Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Successful Management of a Penetrating Cardiac Injury in a Regional Hospital: A Case Report

Stabbing injuries of the heart are uncommon but have a high mortality rate. Most patients with cardiothoracic stabbing injuries die on admission to the emergency department. The management of cardiac stabbing injuries is dependent on rapid diagnosis and prompt surgical repair. We report our successful management of a patient with left ventricle penetrating injury. A 36-year-old female suffered from a stabbing injury to the left chest with hypovolemic shock. She underwent emergency anterolateral thoracotomy with repair of left ventricle without cardiopulmonary bypass. The postoperative course was uneventful except Jar acute tabular necrosis and the patient recovered gradually over the next two weeks. The patient was discharged on the 17th days after the operation without any follow-up problems.
Aspects of personal navigation with collaborative user feedback

Inspired by systems based on user generated content, we have developed a prototype named OurWay, a collaborative route planning system utilizing user feedback (rating of route segments) to provide quality routes adapted to the users' abilities and needs. We report from an indoor experiment where users in wheelchairs solved navigational tasks with our prototype. Log data, observations, and interviews serve as a basis for discussing the feasibility of the OurWay concept. We find that OurWay yields better routes for all users with aggregated route segment ratings produced throughout the experiment. However, ratings were largely produced by each individual to accomplish a selfish goal, namely that of solving a navigational task. In this respect, rating can be seen as a by-product of use, rather than as an intentional action on behalf of a community.
Statistical Framework for Quantitative Analysis of Array CGH

Over the last several years there has been an explosion of microarray technology in the biosciences, medical sciences, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical industry. The technology has centered on providing a platform for determining the gene expression profiles of hundreds to tens of thousands of genes (or transcript levels of RNA species) in tissue, tumors, cells, or biological fluids in a single experiment. In recent years, this technology has been extended to include the use of microarrays to study genomic DNA for gains and losses of chromosomal regions. This has become possible through the attachment of large genomic fragments such as BACs (bacterial artificial chromosomes). In this paper, we present a methodology to model a CGH (comparative genomic hybridization) profile as a statistical process and solve for distribution parameters to determine genomic changes across the genome, including whole chromosome gains and losses, and focal point variations that are commonly seen in solid tumors and genetic disorders
Personal service: A robot that greets people individually based on observed behavior patterns

We are developing an interactive service robot which provides personal greetings to customers, using a machine-learning approach based on observations of a customer's appearance or behavior from on-board or environmental sensors. For each visit, several features are recorded, such as “time of day” or “number of people in group. ” A set of classifiers trained by human coders compare the current features with the person's individual history, to determine an appropriate feature for a robot to speak about. This system enables the robot to make context-appropriate comments such as “good morning, you're here very early today. ” We present the design of our system and an encouraging set of preliminary prediction results based on one month of data taken from real customers at a shopping mall.
Online learning control by association and reinforcement

This paper focuses on a systematic treatment for developing a generic online learning control system based on the fundamental principle of reinforcement learning or more specifically neuro-dynamic programming. This real time learning system improves its performance over time in two aspects: it learns from its own mistakes through the reinforcement signal from the external environment and try to reinforce its action to improve future performance; and system's state associated with the positive reinforcement is memorized through a network learning process where in the future, similar states will be more positively associated with a control action leading to a positive reinforcement. Two successful candidates of online learning control designs are introduced. Real time learning algorithms can be derived for individual components in the learning system. Some analytical insights are provided to give some guidelines on the entire online learning control system.
A MAC protocol for full exploitation of directional antennas in ad-hoc wireless networks

Directional antennas in ad hoc networks offer many benefits compared with classical omnidirectional antennas. The most important include significant increase of spatial reuse, coverage range and subsequently network capacity as a whole. On the other hand, the use of directional antennas requires new approach in the design of a MAC protocol to fully exploit these benefits. Unfortunately, directional transmissions increase the hidden terminal problem, the problem of deafness and the problem of determination of neighbors' location. In this paper we propose a new MAC protocol that deals effectively with these problems while it exploits in an efficient way the advantages of the directional antennas. We evaluate our work through simulation study. Numerical results show that our protocol offers significant improvement compared to the performance of omni transmissions.
On the likelihood of normalisation in combinatory logic

