Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Resonance-based wireless power delivery for implantable devices

Due to the limited life time of batteries, biomédical implants typically use inductive coupling to transfer power to the implantable device. Inductive coupling of source and load coils suffers from low efficiency due to the low coupling between the coils. The low coupling limits the maximum transferable power and operating range of the system. Using a resonance-based coupling technique, the adverse effect of low coupling between source and load coils is in part compensated by the high quality factor of the coils. Unlike its two-coil counterpart, in the presented four-coil energy transfer system the efficiency profile of the power transfer is not a monotonically decreasing function of the distance between the coils and can be optimized to provide a maxima at a relatively large operating distance. Furthermore, as compared to conventional systems, resonance-based system show more than 2x efficiency improvement over an increased operating range.
Hypersensitivity and desensitization to antineoplastic agents: outcomes of 189 procedures with a new short protocol and novel diagnostic tools assessment

Desensitization to antineoplastic agents is becoming a standard of care. Efforts to establish and improve these techniques are being made at many institutions. Our aims are to evaluate a new rapid desensitization protocol designed to be shorter (approximately 4 h) and safer (reducing hazardous drugs exposure risks) and to assess the oxaliplatin‐specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) as a novel diagnostic tool.
De l'analyse au partage des données, quel(s) format(s) choisir ? L'exemple d'un corpus d'interactions parents-enfant

Les enjeux inherents a tout projet de constitution de corpus sont divers mais, parmi ceux-ci, le choix du format d'encodage des donnees est central. Cet article expose la chaine de traitement utilisee dans le cadre du projet ALIPE dans le but de constituer un corpus d'interactions orales entre des parents et leur jeune enfant. Afin de constituer une ressource organisee, structuree, documentee, libre d'acces et au maximum interoperable, nous avons retenu deux formats d'encodage : le format CHAT et le format XML-TEI. Nous presentons dans cette etude les methodes utilisees par l'equipe de recherche pour recolter les donnees, les annoter et les rassembler dans le but de constituer un corpus. Nous evoquerons egalement les avantages que l'utilisation du format XML peut apporter pour l'analyse des donnees ainsi que pour l'interoperabilite entre logiciels de traitement et d'analyse de corpus.
Dynamic visualization of signal transduction in living cells: From second messengers to kinases

The study of signal transduction, or the highly regulated series of biochemical events which allow a cell to convert a given stimulus into a functional response, has seen a paradigm shift with a recent explosion in the number of genetically encoded FRET‐based biosensors capable of detecting spatial and temporal regulation of various signaling events in living cells. The two classes of biosensors discussed, namely kinase activity and second messenger biosensors, utilize two fluorescent proteins (FP) suitable for FRET and convert a signaling event of interest into a conformational change in the biosensor that can be measured as a change in FRET between the two FPs. Individually, these biosensors have been used to elucidate many complex signal transduction mechanisms in various biological systems. However, it has become increasingly clear that it is often more desirable to study multiple signaling events simultaneously, allowing for precise correlation of the temporal profiles of multiple signaling molecules without the complication of cell to cell variability. With the design of spectrally distinct biosensors and new coimaging strategies, simultaneous imaging of multiple signaling events is not only possible, but has aided in mapping the intricate network of cellular signal transduction cascades. Furthermore, as aberrant signal transduction involving second messengers and kinases is implicated in numerous disease states, it is hopeful that these FRET‐based biosensors and coimaging strategies can help to unravel the molecular links between altered signal transduction and certain disease states. © 2009 IUBMB IUBMB Life 61(9): 902–908, 2009
Improving propensity score weighting using machine learning

Machine learning techniques such as classification and regression trees (CART) have been suggested as promising alternatives to logistic regression for the estimation of propensity scores. The authors examined the performance of various CART‐based propensity score models using simulated data. Hypothetical studies of varying sample sizes (n=500, 1000, 2000) with a binary exposure, continuous outcome, and 10 covariates were simulated under seven scenarios differing by degree of non‐linear and non‐additive associations between covariates and the exposure. Propensity score weights were estimated using logistic regression (all main effects), CART, pruned CART, and the ensemble methods of bagged CART, random forests, and boosted CART. Performance metrics included covariate balance, standard error, per cent absolute bias, and 95 per cent confidence interval (CI) coverage. All methods displayed generally acceptable performance under conditions of either non‐linearity or non‐additivity alone. However, under conditions of both moderate non‐additivity and moderate non‐linearity, logistic regression had subpar performance, whereas ensemble methods provided substantially better bias reduction and more consistent 95 per cent CI coverage. The results suggest that ensemble methods, especially boosted CART, may be useful for propensity score weighting. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Energy Storage System Control for Prevention of Transient Under-Frequency Load Shedding

