Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Auricular Acupuncture with Laser

Auricular acupuncture is a method which has been successfully used in various fields of medicine especially in the treatment of pain relief. The introduction of lasers especially low-level lasers into medicine brought besides the already existing stimulation with needles and electricity an additional technique to auricular acupuncture. This literature research looks at the historical background, the development and the anatomical and neurological aspects of auricular acupuncture in general and auricular laser acupuncture in detail. Preliminary scientific findings on auricular acupuncture with laser have been described in detail and discussed critically in this review article. The results of the studies have shown evidence of the effect of auricular laser acupuncture. However, a comparison of these studies was impossible due to their different study designs. The most important technical as well as study parameters were described in detail in order to give more sufficient evidence and to improve the quality of future studies.
Perceptual video coder incorporating wavelet based Intra frame coder

This paper presents the design of a Human Visual System (HVS) based video coder. In this work, a wavelet based transform coding method is adopted for coding the Intra frames instead of the DCT based scheme. The major aim of developing such a coder is to highlight the role of perceptual models in improving the reconstructed video quality. The perceptual aspects are incorporated in two parts of the video coder. First, vision models are incorporated into the coding structure of both the luma and chroma components of each I frame when represented using the YCbCr space, which improves the reconstructed video quality to a large extend. Second, a perceptual metric called Structural Similarity Index Measure (SSIM), is used as the cost function for fast motion estimation which improves the speed of processing and prediction. The performance of the proposed coder is compared with the standard video coder. The performance comparison of the proposed and the standard coders are done in terms PSNR and latest perceptual measures, such as SSIM and VSNR. Thus the proposed coder gives promising results and paves the way for new research directions.
Improving localization in NLOS condition using RF beacons

In this paper a beacon-based RF source localization in NLOS condition is proposed. Beacons are used to estimate the obstacle causing the NLOS condition to improve the RF source localization accuracy. The obstacle parameters are estimated using particle filter because of the nonlinearity of the problem. For localization accuracy analysis, Cramer Rao Lower Bound (CRLB) analysis is used. The approach has been simulated and compared to the basic RF source localization in NLOS condition in which obstacles are estimated without using beacons. The comparison shows that the proposed approach has higher accuracy than the basic approach. Furthermore, the CRLB analysis of the basic approach has been compared to the proposed approach which shows lower error bound for the proposed approach compared to the basic approach.
Psychometric properties of the Vanderbilt ADHD diagnostic parent rating scale in a referred population.

OBJECTIVE s To determine the psychometric properties of the Vanderbilt Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Parent Rating Scale (VADPRS), which utilizes information based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Ed. (DSM-IV). The VADPRS was created to collect uniform patient data and minimize the time burden of lengthy interviews. METHODS Participant data (N = 243) was used from the first 2 years of a longitudinal study on communication among physicians, teachers, and parents in diagnosing, treating, and managing children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The reliability, factor structure, and concurrent validity of the VADPRS were evaluated and compared with ratings of children in clinical and nonclinical samples on the Vanderbilt ADHD Teacher Rating Scale and the Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-IV, Parent version. RESULTS The internal consistency and factor structure of the VADPRS are acceptable and consistent with DSM-IV and other accepted measures of ADHD. CONCLUSION The VADPRS is a reliable, cost-effective assessment for ADHD in clinical and research settings.
Relation among the Gross Motor Function, Manual Performance and Upper Limb Functional Measures in Children with Spastic Cerebral Palsy

