Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Image denoising beyond additive Gaussian noise Patch-based estimators and their application to SAR imagery. (Débruitage d'images au-delà du bruit additif gaussien Estimateurs à patchs et leur application à l'imagerie SAR)

Noise in images often limits visual and automatic interpretation of the scene. Speckle in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery and shot noise in photon-limited imagery are two examples of strong corruptions that require the use of denoising techniques. Patches are small image parts that capture both textures and local structures. Though being crude low-level features (compared to higher level descriptors), they have led to very powerful image processing approaches by exploiting the natural redundancy of images. Patch-based methods achieve state-of-the-art denoising performance. The classical patch-based denoising technique non-local (NL) means is designed for images corrupted by an additive Gaussian noise (i.e., fluctuations being symmetrical, signal-independent without outliers). NL means cannot be applied directly on images corrupted by a non-Gaussian process especially with non-symmetrical distribution, signal-dependence and heavy-tail such as speckle and shot noise. The goal of this thesis is to bridge the gap between patch-based denoising methods restricted to Gaussian noise and techniques dedicated to SAR despeckling. After reviewing image denoising techniques for Gaussian noise and for non-Gaussian noise, we propose an extension of the NL means that adapts to a given noise distribution. Besides the problem of image denoising, we study the problem of patch comparison under non-Gaussian conditions. Many tasks in computer vision require matching image parts. We introduce a similarity criterion grounded on the generalized likelihood ratio test and illustrate its effectiveness on different applications including detection, stereo-vision and motion-tracking. This criterion is at the heart of the proposed patch-based estimator. An iterative scheme is proposed to deal with strong noise corruptions and we develop an unsupervised method for parameter setting. Our approach leads to state-of-the-art denoising results in SAR imagery for amplitude images, as well as interferometric or polarimetric data. The proposed technique is applied successfully to one of the latest aerial SAR sensor: F-SAR from the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Images with strong contrasts suffer from denoising artefacts known as noise halo due to the absence of similar patches in the vicinity of some structures. This residual noise can be reduced by considering patches with shapes of various scales and orientations. Local selection of relevant shapes leads to an improved denoising quality, especially close to edges.
The impact of frailty in older patients with non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy after implantation of cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator.

AIMS Frailty status impacts the prognosis in older patients with heart disease. However, frailty status impact is unknown in patients with non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy after cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). METHODS AND RESULTS Functional measures of baseline frailty and clinical data were collected for all patients with non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy before CRT defibrillator (CRT-D) implantation. The level of frailty was assessed using the Fried and Walston definition. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to examine the association between baseline frailty and decompensated heart failure (HF) at the 12 months follow-up. The cohort study consisted of 102 patients with a mean age of 73 ± 4 years, 53% of which were male patients. Twenty-nine patients (28%) were classified as frail before CRT-D implantation. Twenty-seven patients experienced decompensated HF after CRT-D implantation at the 12-month follow-up. In the non-frail group, 12 of 73 patients (16.4%) experienced episodes of decompensated HF. In contrast, 15 of 29 (55.6%) frail patients experienced higher proportions of decompensated HF (P < 0.001). Patients who were frail (hazard ratio 4.55, 95% confidence interval 1.726-12.013) were at increased risk for the decompensated HF (P for trend = 0.002) compared with those who were not frail. CONCLUSION Frailty is a strong predictor of adverse post-implantation outcome in patients with non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy undergoing CRT-D.
HEF1 promotes epithelial mesenchymal transition and bone invasion in prostate cancer under the regulation of microRNA‐145

