determining region did not differ substantially from genes in other parts of the genome. This suggests that the pseudoautosomal region, where recombination occurs, comprises a large portion of the sex chromosomes of S. tropicalis. These results may in part explain why African clawed frogs have such a high incidence of polyploidization, shed light on why amphibians have a high rate of sex chromosome turnover, and raise questions about why homomorphic sex chromosomes are so prevalent in amphibians.
Molybdenum metabolism in plants and crosstalk to iron

In the form of molybdate the transition metal molybdenum is essential for plants as it is required by a number of enzymes that catalyze key reactions in nitrogen assimilation, purine degradation, phytohormone synthesis, and sulfite detoxification. However, molybdate itself is biologically inactive and needs to be complexed by a specific organic pterin in order to serve as a permanently bound prosthetic group, the molybdenum cofactor, for the socalled molybdo-enyzmes. While the synthesis of molybdenum cofactor has been intensively studied, only little is known about the uptake of molybdate by the roots, its transport to the shoot and its allocation and storage within the cell. Yet, recent evidence indicates that intracellular molybdate levels are tightly controlled by molybdate transporters, in particular during plant development. Moreover, a tight connection between molybdenum and iron metabolisms is presumed because (i) uptake mechanisms for molybdate and iron affect each other, (ii) most molybdo-enzymes do also require iron-containing redox groups such as iron-sulfur clusters or heme, (iii) molybdenum metabolism has recruited mechanisms typical for iron-sulfur cluster synthesis, and (iv) both molybdenum cofactor synthesis and extramitochondrial iron-sulfur proteins involve the function of a specific mitochondrial ABC-type transporter.
Paying Attention through Eye Movements: A Computational Investigation of the Premotor Theory of Spatial Attention

Growing evidence indicates that planning eye movements and orienting visuospatial attention share overlapping brain mechanisms. A tight link between endogenous attention and eye movements is maintained by the premotor theory, in contrast to other accounts that postulate the existence of specific attention mechanisms that modulate the activity of information processing systems. The strong assumption of equivalence between attention and eye movements, however, is challenged by demonstrations that human observers are able to keep attention on a specific location while moving the eyes elsewhere. Here we investigate whether a recurrent model of saccadic planning can account for attentional effects without requiring additional or specific mechanisms separate from the circuits that perform sensorimotor transformations for eye movements. The model builds on the basis function approach and includes a circuit that performs spatial remapping using an “internal forward model” of how visual inputs are modified as a result of saccadic movements. Simulations show that the latter circuit is crucial to account for dissociations between attention and eye movements that may be invoked to disprove the premotor theory. The model provides new insights into how spatial remapping may be implemented in parietal cortex and offers a computational framework for recent proposals that link visual stability with remapping of attention pointers.
A Highly Specific Algorithm for Identifying Asthma Cases and Controls for Genome-Wide Association Studies

Our aim was to identify asthmatic patients as cases, and healthy patients as controls, for genome-wide association studies (GWAS), using readily available data from electronic medical records. For GWAS, high specificity is required to accurately identify genotype-phenotype correlations. We developed two algorithms using a combination of diagnoses, medications, and smoking history. By applying stringent criteria for source and specificity of the data we achieved a 95% positive predictive value and 96% negative predictive value for identification of asthma cases and controls compared against clinician review. We achieved a high specificity but at the loss of approximately 24% of the initial number of potential asthma cases we found. However, by standardizing and applying our algorithm across multiple sites, the high number of cases needed for a GWAS could be achieved.
SINGLE BANK DUAL-PORT MEMORY-BASED FFT FOR FIELD PROGRAMMABLE GATE ARRAYS

A new efficient memory-based FFT calculation method is presented using dual-port memories. Algorithm mainly targets Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA). A semi-in-place calculation of FFT stages is presented to have both reads and writes in a single clock while keeping the memory size equal to the FFT size. The "semi-" word implies that the writes are not to the original/expected position. At each intermediate calculation, the outputs are written to the position where the reads are done so that the unused data is not overwritten. Compared to multi-bank memory FFT approaches, proposed memory addressing schema is both simpler to logically establish and requires lower count of logical elements. It is shown that the proposed approach accomplishes FFT task in lowest count of clock cycles among the single bank memory-based FFT algorithms.
Processing of Audiovisual Associations in the Human Brain: Dependency on Expectations and Rule Complexity