We present a quantitative basis-independent analysis of combinatory logic. Using a general argument regarding plane binary trees with labelled leaves, we generalise the results of David et al. and Bendkowski et al. to all Turing-complete combinator bases proving, inter alia, that asymptotically almost no combinator is strongly normalising nor typeable. We exploit the structure of recently discovered normal-order reduction grammars showing that for each positive $n$, the set of $\mathbf{S} \mathbf{K}$-combinators reducing in $n$ normal-order reduction steps has positive asymptotic density in the set of all combinators. Our approach is constructive, allowing us to systematically find new asymptotically significant fractions of normalising combinators. We show that the density of normalising combinators cannot be less than $34\%$, improving the previously best lower bound of approximately $3\%$. Finally, we present some super-computer experimental results, conjecturing that the density of normalising combinators is close to $85\%$.
An improved endpoint detector for isolated word recognition

Accurate location of the endpoints of an isolated word is important for reliable and robust word recognition. The endpoint detection problem is nontrivial for nonstationary backgrounds where artifacts (i.e., nonspeech events) may be introduced by the speaker, the recording environment, and the transmission system. Several techniques for the detection of the endpoints of isolated words recorded over a dialed-up telephone line were studied. The techniques were broadly classified as either explicit, implicit, or hybrid in concept. The explicit techniques for endpoint detection locate the endpoints prior to and independent of the recognition and decision stages of the system. For the implicit methods, the endpoints are determined solely by the recognition and decision stages of the system, i.e., there is no separate stage for endpoint detection. The hybrid techniques incorporate aspects from both the explicit and implicit methods. Investigations showed that the hybrid techniques consistently provided the best estimates for both of the word endpoints and, correspondingly, the highest recognition accuracy of the three classes studied. A hybrid end-point detector is proposed which gives a rejection rate of less than 0.5 percent, while providing recognition accuracy close to that obtained from hand-edited endpoints.
COMPOOTIM: An Approach to Software Processes Composition and Optimization

Software process definition is a complex, time consuming and error prone activity. Such activity can be facilitated by a process reuse strategy. This strategy can be implemented through a context-based process line approach. Based on the data from this approach and following its systematic, this work presents a proposal to software processes composition and optimization (COMPOOTIM). The purpose is to support the project manager’s decisions and automate the composition of a project specific process. COMPOOTIM optimizes the suggestion of processes to the context of a particular project. A usage scenario for process selection exemplifies the use of COMPOOTIM.
Revisiting size‐exclusion chromatography for measuring structural changes in raw and pretreated mixed hardwoods and switchgrass

The study of the biomass porous structure and its role in defining the accessibility of cell‐wall‐degrading enzymes (CWDEs) to the substrate is very important for understanding the cellulase‐cellulose reaction system. Specific pore volume and specific surface area are two important measures of accessibility and a variety of methods have been used to make these measurements. For this study a size exclusion chromatography system was developed to measure specific pore volume and specific surface areas for raw and pretreated mixed‐hardwood and switchgrass. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) probes of known molecular diameter (1.8–13 nm) were allowed to diffuse into the pore structure of the various biomass substrate packed in the column and subsequently eluted to generate high resolution concentration measurements with excellent reproducibility. Replicate measurements of probe concentrations from this system consistently yielded coefficient of variance of less than 1.5%. Our results showed that particle size reduction had a smaller influence on the specific pore volume distribution of raw mixed‐hardwoods, whereas for switchgrass the larger particles yielded a significantly lower estimate for the pore volume distribution compared to the smaller particles. Our results also clearly showed that our bi‐phasic pretreatment yielded the largest increase in pore volume accessibility for mixed‐hardwoods relative to switchgrass. From these results a pore size change mechanism was proposed that could explain the influence of size reduction and pretreatment on pore volume measurements. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2015;112: 549–559. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
An Ontological Framework for Knowledge Management in Systems Engineering Processes

Systems Engineering (SE) processes comprise highly creative and knowledge-intensive tasks that involve extensive problem-solving and decision-making activities among interdisciplinary teams (Meinadier, 2002). SE projects involve the definition of multiple artifacts that present different formalization degrees, such as requirements specification, system architecture, and hardware/ software components. Transitions between the project phases stem from decision making processes supported both by generally available domain and design knowledge. We argue that Knowledge about engineering processes constitutes one of the most valuable assets for SE organizations. Most often, this knowledge is only known implicitly, relying heavily on the personal experience background of system engineers. To fully exploit this intellectual capital, it must be made explicit and shared among project teams. Consistent and comprehensive knowledge management methods need to be applied to capture and integrate the individual knowledge items emerging in the course of a system engineering project.
Designing (In)finite-alphabet Sequences via Shaping the Radar Ambiguity Function

