Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Incidence and Outcome of Subtypes of Ischaemic Stroke: Initial Results from the North East Melbourne Stroke Incidence Study (NEMESIS)

Information about the incidence and outcome of stroke subtypes is necessary to understand the likely impact of stroke prevention and treatment strategies. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence and outcome of subtypes of cerebral infarction (CI). All strokes occurring in a population of 133,816 in Melbourne, Australia, during a 12-month period of 1996 and 1997 were identified and cases of CI subtyped according to the Oxfordshire Community Stroke Project classification. 276 ‘first-ever-in-a-lifetime’ stroke cases were registered. CI accounted for 72% of cases. Annual incidence rates per 100,000 persons adjusted to the ‘world’ population were 11 (95% CI, 4–18) for TACI, 25 (95% CI, 15–35) for PACI, 17 (95% CI, 9–25) for POCI and 18 (95% CI, 10–26) for LACI. 28-day case fatality was highest for TACI (35%; 95% CI, 19–51%) and first year recurrence rate highest for PACI (17%; 95% CI, 8–26%). TACI had the poorest functional outcome at 3 and 12 months. These findings are similar to those of two previous studies conducted in the northern hemisphere.
Spirometric obstruction and tobacco exposure among male Turkish nursing home residents

Abstract Spirometric obstruction is a prevalent problem in older adults and related to life-style risk factors. Symptoms related to chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease (COPD) are also prevalent symptoms with diverse etiologies – not limited to pulmonary obstruction. Older adults may have unrecognized airway obstruction due to functional limitations or symptoms mis-attributed to age/other co-morbidities. Therefore, spirometric obstruction may clinically be over/under diagnosed. Over last few decades, the burden of smoking-related diseases has increased in older adults. Additional evidence regarding older adults is required. We aimed to study frequency of spirometric obstruction, its over/under diagnosis and tobacco exposure in a group of male nursing-home residents. For spirometric obstruction diagnosis, two different thresholds [(fixed value: 0.70) versus (age-corrected value: 0.65 in residents >65 years of age)] were compared for better clinical practice. One hundred and three residents with 71.4 ± 6.3 years-of-age included. Spirometric obstruction prevalences were 39.8 and 29.1% with fixed and age-corrected FEV1/FVC thresholds, respectively. Age-corrected FEV1/FVC threshold underdiagnosed COPD in 1.9% while fixed threshold overdiagnosed spirometric obstruction in 8.7%. Active smokers were 64.1%, ex-smokers 23.3% and non-smokers 12.6%. Our study suggests high prevalences of spirometric obstruction and smoking in male nursing-home residents in Turkey. We suggest the use of age-corrected FEV1/FVC threshold practicing better than the use of fixed FEV1/FVC threshold in this patient group.
LEGUS DISCOVERY OF A LIGHT ECHO AROUND SUPERNOVA 2012aw

We have discovered a luminous light echo around the normal Type II-Plateau Supernova (SN) 2012aw in Messier 95 (M95; NGC 3351), detected in images obtained approximately two years after explosion with the Wide Field Channel 3 on board the Hubble Space Telescope by the Legacy ExtraGalactic Ultraviolet Survey. The multi-band observations span from the near-ultraviolet through the optical (F275W, F336W, F438W, F555W, and F814W). The apparent brightness of the echo at the time was ∼21–22 mag in all of these bands. The echo appears circular, although less obviously as a ring, with an inhomogeneous surface brightness, in particular, a prominent enhanced brightness to the southeast. The SN itself was still detectable, particularly in the redder bands. We are able to model the light echo as the time-integrated SN light scattered off of diffuse interstellar dust in the SN environment. We have assumed that this dust is analogous to that in the Milky Way with R V = 3.1 ? > . The SN light curves that we consider also include models of the unobserved early burst of light from the SN shock breakout. Our analysis of the echo suggests that the distance from the SN to the scattering dust elements along the echo is ≈ 45 ? > pc. The implied visual extinction for the echo-producing dust is consistent with estimates made previously from the SN itself. Finally, our estimate of the SN brightness in F814W is fainter than that measured for the red supergiant star at the precise SN location in pre-SN images, possibly indicating that the star has vanished and confirming it as the likely SN progenitor.
Yield, proteins, bioactive compounds and minerals in food-type soybean grains in different environments