The principal problem arising from prostate cancer (PCa) is its propensity to metastasize to bones, and it's crucial to understand the mechanism of tumor progression to metastasis in order to develop therapies that may reduce the morbidity and mortality of PCa patients. Although we had identified that microRNA(miR)‐145 could repress bone metastasis of PCa via regulating epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) in previous study, it is still unknown how miR‐145 regulated EMT. In the present study, we constructed a luciferase reporter system and identified HEF1 as a direct target of miR‐145. More importantly, HEF1 was shown to promote migration, invasion and EMT of PC‐3 cells, a human PCa cell line originated from a bone metastatic PCa specimen. And HEF1 was also shown to partially mediate miR‐145 suppression of EMT and invasion. Furthermore, inhibition of HEF1 repressed bone invasion of PC‐3 cells in vivo. Expression of HEF1 was negatively correlated with miR‐145 in primary PCa and bone metastatic specimens, but HEF1 was higher in samples which were more likely to commit to bone metastasis or those with higher free prostate‐specific antigen (fPSA) levels and Gleason scores. Taken together, these findings indicate that HEF1 promotes EMT and bone invasion in prostate cancer by directly targeted by miR‐145, and miR‐145 suppresses EMT and invasion, at least in part, through repressing HEF1. J. Cell. Biochem. 114: 1606–1615, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Middle Eastern Terrorist Stereotypes and Anti-Terror Policy Support

Tests of the minority threat theoretical perspective have established that the common association made between crime and Black and Hispanic males is manifested, to some degree, in harsh approaches to crime control. Particularly since 9/11, a close association is also being made by the public between terrorism and those perceived to be of Arab or Muslim descent—a phenomenon coinciding with the implementation of intense social controls aimed at preventing terror attacks and punishing suspected terrorists. Using a national sample, this research is the first to explore the micro-level minority threat hypothesis in relation to those who are perceived to be Middle Easterners. Results of multivariate analyses indicate that those who typify terrorists as Middle Eastern are more likely to support punitive anti-terror techniques and that this relationship is more influential among those for whom the danger of terrorism is less salient. These findings not only suggest that the effects of minority threat extend beyond the racial and ethnic groups previously found to be stereotyped as law violators to others whose minority status is not as distinctly delineated, but that they also operate beyond the criminal justice institutions research has demonstrated are influenced by them. Policy implications are discussed.
Extended Use of Urinary Catheters in Older Surgical Patients: A Patient Safety Problem?

Objectives. To explore the relationship between the extended postoperative use of indwelling urinary catheters and outcomes for older patients who have undergone cardiac, vascular, gastrointestinal, or orthopedic surgery in skilled nursing facilities and to describe patient and hospital characteristics associated with the extended use of indwelling urinary catheters. Design. Retrospective cohort study. Setting. US acute care hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. Patients. A total of 170,791 Medicare patients aged 65 years or more who were admitted to skilled nursing facilities after discharge from a hospital with a primary diagnosis code indicating major cardiac, vascular, orthopedic, or gastrointestinal surgery in 2001. Main Outcome Measures. Patient-specific 30-day rate of rehospitalization for urinary tract infection (UTI) and 30-day mortality rate, as well as the risk of having an indwelling urinary catheter at the time of admission to a skilled nursing facility. Results. A total of 39,282 (23.0%) of the postoperative patients discharged to skilled nursing facilities had indwelling urinary catheters. After adjusting for patient characteristics, the patients with catheters had greater odds of rehospitalization for UTI and death within 30 days than patients who did not have catheters. The adjusted odds ratios (aORs) for UTI ranged from 1.34 for patients who underwent gastrointestinal surgery (P <.001) to 1.85 for patients who underwent cardiac surgery (P <.001); the aORs for death ranged from 1.25 for cardiac surgery (P = .01) to 1.48 for orthopedic surgery (P = .002) and for gastrointestinal surgery (P < .001). After controlling for patient characteristics, hospitalization in the northeastern or southern regions of the United States was associated with a lower likelihood of having an indwelling urinary catheter, compared with hospitalization in the western region (P = .002 vs P = .03). Conclusions. Extended postoperative use of indwelling urinary catheters is associated with poor outcomes for older patients. The likelihood of having an indwelling urinary catheter at the time of discharge after major surgery is strongly associated with a hospital's geographic region, which reflects a variation in practice that deserves further study.
Comparison of Pediatric Voice Handicap Index Scores with Perceptual Voice Analysis in Patients following Airway Reconstruction

