Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Formal characterization and extension of the linearized diffusion tensor model

We analyzed the properties of the logarithm of the Rician distribution leading to a full characterization of the probability law of the errors in the linearized diffusion tensor model. An almost complete lack of bias, a simple relation between the variance and the signal‐to‐noise ratio in the original complex data, and a close approximation to normality facilitated estimation of the tensor components by an iterative weighted least squares algorithm. The theory of the linear model has also been used to derive the distribution of mean diffusivity, to develop an informative statistical test for relative lack of fit of the ellipsoidal (or spherical) model compared to an unrestricted linear model in which no specific shape is assumed for the diffusion process, and to estimate the signal‐to‐noise ratios in the original data. The false discovery rate (FDR) has been used to control thresholds for statistical significance in the context of multiple comparisons at voxel level. The methods are illustrated by application to three diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) datasets of clinical interest: a healthy volunteer, a patient with acute brain injury, and a patient with hydrocephalus. Interestingly, some salient features, such as a region normally comprising the basal ganglia and internal capsule, and areas of edema in patients with brain injury and hydrocephalus, had patterns of error largely independent from their mean diffusivities. These observations were made in brain regions with sufficiently large signal‐to‐noise ratios (>2) to justify the assumptions of the log Rician probability model. The combination of diffusivity and its error may provide added value in diagnostic DTI of acute pathologic expansion of the extracellular fluid compartment in brain parenchymal tissue. Hum. Brain Mapping 24:144–155, 2005. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Gender-related difference in left ventricular diastolic elastance during exercise in patients with diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND Because the ratio of mitral inflow and annular velocity to stroke volume has been reported as an index of diastolic elastance (Ed), the hypothesis tested in the present study was that Ed during exercise would be more abnormal in female than in male patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS AND RESULTS Ed was measured at rest and during graded supine bicycle exercise (25W, 3-min increments) in 53 patients (27 males, mean age 53+/-14 years) with type 2 diabetes and 53 age- and gender-matched controls. The patients with diabetes were divided into 2 groups by gender. Ed was not significantly different at rest between men and women, but was significantly higher during exercise in women than in men (25 W, 0.15+/-0.04 vs 0.20+/-0.07, p=0.009; 50 W, 0.16+/-0.05 vs 0.21+/-0.08, p=0.0175). CONCLUSION Left ventricular (LV) diastolic elastance is abnormal during exercise, but not at rest, in patients with diabetes without overt heart disease. Female gender was associated with increased LV stiffness during exercise among patients with type 2 diabetes.
Reconfigurable logic embedded architecture of support vector machine linear kernel

Support Vector Machine (SVM) is a linear binary classifier that requires a kernel function to handle non-linear problems. Most previous SVM implementations for embedded systems in literature were built targeting a certain application; where analyses were done through comparison with software implementations only. The impact of different application datasets towards SVM hardware performance were not analyzed. In this work, we propose a parameterizable linear kernel architecture that is fully pipelined. It is prototyped and analyzed on Altera Cyclone IV platform and results are verified with equivalent software model. Further analysis is done on determining the effect of the number of features and support vectors on the performance of the hardware architecture. From our proposed linear kernel implementation, the number of features determine the maximum operating frequency and amount of logic resource utilization, whereas the number of support vectors determines the amount of on-chip memory usage and also the throughput of the system.
Distributed adaptive control for nonlinear multi-agent systems

This paper investigates the distributed tracking problems for nonlinear multi-agent systems with unknown parameters and unknown nonlinear functions. Under the assumption that the leader is the root of a spanning tree, distributed adaptive controllers with tuning functions are constructed recursively. The designed controllers can guarantee that the tracking errors eventually converge to the compact set which can be made as small as desired by an appropriate choice of the design parameters. Meanwhile, all the states in the closed-loop systems can be proved to be ultimately bounded. Finally, a simulation example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the design scheme.
Basic fibroblast growth factor and transforming growth factor beta‐1: Synergistic mediators of angiogenesis in vitro

