Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ISION T ECHNIQUES AND D EEP L EARNING M ODEL

In this paper we present a comparison between standard computer vision techniques and Deep Learning approach for automatic metal corrosion (rust) detection. For the classic approach, a classification based on the number of pixels containing specific red components has been utilized. The code written in Python used OpenCV libraries to compute and categorize the images. For the Deep Learning approach, we chose Caffe, a powerful framework developed at “Berkeley Vision and Learning Center” (BVLC). The test has been performed by classifying images and calculating the total accuracy for the two different approaches.
Prolonged constant load cycling exercise is associated with reduced gross efficiency and increased muscle oxygen uptake

This study investigated the effects of prolonged constant load cycling exercise on cycling efficiency and local muscle oxygen uptake responses. Fourteen well‐trained cyclists each completed a 2‐h steady‐state cycling bout at 60% of their maximal minute power output to assess changes in gross cycling efficiency (GE) and muscle oxygen uptake (mVO2) at time points 5, 30, 60, 90, and 120 min. Near‐infrared spatially resolved spectroscopy (NIRS) was used to continually monitor tissue oxygenation of the Vastus Lateralis muscle, with arterial occlusions (OCC) applied to assess mVO2. The half‐recovery time of oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO2) was also assessed pre and post the 2‐h cycling exercise by measuring the hyperemic response following a 5‐min OCC. GE significantly declined during the 2‐h cycling bout (18.4 ± 1.6 to 17.4 ± 1.4%; P < 0.01). Conversely, mVO2 increased, being significantly higher after 90 and 120 min than at min 5 (+0.04 mlO2/min/100 g; P = 0.03). The half‐recovery time for HbO2 was increased comparing pre and post the 2‐h cycling exercise (+7.1 ± 19s), albeit not significantly (d: 0.48; P = 0.27). This study demonstrates that GE decreases during prolonged constant load cycling exercise and provides evidence of an increased mVO2, suggestive of progressive mitochondrial or contractile inefficiency.
Presynaptic kynurenate‐sensitive receptors inhibit glutamate release

Kynurenic acid is a tryptophan metabolite provided with antagonist activity on ionotropic glutamate and α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. We noticed that in rats with a dialysis probe placed in the head of their caudate nuclei, local administration of kynurenic acid (30–100 nm) significantly reduced glutamate output. Qualitatively and quantitatively similar effects were observed after systemic administration of kynurenine hydroxylase inhibitors, a procedure able to increase brain kynurenate concentrations. Interestingly, in microdialysis studies, methyllycaconitine (0.3–10 nm), a selective α7 nicotinic receptor antagonist, also reduced glutamate output. In isolated superfused striatal synaptosomes, kynurenic acid (100 nm), but not methyllycaconitine, inhibited the depolarization (KCl 12.5 mm)‐induced release of transmitter or previously taken‐up [3H]‐D‐aspartate. This inhibition was not modified by glycine, N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate or subtype‐selective kainate receptor agents, while CNQX or DNQX (10 µm), two AMPA and kainate receptor antagonists, reduced kynurenic acid effects. Low concentrations of kynurenic acid, however, did not modify [3H]‐kainate (high and low affinity) or [3H]‐AMPA binding to rat brain membranes. Finally, because metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptors modulate transmitter release in striatal preparations, we evaluated, with negative results, kynurenic acid (1–100 nm) effects in cells transfected with mGlu1, mGlu2, mGlu4 or mGlu5 receptors. In conclusion, our data show that kynurenate‐induced inhibition of glutamate release is not mediated by glutamate receptors. Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, however, may contribute to the inhibitory effects of kynurenate found in microdialysis studies, but not in those found in isolated synaptosomes.
Effects of providing comprehensive ambulatory services to children with chronic conditions.

OBJECTIVE To document the effects of a comprehensive program of care on the resource utilization and cost of care for children with chronic conditions. DESIGN Descriptive study of 10715 admissions between 1984 and 1995 with analyses of costs based on charges. Comparisons were made with data from a national consortium of academic medical centers and from a national survey of hospitals. A 2-week survey of staff was conducted to identify their use of time in the care of these patients. PATIENTS Children aged birth through 18 years meeting International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification criteria for chronic conditions. Patients with acute conditions were used as controls. INTERVENTION A program of expanded care funded since 1989 by a regional insurance company. RESULTS Between 1984 and 1995, mean length of stay for children with chronic conditions decreased from 83.9 to 10.6 days; mean annual admissions decreased from 2796 to 1622. Median hospital inpatient charges, adjusted for cost of living, decreased from $26.1 to $14.6 million. A $77.7 million savings occurred for inpatient care, with total expenditures from the insurance program of $3.6 million (a 21:1 ratio). Almost half the professional activities provided for these children were for services that could not be reimbursed in a fee-for-service model. Median adjusted inpatient charges were lower in Rochester, NY ($8746) than in other academic medical centers ($12773) or in a national survey of hospitals ($12462), and fewer children were readmitted within 30 days in Rochester (12.7%) than in other academic medical centers (15.0%). CONCLUSIONS An investment of funds by a regional insurance company was associated with reduced costs, admissions, and lengths of stay for children with chronic conditions, and resulted in significant savings for the company. This model may be applicable to other centers.
Adoption and Use of Information Technology in Mandatory Settings: Preliminary Insights from Saudi Arabia