Objectives We performed a retrospective review to compare a subjective parental proxy-derived voice handicap survey to an observer-derived method of measuring voice perturbation in children who have undergone airway reconstruction. The main outcome measures were the Pediatric Voice Handicap Index (pVHI) total score and the Overall Severity score on the Consensus Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation of Voice (CAPE-V). Methods The percent Overall Severity CAPE-V score (score divided by 100) and the percent pVHI score (score divided by 92) were calculated. A Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare CAPE-V scores with the pVHI total scores. The relationship between the pVHI scores and the CAPE-V scores was investigated with a Spearman correlation. Subgroup analysis was performed to determine the relationship of surgery type to CAPE-V and pVHI scores. Results Fifty subjects with a history of airway surgery who were evaluated between 2005 and 2008 were identified. Forty-two of the 50 subjects had complete data for review. Their median age was 7.1 years (range, 3.3 to 17.9 years). Their pVHI total scores had a median of 30 (range, 1 to 80). Their Overall Severity CAPE-V scores had a median of 50.5 (range, 0 to 98). Their median CAPE-V percent was higher than their median pVHI percent (50.5% versus 32.6%; p = 0.0003). A weak correlation was found between the Overall Severity CAPE-V score and the pVHI total score (rho = 0.41; p = 0.0003). There was a trend toward higher Overall Severity CAPE-V scores in patients who underwent cricotracheal resection. The total number of airway surgeries was significantly correlated with the Overall Severity CAPE-V score (rho = 0.6; p < 0.0001) but not with the pVHI score. Conclusions Children who undergo airway reconstruction often have a resulting voice disturbance that can affect their lives in multiple dimensions. The results of this study revealed a weak-to-fair correlation between the parent-reported pVHI total score and expert ratings of voice quality using the CAPE-V. In this patient population, both of these tools provided important information regarding the relationship of the severity of voice disturbance to its handicapping effects.
Lealtad y satisfacción de los consumidores en las plataformas de venta online de retail

En los ultimos anos, el e-Commerce se ha convertido en una herramienta clave para las empresas para mantener o hacer crecer su negocio. Varios investigadores han demostrado que los factores mas importantes que pueden contribuir el exito del e-Commerce de las empresas son la satisfaccion y la lealtad de los usuarios a los e-retailers. Asi pues, el objetivo de este estudio consiste en determinar que factores y de que manera influyen en la satisfaccion y la lealtad de los clientes de las plataformas online de retail. En primer lugar, se ha realizado una breve introduccion del e-Commerce para situar al lector en sus antecedentes, y en particular en la actual situacion del e-Commerce en Europa y en Espana. En segundo lugar, se ha procedido a realizar una revision exhaustiva de la literatura con el objetivo de encontrar y analizar estudios previos relacionados con la tematica de este proyecto, para adquirir los conocimientos teoricos para disenar un modelo sobre los factores que afectan a la satisfaccion y lealtad de los clientes a las e-Commerce. En tercer lugar, se ha elaborado y distribuido un cuestionario con el fin de obtener los suficientes datos para poder validar el modelo. A continuacion se han realizado varios analisis factoriales y analisis mediante ecuaciones estructurales y se ha obtenido el modelo definitivo, el cual indica que factores afectan a la satisfaccion de los clientes. Los resultados muestran como la satisfaccion afecta positivamente a la confianza y como a su vez, la confianza afecta positivamente a la lealtad, la cual se considera desde dos perspectivas; en primer lugar, como el hecho de que los clientes expliquen a sus amigos y conocidos experiencias positivas sobre el vendedor online (Word-Of-Mouth positivo), y en segundo lugar como el hecho de que los clientes compren repetidamente en un e-retailer. Por ultimo, se han analizado los resultados y se han realizado recomendaciones a las empresas del sector. Los principales descubrimientos de este estudio son, en primer lugar, que para aumentar la satisfaccion de los clientes, los e-retailers deben favorecer la eficiencia de la pagina web, tener una buena capacidad de respuesta asi como un buen servicio de devoluciones y por ultimo, ofrecer un buen cumplimiento con las entregas. En segundo lugar, se ha demostrado que la satisfaccion influye directa y positivamente sobre la confianza, y esta a su vez favorece el Word-Of-Mouth positivo y la lealtad, entendiendose como el hecho de comprar repetidamente. Tambien se ha demostrado que el hecho de que los clientes adquieran el habito de comprar en un determinado e-retailer, favorece la intencion de comprar repetidamente ya que el habito adquirido provoca que los clientes compren en el mismo sitio sin realizar un razonamiento muy elaborado sobre ello, como por ejemplo, pensar si existen alternativas mejores a nivel de precio.
Interconnection and damping assignment approach to control of PM synchronous motors