We investigated the relative roles of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and transforming growth factor beta‐1 (TGF‐b) on bovine aortic endothelial cell mitogenesis and morphogenesis using two‐dimensional Petri dish cultures and a threedimensional hydrated collagen gel. bFGF alone stimulated endothelial cell proliferation with an EC50 of 0.5 ng/ml. At bFGF levels greater than 2.5 ng/ml, morphologic alterations in confluent monolayers predominated; cells changed from a cobblestone morphology to an elongated cell pattern and showed enhanced migration into a denuded area of a Petri dish. In the three‐dimensional model, exposure of endothelial cell monolayers to high bFGF levels stimulated minor cell migration directly under the monolayer but no invasion into the gel matrix. In combination with bFGF, heparin potentiated morphogenic changes, but not mitogenesis. bFGF, modification of the antiproliferative effect of TGF‐b in confluent cultures was evidenced by induction of endothelial cell sprouting in response to 0.5 ng/ml TGF‐b and 10–20 ng/ml bFGF in two‐dimensional cultures. On collagen gels, endothelial cells migrated into the deep layers of the gel in a dose‐dependent manner: invasion was maximal at 0.3–0.7 ng/ml TGF‐b with decreased invasion at higher concentrations. The optimal collagen concentration that supported cell invasion was 0.075% collagen with the number of invading cells decreasing with increasing collagen gel density. By scanning electron microscopy, invading endothelial cells assumed a fibroblast‐like appearance with slender cell extensions. We concluded that bFGF and TGF‐b had independent effects on endothelial cell morphology and mitogenesis in culture. In combination at specific doses, these agents stimulated sprouting in the two‐dimensional model and cell invasion in a collagen gel model. Morphogenic changes may be the primary event in determining angiogenesis. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Active power regulation based on droop for AC microgrid

In this paper, two different control strategies are proposed to address the active power regulation issue in AC microgrids. The principle of power regulation in the droop controller is firstly introduced. Frequency scheduling and droop gain scheduling on top of droop control is proposed to successfully follow the active power command. The limitation of each method is discussed in term of small signal stability and light load sharing, respectively. Discussion on the effects of power command is also given. The simulation is carried out for both the strategies to verify the active power control of the system.
Transient and sustained brain activity during anticipatory visuospatial attention

In this study, we determined whether the visuospatial attention network of frontal, parietal, and occipital cortex can be parsed into two different subsets of active regions associated with transient and sustained processes within the same cue-to-target delay period of an endogenously cued visuospatial attention task. We identified regions with early transient activity and regions with later sustained activity during the same trials using a general linear model analysis of event-related BOLD functional MRI data with two timecourse covariates for the same cue-to-target delay period. During the delay between the cue and target, we observed significant transient activity in right frontal eye field and right occipital-parietal junction, and significant sustained activity in right ventral intraparietal sulcus and right dorsolateral and anterior prefrontal cortex.
Stylized line drawing and shading effects for cartoon rendering

Due to increasing demands of cartoon style in many areas of computer graphic aspects, this paper presents a simple stylized shading technique to enhance the cartoonish appearance in two aspects. First, a new toon-illumination model is developed to emphasize the boundaries between diffuse reflection part and specular reflection part in the phong illumination model. the new discrete shading will be exploited to convey the light and dark orientations on the surface of 3d model. second, we combine stylized lines with non-photorealistic shading effect to convey more visual cues of tone. the experimental result reveals the ability of proposed model to produce many cartoon effects.
Estrogen Receptor Isoform‐Specific Induction of Progesterone Receptors in Human Osteoblasts