Purpose The objective of this study was to describe hand function in relation with gross motor function and subtype of spastic cerebral palsy and to investigate the relationships among gross motor function, bimanual performance, unimanual capacity and upper limb functional measures in children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP). Materials and Methods We collected upper extremity data of 140 children with spastic CP. The Gross Motor Functional Classification System (GMFCS) was used to assess gross motor function, Manual Ability Classification System (MACS) for bimanual performance, and Modified House Functional Classification (MHC) for the best capacity of each hand. Upper limb functions were evaluated by using the Upper Limb Physician's Rating Scale and Upper Extremity Rating Scale. Results There was a good correlation between GMFCS and MACS in children with bilateral CP, but the correlation was not strong in children with unilateral CP. No significant difference between GMFCS and MACS was found in children with bilateral CP, but children with unilateral CP scored higher on GMFCS than on MACS. A strong correlation was observed between MACS and MHC in children with bilateral CP, but not in children with unilateral CP. The upper limb functional measures in each hand were highly related with MACS and MHC in bilateral CP, but not in unilateral CP. Conclusion Gross motor function, bimanual performance and the best capacity of each hand are closely related with each other in children with bilateral CP, but not in children with unilateral CP.
Ionic flux contributions to neocortical slow waves and nucleus basalis- mediated activation: whole-cell recordings in vivo

Slow, rhythmic membrane potential (Vm) fluctuations occur spontaneously in cortical neurons of urethane-anesthetized rats, and likely underlie EEG activity in the same low-frequency (1–4 Hz or delta) range. Nucleus basalis (NB) stimulation elicits neocortical activation, simultaneously modifying Vm and EEG fluctuations, by way of cortical muscarinic ACh receptors (Metherate et al., 1992). To investigate the nature of spontaneous fluctuations and their modification by NB stimulation, we have obtained intracellular recordings from auditory cortex using the whole-cell recording technique in vivo. Spontaneous Vm fluctuations appeared to contain three components whose polarity and time course resembled the EPSP, putative Cl(-)-mediated IPSP, and putative K(+)- mediated, long-lasting IPSP elicited by thalamic stimulation. The spontaneous, long-lasting hyperpolarization, whose rhythmic occurrence appeared to set the slow-wave rhythm, was associated with an increased conductance that could shunt the thalamocortical EPSP. We hypothesized that spontaneous Vm fluctuations arise from intermixed rapid depolarizations, rapid Cl(-)-mediated hyperpolarizations, and long- lasting, K(+)-mediated hyperpolarizations. NB-mediated cortical activation might then result from muscarinic suppression of K+ permeability, allowing the rapid depolarizations and Cl- fluxes to continue uninterrupted. Tests of this hypothesis showed that (1) intracellular blockade of K+ channels by rapid diffusion of Cs+ from the recording pipette resulted in suppression of spontaneous, long- lasting hyperpolarizations, mimicking the effect of NB stimulation, and reducing shunting of the thalamocortical EPSP; (2) effects of Cs+ and NB stimulation suggested overlapping, or converging, mechanisms of action; however, there were important differential effects on the spontaneous, long-lasting hyperpolarizations and the K(+)-mediated IPSP; and (3) modifying Cl- fluxes with intracellular picrotoxin or high intracellular Cl- concentrations resulted in spontaneous and NB- elicited large-amplitude depolarizations. We conclude that spontaneous, long-lasting hyperpolarizations are K+ fluxes, but are not “spontaneous” K(+)-mediated IPSPs. Since NB-mediated reduction of spontaneous hyperpolarizations implies muscarinic suppression of a K+ conductance, the spontaneous hyperpolarizations more likely result from the calcium-activated K+ current, IK(Ca). Finally, Cl- fluxes form an important component of activated Vm fluctuations that acts to restrain excessive depolarization.
Eficiencia técnica y empleo: criterios de elección de progreso técnico en el sector manufacturero de México

