Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Application of artificial neural networks for versatile preprocessing of electrocardiogram recordings

The electrocardiogram (ECG) is the most widely used method for diagnosis of heart diseases, where a good quality of recordings allows the proper interpretation and identification of physiological and pathological phenomena. However, ECG recordings often have interference from noises including thermal, muscle, baseline and powerline noises. These signals severely limit ECG recording utility and, hence, have to be removed. To deal with this problem, the present paper proposes an artificial neural network (ANN) as a filter to remove all kinds of noise in just one step. The method is based on a growing ANN which optimizes both the number of nodes in the hidden layer and the coefficient matrices, which are optimized by means of the Widrow–Hoff delta algorithm. The ANN has been trained with a database comprising all kinds of noise, both from synthesized and real ECG recordings, in order to handle any noise signal present in the ECG. The proposed system improves results yielded by conventional techniques of ECG filtering, such as FIR-based systems, adaptive filtering and wavelet filtering. Therefore, the algorithm could serve as an effective framework to substantially reduce noise in ECG recordings. In addition, the resulting ECG signal distortion is notably more reduced in comparison with conventional methodologies. In summary, the current contribution introduces a new method which is able to suppress all ECG interference signals in only one step with low ECG distortion and a high noise reduction.
THE SECOND BILL OF RIGHTS. FDR'S UNFINISHED REVOLUTION AND WHY WE NEED IT MORE THAN EVER

En este libro escrito por el conocido constitucionalista americano de las escuelas de Derecho de Chicago y Harvard, se aborda un tema que quedo inconcluso en la presidencia de Franklin Delano Roosevelt: la incorporacion a la practica constitucional de los Estados Unidos de un segundo bill of rights. En el pensamiento de Roosevelt estaba presente la idea de que la Revolucion Americana se encontraba incompleta y que, por lo tanto, resultaba indispensable incorporar una declaracion de derechos economicos , bajo la forma general de un supuesto derecho a llevar una vida confortable (a right to make a confortable living).
Ei-transform: A useful and general framework for channel capacity analysis over fading channels

In this paper, we propose a novel unified analytical framework for the analysis of Channel Capacity over fading channels, which exploits the flexibility and generality of the well-known Moment Generating Function (MGF-) based approach, instead of the usual Probability Density Function (PDF-) based one. In particular, we will introduce a novel transform operator called Ei-Transform, and show that Channel Capacity with side information at the receiver and side information at the transmitter and receiver can be readily expressed as the Ei-Transform of the first derivative of the MGF of the received Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) in the former case, and the Ei-Transform of a linear combination of MGF and truncated MGF (along with their derivatives) of the received SNR in the latter case. The proposed framework turns out to be a useful technique to the analysis and computation of Channel Capacity in all those application scenarios in which estimating the MGF of the received SNR is much simpler than estimating the PDF. Finally, a simple numerical method, which is based on the Gauss-Chebyshev Quadrature (GCQ) rule, for computing Ei-Transform integrals will be described, and numerical results will be shown to validate the accuracy of the proposed MGF-based approach.
Sensor-Fault-Tolerant Control for a Class of Linear Parameter Varying Systems With Practical Examples

This paper deals with the problem of sensor-fault-tolerant control for linear parameter varying (LPV) systems. The LPV systems under consideration are subject to modeling uncertainties and depend on a set of parameters that are assumed to be bounded and available online. Three schemes are proposed to achieve sensor-fault-tolerant control. First, a low-order LPV observer is proposed to simultaneously estimate the unmeasured states and the sensor faults. Second, the estimated sensor faults are used to design a fault decision scheme to detect the sensor faults and to prevent false alarms caused by modeling uncertainties and/or measurement noise. Third, a fault-tolerant control scheme is designed by using the estimated states and the estimated sensor faults to compensate for the effects of sensor faults. To show the effectiveness of the proposed results, the developed schemes are applied to three practical examples consisting of a continuous stirred tank reactor, a single-link robotic arm, and a liquid level process. The simulation results for the first two examples and the experimental results for the liquid level process example indicate that the proposed schemes work well.
Selection of two arm-swing strategies for bipedal walking to enhance both stability and efficiency