In order to respond to environmental changes appropriately, the human brain must not only be able to detect environmental changes but also to form expectations of forthcoming events. The events in the external environment often have a number of multisensory features such as pitch and form. For integrated percepts of objects and events, crossmodal processing, and crossmodally induced expectations of forthcoming events are needed. The aim of the present study was to determine whether the expectations created by visual stimuli can modulate the deviance detection in the auditory modality, as reflected by auditory event-related potentials (ERPs). Additionally, it was studied whether the complexity of the rules linking auditory and visual stimuli together affects this process. The N2 deflection of the ERP was observed in response to violations in the subjects’ expectation of a forthcoming tone. Both temporal aspects and cognitive demands during the audiovisual deviance detection task modulated the brain processes involved.
Comparisons of ASPECTS 5 and 6 for endovascular treatment in anterior circulation occlusive stroke

Background Whether ASPECTS 5 and ASPECTS 6 were significantly different on clinical outcomes in acute anterior circulation ischemic stroke undergoing endovascular treatment remains unclear. We aimed to retrospectively compare the effectiveness and safety of ASPECTS 5 and ASPECTS 6 in acute anterior circulation large-artery occlusive stroke patients. Methods A total of 41 patients, 14 in the ASPECTS 5 group and 27 in the ASPECTS 6 group, were enrolled between January 2014 and June 2016. Modified Rankin Scale 0–2 was considered as good functional outcome. Symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage at 72 hours and mortality at 90 days were recorded. Results Good functional outcome at 90 days in the ASPECTS 5 group (0% (0/14)) was significantly lower than that in the ASPECTS 6 group (25.9% (7/27)) (p = 0.04). Rates of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (21.4 (3/14) vs 18.5% (5/27), p = 0.83) and mortality (64.3% (9/14) vs 44.4% (12/27), p = 0.23) within 90 days were not significantly different. There is a trend for a lower rate of successful reperfusion in the ASPECTS 5 group (71.4% (10/14) for ASPECTS 5 vs 92.6% (25/27) for ASPECTS 6, p = 0.07). Conclusions ASPECTS 5 has very little chance to reach good functional outcome in Chinese patients with anterior circulation large-artery occlusive stroke. Future studies with large sample sizes are needed.
Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy

Abstract Goffman, T. E. and Glatstein, E. , Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy. Radiat. Res. 158, 115–117 (2002). Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is an increasingly popular technical means of tightly focusing the radiation dose around a cancer. As with stereotactic radiotherapy, IMRT uses multiple fields and angles to converge on the target. The potential for total dose escalation and for escalation of daily fraction size to the gross cancer is exciting. The excitement, however, has greatly overshadowed a range of radiobiological and clinical concerns.
High performance current regulation for low pulse ratio inverters

AC current regulation for a low pulse ratio inverter is particularly challenging because the controller bandwidth is often comparable to the target fundamental frequency, which can lead to a poor transient response. This paper presents an improved current regulation strategy to overcome this issue, using state feedback concepts to deterministically compensate for PWM transport delay so that the linear controller gains can be significantly increased. Design principles for the controller are presented using discrete Linear Quadratic Regulator theory, including strategies to make the controller robust to plant parameter variations and PWM saturation. Experimental results for both a 50 Hz and 400 Hz system confirm the theoretical concepts and demonstrate the superior transient performance of the proposed strategy.
Application of Genetic Testing in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy for Preclinical Disease Detection

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common inherited cardiovascular diseases, with a prevalence of at least 1 in 500 in the general population.1,2 HCM is characterized by left ventricular hypertrophy, in the absence of other loading conditions, such as hypertension.3 The hallmark feature of HCM is significant clinical heterogeneity in presentation, ranging from asymptomatic patients to those who have the most serious outcomes of heart failure and sudden cardiac death. Over 1500 mutations in at least 15 sarcomere-encoding genes have been identified.4–7 The significance of cardiac genetic testing in clinical practice is 2-fold. For the proband, identification of the underlying genetic cause in some cases can clarify the cause of hypertrophy, for example, clarifying phenocopies, such as PRKAG2-glycogen storage disease and Fabry disease. The greatest utility, however, is in cascade genetic testing of asymptomatic relatives, with clear benefits either for confirming a borderline clinical diagnosis, or suspicious clinical changes suggestive of early disease, or most importantly ruling out the disease in those who test gene-negative. Identification of a silent gene carrier will guide cascade testing of additional family members, in effect clarifying their risk status. Of most benefit, a negative genetic result can reassure offspring that they are not at risk of HCM. The escalation in our understanding of the genetic basis of HCM has been catalyzed by the implementation of next generation sequencing technologies. In response to faster and more affordable testing, commercial genetic testing for HCM now often comprises vast cardiac gene chips (ie, 50–200 or more genes). This approach, although comprehensive, also draws into sharp focus the limitations of our current knowledge. The challenges of cardiac genetic testing are increasingly documented, such as identification of variants of uncertain significance (VUS), incidental genetic findings,8 reclassification of variants,9 increased need …