This paper proposes and evaluates a systematic method for controlling an energy storage system for preventing load shedding due to transient declines in frequency. The proposed controller works on local measurements and uses an extended Kalman filter to perform online identification of system parameters. These results are then used to implement a model predictive controller for the safe withdrawal of support and energy recovery, both without incurring transient load shedding. The formulation accounts for single generator outages and includes power system parameters such as inertia, damping, and droop. The proposed method is evaluated using the nonlinear simulations of 6-bus and 24-bus test systems known as Roy Billinton Test System (RBTS) and IEEE Reliability Test System. The results show that the proposed controller is effective in preventing transient load shedding.
Investigation on Processing Variables for the Preparation of Fluconazole-Loaded Ethyl Cellulose Microspheres by Modified Multiple Emulsion Technique

Fluconazole-loaded ethyl cellulose microspheres were prepared by alginate facilitated (water-in-oil)-in-water emulsion technology and the effects of various processing variables on the properties of microspheres were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy revealed spherical nature and smooth surface morphology of the microspheres except those prepared at higher concentration of emulsifiers and higher stirring speeds. The size of microspheres varied between 228 and 592 μm, and as high as 80% drug entrapment efficiency was obtained depending upon the processing variables. When compared up to 2 h, the drug release in pH 1.2 HCl solution was slower than in pH 7.4 phosphate buffer saline solution. However, this trend was reversed at high shear conditions. The microspheres provided extended drug release in alkaline dissolution medium and the drug release was found to be controlled by Fickian-diffusion mechanism. However, the mechanism shifted to anomalous diffusion at high shear rates and emulsifier concentrations. The aging of microspheres did not influence the drug release kinetics. However, the physical interaction between drug and excipients affected the drug dissolution behaviors. X-ray diffractometry (X-RD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis revealed amorphous nature of drug in the microspheres. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy indicated stable character of fluconazole in the microspheres. The stability testing data also supported the stable nature of fluconazole in the microspheres. The fluconazole extracted from 80% drug-loaded formulation showed good in vitro antifungal activity against Candida albicans. Thus, proper control of the processing variables involved in this modified multiple emulsion technology could allow effective incorporation of slightly water soluble drugs into ethyl cellulose microspheres without affecting drug stability.
Automatic Classification of Graphite in Cast Iron

A method for automatic classification of the shape of graphite particles in cast iron is proposed. In a typical supervised classification procedure, the standard charts from the ISO-945 standard are used as a training and validation population. Several shape and size parameters are described and used as discriminants. A new parameter, the average internal angle, is proposed and is shown to be relevant for accurate classification. The ideal parameter sets are determined, leading to validation success rates above 90%. The classifier is then applied to real cast iron samples and provides results that are consistent with visual examination. The method provides classification results per particle, different from the traditional per field chart comparison methods. The full procedure can run automatically without user interference.
PHOTOACCLIMATION OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS IRRADIANCE RESPONSE CURVES AND PHOTOSYNTHETIC PIGMENTS IN MICROALGAE AND CYANOBACTERIA 1

The photosynthesis‐irradiance response (PE) curve, in which mass‐specific photosynthetic rates are plotted versus irradiance, is commonly used to characterize photoacclimation. The interpretation of PE curves depends critically on the currency in which mass is expressed. Normalizing the light‐limited rate to chl a yields the chl a‐specific initial slope (αchl). This is proportional to the light absorption coefficient (achl), the proportionality factor being the photon efficiency of photosynthesis (φm). Thus, αchl is the product of achl and φm. In microalgae αchl typically shows little (<20%) phenotypic variability because declines of φm under conditions of high‐light stress are accompanied by increases of achl. The variation of αchl among species is dominated by changes in achl due to differences in pigment complement and pigment packaging. In contrast to the microalgae, αchl declines as irradiance increases in the cyanobacteria where phycobiliproteins dominate light absorption because of plasticity in the phycobiliprotein:chl a ratio. By definition, light‐saturated photosynthesis (Pm) is limited by a factor other than the rate of light absorption. Normalizing Pm to organic carbon concentration to obtain PmC allows a direct comparison with growth rates. Within species, PmC is independent of growth irradiance. Among species, PmC covaries with the resource‐saturated growth rate. The chl a:C ratio is a key physiological variable because the appropriate currencies for normalizing light‐limited and light‐saturated photosynthetic rates are, respectively, chl a and carbon. Typically, chl a:C is reduced to about 40% of its maximum value at an irradiance that supports 50% of the species‐specific maximum growth rate and light‐harvesting accessory pigments show similar or greater declines. In the steady state, this down‐regulation of pigment content prevents microalgae and cyanobacteria from maximizing photosynthetic rates throughout the light‐limited region for growth. The reason for down‐regulation of light harvesting, and therefore loss of potential photosynthetic gain at moderately limiting irradiances, is unknown. However, it is clear that maximizing the rate of photosynthetic carbon assimilation is not the only criterion governing photoacclimation.
Compositional finite-time stability analysis of nonlinear systems