Walking ability, which involves mainly stability and efficiency, is one of the most important issues in humanoid robots. Effective use of a robot’s arms is expected to improve its walking ability under its body constraints. Although several types of arm-swing strategies have been proposed, they are difficult to execute simultaneously. We propose two-stage integration of these strategies to enhance both stability and efficiency. A selection algorithm for locomotion (SAL) selects the appropriate strategy according to the demands of the situation. In the first stage, two strategies are evaluated. One of them, Ro-SAL, entails use and compensation of the moment of the swing leg by hip rotation and arm swing. The other strategy, Su-SAL, entails the support of center of gravity trajectory tracking based on a predictive control. Ro-SAL is effective for the stable state and states with internal model error, whereas Su-SAL is effective in states with external force and environmental complexity. In the second stage of the proposed method (AS-SAL), the robot recognizes the current state and selects the optimal combination of the two arm-swing strategies. As a result, a humanoid robot can exhibit more efficient, stable bipedal walking without falling. Graphical Abstract
Xenopus flotillin1, a novel gene highly expressed in the dorsal nervous system

The two paralogues of the Xenopus flotillin1 gene (flotillin1A and flotillin1B), which encodes a putative membrane‐associated protein, were cloned from egg, cleavage, and tadpole cDNA libraries. Both mRNAs are present during oogenesis and cleavage stages. After the onset of zygotic transcription, flotillin1 transcripts are first expressed throughout the embryonic ectoderm and become enhanced in the presumptive neural ectoderm as the neural plate forms. As the neural tube forms and differentiates, flotillin1 transcripts become enriched in the dorsal half, with particularly high expression in dorsal primary neurons. At early tail bud stages, there is additional expression in the paraxial mesoderm. At late tail bud stages, flotillin1A is expressed in branchial arch mesenchyme, the overlying branchial ectoderm and in dorsal somitic mesoderm, whereas flotillin1B expression is more restricted in the dorsal neural tube and head sensory structures. This report is the first comprehensive developmental description in any animal of the expression pattern of this gene, whose protein product in several systems plays important roles in signal transduction events. Developmental Dynamics 231:881–887, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Exocytosis of azurophil and arginase 1‐containing granules by activated polymorphonuclear neutrophils is required to inhibit T lymphocyte proliferation

ARG1, expressed by human PMNs, inhibits T cell proliferation by depleting extracellular l‐arginine. Here, we report that ARG1, released from gelatinase granules by PMNs, is inactive at physiological pH unless activated by factor(s) stored in azurophil granules. Whereas ARG1 exocytosis was induced by TNF‐α or ionomycin, only the latter mediated the release of both granules, resulting in extracellular ARG enzyme activity at physiological pH. Furthermore, after fractionation of the different classes of granules, only the mixture of gelatinase and azurophil granules resulted in ARG1 activity at physiological pH. The use of protease inhibitors indicated the involvement of a PMSF‐ and leupeptin‐susceptible serine protease in ARG1 processing and activation. Finally, the supernatant of viable PMNs undergoing frustrated phagocytosis, which mediates gelatinase and azurophil granule release, inhibited T cell proliferation through ARG‐dependent mechanisms. In vivo, high ARG1 concentrations and increased ARG enzyme activity, sufficient to inhibit T cell proliferation, were observed in synovial fluids from RA. These findings suggest that PMNs, recruited at sites of immune complex deposition, induce ARG1‐dependent immune suppression through concomitant exocytosis of gelatinase and azurophil granules.
Correlation between clinical diagnosis and PCR analysis of serum, aqueous, and vitreous samples in patients with inflammatory eye disease.