Many large Enterprise Systems are adopted in mandatory settings where potential users do not have much choice but to embrace the new technology. The objective of this study is to examine the adoption and use of information technology (IT) in mandatory settings where the option of rejecting the new technology does not exist. Based on a literature review, a framework that explains the adoption and use of information technology in mandatory settings is proposed. This framework highlights that acceptance of a new technology is affected, among other factors, by a system’s contribution to organizational transparency. To further this argument, users who directly benefit from organizational transparency are more likely to accept the technology, such as a new Enterprise Systems. The study expands our body of knowledge about the adoption and use of information technology in mandatory settings, and is expected to help business management and system providers during technology implementation projects. Moreover, the proposed framework may benefit Enterprise System providers when formulating their business models and lead them towards financial success.
MOR4R: microwave oven recipes for resins

This research presents a technique to make an acrylic (PMMA: polymethylmethacrylate) 3D craft using common home electronic equipment, a microwave oven. Though personal fabrication is growing widely popular by the price reduction of digital fabrication tools, the installation of laser cutter at home is still difficult because of issues of safety and health. By pasting properly sized susceptor sheet to the PMMA, and microwaving it about 3 minutes with 800W, the only part where the susceptor is pasted becomes soft enough to bend and cut. The selectability of heating spot allows the creator to form a rigid shape, in the way like folding an origami.
Serum-free media for culturing and serial-passaging of adult human retinal pigment epithelium.

The ability of a chemically-defined serum-free culture medium to support the attachment, growth and serial passaging of primary adult human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells was studied. Primary cultures of adult human RPE were established in a chemically-defined serum-free culture medium on both bare or bovine corneal endothelial extracellular matrix-coated tissue-culture plastic. Confluent cells were serially passaged in chemically-defined serum-free culture medium three times by trypsinization, and trypsin activity was quenched with aprotinin. First passage RPE cells were plated onto tissue-culture plastic precoated with bovine corneal endothelial extracellular matrix or uncoated tissue-culture plastic in 24 well plates at a density of 50 viable cells mm-2. Cells were maintained either in chemically-defined serum-free culture medium, DMEM without serum, or DMEM with 15% fetal bovine serum. For each medium plating, efficiencies were determined 24 hours after plating, and growth rates were determined on the first, third and seventh days after plating. Morphometric image analysis was performed on cells cultured for up to 6 weeks and three serial passages. Seeding efficiency on bovine corneal endothelial extracellular matrix-coated tissue-culture plastic and treated tissue-culture plastic were higher for chemically-defined serum-free culture medium (88.9+/-2.7% and 47.1+/-4.1%, respectively) and DMEM with serum (87.2+/-5.6% and 52.9+/-10.5%, respectively) than DMEM without serum (59.2+/-5.6% and 33.1+/-6.9%, respectively; P<0.01). The RPE proliferation rate in chemically-defined serum-free culture medium was comparable to DMEM with serum on both substrates within the first 3 days, although cells in DMEM with serum had a higher proliferation rate on day 7. Cells cultured in DMEM without serum, eventually decreased in number. RPE maintained in chemically-defined serum-free culture medium maintained a consistent proliferation rate, reached confluence, and retained an epitheloid morphology on either extracellular matrix or tissue-culture plastic for up to 6 weeks and three serial passages. Primary RPE reached confluence at 12+/-3 days on bovine corneal endothelial extracellular matrix-coated tissue-culture plastic and 21+/-5 days on treated tissue-culture plastic. Confluent cultures were composed of small hexagonal cells with epitheloid morphology on both substrates. We concluded that primary adult human RPE can be cultured in this chemically-defined serum-free culture medium. RPE will proliferate, reach confluence, retain their epitheloid morphology and can be serially passaged in the absence of serum.
Influence of hydrostatic pressure on dielectric properties of polyethylene/aluminum oxide nanocomposites