Soybean is characterized as a nutritional and functional food by virtue of its high concentrations of minerals and bioactive compounds the group of phenolic compounds, mainly. The yield and chemical composition of soybean grains are influenced by genetic and environmental factors and their interactions. This study proposes to examine the yield and chemical composition of grains of food-type soybean genotypes in different environments. Six food-type soybean genotypes sown in the first week of October and in the first week of November in the municipalities of Londrina and Guarapuava (Paraná State, Brazil) were evaluated. Grain yield and weight, protein percentages, phenolic compound and total flavonoid contents and Ca, Mg, Cu, Fe and Zn contents were evaluated. Combined analysis of variance revealed a genotype × environment interaction (GE) effect for the yield traits, 100-grain weight and for the mineral Ca. Higher yields and 100-grain weights were observed under milder maximum-temperature conditions. High maximum temperatures resulted in higher protein percentages and total flavonoid, Ca and Zn contents. Soybean lines UEL 110 and UEL 115 possess high grain yield capacity and higher Ca, Mg and Zn contents.
From dielectric failure to memory function: Learning from oxide breakdown for improved understanding of resistive switching memories

Dielectric breakdown (BD) of thin gate insulators has been studied for decades due to its importance for CMOS reliability forecast and technology qualification. On the other hand, resistive switching (RS) phenomena such as threshold switching (TS) and memory switching (MS) are at the basics of promising post-NAND non-volatile memories such as phase-change memories (PCM) and resistive memories (RRAM). Many of these devices are based on the ON/OFF switching of a localized conducting filament (CF) which is created by a soft-breakdown event occurring during electroforming. Thus, many findings concerning the BD physics might be useful to improve our understanding of RS and be of great help for the development of new non-volatile memory technologies. In this work, we focus on three different areas where a link can be established between BD and RS: 1) the post-BD conduction properties and its relation to quantum-wire conduction in both TS and MS; 2) the application of the cell-based percolation model of the breakdown to the description of the resistive switching statistics; and 3) the application of the successive BD statistics to deal with the statistics of multiple CFs in RRAM devices which is related to a possible endurance limit.
Atlantoaxial rotatory subluxation in skeletally immature patients

Treatments of atlanto-axial rotatory subluxation in children are generally conservative. Previous reports have proposed that surgical treatment be reserved for fixed rotatory subluxation of more than 3 months duration, irreducible deformity or cases of recurrence. Six skeletally immature patients with Fielding type III atlanto-axial rotatory subluxation were treated conservatively with or without subsequent atlanto-axial arthrodesis. The follow-up period for all the cases exceeded 18 months. Results and outcomes were analysed with an emphasis on the delay until diagnosis, causes of delays in diagnosis and factors influencing the necessity of surgical intervention. Neither mortality nor major morbidity was noted in any cases in this study. In our experience, type III fixed rotatory subluxation of 6 weeks duration will potentially recur. We recommend early surgery for type III fixed rotatory subluxation of more than than 3 months' duration, with atlanto-axial arthrodesis being a safe and effective procedure in children.
Gender Classification Using One Half Face and Feature Selection Based on Mutual Information

One important application of biometrics is determining the gender and age of customers so that attention could be specialized to improve sales. Gender classification has been a common topic of research and given the existence of face symmetry, determining gender based on half of the face seems feasible to significantly reduce computational cost. In this paper, we report the exploration of using the symmetrical characteristics of the face for representing and determining gender from only half of the face. We first divide the faces into two halves, and then select the best features separately from the left and right sides. The method uses 4 different mutual information measures to select features, minimum redundancy and maximal relevance (mRMR), normalized mutual information feature selection (NMIFS), conditional mutual information feature selection (CMIFS), and conditional mutual information maximization (CMIM). We tested our method on the FERET database using 5 fold cross-validation. It is shown that selection of features significantly improved gender classification accuracy compared to the use of full faces. We also show a significant reduction in processing time making real-time applications feasible.
Screening women for ovarian cancer still does more harm than good.