PURPOSE To study the applicability (sensitivity, specificity) of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests in the detection of cytomegalovirus (CMV), herpes virus (HSV) and varicella zoster (VZV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Mycobacterium sp and Toxoplasma gondii in the diagnosis of patients with or without AIDS, with presumably infectious uveitis, using serum, aqueous humor and vitreous humor samples. METHODS Twenty individuals with uveitis of presumed infectious origin were evaluated. Sixteen of them had AIDS, four were immunocompetent individuals. We also evaluated 4 normal controls who underwent vitrectomy surgery. Clinical evaluation of the patients was performed together by three clinicians. PCR evaluations of the serum, aqueous, and vitreous humor were performed in a masked fashion by the laboratory staff. RESULTS Twelve patients had a clinical diagnosis of CMV retinitis. Of these 6 (50%) had a positive PCR for CMV in the vitreous, three (25%) had a positive PCR for CMV in the serum, and none were positive in the aqueous. Five patients had a clinical diagnosis of acute retinal necrosis (ARN). Three (60%) of these had positive PCR for HSV/VZV in the vitreous. One of these patients had a positive PCR reaction for both EBV and HSV/VZV in the vitreous samples. One patient with cutaneous herpes zoster had a positive PCR reaction for HSV/VZV in the serum. Four patients had a presumed diagnosis of ocular toxoplasmosis, one patient (25%) had a positive PCR for Toxoplasma gondii in the serum, 3 (75%) had positive results in the aqueous, and 2 (50%) had positive results in the vitreous. One patient with presumed ocular tuberculosis had a positive PCR reaction both in the serum and in the vitreous samples. Finally, none of the four control individuals revealed any positive PCR reaction. CONCLUSION PCR is an auxiliary diagnostic procedure that should be evaluated together with ophthalmological aspects of the patient.
Pharmacological evaluation of Musa seminifera Lour. fruit.

OBJECTIVE To study potential antioxidant, analgesic, antidiarrheal, and antibacterial activities of the ethanol extract of Musa seminifera Lour. fruit in different established in vivo and in vitro experimental models. METHODS In vitro antioxidant activity was studied in 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging assay. Phenolic content was determined using Folin-Ciocalteu's reagent. Reducing ability was evaluated by ferric reducing power assay. Peripherally and centrally acting analgesic activity was studied in three different in vivo models, namely, acetic acid-induced writhing, hot-plate test, and tail-flick test in Swiss albino mice. In vivo antidiarrheal activity was evaluated in castor oil- and magnesium sulfate-induced diarrhea in mice. Gastrointestinal motility test was also carried out in mice. All studies in mice were undertaken at the doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg body weight. Antibacterial activity was assessed by disk diffusion assay against some Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains. Acute toxicity test was conducted to assess the safe doses of the extract. RESULTS The extract showed 50% inhibitory concentration value of 12.65 μg/mL in DPPH radical-scavenging assay. Phenolic content was found to be 589.83 mg gallic acid equivalent per 100 g of dried fruits extract. Reducing power was in a concentration-dependent manner, and strongly comparable with the standard ascorbic acid. The extract demonstrated significant inhibition of writhing in acetic acid-induced writhing test at both dose levels (P<0.01). The extract also raised pain threshold in both hot-plate and tail-flick test in a dose-dependent manner, and the results were statistically significant (P<0.01). The extract significantly (P<0.01) increased latent period, and decreased defecation in both castor oil- and magnesium sulfate-induced diarrhea. The extract also decreased gastrointestinal motility in mice. In disk diffusion assay, the extract showed potential antibacterial activity against all the tested bacterial strains. CONCLUSION The results suggest that the ethanol extract of M. seminifera fruit has potential antioxidant, analgesic, antidiarrheal, and antibacterial activities.
Susceptibility to Acute Rheumatic Fever Based on Differential Expression of Genes Involved in Cytotoxicity, Chemotaxis, and Apoptosis

