Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Bregman divergence based Level Set Evolution for efficient medical image segmentation

Fluctuations in signed distance measurement often reduce the numerical precision of level set methods (LSMs) in image segmentation. Inspired by the split Bregman method for L1-regularization problems, this paper proposes an efficient energy-based level set framework with Bregman divergence reaction to achieve stable and accurate numerical solutions. In this proposed algorithm, the level set and its signed distance function (SDF) are formulated as a constrained L1-norm optimization problem. Bregman divergence is then introduced as a new energy measurement of the level set function. By adding the reaction term for the divergence, SDF with L1-norm constraint is then computed under an unconstrained optimization framework. Efficient numerical algorithms such as Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT) and Newton's method are further adopted within a unified computational framework for solving the sub-minimizations. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that the proposed level set algorithm is able to achieve competitive performance in medical image segmentation.
Enumeration of $r$-regular Maps on the Torus. Part II: Enumeration of Unsensed Maps

The second part of the paper is devoted to enumeration of $r$-regular toroidal maps up to all homeomorphisms of the torus (unsensed maps). We describe in detail the periodic orientation reversing homeomorphisms of the torus which turn out to be representable as glide reflections. We show that considering quotients of the torus with respect to these homeomorphisms leads to maps on the Klein bottle, annulus and the M\"obius band. Using $3$- and $4$-regular maps as an example we describe the technique of enumerating quotient maps on surfaces with a boundary. Obtained recurrence relations are used to enumerate unsensed $r$-regular maps on the torus for various $r$.
Post Operative Effects: Anesthesia

Anesthesia result in a variety of metabolic and endocrine responses, but conventional wisdom maintains that anesthetic technique has little long-term effect on patient outcomes. There is accumulating evidence that, on contrary, anesthetic management may in fact exert a number of longer-term effects in postoperative outcome. Here, we review the most topical aspects of anaesthetic management which may potentially influence later postoperative outcomes. Overall, there is insufficient evidence to confirm the ability of postoperative outcomes. This is primarily due to typically insufficient subject numbers to detect differences in currently low incidences of postoperative complications.
Perceptual edge detection via entropy-driven gradient evaluation

This study presents a novel method based on entropy-driven gradient evaluation (P-EdGE) for detecting perceptual edges that represent boundaries of objects as perceived by human eyes. P-EdGE is characterised by iteratively employing a shape-changeable mask centred at a target pixel to sample gradient orientations of neighbouring pixels for measuring the directivity of the target pixel. The mask deforms to automatically cover pixels most suitable for exhibiting the directivity of the target pixel. The authors show that such an iterative scheme satisfies the similarity and proximity laws in Gestalt theory. The converged directivity in conjunction with the gradient magnitude are subjected to a Bayesian process, they show that doing so can help effectively determine whether the target pixel belongs to a perceptual edge. Experimental results are presented to justify the superiority of P-EdGE over other methods in detecting perceptual edges.
Multi-path routing combined with resource reservation

In high-speed networks it is desirable to interleave routing and resource (such as bandwidth) reservation. The PNNI standard for private ATM networks is an example of an algorithm that does this using a sequential crank-back mechanism. We suggest the implementation of resource reservation along several routes in parallel. We present an analytical model that demonstrates that when there are several routes to the destination it pays to attempt reservation along more than a single route. Following this analytic observation, we present a family of algorithms that route and reserve resources along parallel subroutes. The algorithms of the family represent different trade-offs between the speed and the quality of the established route. The presented algorithms are simulated against several legacy algorithms, including the PNNI crank-back, and exhibit higher network utilization and faster connection set-up time.
Alternative Option to Treat Crowding by Direct Veneering Layering (Case Report)