El objetivo de este trabajo es aportar elementos para la construccion de criterios de eleccion relativos al progreso tecnico que cumplan con el alcance simultaneo de desarrollo y bienestar. La eficiencia tecnica y el empleo son dos condiciones que pueden llevarnos al buen establecimiento de estos criterios. Con el fin de constatar si estas dos condiciones se cumplen en el sector manufacturero en Mexico, se ha medido la eficiencia tecnica relativa de este sector de 2003 a 2007, utilizando la tecnica del analisis envolvente de datos y el empleo mediante la mano de obra requerida. Los resultados muestran por un lado, que es posible alcanzar eficiencia tecnica y empleo al mismo tiempo. Por el otro, que existe la capacidad de mejorar tanto los niveles de eficiencia tecnica como el empleo en este sector; los datos muestran que 28.3% de las empresas cumplen con ambas condiciones. Clasificacion JEL: O14, O33. Abstract This work objective is to contribute with elements for the construction of technical progress election criterion that comply with development and welfare simultaneous reach. Technical efficiency and employment are two conditions that can lead to establish correctly such criterion. In order to verify if these conditions fulfill in the Mexican manufacturing sector, its relative technical efficiency was measured from 2003 to 2007 using the enveloping data analysis and employment by means of the required labor. The results show on one part that it is possible to attain technical efficiency and employment at the same time, on the other, that exists a capacity for improving both technical efficiency levels as well as employment in the sector, according to the data 28.3% of the firms fulfill both conditions.
Improving efficacy of internal binary search trees using local recovery

Binary Search Tree (BST) is an important data structure for managing ordered data. Many algorithms---blocking as well as non-blocking---have been proposed for concurrent manipulation of a binary search tree in an asynchronous shared memory system that supports search, insert and delete operations based on both external and internal representations of a search tree. An important step in executing an operation on a tree is to traverse the tree from top-to-down in order to locate the operation's window. A process may need to perform this traversal several times to handle any failures occurring due to other processes performing conflicting actions on the tree. Most concurrent algorithms that have proposed so far use a naïve approach and simply restart the traversal from the root of the tree. In this work, we present a new approach to recover from such failures more efficiently in a concurrent binary search tree based on internal representation using local recovery by restarting the traversal from the "middle" of the tree in order to locate an operation's window. Our approach is sufficiently general in the sense that it can be applied to a variety of concurrent binary search trees based on both blocking and non-blocking approaches. Using experimental evaluation, we demonstrate that our local recovery approach can yield significant speed-ups of up to 69% for many concurrent algorithms.
Preparation and controlled-release studies of a protocatechuic acid-magnesium/aluminum-layered double hydroxide nanocomposite

In the study reported here, magnesium/aluminum (Mg/Al)-layered double hydroxide (LDH) was intercalated with an anticancer drug, protocatechuic acid, using ion-exchange and direct coprecipitation methods, with the resultant products labeled according to the method used to produce them: “PANE” (ie, protocatechuic acid-Mg/Al nanocomposite synthesized using the ion-exchange method) and “PAND” (ie, protocatechuic acid-Mg/Al nanocomposite synthesized using the direct method), respectively. Powder X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the intercalation of protocatechuic acid into the inter-galleries of Mg/Al-LDH. The protocatechuic acid between the interlayers of PANE and PAND was found to be a monolayer, with an angle from the z-axis of 8° for PANE and 15° for PAND. Thermogravimetric and differential thermogravimetric analysis results revealed that the thermal stability of protocatechuic acid was markedly enhanced upon intercalation. The loading of protocatechuic acid in PANE and PAND was estimated to be about 24.5% and 27.5% (w/w), respectively. The in vitro release study of protocatechuic acid from PANE and PAND in phosphate-buffered saline at pH 7.4, 5.3, and 4.8 revealed that the nanocomposites had a sustained release property. After 72 hours incubation of PANE and PAND with MCF-7 human breast cancer and HeLa human cervical cancer cell lines, it was found that the nanocomposites had suppressed the growth of these cancer cells, with a half maximal inhibitory concentration of 35.6 μg/mL for PANE and 36.0 μg/mL for PAND for MCF-7 cells, and 19.8 μg/mL for PANE and 30.3 μg/mL for PAND for HeLa cells. No half maximal inhibitory concentration for either nanocomposite was found for 3T3 cells.
A pulsed load modulation (PLM) power amplifier with 3-level envelope delta-sigma modulation (EDSM)