In this paper, a new framework for designing the radar transmit waveform is established through shaping the radar Ambiguity Function (AF). Specifically, the AF of the phase coded waveforms are analyzed and it is shown that a continuous/discrete phase sequence with the desired AF can be obtained by solving an optimization problem promoting equality between the AF of the transmit sequence and the desired AF. An iterative algorithm based on Coordinate Descent (CD) method is introduced to deal with the resulting non-convex optimization problem. Numerical results illustrate the proposed algorithm make it possible to design sequences with remarkably high tolerance towards Doppler frequency shifts, which is of interest to the future generations of automotive radar sensors.
The signature of somatic hypermutation appears to be written into the germline IgV segment repertoire

Summary: We present here a unifying hypothesis for the molecular mechanism of somatic hypermutation and somatic gene conversion in IgV genes involving reverse transcription using RNA templates from the V‐gene loci to produce cDNA which undergoes homologous recombination with chromosomal V(D)J DNA. Experimental evidence produced over the last 20 years is essentially consistent with this hypothesis. We also review evidence suggesting that somatically generated lgV sequences from B lymphocytes have been fed back to germline DNA over evolutionary time.
A re‐examination of adult mouse nicotinic acetylcholine receptor channel activation kinetics

1 During routine sequencing of our mouse muscle α subunit acetylcholine receptor channel (AChR) cDNA clones, we detected a discrepancy with the GenBank database entry (accession X03986). At nucleotides 1305‐7 (residue 433, in the M4 domain) the database lists GTC which encodes a valine, while our putative ‘wild‐type’ cDNA had the nucleotides GCC, which encodes an alanine. No other sequence differences were found. 2 PCR amplification of genomic DNA confirmed that the BALB/C mouse α subunit gene has a T nucleotide at position 1306, and, therefore, that the protein has a V at position 433 in the M4 segment. 3 In order to determine the functional consequences of this difference, either wild‐type (V433) or mutant (A433) α subunits were co‐expressed in HEK cells with mouse β, ε and δ subunits. Single‐channel currents were recorded in cell‐attached patches, and rate and equilibrium constants were estimated from open and closed durations obtained from a range of ACh concentrations. No significant differences were found between the activation rate constants or equilibrium constants of the V433 and A433 variants. 4 Kinetic modelling of αV433 AChR suggests that the two transmitter binding sites have similar dissociation equilibrium constants for acetylcholine (∼160 μM, in 142 mM extracellular KCl). 5 Diliganded AChRs occupy a closed state that has a lifetime of ∼1 ms. The rate constants for entering and leaving this state do not vary with the ACh concentration. 6 The kinetics of a mutant AChR that causes a slow channel congenital myaesthenic syndrome, αG153S, was re‐examined. The properties of this mutant were similar with a V or an A at position α433.
Grating Couplers With an Integrated Power Splitter for High-Intensity Optical Power Distribution

In this letter, we present a fiber grating coupler with an integrated 16-way power splitter. The incoming light from the fiber is split immediately over 16 channels, and therefore, the total optical power is never confined in a single waveguide. This is of particular interest for silicon photonics platforms, because, here, high optical intensities can cause significant non-linear losses. The device has a total coupling efficiency that is similar to standard focusing grating couplers. Furthermore, a channel non-uniformity below 1.1 dB has been obtained. By studying the alignment sensitivity, we found that for high splitting uniformity, a careful positioning of the fiber is necessary. We also experimentally demonstrate that this device is indeed capable of handling high optical powers without introducing additional non-linear losses.
Telecardiology: Hurst exponent based anomaly detection in compressively sampled ECG signals

Telecardiology systems, involving remote diagnosis of cardiac anomaly based on ECG signals, generally acquire such signals at the Nyquist rate, and transmits the data to diagnostic facilities. Such systems are not designed under either power or bandwidth constraints. However, in certain scenarios involving remote communities in developing and underdeveloped world, both the above constraints could be acute. The present paper takes a first step towards a constrained design keeping such scenarios in view. Specifically, we propose a system where automated classification is performed on the ECG signals, and only anomalous signals are transmitted for further diagnosis and intervention, thereby saving bandwidth. Additionally, we propose compressive sampling as a low-power alternative to traditional Nyquist sampling method, which also lowers bandwidth requirement. Finally, we illustrate our method by designing such a compressive classifier using ECG signals from the widely used PhysioNet database. Specifically, we demonstrate that an average down sampling factor of three leads to desirable classification performance in terms of both sensitivity and specificity while substantially saving both power and bandwidth.
Method of propulsion of a ferromagnetic core in the cardiovascular system through magnetic gradients generated by an MRI system