ABSTRACT It is unknown why only some individuals are susceptible to acute rheumatic fever (ARF). We investigated whether there are differences in the immune response, detectable by gene expression, between individuals who are susceptible to ARF and those who are not. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 15 ARF-susceptible and 10 nonsusceptible (control) adults were stimulated with rheumatogenic (Rh+) group A streptococci (GAS) or nonrheumatogenic (Rh−) GAS. RNA from stimulated PBMCs from each subject was cohybridized with RNA from unstimulated PBMCs on oligonucleotide arrays to compare gene expression. Thirty-four genes were significantly differentially expressed between ARF-susceptible and control groups after stimulation with Rh+ GAS. A total of 982 genes were differentially expressed between Rh+ GAS- and Rh− GAS-stimulated samples from ARF-susceptible individuals. Thirteen genes were differentially expressed in the same direction (predominantly decreased) between the two study groups and between the two stimulation conditions, giving a strong indication of their involvement. Seven of these were immune response genes involved in cytotoxicity, chemotaxis, and apoptosis. There was variability in the degree of expression change between individuals. The high proportion of differentially expressed apoptotic and immune response genes supports the current model of autoimmune and cytokine dysregulation in ARF. This study also raises the possibility that a “failed” immune response, involving decreased expression of cytotoxic and apoptotic genes, contributes to the immunopathogenesis of ARF.
Longitudinal relationship between maternal depression and infant temperament in a Japanese population.

To investigate the relationship between maternal depression and infant temperament in a Japanese population, a prospective questionnaire survey was administered in the postpartum period. Postnatal depression was assessed by Zung's (1965) Self-Rating Depression Scale on two occasions (5 days and 12 months after delivery). At 6 months and 18 months after birth, infant temperament was assessed using the Revised Infant Temperament Questionnaire (RITQ; Carey & McDevitt, 1978) and the Toddler Temperament Scale (TTS; Fullward, McDevitt, & Carey, 1984), respectively. Of the five temperamental dimensions of the RITQ and TTS, "rhythmicity" and "attention span and persistence" showed reciprocal relationships with postnatal depression. Unidirectional effects of maternal depression on infant temperament were found for "frustration tolerance" and "fear of strangers and strange situations. "
Size Matters: A Comparative Analysis of Community Detection Algorithms

Understanding the community structure of social media is critical due to its broad applications such as friend recommendations, user modeling, and content personalization. Existing research uses structural metrics such as modularity and conductance and functional metrics such as ground truth to measure the quality of the communities discovered by various community detection algorithms, while overlooking a natural and important dimension, community size. Recently, the anthropologist Dunbar suggests that the size of a stable community in social media should be limited to 150, referred to as Dunbar’s number. In this paper, we propose a systematic way of algorithm comparison by orthogonally integrating community size as a new dimension into existing structural metrics for consistently and holistically evaluating the community quality in the social media context. We design a heuristic clique-based algorithm which controls the size and overlap of communities with adjustable parameters and evaluate it along with six state-of-the-art community detection algorithms on both Twitter and DBLP networks. Specifically, we divide the discovered communities based on their size into four classes called a close friend, a casual friend, acquaintance, and just-a-face, and then calculate the coverage, modularity, triangle participation ratio, conductance, transitivity, and the internal density of communities in each class. We discover that communities in different classes exhibit diverse structural qualities and many existing community detection algorithms tend to output extremely large communities.
Are big data talents different from business intelligence expertise?: Evidence from text mining using job recruitment advertisements

As more and more companies become aware of the benefits of collecting and analyzing data, hiring employee with data analytics expertise is a key issue faced by HR practitioners. Although previous research empirically highlighted the differences of knowledge and skill requirements between big data (BD) and business intelligence (BI) in English-speaking countries, limited similar study is conducted in China. By analyzing and interpreting the topic modeling results with dataset extracted from online job recruitment website Zhaopin.com, this exploratory study reveals that (1) the demand for BD competencies is far bigger (nearly six times) than the demand for BI competencies in China job market; (2) for Chinese employer, hard skills, especially those advanced analytic and programming skills, are much emphasized when HR searching for qualified BD applicants; (3) given the large volume and unstructured nature of big data, BD investments are currently much more human-capital-intensive than BI projects are. Our findings not only enhance the understanding of similarities and differences in BI and BD areas of competency but also provide guidance for organizations to choose suitable HR decisions.
SDF‐1 (CXCL12) Is Upregulated in the Ischemic Penumbra Following Stroke: Association with Bone Marrow Cell Homing to Injury