Introduction: A thirty one years old male patient attended our private dental clinic complaining of crowding in the mandibular six anterior teeth. The patient refused any kind of orthodontics treatment. Also he refused any kind of treatment includes teeth preparation. After extra and intra-oral examination, a diagnostic cast was fabricated to analyze the patient’s smile line. Despite the fact that most of the corrected cases for orthodontics measures carried by indirect ceramic veneers, a direct veneering layering technique has been considered as the treatment option for this case . So the aim of this study is to introduce an alternative method to orthodontic approach for the management of crowded mandibular anterior teeth. Materials and Methods: Empress direct material® was selected for this case to carry out direct veneering layering technique. It is a product of Ivoclar Vivadent Company. A wax up pattern was made on a diagnostic cast to analyze the smile line and to estimate the level of the mandibular arch to get the best final aesthetic result. All the six anterior teeth were etched with 37% phosphoric acid and a fifth generation bonding of ivoclar was used (Excite F). )® Results: A cosmetically acceptable aesthetic smile line has been achieved and the de-arrangement of the crowding was corrected with an acceptable level. The patient was satisfied with the results. Conclusion: For some cases, direct composite veneer layering is suitable, hassle free and cost effective alternative to orthodontic treatment or traditional porcelain veneers, with reasonable aesthetic results.
Promoting exercise maintenance: how interventions with booster sessions improve long-term rehabilitation outcomes.

OBJECTIVE Follow-up intervention boosters are supposed to promote exercise maintenance beyond initial treatment. The current quasi-experimental study investigated the benefits of adding telephone-delivered intervention boosters to a self-management exercise intervention for rehabilitants. Psycho-social mechanisms by which the intervention boosters promote exercise maintenance were examined. RESEARCH DESIGN Between 2009 and 2011, individuals in cardiac and orthopedic rehabilitation (N = 1,166) were allocated to either a self-management exercise intervention or a control group (i.e., questionnaire only). In addition to standard rehabilitation, participants in the intervention group were offered a series of telephone-delivered intervention boosters after 6 weeks and again after 6 months. Self-efficacy, action planning, and satisfaction with previous exercise outcomes were reassessed 12 months after discharge. Habit strength and exercise were measured 18 months after rehabilitation. RESULTS The intervention with boosters promoted the maintenance of planning, self-efficacy, satisfaction, exercise, and habit strength. Changes in exercise were simultaneously mediated by changes in planning, self-efficacy, and satisfaction. Changes in habit strength were sequentially mediated by planning and exercise. CONCLUSIONS Interventions with boosters that focus on action planning, self-efficacy, and satisfaction help to maintain self-directed postrehabilitation exercise. Frequent exercise performance, in turn, can strengthen exercise habits.
Montgomery and RNS for RSA Hardware Implementation

There are many architectures for RSA hardware implementation which improve its performance. Two main methods for this purpose are Montgomery and RNS. These are fast methods to convert plaintext to ciphertext in RSA algorithm with hardware implementation. RNS is faster than Montgomery but it uses more area. The goal of this paper is to compare these two methods based on the speed and on the used area. For this purpose the architecture that has a better performance for each method is selected, and some modification is done to enhance their performance. This comparison can be used to select the proper method for hardware implementation in both FPGA and ASIC design.
Object Detection Using Convolutional Neural Networks in a Coarse-to-Fine Manner

Object detection in remote sensing images has long been studied, but it remains challenging due to the diversity of objects and the complexity of backgrounds. In this letter, we propose an object detection method using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) in a coarse-to-fine manner. In the coarse step, coarse candidate regions that may contain objects are proposed. In the fine step, fine candidate regions are cropped from coarse candidate regions, and are classified as objects or backgrounds. We design a concise and efficient framework that can propose fewer candidate regions and extract more discriminative features. The framework consists of two eight-layer CNNs that are well designed and powerful. To use CNNs to detect inshore ships, image samples are required, each of which should contain only one ship. However, the traditional image cropping method cannot generate such samples. To solve this problem, we present an orientation-free image cropping method that can generate trapezium rather than rectangle samples, making inshore ship detection by CNN feasible. Experimental results on Google Earth images demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms existing state-of-the-art methods.
Bacillus cereus and Bacillus thuringiensis isolated in a gastroenteritis outbreak investigation