The effect of hydrostatic pressure on the dielectric characteristics of polyethylene/aluminum oxide nanocomposites is reported in the present work. Nanocomposite specimens with a thickness of 0.2 mm were placed in a hydrostatic press at pressures ranging from 50 to 200 MPa. Then, ac and dc breakdown and dielectric spectroscopy measurements were carried out on the original and treated specimens. In comparison to the dielectric properties of the original specimens, the results of the treated specimens demonstrate some interesting dielectric behaviors. For example, the breakdown strengths of the treated specimens are enhanced, and the permittivity and dielectric loss are reduced after the hydrostatic pressure treatments. It is found that the movements of molecular chains and polar groups are restricted especially in the interfacial region, leading to the reduction in permittivity and dielectric loss of specimens after hydrostatic pressure treatment. The improvement in breakdown properties is due to the reduction in free volume or a more uniform size distribution of free volume in the nanocomposites after hydrostatic pressure treatments.
Disseminated Coccidoidomycosis in a Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus)

Abstract: A16-yr-old male koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) presented for nonspecific signs of illness and weight loss. Despite 2 mo of diagnostics and supportive care, the koala's health declined and euthanasia was elected. On histopathologic examination, lesions containing fungal organisms morphologically consistent with coccidioidomycosis were found in the lung, liver, spleen, kidney, lymph node, heart, eye, and bone marrow. Although disseminated infection was present, the koala was IgM and IgG seronegative for Coccidioides spp. 1 mo prior to euthanasia.
Association of a functional polymorphism in the cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) gene with memory decline and incidence of dementia.

CONTEXT Polymorphisms in the cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) gene have been associated with exceptional longevity and lower cardiovascular risk, but associations with memory decline and dementia risk are unclear. OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at CETP codon 405 (isoleucine to valine V405; SNP rs5882) is associated with a lower rate of memory decline and lower risk of incident dementia, including Alzheimer disease (AD). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Prospective cohort study comprising 608 community-dwelling adults without dementia aged 70 years or older from the Einstein Aging Study with CETP genotype available. Fifteen participants with prevalent dementia were excluded, and 70 without follow-up--63 lost to follow-up and 7 new to the study--were excluded from the Cox proportional hazards model, which included 523 participants in the analysis. Standardized neuropsychological and neurological measures were administered annually from 1994-2009. Linear mixed-effects models adjusted for sex, education, race, medical comorbidities, and apolipoprotein (APOE) epsilon4 examined associations of V405 genotype with longitudinal performance on cognitive tests of episodic memory (Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test [FCSRT], possible scores of 0-48), attention (Digit Span), and psychomotor speed (Digit Symbol Substitution). The V405 genotype was the main predictor of incident dementia or AD in similarly adjusted Cox proportional hazards models with age as the time scale. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Memory decline and incident dementia. RESULTS Valine allele frequency was 43.5%. A total of 40 cases of incident dementia occurred during follow-up (mean [(SD], 4.3 [3.1] years). Compared with isoleucine homozygotes, valine homozygotes had significantly slower memory decline on the FCSRT (0.43 points per year of age for isoleucine; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.58 to -0.29 vs 0.21 points per year of age for valine; 95% CI, -0.39 to -0.04; difference in linear age slope, 0.22; 95% CI, 0.02 to 0.41; P = .03) and no significant differences on the Digit Span or Digit Symbol Substitution tests. Valine homozygotes also had lower risk of dementia (hazard ratio, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.10-0.85; P = .02) and AD (hazard ratio, 0.31; 95% CI, 0.10-0.95; P = .04). CONCLUSION This preliminary report suggests that CETP V405 valine homozygosity is associated with slower memory decline and lower incident dementia and AD risk.
Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Society 2014 Consensus Statement: Pharmacotherapies in Cardiac Critical Care Chronic Heart Failure

Objective: Heart failure is a serious complication that can occur in patients with a variety of congenital and acquired disorders including congenital heart disease, cardiomyopathy, and myocarditis. Furthermore, heart failure patients comprise an increasing number of ICU admissions. Thus, it is important for those caring for patients with critical cardiovascular disease to have a thorough understanding of the medications used for the treatment of heart failure. The aim of this review is to provide an overview, rationale, indications, and adverse effects of medications used in the treatment of chronic heart failure. Data Sources: PubMed, Medline, Cochrane Database of Systemic Reviews. Study Selection: Studies were selected on their relevance for pediatric heart failure. When limited data on pediatric heart failure were available, studies in adult patients were selected. Data Extraction: Relevant findings from studies were selected by the authors. Data Synthesis: The rationale for the efficacy of most heart failure medications used in pediatric patients is extrapolated from studies in adult heart failure. Commonly used medications for chronic heart failure include &bgr;-receptor antagonists (e.g., carvedilol and metoprolol), and medications aimed at blocking the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (e.g., angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, aldosterone receptor antagonists). In addition, diuretics are useful for symptoms of fluid overload. For patients with impaired perfusion, inotropic agents are useful acutely, but may be associated with worse outcomes when used chronically. Newer medications that have been recently approved in adults (e.g., serelaxin, ivabradine, and neprilysin inhibitor [angiotensin receptor blocker]) may prove to be important in pediatric heart failure. Conclusions: Heart failure patients are in an important population of critically ill children. The pharmacologic approach to these patients is aimed at treating symptoms of congestion and/or poor perfusion and improving long-term outcomes.
How to consider reliability aspects in the energy management of the Brazilian hydro dominated system