We apply the energy-shaping controller design technique to the speed regulation of permanent magnet synchronous motors. To illustrate different design choices, two controllers are presented along with their stability analysis. The resulting schemes consist of a static state feedback to which a simple nonlinear observer is added to estimate the unknown load torque. It is shown that, for isotropic rotor machines, we can set the tuning gains to recover a controller often used in industrial applications, where a nonlinear observer is used instead of a simple proportional integral (PI) speed loop. Thus, the proposed scheme constitutes a possible upgrade to current practice which, in view of the availability of a complete stability analysis, should be easier to tune and yield an improved performance. Simulations and experimental results are presented to illustrate the performance of the proposed scheme.
THE CLONING AND SEQUENCING OF CTP : PHOSPHOCHOLINE CYTIDYLYLTRANSFERASE cDNA FROM MURINE HEMOPOIETIC CELLS And &

CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase (CT) catalyzes a rate limiting reaction in the synthesis of phosphatidylcholine in higher eucaryotes. CT is subject to regulation by interconversion between an inactive cytosolic form and an active membrane bound form. This translocation is controlled by lipid activators and phosphorylation. At present, only the sequence of the rat liver CT cDNA and the yeast CT gene (Saccharomyces cerivisiae) have been reported. Comparison of the primary amino acid sequence shows a significant homology only in the central domain of the two proteins (64%). Since the study of CT has mainly focused on the mammalian enzyme, we have cloned and sequenced the CT cDNAs from a mouse hemopoeitic cell line. The strategy for isolating the mouse CT cDNA clone employed the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in three sets of reactions. The initial set of reactions utilized two degenerate primers whose sequence was derived from the central conserved region of rat CT. A 224 bp fragment of the mouse cDNA was amplified, cloned and sequenced. In the next two sets of reactions, oligonucleotide primers specific for this 224 bp region of the mouse CT were used in conjunction with (1) the forward or (2) the reverse sequencing primer of the vector. These reactions, (1) and (2), amplified DNA fragments corresponding to the 5' and the 3' ends of the mouse CT cDNA, respectively. These two overlapping clones encoded a 1101 bp open reading frame. To check for PCRincorporated errors in the nucleotide sequence, a third set of reactions was performed using two mouse specific primers corresponding to the 5' and 3' untranslated regions. The amplified DNA (1281 bps) was cloned and sequenced. The sequences of 3 complete mouse clones were compared to determine the final mouse CT sequence. The human CT cDNA was cloned and sequenced using an identical approach. Comparison of the mouse, human and rat CT protein sequences demonstrated a high degree of conservation among these mammalian enzymes. When compared to rat CT, 4
Are patients with type 2 diabetes reluctant to start insulin therapy? An examination of the scope and underpinnings of psychological insulin resistance in a large, international population