dations for emergency contraception also found hesitancy of use among 1246 clinicians in a California family planning program, where contraceptives are available at no cost to low-income women. The survey found 85% of respondents never recommended the copper IUD for emergency contraception, and 93% required 2 or more visits for an IUD insertion, which would take too much time for securing maximum protection in an emergency situation (Harper CC et al. Obstet Gynecol. 2012; 119[2 pt 1]:220-226). Espey said costs and reimbursement affect physician and patient choices of emergency contraception. In the United States, a patient typically must choose either to pay the IUD cost of $700 (depending on insurance) and spend time in a physician’s office or to pay less than $50 to take a morning-after pill. An IUD, which can remain in place as a general contraceptive device for up to 10 years, is ultimately more cost-effective than other contraceptive products, Espey said, but it might be a hard sell at a moment when a woman is seeking emergency contraception. Reimbursement to physicians poses another barrier. “Reimbursement is very low, so providers wanting to use IUDs need to be very motivated,” she said.
General Projective Maps for Multidimensional Data Projection

To project high‐dimensional data to a 2D domain, there are two well‐established classes of approaches: RadViz and Star Coordinates. Both are well‐explored in terms of accuracy, completeness, distortions, and interaction issues. We present a generalization of both RadViz and Star Coordinates such that it unifies both approaches. We do so by considering the space of all projective projections. This gives additional degrees of freedom, which we use for three things: Firstly, we define a smooth transition between RadViz and Star Coordinates allowing the user to exploit the advantages of both approaches. Secondly, we define a data‐dependent magic lens to explore the data. Thirdly, we optimize the new degrees of freedom to minimize distortion. We apply our approach to a number of high‐dimensional benchmark datasets.
Ras- and Raf-induced Down-modulation of Non-muscle Tropomyosin Are MEK-independent*

Transformation is accompanied by the down-regulation of the high molecular weight isoforms of non-muscle tropomyosin. Several lines of evidence suggest that tropomyosin down-regulation may be essential for ras-induced tumorigenicity. It is unclear which of the many signaling pathways downstream of Ras are involved in tropomyosin down-regulation. Here we demonstrate that Raf activation induces tropomyosin down-regulation comparable to that induced by Ras. Expression of the effector-domain mutant Ras-G12V,Y40C, which is unable to bind Raf, induced only modest down-modulation of tropomyosin. Treatment with the MEK-specific inhibitor PD98059 had little effect on tropomyosin levels inras- or raf-transformed cells. In contrast, a mutant form of MEK-1, MEK-1-S218A,S222A, restored tropomyosin levels inras-transformed NIH3T3 cells almost to the levels observed in non-transformed cells. MEK-1-S218A,S222A does not inhibit MEK phosphorylation and is a poor inhibitor of ERK phosphorylation. These data suggest that this mutant form of MEK-1 interferes with a yet uncharacterized pathway controlled by Raf. We conclude that theras-induced down-modulation of tropomyosin is predominantly Raf-mediated, but MEK-independent, and that a novel pathway exists downstream of Raf which may play an important role in regulation of the cytoskeleton.
Survivin is required for a sustained spindle checkpoint arrest in response to lack of tension

Genetic evidence is mounting that survivin plays a crucial role in mitosis, but its exact role in human cell division remains elusive. We show that mammalian cells lacking survivin are unable to align their chromosomes, fail to recruit Aurora B to kinetochores and become polyploid at a very high frequency. Survivin‐depleted cells enter mitosis with normal kinetics, but are delayed in prometaphase in a BubR1/Mad2‐dependent fashion. Nonetheless, these cells exit mitosis prior to completion of chromosome congression and without sister chromatid segregation, indicating that the spindle assembly checkpoint is not fully functional. Indeed, in survivin‐depleted cells, BubR1 and Mad2 are prematurely displaced from kinetochores, yet no tension is generated at kinetochores. Importantly, these cells fail to respond to drugs that prevent tension, but do arrest in mitosis after depolymerization of the mitotic spindle. This demonstrates that survivin is not required for initial checkpoint activation, or for sustained checkpoint activation by loss of microtubules. However, stable association of BubR1 to kinetochores and sustained checkpoint signalling in response to lack of tension crucially depend on survivin.
Eye vessel compliance as a function of intraocular and arterial pressure and eye compliance.