An X-band power amplifier (PA) based on the pulsed load modulation (PLM) architecture is developed. The PLM technique leverages on the load modulation characteristics incurred for modulated pulses with different duty cycles as the consequence of the interactions between switching PAs with the high-Q output filter. Though a high drain efficiency is promised by the PLM amplifier with a binary envelop input, the low coding efficiency of the 2-level pulse modulations including the 2-level Envelope Delta- Sigma Modulation (EDSM) reduces the effective gain of the PA and thus decreases the overall power added efficiency. The great amount of quantization noise also needs to be rejected with high-Q filter which adds a great burden to the output filter design. In this paper, it is proposed to feed the PLM PA with a 3-level EDSM signal for input with higher effective gain and lower quantization noise. The concept is demonstrated with an X-band PLM PA fabricated with discrete 0. 25μm GaN HEMT. The proposed transmitter delivered 35.6 dBm output power with 40.5 % drain efficiency for 5 MHz WCDMA signal with 5.3 peak-toaverage ratio at 9.2 GHz.
Androgen Receptor Polymorphism-Dependent Variation in Prostate-Specific Antigen Concentrations of European Men

Background: Androgens acting via the androgen receptor (AR) stimulate production of PSA, which is a clinical marker of prostate cancer. Because genetic variants in the AR may have a significant impact on the risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer, the aim was to investigate whether AR variants were associated with the risk of having PSA above clinically used cutoff thresholds of 3 or 4 ng/mL in men without prostate cancer. Methods: Men without prostate cancer history (n = 1,744) were selected from the European Male Ageing Study cohort of 40 to 79-year-old men from eight different European centers. Using linear and logistic regression models, with age and center as covariates, we investigated whether AR variants (CAG repeat-length and/or SNP genotype) were associated with having serum PSA concentrations above 3 or 4 ng/mL, which often are set as cutoff concentrations for further investigation of prostate cancer. Results: Carriers of the SNP rs1204038 A-allele (16% of the men) were more likely to have PSA>3 and 4 ng/mL (OR; 95% confidence intervals, 1.65; 1.13–2.40 and 1.87; 1.18–2.96, respectively) than G-allele carriers. They also had shorter CAG repeats (median 20 vs. 23, P < 0.0005), but CAG repeat length per se did not affect the PSA concentrations. Conclusion: The A-allele of the SNP rs1204038 gives a 65% higher risk of having PSA above 3 ng/mL than the G-allele in men without prostate cancer, and thereby an increased risk of being referred for further examination on suspicion of prostate cancer. Impact: Serum PSA as a clinical marker could be improved by adjustment for AR-genotype. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 23(10); 2048–56. ©2014 AACR.
Monetary Policy at the Zero Lower Bound: The Chilean Experience

In this paper we analyze the effects of the Term Liquidity Program (FLAP) implemented by the Central Bank of Chile in response to the financial crisis of 2008-2009. We find that the announcement related to this policy significantly reduced nominal yields in the policy horizon of two years. These results suggest that the credibility goal of this unconventional policy (i.e. to convey the message that the monetary policy rate was to remain at its lower bound for a prolonged period of time) was achieved. We also analyze how the usage of that facility by banks affected the credit they supply. We find that banks that borrowed from this facility increase commercial and consumer loans, relative to those that did not, but mortgage credit was not significantly affected. In other words, this additional source of short-term borrowing was used mainly to finance short-term lending.
Nonlinear adaptive flight control using sliding mode online learning

An expanded model inversion flight control strategy using sliding mode online learning is presented and implemented for an small unmanned aircraft system (UAS). These low-cost aircraft are very susceptible towards nonlinearities like atmospheric turbulence, model uncertainties or system failures, so adaptive flight control strategies possess a high potential to improve the degree of automation of such systems. The concept of feedback linearization is combined with feedforward neural networks to compensate for inversion errors and other nonlinearities. The backpropagation-based adaption laws of the network weights are extended with terms to take into account any approximation error and the so called e-modification. Within these adaption laws the standard gradient descent backpropagation algorithm is expanded with the concept of sliding mode control (SMC), which enables stable adaptivity of the learning rate and so tends to offer a higher speed of convergence. The definition of the sliding mode function assures convergence of the network's output error towards the sliding surface, while considering the system's stability. The SMC-based flight control strategy is tested and compared with the standard gradient descent backpropagation algorithm.
Simulations of Blood Flow in Plain Cylindrical and Constricted Vessels with Single Cell Resolution