During investigation of a gastroenteritis outbreak in a chronic care institution, Norwalk virus was found in stool specimens from two individuals and bacterial isolates presumptively identified as Bacillus cereus were isolated from four individuals (including one with Norwalk virus) and spice. Phage typing confirmed all Bacillus clinical isolates were phage type 2. All clinical isolates were subsequently identified as B. thuringiensis when tested as a result of a related study (L. Leroux, personal communication). Eight of 10 spice isolates were phage type 4. All B. cereus and B. thuringiensis isolates showed cytotoxic effects characteristic of enterotoxin‐producing B. cereus. An additional 20 isolates each of B. cereus and B. thuringiensis from other sources were tested for cytotoxicity. With the exception of one B. cereus, all showed characteristic cytotoxic patterns.
Minimized Device Junction Leakage Current at Forward-Bias Body and Applications for Low-Voltage Quadruple-Stacked Common-Gate Amplifier

Minimized device junction leakage current at forward-bias body and applications for low-voltage quadruple-stacked common-gate (CG) low-noise amplifier (LNA) is presented in this paper. Diode-connected MOSFETs are proposed to insert between the device bulks and forward bias, resulting in the back-to-back connected diodes and minimized junction leakage current. In addition, interstage matching networks are introduced to the quadruple-stacked CG stages to significantly enhance the small-signal gain of the amplifier. Based on the proposed circuit architectures, the fabricated 0.18-μm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor LNA can operate at 0.5 V low supply voltage, exhibiting a measured low dc power dissipation of 6.3 mW, high gain of 16 dB, and low noise figure of 5.6 dB at 27.5 GHz. In addition, the theories for analyzing the proposed quadruple-stacked CG amplifier are given in detail, and the mechanisms are validated by experiments.
Experimental Demonstration of a Full-Duplex Indoor Optical Wireless Communication System

In this letter, a high-speed full-duplex indoor optical wireless communication system for both down-link and up-link is experimentally demonstrated. The feasibility of simultaneous error-free (bit-error-rate or BER <; 10-9) operation of both a 10-Gbps down-link and a 500-Mbps up-link with a beam footprint of ~1 m has been demonstrated. Negligible power penalty due to the crosstalk is observed. When this full-duplex system is incorporated with our recently proposed novel optical wireless localization system, error-free operation can be provided over the entire room.
Clarithromycin for 2 Weeks for Stable Coronary Heart Disease: 6-Year Follow-Up of the CLARICOR Randomized Trial and Updated Meta-Analysis of Antibiotics for Coronary Heart Disease

Objectives: We have reported increased 2.6-year mortality in clarithromycin- versus placebo-exposed stable coronary heart disease patients, but meta-analysis of randomized trials in coronary heart disease patients showed no significant effect of antibiotics on mortality. Here we report the 6-year mortality of clarithromycin- versus placebo-exposed patients and updated meta-analyses. Methods: Centrally randomized, placebo controlled multicenter trial. All parties were blinded. Analyses were by intention to treat. Meta-analyses followed the Cochrane Collaboration methodology. Results: We randomized 4,372 patients with stable coronary heart disease to clarithromycin 500 mg (n = 2,172) or placebo (n = 2,200) once daily for 2 weeks. Mortality was followed through public register. Nine hundred and twenty-three patients (21.1%) died. Six-year mortality was significantly higher in the clarithromycin group (hazard ratio 1.21, 95% confidence interval 1.06–1.38). Adjustment for entry characteristics (sex, age, prior myocardial infarction, center, and smoking) did not change the results (1.18, 1.04–1.35). Addition of our data to that of other randomized trials on antibiotics for patients with coronary heart disease versus placebo/no intervention (17 trials, 25,271 patients, 1,877 deaths) showed a significantly increased relative risk of death from antibiotics of 1.10 (1.01–1.20) without heterogeneity. Conclusions: Our results stress the necessity to consider carefully the strength of the indication before administering antibiotics to patients with coronary heart disease.
Fuzzy Positioning Control of the Novel Single-Axis Piezoelectric Actuated Stage