PURPOSE The purpose of our study is to develop and validate a methodology to measure the compliance of the vascular network in the eye using biomechanical parameters, namely arterial pressure, intraocular pressure (IOP), and ocular compliance of the eyeball (OC). METHODS In vitro experiments were conducted on 6 freshly enucleated rabbit eyes. An inflatable catheter was inserted in the posterior chamber. The balloon was inflated and its volume changed periodically at a rate of 1-2 Hz, yielding variations in the intraocular volume; thus, emulating the volume pulsations of the vascular network in the eye. The IOP was measured continuously with a pressure transducer and the OC was calculated using the outflow facility. The compliance of the balloon, mimicking the compliance of the vascular network, was estimated indirectly from the measurements of IOP, balloon pressure, and OC. The estimated balloon compliance was compared to direct estimates of balloon compliance, based on the balloon pressure-volume curve. In vivo study included 5 white New-Zealand rabbits. The method to estimate the vascular compliance of the eye was tested under normal conditions and after administration of norepinephrine, which induced a vasoconstriction leading to reduction in vascular compliance. RESULTS In vitro comparison of direct versus indirect estimates of compliance showed a difference that was not significant (0.075 vs. 0.077 μL/mm Hg, P = 0.86). Results from the in vivo study indicated that norepinephrine significantly increased the arterial pulse pressure amplitude, while compliance of vascular network of the eye decreased from 0.18 ± 0.12 to 0.10 ± 0.08 μL/mm Hg (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS The eye vascular compliance can be predicted using the IOP, arterial pressure, and OC of the eyeball.
AMSR/AMSR-E level 2 and 3 algorithm developments and data validation plans of NASDA

In 2002, two spaceborne microwave radiometers were launched to provide new observation data. One sensor is the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR), aboard the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite-II (ADEOS-II) of the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). The other is AMSR-E, aboard Aqua of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). AMSR and AMSR-E are almost identical sensors, and have lower frequencies 6 and 10 GHz, in comparison with preceding sensors, such as the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I). In addition to geophysical products currently retrieved from the SSM/I, new products of sea surface temperature and soil moisture have been retrieved from AMSR and AMSR-E by using those lower frequencies. Eleven Principal Investigators were assigned by NASDA to develop algorithms to retrieve geophysical products, and their programs have been installed at the Earth Observation Research Center of NASDA. Geophysical products are currently being validated by several methods, such as using existing in situ data, employing instruments in field observations, and comparing data with other sensor's data.
Pheromone-induced signal transduction in Saccharomyces cerevisiae requires the sequential function of three protein kinases

Protein phosphorylation plays an important role in pheromone-induced differentiation processes of haploid yeast cells. Among the components necessary for signal transduction are the STE7 and STE11 kinases and either one of the redundant FUS3 and KSS1 kinases. FUS3 and presumably KSS1 are phosphorylated and activated during pheromone induction by a STE7-dependent mechanism. Pheromone also induces the accumulation of STE7 in a hyperphosphorylated form. This modification of STE7 requires the STE11 kinase, which is proposed to act before STE7 during signal transmission. Surprisingly, STE7 hyperphosphorylation also requires a functional FUS3 (or KSS1) kinase. Using in vitro assays for FUS3 phosphorylation, we show that pheromone activates STE7 even in the absence of FUS3 and KSS1. Therefore, STE7 activation must precede modification of FUS3 (and KSS1). These findings suggest that STE7 hyperphosphorylation is a consequence of its activation but not the determining event.
A novel technique for interference mitigation in OFDM radar using compressed sensing