This paper, investigates finite-time stability and finite-time boundedness for nonlinear systems with polynomial vector fields. Finite-time stability requires the states of the system to remain a given bounded set in a finite-time interval and finite-time boundedness considers the same problem for the system but with bounded disturbance. Sufficient conditions for finite-time stability and finite-time boundedness of nonlinear systems as well as a computational method based on sum of squares programming to check the conditions are given. The problem of finite-time stability for a system that consists of an interconnection of subsystems is also considered and we show how to decompose the problem into subproblems for each subsystem with coupling constraints. A solution to the problem using sum of squares programming and dual decomposition is presented. The method is demonstrated through some examples.
Nearest-Regularized Subspace Classification for PolSAR Imagery Using Polarimetric Feature Vector and Spatial Information

Feature extraction using polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) images is of great interest in SAR classification, no matter if it is applied in an unsupervised approach or a supervised approach. In the supervised classification framework, a major group of methods is based on machine learning. Various machine learning methods have been investigated for PolSAR image classification, including neural network (NN), support vector machine (SVM), and so on. Recently, representation-based classifications have gained increasing attention in hyperspectral imagery, such as the newly-proposed sparse-representation classification (SRC) and nearest-regularized subspace (NRS). These classifiers provide excellent performance that is comparable to or even better than the classic SVM for remotely-sensed image processing. However, rare studies have been found to extend this representation-based NRS classification into PolSAR images. By the use of the NRS approach, a polarimetric feature vector-based PolSAR image classification method is proposed in this paper. The polarimetric SAR feature vector is constructed by the components of different target decomposition algorithms for each pixel, including those scattering components of Freeman, Huynen, Krogager, Yamaguchi decomposition, as well as the eigenvalues, eigenvectors and their consequential parameters such as entropy, anisotropy and mean scattering angle. Furthermore, because all these representation-based methods were originally designed to be pixel-wise classifiers, which only consider the separate pixel signature while ignoring the spatial-contextual information, the Markov random field (MRF) model is also introduced in our scheme. MRF can provide a basis for modeling contextual constraints. Two AIRSAR data in the Flevoland area are used to validate the proposed classification scheme. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can reach an accuracy of around 99 % for both AIRSAR data by randomly selecting 300 pixels of each class as the training samples. Under the condition that the training data ratio is more than 4 % , it has better performance than the SVM, SVM-MRF and NRS methods.
the impact of calf health on future performance

Veterinary Ireland Journal Volume 3 Number 5 Enteritis and pneumonia are common causes of calf ill health and death, with approximately one third of Northern Ireland dairy producers in a survey conducted by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) and the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) indicating that they had problems with these conditions. Figure 1 shows causes of mortality in neonatal (up to four
Immunoreactive somatostatin distribution and axoplasmic transport in rat peripheral nerve.

The levels of immunoreactive somatostatin (IR-somatostatin) were determined in various parts of the rat spinal cord and peripheral nervous system. The axoplasmic transport rate of IR-somatostatin was determined in the sciatic nerve by the ligation technique. The concentration of the peptide (nanograms per mg protein) was 0.8 ± 0.3 in dorsal root ganglia, 22.1 ± 5.1 in dorsal spinal cord, 5.1 ± 1.2 in ventral spinal cord, and 1.1 ± 0.4 in sciatic nerve. IR-somatostatin was present in a higher concentration in the dorsal root (3.9 ± 1.8 ng/mg protein) than in the ventral root (1.3 ± 0.6 ng/mg protein). Column chromatographic studies showed that most of the IR-somatostatin extracted from dorsal root ganglia and sciatic nerve was identical to the synthetic cyclic somatostatin. In addition, 16% of the total immunoreactivity of the dorsal root ganglia, but not of the peripheral nerve, was of a higher molecular weight form, which probably corresponds to a precursor protein of somatostatin. These observatioons su.
On the delegation of responsibility ...

BP 2000 The laws of the State of California provide that the District Governing Board shall be responsible for directing and evaluating the programs of the College. Acting in this capacity, the Governing Board is responsible for adopting the policies which guide all activities within the District. Once having done this, the Board delegates to its Executive Officer, the Superintendent/President, complete responsibility for administering the polices adopted by the Board and executing all decisions of the Board requiring administrative action, and to perform all duties specifically required or assigned to the Superintendent/President in the Education Code. The Superintendent/President may delegate any duties and powers entrusted to him/her by the Board, but he/she shall be specifically responsible to the Board for the execution of such delegated powers and duties.
HOMOCYSTINURIA. STUDIES OF 20 FAMILIES WITH 38 AFFECTED MEMBERS.