System expansion in Brazil has been historically planned considering a deterministic criterion based on an energy deficit risk equal to 5%, associated to unfavorable hydrological conditions. This criterion is adopted independently of the economic impact (deficit cost) of the energy rationing. This paper proposes new expansion planning procedures for hydro dominated systems. The proposed methodology incorporates aspects related to costs of the deficit and the energy not supplied associated to energetic and electric reliability, respectively. The methodology is illustrated considering a configuration of the Brazilian interconnected system for 2004. Results are presented and discussed.
A survey on Iris recognition system

Biometrics recognition is the use of physiological and behavioral traits to identify an individual. Many biometric traits have been developed and are being used to authenticate the person's identity. Iris recognition system are widely used and have been proved to be efficient at individual recognition with high accuracy and nearly perfect matching. The Iris feature of two eyes of same person are not similar making it more secured way of authentication compared to other Biometric recognition systems. This paper provides a review of various methods and algorithms used by authors and their effect on performance of Iris recognition system along with identification of gap for future work. This paper also briefs about the publicly available Iris database for experimenting and researches.
phenoVein—A Tool for Leaf Vein Segmentation and Analysis1[OPEN]

phenoVein is a user-friendly software tool designed for automated leaf vein segmentation and analysis of leaf vein traits, including a model-based vein width determination. Precise measurements of leaf vein traits are an important aspect of plant phenotyping for ecological and genetic research. Here, we present a powerful and user-friendly image analysis tool named phenoVein. It is dedicated to automated segmenting and analyzing of leaf veins in images acquired with different imaging modalities (microscope, macrophotography, etc.), including options for comfortable manual correction. Advanced image filtering emphasizes veins from the background and compensates for local brightness inhomogeneities. The most important traits being calculated are total vein length, vein density, piecewise vein lengths and widths, areole area, and skeleton graph statistics, like the number of branching or ending points. For the determination of vein widths, a model-based vein edge estimation approach has been implemented. Validation was performed for the measurement of vein length, vein width, and vein density of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), proving the reliability of phenoVein. We demonstrate the power of phenoVein on a set of previously described vein structure mutants of Arabidopsis (hemivenata, ondulata3, and asymmetric leaves2-101) compared with wild-type accessions Columbia-0 and Landsberg erecta-0. phenoVein is freely available as open-source software.
Validation of an LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous quantification of dabigatran, rivaroxaban and apixaban in human plasma.

AIM Novel oral anticoagulants are characterized by a wide therapeutic window, yet the determination of their plasma-drug concentrations may be useful in some clinical conditions. RESULTS An LC-MS/MS method for the analysis of dabigatran, apixaban and rivaroxaban in human plasma has been successfully developed and validated. The analysis of plasma samples from patients given other concomitant drugs revealed no significant interference. By reanalysis of samples from patients on anticoagulant therapy, we found the percentage difference in results between the concentration of repeat and the original sample to be within the threshold limit of 20% in 60 of 63 specimens. CONCLUSION The developed LC-MS/MS assay is easily applicable in the clinical management of patients on anticoagulation therapy.
Les outils du système d'information, facteur clé de succès ou d'échec dans l'évolution des organisations : le cas des universités

Depuis plus de 10 ans, l’Etat a realise une succession de reformes, suscitees par la logique du New Public Management. Tous ces nouveaux dispositifs ont eu pour consequence d’accroitre de maniere considerable et rapide la complexite et l’incertitude de l’environnement des universites. En consequence, la question que nous nous posons est de savoir si le systeme d’information des universites est conforme a leurs besoins pour qu’elles s’adaptent a leur nouvel environnement, resultant des reformes inspirees par le NPM. La reponse a cette question s’appuiera sur la recherche-intervention que nous menons, a travers notre presence longue, dans de nombreuses universites, a l’occasion de la mise en place de logiciels, dont nous sommes concepteurs et editeurs (une cinquantaine d’universites sur des perimetres fonctionnels divers). Il resulte qu’actuellement, la reponse a cette question est encore negative, car le processus de mutation est loin d’etre termine. Les raisons sont, d’une part, la structure organisationnelle et la philosophie gestionnaire qui n’ont pas suffisamment evolue. D’autre part, les outils de gestion s’appuient toujours principalement sur des donnees comptables et budgetaires et non sur les donnees relatives a la gestion des flux des activites operationnelles des missions enseignement et recherche.