Estrogen induction of progesterone receptor (PR) expression may be important to bone physiology because progesterone has been implicated in the control of bone formation and resorption. Although PR gene expression can be induced in osteoblasts by estrogen signaling through the estrogen receptor (ER) α isoform, it is unknown whether the ER‐β isoform is involved in this regulation. The effect of estrogen on PR expression was examined in human fetal osteoblast (hFOB) cell lines stably transfected with either ER‐α or ER‐β. Estrogen treatment of hFOB/ER‐α cells induced PR messenger RNA (mRNA) steady‐state levels after 24 h and protein levels after 48 h, as established by competitive reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) and Western blotting. Interestingly, no induction of PR expression was observed in the hFOB/ER‐β cells during this period. However, PR mRNA was induced progressively after 48 h of treatment with estrogen with maximum levels achieved at 12 days posttreatment. ER protein also was increased after 12 days of treatment. Both A and B isoforms of PR (PRA and PRB) were induced by estrogen in the hFOB/ER‐α cells as well as much later in hFOB/ER‐β cells. The pure antiestrogen ICI 182,780 prevented PR induction by estrogen in both cell lines. An ER‐β‐selective antagonist R, R‐tetrahydrochrysene (THC) abolished the induction of PR mRNA in hFOB/ER‐β but not in hFOB/ER‐α cells, verifying that the response in the former cell line was ER‐β‐mediated. Transient cotransfection of hFOB cells with ER‐α or ER‐β together with either a human PRA or PRB promoter linked to a reporter plasmid revealed that although the PRB promoter was stimulated equally by estrogen activation of either ER isoform, PRA was activated preferentially by ER‐α. Together, these results show that although estrogen can up‐regulate endogenous PR gene expression in osteoblasts via both ER isoforms, ER‐α is the predominant inducer.
Molecular Epidemiology of Neisseria gonorrhoeae: Sequence Analysis of the porB Gene Confirms Presence of Two Circulating Strains

ABSTRACT The phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains fluctuate over time both locally and globally, and highly discriminative and precise characterization of the strains is essential. Conventional characterization of N. gonorrhoeae strains for epidemiological purposes is mostly based on phenotypic methods, which have some inherent limitations. In the present study sequence analysis of porB1b gene sequences was used for examination of the genetic relationships among N. gonorrhoeae strains. Substantial genetic heterogeneity was identified in the porB genes of serovar IB-2 isolates (8.1% of the nucleotide sites were polymorphic) and serovar IB-3 isolates (5.2% of the nucleotide sites were polymorphic) as well as between isolates of different serovars. The highest degree of diversity was identified in the gene segments encoding the surface-exposed loops of the mature PorB protein. Phylogenetic analysis of the porB1b gene sequences confirmed previous findings that have indicated the circulation of one N. gonorrhoeae strain each of serovar IB-2 and serovar IB-3 in the Swedish community. These strains caused the majority of the cases in two domestic core groups comprising homosexual men and young heterosexuals, respectively, and were also detected in other patients. The phylogenetic analyses of porB gene sequences in the present study showed congruence, but not complete identity, with previous results obtained by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of the same isolates. In conclusion, porB gene sequencing can be used as a molecular epidemiological tool for examination of genetic relationships among emerging and circulating N. gonorrhoeae strains, as well as for confirmation or discrimination of clusters of gonorrhea cases.
A direct association of polyomavirus BK viruria with deterioration of renal allograft function in renal transplant patients

Abstract: Background: Polyomavirus BK virus (BKV) causes a BKV‐associated nephropathy (BKVAN), frequently causing allograft dysfunction in renal transplant recipients. As BK viruria is a surrogate marker for early detection of BKVAN, the aim of this study was to clarify an association between BK viruria and allograft dysfunction in renal transplant recipients.
Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Rheum palmatum root extract and their antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Abstract In the present study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized by using aqueous root extracts of Rheum palmatum and characterized by various spectroscopic methods. The nanoparticles were found to be in hexagonal and spherical shapes. The average particle size was found to be 121 ± 2 nm with zeta potential values of −21.6 mv by dynamic light scattering (DLS) method. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of R. palmatum revealed 35 compounds. The synthesized AgNPs showed significant activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa with IC90 values of 15 μg/ml and IC50 values of 7.5 μg/ml, respectively. The protein leakage level was high and morphological changes occurred in bacteria treated with AgNPs.
Bayesian Analysis of Consumer Choices with Taste, Context, Reference Point and Individual Scale Effects