This paper presents an OFDM Radar modulation scheme using non-equidistant subcarriers in combination with an adapted compressed sensing (CS) algorithm for interference mitigation in multi-user scenarios. This scheme is aimed especially at automotive applications to counter mutual interference and avoid a decrease in the detection performance of the radar since it is nearly impossible to perfectly allocate non-overlapping spectra to the non cooperating multiple users as an interference mitigation measure. The signal model and signal processing steps will be described in detail followed by simulation and measurement results to demonstrate the performance of the proposed scheme.
Analysis of Natural Sequence Variation and Covariation in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Integrase

ABSTRACT Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) integrase inhibitors are in clinical trials, and raltegravir and elvitegravir are likely to be the first licensed drugs of this novel class of HIV antivirals. Understanding resistance to these inhibitors is important to maximize their efficacy. It has been shown that natural variation and covariation provide valuable insights into the development of resistance for established HIV inhibitors. Therefore, we have undertaken a study to fully characterize natural polymorphisms and amino acid covariation within an inhibitor-naïve sequence set spanning all defined HIV-1 subtypes. Inter- and intrasubtype variation was greatest in a 50-amino-acid segment of HIV-1 integrase incorporating the catalytic aspartic acid codon 116, suggesting that polymorphisms affect inhibitor binding and pathways to resistance. The critical mutations that determine the resistance pathways to raltegravir and elvitegravir (N155H, Q148K/R/H, and E92Q) were either rare or absent from the 1,165-sequence data set. However, 25 out of 41 mutations associated with integrase inhibitor resistance were present. These mutations were not subtype associated and were more prevalent in the subtypes that had been sampled frequently within the database. A novel modification of the Jaccard index was used to analyze amino acid covariation within HIV-1 integrase. A network of 10 covarying resistance-associated mutations was elucidated, along with a further 15 previously undescribed mutations that covaried with at least two of the resistance positions. The validation of covariation as a predictive tool will be dependent on monitoring the evolution of HIV-1 integrase under drug selection pressure.
MDA5 Participates in the Detection of Paramyxovirus Infection and Is Essential for the Early Activation of Dendritic Cells in Response to Sendai Virus Defective Interfering Particles1

Defective interfering (DI) particles are byproducts of virus replication that potently enhance dendritic cell (DC) maturation by virus infection. DI particles have been reported for many different viruses and are strong inducers of type I IFNs. The cellular mechanisms involved in the response to DI particles are not known. In this study, we show that 1) DI particles are recognized by more than one viral sensor independently of TLRs and type I IFN signaling; 2) The helicase MDA5 participates in the detection of DI genomes as MDA5-deficient DCs respond inefficiently to Sendai virus stocks containing DI particles; 3) DI particles stimulate the expression of IRF3-responsive genes by a uniquely potent mechanism when compared with other prototypic viral stimulus; and 4) the efficient detection of DI particles overcomes virus immune antagonism. These data highlight the outstanding adjuvant capacity of DI particles in stimulating mouse and human DCs. They also offer biological relevance to the previously reported inhibition of MDA5 by different paramyxovirus V proteins. The unique mechanism by which DI particles trigger the maturation of DCs represents a novel strategy that could be further exploited for the development of potent adjuvant molecules.
Object classification using tripod operators

Over the last few decades, we have seen an increase in both quality and quantity of 3D data sets. These data sets primarily come in the form of discrete points that are projected onto the surface of the object (point clouds) and are often derived from either LIDAR data (in which case, the surface points are actively sensed) or stereoscopic pairs (in which case, the surface points are derived using two dimensional (2D) feature matching algorithms). As these data sets become larger and denser, they also become harder to sift through which demands methods for automatic object classification through computer vision processes. In this paper we revisit a method of recognizing objects from their surface features known as Tripod Operators. [1] More specifically, we explore how matching multiple features from an unknown object to a known shape allows us to determine the extent to which the objects are similar using the resultant Digital Elevation Model (DEM) or Surface Elevation Model (SEM) that results from manipulation of point clouds. We apply this method to determine how to separate objects of various classes.