In this research, we used the self-designed piezoelectric actuated stage to achieve the nanometer level precise positioning control through the design of the fuzzy controller. A novel piezoelectric actuator structure - 4-9-9-14 piezoelectric actuator is constructed, and it is made of piezoelectric buzzer to drive the stage. The movement of the piezoelectric actuated stage is read and analyzed by means of NI PCI-6115 data acquisition card and Lab VIEW software operating in conjunction with a linear encoder. The new consideration of tuning time Ton is used to place of traditional method of changing the magnitude of driving voltage to control the stepping distance of the stage. Under a constant driving voltage, the stride of the stage increases with time Ton, and the stride of the stage decreases with time Ton. According to the control experiment, the piezoelectric actuator stage would be reached below 1 μm levels by the fuzzy controller which is designed for this experiment, has been demonstrated. Furthermore, the purpose of control could be achieved by changing the time Ton which has been demonstrated.
Multichannel joint detection of multicarrier 16-QAM DS/CDMA system for high-speed data transmission

We propose a multichannel joint detector which eliminates other user, multipath, and intercarrier interference through a decorrelating process in a multicarrier 16-QAM direct-sequence code-division multiple-access system. The performance of the proposed detector under a frequency-selective fading channel is analytically derived and compared to that of a conventional single-user detector. The symbol error ratio curve of the proposed detector does not show the error floor that is seen in the conventional detector, and the resultant performance is close to that of a multicarrier 16-QAM system without any interference.
Transfer of single gene-containing long terminal repeats into the genome of mammalian cells by a retroviral vector carrying the cre gene and the loxP site

Retroviral vectors contain viral cis-acting elements to achieve the packaging, reverse transcription, integration, and expression of the retroviral genomic nucleic acid sequence. However, these elements are not useful in the integrated provirus and can be the cause of problems. We have developed a vector which eliminates the majority of these viral elements. This vector, a long terminal repeat (LTR) enhancer-deleted vectors, exploits the Cre-lox recombination system of the P1 bacteriophage. The Cre-lox system is neutral for eukaryotic cells. The 32-nucleotide loxP site is inserted within the U3 of the 3' LTR along with with the gene to be transduced (in place of the viral enhancers). Following the LTR-mediated loxP duplication, the LTRs can be recombined by the Cre enzyme. The structure of the resulting provirus in the host genome corresponds to a single LTR (deleted of the viral enhancers) carrying a single copy of the gene to be transduced. If the Cre expression unit is furnished after the integration of a loxP-containing virus, the efficiency of the recombination is not absolute. If the Cre expression unit is inserted between the two LTRs, only single LTR proviral structures are found following infection by the retroviral vector.
An algorithm for planarity testing by adjacency matrix

It is of great use to determine whether a graph is planar in both information technology and engineering areas. Although there are some known algorithms, they are quite difficult to understand and to implement. This paper proposes a new method to determine the planarity of a graph by adjacency matrix, which is very easy to implement. Especially, we give the degree conditions for the planarity of 6-vertex undirected simple graphs.
Apoptosis as the Mechanism of Neurodegeneration in Batten's Disease

Abstract: Batten's disease is a genetic neurodegenerative disease of childhood. Its hallmarks are retinitis pigmentosa and neuronal degeneration. As some types of photoreceptor death in mice are mediated by apoptosis, we investigated whether apoptosis is responsible for retinal and neuronal degeneration in the late infantile and juvenile forms of Batten's disease. Using the terminal dUDP nick end‐labeling (TUNEL) staining method, we detected apoptotic neuronal cells in brain from patients and a canine model and in brain and retina from an ovine model for Batten's disease. We confirmed apoptosis by flow cytometry, electron microscopy, and DNA laddering. This is the first inherited neurodegenerative disease involving brain and retina in which apoptosis has been established as the mechanism of neuronal and photoreceptor cell death in both humans and animal models.
Patent Examiner Specialization