This paper adopts an approach based on the concepts of random utility maximization and builds on the general theoretical framework of Lancaster and on the conceptual and econometric innovations of McFadden. Recent research in this area explores models that account for context effects, as well as methods for characterizing heterogeneity, response variability and decision strategy selection by consumers. This makes it possible to construct much richer empirical models of individual consumer behavior. A Bayesian approach provides a useful way to estimate and interpret models that are difficult to accomplish by conventional maximization/minimization algorithms. The application reported in the paper involves analysis of reference dependence and product labeling as context effects and the assessment of heterogeneity and response variability.
Clinical efficacy of casein derivatives: a systematic review of the literature.

BACKGROUND The objective of this article was to review systematically the clinical trials of casein derivatives (specifically casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate [CPP-ACP] complex) used in dentistry. TYPES OF STUDIES REVIEWED The authors included clinical studies that examined the efficacy of casein derivatives in dentistry. They excluded in vitro studies, case series, case reports, letters to editors (not containing primary data), editorials, review articles and commentaries, but read them to identify any potential studies. RESULTS The authors searched 98 articles for relevance, determined according to title, abstract and full text, resulting in a yield of 12 original studies. Nine were clinical trials that focused on caries prevention, seven of which showed that CPP-ACP (as found in sugar-free pellet or slab chewing gum, lozenges, milk or mouthrinse) was effective in preventing dental caries by remineralizing subsurface carious lesions in situ in a dose-response fashion. One was a clinical trial with conflicting results regarding the effect of CPP-ACP on the regression of white-spot lesions; one was a survey of the relief of dry-mouth symptoms; and one was an uncontrolled clinical study that showed the lack of effectiveness and lack of short-term therapeutic effect in treating dentin hypersensitivity. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS The quantity and quality of clinical trial evidence are insufficient to make conclusions regarding the long-term effectiveness of casein derivatives, specifically CPP-ACP, in preventing caries in vivo and treating dentin hypersensitivity or dry mouth.
CS 264 : Beyond Worst-Case Analysis Lectures # 9 and 10 : Spectral Algorithms for Planted Bisection ( a . k . a . Community Detection ) and Planted Clique ∗

Lectures #6–8 studied deterministic conditions (specifically, perturbation-stability) for several NP -hard clustering and graph partitioning problems, under which the optimal solution can be recovered exactly in polynomial time. These stability conditions were reasonably natural, in that there was a plausible narrative about why “real-world” instances might tend to satisfy them, at least approximately. Today we continue our ongoing study of the polynomial-time exact recovery of “planted” or “ground truth” solutions. We’ll study probabilistic models (i.e., input distributions) that share some spirit with the stability conditions of Lectures #6–8, in that the optimal solution tends to “stick out. ” The goals are to design and analyze polynomial-time algorithms that recover the optimal solution with high probability (over the input distribution), and to understand how far the optimal solution to an NP -hard problem has to stick out before exact recovery is possible (w.h.p.) in polynomial time.
X-Kaapi : Une nouvelle implémentation eXtrême du vol de travail

Les processeurs multicœurs sont dorenavant des composants standards grand public que l'on retrouve dans un large spectre de machines, du lecteur de DVD incluant un MpSOC, au nœud de calcul des super-calculateurs, en passant par le processeur de la plupart des portables. Dans ce papier nous considerons l'implementation d'un protocole de vol de travail original pour ordonnancer des applications paralleles sur architecture multicœur. Nous analysons les facteurs introduisant un surcout a l'execution et nous en derivons une implementation presentee a travers une interface de programmation. Le protocole utilise une cooperation entre les voleurs et une victime, ce qui ameliore a la fois les surcouts d'implantation et les surcouts dus a la restructuration du code des algorithmes paralleles. Nos experiences preliminaires montrent qu'il est possible d'obtenir une implementation ultra-legere possedant un surcout a l'execution extremement faible pour des algorithmes a grain fin. Cette proposition d'interface constitue le cœur du nouveau moteur executif de Kaapi appele X-Kaapi.
A calibration-free 800MHz fractional-N digital PLL with embedded TDC