This paper reports the use of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system to propel a ferromagnetic core. The concept was studied for future development of microdevices designed to perform minimally invasive interventions in remote sites accessible through the human cardiovascular system. A mathematical model is described taking into account various parameters such as the size of blood vessels, the velocities and viscous properties of blood, the magnetic properties of the materials, the characteristics of MRI gradient coils, as well as the ratio between the diameter of a spherical core and the diameter of the blood vessels. The concept of magnetic propulsion by MRI is validated experimentally by measuring the flow velocities that magnetized spheres (carbon steel 1010/1020) can withstand inside cylindrical tubes under the different magnetic forces created with a Siemens Magnetom Vision 1.5 T MRI system. The differences between the velocities predicted by the theoretical model and the experiments are approximately 10%. The results indicate that with the technology available today for gradient coils used in clinical MRI systems, it is possible to generate sufficient gradients to propel a ferromagnetic sphere in the larger sections of the arterial system. In other words, the results show that in the larger blood vessels where the diameter of the microdevices could be as large as a couple a millimeters, the few tens of mT/m of gradients required for displacement against the relatively high blood flow rate is well within the limits of clinical MRI systems. On the other hand, although propulsion of a ferromagnetic core with diameter of /spl sim/600 /spl mu/m may be possible with existing clinical MRI systems, gradient amplitudes of several T/m would be required to propel a much smaller ferromagnetic core in small vessels such as capillaries and additional gradient coils would be required to upgrade existing MRI systems for operations at such a scale.
On the Stability of Swarm Consensus Under Noisy Control

Representation of a swarm of independent robotic agents under graph-theoretic constructs allows for more formal analysis of convergence properties. We consider the local and global convergence behavior of an N-member swarm of agents in a modified consensus problem wherein the connectivity of agents is governed by probabilistic functions. The addition of a random walk control ensures Lyapunov stability of the swarm consensus. Simulation results are given and planned experiments are described.
Congenital pseudarthrosis of the clavicle causing thoracic outlet syndrome

A 7-year-old girl presented with an asymptomatic right supraclavicular swelling. Radiographs were interpreted as showing a non-union of her clavicle. No treatment was given at this time. However, she represented 12 years later with right upper limb pain and altered sensation. Examination revealed a positive Allen's test on the right. Repeat radiographs demonstrated a pseudarthrosis of the clavicle, associated with a secondary complication of thoracic outlet syndrome with vascular and neurological complications present. Non-operative management failed to relieve her symptoms. Operative intervention successfully treated her symptoms.
Dendritic Spine Abnormalities in Amyloid Precursor Protein Transgenic Mice Demonstrated by Gene Transfer and Intravital Multiphoton Microscopy

Accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) into senile plaques in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a hallmark neuropathological feature of the disorder, which likely contributes to alterations in neuronal structure and function. Recent work has revealed changes in neurite architecture associated with plaques and functional changes in cortical signaling in amyloid precursor protein (APP) expressing mouse models of AD. Here we developed a method using gene transfer techniques to introduce green fluorescent protein (GFP) into neurons, allowing the investigation of neuronal processes in the vicinity of plaques. Multiphoton imaging of GFP-labeled neurons in living Tg2576 APP mice revealed disrupted neurite trajectories and reductions in dendritic spine density compared with age-matched control mice. A profound deficit in spine density (∼50%) extends ∼20 μm from plaque edges. Importantly, a robust decrement (∼25%) also occurs on dendrites not associated with plaques, suggesting widespread loss of postsynaptic apparatus. Plaques and dendrites remained stable over the course of weeks of imaging. Postmortem analysis of axonal immunostaining and colocalization of synaptophysin and postsynaptic density 95 protein staining around plaques indicate a parallel loss of presynaptic and postsynaptic partners. These results show considerable changes in dendrites and dendritic spines in APP transgenic mice, demonstrating a dramatic synaptotoxic effect of dense-cored plaques. Decreased spine density will likely contribute to altered neural system function and behavioral impairments observed in Tg2576 mice.
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) Runtime Network-level Monitoring Framework in the Adaptation of Distributed Time-critical Cloud Applications

Many distributed time-critical applications have emerged on the Internet in recent decades, involving for example sensor-based early warning systems, online gaming and instant messaging. Such applications can be virtualised and distributed in a federated Cloud environment. Ensuring that these types of application are able to offer favourable service quality has been a challenging issue due to runtime variations in network conditions intrinsic to connections between individual application components replicated and distributed across different Cloud infrastructures. In this paper, we propose a lightweight method for performing network-level monitoring that can be used to guide the autonomous selection of optimal connections between running components, so improving distributed application performance at runtime. This solution contributes towards realising self-adaptation capabilities for time-critical applications by implementing a non-intrusive monitoring technique for key network-level parameters including roundtrip time (RTT), packet loss, throughput and/or jitter. The experimental results show that the proposed framework has a low communication overhead and requires little processing power and memory capacity.