We study the matching of patent applications to examiners at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The distribution of technology classes is more concentrated than would occur under random matching and F-tests reject the hypothesis that family size and claim scope are randomly distributed across examiners. Using the application text, we show that examiner specialization persists even after conditioning on technology sub-classes. Specialization is less pronounced in computers and software than other technology fields. More specialized examiners have a lower grant rate. These findings undermine the idea that random matching justifies instrumental variables based on examiner behaviors or characteristics.
Telehealth Interventions in Rehabilitation Psychology: Postcards From the Edge.

This special section grew out of a symposium at the 112th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association in Honolulu, Hawaii, that presented innovative telehealth interventions in rehabilitation from around the world. Several presentations represented the cutting edge of science and technology for which only preliminary data were available—hence the subtitle “Postcards From the Edge. ” The collected articles represent emerging approaches by pioneers in telehealth rehabilitation and are intended to inform the clinical and research efforts of others who are grappling with the particular blend of psychological and technological issues that these interventions provide.
Ensemble deep neural networks for domain-specific Image Recognition

The dog breeds recognition is the topic of the MSR Image Recognition Challenge (IRC) @ IEEE ICME 2016. In order to sufficiently train the deep neural networks (DNNs) used in this domain-specific image recognition task, we append two high quality public dog datasets and one noisy dog pictures dataset crawled from web to the Clickture-Dog dataset provided by the Challenge. At the preprocessing stage, we enhance the edge of images to emphasize the boundaries of the dogs in image. At the same stage, we adopt the multi-scale training strategy on both the original images and images with edge enhancement. Therefore, we have total four different preprocessing configurations. Finally, we integrate 12 base-DNN sub-models and soft-max posteriors into a committee machine. We implement our recognition algorithm and convert it to Microsoft cloud service. Our team, named as NFS2016, get the third place in this challenge.
Agent-based software architecture for distributed measurement systems and cyber-physical systems design

This paper reports about a research project aimed to the development of an agent-based software architecture for a Distributed Measurement System (DMS) as a Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) part. Agents are used because they naturally support the modeling of the interaction between the measurement nodes and provide the concept of action, useful to implement measurement procedures. A support to model continuity is novel in the approach, that is, the possibility of using the same model for property analysis using simulation, down to final implementation and real-time execution. A case study is presented concerning DMS devoted to real-time monitoring and control of an electric power system.
Gene expression and functional evidence of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in papillary thyroid carcinoma invasion

Papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs) that invade into local structures are associated with a poor prognosis, but the mechanisms for PTC invasion are incompletely defined, limiting the development of new therapies. To characterize biological processes involved in PTC invasion, we analyzed the gene expression profiles of microscopically dissected intratumoral samples from central and invasive regions of seven widely invasive PTCs and normal thyroid tissue by oligonucleotide microarray and performed confirmatory expression and functional studies. In comparison with the central regions of primary PTCs, the invasive fronts overexpressed TGF β, NFκB and integrin pathway members, and regulators of small G proteins and CDC42. Moreover, reduced levels of mRNAs encoding proteins involved in cell–cell adhesion and communication were identified, consistent with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). To confirm that aggressive PTCs were characterized by EMT, 34 additional PTCs were examined for expression of vimentin, a hallmark of EMT. Overexpression of vimentin was associated with PTC invasion and nodal metastasis. Functional, in vitro studies demonstrated that vimentin was required both for the development and maintenance of a mesenchymal morphology and invasiveness in thyroid cancer cells. We conclude that EMT is common in PTC invasion and that vimentin regulates thyroid cancer EMT in vitro.