Understanding the physics of blood is challenging due to its nature as a suspension of soft particles and the fact that typical problems involve different scales. This is valid also for numerical investigations. In fact, many computational studies either neglect the existence of discrete cells or resolve relatively few cells very accurately. The authors recently developed a simple and highly efficient yet still particulate model with the aim to bridge the gap between currently applied methods. The present work focuses on its applicability to confined flows in vessels of diameters up to 100 micrometres. For hematocrit values below 30 percent, a dependence of the apparent viscosity on the vessel diameter in agreement with experimental literature data is found.
Self-calibration of asynchronized camera networks

Calibration of camera networks is a well studied problem. However, most previous attempts assume all the cameras in the network to be synchronized which is especially difficult over large distances. In this paper we present a simple method to fully calibrate the asynchronized cameras of differing frame rates from the acquired video content directly. The presented methods either utilize content based tracked features or alternatively a light marker together with epipolar or homography based constraints to estimate the synchronization as well as intrinsic and extrinsic camera parameters. We assume two cameras within the network to be pre-calibrated (intrinsics only) using standard approaches. We validate our method with numerous simulations for noise analysis as well as real experiments. Furthermore we show how our approach can be used for robust 3D reconstruction in spite of using asynchronized cameras.
Asymmetric Information and Exchange of Information About Product Differentiation

We introduce asymmetric information about consumers’ transportation costs (i.e., the degree of product differentiation) in the model of Hotelling. When transportation costs are high, both firms have lower profits with asymmetric information than with perfect information. Contrarily, if transportation costs are low, both firms may prefer the asymmetric information scenario (the informed firm always prefers the informational advantage, while the uninformed firm may or may not prefer to remain uninformed). Information exchange is ex-ante advantageous for both firms, but ex-post damaging if transportation costs turn out to be low. If the information is unverifiable, the informed firm does not represent a reliable source of information, since it always prefers to announce that transportation costs are high and there is no contract that induces truthful revelation.
Emotar: Communicating Feelings through Video Sharing

Affect exchange is essential for healthy physical and social development [7], and friends and family communicate their emotions to each other instinctively. In particular, watching movies has always been a popular mode of socialization and video sharing is increasingly viewed as an effective way to facilitate communication of feelings and affects, even when the parties are not in the same location. We present an asynchronous video-sharing platform that uses Emotars to facilitate affect sharing in order to create and enhance the sense of togetherness through the experience of asynchronous movie watching. We investigate its potential impact and benefits, including a better viewing experience, supporting relationships, and strengthening engagement, connectedness and emotion awareness among individuals.
Bioconductor's multtest package

1 Overview The multtest package contains a collection of functions for multiple hypothesis testing. These functions can be used to identify differentially expressed genes in microarray experiments, i.e., genes whose expression levels are associated with a response or covariate of interest. Introduction to multiple testing. This document provides a tutorial for using the multtest package. For a detailed introduction to multiple testing consult the document multtest.intro in the inst/doc directory of the package. See also Shaffer (1995) and Dudoit et al. (2002) for a review of multiple testing procedures and complete references. Multiple testing procedures implemented in multtest. The multtest package implements multiple testing procedures for controlling different Type I error rates. It includes procedures for controlling the family–wise Type I error rate (FWER): Bonferroni, Hochberg (1988), Holm (1979),
Node pacing for optical packet switching

One of the difficulties of optical packet switched networks is buffering optical packets in the network. Burstiness of Internet traffic causes high packet drop rates and low utilization in very small buffered OPS networks. In this paper, we propose a new node-based pacing algorithm and show that it can increase the utilization of very small optical RAM buffered core optical packet-switched (OPS) networks.