The chemokine stromal-derived factor-1 (SDF-1, also known as CXCL12) and its receptor CXCR4 have been implicated in homing of stem cells to the bone marrow and the homing of bone marrow-derived cells to sites of injury. Bone marrow cells infiltrate brain and give rise to long-term resident cells following injury. Therefore, SDF-1 and CXCR4 expression patterns in 40 mice were examined relative to the homing of bone marrow-derived cells to sites of ischemic injury using a stroke model. Mice received bone marrow transplants from green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgenic donors and later underwent a temporary middle cerebral artery suture occlusion (MCAo). SDF-1 was associated with blood vessels and cellular profiles by 24 hours through at least 30 days post-MCAo. SDF-1 expression was principally localized to the ischemic penumbra. The majority of SDF-1 expression was associated with reactive astrocytes; much of this was perivascular. GFP+ cells were associated with SDF-1-positive vessels and were also found in the neuropil of regions with increased SDF-1 immunoreactivity. Most vessel-associated GFP+ cells resemble pericytes or perivascular microglia and the majority of the GFP+ cells in the parenchyma displayed characteristics of activated microglial cells. These findings suggest SDF-1 is important in the homing of bone marrow-derived cells, especially monocytes, to areas of ischemic injury.
Working Women Making It Work

Partner violence may have significant consequences on women’s employment, yet limited information is available about how women cope on the job with perpetrators’ tactics and the consequences of her coping methods on employment status. This article investigates whether there is an association between workplace disclosure of victimization and current employment status; and whether there is an association between receiving workplace support and current employment status among women who disclosed victimization circumstances to someone at work. Using a sample of partner victimized women who were employed within the past year (N = 485), cross-tabulation and ANOVA procedures were conducted to examine the differences between currently employed and unemployed women. Binary logistic regressions were conducted to examine whether disclosure and receiving workplace support were significantly associated with current employment. Results indicate that disclosure and workplace support are associated with employment. Implications for clinical practice, workplace policies, and future research are discussed.
Selection of cognitive radios for cooperative sensing

Cooperative spectrum sensing for cognitive radio (CR) networks has been widely studied to increase the reliability of the primary user detection. However, when there are a large number of cooperating CRs, this typically leads to an increase in overhead in sensing reporting as well as in sensing report combining. A large number of CRs participating in cooperative spectrum sensing also increases the overall energy consumption of the CR network. One recent line of research has examined sensor selection techniques, in which a subset of the CRs is selected to perform the cooperative spectrum sensing in order to reduce overhead and save network energy. However, selection of such a subset is challenging as we do not know a priori which of the CRs have the best detection performance. We present a literature review of CR selection techniques for hard decision cooperative sensing and also perform novel analysis for simple counting (SC) CR selection method.
Neuropsychological outcome following near-drowning in ice water: Two adult case studies

Two men, 56 and 33 years old, (case 1 and case 2) were examined neuropsychologically after successful resuscitation from circulatory arrest following extreme accidental hypothermia and near drowning. After submersion in ice water for at least 20 minutes they received CPR for 45 to 60 minutes. Body-core temperature at start of CPB was 24°C and 22°C, respectively. A neuropsychological examination was performed within two months after the accident and 1 year later. An additional follow-up interview was made 3 years after the accidents. Both had severe problems with memory, visuospatial performance, executive function, and verbal fluency. The follow-up demonstrated improvement in the visuospatial test in both and in the verbal learning, recall, and logical reasoning tests in case 2. Both still had problems with executive function, and case 2 also in verbal fluency. Case 1 also had problems with flexibility, planning and abstract ability. Despite the protective effects of hypothermia and gradual improvement of symptoms over time, some of the deficits were permanent. A thorough neuropsychological examination of patients suffered from anoxia is advisable, because gross neurological examination and MRI scans may not always reveal underlying brain dysfunction. (JINS, 2008, 14, 660–666.)