Abstract Objective: To examine the scope and underpinnings of psychological insulin resistance (PIR) across eight Western nations, with special attention to the potential influence of beliefs about insulin and broader patient beliefs regarding medications and diabetes. Methods: A total of 1400 subjects with insulin-naïve, type 2 diabetes across eight nations completed an online survey. The survey assessed willingness to start insulin, beliefs about insulin and current medications, and diabetes-related emotional distress. Results: The majority of respondents were male (59.3%), mean age was 51.6 years and mean diabetes duration was 6.1 years. A total of 17.2% reported they would be unwilling to start insulin (the PIR group), while 34.7% were ambivalent and 48.1% indicated they would be willing to do so. Marked differences by country were apparent, with PIR ranging from 5.9% (Spain) to 37.3% (Italy). Both unwilling and ambivalent patients reported significantly more negative (p < 0.001; p < 0.05) and fewer positive beliefs (p < 0.001; p < 0.01) about starting insulin, more negative feelings about their current medications (p < 0.01, p < 0.001), and more diabetes-related distress (p < 0.001; p < 0.05) than willing patients. Unwilling patients also reported significantly more negative (p < 0.05) and fewer positive beliefs (p < 0.001) about starting insulin than ambivalent patients. Conclusion: These are the first data demonstrating the prevalence of PIR across Western nations. PIR is strongly linked to positive and negative insulin beliefs, and may also reflect a broader discomfort with medications and with diabetes in general. Of note, however, PIR is a marker of behavioral intent only; it is not known whether this predicts actual behavior at the time when insulin is prescribed. When addressing patients who are reluctant to initiate insulin therapy, clinicians may find it valuable to inquire about their beliefs about insulin and their current medications.
Double compression: a vision for compressing morbidity and caregiving in dementia.

The anticipated rise of dementia prevalence due to global aging may be tackled by morbidity compression through lifestyle changes (i.e., consistent participation in physical and intellectual activities) that promote cognitive reserve. A hypothetical model of cognitive decline due to Alzheimer's disease (AD) and modulation of the clinical trajectory by cognitive reserve is presented. People with higher cognitive reserve are expected to show delay of the mild cognitive impairment phase but faster conversion to AD thereafter. Once conversion to AD is evident, there would be even faster deterioration, resulting in compression of morbidity. When morbidity is compressed, not only is prevalence reduced but the caregiving load is also compressed; this is referred to as "double compression. " Research and policy directions are discussed.
Measurement of nicotinamide and N-methyl-2-pyridone-5-carboxamide in plasma by high performance liquid chromatography.

We describe a simple and reproducible method for simultaneous determination of nicotinamide and its major human biological metabolite N-methyl-2-pyridone-5-carboxamide (2pyr). Previous assays for nicotinamide in plasma and in urine have been complicated by the use of tedious extraction procedures or HPLC conditions which, although often allowing simultaneous analysis of several metabolites, add to the difficulties of performing multiple analyses. The procedure we describe is simple, using a rapid column clean-up of samples prior to injection, which can then be done using an autosampler. Both nicotinamide and its major metabolite 2pyr can be assayed rapidly, with good reproducibility, and at the same time.
Therapeutic potential of ultrasound microbubbles in gastrointestinal oncology: recent advances and future prospects

Microbubbles were initially invented as contrast agents for ultrasound imaging. However, lately more and more therapeutic applications of microbubbles are emerging, mostly related to drug and gene delivery. Ultrasound is a safe and noninvasive therapeutic modality which has the unique ability to interact with microbubbles and release their payload in situ in addition to permeabilizing the target tissues. The combination of drug-loaded microbubbles and ultrasound has been used in preclinical studies on blood–brain barrier opening, drug and gene delivery to solid tumors, and ablation of blood vessels. This review covers the basic principles of ultrasound–microbubble interaction, the types of microbubbles and the effect they have on tissue, and the preclinical and clinical experience with this approach to date in the field of gastrointestinal oncology.
Efficient Frequency Comb Generation in the 9- \(\mu \) m Region Using Compact Fiber Sources

We demonstrate a midinfrared (mid-IR) frequency comb spanning from 7.5 to 11.6 μm at a -20-dB level using difference frequency generation in a AgGaS2 crystal with a compact all-fiber source based on Tm3+ and Er3+-amplifiers. The power of the mid-IR signal is measured to be 1.55 mW and the photon conversion efficiency is 16%. The pulse duration achieved in the mid-IR range is estimated to be ~80 fs, which corresponds to 2.6 optical cycles at the 9.2-μm center wavelength. The current approach allows simple power scaling by further amplification of the pump and signal pulses using established fiber amplifier technologies.