Mainly through the screening of cases of ectopia lentis or presumed Marfan syndrome, or both, 38 cases of homocystinuria distributed in 20 families were ascertained and studied. About 5% of cases of nontraumatic ectopia lentis have homocystinuria. Ocular, skeletal, and vascular changes in homocystinuria simulate those of the Marfan syndrome, but osteoporosis and thrombosis are distinguishing features of homocystinuria. Furthermore, mental retardation and cutaneous flushing are found in homocystinuria and not in the Marfan syndrome. Elucidation of the biochemical defect in homocystinuria opens up possibilities of successful therapy.
Raman Spectroscopy of Proteins and Nucleoproteins

A protein Raman spectrum comprises discrete bands representing vibrational modes of the peptide backbone and its side chains. The spectral positions, intensities, and polarizations of the Raman bands are sensitive to protein secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structures and to side‐chain orientations and local environments. In favorable cases, the Raman spectrum serves as an empirical signature of protein three‐dimensional structure, intramolecular dynamics, and intermolecular interactions. Quantitative analysis of Raman spectral series can be further boosted by advanced statistical approaches of factor analysis that allow fitting of specific theoretical models while reducing the amount of analyzed data. Here, the strengths of Raman spectroscopy are illustrated by considering recent applications from the authors' work that address (1) subunit folding and recognition in assembly of the icosahedral bacteriophages, (2) orientations of subunit main chains and side chains in native filamentous viruses, (3) roles of cysteine hydrogen bonding in the folding, assembly, and function of virus structural proteins, and (4) structural determinants of protein/DNA recognition in gene regulatory complexes. Conventional Raman and polarized Raman techniques are surveyed. Curr. Protoc. Protein Sci. 71:17.8. 1‐17.8. 52. © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Efficient knowledge representation systems

Abstract Frame systems occupy an important place among formalisms for computer-based knowledge representation. A common concern about frame systems, however, is that they are not efficient enough. We argue that this is not necessarily true of all possible systems, and that the trade-off between generality and efficiency has not been fully explored. While many systems provide generality at the expense of performance, systems closer to the low end of the spectrum have not been investigated nearly as much. Those systems are well suited for applications that need flexible knowledge representation but cannot afford the high performance price. We describe in detail KR, a very efficient frame system that provides mechanisms for knowledge representation including user-defined inheritance and relations, object-oriented programming, and constraint maintenance. The system is simple and compact and does not include some of the more complex functionality, but it is highly optimized and offers excellent performance for a variety of applications.
Altruism or obligation? The motivations and experience of women who donate oocytes to known recipients in assisted conception treatment: an interpretative phenomenological analysis study

Abstract Introduction: This qualitative study was conducted to explore the motivations and experience of oocyte donors donating to women known to them. Methods: Three women who donated oocytes to a close relative were interviewed and data were analysed using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis approach. Results: The two key elements noted were “motivations for donation” and “coping with the consequences of oocyte donation”. The motivation for donation was influenced by the familial bond that was strengthened by the donation process in some cases. The concept of altruistic oocyte donation stemmed from the narratives of giving the gift of motherhood and gaining a positive self-image and respect from others. Coping with the consequences of oocyte donation tests the donor identity, their wishes for a positive outcome, concerns regarding disclosure of biological motherhood and detachment from the egg and potential child. Discussion: Motivation is influenced by a combination of factors including the rewards of altruistic behaviour, the existence and potential strengthening of the relationship between donor and recipient, but possibly also, a sense of obligation and societal expectations. Oocyte donation can be variously viewed by donors as a unique way of reproductive empowerment or an example of acceding to subtle coercion and thus disempowerment. The study also highlights the clinical as well as ethical importance of providing support services for oocyte donors and recipients.
Rapid speaker adaptation by reference model interpolation

We present in this work a novel algorithm for fast speaker adaptation using only small amounts of adaptation data. It is motivated by the fact that a set of representative speakers can provide a priori knowledge to guide the estimation of a new speaker in the speaker-space. The proposed algorithm enables an a posteriori selection of reference models in the speaker-space as opposed to the a priori selection of reference speaker-space commonly used in techniques such as Eigenvoices . We compare the proposed algorithm with the common rapid adaptation techniques within the context of phoneme recognition task. Experimental results on the IDIOLOGOS and PAIDIALOGOS corpus [1] show that the proposed algorithm achieves slightly better improvement than classic Eigenvoices in phoneme accuracy rate, especially for atypical speakers such as children.