Digital Phase-Locked Loops (DPLLs), which are amenable to CMOS process scaling, have recently been demonstrated for both wireless and wireline applications as alternatives to conventional analog charge-pump based PLLs [1–4]. This paper presents a calibration-free fractional-N DPLL that uses only an integer-N divider with a time-to-digital converter (TDC) embedded inside the VCO and utilizes a mismatch filtering technique to improve the linearity of the TDC.
Retos jurídicos que plantea la tecnología de la cadena de bloques (Aspectos legales de blockchain) / Legal challenges about blockchain

Entre las herramientas tecnologicas que actualmente suscitan mayor interes se encuentran las cadenas de bloques. Desde que en 2009 se crease la conocida como Blockchain , no son pocas las que han ido apareciendo con posterioridad. Segun se indica, esta novedosa tecnologia permite eliminar intermediarios, pero garantizando –e incluso aumentando– la seguridad que aquellos proporcionaban, a la vez que incrementa la eficiencia y reduce costes.Como toda tecnologia novedosa, tiene que resolver o encauzar los problemas juridicos que suscita su uso. El presente articulo pretende abordar algunos de los retos que plantea la cadena de bloques: la falta de dueno, los limites de la funcion registral que desarrolla, algunos aspectos sobre la identidad de los intervinientes, o la caracterizacion de las criptomonedas y su relacion con los impuestos o el dinero legal. Finalmente, tambien se hace mencion a los smart contracts que se ejecutan utilizando esta tecnologia
Malignant lymphomas of follicular centre cell origin in man. VII. Prognostic features in small cleaved cell lymphoma

To extend the clinical‐pathologic description of small cleaved cell lymphoma (SCCL), we reviewed the records of 106 patients with SCCL who were treated in accordance with a policy of watchful waiting and palliative therapy. Median age was 58 years. A pure diffuse pattern was seen in only 16 per cent of cases. Stage III or IV disease was present in 85 per cent of patients; marrow involvement was noted in 60 per cent of patients. ‘B’ symptoms were present in 25 per cent of patients.
C-Reactive Protein and Complement Components in Patients with Pathological Myopia

Purpose To investigate the association between pathological myopia (PM) and immunological/inflammatory markers and to identify the possible risk factors for the formation of myopic choroidal neovascularization (mCNV). Methods One hundred fourteen unrelated subjects were recruited: 63 PM patients (PM group) with spherical equivalent of at least −8.00 diopters (range, −8.00 to −25.00) and axial length exceeding 26.5 mm, accompanied by characteristic pathologic changes, and 51 emmetropic age- and sex-matched individuals (control group) with spherical equivalent within ±1.0 diopter in both eyes. In the PM group, patients were assigned to two subgroups, mCNV group and no CNV group, according to the results of fluorescein angiography. Serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and complement profile (C3, C4, and CH50) were assayed. Statistical analysis was performed between the two groups. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the relative risk factors that were associated with the development of mCNV in the PM group patients. Results The range of axial length was 26.50 to 37.08 mm in the PM group and 22.32 to 24.56 mm in the control group. There were 24 patients in the mCNV group and 39 patients in the no CNV group. The PM group patients had significantly higher serum hs-CRP (p = 0.033), C3 (p = 0.004), and CH50 (p < 0.001) compared with the control group patients. There were no significant differences between the two groups for C4 level (p = 0.071). Binary logistic regression analysis, which included hs-CRP, C3, C4, CH50, age, and sex as covariates, showed that C3 (p = 0.03) and age (p = 0.01) were risk factors for mCNV, whereas serum hs-CRP, C4, CH50, and sex were not statistically significant predictors of mCNV in the PM group patients (p > 0.05). Conclusions Our data support the hypothesis that immunological/inflammatory markers, namely hs-CRP, C3, and CH50 may play an important role in the development of PM, and that C3 level may be a predictive risk factor for mCNV formation.